Okay, I know that it has only been six days, but so far I have really stuck with it. Should I be impressed with myself? I think not. In the past, I have tried this and stuck with it for a week or two. This time, I am showing Heather what I am doing and she finds my food intake interesting to see. Heather is very supportive! The ironic thing is that all the whole foods I am eating make me feel like I never stop eating! I still want to make some changes in my diet, but one step at a time, I am doing that. I look forward to my knees feeling good and being able to keep up with my sons for years to come!
I am heading on a road trip to the Dakotas tomorrow for five days to visit the techs and customers in Deadwood, South Dakota, with a few additional customer visits during the drive. I will be dining in restaurants and from a cooler. I really hope that I can stick with it during this week. I feel like this will be a good test for me. The fact that the program has both a browser-based site and a mobile-based site is helpful. I can check the food out from a smart phone OR from a computer, before or after I eat. The plan database is comprehensive, with 50,000 food listings. I do wish that the database had more foods for Perkins, since I will likely encounter those more than any restaurant. This program forces me to plan ahead so I know what I can eat and remain within my guidelines for that day. I could go over if I want, but I don't want to exceed my program guidelines. I have stayed true to the program for six days, and I don't want to exceed the parameters. I feel that if I do it once, it gets easier to ignore the guidelines in the future, and becomes a slippery slope to failure. I just don't want to go there!
Today, I went out to dinner for the first time since I started the program (to Perkins), courtesy of my mother-in-law for a belated Fathers' Day meal (thank you, Mom/Laura!!!) I did pretty well, or at least I hope I did. I kept it to 750 calories for the entree (salmon dijon), the bread and rice (I wish it was brown rice, instead of white) and the salad, with dressing. Why do they always serve the refined white rice instead of the vitamin-rich and fiber-gifted brown or wild rice? The funny thing is that about halfway through my food, I started thinking that I had an awful lot of food to eat. I used to live for the Chinese buffet and at least 3 plates of MSG-loaded food. I hope my stomach is shrinking and telling me not to eat too much!
I wonder if I will ever look at buffets the same way again? Honestly, I kind of hope not, though when I go to the store, I see so many food temptations everywhere (mostly the refined sugar junk food, chips, and chocolate) that I really love to eat. I will start eating those foods again, but in much smaller doses, and not for a while, probably not until after the tempting, calorie-intensive Christmas holiday season this year. I know, everyone says that you have to allow yourself to eat junk food or you will want to binge. For me, the best approach is to avoid the foods completely until I get that junk-food mindset completely reprogrammed. That is going to take a while, and I am on-board with this health kick as long as it takes to meet (and exceed?) my goals! Honestly, if I want to really watch what I eat, especially the calories, I have to continue with the program. I am moving in the right direction so I think I am going to stick with it!
To the people who have been positive and supportive, thank you! This approach sort of reminds me that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Nobody wins by quitting in the middle!
On to week two of the program...
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