Eat well

I am marking this one off, because even though its one of those on-going goals, I’ve been doing very well with this one lately. I’ve been good about preparing all my meals, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and eating healthy foods I enjoy. I still have a problem sometimes with over-indulging, but overall I definitely say I eat well.

I have leftovers from two meals I’ve cooked, ready to bring as lunches. Chicken stir fry, and steak salad. And I’m signed up to taking a cooking class with my pal on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I’ve still been in the habit of eating out a lot and over eating when I do. But the good thing is that eating well tastes super good.

Someone at work had the idea to start a “healthy lunch co-op”. Basically, its a pot luck. People will bring in healthy dishes to share at lunch time; people can either bring food or ingrediants, or just bring money to contribute.

I’m pretty happy about this. I’m going to bring in a black bean and cilantro salad for the first one this Friday.

I’d just been thinking about how its always nicer to share food. (Elsey? KittyCutts? Limmah? I’m up for doing more cooking. I’m thinking we should do dinner sometime soon…)

I think this goal is best accomplished by getting in the mindset of really enjoying good food. Spring is a good time to do this it seems.

Salads with spinich, tomatoes, couscous and black beans. Eggs with polenta, cilantro and salsa. Chicken soup with ginger and kale. Yogurt with berries. I like all these things.

Time to renew my focus on this goal. Time to get in the mindset and set aside the time.

Last weekend, Elsey and I made pasta with meat sauce . I made beef stew on Monday, and tonight I made chicken in tomato sauce with vegetables and polenta. Yum. :)

Unfortunately, I always seem to either make time for exercise or cooking. I have a hard time doing both, or even striking a balance.

Food is more fun when it is shared.

Elsey and I made some tasty pasta for dinner tonight. Much better than cooking and eating alone. I need to keep this in mind.

Well, I’ve been pretty much neglecting this goal. I’ve been good about exercising, but this has slipped down on my priority list. So, this coming week, I’m going to put cooking and eating well first. I know I will feel a lot better for it.

So I went for my fitness assessment at the gym today.

I did just fine on the treadmill test, the flexibility tests, even the push-up test. My blood pressure and my resting heart-rate were a-ok.

But where I didn’t score so great was on the ‘being fat’ parts of the assessment: percentage of body fat and waist-to-hip ratio.

The guy who did the assessment said (very non-condescendingly), “Diet’s is going to be the main thing. Coming here is going to help; but you’ve got to eat right, too. Do you know how to eat healthy?”

Yep. I do know how to eat well. And nope, I don’t always do it Not only that, I like eating well. I don’t dislike vegetables. I like to cook.

I’m really happy that I went for that assessment—it was a good reminder that taking care of myself is more that going to the gym. I’d like to prioritize this goal more.

In a drunken stupor last night, my roommate and I laid down some ground rules for me, which are apparently, effective immediately. I expect to falter, but here they are:

- Always eat breakfast (and no, pop tarts don’t count)
- Eat a hearty lunch
- Eat a light dinner
- Other than those meals, eat only snacks of: fruits, veggies, popcorn or milk
- Only eat from a bowl or plate, and only eat sitting down without distractions
- Don’t eat fast food or processed food
- Cook myself delicious and healthy meals
- Eat slowly, eat consciously, eat less and enjoy my food more

I could list out more specifics, but that’s pretty much it. I basically know what I need to do, and I’ve done it before, its just the follow through.

Fortunately, I like cooking and I like eating healthy food. And I’m excited for making bean soup with Elsey with week!

I always feel sneaky when I change goals. I had the goal to eat more slowly, and I have begun to be more conscious about my eating (although I don’t always remember). But this is actually part of a larger goal—just to eat well in general. To cook more, to eat healthier foods, to eat only until I’m satisfied, and to enjoy my food.