College Briefing this weekend

This weekend presents a challenge. I will be attending College Briefing at Forest Home. Since most of these types of places don't serve things like vegetable juice and fresh guacamole, I have gotten a lot of food to take with me and will take my juicer. I have been informed they have a decent salad bar so that should be OK.

I have discovered a few things at Trader Joe's that I really like. The guacamole in a box (Trader Joe's brand) is excellent. I think it's also cheaper than buying an equivalent amount of avocados. This mystifies me, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The fancy Medjool dates are quite tasty too. Organic raspberries are good but they must be eaten quickly or they will mold in the refrigerator. Dried banana chips and apple rings make a great pick-me-up snack in the middle of the afternoon. Larabars are quick and easy and are all raw and natural so they're packed with Omega-3's (since they're high in nuts).

I've become much better about sticking to the diet and taking my supplements. Usually when I eat something wrong, I can tell pretty quickly. Nutritionally empty stuff like pastries and candy bars make me lethargic and sometimes make my stomach feel a bit funny. It's therefore not very rewarding to eat these things because the pleasure is gone as soon as I am done chewing. On the other hand, a blended salad is pretty tasty, and refreshing too.

I'm still working on getting the garage cleaned out to use the weight bench. I should be doing push-ups and sit-ups in the meanwhile, but I haven't established a habit yet. I have found that establishing habits is crucial in the success of my health plan because then it doesn't seem like a chore or extra work - it's just something I do every day. For example, every Sunday evening I prepare all my oatmeal for the week. It doesn't take any longer than it would to prepare one serving, but it saves me the time on the subsequent three nights.

Not much to report

Things continue to progress. I am still feeling a little bit better each day. I do still wake up with sinus and lung congestion. It took me years to get to this point, so I'm not expecting anything overnight. Sticking to my diet has become almost a fun sort of challenge. I really don't have much desire for anything "bad" all that often anymore. I tried a blended salad last night for the first time. It was interesting. I know what a ruminant feels like now. That said, I made way too much and ate most of it so I think that's ok. I am to the point where I don't need any salt or sweetener in my oatmeal since I make it with raisins, nuts, and spices. It's really quite good that way. I'm still getting used to avocados and still don't like them alone. They are good in guacamole though. I prefer fresh fruit or a smoothie over a candy bar any time (except occasionally some extra-dark chocolate from Trader Joe's). My digestion has been quite good lately, especially the last couple days where I haven't "cheated" at all. I did get weighed today at the chiropractor and am about the same. I really do need to get the weight bench set up and start doing that.

Musings on a healthy lifestyle

Once again, it's been a while since my last post. About a week ago, I realized that I was "cheating" far too often but had no way to track my progress and falterings. So, I decided to begin keeping a food journal. This helps me not only know how much and what I am eating, but it gives me a method of accountability. I have decided to post my weekly journal on another blog, located here. Feel free to comment, commend and convict me as is necessary.

I am definitely still noticing small differences in how I feel. I actually started feeling badly again last week (which is what made me aware of how often I was "cheating") and have noticed I have more energy and generally feel better since I started journaling (and thus watching more carefully what I eat). My appetite is now much better and I don't get full and tired at the end of or halfway through meals (that's how it was about mid-June).

I do need to get the garage cleaned out so I can use the weight bench (thanks Laura!) which should increase my appetite and help me gain weight. Once that starts, I'll probably include my exercise schedule in my other blog.