Today I am drinking my water. One and a half glasses down, 2 cups of tea so far - I have a new favourite tea: lapsang souchong. I love the smoky scent and the refreshing taste.
Food choices. Hmm. Yesterday I really felt the need to eat something spicy, meaty, junky, processed after having dinner. After considering all the options - go get another Divine chocolate bar from the supermarket (hmm, lots of temptations there!), eat more fruit (hmm, had already eaten masses that day), make something sweet (no eggs, not in the mood to cook), I decided to just pop over to our local 24 hr shop and decide. My final choice was a pork pie rather than cakes, biscuits, chocolate. This was because I am slightly worried about my sugar levels spiking, and also because when I got into the shop the items I was most drawn to were the Indian pakoras/samosas combos! Which I discarded because I didn't want to have indigestion & reflux. Another plus in favour of the pie was it was calories known, was just one item, and I had not eaten one in months now, and I'd never experienced stomach problems from eating them in the past. I chose the best quality one they had, on the premise that it would have a better meat content, and less dodgy fats content... :)
I have to say, I totally enjoyed eating that pie. I waited for a while. And asked myself, did I really want it. Was my tummy hungry. I drank some water beforehand, and asked those questions again. I finally ate it, and paid proper attention to the eating of it. No distractions, no reading, watching TV, listening to the radio. My whole attention was on this pie. And it was a truly enjoyable experience. The best pork pie eating experience I have had.
What I learned from this little episode is that treating my food with respect, asking my body what it really wants, and paying attention to what it tells me equals a successful outcome. Yes, pork pie is probably more in the 'bad' camp of foodstuffs than in the 'good'. In terms of the alternatives - stuffing down anything I had in the cupboards and feeling annoyed and sick later, or going to the supermarket and coming home with heaps of foodstuffs I didn't need, the expedition, consideration, and consumption of this particular foodstuff was 'A Good Thing'. I really wanted it, I bought it, I contemplated it, I ate it slowly, I extracted every microcosm of enjoyment in the doing of all of this. In short, I truly lived in the moment of all of it, and it is now filed away in the realm of 'happy' experiences in my memory.
Another good thing yesterday. I had pasta salad. At first when I threw in the small amount of pasta remaining in the packet into the boiling water I was thinking, gosh that is such a tiny amount. I'm going to be hungry later. But...when I'd plated it all up, mixed with chorizo sausage - on a bed of raw spinach leaves, halved marzano tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, it was Just The Right Amount. heh, now I am starting to sound like Dr Seuss! - speaking in Important Capitals! 90-100g of pasta is fine by me now. previously I would have given in to the urge to cook more than that, AND eaten it, and felt too full. Yay for learning better choices and for understanding and accepting them.
Today I am making good choices. I have had marmite on toast with butter, lapsang souchong tea, a selection of biscuits with philadelphia (less biscuits, I am finally getting to grips with portions), and when I have finished writing this post I am going to have egg salad, made with the last of my home made mayonnaise. Now, that experiment was a total success. If I ever feel the urge or need for mayo in future, I will always make my own. That way, I will know exactly what went into it, I will have expended energy in making it, given myself a self-made serotonin boost in achievement terms (awesome! look at what I can do!), and enjoy every mouthful consciously. Gosh, I'm so proud of this salad I took a picture of it.
Have a good day, if you're reading this. I am!
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