Saturday, 9/12

A full week of keeping food sheets! That means that, in fact, I've now kept them 10 days in a row. This is enough information to go on to know what I am eating, and start figuring out what I am doing "wrong" or, better put, what I can better do correctly to ensure that I get back to my goal range.

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It was the right decision to keep my journal on Richard's form rather than my old, more detailed one. It's not that all that detail is not good; in fact, if I had the fortitude to do them, it would be statistically important to have it. But the fact is that I wasn't keeping them consistently, and it's the consistency that will provide what I need to know. If there is less detail, at this moment it's not as important as getting a good look at what I am eating.

The most important thing that I discovered was that I am eating outside of the home (or bringing food in from outside) too often. Some of the events were planned and I have no issue with that. It was the impulsive buys that are bothering me.

I don't do fast food restaurants. Rather, I go to Trader Joes or the Market or in one instance, Costco. That's probably why I'm maintaining in my range. But that's not the point. I need to lose right now.

I know intuitively what is prompting this behavior. I am taking a stimulant for medical reasons (not as a diet pill, and in fact, it's counterproductive for that purpose for me). I generally take it between 6 and 8 am, depending on what time I awaken. I have discovered that if I eat within several hours of taking the pill, it reduces or completely negates it's effect. That is apparently a common reaction and completely unacceptable to me. Because of other issues, I need that stimulant to function at nearly a normal level.

The issue is that where other people don't get hungry while taking the pill, I do. I will go along, speeding my way through the day, and then all of a sudden, I'm ravenous. It's a physical hunger, not just in my head. After all, I didn't eat breakfast. And when it hits, I stop whatever I'm doing and find the quickest source of food.

My choices aren't necessarily unhealthy. But they're higher calorie than acceptable, especially this week when I have not been able to attend Anne's exercise classes in the morning. So now I have two goals for next week.

1.) To keep food journals for the whole week again. And
2.) To pack food with me that is lower calorie than I would find in a store, and is immediately available during my daytime travels when I need it. To that end, I've bought a new, small sized lunch bag which will store neatly in my car. I will stock it with fruit, crackers, a little bit of cheese, and if I think I'm going to be gone a long time, maybe a sandwich. That way, I'm covered in the event of a "hunger strike."