Lean Eating Week 3 - On Track and yet Still Off
I entered Week 3 of Lean Eating still under the weather, but at least well enough to start working out again. I haven't missed a workout all week despite a lot of residual coughing. To top off the coughs, I seem to have pinched a nerve in my neck from all of that coughing. Now I have one more injury to work around at the gym. At least these days I am doing the workouts exactly as they are given. I'm not adding anything. I'm trying to be a good girl and not over-exert myself so I make myself sick again.
*Sigh* Two nights ago I had a dream where I was doing pushups effortlessly. I kept doing them and doing them and even adding claps to some of them and that wasn't even hard. I need to be well enough to challenge myself more.
I still have to do the fish oil and probiotic thing, but this week's tracked habit is eating slowly.
I don't eat slowly.
I always wolf down my food. It's as if I want to shove as much food down my gullet as possible so I make sure I shove food down quickly. I can out-eat any man with my fast eating. Even though this habit sounds easy, it's a huge challenge for me.
I'm trying to just remember to put my fork down between bites and not pick it up again until the last bite is swallowed. What I'm noticing is that in order to pick my fork up and eat again, I'm not really chewing food well. I'll swallow something and go for the fork thinking, "I really only chewed half of that mouthful." This habit needs work. Although I do track it as having done it, I feel as if I could be doing better.
You know what else is hard about this habit? I eat slowly and understand my body's satiety cues, but I still want more? I actually went back for (small) seconds on dinner the other night. I ate slowly, chewed well, took at least 20 minutes, to finish, and felt satiated. I still wanted a second helping. Appetite still supersedes hunger for me right now.
I have learned this week that slowing down does alter how food tastes. Last night was a perfect example. Kevin and I were trapped in the house all day nursing our illnesses. Both of us felt the need for some comforting chocolate desserts. I considered baking, but I plan to bake for the Superbowl party this weekend and wanted to save my eggs and butter for that. We decided to make a trip to Cafe Mozart and take home a piece of one of their beautiful cakes and pastries. We love Cafe Mozart. They have all manner of pies, tarts, cakes, and pastries. I have adored them all throughout the years. I trekked out in the rain and purchased a piece of German chocolate cake for Kevin and for myself, something called "mud" cake, which is a dense combination of mousse and cake and frosting.
After dinner I put my mud cake on a plate, poured a glass of water, and was determined to eat it in a calm, slow, and civilized manner. I took a bite and savored it.
What I found after a few slow, well-chewed bites, that the cake wasn't all that. The texture was dense and creamy, which is exactly what I was craving in that department. The taste was lacking. It wasn't as chocolatey as it looked. It really didn't taste like much at all. The more I ate, the more I noticed a graininess in the texture. Earlier in the evening I felt as if I had to have this cake, and yet once I really paid attention, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.
How many desserts out there actually seem better than they actually are? We taste things that are sweet and assume they are delicious, but we're really not cued in to how they really taste. It's something to think about the next time I swear that I just HAVE to order dessert. If it's from some industrial bakery and not from some top pastry chef, or homemade in someone's kitchen, is it really worth it?
When is Lean Eating going to give me a good, "Don't Eat Sweets" habit? That's what I want to know.
*Sigh* Two nights ago I had a dream where I was doing pushups effortlessly. I kept doing them and doing them and even adding claps to some of them and that wasn't even hard. I need to be well enough to challenge myself more.
I still have to do the fish oil and probiotic thing, but this week's tracked habit is eating slowly.
I don't eat slowly.
I always wolf down my food. It's as if I want to shove as much food down my gullet as possible so I make sure I shove food down quickly. I can out-eat any man with my fast eating. Even though this habit sounds easy, it's a huge challenge for me.
I'm trying to just remember to put my fork down between bites and not pick it up again until the last bite is swallowed. What I'm noticing is that in order to pick my fork up and eat again, I'm not really chewing food well. I'll swallow something and go for the fork thinking, "I really only chewed half of that mouthful." This habit needs work. Although I do track it as having done it, I feel as if I could be doing better.
You know what else is hard about this habit? I eat slowly and understand my body's satiety cues, but I still want more? I actually went back for (small) seconds on dinner the other night. I ate slowly, chewed well, took at least 20 minutes, to finish, and felt satiated. I still wanted a second helping. Appetite still supersedes hunger for me right now.
I have learned this week that slowing down does alter how food tastes. Last night was a perfect example. Kevin and I were trapped in the house all day nursing our illnesses. Both of us felt the need for some comforting chocolate desserts. I considered baking, but I plan to bake for the Superbowl party this weekend and wanted to save my eggs and butter for that. We decided to make a trip to Cafe Mozart and take home a piece of one of their beautiful cakes and pastries. We love Cafe Mozart. They have all manner of pies, tarts, cakes, and pastries. I have adored them all throughout the years. I trekked out in the rain and purchased a piece of German chocolate cake for Kevin and for myself, something called "mud" cake, which is a dense combination of mousse and cake and frosting.
After dinner I put my mud cake on a plate, poured a glass of water, and was determined to eat it in a calm, slow, and civilized manner. I took a bite and savored it.
What I found after a few slow, well-chewed bites, that the cake wasn't all that. The texture was dense and creamy, which is exactly what I was craving in that department. The taste was lacking. It wasn't as chocolatey as it looked. It really didn't taste like much at all. The more I ate, the more I noticed a graininess in the texture. Earlier in the evening I felt as if I had to have this cake, and yet once I really paid attention, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.
How many desserts out there actually seem better than they actually are? We taste things that are sweet and assume they are delicious, but we're really not cued in to how they really taste. It's something to think about the next time I swear that I just HAVE to order dessert. If it's from some industrial bakery and not from some top pastry chef, or homemade in someone's kitchen, is it really worth it?
When is Lean Eating going to give me a good, "Don't Eat Sweets" habit? That's what I want to know.
Comments
Post a Comment