1. The meal has to fit in the bowl, up to the rim. I can, however, go beyond the rim with fruits and vegetables. 2. I can eat whatever I want. 3. I can have more than one bowl of food but I have to wait 20 minutes between each bowl. 4. I have to chew the food as close to a liquid state as possible. 5. Only water.
(For additional information about these guidelines, see Days 2 and 27.)
My dear sister in faith, Carol, recently sent me an email of encouragement and it got me thinking about WHY I started this quest. There are several reasons beyond the obvious of wanting to get healthier.
Another goal I'm working toward is getting my family's finances to a state that makes it possible for us to do what God needs us to do. The main resource to get us focused is Andy Stanley's "Balanced" series: http://www.northpoint.org/balanced. It is equally valuable for everyone, whatever spiritual walk you're on, as it has some wonderful practical advice about how to THINK about how we incorporate money into our lives. One of the things he discusses is figuring out where your heart is. The way to do it: Track your money. This was a real eye opener because when I started tracking our finances it was COVERED with groceries and eating at restaurants. I had to come to the realization that our resources honored food and ourselves, not God OR the spirit of giving. The BBE helps up to free up more funds (I'll expand in a future blog) and it takes the importance away from food.
Also, I believe God put this on my heart, along with the guidelines, during THIS time because of Lent. For Lent, I'm giving up one meal and the BBE prevents me from overeating when I come off the fast. Handy, right?
Meaningful Movement: THE SIZE OF MY BOWL: It's come to my attention that some folks might like to know the specific size of the bowl I use. Here it is: The baby bowl holds 1 1/4 cups of water. If it holds more, it's larger than what I'm using for the BBE. (Thanks so much for the input, Karen!)
Food that fits in a bowl, Day 6: (Thanks to Karen too about requesting food pictures. I won't be able to do it every time but I'll do it when I can!) -Lenten fast: Breakfast -grapefruit with maple syrup drizzled on top and JP+ -4 mini whole grain blueberry muffins -5 mini quiches -Philly cheesesteak sandwich and JP+ NOTE: On the left is what I ate. I cut the bread to fit the bowl then added the meat and cheese around the outside to make sure it fit in the bowl. On the right is what I've eaten before!
-Yams with brown sugar, coconut and pecans. NOTE: I had about two thirds of this. It was too sweet and too much food. Gack.
NOTE ABOUT THE "Food that fits in a bowl" PORTION: I think it would be better to see what I've eaten the same day as my post. This "one day behind" is a bit confusing. -- Just for today, there will be food diaries for Day 4 AND 5 so I can catch up.
Food that fits in a baby bowl, Day 4: Lenten fast: Breakfast -4 chicken salad canapes, 6 wheat thins 3 slices of cheddar cheese NOTE: Had a small plate of fruit salad with this (should've waited 20 minutes between bowl of food and fruit) -4 chicken salad canapes, 6 wheat thins and 4 slices of cheddar cheese (Marianne shard the cheese and crackers) -slice of carrot cake (shared with Marianne) -*ciabatta bread roll with butter (eaten with a salad and ranch-this goes along with my "as much fruits and veggies" guideline but I really should've eaten this 20 minutes after my roll.) -*wild rice with mushroom sauce and small boneless chicken breast with lemon caper sauce (eaten with a veggie mix of squash, broccoli and red onion -I pulled out the red peppers and cauliflower...ick. The rice, chicken and sauces did fit in the baby bowl but again, I should've eaten the veggies 20 minutes after that.) -*slice of white chocolate macadamia nut cheesecake (brought this home to share with Marianne) NOTE about *: Except for the cheesecake, this was all eaten at the restaurant with my girls. As you can see, I totally blew the 20 minute rule but I DID measure the food, drink water and chew thoroughly. This was a good trial to see where I can improve restaurant/public eating. I need to be prepared to bring food HOME. I could've split this meal into two, making up for the lack of 20 minutes. The BBE is definitely going to be about constant adjustments as I relate it to the "real world".
As I look at the food diary above, I can see how much I indulged. I know the guidelines leave the option open to eat what I want but does this mean I SHOULD? This becomes especially clear as I see how much Marianne and I like to eat TOGETHER.
When it comes to eating food, I want to give my daughter a better chance at staying healthy. We have conversations all the time about "God food" vs. "People food". If God makes it, it's a "go for it" food. If people make it, we need to consider it a treat, watch how much we eat, and if we're to eat it at all. Today was not a great example to her about how MUCH treat SHOULD be acceptable. I'll be looking for opportunities to improve.
Food that fits in a baby bowl, Day 5: -Lenten fast: breakfast -1 fruit and 1 veggie Juice Plus+ capsule (to simplify this, I'll just put "JP+" in the future) NOTE: As you've probably noticed I don't do well getting my recommended servings of fruits and veggies in. JP+ gives me the support I need to get in the nutrients I require. By the end of the day, I get 17 servings of fruits and vegetables. It's a great way to start the day and end the day. I would've started earlier but I was waiting for my replenishment to come in. Ingredients include:Apple, Acerola Cherry,Cranberry,Orange,Papaya, Peach, Pineapple, Tomato, Oat Bran, Beet,Broccoli,Cabbage,Carrot,Kale, Parsley, Spinach, Brown Rice Bran -Spaghetti noodles with leftover Hamburger Helper meat, stroganoff flavor -A bite of noodles and HH and 2 mini whole wheat blueberry muffins -3 mini whole wheat blueberry muffins
-3 mini whole wheat blueberry muffins -The rest of the spaghetti noodles and HH -JP+ with one mini muffin top -3 mini pigs in a blanket -3 mini pigs in a blanket -3 mini pigs in a blanket NOTE: I REALLY had the munchies today and haven't gone shopping. I need to get some fruit to nibble on like cherries or grapes, something that will fill my bowl and let me nibble for awhile.
MEANINGFUL MOVEMENT: Step ladder circuit on the treadmill, 30 minutes and 1 hour of Beginner Toning NOTES: - If you are a member of Bluewater Fitness here in Niceville, I HIGHLY recommend this class. It's at 10:45am on MWF and Andrea's the instructor. The genius of this class is it's NEVER the same. The equipment change, the endless variety in the movement, the different areas of your body...it really keeps your body guessing! Whether you're a beginner like me or advanced, it can be adjusted to be a great workout for any fitness level! -Want to know more about the step ladder circuit? I got this out Prevention magazine and it makes the tread mill a lot less boring. This is GREAT at "keeping your body guessing" so it burns more calories. I'll show you what Prevention recommends and separately, what I actually do. Right now, my fitness level is such that I can't do the suggested speeds so there is definitely room to adjust to YOUR fitness level, either up or down:
Time, 0:00, speed 3.0, what I do 2.5 Time, 4.00, speed 3.5, what I do 3.0 Time, 9:00, speed 3.75, what I do 3.3 Time, 13:00, speed 3.5, what I do 3.0 Time, 15:00, speed 4.0, what I do 3.5 Time, 18:00 , speed3.5, what I do 3.0 Time, 20:00, speed 4.5, what I do 4.0 Time, 22:00, speed 3.5 , what I do 3.0 Time, 24:00, speed 5.0, what I do 4.0 Time, 25:00, speed 3.00, what I do 2.5 Time, 30:00, finished
I brought my baby bowl to a church meeting today and it worked out great! I had a wonderful discussion with my dear sister in faith, Tanya, so I arrived later than usual. Normally, I start out my mornings at church finding the biggest plate I can find and hitting the buffet (church gals can cook!). Today, though, I arrived late and with only two hours to complete my morning fast I decided not to enjoy the pot luck. If you've ever stood in line with me at one of these AMAZING spreads you know I'm usually the one trying to convince everyone there are no calories at church and encouraging people with, "GO TALLER!" if they run out of room on their plate! I really was at peace with my decision not to eat though. I know this was God hanging out with me because I'm usually tempted to go for SECONDS, much less eating nothing?!?!
Afterwards, there was a committee meeting where there would be MORE delicious food, including cake and ice cream so we could celebrate our friend's birthday. Since it was a time I could break my fast I enjoyed the food THOROUGHLY and, except for the fruit, ate it out of my baby bowl. I don't think the ladies even noticed! I did endulge in a slice of a carrot cake (that did fit in my baby bowl!) later that day but didn't have any cake and ice cream.
In the evening, I went out with my girlfriends and again, thoroughly enjoyed myself. (Great great food and great conversation with great gals...almost nothing better!) And again, the baby bowl did its job! (The food diary will be on the Day 5 post but I do have a confession: I didn't wait the full 20 minutes between bowls as I got caught up with the evening. I'll have to watch this as this could be a slippery slope!)
Today has been a BLESSED day and I thank God for all the amazing women in my life who keep me in their prayers and continue to inspire my spiritual growth.
Meaningful Movement: N/A Food that fits in a bowl, Day 3: -Lenten fast: Breakfast NOTE: For my breakfast fast I fast between 7am and 12pm. By 12 I'm ready to EAT, another reason I think God put me on the BBE during Lent. He wanted to take me out of the temptation of overeating after my fast. The interesting thing about this day though was that I was so busy at 12 I forgot to eat! I actually didn't eat until close almost 1:45! Unheard of! I like to think it was God showing me I can do more for Him than I previously thought. -Taco salad (same as the previous day and Marianne helped me eat it) -3 mini homemade (okay, yes, it was out of a box but still...I turned the oven on!) whole grain blueberry muffins with streusal topping -3 mini blueberry muffins -Tri-colored spiral noodles with Hamburger Helper beef, stroganoff flavor NOTE: A bit of a confession here: My family usually eats dinner after church and Marianne and I were sharing dinner out of my bowl again. She ate about half my bowl so we DID have another bowl full without waiting my 20 minutes. I figured it was still, technically, just one bowl. I'll be careful not to make this justification a habit though because I don't want it to be a slippery slope.
Since God put this experiment on my heart on Monday, I often struggle with the habits of my life but a week ago. I said from the beginning that I don't like to "suffer" through diets which is why I think God's catered this to my personality, knowing I'd appreciate His sense of humor in how He's structured this whole thing: a grown woman eating out of a baby bowl. I also appreciate His wisdom in knowing what will keep me going in the way He's formulated the guidelines. God is, however, also determined to challenge my perspective and my compulsive nature. For example, this is not a regimen that has much room for buffet-style eating. (Of course, if you go with someone who's willing to hang out while you wait 20 minutes between each bowl AND you're willing to pay that money for much more limited eating -which I'm not- great!) This stung, especially, when my husband suggested a date lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, a buffet, and we had to find an alternative way to spend time together. I also have to stop myself when I want "big food" such as pizza or a Philly cheesesteak sandwich. These items do not easily fit unless I want to cut them small enough to fit my baby bowl. So far, I haven't wanted them bad enough to do so.
God's done so much for me to try and get me healthy and I've always faltered. As my sister Marie says, though, "You don't have to wait for another day or another week to start over. Just take the next moment to make a better choice." I just thank God for all the countless moments He's given me to start anew.
Meaningful movement: Beginning Toning, 1 hour Food that fits in a baby bowl, Day 2: (In case there is any confusion, this is actually my food diary which is why some items appear more than once.) -Lenten fast: Breakfast -1/2 grapefruit with drizzled natural maple syrup -1/2 small potato (leftover from last night's dinner) made into home fries with diced onion and 1 egg, scrambled (My daughter,Marianne, ate a third of it.) -4 mini quiches (Marianne ate 2 of them.) -taco salad (layered: two crushed taco shells, taco meat, cheddar cheese and light sour cream up to the rim and lettuce above the rim - Marianne ate some of this too.) NOTE: I can normally eat 4-6 tacos in one sitting...I love them! After I shared my taco salad with my daughter I was ready for another bowl full! I did, however, stick with my 20 minute rule. After 15 minutes I started heating up the meat and 3 minutes later I started to pull 2 more taco shells. A funny thing happened though: I didn't want the second bowl! I actually felt satisfied! Looks like there's something to the "20 minute rule"! -Sun chips, cheddar flavored -1/2 grapefruit with drizzled natural maple syrup -Nut n Honey Cheerios and 2% milk
