Rather than continue the vicious cycle, I am trying out this whole 5-6 meals a day thing. Here are my concerns:
- That I won't limit my portion sizes and wind up eating twice as much.
- That I will be constantly thinking about food all day!
- Since I am "allowing" snacks, I will plan ahead to have healthy snacks on hand rather than grabbing processed junk last minute.
- I won't be hungry in between meals so perhaps I will actually think about food less.
My first official go-round was yesterday. Perfect timing for a What I Ate Wednesday post. I have a confession to make here: despite writing a food blog, eating vegan, and being consumed by food for a majority of the last 3 years, I still feel I have absolutely no idea how to properly fuel my body. I feel confused. Am I eating the right foods? Am I eating too much? I am hoping that documenting my eats once a week in WIAW style will help me to better understand these questions.
Breakfast 7:30am
~ 3/4 cup popped amaranth with 1/2 sliced banana and ~a cup of unsweetened almond milk.
I love cereal and I love this puffed amaranth! Usually this bowl would leave me satisfied until lunch, typically with a few more toppings. However, yesterday, be it mental or physical...I couldn't stop wanting more food after I finished this bowl. 10:30am wouldn't come soon enough!
Snack #1 10am
Green monster with 1/2 banana, 1 scoop RAW protein powder, 2 cups spinach, 1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce, cinnamon, vanilla and 1/2 cup almond milk plus a few ice cubes.
Once again, a green monster this size is usually my only breakfast of the day. But it took both of these meals to finally leave me satisfied. I truly believe most of it was in my head as any new routine can leave you a bit mental!
Lunch 1pm
leftover homemade General Tso's Tempeh with brown rice plus an extra cup of steamed broccoli for volume.
I knew I would be out of the house for a big chunk of the afternoon and I wanted to eat enough so I wouldn't be feeling hungry the whole time. So I added in lots of green veggies hoping the volume would help. And it did. When it was time for a snack again I wasn't too famished!
Snack #2 4:30pm
Sliced pear with 1 tablespoon pecans and 1 tablespoon almond butter dusted with cinnamon.
This was the perfect snack and exactly what I wanted at 4:30. I ran out to a meeting and arrived at fellowship group at 7pm for dinner and the pear and nuts kept me full throughout!
Dinner 7pm
Breakfast for dinner: 1 small pancake topped with fresh fruit (lots of pineapple) and a side of grits with kale.
I felt like I still wanted more so I snacked on the delicious pineapple and fought the urge to eat another snack when we arrived home at 9pm. Get thee to bed is my motto when the snack-bug attacks at night!
Overall I think I did a good job in keeping my portion sizes under control especially during meal times. But I found myself thinking about the next meal all day! That drove me crazy! I am hoping that it will balance out as I get used to this new routine.
The plan right now is to eat 5 small meals a day about 2 1/2 to 3 hours apart. Perhaps when I start working out again I will allow myself to squeeze in one more small snack if it fits the bill.
What do you think? Too much, too little, or just right?
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