The first step is admitting you have a problem...

So, I have a problem. I grew up in a home of foragers. We didn't eat meals, we snacked. We'd make ourselves PB&Js for lunch and cheese and crackers for dinner. What I feel this did, was connect food and eating to almost every activity I did. You eat while you watch tv, while on the phone, when hanging out with friends. As I got older it turned into eating during a lecture at school and while sitting at my desk. During these times I'd be eating convenience foods, which, for the most part, are crap! There was never the lesson of hungry=eat something, rather eat something to stay entertained regardless of hunger.

I really feel this has become a norm in our society overall. As we all became too busy to sit down with our families, we have become on-the-go, processed-food eaters. Having food at a social event is not only normal, it's expected! I can even think of countless hikes/runs with friends that were immediately followed by some sort of eating activity. In Chicago, my roommate and I would reward ourselves for a long run, with a big, fat pancake breakfast at Walker Bros!

As I've begun to recognize this as a habit of mine, I have attempted to shift my thinking about food. Any woman out there knows this isn't an easy thing to do especially when eating is tied to emotion on top of everything else. So, where am I going with all of this?

Two weeks ago, I had to swallow my pride. I joined Weight Watchers Online. I never thought I'd be one of those people. Weight watchers was something my mom did. I didn't sign up, however, with any specific weight loss goal. Rather, I was interested in tracking what I ate, how good/bad it was for me, how much physical activity I was getting etc. This has become a GREAT thing for me, mostly because, sitting at my desk all day, I can get online often to monitor and plan!

For those who don't know the system: in order to maintain my weight, I am given a certain number of points per day...21. All foods are assigned a point value and I can eat whatever I want, so long as I say at 21 total points for the day. In addition, I am given 35 free points for the week. I normally use these for dinners with friends and wine consumption ( a non-negotiable). I can also earn extra points by being active, with activities being worth point values as well.

It has been SO interesting to see what I eat and what it amounts to. I always thought I was a pretty good eater but I am completely reevaluating now that I've seen the data.

Examples:
Carrots 0 Points
Peach 1 Point
Venti Americano .5 Points...add milk .5 Points YES!!
Boulder Canyon Chips Individual Pack 3 Points
1 Bottle of Stout Beer 4 Points (dang)
1 1/2 cups of Rice Pilaf 8 Points
3 Slices of Cheddar Cheese 9 Points (double dang)
1 1/2 cups of mint choc chip ice cream 17 Points (aaaakkkk!!!)

Sure, there aren't really surprises here. Of course dairy and dairy+sugar are going to be bad for you, right? But the ice cream amounted to almost ALL of my caloric intake for the day! That's really bad.

What I like about the system is that no one is telling me what to eat. I can eat what I want, when I want it. I just make more educated decisions about my diet now. Knowing that I splurged at lunch, makes me reign it in for dinner. Knowing that I'm going out to pizza on Saturday, makes me more cautious on Tuesday. Knowing I've used up all my extra points forces me to relate eating the snacks to the amount of physical activity I'm getting in.

Last, let me tell you, there was a day, when I thought I ate pretty well. Healthy breakfast, went to Music in the Park and packed healthy snacks for lunch (save for one beer-it doesn't help that I like the dark ones) and then went over to a friends house for dinner. Turns out, that day, I had eaten 65 Points worth of food! The major culprits were walnuts, cheese, rice pilaf....and the ice cream. This was the day that this system really hit home for me.

I have thus far found it to be a great mechanism of accountability for maintaining my dietary goals.