Healthy Lifestyle Update #3

OK, so I haven't posted about this in a while, mostly because I've been doing an abysmal job keeping my healthy lifestyle resolutions. So, in the spirit of any annual resolution, I'm trying to get back on the wagon now that spring is here and the sun is making me feel more inspired.

Today is the first day of my new healthy lunch plan. I've been struggling with this, because I have a hard time finding things that a) I like to eat, b) are healthy for me, and c) require almost no preparation. I was doing OK with making sandwiches for a while, but finding lunch meat that didn't have a giant cupful of sodium is quite difficult, and the packs that I did find were expensive and tiny.

So then I feel off the wagon, and starting eating burritos every day, plus the occasional fast food breakdown (in my defense, it was very occasional, like, twice in total). And I didn't have any food at home to cook (again, must meet criteria a, b and c), so Lord knows what I ate out/ordered in to satisfy my meal requirements. Suffice it to say, it wasn't pretty, and when I discovered over Easter weekend during dress fittings for my sister's wedding that I'd gone up another dress size, I was very, very unhappy.

Two weeks later, here I am, trying to establish a reasonable eating plan (and get myself a dress size down, because I refused to order a dress in the size that fits me right now ... don't judge me for being a little irrational). I don't know if this quite counts as balanced, but I'm going with hardboiled eggs and oatmeal or cereal (in an appropriate portion) in the AM; another hardboiled egg and tuna/carrot/lettuce salad for lunch; trail mix of nuts and dried fruit for a little snacking when needed; and pasta or rice with tuna (and some greens, when I remember to make them) for dinner. Portion control is equally important for lunch and dinner, although I feel pretty OK if I decide to gorge myself on carrots (not so much on rice or pasta, though). I'm trying to get in good protein, fruits and veggies, the healthy-for-you oils and some not-too-evil carbs. As another snacking or breakfast option, I also have cantaloupe.

When I eat out - which I want to reduce for cost as well as health reasons - I'm working to focus more on salad-y type items with chicken, and less on red meat and carbs. Also, since the weather is nicer now, I'm trying to get back on my walking program, and to try and take at least one longer weekend walk, too.

On that note, here's a cruel contradiction (which may include a little TMI, so forewarned is forearmed as usual on my blog): because I'm a lady of ample thighs, they move back anfd forth against each other when I walk, and during the summer when I'm not wearing pants or stockings, it causes irritation. In a terrible trick of fate, this happens because I actually do walk around quite a lot, but it also happens because I apparently don't walk (or do other forms of exercise) quite enough to lose the thigh weight. So amazingly, the problem is the result of being both too active and not active enough, all at the same time. Ay, there's the rub ... literally. :-(

At any rate, so far today my lunch and breakfast have been tasty and filling, and I walked home from the store with my groceries last night; I hope it's a good sign. I was a little disappointed that my healthy eats weren't quite as healthy-earth as I wanted them to be; my carrots, lettuce, cantaloupe and tuna definitely don't qualify as local eating. With the advent of summer and the farmer's market season, I'm looking forward to being able to go more local on some of those items over the next 4-6 months.