Katy the cook...

My most recent session with J was spent talking mostly about cooking. Eating out is a habit... a bad habit.

My goals for the next few weeks include:

• buy a cookbook with meals for one or two people
• go grocery shopping AT LEAST once a week - maybe more stops for certain ingredients (I need to remember that a quick trip to the grocery store will take as much time as going through the drive-thru)
• eat in for dinner at least 3X a week
• take a lunch to work unless I have a lunch date

Ideas/suggestions from people about cooking for one:

• hot ham and cheese (grilled)
• chicken salad sandwiches/wraps
• left-0vers for lunch the next day
• sides
• yummy breads
• add veges to things you know you like already
• allrecipes.com and change the serving size to one
• buy a rotisserie chicken and use bits and pieces of it throughout the week
• My friend Megan has sent me multiple emails with loads of ideas and she is willing to help me at each step - I'm not going to post all of her ideas here but I might post about what I cook as I try new things - no promises (the whole reason I have a hard time with cooking is that it takes too much time so if I promise to blog about everything I cook, it'll become an excuse not to)
• Cooking group - get 3 other people in my same situation (cooking for one) and we each cook something that can be refrigerated or freezed and we swap once a week - gotta find three people that are single, good cooks and willing ---- anyone?
  

Eating out vs. Eating in

Eating Out:

• Takes less time - busy lifestyle (PRO)
  
• More likely to stop if I'm with someone (PRO)
  
• More likely to stop if I order less/lighter things (PRO)
• Costs more money (CON)
• Probably eat more processed foods (CON)
  

Eating In:

• Takes more time (CON)
• Easier to binge if I'm alone (CON)
  
• Easier to be mindful when I'm cooking for myself (PRO)
• Costs less money (PRO)

Both are easier if I'm in a good place emotionally when I eat. But I think eating in more often would help me in my journey of becoming an intuitive eater.

Goals

I had a good session with J on Friday.

We talked about the progress I have made in the last year + and while I am probably still the same size (I'm not sure cause I haven't weighed myself for a long time), I have started to catch on to this Intuitive Eating thing.

I still have lots to learn. Here are some of the things I've noticed in myself:

• I enjoy exercise and I have been more willing lately to try new types of exercise
  
• More and more often I crave lighter foods with fruits and vegetables, rather than heavier type foods
  
• I think more and more about how what I eat will make me feel emotionally and physically
• I use food less and less to take care of my emotions especially for comfort

It could be years before I get down to my "natural body size" as the book talks about but I'm am still convinced that this is the ONLY way to get there.

OK - so here are my goals for this week:

1. Plan my meals using the peace sign
2. Eat in more (only eat out 3X a week - by the way that is cutting back a ton!)
3. Be mindful when I eat Sunday dinner at Sam's house
4. Swim 3X a week
5. Bike 1X a week
6. Look at my goals every day (post them on my blog - check)
   

Do I still believe?

Oh yes I do.

I thought maybe my trip across the country would be really hard to eat intuitively.

Because I was driving so much, I was very conscious about what I was eating because I didn't want to feel sick or have my legs cramp up while I was driving.

I didn't over eat while I was driving and for the most part I could stop at a 7 or 7.5 when I ate dinner with my friends.

The only time I over ate on my trip was when I was waiting for my car a the dealership in Gainesville, FL. You can read about it here. After I finally got my car back in the afternoon, I stopped at McDonalds and I ate until the biggie sized meal was gone.