Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Day 37 Food For Thought: Buy It Then Eat It

When Wayne and I first married, we were still both students at TTU and working. I would go grocery shopping between classes on Monday. I LOVED it! I love shopping for food anyway, but there were also only people shopping at that time who were not in a big hurry. Ahhh...Relax in aisle 7. It was a nice slow down time for me. One day I went stressed out AND hungry....two big No No's. My cart was loaded and heavy full of non-nutritious, calorie-dense yums. I pushed that heavy thing up to the front to check out. Then I thought, “If I buy this, I'll eat it.” So I made myself go back through the store putting it back in its proper place. That did it. I never did that again. Over the years, however, I started picking up one maybe two things here and there (for the kids---yeah right). I bought something I shouldn't at the grocery store this week. I've been so sleep deprived, I ate one even though I wasn't hungry because I felt I needed energy and reached for the quickest easiest thing. The mild heart attack I almost induced after I looked at the calories for about three bites of chocolate goodness reminded me of this fact I had put back on the shelf for a while. If I do not buy it, I will not eat it. That leads me to my new baby step.

Baby Step:
I will only purchase “convenience” foods that are healthful and more nutrient-dense like fresh fruits or veggies to snack on. I will leave the junk on the shelf.

Wins for today:
Um.....thinking....thinking...Well, I got some exercise.

Nutritional Nugget
Ok a confession. I am NOT for weight loss plans that have you substitute meals for a shake or prepackaged meal, etc, because it doesn't teach life changing habits. Most of the time someone who follows these diets consistently do lose some weight, but gain it back as soon as the unchanged habits roll back in. HOWEVER, I have purchased these type of meal replacers before not for the purpose of losing weight, but to have a quick grab and go meal when it is crunch time. I really like beverages and would love to only drink my calories. Especially when I was in school and on the go all the time, I would keep shakes (sometimes leave them in the car) just so I could get something on my stomach to get me going. You still have to read the label, but some have protein and fiber and are not too bad nutritionally. This is not a habit I recommend getting into, but I think it is more important to have something than nothing when you are rushing around in the morning. Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. Do what you gotta do.

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