4/4/11

Monday, April 4, 2011

B: Fried egg, 1/2 sourdough English muffin, kale
10 AM: apple slices w/ almond butter
L: bean/veggie/chicken/rice soft taco
3 PM: apple slices
D: pork chop (sadly over-cooked), cooked kale, butternut squash
8:20: plain yogurt with pear, walnuts, raisins, and Great Grains cereal


About 30 minutes after breakfast (and after at least 3 spurned urges to return to the kitchen for another English muffin or piece of bread or something...), I started feeling slightly nauseated and had a bit of a metallic taste in my mouth. It was like a faint hint of how it feels to fast. I wonder if just the 24 hours of minor decrease (major?) in my sugar and starch intake could be causing this?

The "fast-ish" feelings faded throughout the day. After lunch, the compulsion to go back for more was SO strong. I nursed Cora, feeling incredibly hungry as I sat in the rocking chair. Normally, I'd follow up *lunch proper* with a handful (or 4) of cereal, or on my worst days, a couple (or 4) cookies. I had just finished eating a quite-big-enough soft taco, so I kept thinking "I can't possibly already be hungry!" And when I stood up, put Cora in bed, and walked around for a minute, I realized that indeed I wasn't actually hungry anymore. I believe it's a testament to how deeply ingrained my habits are that I felt so physically driven to eat more immediately after finishing my meal.

In the strictness of this plan, I have become conscious of just how often I usually pop bites into my mouth. I've been finishing off Isaac's leftovers, tossing back a few handfuls of cheerios when I give Cora some, munching a handful of nuts, etc. almost continuously throughout each day!

This is so hard. At the end of today, I do feel a grim satisfaction that a good work is happening in me. I'm also a little crestfallen that I only have two after-dinner snacks coming to me in the next 5 days. Evening is a really hard time of the day for me--I'm super pooped, put out about the mess of a house, stressed about being ready for the next day. I have been using prayer when I'm craving food to try to replace the desire for food with a focus on God. I'm going to be praying hard soon.

I did drink a LOT of water today. Super thirsty and wondering if my body is flushing some processed-sugar toxins?

K


Daily food plan:
3 reasonably sized meals
1 morning snack at 10:30 optional
1 afternoon snack at 3:30 optional
1 post-dinner "dessert" 4 days a week. Dessert = fruit mix, yogurt mess, granola, or a "girlie drink" (Bailey's)

Overall:
No Processed Sugar. Limit grains in general. Stick to whole grains that are not wheat to keep sugar cravings under control. Snacks should mostly be fruits and veggies. Drink lots of water.
Portion control is not so much of a concern since I'm still nursing Cora. I'm more focused on frequency of eating and duration; I can drag a meal out for a couple of hours going back for one more bite every 10 minutes or tacking on a piece of bread or bowl of cereal as an "extension" of a meal.