Journal Entry: Sweets Challenge

9:30am
Arrive at work. Decide on a caffeinated orange spiced tea (yum!). I have some overnight oatmeal* packed. I eat about half the oatmeal over the next hour and decide I'm full, so put it away for later. I also sip on water throughout the morning.

10:30am
Write previous blog post. Realize I have packed 3 mini candy bars in my lunch. I go put them in the community candy jar for others to enjoy.

11:50am
Hungry for lunch. Have some leftover pasta with meat sauce packed. Eat all of it and feel full. This is the first time of day I am usually having sugar cravings; ate something savory, now wanting something sweet. To counter this, I am going to try a cup of peppermint chamomile tea. Mmm.

1:10pm
Getting sleeeepy and very hungry. Tried to wait since it hasn't been long since lunch. Perhaps I need larger lunches? Hmm. Open a diet soda and granola bar. It's technically a peanut butter/dark chocolate one but I don't really count granola bars in the "sweets" category.

1:20pm
Still a little hungry although a bit perkier! Decide to have some mixed nuts as I'm feeling the need for some protein. Definitely need to work on higher protein lunches as I always feel much fuller. Discover I do not like Brazil nuts. Bleh.

3:30pm
Back from short gym workout. Decide to finish my oatmeal from breakfast!

4:05pm
The dreaded boredom. 2 hours left in my work day. Getting the munchies. Not hungry so will try and sip my soda or leftover tea and distract myself.

5:05pm
Actually hungry. Rats. This time of day, I usually crave sweet, carby foods (sweets, perhaps?!) I decide on trail mix (non-candy kind), a good mix of sweet, salty, and protein!

7:30pm
Dinner time. Stew with a flaky buttered biscuit. Dinner isn't usually a big deal for me; usually not terribly hungry and a really busy time of day.

10:00pm
Hungry. Got baby down. Typically a sweet snack time of day. I struggled trying to find something that sounded good but wasn't a "dessert" item. Tried to tune into my cravings. Glass of milk, check. Biscuit, check. Slice of salami, check. Sounds random but hit the spot and I wasn't hungry anymore!

Overall, today seemed fairly easy. I will continue this challenge day by day and put some more journal entries up. I find they help me really stop and think about my choices since I'll be documenting them.


*Overnight oatmeal is a recipe I have found online in various incarnations. Basically, you take oatmeal, some kind of milk, and any kind of fixings (I use banana and a nut butter). You mix them together and put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, the oatmeal has absorbed the milk and is ready to eat.