Viewer Mail.

by

First I wanna share an email I received.

I have been checking in every day and am being
inspired but my eating was still out of control.

This week I had an idea that seems to be helping. Every morning I sit down and write on a post-it note the food I am going to eat that day. It’s better than writing down what I eat after the fact, like on Weight Watchers, because I would eat something off the plan, not write it down, and then give up.

So far I have been sticking to my plan. But today is only Day 4. Right now my goal is to do this for 6 days, then take a day off the plan, and keep that up for a month.


Ive said this before but am remind anew each time I receive an email such as the above. It really does take a village (of MizFits) to acheive any goal and becoming a healthier you is no exception.

The emailer’s idea was an AH HA! moment for me.

You see, I already practice the notion of Startlines™.

I no longer write the due-date for assignments on my calendar— but I am sure to mark the date I need to START a piece in order to be sure it’s completed on time (oh that I were organized enough to find the article in which I coined that phrase—it’s around here somewhere).

The notion of post-it pre-planning for food? never occurred to me before. Any of you already doing it?

Now back to last week’s email about breakfast.

A number of you emailed/commented asking what I ate for my morning meal (please to remember the MizFit said she eats. not that she creates masterpieces in the kitchen or that she should be anyone’s role model).

So here’s the scoop:

As previously established my mornings are hectic. Ive found that the best chance Im going to eat (and not be distracted by my specialneedsbullmastiff’s, well, NEEDS or a Toddler Tornado) is to make this meal a no brainer.

What am I getting at? Im boring in the morning. Repetitive. Easy. And it pretty much looks like this (weekday. rushdays):

2 or 3 wedges of Laughing Cow cheese (hastily crammed in mouth whilst doing 11 other things. Good fast protein and fat.)

My spoonfuls of flax chia (inhaled as fast as I can while Tornado yells “I want that! I want that!”)

2 cups of scrambled egg beaters/substitute.

some oatmeal (half cup? Im guesstimating) hastily made and left to sit on counter until lumpy & cold (perfect!) and I can eat it quickly.

2 morning star farms veggie patties (love.)

(water, vitamin, tums for calcium, extra vitamin C)

That’s pretty much how it plays out during the week.

irish oatmeal with soy protein stirred in if—perchance—the Tornado feels like allowing me to eat leisurely (read: not have to inhale piping hot mush and inevitably scald my esophagus).

pancakes if she is truly in s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n (although at that point I mightcould be dialing 911) and I can get out pans & ingredients.

Im sure this didnt answer all your questions (I know, MizFit veer wildly offtrack? NEVER.) so hit me up in the comments & let me know what I missed.

 

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

  1. I’ve had the same problem and done the same thing as the emailer. A few years ago my eating was out of control, and I too would miss writing something down and give up. Writing it out before the day begins really can be helpful, but you have to be sure to give yourself some room. What if, at the end of the day you are really starving and you’ve eaten everything you wrote down? Just remember to have a sensible, filling snack, and don’t beat yourself up over deviating from the plan. I did this about 2 years ago, every day. Now that I am under control, I resort back to this plan when I feel that I’ve been eating without thinking lately. Just 3 days a week for a week or two is sufficient to get me back in control of my habits.

    As I write this I am eating some Kashi GoLean Crunch, my breakfast of choice. Next, I’m heading for the coffee maker.

  2. Mmmm! I’m having a big bowl of Irish oats and vanilla yogurt right now!

    My tip for balancing your Irish oats with time: Make a big batch in advance?

    Every Sunday I have been making a big patch of oats on the stovetop, plopping it all into a container in the fridge, and simply reheating some of the oats each morning in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Okay, so this might be common sense- but it is my tip!

    Have a great day, Carla!

  3. gena, another great point from you: it really is all about eating when you are truly hungry and consuming food which will satisfy and fuel you.

    ashley? common sense? sure. had I thought of that recently? no.
    not sure why either.
    Ill grill up 2 dozen chicken breasts on a sunday to eat as fastsnacks during the week but premake oats?
    Id totally space that one.

    THANKS!

    M.

  4. Wow. It’s obvious the Bag Lady isn’t eating nearly enough.
    Or…something. Of course, she doesn’t have a tornado, either, which might make a difference. (like, duh, she gets zero exercise lately!)
    She just wishes she liked oatmeal. Perhaps she could go out to the granary, scoop up a cup of oats, grind ’em up and cook ’em and see how they tasted….nah, that ain’t gonna happen. (Far too much squirrel poop!)
    Back to the whole wheat toast.

  5. Okay, Ashley. I’ve heard about cooking oats in advance and keeping them in the fridge. BUT! I like my oats slightly chewy, because I am a little strange. Do they get soggy over time and all mushy? That’s the fear that has kept me from giving this a try.

  6. I’m in love with the Morningstar farms patties (in fact, I was eating one with my scrambled egg while reading this post!)

    They’re addictive. As I’ve heard MizFit say before, they’re veggie crack.

    No lie.

    And now I’m loving the breakfast whereas pre VC discovery I’d often wait till lunch to eat.

  7. I almost always plan my food for the day in advance! I actually use FitDay, and record everything I plan on eating in the morning (including chocolate!) to make sure I’m hitting the correct calories, fibre, protein as well as a few custom nutrition goals I’ve set up like sodium, cholesterol and saturated fat.

  10. Bag Lady you CRACK ME UP. And made me scratch my head in wondernessment at the not liking oatmeal comment.
    texture?
    whats not to love? 🙂

    Sarah, WELCOME and I also love your point with regards to sodium etc.
    too often people use sites such as fitday and become calorie obsessed.

    M.

  11. The Bag Lady **bowing head in shame** doesn’t like the blandness of oatmeal, so must smother it in brown sugar and milk, thereby destroying the health benefits… plus, not crazy about the texture. The Bag Lady is a crunchy person. (wait a minute, that didn’t come out right…)

  12. I don’t write everything down about what I plan to eat, but I do think it all through each morning and that really helps. I’m pretty boring about what I eat too; I eat generally the same thing each day (except for dinner, and that’s really only because my dad always cooks these spectacular meals).

    I used to track everything on Fitday- and you’re right, it DOES leave you pretty calorie-obsessed. It’s kind of ridiculous how good I am now at estimating how many calories/how much nutrients are in a really wide variety of the food that I eat. But I’m glad I did it for a while because now I do know tons of the values of things, and I know which nutrients I’m lacking in and what I’m getting enough of.

  13. I used to be excited about veggie sausages … until I read “Processed Soy and Meat Alternatives” on Mark’s Daily Apple: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/processed-soy-products/. Now I just cannot get hype about eating them.

    Memorable outtake (via The Guardian):
    “Soya veggie burgers and sausages generally use the same chemically extracted fraction of the bean. This meal is the product of the industrial crushing process the vast majority of the world’s soya beans go through. The raw beans are broken down to thin flakes, which are then percolated with a petroleum-based hexane solvent to extract the soya oil. The remains of the flakes are toasted and ground to a protein meal, most of which goes into animal feed. Soya flour is made in a similar way. The oil then goes through a process of cleaning, bleaching, degumming and deodorising to remove the solvent and the oil’s characteristic ‘off’ smells and flavours. The lecithin that forms a heavy sludge in the oil during storage used to be regarded as a waste product, but now it has been turned into a valuable market in its own right as an emulsifier.”

    Miso sad…. (Actually, miso is still good.)

  14. Has anyone ever read The Beck Diet Solution by Judith Beck? It’s not really a diet per se but more of a method using cognitive behavioral techniques to stay on a diet. Anyhow one of her main principles is to write down your day’s menu the night before. I found it helpful. Her book is really good.

  15. If I were home all day (wait a minute, the weekend?) I would try that post it thing on the fridge. I like. As it is, when I remember, I plan it out on my blog. Helps with coming up with different suppers too (meatballs again?)
    I am trying sooo hard to like oatmeal. But I also don’t like the texture and have to sweeten it up with something (I’m trying protein powder and bananas lately)
    Also – 2 WHOLE CUPS OF EGG BEATERS!? That’s like a whole container full! do you have shares?

  16. bag lady? we shall solve this conundrum of the ickyoats. there must be something you can add.

    mizfits? thoughts?!
    (heather m.? I know you have some ideas :))

    Jen, I know. I dont wanna know—but I do (I love Mark. His advice? sometimes brings that proverbial proteintear to a mizfit’s eye).

    it is worth it? ok? as far as a baby step to better eating? if it beats the pants off the alternative?

    For me….right now…I *think* the answer is yes.

    Charlotte? thats on my list to read—Ive heard great things about it and am all about the c.b. techniques with regards to eating healthy.

    mind over donuts.

    M.

  17. Love the oatmeal and I am particular about the texture, smooth and creamy. I add a little brown sugar and I’m good to go………..:)

  18. Okay. Here is one of my favorite ways to have oatmeal. Cook on the stove. When there are only a few minutes left until the oats are as done as you like them, add in a mashed up banana. Finish cooking. Eat.

    The banana adds sweetness without having to pile brown sugar and butter in there. Alternatively, you could add in half a finely chopped apple or pear, but add those fruits earlier than you would a banana (to get them properly soft). Or, nuke the apple bits in the microwave to cook them before adding to the oatmeal.

    If you must have a bit more sweetness, try fat-free sugar-free maple syrup. I know it’s not the healthiest alternative, but it is still yummy.

  19. I use FitDay, but usually I track as I go. With a few exceptions: I am obsessed with avocados and they are really high in calories, like blow your whole day on breakfast high. (I usually eat my egg whites (1/3 cup + one real egg with salsa + avocado if I’m lucky) So If I know I am going to have eggs and avocado, I will do a little manuvering the night before to see what kind of lunch/dinner options that gives me. I sometimes eat half an avocado at breakfast and the other half in a salad or wheat pita sandwich for lunch. Another example would be If I had a bad week, i.e. my roommate had a birthday and there was a whole Costco size cake in our fridge for a WEEK, and I ate lots of it. Then the following week I will plan my meals a day ahead to make sure I am not over doing my portions.

    Just to weigh in on the oatmeal, I love it! Steel cut or instant, I usually never put banana in my oatmeal, but love cinnamon + craisins (just a few) or the steel cut kind that is in the frozen section of trader joes (its comes in a box with two individually packaged servings) comes mildly flavored with maple and brown sugar.

    I do however mix plain greek style yogurt with chopped bananas, pineapple (fresh or canned) and cinnamon, it is amazing!

  20. My mornings are like yours! Expect we have only two choices for breakfast- oatmeal or go lean kashi cereal. That’s it. No variations whatsoever. Can’t cook a pancake to save my life.

  21. Mmmmmmallory! I have Greek yogurt in the fridge for additions to soups, tacos, etc., but with fresh fruit and cinnamon is a stroke of genius. Scribbling myself a post-it note about tomorrow’s breakfast now….

  22. seriously, People, MizFit-kisses abound for all of you.

    as Ive yammered before— it completely takes a village to navigate this rocky path to fitness and Ive learned so much from you guys already.

    (*wipes a tear*)

    M.

  23. Hmmm – cinnamon might be the answer…with just a teensy bit of brown sugar. Bag Lady can’t eat bananas (sob) because they upset her stomach (too much potassium?), but loves cinnamon. Thanks!! She be tryin’ that soon as she can get to town to buy oatmeal (not gonna try to grind her own from the granary – too much squirrel poop. Really!)

  24. Bag Lady…Quaker has Weight Control Oatmeal that tastes great. (I found it thanks to Biggest Loser Bob) Seriously, it is great!

  25. I love the idea of writing start dates for your projects on your calendars–I’m totally going to steal that!

  26. Randi?

    this:
    Also – 2 WHOLE CUPS OF EGG BEATERS!? That’s like a whole container full! do you have shares?

    one word: COSTCO

    M.

  27. You know, this is how I got started on the whole life-transformation thing. I have always been a horrible failure at diets, and I think partly it was due to my need for structure.

    When I joine the Biggest Loser Club nearly two years ago (product placement!) I used their meal planner RELIGIOUSLY. I planned each and every meal, down to the tiniest ingredient – for a week at a time. Later, I started doing it a month at a time, because that’s how often I do major shopping. If I had those plans done, by golly, I was good as gold. I packed each day’s food the night before, and I ate exactly what was on my plan exactly when I was supposed to. And I lost, and lost… 🙂

    It wasn’t until I started playing fast and loose with my meal plans that I started having trouble losing. Even now, I find that if I decide in advance exactly what I’m going to eat, I am so much better off.

    It helps that I have to pack every meal except dinner and evening snack (I eat six small meals), because they all get eaten at work. So it’s pretty easy to stick to.

    Anyway, that’s what works for me. 🙂

    V.

  28. Ooh, and about the oatmeal…I add dried cherries or raisins or…well, whatever dried fruit you want, but I add it when I add in the oats to cook. That way they get all nicely re-hydrated and it’s amazing.

    I also add cinnamon, sometimes some nutmeg, and maybe a little honey. I also cook them a lot longer than most people because I like them really, really soft and gooey…

    And I make it with half water, half milk. Adds a little protein in there, not a lot but hey…also I like that texture better.

    V.

  29. Love your breakfast. 🙂

    I have planned and written out what I was going to eat in the past. It worked until I ate something off my plan, and then I got too hard on myself for “messing up.”

    I still keep a food journal, but now I write what I eat after I eat it. That helps me see the relationship between what I eat and how I feel later on. That’s what I’m working on now.

    I still plan my meals, but I do it in my head now. I’m one of those individuals who enjoys planning and organizing – ahhh! 😉

  30. Dear MizFit,

    I love your blog! And I am in awe of your muscular body!

    Over long how of a time do you eat this breakfast? Also about how many calories does all of this add up to?

    I eat a piece of a toast and a fried egg (ugh… I should probably stop frying it, huh?) every morning when I first get up, and then in about two hours I am starving and so I have yogurt with frozen fruit. By the time I get to lunch I am starving again, so I wonder if I need to add more calories to my morning meal(s). Maybe I need to add a Morning Star sausage?

    Thanks for all of your advice!

  31. I’ve never heard of Startlines, but it makes sense. I think that would be a good way for me to work, too.

    (By the way, I’m the same way with my oatmeal! I hate when it’s all hot and soupy. Give it a few minutes, let it thicken up and cool off…yummy!) 🙂

  32. I like adding walnuts or pecans to the Oatmeal with apples. Usually it’s rasins, cinnamon, nutmeg, milk (1%) and dash Splenda. I cook a large batch at the beginning of the week. I’ve not found it to go mushy with the Old fashioned oats.

    I’ve started writing out our dinners and it does help. Most of our lunches are the leftovers. I’m finding that bringing in more fresh fruits and veggies has been more of a transformation to what we grab for snacks than anything else.

    I’m also making a large batch of dark greens salads at the beginning of the week and it’ll last for a full week.

    I get lazy and don’t want to have to chop veggies every day. It helps to have the little containers of precut veggies for me. Plus I’m more likely to snack on sliced cucumbers.

  33. It was coming already and, perhaps, this has lit a fire under my lunges-produced a**:

    The MizFits Guide To Healthy Living.

    (oh and Zandria? I created Startlines—-keep yer eyes peeled as they’ll be everywhere soon. Or here. Either way :))

    M.

  35. Healthy quick Chocolate (pan)Cake:
    half cup whole wheat flour
    tablespoon sugar
    tablespoon 100% cocoa powder
    ~2 tsp baking powder
    one egg white
    water
    mix everything up into a thick batter(add more water if needed) spray a nonstick small pan. pour entire batter in, cook for a couple minutes, flip, cook for 1 more minute, and enjoy! It tastes EXACTLY like gooey chocolate cake and is healthy a quick too! (you could do it without the chocolate and add cinnamon instead) the whole thing is around 300 calories.

Trackbacks

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This