Whole30 Day 5

I'm starting to get into a rhythm with my meals. There is something comforting about eating the same thing most days. I used to have some variation of PB&J every day during my 20s and early 30s, not to mention having it as a kid. As a young adult, I found it such an easy lunch to pack and always have the ingredients on hand - bread in freezer and the rest doesn't spoil in the pantry/fridge. Then I had a bit of food poisoning one day and on my way home early from work, up came lunch on the subway and it took almost a year before I could even eat a little bit of peanut butter in a candy, let alone a sandwhich. Which is probably just as well. But I digress. 

Not sure how detailed I'll post my meals, unless it's something new I guess. 

Meal 1: 2 soft boiled eggs and sweet potato and sausage hash

Meal 2: salmon, salad, avacado and green onion and pecans

Basically the same as the day before. Mainly because I'm using up ingredients and it fits with the weather. 

I will say I have noticed two things - good and bad. First the bad - sugar cravings. I've read tons about how we are programmed to crave sugar and I always equated this to the cravings I get for chocolate some months - loud and in your face. You can ignore them but you are very aware of them. I figured no problem, as long as you know, you can have the mental upper hand. But yesterday and today it's starting to dawn on me that the sugar cravings come in many different packages and I've been experiencing the quiet ones. I keep finding myself wanting to munch on something. I have a bowl of freshly washed blueberries in the fridge and I think, oh I'll just pop a few. Tricky that - because I realize I'm not hungry in the least and what it is is the sugar dragon wanting to be fed in any form. I think I need to be careful with sweet fruit - like the chopped mango and blueberries in the fridge as I write this. At least for the initial few weeks. 

I've been learning to not do things unconcsiously and to unpack some old thinking. Like fruit is good so go ahead and eat it. Which is true, but don't eat it to quench a sugar craving. I'll first see if I want to eat a full meal and I usually don't - because I'm not hungry. And then I realize I just want something to munch on. But then I ask myself why, if I'm not hungry. Part of it is stress and part is ... I don't want to use the word boredom, but it is kind of that. It's like I'm using my brain on coast level and not fully engaged. So I'll deep dive into something, like writing this or cleaning or organizing (my favorite). I'm also trying to make decisions about framing art - a project that has gone on too long. And I realize I want to munch on something to procrastinate. Or at least there is that past association. I always thought psychological eating was for other people that were overweight and on tv shows and did it in an extreme way. Now I see we all do it in some form and it's interesting to finally start being aware of this so late in life. Why do I consume something - a particular ingredient or dish, etc. I finished reading the book, "It Starts with Food" (have to return it to the library today) and I understand a lot more about the science and health effects about different types of food. 

Which leads me to observation number two. I think dairy makes me bloated. I won't really know until I start reintroducing foods in a few weeks and seeing their effects. But my belly has definitely gotten smaller. I really should have measured it, but as I mentioned earlier I was surprised how big I was getting, like I was pregnant, and not in the first trimester. I still have a little bit of gut showing - the flat stomach of my 20s is not something I expect these days, but I really think my belly has gone down in size a bunch, and after only a few days.  Who knows, it might change again as things adjust, but this does support the correlation to daiy and bloating. I'd eat a lot of yogurt and cheese and milk and keifer each day and then when I'd be away on trips, not much at all, like this last trip, and the gut started to recede. I've heard of bloating! but again never really understood what it meant and didn't think it happened to me.  For the longest time I didn't know what a headache meant when I was younger. It's obvious in retrospect of course. 

I'm thinking I'll pick up the book "Salt Sugar Fat" and finish the book. I started reading it awhile back and thought it was really good and interesting, but had to put it down since I felt so helpless learning about sugar, but feeling powerless to get out from under it. Now I feel like I understand the science much better, have a plan and as a result, I'm on the road of being the one in control. Plus, I'm thinking it will help keep me motivated and not succumb to the sugar dragon when it raises it's head in all it's tricky forms.