Eating to Live!

Eat that you may live and not live to eat. - Aristotle

I am begining to think that I have conquered cravings! How?

• I am staying focused on my goal of eating healthier, getting fitter, and of course, Colin's diet challenge.
• Drastically reducing sugar intake without eliminating it.
• Making food decisions ahead of time.
• Drinking plenty of water.
• Tracking what I eat.
• Being Mindful.
• Eating a protein snack in place of a sweet snack.

I consciously began incorporating these into my daily routine. Now, they are becoming habits that I hope I will continue.

Staying Focused. When I wanted something sweet, initially I would reach for a low-calorie, low-fat treat. I didn't deny myself the desired treat. I have learned from past experience that if I try to deny myself, then I only want that treat even more than before. Now, I keep this diet challenge in the back of my mind. It has become a personal challenge to permanently change my eating habits. With this primary goal in mind, I find secondary goals (like better snack choices) much easy to achieve. If something doesn't support my ultimate goal, then I am now less likely to even consider it an option. Staying focused on my goal makes it easy to stay away from sugary snacks.

Reducing Sugar Intake. While I am not counting grams or teaspoons of sugar I consume, I am looking at labels and being much more aware of how much sugar I eat. For example, today I had a Lean Cuisine for lunch and noticed that while it is a prepared food, it only has 3 grams of sugar. Reader's Digest has an article on 23 ways to Painlessly Lower Your Sugar Intake that I found helpful.

Planning Ahead. I tend to be a rather impulsive person so planning has not been my nature. This has resulted in poor food choices since I would either eat what was readily available, drive through the nearest fast food restaurant, or would eat anything without considering the nutritional value. Now, I anticipate where I will be and what I might eat. While at a workshop on Saturday, a friend and I walked to a restaurant rather than eat the buffet available at the hotel. I chose vegetable soup and a turkey burger (my first!). Although the server brought an entire crock of soup, I had one bowl. I requested steamed veggies instead of the french fries and ate only half the bun. At a graduation party that evening I had small portions of chicken, baked beans and pasta salad. I did have cake, but a small piece, and after four days of very little sweets, the cake was not as delicious as I thought it would be.

Drinking Water. If I have a craving for something sweet the first think I do is reach for my water bottle. The Mayo Clinic has an article about the health benefits of water. They even include a nifty little 'poster' you can click on to see the functions of water in the body. Your personal water requirements will depend on a number of factors; I drink 64 ounces a day (8-8 ounce glasses).

Tracking Food. Looking what I have eaten for a day helps me to see how healthy my choices are. I am also aware of how many calories I have left for the day and how well I am doing with fiber and protein intake. When I compare these figures to the empty, non-nutritional calories of a cookie, chocolate treat, or ice cream, it's easy for me to either forego the treat or replace it with something that has nutritional value (like almonds or an apple).

Mindfulness. Being aware of what I am eating, what my choices are, what my body needs, and how I feel, help me stay away from junk (which for me is sugary) food. Mindfulness includes no longer reaching for something while talking on the phone, while walking past the pantry, eating 'just one' cookie, and thinking I want something sweet. I thought awareness was half my battle. Yet, when I became more aware, I found there really was no 'battle' to battle. Awareness has changed my perspective.

Protein. Protein helps you feel full. After some research on nutrition, I learned that I didn't eat enough protein. Increasing my protein intake is not only helping me curb sugar cravings, it is helping me to reduce my weight. WebMD has a good article on the benefits of protein.

I am actually looking forward to my one-week weigh in. Even more than the weight loss, I am looking forward to my future days without all that junk food I never thought I could do without!