A Thirty Day Experiment

Having given a lot thought about what I can do to change how I feel, I have decided to embark on a thirty day experiment of recording what I eat. I am not saying that I am going on a diet, because clearly diets rarely work. I am proposing to myself to be conscious of every morsel that enters my mouth and how I'm feeling when I eat. I know this may seem like a self indulgent challenge, but I want to learn about what makes me tick. Over the last fifteen years I have let myself gain so much weight that I hardly recognize myself when I look in the mirror.

In 2007 I hired a personal trainer for about five months and I joined a gym and I exercised four or five times a week with very little to show for all my effort. When I couldn't afford the trainer anymore I continued to exercise on my own for about a year. Granted I dropped a size, but when I allowed myself to be weighed for the first time in a very long time I became extremely discouraged. Then my husband lost his job and I returned to the work force and though I love my job, with working, comes a whole new set of challenges and stresses.

With every passing year it becomes more and more difficult to lose the weight, but I haven't given up, hence, this is my newest idea to make a change.

I got up this morning and worked out for the first time in a very long time. I had to do battle with the voices in my head that seemed to say "it doesn't matter if you sleep in and skip today". Somehow, I managed to win the battle with my own head and overcame my inner sloth!

The experts say you must walk at least ten thousand steps a day in order to lose weight and they aren't talking about to and from the refridgerator or I would have been skinny a long time ago.

The following is what I ate today. I started the day with oatmeal and berries, which is what I eat most morning, if I'm not eating cheerios. I have one cup of coffee every morning and no sugar, but I do have to have my half and half .

Once I'm at work I drink Ginger Peach Decaf tea, a lot of it, never with sugar.
The monster that takes up a good portion of our break room is a big challenge. Most days I just simply don't bring any money to work with me.

For the last few months I was eating Fuji apples for a snack, but I got tired of apples and have since moved on to pears.

Lean Cuisine is what I take to work most days. It's easy. I haven't become tired of them yet, but I'm sure I will. Lean Cuisines keep me from eating too much bread, which I love.

Night time is when I have the hardest time. It's when I just want a bowl of ice cream or cookies.

I know, I know ... pizza is full of fat, especially with pepperoni, but I only ate one piece and I had a delicious spinach salad with butternut squash and apple cider dressing, a recipe from Ina Garten's cooking show. It was fabulous and very satifying.

Doesn't this salad look yummy. Mr. Honey wasn't impressed, but I loved it.

I just want to feel good. Gone are fantasies of looking like I'm twenty ever again. I'm a point in my life where I just want to live longer and healthier.

I won't bore any of you in future posts with a minute by minute report of what I'm eating, but I might bore you with how I'm feeling, so feel free to skip the next month of my rambling, because I'm doing this totally for me.