All I Really Want

           All I really want is food. Not really. I want to live. I want to dance. I want to read. I want to knit. I want to ride my bike.I want to play. I want to watch television. I want to take a nap with my cat. I want to have a good hard laugh until my stomach hurts. I want to sing. I want to take pictures. I want to write. I want to cook. I want to daydream. I did all those things this week.
          I did spend the week looking for SBG( Satisfied Balloon Guy) after I ate. I literally asked myself the question " do you feel satisfied"?. Most of the time I did. I had one slip and ate an extra plate of spaghetti. I know I know. Spaghetti is a little bit of a trigger. But it is a quick meal to cook and fits into my budget. I just have to learn to live with spaghetti. But during the rest of the week, I never had that "I ate too much " feeling. As Martha Stewart would say "this is a good thing".
          This week's meeting topic was one that is close to my heart. PORTION CONTROL. This is a little bit of a hardship to me at times because of vision. I can see. And when I can see a dinner plate with a small portion of food on it, I want to cry. Or to quote my hubby "that hurts my feelings". But portion control is something we all must have in our lives. For me it's something that I must work on day to day. Portion control during the day is easy to me. Maybe it's because I am at work outside of my comfort zone. It might be that I can be seen eating in public. There's nothing like someone walking past your desk and you're shoveling food into your mouth. For breakfast I usually have something light ( except Sunday mornings). For lunch I pack food in smal containers that are portable and neat. I am satisfied (insert SBG here) when I eat these small meals. Really I am not hungry after I eat those meals. But in reality I am using these small containers to keep me honest as well. But at home, my plate can become a free for all. Not every day, I am in Weight Watchers after all. But there are times when it doesn't seem like enough.
        At this week's meeting ( and several other meetings) I heard someone call out the old small plate trick. This really is an illusion folks. You look at the small plate with just the right amount of food on it it and you think you have eaten alot of food. I have spurned this illusion for a very long time. But this week I have decided to take the illusion by the balls ( at least for a few days) and see if I can use it to TRICK myself into having a small amount of dinner. I already have the tools at my disposal. I have a Hello Kitty cereal bowl. In a house full of men I can guarantee that when there are no other clean bowls, they would not be caught dead eating out of the Hello Kitty bowl. I also have a smal one cup size bowl. I have eaten a portion of spaghetti out of it before. It was sad but maybe I need to revisit that pain. I have a small half cup size square bowl. I use it for cut fruit. I also have the small plates that come with a set. We do use them for small breakfast portions like toast or an egg sandwich.  I also have my WW measuring spoons.

Hello Kitty cereal bowl

one cup size bowl

small plate



half cup size bowl





WW measuring spoons

        Here is the activity I put to good use this week.
ACTIVITY
Tues: All day = 5pts
Wed.: Climb 70 flights of stairs + 30 mins walk dvd with 3lb weights = 6pts
Thurs.: All day (2pts) + walked 49 city blocks after work(5pts) = 7pts
Fri.:All day (2pts) + 30 mins walk dvd w/ 3lb weights (3pts) = 5pts
Sat. Laid like broccoli
Sun. Grocery shopping + Laundry = 4pts (pedometer)
Mon: Jog in place for 45 mins = 5pts
Total= 32pts
                 Even though I did not have as many activity points as the week before, I managed to lose 1.6lbs. And I am darn glad to get it too. I actually took time for myself. Usually I am doing so many things that I lose track of cutting myself some slack. On Saturday, I stayed in bed all day (with the exception of cooking dinner for the men in my life). I watched shows on my dvr. I read some of the back issues of magazines. I knitted myself a hat. When I felt a little hungry I went into the kitchen and had a piece of fruit.  I think there is improvement there. All in all it was a good day.
                There is another exercise that I seem to be getting good at. I call it cat yoga. It's when you are sitting down and your cat comes to you for petting and then settles so far away that you are now balancing your body leaning out of your chair in a strech pose.
                 This week the small plate trick is on and cracking.