Missing nuts

I'm in a groove with this die*ting thing now. No need to check the list of allowable foods. Don't have to write down what I've eaten for the day to make certain I've met my quota of dairy, fruits and veggies. But I've started to notice what I miss from my regular diet. And, no, it isn't ice cream. It's stuff that I can have but choose not to in order to save up "points" (aka, calories) for the weekend when I eat out. I'm talking about nuts, dried fruits and bread. I used to eat a few handfuls (okay...it's the "few" that was the problem-should have eaten just one small handful) of almonds every day. Always added dried cranberries to salads or dried blueberries to my oatmeal. Bread? Never been much of a bread eater but might take a pita bread and wrap it around some chicken for a real quickie lunch. I've had none of those since this started. I miss nuts a lot. I miss dried fruits. And I even miss bread. There isn't any bread in the house right now so there's no visual temptation-just the temptation in my head. I've had the opportunity to eat bread at restaurants and even then have chosen not to indulge.

And maybe it's not the almonds, dried fruit and bread that I miss. Maybe it's just being able to grab something to eat whenever I feel like it. And "feel" like it means when my mouth calls out for food and not when my tummy growls at me. I find that I have to "censor" my food thoughts all the time. If I'm not hungry, I do not "allow" myself to eat.

The eating orgy that I engaged in with my friends over the weekend made me realize how far I've come. I was only hungry once during those three days. Yet I ate most of the time when we stopped for food. That was the purpose of the trip, after all. To eat. I realized that I can eat whether I'm hungry or not. And that was probably my biggest problem (next to bad choices and quantity) before-eating even though I wasn't hungry. I can eat as much when I am not hungry as when I am. So filling my stomach had little to do with meeting my nutrient needs! But I always knew that my mouth and the desire for tasty food ruled my eating.

Now my brain is in charge. It's not as much fun. I liked it better when my mouth was in charge.