The Inspiration
Husband Jeff and I were out for a date night right before Christmas and we were browsing a second-hand bookstore. I was in the clearance cookbook section, because of course I'm going to look at the food books! But I was mainly just browsing the titles because our bookshelves are quite full already and I tend to use online recipe resources since they're easier to bookmark and search. As I was scanning through everything, I saw a book with the title, "We'll Eat Again". I didn't actually take the book down so I have no idea what it really referred to, but I interpreted it and turned it into an idea that really resonated with me. To just relax around food, don't worry about it, there will be more food in the future. I don't need to stuff myself at every meal.I had been over-indulging over the Thanksgiving holiday and the next few weeks after, eating so much food I was uncomfortable later. Lately it takes my body a long time to realize it's full, more than the 20 minutes or whatever it is. So I end up still feeling hungry after a meal and eat more food, but it takes over an hour before my body says "Now I'm satisfied". So by the time I finally feel it, I've eaten WAY too much.
Plus I need smaller amounts of food these days. Previously I wasn't satisfied by smaller amounts of food so I would aim for things that filled you up without many calories (Volumetrics diet concept), but now I find if I eat my typical amounts for a meal, I end up too full. I don't know if it's the weather, my body getting older, or what, but I need to dial down my portion sizes.
I'm also preoccupied about food because I can have trouble managing my blood sugar. For years I would end up sweaty, shaking, and crabby by mid-morning because my blood sugar had dropped. Since I switched to oatmeal and ensuring I eat enough fiber and protein in the mornings, it hasn't been an issue, but my attitude stuck around about ensuring I always had healthy food around for my mid-morning snack.
Holiday Plan, and the Future
I needed to have a plan for dealing with these food issues over the holidays so I wasn't physically uncomfortable after every single meal. I need to remember this meal will not be the last time I'll eat, there will be many more meals in my future. The holidays are special, but they aren't the end of the road where you need to pull out all the stops. There is no need to go overboard and pig out for every meal. The holidays shouldn't really revolve solely around food or gifts, but remember to enjoy being with friends and family and spending time with them.I did pretty good at Christmas time. I tried to limit the amount I ate so I wouldn't feel sick later. I also tried to focus on only eating the food items I really enjoyed and skipped the ones that didn't really thrill me. I did end up eating too much a couple times, but did stop eating something if I wasn't totally in love with it.
Everyday Changes
Which leads me to little things I'd like to try to focus on for our regular family meals. On weekdays our family eats breakfast and dinner together every day and on the weekend we eat every meal together. Sonny D doesn't eat separately, we all eat at the same time and generally the same thing. I want to focus on talking more, really have a conversation at dinner. Ask how the day went for each person. What they learned. Talk about three best things about their day. Limit the amount of complaints. This last one is important for me, it seems I only have pessimistic or negative things to say so I'm trying to be more upbeat, but it's hard!As part of a healthier eating plan, I also need to focus on drinking more liquids since I know it's not a priority for me. I love hot tea, so I need to make it a habit to have a mug or two while I'm at work. I even bought ginger and ginger-cinnamon teas while I was in Jamaica. Plus we recently decided to try out flavored sparkling water, so we've been buying a variety of flavors to try them all out. My mom recommended the La Croix coconut-flavored sparkling water and I agree that it's the best I've found so far.