eat less

Okay, we had a little food revelry with Halloween, but that is over and done with. Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

Also~

Less is More: I am going to eat more vegetables.

Eating less will give me the following outcomes:

1. Makes me achieve a healthier weight.
2. Forces me to eat slowly and have conversations, which is healthier (physically and emotionally), because I want my meal to still take the same amount of time (or longer).
3. Forces me to skip the empty-calorie foods, which are unhealthy.
4. Saves me calories that I don’t have to burn up (thus saving me time – BONUS!).
5. Saves me money because a week’s worth of shopping makes more meals.
6. Saves me time preparing foods, because an entree that may have resulted in four large servings now becomes six.
7. Less food preparation generates less garbage over a week’s time.
8. Conditions my stomach to be satisfied with smaller meals, which is good when my choices and amounts are out of my control (such as when traveling or dining at someone else’s home).
9. Saves me time shopping for the exact right look to camouflage a bulky figure.
10. Aligns with my attitude of reduced consumption in all areas of my life.

This is not about deprivation or starvation. It’s about trimming the portions from my meals and snacks. I like the “eat less” goal because it’s a simple reminder I can tell myself as I serve my portions and to talk myself down from having something sweet at the end of a meal.

Ever since beginning my Yoga and Ballet classes I have been exposed by my body of my poor eating habits. I am not too pleased with what I have done with myself. My body is a temple and I should treat it as such. If I do not have my health I have nothing. What good am I doing it if I am forcing it to lug around extra pounds daily? What good am I treating it if I keep yoyoing my body weight and continue to lose precious muscle mass?
Well I am proud of my recent attempts to gain all that has been lost in the past three years. The bigget improvement being eating less. I have cut out junk food completely, dairy, meat, and processed foods. My portions are at the recommended size and I am seeing a decrease in my common bloting. The best part about it is I am not obsessing about food as much as I used to.

I always eat until the point that I’m so full my stomach hurts and I have to lie down. I don’t have a binge disorder, I just don’t control myself and I feel like I need to eat as much as I can in one sitting so I’m not hungry later. It’s horrible! So I want to start eating less and to do this I’m going to try drinking a lot of water in between and during meals, chewing my food slowly, and ordering smaller versions of things. I always get the largest because I’m so convinced it’s the only thing that will fill me, and I usually never end up even finishing the large!

As shameful as this sounds, I am a fat vegan. I know horrible right? The thing is I know why I am this way, I consume way too much wannabe meat/dairy products and I ignore how much fat and calories are in these substitutes.

I researched about the daily intake for vegans and I now know how I can change my eating habits. The intakes are as follows:

Legumes: 2 or more servings per day
group includes beans, peas, lentils, tempeh, tofu, & meat/dairy substitutes. source of fiber, protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and B vitamins.

Vegetables: 3 or more servings per day
group includes broccoli, collards, kale, carrots, & sweet potatoes. source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, riboflavin, iron, calcium, & fiber.

Fruit: 3 or more servings per day
group includes citrus fruits, melons, berries, bananas & apples. source of fiber, vitamin C, and beta-carotene.

Whole Grains: 6-11 servings per day
group includes bread, rice, pasta, hot or cold cereal, corn, millet, barley, bulgur, buckwheat, oats, and tortillas. source of fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein, B vitamins and zinc.

Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria commonly found in the bodies of animals. Vegetables are not reliable sources of B12. Vegetarians should include reliable sources of B12 in their diet by consuming a multi-vitamin, a B12 supplement, or foods fortified with B12.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Most people consume too much fat, but few people get enough of the healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. These essential fats can be found in walnuts, canola oil, and flax seeds. For maximum absorbtion, flax seeds should be ground up in a blender or coffee grinder, then added to smoothies or sprinkled on top of other foods. Flax seeds are also rich in protein, potassium, magnesium, boron, and lignans, which may help prevent cancer.

Vitamin D and Calcium
Vitamin D and calcium are important in bone formation. Vitamin D can be obtained from sunlight exposure. Vegans who get little sunlight, or those who live at high latitudes, should take a vitamin D supplement,or consume fortified soymilk or rice milk. Vegans should also get 3 servings of high calcium foods each day, such as kale, broccoli, collard greens, and fortified soymilk & orange juice.

I will now refer to this everyday and carefully plan out my meals beforehand from now on.

Eliminate all processed foods. Carefully examine which simple and complex carbohydrates are positive for the body.

Who needs extra kilos?

So far so good. To control my anxiety problems, I’ve been limiting what I’ve been eating. I’ve been feeling so ill whenever I eat, I’ve been sick most of the times. Yesterday I had 50 calories, not including the food I threw up by mistake.

Decided I’m just not going to eat much, because there’s no point if I keep throwing it up again.

I’m doing pretty well on this lately. I’ve been working on losing some weight, which has really made me think more about what I put into my mouth. Before eating something I shouldn’t/too much, I ask myself If it’s worth it. I figure that an extra cookie/serving of dinner/scoop of ice cream, whatever will taste good for about a minute, but after that I’ll have dumped down a bunch of extra calories for nothing. Also, I’ve been eating 6 small meals a day, which helps becasue I never get overly hungry.