#3: Slow Flow

Uhhhh ... I forgot that no carbs means less fiber. 

Bloated is NOT where it's at. Just to be clear. THEREFORE ... today's mission is to research foods that are higher in fiber, low in carb. Alternatively, I will be joining the Plus60 crowd with a cupboard stocked full of BeneFiber. 


But otherwise, I'm rocking this no carb thing. I've mastered a few new recipes, most deliciously CHICKEN RATATOUILLE. [Recipe below]


The night of Day 3 I cooked and ate, with the kids, this great Ratatouille. And then I found myself still craving sugar. What is the DEAL with that?? I have looked into sugar craving cutters, and  -- not so much. Internet suggestions included fruit, cheese, juice, gum. Really? Shouldn't there be some sort of cure-all like "eat a carrot" and you'll be craving-free? 


That's so annoying. 


So I managed it just as I did on Day Two: I decided to go to bed. You may recall that in a previous entry I mentioned my suspicion that "going to bed" would be my best defense for this sugar craving. I was right. I may be the best rested I have been in years with this challenge. By the way, is it inappropriate to take a nap on my office floor when I find myself craving sugar at 1pm?

Day FOUR
Most irritating lesson of the day: When I eat better, I want to do other things better too. Due, I'm certain, to  my Obsessive Compulsive nature, I can't just do one thing or do anything part way. Where does this leave me? Yesterday it left me at the gym at 5:30am. 


To be clear, I love working out. But I hate going to the gym. Well, no, I hate waking up from my warm bed and HEADING to the gym. I love being at the gym, I love working up a sweat. And I can't work out later in the day because once I'm in Go-Mode, I can't apply the brakes. Plus, working out gives me energy and if I worked out at 6pm, I'd be up past midnight. And I prefer to be in bed by 7pm. Hmmm ... maybe the BeneFiber won't be the only way I join the Plus60 crowd. If I start eating dinner at 4:30, let's worry.  


Back to the gym. What I have learned about myself is that if I just FORCE myself to get up, I'm good. Once I'm there, my competitive nature kicks in and I don't even realize that I've been on every exercise machine they own. My method of madness is achieved in three steps:
#1: I position myself on a machine next to someone who is going hard and then I constantly check their distance and calorie stats on the machine to make sure I'm winning. 
#2: I make sure that if someone gets on a machine next to me after I've started, that I stay until AFTER they get off. You do that too, right?
#3: Once I'm winning, I make sure to laugh loudly and smile a lot so everyone knows how much FUN I'm having despite how HARD I'm clearly working! 

   

How I see ME at the gym

How I see EVERYONE else at the gym.

Back at home after burning 389 calories, I realized how full of energy and motivation to eat well I was. So eggs and coffee in my belly, I showered and energetically got my kids up and ready for the day. Lunch was a salad with chicken -- GOOD. Dinner was Chicken and beef with vegetables -- GOOD. I did notice that my sugar cravings took significantly longer to arrive on Day Four. But satisfying them is still a mystery. Vanilla Coke Zero it is. *blah*


Maybe this means that today DAY FIVE I won't crave sugar at all? It is 9:45am and I have yet to care. Except when this lady was talking about donuts a few minutes ago. She doesn't know how close she was to getting punched in the throat for that. Lucky I let her pass.


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I should mention in all seriousness that I'm really proud of myself for yesterday. Day Four, aka January 4th, was also the 2 year anniversary of my dad's death. These two years have been incredibly hard and marked  by myriad self-improvement/self-sabotage cycles. While I started yesterday feeling somewhat ambivalent about it, around 8:30am, The Universe generously hit me with full emotion that lasted all day in waves of intense to more intense levels of sadness. Not once did I try to feed the emotion with food. Not once did I try to  stuff carbs down my throat to cover up my feelings. 


Did you hear me? NOT. ONCE. 


WHATWHAT!!


YAY ME!!!


Now ... on to face Day Five!!!




[Currently 9.5 hours into the day, I have avoided food completely because nothing sounded good. "Avoiding Food" isn't the same as "No Carbs" so I need to find me some lunch. WISH ME LUCK!]


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Great recipe:

• chicken breasts
• zucchini
• yellow squash
• eggplant
• red onion
• red, orange, yellow bell peppers
• (insert any other veggies, especially root vegetables you'd like i.e. mushrooms, carrots, potatoes if you're eating carbs)

1. Place chicken in crock pot
2. Chop the veggies and cover the chicken
3. Add 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, Basil, Red pepper flakes, salt 
4. If you're feeling adventurous, add other spices like dry mustard, cumin)
5. Add 2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
6. Turn Pot to high for 2 1/2 hours
7. Serve over brown/wild rice or eat alone. 

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