Journal Entry

It's been a while! Journal Entry time!

One comment I will make is that because I eat most of my meals at work, I have to pack my breakfast, lunch and snacks the night before. I do my best to think of what sounds good but this is obviously a limitation in my IE. Flexibility is definitely key and, for me, eating when I'm hungry becomes most important at work (as opposed to when I'm bored, tired, or stressed).

8:45am On the way to work, hungry! Obviously, I'm in the car so have to wait until I get to work.

9:30am Arrive at work. No longer very hungry. My tummy feels a little off so I decide on a cup of hot, black tea. Mmmmm.

10:00am Finally feeling hungry. I packed a sandwich of leftover steak on wheat bread with a little barbecue sauce. Score one for remembering protein for my morning meal! I eat this leisurely and enjoy it.

11:50am Feeling hungry again but don't necessarily want lunch. This is weird because, well, it's lunchtime. I fight the urge to eat my lunch and try to figure out what sounds good. An apple! I have a little Gala apple and it's tart and sweet and crunchy. That with some water hits the spot.

12:00pm I ate about 2/3 of the apple and was just "over it". I decided to wrap it up and maybe save it for later.

1:00pm Lunchtime! Very hungry now. Have Top Ramen packed for lunch. Not the "healthiest" choice but very yummy and I love a warm lunch. I also have a side of thawed frozen broccoli; I love it cold and with lots of salt.

1:20pm Ahh, feel full and satisfied after eating all of my lunch. After most savory meals, I want a little something sweet. Also wanting a little pick me up, I decide on a small cup a Pepsi with lots of ice. I love my soda extra cold.

1:55pm Hmm. Had two sips of my soda. I have been drinking it regularly for years, diet and regular. I really tried to focus on the flavor and found, well, ehhh. Also, I found myself developing an intense sugar craving. I decide to set it down and drink some water and relax for a few minutes, especially since I am definitely not hungry right now.

2:30pm Exercise time! Thought I would put this in here since I think it is definitely part of IE and HAES. I was undecided about what kind of workout I wanted to do. Normally, I would pick a run (cardio burns calories) or weights (tone that flab!). Instead, I decided to really think about what sounded like it would feel good. I decided on a hill walking workout on the treadmill followed by some situps (to strengthen my abs since they are a mess after pregnancy!). It was great and I left feeling refreshed.

3:30pm Back to work, hungry and thirsty! Water please! I go ahead and refill my water because I can get lazy about getting up to refill (the break room is way down the hall) and then get dehydrated. I do think the ramen gave me a little indigestion, blehh. I am wanting some carbs for energy after the workout, will start with my chocolate mint granola bar (one of those weenie granola bars) and see if I'm still hungry after that.

4:10pm Still hungry. I am vaguely bored and tired but definitely have "empty stomach" feeling so decide to finish my apple.

7:00pm Arrive home after a particularly stressful afternoon. I make a beeline for the liquor cabinet with the plan of making a rather large cocktail. Okay, IE or not? I think we could argue either side but I sure felt better afterwards. :) I also had a small serving of ravioli for dinner. I am typically not terribly hungry at dinner and enjoy a later evening snack.

8:30pm Hungry! At this time in the evening, the baby is usually down (at least for a bit) and I like to have a little treat to end the day and curb my hunger. Mmm, leftover key lime pie. I really enjoy a sweet treat in the evenings and do struggle with some guilt about it. I am always hungry when I eat it and when I have tried to veer to another kind of food at this time, I find myself very unsatisfied. Yay for IE and food satisfaction!