Munch Munch Munch
One of the best things about reading blogs for me is where it takes my thought process. Sometimes I can think about a particular post, or comment to a post, and it gets me thinking about how that topic effects my everyday life. Then this usually leads me off into tangents and invariably it becomes something that improves my life and / or me.
Eating in the evenings is such a topic. Michelle (WA) made a comment the other day that she finds this really challenging and was wondering how I, and others, deal with this problem.
I follow the points programme so one of the things I can do if I feel hungry at night is to eat and drink things that are zero points value. Like vegetable sticks, with zero point dressing if I need, corn on the cob, water, sugar free drinks. But listing them here is easy. Sticking to this list is a bit harder. Not because the act of eating is more or less difficult due to the food type but the inclination is not there. I was keeping my hunger at bay in the evening by drinking at least 1.5 - 2L of d.coke at night but once I had confessed this out loud to other people it suddenly dawned on me that this was not a very healthy thing to do. So I have cut out drinking it at home. There have been two side effects. I wake up craving d.coke and am extremely edgy until I get my first fix with breakfast at 8.00am and the second is that I am more likely to go on the prowl to find things to eat. Which I have been doing. Thank goodness that due to bad planning and sheer laziness on my behalf there is little food in the house so the damage has been minimal. And no money in my wallet (except for bags of 20 and 50 cent pieces and we all know the pizza guy would have LOVED to receive that) has meant we have not phoned out for food.
When I was allowed 22 points a day the extra 2 points were used for a sweet snack in the evening. Now I only have 20 I use them all up during the day. This then got me to thinking about the level of planning I used to do versus the lack of planning I do now in regards to my food. Even though I only have 20 points a day this still equates to the ability to have an enormous amount of food - good food, with a few treats thrown in. I have dropped the planning in favour of grabbing items that I now instinctively know the points of and have been eating out of habits. Newly formed habits I grant you but I think it is time for a shake up again.
When I started DS2 was 8 months old and not mobile enough to cause me issues in the evening and DS1 sat and behaved nicely at dinner time. I started by having frozen meals in the evening so would microwave and sit with the boys to have my dinner. Easy. Now that DS2 is 18 months and taring around like a Duracell Bunny and DS1 has slipped into behaviour patterns that are a lot more boisterous AND I have been cooking meals I find that I can't eat until the boys are in bed. By which time I am so hungry I start picking at the boys leftovers, picking at the grapes, then can't be buggered putting together a brilliantly balanced meal so I eat points but I don't add the extra salad and vegetables to it. This could all be solved by making large batches of great healthy food we can all eat and freezing pointed serves for me during the week. But like Kathryn I haven't had takeout in so long that I have no containers. Is this a good enough reason to get Thai on the way home - NO! but I will call in and see if I can buy a few of their containers. I am sure it will be cheaper than the Glad ones. :)
So I think I have answered Michelles query from me. I don't deal with eating in the evenings well and I think it will always be challenging but thanks to her question I have addressed what I can have and have written those items on a shopping list so if I get the 'munchies' I will at least have some healthy options to choose from.
P.S. I went swimming in my new bathers today and they are sensational. They are a size 12 one piece *gasp* and whilst I am a bit busty and popping out slightly they fit really well and I am so happy with them. I think I may add in a lunch time swim more often. :D
Eating in the evenings is such a topic. Michelle (WA) made a comment the other day that she finds this really challenging and was wondering how I, and others, deal with this problem.
I follow the points programme so one of the things I can do if I feel hungry at night is to eat and drink things that are zero points value. Like vegetable sticks, with zero point dressing if I need, corn on the cob, water, sugar free drinks. But listing them here is easy. Sticking to this list is a bit harder. Not because the act of eating is more or less difficult due to the food type but the inclination is not there. I was keeping my hunger at bay in the evening by drinking at least 1.5 - 2L of d.coke at night but once I had confessed this out loud to other people it suddenly dawned on me that this was not a very healthy thing to do. So I have cut out drinking it at home. There have been two side effects. I wake up craving d.coke and am extremely edgy until I get my first fix with breakfast at 8.00am and the second is that I am more likely to go on the prowl to find things to eat. Which I have been doing. Thank goodness that due to bad planning and sheer laziness on my behalf there is little food in the house so the damage has been minimal. And no money in my wallet (except for bags of 20 and 50 cent pieces and we all know the pizza guy would have LOVED to receive that) has meant we have not phoned out for food.
When I was allowed 22 points a day the extra 2 points were used for a sweet snack in the evening. Now I only have 20 I use them all up during the day. This then got me to thinking about the level of planning I used to do versus the lack of planning I do now in regards to my food. Even though I only have 20 points a day this still equates to the ability to have an enormous amount of food - good food, with a few treats thrown in. I have dropped the planning in favour of grabbing items that I now instinctively know the points of and have been eating out of habits. Newly formed habits I grant you but I think it is time for a shake up again.
When I started DS2 was 8 months old and not mobile enough to cause me issues in the evening and DS1 sat and behaved nicely at dinner time. I started by having frozen meals in the evening so would microwave and sit with the boys to have my dinner. Easy. Now that DS2 is 18 months and taring around like a Duracell Bunny and DS1 has slipped into behaviour patterns that are a lot more boisterous AND I have been cooking meals I find that I can't eat until the boys are in bed. By which time I am so hungry I start picking at the boys leftovers, picking at the grapes, then can't be buggered putting together a brilliantly balanced meal so I eat points but I don't add the extra salad and vegetables to it. This could all be solved by making large batches of great healthy food we can all eat and freezing pointed serves for me during the week. But like Kathryn I haven't had takeout in so long that I have no containers. Is this a good enough reason to get Thai on the way home - NO! but I will call in and see if I can buy a few of their containers. I am sure it will be cheaper than the Glad ones. :)
So I think I have answered Michelles query from me. I don't deal with eating in the evenings well and I think it will always be challenging but thanks to her question I have addressed what I can have and have written those items on a shopping list so if I get the 'munchies' I will at least have some healthy options to choose from.
P.S. I went swimming in my new bathers today and they are sensational. They are a size 12 one piece *gasp* and whilst I am a bit busty and popping out slightly they fit really well and I am so happy with them. I think I may add in a lunch time swim more often. :D
Yay for your size 12 swimmers :o)
Posted by
Unknown |
February 16, 2006 2:37 pm
Wolf whistle at the size 12 bathers!!!!
Yes, I really do think that night time nibbling is a problem. I had to often watch my DH eat chocs and chips, but I always made sure I had air popped popcorn or diet choc mousse or fruit(but you still need those couple of points saved to fit that in). A little bit of food has to be better for you than diet coke though!
Posted by
Suzy |
February 16, 2006 3:30 pm
Early evenings isthe worst time for me. Since you all have remotivated me I find that if I have a glass of really cold water that somehow staves off the hunger. (Probably freezes my taste buds LOL).
Take care storm on the way.
:o)
Posted by
Julie's Journey |
February 16, 2006 4:33 pm
Your togs sound really lovely!! Hehe togs / bathers. Doona / duvet. I love our kiwi / aussie slang thing we get going on the blogs - it's great cultural learning, lol!
Posted by
Kate |
February 16, 2006 7:11 pm
Your togs sound really lovely!! Hehe togs / bathers. Doona / duvet. I love our kiwi / aussie slang thing we get going on the blogs - it's great cultural learning, lol!
Posted by
Kate |
February 16, 2006 7:11 pm
Cutting out soda or limiting them is the hardest thing to do when you are use to drinking them. I use to drink a 12 pack of coke everyday, and I use to get migraines too (gee I wonder why), but when I started WW I didn't want to waste points on them. I also read that caffeine can cause migraines. Long story short my cravings (addiction) to coke disappeared and so did the migraines. Bravo to you for limiting yourself on the D.Coke. My husband just stopped drinking D.Coke 3 weeks ago. He was very moody the first week, but now he says he doesn't even crave them. Congrats on the bathers as well!:)
Posted by
Living to Feel Good |
February 16, 2006 7:38 pm
I used to be a diet coke whore, but now I allow myself one can of Coke Zero per day, and that's it. I try to drink 3 litres of water at work, which for me is quite easy and either water or soda water at home, sometimes with a bit of lemon cordial in it (not the diet one though - it's filth!). The food thing is a problem for me too. Sometimes DS's leftovers look so good, and he likes to share and put the "Poon" in mummy's mouth too. Who am I to stop him?? haha Then of course I eat all of my dinner and i'm still looking for more stuff. Sorry i'll shut up now.
Yay for size 12 swimmers, bet you look great in them. Have a great night.
Bri
Posted by
Briony |
February 16, 2006 8:12 pm
oooo do we get a photo? kidding kidding ;)
eating in the evenings is tough for a lot of people, i try to time it in that i have dinner then my 'dessert' 2-3 hours before bed. leaves some time between dinner & dessert but seems to be working quite well. Now, if i could start replacing the pints of ice cream with fruit the weight might actually shift down lol
Posted by
Cat |
February 16, 2006 11:54 pm
COKE FOR BREAKFAST!!!WTF!! That is amazing... is that habit from your old smoing days when all you would have for breakky was a ciggie and a can of coke?? LMAO!!
Have a fantastic weekend!!
Posted by
Yummy Mummy |
February 17, 2006 8:27 am
well done on the size 12 bathers. a very good incentive to go swimming. having never had a coke addiction i cant identify but lemon juice in water really helps me with the sweet fix. good luck with your dinners.
Posted by
Cinders |
February 17, 2006 1:24 pm
My trick to avoid eating after dinner is to have smaller point foods in the morning and for lunch. I'm then left with more points for the dinner and snacks.
Making batches of food is great. You can get those restaurant containers from most Asian $2 stores and supermarkets. Oh, the supermarket in Chinatown is a goody, on top of Paddy's Markets!
Posted by
Mary |
February 17, 2006 5:46 pm
But it's worth buying a few decent quality containers if you intend on reusing them lots. Something to do with the breakdown of plastic etc.
Posted by
Mary |
February 17, 2006 5:47 pm