I had to go to my real job today, in order to continue earning my keep at home. As much as I would love to hang out with my family, workout, read and write every day, there are patients who need a nurse and a nurse who needs a paycheck. In preparation for going to work, I spent some extra time in my kitchen last night, getting all my clean foods together: wild salmon, asparagus, butternut squash, green beans, rasperries, and a variety of protein powders. As I sit here at work, all that delicious goodness still sits on the bottom shelf of my fridge at home.
Planning and preparation are the keys to staying successful in your eating habits. I've also discovered that Paying Attention is rather important as well. Somehow between letting 3 excited dogs out this morning, making the coffee, and realizing I was running late, I grabbed my bag but not my cooler. I had a minor meltdown 45 minutes later in the parking garage, then realized I needed to regroup and re-plan. I've now learned some emergency food management strategies, and the day so far has been successful.
First, I accepted that my intake probably would not be ideal. I don't have time to leave the hospital, so I would have to make do with the options that are here. On a Sunday in a hospital, the options are usually the scraps from the back of their kitchen. Option #1: Subway. Not an option, because the people that work there are mean. If I start asking them for all kinds of accommodations, I'm pretty sure I will get a stare down of biblical proportions, and I'm not really up for that, especially in my hangry (hungry + angry) state. Option #2 - Au Bon Pain. They usually have salads, and their soups list exactly what is in them, whether it contains soy, wheat, dairy or meat. That might be an option, depending on the soups. They also usually have hard boiled eggs, but true to Murphy's Law, that shelf was empty. Option #3, the good ol' hospital cafeteria. I went in search of some breakfast, and came up with scrambled eggs, bacon, and a banana. These eggs probably didn't have a mother -- I'm suspicious that they started as egg-flavored liquid, but I would have to take them. The bacon was bacon, so I was happy about that.
Lunch worked out a little better. A friend of mine was going to an outside place, and she picked me up a salad with grilled chicken, no dressing. I have 2 packs of protein powder in my bag, emergency ration, so I should be good - for most of the day at least. I have to stop thinking about the Wild King Salmon in my cooler, and asparagus. This food day is not at all going how I intended, but it won't be a total bust. The revised plan is to make sure that I don't become hungry, because there is temptation all around the nurse's station. I don't want to be reasoning with myself that "just one bagel will be fine," and throw my blood sugar and wheat belly into my second tailspin of the day.
The point of all of this is to Prepare, Plan, and duh, Remember. When you fall short, get over the tantrum quickly and re-assess. Even if it's one day of not-so-good eating, tomorrow is a new day, and a new opportunity to get it back together. The day didn't go exactly as I planned, but then again, that's usually how I function in every other aspect of my life. I'm just hoping that there's a delicious dinner waiting at home, because I will be HUNGRY when I pull in the driveway tonight!
4 comments:
Well at least you didn't forget to feed your kids this time...
It is great to continue to read your posts. Matt and I feel off the bandwagon for a week after the Paleo challenge. We had pizza, Taco Bell, and more pizza. This was a combination of some rebellion about the restrictiveness. But after a miserable few days, we quickly decided that Paleo is so worth the effort.
We are noticing that our issue is the weekends when we are out and about. Last weekend we went to Mom's and bought their whole RAW section it feels like. They have a selection of dehydrated fruits (without sugar), raw nut bars and some other snack like items. While these items may not be in the zone proportions we were hoping for it at least will keep us out of a drive-thru.
Now I am so looking forward to tomorrow and getting back in the gym. Our slacking on our diet and all was also matched with a two week break from the gym. Our work schedules and lives went through a little tail spin and we are now leveling them back out.
Your previous post is amazingly accurate. Matt and I spent 3.5 hours in the kitchen yesterday prepping and cooking and it has made eating correctly so much easier. When we do not prep we get ourselves in trouble.
Thank you for bringing great wisdom and humor to the journey. Also, it is great that in the last two weeks even with no gym and some bad food I am down another 3 pounds, making a total of 12 pounds from day 1 of the challenge. Your food really does make a huge difference.
Thanks Geoff. I was actually worried they would eat my food. They didn't. When I came home there were Bugles, Root Beer, and ice cream out, all being torn up by the kids. I think they are going to start a blog - Paleo Rebellion.
Your honesty is refreshing! Getting off track is normal, and we should all expect that it will happen to us here and there for whatever reason. There is nothing wrong with a brief rebellion, reprieve, vacation, whatever you want to call it. What's important is that you realized it and knew when it was time to regroup. Your progress is very good, so keep it up. Find others who share your goal when you become frustrated, don't look for those that will support you in straying. The best part is you have each other to keep it going. Glad you are back on the wagon!
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