Evaluating goals
Sep. 26th, 2011 07:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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healthy_eatingIn the introductions post, panda asked what is your main healthy eating goal? It's been two months since then and I was wondering how everyone was doing with regard to their personal goals.
One of my goals was to eat more than microwaveable food and rice and beans when I'm cooking for myself at home. I think I'm halfway there. I've gotten to the point where I cook one proper meal or, at least one proper dish that includes vegetables, a week. I feel less like I'm eating out of a box. Or just eating my weight in cereal.
But cooking even once a week has been a bit of a lifestyle shift. Not a big one - it is only once a week - but enough of one that it feels like a pain in the ass because I have to go to the grocery store with ingredients in mind. I have to spend time I would doing other things on cooking. I guess what I'm getting at is it's a mental shift for me too, and I'm glad I'm doing it, but it's still extra effort that I'm not used to. I don't think I'm ready for two cookbook meals a week.
Another goal has been to eat three meals a day. The daily tracking post has helped me stick with eating breakfast, which is the meal I am most likely to skip. Though I haven't been tracking consistently, thinking about having to report what I'm eating has helped anyway, both with not skipping meals and with cooking once a week.
How are you all doing with your goals? Has this comm helped? Is it not doing what you were hoping? What's been hardest? Have you figured out any tricks to help with your goals that you want to share?
panda asked what is your main healthy eating goal? It's been two months since then and I was wondering how everyone was doing with regard to their personal goals.One of my goals was to eat more than microwaveable food and rice and beans when I'm cooking for myself at home. I think I'm halfway there. I've gotten to the point where I cook one proper meal or, at least one proper dish that includes vegetables, a week. I feel less like I'm eating out of a box. Or just eating my weight in cereal.
But cooking even once a week has been a bit of a lifestyle shift. Not a big one - it is only once a week - but enough of one that it feels like a pain in the ass because I have to go to the grocery store with ingredients in mind. I have to spend time I would doing other things on cooking. I guess what I'm getting at is it's a mental shift for me too, and I'm glad I'm doing it, but it's still extra effort that I'm not used to. I don't think I'm ready for two cookbook meals a week.
Another goal has been to eat three meals a day. The daily tracking post has helped me stick with eating breakfast, which is the meal I am most likely to skip. Though I haven't been tracking consistently, thinking about having to report what I'm eating has helped anyway, both with not skipping meals and with cooking once a week.
How are you all doing with your goals? Has this comm helped? Is it not doing what you were hoping? What's been hardest? Have you figured out any tricks to help with your goals that you want to share?
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 12:18 am (UTC)I still need to work on the veggies and the tracking, but my goals have changed slightly. I'm now interested in pursuing mindful eating.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 12:29 am (UTC)What do you mean exactly by mindful eating? Being aware of what you're eating or making more deliberate choices?
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 12:35 am (UTC)eat when you're hungry
stop when you're full
eat what you want
eat sitting down
don't have distractions (ie no TV, radio, computer)
I have a problem with mindless eating, with eating when I'm bored, tired, upset, etc, so this is a challenge.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 01:44 am (UTC)My body tells me somewhat clearly when I've not been eating the most properly, though. (The s h a k i n g and the lack of energy - right now is probably just the sign I need to sleep.)
You have some good guidelines there, Panda! ♥
My problem is that I know very clearly I rarely eat as much as I actually need so my mindset is that it'd probably be a good idea to eat as much as I humanly can whenever I have the chance. D:
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 01:46 am (UTC)WARNING: graphic eating problem described, do not read unless ready!
Date: 2011-09-27 01:20 am (UTC)May I please share an uncomfortable goal?
After an incident several months ago, I regularly vomited even "safe" (i.e. bland and regularly-ingested) foods.
So my primary goal has been to keep everything down.
My secondary goal has been to push something down there regularly, as regurgitating everything you eat fails epically, speaking from first-hand experience, and if I were to eat regularly, I would have a better chance of keeping SOMETHING down there and surviving the month.
(...er... note the subjunctive mood for the success rate...)
My throat always hurts, too, with the acid one's stomach produces to digest what has been placed there.
So I'm hesitant to sing for class (and... music major, so... :]).
SO: I have done well, not having thrown up in five days (IT REALLY HONESTLY STILL HAPPENS IF I'M NOT ÜBERCAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I EAT)!
I've not been sharing the whole story here until this comment for concern I'd revolt an innocent peruser.
I am so glad to have found this community. ♥ It is helping so much for me!! I am happier, and I actually have energy again sometimes!! If I stay here and watch my diet studiously, I might have a resource of energy somewhere close to "all the time"! :O WTH. The idea is more foreign to me than 日本語 or русский.
What has been hardest for me is making food a 100% possibility every 8 hours or so.
I always drink WATER and not soda or coffee, and that seriously helps somehow.
I can't even really worry about protein or carbohydrates or what-have-you, although I have found that protein-based foods are considerably less nauseating than sugary ones.
*worry, preview, cautiously posts comment*
(If this is too much to keep so high in the list of comments, you may delete it and I could re-write a more "kosher" comment or something...)
Re: WARNING: graphic eating problem described, do not read unless ready!
Date: 2011-09-27 01:43 am (UTC)Water sounds good. If nothing else, keeping yourself hydrated can only help.
Here's wishing you luck on keeping your five day streak going!
Re: WARNING: graphic eating problem described, do not read unless ready!
Date: 2011-09-27 11:02 pm (UTC)Re: WARNING: graphic eating problem described, do not read unless ready!
Date: 2011-09-27 03:43 pm (UTC)I had a period at the end of last semester where I was so stressed and had a month long migraine, and ended up throwing up pretty regularly, because I was so sick from the stress/pain. it was No Fun. i can't imagine how terrible it must feel to not be able to keep down anything you eat. as you can tell though by how you are feeling better now, it is so important to get enough nutrition, so i'm very proud of you that you are working on it and making progress. good job!
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 11:01 pm (UTC)This is what I have been thinking.
Plus, as a music performance major, there is that unspeakable pressure to always look and sound beautiful regardless of how well you've eaten or slept.
Thank you muchly for the encouragement! ♥
Migraines that last for longer than a few hours are the worst :( my complete sympathies!
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 02:42 am (UTC)I'm doing pretty well for a person who still ends up with something like a cold every other week. I just need to actually start checking in again, because that was really helping me stay on track.
In a nebulous future I will be able to eat at home, lol. Still working on cleaning.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 10:50 am (UTC)Please try to find the time to check in upon occasion; as you've said, it helps, and our goal here is to help everyone on the goal of eating healthily.
Don't'cha hate the lack of hunger impeding us from doing like we say (i.e. eating regularly)?
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 07:16 am (UTC)The hardest thing has really been prioritizing eating when I've got so much else going on -- I mean, I've always put food down past sleep on the list of important things, and sleep is pretty far down there. Right now my food priorities have sort of slipped into have enough that I can think clearly enough to do my homework, which is never a good place to be.
If there's one thing this comm has really helped me with it's remembering that my eating habits are kind of unfortunate at the moment. Since that's something I tend to honestly forget sometimes, the daily reminder to pay attention to what I'm eating is nice. Even if I haven't been keeping up. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 10:54 am (UTC)She literally cannot eat animal products without getting sick these days.
The hardest thing has really been prioritizing eating when I've got so much else going on THIS THIS this this
Just hang in there! :)
no subject
Date: 2011-09-28 01:52 am (UTC)And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who can't seem to remember that being well fed makes all other priorities easier.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 09:23 pm (UTC)May I offer a suggestion? And please feel free to tell me to bugger off too.
Changing eating habits is a big Thing because it's changing how you live your life. My suggestion is to start small. Maybe pick one day a week at a time that is easiest and say, okay I'm going to have a regularly scheduled meal at this time. It doesn't have to be a big production, but just a steady time that works and then don't worry about the rest of the week. Make that 15 or 30 minutes your dedicated food time and see how that goes for a while.
Changing your lifestyle is really hard and it's not a one time fix - you have to fix it everyday, so be patient and persistent, because you can do it.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-28 01:50 am (UTC)I'll have to think about this. Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2011-09-28 04:23 am (UTC)