You know I’ve been trying to transition to eating 3 regular, scheduled meals a day, rather than 2.
Eating on a schedule helps me to not over eat.
I know that I don’t need to stuff myself, because I’m going to be eating in a few hours anyway. It’s taking some getting used to. This feeling of no longer hungry, but not quite “full.” Some people call this intuition, or intuitive eating.
I showed you what I ate for breakfast the other day. Here’s lunch:
Lunch:
♦ Dr. Praeger’s California veggie burger w/ tomato, lettuce, mustard, & sweet onion, sandwiched between 2 slices gluten-free bread
♦ Side of sweet red pepper strips, raw broccoli, carrots, & strawberries
♦ Quick veggie dip for dipping
Dr. Praeger’s burgers are some of my favorite veggie burgers.
{Many Costco’s, FYI, sell them in bulk.}
The California burger is gluten free & uses whole soybeans (rather than isolated soy protein). I like to cook my burger in a cast iron skillet. It takes about 10 minutes, but cooking them this way creates a delicious aroma & makes the burger crispy on the outside.
An easy way to calorie-dilute your meals is to add a hefty portion of raw &/or cooked veggies. I love salads, but sometimes get bored of eating them, so I change things up. One way I do this: Cut up a variety of vegetables, add a low-calorie, flavor-packed dip & eat it as an after-dinner snack or as a side to soup or a sandwich for lunch.
I used Pace salsa (my favorite salsa, high in sodium, so I’m careful to watch my portions) & Sabra sun-dried hummus. I like to make my own hummus (very easy to do), but I didn’t want to make another mess in the kitchen & we had some Sabra on hand. Store-bought hummus is rarely oil-free, so be aware that it’s going to have almost twice the amount of calories as oil-free hummus.
This high volume of food, so I felt “full” after eating all of this, but I felt an itch for a little sweet somethin’.
My mom’s gluten-free brownie cookies (almost as good as these), with a glass of cold almond milk was the answer. Since she makes them with a small cookie scoop, the cookies are tiny. I made sure to eat 3. A girl’s gotta have her cookies.
{Isn’t this a great cookie plate?}
Even though this was a lot of food, & I was full, I still felt like I “needed” to eat more. I waited an hour, then ate an apple. This helped, but by dinner-time, I was ready to eat again.
A few things I’ve noticed by eating smaller portions:
1) I enjoy the experience of eating. I savor each biteful, because there’s no need to rush.
2) Smaller portions mean it takes less time to eat.
3) I’m ready to eat my next meal. This is important to me. I like being hungry (but not too hungry) when I eat.
Struggles:
1) Knowing when to stop. I don’t want to be hungry 20 minutes later, but I don’t want to eat too much that I’m not hungry for lunch. I’ve decided a good measure is to think of it like I’m going to go running in an hour. How much can eat so that in an hour I’d feel comfortable going for a run? This seems to help me eat about the right amount.
2) Eating at set times. With 4 kids & plenty of distractions, it’s easy to get sidetracked & skip breakfast, or eat a really late dinner. I don’t want to be so rigid that my meal time schedule gets in the way of life, but I do want to have more consistency. After all, I’m in charge!
3) I’ve realized that after years of high-intense cardio exercise daily + breastfeeding, has put my appetite into overdrive. I’ve gotten so used to needing to eat a lot of food. Now that I’ve scaled back to only 2-3 feedings a day & I’m only doing the bare minimum for exercise, I don’t need to eat like I used to. This is an adjustment in practice & in thought.
♥♥♥
What does your typical lunch look like?
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