How Did The Plan Go?

Eh.

("Gasp!")

My plan went fine; I didn't even try to follow Gillain McKeith's.  (See this?  Wasabi Sauce.  My new best condiment ever.  We had it on burgers last night and I didn't even tell you.)

(This is the burgers in the process of becoming.  I don't put any crumbs in, just an egg, onion, salt and peppa, and Worchestershire sauce--the sauce is un-whole foods of me.)

It's not that Gillian didn't have a good plan, and it's not that I won't try to do "day two" tomorrow on what is actually day three.

(Oven Fries.  Mmmm.  Weight Watchers oven fries, so there.  They are crispy and good.)

The lesson is to be flexible.  We didn't have anything today that was unhealthy or unreasonable--just because I didn't have the time or sanity to stick to my 7:30 lemon-water dealie, doesn't mean I had to give up and eat M&Ms for lunch.

(OK, I am ridiculously proud of getting a picture of the steam curl rising off the burgers.  Like in a cartoon, yo!  Now I just need to make a round cake, ice it, and put a cherry on top, and make one of those eight-inch high sandwiches with swiss cheese and an olive on a toothpick.  Oh, and swallow it whole and have it hold its shape on the way down my esophagus.)

(Toddler version of last night's meal.)

I stuck with the things I know are right: it's better to eat breakfast, even if you don't get to it until 10am.  It's better to have protein at meals.  It's better to eat real food and not frozen/delivered/unwrapped food.

(My plate last night.  Note spinach!  For that matter note the cocktail in the glass next to my water... tsk.  Bad.  But if you ever want to have a cocktail, ask for a Cuba Libre--rum, Coke, and lime juice.  Very delicious.  And what I needed last night to still my aching back quicker than a speeding tyelenol.)

(I just took this picture because I thought it was funny that my folded cheese wrapper says "Mook.")

We managed, even though I still haven't belly-danced this week.  I haven't weighed yet, of course, so maybe all this optimism is sheer self-delusion, but I think we will work out ok.  I just took today and followed my own plan instead of Gillian's, that's all.

(Sadly this is the only picture I remembered to take of tonight's dinner, which was Lime Pepper Chicken, Mexican Black Beans and Rice, and Broccoli.  Note the Cool Steamer Thing I was given as a wedding present.)

A lesson is here somewhere for perfectionist-types: internalize the reasons why you are choosing the food you are choosing.  (Note: "Because Bob from The Biggest Loser said so" is not a reason you can internalize.)  I.e., so you're eating cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes--why?  Because you need cruciferous vegetables to bring down your cholesterol?  Because your mashed potatoes always include a half stick of butter?  Because the simple starch in mashed potatoes sends your blood sugar whirling?

(The lentils are sprouting!)

If you know the Why of your food choices, you can roll with it a lot better than if you are just trying to blindly follow a list of Thou Shalt Nots and Thou Shalts.

("Ah, you've reassured me greatly, Mama.")

Then you can rest assured that your lunch of skinny tuna melts on whole wheat (use half yogurt and half mayo in the tuna and lots of celery, and thinly sliced cheese) is probably just as healthy for you as Gillian's planned lunch of bean soup and green salad.

("Mama, I'm a crawlin' dinosaur!" -- actual quote)

It's all about flexibility, at least in my house, where the two-year-old pretty much decides whether she'll allow me to shower that day.  I'm not sure whether the Geneva Convention knows that I'm being treated like this, but I'm pretty sure even people in POW camps get to shower.

("Mama, I'm a STOMPIN' RUNNIN' DINOSAUR!" -- actual quote)

When your house has been invaded by extinct reptiles, it would seem flexibility is a virtue, in diet as well as in other things.  The other huge help in Deciding What to Eat When the Plan Goes to Crap is the whole Just Don't Buy Crap strategy.  I.e., if there are no M&Ms in the house, you can't easily have them for lunch.

("Buddy's a dinosaur!  Buddy's a crawlin' dinosaur! Big silly dinosaurs! Yaaaaaaaay!" --actual quote)

Of course, sticking to my aforementioned schedule should make it so that tomorrow, Another Day, is a day when I can stick to an eating plan.

Except, of course, now I need to have chicken-bean-rice enchiladas for supper tomorrow, because of the leftovers from tonight.  They're actually very healthy enchiladas; not a bit of sour cream in 'em and a very moderate use of cheese.  I'll try to take a picture.

("DINOSAURS IN THE HALLWAY!" - actual quote)

Cheers,

Breanna