I am so sore this morning. Two days of walking have really had an effect on me. I didn't expect it to; I mean, I've only walked about 2.25 miles so far. Apparently, I'm in worse shape than I thought. I really would like to skip walking today, but I made a commitment to walk every day, and that's what I'm going to do.
Yesterday I walked 1.22 miles. I got up to 3 miles an hour for some of it. Today I'm going to log another mile, but I will probably go at a slower pace since I'm so sore.
Yesterday for lunch I packed an egg salad sandwich. I don't really like them, but it was the day before payday. There wasn't much else in the house. It was that or PB&J, and I didn't like the jelly we had.
I tried to do the mindful eating thing where I focus on each bite and chew, chew, chew. But I really don't like egg salad. So I stopped doing that and just ate the dang sandwich. After I ate it, I wanted something else to get the taste out of my mouth. I really need to start keeping a toothbrush at work. I counted up the change in my purse. I had $1.36 (like I said, it was right before payday).
My first thought was "That's enough for an Almond Joy!" Then I made myself stop and think about it. Am I hungry? No, the egg salad was nasty, but it satiated my hunger. Am I craving sugar? No. It surprises some people, but I'm not really into sweets. I have a Coke everyday, but that's it. Even with that, I usually drink it with dinner so that the food can cut down the sweetness. I just wanted something to cover the egg salad aftertaste. My next thought was gum, but I have problems with my jaw (TMJ), and gum-chewing will hurt for days afterwards. But thinking about gum made me realize I would like something crunchy.
So I went to the grocery store with the idea of getting something crunchy, not sugary, and for under $1.36. I went straight to the produce section thinking I could get one of those little carrot/ranch or celery/peanut butter snack packs. Before I got there, I saw this display of apples. I haven't had an apple in a really long time. I don't usually eat them because when I bite them I get apple juice all over. I've never really understood how people can take bites out of an apple and not drip or slurp. Anyway, even though I didn't want anything too sweet, I decided an apple was exactly what I needed. I grabbed one, paid (87 cents), and headed back to my office where I washed it and took my first bite.
It was so good! I did get juice all over my desk, but I really enjoyed that apple. It was so crunchy and refreshing. That's the way food should be. It shouldn't be what I eat because "it's there" or because I want to make myself feel bad or (and this is the big one) to keep myself from feeling something I don't want to. I like produce. I like eating veggies and fruits. I like eating "good for you" food.
So why don't I do it? Well, sometimes it's because I'm binging, and no one eats celery on a binge. Also, I have long associated that kind of food with diets. Healthy food means counting out grapes and baby carrots and obsessing over if this is a large peach or a medium peach. I didn't like having to think about all that. But right now, I don't have to think about that. I just have to think "Is this food abusing my body? Is it kidnapping my emotions?" If the answer is no, I'm not going to worry about how many grapes I just ate.
So that's the plan: enjoyable food, checking for satiety, and walking.
1307.51 / 1.22 / 1305.18
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