I totally agree with the old adage,
I am a big planner & list-maker, always at my side is my Crackberry chock-full of every minute detail of my life. Shopping lists, book and cd inventories, family clothing sizes, recipes, etc. etc., it's all in there. If Heaven forbid I ever lose the thing, it's all backed up on my hard drive, no worries there!
Regular readers of my other blog know that I also plan my weekly dinner menu which saves me a ton of time and money. However, what I am not so good at is planning, and allowing for, the rest of my daily meals. I have always been the kind of weight watcher who logs her food after she eats it and hopes she has enough POINTS! Since I am a creature of habit and eat a lot of the same things every day, this usually works out ok for me. However, some days, especially lately when I was on vacation and had additional peeps in my house, it didn't turn out so well. I got lazy about cooking, I wanted to just hang out in the pool and eat whatever everyone else was eating, said Yes when I should have said No to that second (or third) glass of vino..you get the picture. Out of control, that's what I was.
So, I'm going to try something new: planning and logging before consumption. Obviously this isn't possible every single day, I'm not going to be a slave to my food journal, but for the most part I can do it. I think it will give me a bit more control (which the Leo me loves) and also remove some opportunity for overindulgence. No more willy-nilly gorging, grabbing whatever is on hand without knowing if I can afford it or not!
Another part of planning is having the good stuff on hand, available and accounted for. I practiced this last night, took some time to grill myself shrimp while the family had their usual take-out pizza. I tossed a couple of ounces into a big green salad, delish!
I then cut up a huge vat of strawberries so that when the nightly cravings started I wouldn't be tempted to share the cheese & crackers or salty snacks that Beren often goes for and could instead have a sweet treat of my own, guilt-free.
I also purchased a little plastic bin for the refrigerator, loaded it with "my" foods for the next day - measured all of my breakfast, lunch & snack ingredients out and put it into individual containers, am all set for tomorrow!
Here's my Plan to Succeed for today:
POINTS® Tracker
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Morning
1 serving(s) Bare Naked Fit Granola 2
1 serving(s) Chobani Greek Yogurt 3
1 item(s) vegetarian breakfast patty 1
1 oz Veggie Low Fat Pepper Jack cheese (alternative) 1
1 serving(s) Thomas' Light English Muffins multi-grain 1
Subtotal 8
Midday
1 cup(s) strawberries 0.5
1 item(s) Original Vegan Burger 1
1 cup(s) romaine lettuce 0
1 serving(s) Arnold Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins 1
1 cup(s) mixed baby greens 0
Subtotal 2.5
Evening
White Bean Turkey Chili - 4
1 serving(s) wine 2
1 cup(s) pineapple 1
1 cup(s) mixed greens 0
1 tsp olive oil 1
Subtotal 8
Anytime
1 tbsp Original Better 'n Peanut Butter 1
1 medium apple(s) 1
1 cup(s) cucumber 0
Subtotal 2
Food POINTS values total used 20.5
Food POINTS values remaining 0
Wish me luck!
Have a Beauty-Full Day,
now that sounds like a fab plan! well done yoU!! HOW GREAT!!!!!!!!! xxxxx
ReplyDeleteThat's a great plan. I'm not much of a planner and tend to go with the flow which is a big part of my problem. Logging my food before I eat it will make me think twice about stuffing my face with foods I'll regret eating. Good luck with the new plan.
ReplyDeleteThank you, MB! It's only Day 1 of this planning thing but so far it's really freeing not having to think about what I'm going to eat, just look at my log and pull out my little food bin. Easy!
ReplyDeleteLizzie, thank you, you're quite the inspiration there yourself! :)
ReplyDeleteThe BIN is a great idea! I am going to have to try that!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nic. I share my kitchen with lots of people so it helps to have my stuff separate, thus preventing a Psycho-Mom episode if someone eats my last bit-of-whatever!
ReplyDelete