Day 62- Think I Figured Something Out, and a $5 Blog

Blog first- Ruby Leigh has started a blog/ experiment in which she and her husband eat on a combined $5 a day for 3 months. It looks pretty neat so far, and it will be interesting to see what little gourmet luxuries she adds while staying in budget.

A couple days ago someone (Cyndee?) pointed out that people seem to have breakthroughs with diets- Ah Ha! moments, if you will (like a mad scientist, not an 80's band). I was lying in bed, trying to sleep, thinking about all the crap I have to do, and I guess you could say I had one re: the whole cheating thing. It pretty much comes down to 3 things

1. I'm lazy
2. I'm not getting enough calories, and
3. I'm going too long between meals

So that's what I need to fix. Knowing is half the battle (or so GI Joe always told me...), so I just need to take care of the other half. Two or three simple things I can change to fix (or avoid the negative parts of) each one of those three items.

Starting off with #1-

I'm Lazy-

This one is easier than it sounds. each week on Saturday or Sunday (depending on schedule) I will:

1. Make sure there's a week's worth of cooked beans in the fridge
2. prep veggies so I can just toss them in the pan to cook/ heat
3. Make at least 1 breakfast item and one day-meal in advance for the next week.

This should help because with stuff already done, and needing only a quick spin in the microwave, eating what I've already got will be easier than going out to fetch chips.

#2-

I'm Not Getting Enough Calories

I have a fast metabolism, and run a little warm naturally. I also have trouble keeping cool in summer. This problem is actually multi-part, but I'll just work with the stuff I can fix. On $365 for the year, with the purchase split I picked, I'm running at about 1200-1400 calories a day in staples. I don't remember if that was with or without oil, but it doesn't make that much of a difference. In someone with a slower metabolism that'd be a *great* number. In me, not so much. Think of me as your average 1960's gas guzzler- fun to drive, but hell on the fuel budget.

I'm going with the idea that gaining or maintaining weight can be done using some of the same methods used for losing weight, and some of them can be flipped on their heads, so I'm going to

1. Keep track of calories burned (for an average person doing my level of activity) and consumed, so I know (about) how far off I am- If the average woman my age would burn 2400 calories a day doing what I do, but I only ate 1600, I've got problems.
2. Pre-portion ready made meals, so I don't over or under estimate intake.
3. Time eating so that I'll be in a cool place 2-6 hours after eating my biggest meal. I convert that energy pretty much straight to heat, and if I burn that heat while I'm out in hot weather I'll be less likely to eat enough.

Two supporting (undermining?) problems with this are low caloric density in a lot of vegetarian foods, and the higher than expected price of staples. I could easily round out my diet with more calories on an additional $0.20 or $0.30 a day, but I want to hold off on that.

#3-

I'm Going Too Long Between Meals

This one's an easy fix.

1. Keep snacks on hand at all times (homemade granola, maybe?)
2. Eat more, smaller meals
3. Eat *something* right after waking up and before going to sleep

I think these 9 actions/ goals should help cut back on the cheating. Obviously some will still happen, I wouldn't be me if I didn't occasionally crave chips. But these three groups of three are easy, actionable, and able to (mostly) be made into habits.

Part of the whole thing is re-training my mind, too. It feels hungry and thinks "Chips are high in fat and salt and calories... Missing just about everything else, but they'll keep me alive."

My mind is not too smart.

On the food front- it was hot today. I cheated with an avocado, sliced and hit with lime juice and salt, eaten on cheat-purchased chips from about two days ago. Om nom nom. $1.50 + tax for an avocado is much better than $4 for chips, so I don't feel too bad about it. But it was still enough energy to over heat me while I was trying to sleep.

I know, I know, would that we were all so cursed, etc.

Anyone else use easy steps/ habit forming to deal with something in a healthy way? If you did, how did you keep your motivation up until the habit set?

Note- I know counting calories is a slippery slope, but I'd rather know if I'm getting the numbers then fear the scale. I'd rather run out of money and declare the whole thing a big goofy full-on fail then have to stop it due to excessive weight-loss. YMMV, etc.