I’m not obsessed with food. Sometimes I wish I were. I sort of envy the ‘foodies’ out there that can describe a dish with words so passionate they’re reserved only for lovers.
I have a passionate appetite for many things, but it doesn’t necessarily extend to food this way.
Oh, I enjoy food, but it has to be under the right circumstance. The planets need to align, so to speak, for me to truly enjoy food.
For the most part, my eating is ‘functional’. I eat for purpose and performance, to a fault at times. So much so that I sometimes can’t just let go and dig in like everyone should on occasion 😉
This probably comes from a variety of things….
I swam competitively for 12 years from age 6-18. I got up at 5 am to train at 5:30 am. Then I rushed from school, sometimes a team sport practice to get back in the pool at 5:30 pm. I had to eat before training sessions or I’d surely expire. I learned to eat for purpose and not necessarily enjoyment. These are long standing habits.
I think I mentioned that my mom is a self proclaimed horrible cook. I follow closely in her 100 lb foot steps 😉
The difference between my cooking and my mom’s is that mine is more healthy, even if it’s not super tasty. My mom’s cooking, bless her soul, was the best she could manage as a sometimes single mom on a limited budget. She taught me many things, cooking just wasn’t one of them.
As a mom myself, with my limited cooking skills and basic LACK OF INTEREST in culinary arts there is never worry that my children will describe my cooking with words of passion.
We don’t have a huge fear of being overweight in my house. In fact, even my sweet dog Desi was victim to my fitness and fat loss ways. I changed his food, at the request of our vet. I didn’t notice that his new food was significantly lower in calories than his old and kept with his usual quantity. I had essentially put him on a diet without knowing it. When I took him to my vet wondering why he was losing weight, we later realized that it was not a health issue, but a measuring cup issue.
I suppose my functional eating will serve a purpose. I can basically wear the same clothes as I did in high school. God forbid. I provide enough reason for embarrassment for my teenagers without attiring myself in 80’s wear (even though I’m sure some of it is back in style ;))
I suppose a functional eater saves time on lengthy food preparation too. On occasion I have no one to cook dinner for, so when cooking just for myself, I can scramble up egg whites, cook some brussel sprouts or asparagus and I’m set for dinner. Yes, you read correctly. This would be an ideal dinner for me.
Much to my son’s dismay, my daughter is even starting to request some of my favorite choices, like grilled fish and veggies for dinner. Sam doesn’t stand much of a chance when it’s two against one. However, in the interest of not starving a budding football star, I’ll cook him flank steak or baked chicken at his request. Both my kids know that they won’t find an abundance of baking (as in: NONE) or treats around my kitchen. Poor kids. They’ve threatened to call the Children’s Help Line on several occasions.
You may wonder, ‘what does she eat?’ I thought I’d keep a food journal for a few days for you. These are pretty typical days. I’m not doing this as an example of what YOU should eat, but it may give you some ideas on how to clean up your nutrition…here I go:
Monday
6 am
- Big cup of coffee (with half and half – my guilty pleasure)
- Shake with whey protein, greens, physillium
- Big Silver Squirrely bread with natural peanut butter and half a banana
10 am
- Train
12:30 pm
- Left over brussel sprouts
- 2 hard boiled eggs
- approx. 10 low fat flax crackers (gluten free, sort of like tortilla chips)
5 pm
- scrambled eggs
- 2 oz cheddar cheese
- pan fried mushrooms and red pepper
- whole grapefruit
8 pm
- Greek yogurt with chocolate greens
- chai tea with skim milk
Tuesday
4 am
- Shake with whey protein, greens, physillium
- Big Silver Squirrely bread with natural peanut butter and half a banana
- Teach boot camp
8 am
- Greek yogurt with blueberries
- Big cup of coffee
- Back to boot camp to teach
11 am
- Train
1 pm
- Black bean and quinoa salad (with chopped up peppers, oranges, avocado)
- Banana
4 pm
- Apple and handful of nuts (almonds, cashews)
6 pm
- Marinated flank steak (by request of my son, I’ll eat beef on occasion now)
- Baked kale chips
- Cut up veggies (peppers, carrots, cucumbers) and hummus
- Black bean brownie (I tried to trick Sam, he humored me and had one)
8 pm
- Chai tea with skim milk
- Handful of flax crackers (gluten free)
Wednesday
6 am
- Big cup of coffee
- Shake with whey protein, greens, physillium
- Big Silver Squirrely bread with natural peanut butter and half a banana
10 am
- Train
12:30 pm
- Left over flank steak and kale chips (surprising there were any left over since Sam is now a big fan of kale ;))
- I found a See’s Peanut Butter Brittle mini bar (oops…)
5 pm
- Tuna melt with a little mayo, avocado, cheddar cheese, pickles, celery on Silver Hills squirrely bread
- 5 ‘Cutie’ oranges (those small sweet almost mandarin type oranges)
8:30
- Decaf coffee with cream and one splenda
Thursday
4 am
- Greek yogurt with chocolate greens
- Teach boot camp
- Big cup of coffee
7:30 am
- Train
8:45 am
- Oatmeal with walnuts, blueberries, half scoop of protein and Greek yogurt
- Back to boot camp to teach
Noon
- Coleslaw, sunflower seeds, mandarin oranges, chopped up extra lean spicy capocolla in the salad, small amount of poppy seed dressing
3:30
- Handful of nuts
6 pm
- Marinated salmon
- Asparagus
- ‘cottage fries’ (potatoes chopped up and spiced like French fries and baked in a convection oven)
- raspberries
8:30
- chai tea with skim milk
These are four very typical days of eating for me. I didn’t list it but somewhere in the day I’ll usually have a square of 70% dark chocolate. I’ll also have a water bottle on the go that I’ll try to empty at least twice. Sometimes I get behind but still drink. I’d rather get up in the night to pee than have a dehydrated headache in the morning.
I was on a red wine kick there for a while and figured I should try to have a glass of my favorite Malbec with dinner. That seemed a little overkill with scrambled eggs or a tuna melt. Apparently I have no style, I just couldn’t get that one to stick. I just don’t like wine that much and I’m not keen to enjoy wine alone.
I twice enjoyed a light Smirnoff cooler instead of tea. Wow, I really went all out on those summer nights.
As you can see, I’m all function and no fun when it comes to eating (probably a reflection of my personality to a certain extent) as I’m a pretty practical person. A recent goal of mine in the last two years has been to live in the moment, let go and enjoy life more. Although my food diary would not be testament to this, I feel I’ve accomplished this goal at least 50% of the time.
I’m working on being more of an adventurous eater. On my most recent trip to New Orleans, I enjoyed some of the local fare, including a bourbon milkshake (YUM!), escargot (YIKES), alligator (okay), seafood gumbo (not a big fan of the oysters in it). I ran out of time before I was able to try several of the other local dishes. I’m usually in a conference room or gym when I travel and so I was happy to be able to at least try those few things.
Although I’ll never be a ‘foodie’, I feel like I have a healthy relationship with food. I don’t obsess over things. I eat a treat when I want to, but I generally keep quantities low. This is because I value feeling good over feeling stuffed. My motto is that there’ll always be food later, I don’t need to gorge myself now. Once I realized that obvious fact, I was free to put whatever it was I was eating down. I could stop eating when I felt full and have more if I got hungry again. Silly me, what an easy concept, but it took me a while to figure that one out.
I thought I’d share a helpful resource for you. You’ll notice that while I’m NOT gluten free with my diet but I don’t eat a lot of gluten products. I feel best when I keep gluten products to a minimum.You don’t have to have a gluten sensitivity to enjoy the health benefits of eating a gluten free or low gluten diet.
If you’d like some ideas on how YOU can do the same, and the multitude of reasons why you SHOULD, check out what my friend, Dr. Peter Osbourne has to say.…
You’ll be horrified to see that gluten is everywhere, including these places:
- Bouillon cubes
- Candy may be dusted with wheat flour
- Canned soups
- Cheese spreads & other processed cheese foods
- Chocolate – Check if contains malt flavoring
- Cold cuts, Wieners, Sausages – may have gluten due to cereal fillers
- Dip mixes
- Dry sauce mixes
- Dry roasted nuts & honey roasted nuts
- French fries or other fried foods in restaurants
- Gravies – check out thickening agent and liquid base
- Honey Baked Hams™ – based with wheat starch in coating
- Some Ice Creams & Frozen Yogurts
- Instant Teas & Coffees – cereal product may be included in the formulation
- Lip Balms and lipsticks
- Mayonnaise – check ingredients that are used as thickeners
- Sour cream – May contain modified food starch of indeterminate source
- Some Toothpastes
- Bouillon cubes
- Candy may be dusted with wheat flour
- Canned soups
- ETC
The good news is that even with the bad news on gluten and it’s ill effects, Peter has solutions for you that will have you feeling great and even losing weight.
For $29 you’ll get all this:
•
More than 100 easy to fix TRUE gluten free recipes so you never have to worry about what you’re going to eat.
•The gluten free restaurant guide to dining out to take all the guess work out of eating out at a restaurant.
•The most comprehensive list of hidden gluten items ever comprised so that you can have Total control and peace of mind that you are truly gluten free.
•The sneaky terms used by manufacturers to hide gluten from you.
•Healthy food source links and investigations into foods labeled gluten free to arm yourself with the most cutting edge research and knowledge to take control of your weight, health, and overall well being.
•The gluten free substitute cheat menu so that you NEVER feel like you’re missing out on your favorite foods.
•BONUS: 20 Holiday Paleo Recipes guide included
Whether you’re a foodie or a functional eater like me, Peter’s solution is a great guide to better eating and health.