Day 161 - Sticking My Fruit

Good Morning everyone... and hope all have a great weekend!

Thanks for all of the comments yesterday.Very interesting how we approach the rules of dieting, getting healthy, differently. We all apply rules and most it seems break them in ways that fit themselves. A large debate could boil on whether rules should be bent or broken or not. Debate or not what we all must hope for is that we don't bend the rules all the way back to our former selves and lose momentum on our missions.

Fruit is Fantastically Fabulous Food. If I had to pick one change in my diet over the past 5+ months that has made the biggest bang in my mission it is likely the regular use of fruit. Now I did eat fruit before I started all of this, but not like I do now. Before I'd eat an apple alongside an Almond Joy. A banana surrounded by ice cream and smothered in hot fudge. A handful of grapes to munch on while I grilled the 20 ounce steal I was soon to inhale.

Today fruit is my staple snack. Fruit keeps my body fueled, my mind alert. On average I eat three pieces of it a day. Usually as between meal snacks as I've said and occasionally a fruit salad is made from fresh fruit (never canned fruit, ugh) to go with a meal instead of a veggie salad.

Up there in the picture you see a good old fashioned sheet of notebook paper. A trio of months ago I started peeling off those stickers that come on the fruit we buy and sticking them on that sheet. That sheet is kept at work where I eat most of those between meal snacks. Now that certainly isn't all of the fruit I've eaten in that time. Only 1 out of every 3 or 4 pieces of fruit I buy has such a sticker. So quick math, 81 stickers on the sheet times 4, yeah I've eaten over 300 pieces of fruit in roughly three months.

Why do I do this? Simply because I choose to play with my food I suppose. Honestly I don't really know why I started to do this, I just did. And now that I have a full sheet, I am sharing it with you, again I don't really know why.

Ok, I need to go get some walking in...

Do you like to play with your food?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 160 - Breaking Any Rules?

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Most who are looking to lose weight follow some sort of  diet & exercise plan. Some follow their plan tighter than grandma's girdle after holiday dinner. Others choose to be as disciplined as a rope made of sand is loose.

Either extreme or in between, most if not all have at least some simple rules they follow. These rules are based on what others who have been there before us have shared. Whether from commercially published authors with actual programs for sale or from the opposite, folks like you & me who have an opinion and the gumption to share it.

What would some of the common or popular diet or exercise rules be which you yourself do not follow?

E.g. Only drink calorie free beverages, no red meat, do not eat after 7 p.m., never skip a meal, log everything, exercise only in the morning, etc. Dozens upon dozens of rules have been shared with us.

Rules, yeah... rules & I have a respect for each other but best friends we are not. With respect to diet & exercise and more specifically this mission I have had myself to play by the rules more that usual. Yet, some popular rules I just have to break...

• Bacon, the concept of giving up bacon is akin to practicing evil in my mind. I love bacon, it has so many uses. And I will always have it in my diet. Today, I choose to eat less of it and enjoy it less often, but enjoy it still I do.
• Exercise at a certain time, seems morning is suggested as best most often. My schedule allows for exercise but the time is not consistent day to day. Even if it were, I'd get bored if I had such a frigid routine that I exercised at the same time daily. I exercise whenever I can,whenever that time is.
• Leave some food on your plate. Never! Even when I was eating to be obese I didn't put any food on my plate that I was intentionally planning to waste. I know this rule is tailored to restaurant eating. But even there, garnish aside, if I don't eat everything I am served the rest comes home. Wasting food is disrespectful in my book. Drawing strength from pushing away food staring you in the face; there has to be a better way.
• Eat slowly. Why I have no idea, but I eat fairly quickly most of the time. No, I don't inhale my food like a jet engine sucks in unlucky birds. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. Chat between bites, sure. Upon reading rules that suggest putting down the fork between bites, or chewing each bite at least 30 times; I've just had to stand firm to who I am and rebel against this one.   

                                                        FRIDAY... have fun today folks!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!