Food Critic

Today is my last day of Summer Vacation 2016 tomorrow morning I am back on contract. I feel excited, nervous, and a bit emotional. I have had easily one of my top 5 summers of all time, I am so blessed. I have had a burst of energy the last couple of weeks. My son left town and now we are completely empty nesters (our older daughter moved away 3 years ago). My husband and I enjoyed a slow process of emptying our nest as our 2 kids attended college in our hometown. They moved out of the house but were seen frequently. We had summers with them gone but this is definitely a deeper change. Speaking of nest I have been Nesting: getting my home organized and clean before school begins and my schedule gets crazier. I am feeling really content about having my home in order at a level that I haven't experienced in years. Not that this has much to do with Viceless eating except to say it's a notable part of my current state of mind. I give credit for my burst of energy to my better eating and the excitement I feel about posting here. I am somewhat nervous that I won't be able to maintain this energy &/or desire now that summer is over. My goal is to post once every 7 days or more.

As I ponder activities to do instead of eating/TVing after work (see previous post Intentions) I have been imagining myself having a healthy snack after work (3:30) arriving to a quiet home (4:20) and sitting down with a cup of tea and Blogging. What a great substitution for binge eating!

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I am so pleased that Lindsay Rineholt responded to a quick thank-you message I sent to her webpage. She has been very encouraging and has really spurred me on as I begin month 2. I asked her if she had any advice after she said she had read through my Blog. She gave me some suggestions regarding not eating so much ice cream (well I asked, lol!) and sent me a great recipe made with frozen bananas I will share it here:

One of my favorite ice cream alternatives is made from a frozen banana + peanut butter + a little bit of almond milk (or other milk).  Blend that all up in a blender or Magic Bullet and it is delicious.  Sometimes I add some more almond milk and a handful of spinach and that is my breakfast--super yummy indulgent way to start the day!  

Thanks Lindsay!

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I have started into Part 3 of Meant to Eat where I am learning to savor food and recognize when I'm satisfied (being full takes a little bit of time). A big lesson is to slow down. I like Lindsay's suggestion of pretending to be a food critic. I found a webpage on "How to Become a Food Critic" (not that I want to earn a living do this) and I found some of these tips especially helpful as I go from devouring to savoring; http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Food-Critic (numbers 3 & 4 apply here).

I also like how Lindsay said "You are NOT going to starve. This is not your last meal, so don't act like it is" I plan to tell myself that when I get home from work and I want to crawl inside the fridge and consume everything in sight. Here's what I'm going to tell myself, "Amy you had a healthy snack less than an hour ago, you will have dinner soon, you are stressed/tired not hungry"

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I am excited that I have gotten grapes and celery all set, cleaned and sliced ready for easy packing/snacking this week. This and other healthy options await me as I start this week. I have been imagining myself preparing these things each Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon this fall. I have been celebrating in the fact that I like so many different healthy foods. I am excited to give other foods the opportunity to take center stage this year while my usual vices, that tend to crowd out other options, are being denied.

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A final note-worthy comment: my waist measures 1/2 inch smaller. ☆☆☆