Beauty Tips for Ministers
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Update on Eating
July 7, 2007 on 11:13 pm | In Feeding The Pastor, Self Care |Hi dolls,
Just an update on the self-care, summer R&R front.
I have been home for six days and have spent that time mostly sleeping, getting up and thinking a lot about the fact that I really should be exercising/cleaning/organizing/planning and then sleeping more and watching movies or TV. TV is FUNNY! I love “The Golden Girls!” I didn’t do anything involving people who know me until today. I fell asleep in the hammock this afternoon reading the Harvard Divinity Bulletin.
Newsflash: I am eating about half of what I usually do.
Here’s how the eating thing works:
I make sure to have a smoothie for breakfast.
I have iced coffee, my favorite summer food.
When I get hungry in the afternoon, I put a bunch of healthy things on the counter and make a little plate of it and then eat that.
I sit at the kitchen table and ask myself, “Are you still hungry?”
I decide that I don’t know. So I decide to wait. I say to myself, “Well, we have all the time in the world because we’re on vacation now.”
I wait for awhile to see if I’m hungry and decide I’m not.
I go do some stuff for a bunch of hours until I feel hungry again. I go make another plate of small healthy things. I eat a bunch of whatever I want to until I don’t feel hungry any more. Then I stop.
My thoughts on this:
1. I’m not trying to make “meals.” Meals are intimidating. I don’t feel like dealing with MEALS like lunch, dinner, etc. There’s too much pressure. I prefer my little plates of stuff.
2. I am learning that I have no idea if I’m full or hungry most of the time, and mistake tiredness for hunger on a very consistent basis. Going back for seconds is all about the taste of the food and the sedative effect of a very full stomach. If I am well-rested and calm, I don’t need the sedative effect. I am battling this habit.
3. No more snacks out of bags while reading. Bad, bad habit. Boy, do I love eating salty crunchy things out of bags while reading. Boy, do I have to stop that forever.
4. I eat whatever I darn well please, but it goes on a little plate. I find that I love these little plates of things. It feels very European to me, or like I’m always at a party.
5. Keeping lots of fruits and vedjables in the house at all times. Easy to do in the summer.
So darling ones, how YOU doon?
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I’m dooon’ good, thanks for askin’. Salty crunchy things are a big craving, but my South Beach allows me to eat nuts. A handful of cashews (1 oz is a handful; I have very small hands!) satisfies that need. Hubby chooses pistachios instead; what’s your favorite?
When I feel the need for a sweet after meal taste, I go for the sugarless gum. Work that jaw.
I totally agree with the “little plates of things” as being very satisfying. Having cheese, hummus, nuts, fruit and veggies in the fridge makes that plate easy and tasty to make. So continental!
Your new system is a winner. Keep on doing!
Comment by Louise — July 7, 2007 #
Doing well, thanks to my beautiful husband. He works in the Denver area and I pastor in southwest Wyoming, so we don’t cohabit as much as we’d like. Early this last week I had some bug with exactly two symptoms: low-grade fever and fossilisation. When Sheeyun came up on the Fourth of July he wrangled our small son so thoroughly I could just Rest, and thereby enabled me to get well. God bless him!
Comment by Mary Ann — July 8, 2007 #
Let’s have photos of those lovely little plates with healthy tidbits on them! If you dress them as nicely as you dress yourself, we’ll all be inspired. One additional tip: You mentioned mistaking fatigue for hunger. It’s also common to feel hungry when what you really are is thirsty. As yummy as iced coffee is, it is still a mild diuretic, so you should also be drinking lots of water as well. 64 oz may sound like a lot but if you have one of those 1-quart workout bottles and keep it filled with ice water all day, you’ll probably find it’s easy to drink more than enough.
Comment by Sue — July 8, 2007 #
oh my heavens, Mary Ann, what’s fossilization?
Comment by PeaceBang — July 8, 2007 #
Your description of how you’re eating these days reminds me of the chapter in Ann Lamott’s “Traveling Mercies” called “Hunger.” Lamott was bulimic and had other issues (like alcoholism), but some of the food issues are similar when you go deep enough.
Good luck. It sounds like you’re off to a good start. Are you going to your local farmers market and getting delicious locally-grown fruits? (We are having pork chops with back yard gooseberries for dinner.)
Comment by Judy — July 8, 2007 #
Fossilization (fossilisation) is when one’s volition, insofar as it exists, hasn’t any traction. In my case, it means knowing what I plan to do, and how I prioritize it, and being nearly unable to start anything, and finding anything I start p-r-o-c-e-e-d-i-n-g v-e-r-y- s-l-o-w-l-y. Since I dote on forward momentum, I find this a painful state. It’s also taken me decades to recognize that, no, it’s not laziness….
Comment by Mary Ann — July 8, 2007 #
I, too, have a penchant for salty, crunchy things out of bags. Here’s what I’ve learned: get the snack out of the bag and into a bowl. Close the bag and put it away. Even a small portion of said snack looks bigger in a bowl, plus I am not as likely to keep eating mindlessly. The act of putting the rest of the bag away says, “This is how much I am having.” Then, if I really feel like I am hungry for more, I do a little self-querying. Am I really hungry for more? Have I had enough?
Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’ve had enough. A great plan!
Comment by Peter B — July 9, 2007 #
Ok, get this–I’m in europe right now (business trip with DH) and europeans really do eat that way! I’m being reminded of a lot, mainly these things:
Protein and fat are your friends–if they are really good all the better.
carbs and sugar are harder to control–when you eat them, make sure they are treats.
little plates
social eating
slow eating
Comment by madgebaby — July 9, 2007 #
Don’t be too hard on those salty things, at least not while svitzing heavily. When I became a vegetarian I had to learn that salt does not occur naturally in veggies and must be sought out or added on. It is water soluble (hence the ocean thing) and therefore needs to be replaced on an ongoing basis when hot — regardless of weight or regular diet or anything.
Same with potassium.
My grandmother, who inhabited a lovely Northern California home and served drinks every night at six (to mark the end of my grandfather’s working day at home) used to sprinkle flavored salts on the veggies. Not so good on the carrots, dynamite on the celery.
The nuts were also salted. I like mine roasted in tamari, but when it gets hot, perhaps I should head for the salted ones more than I do. (My favorite — by a landslide — is almonds, which are highly rated for food content.)
Comment by Elizabeth C — July 11, 2007 #
A little while ago, SELF magazine had a little feature about which veggies to seek out organically and which have not been heavily modified and poisoned by agribusiness. In order to allocate my precious organic food pennies most effectively, I carry this in my wallet. Biggest benefit — discovering how much organic celery is better than the doctored stuff. Same with green and red peppers.
I guess summer is about “vegging out” in more ways than one…
Comment by Elizabeth C — July 11, 2007 #
Have you read the book “French Women Don’t Get Fat”? It really helped me rethink the way I eat.
Comment by Kim D. — July 11, 2007 #