Day nineteen and twenty--How am I doing?

Well, these past two days have been okay eating wise. I can't honestly say that I'm back on track yet. Eating the Naturally Thin way really takes true dedication; it's not something that clicks overnight (at least for me it isn't). I must admit I got a little cocky. After two weeks of following Bethenny's rules I thought I had a handle on this new way of eating and would be able to do it all on my own. Up until now I had been reading Bethenny's book everyday and I really thought I had the full concept. Come to find out I have a lot more reading to do! I still need Bethenny's "help" and will have to re read her book until I know it like the back of my hand. I am in this for the long haul--that's how much I believe in this "program". I refuse to lose (except weight, that is).

Day eighteen-ANOTHER not so Naturally Thin day

Day eighteen and I don't know what's going on with me. I ate way too much again today. I really don't know what else to say except that tomorrow is another day and I will "check myself before I wreck myself" (rule number 7)

This rule is an important one as far as overeating is concerned. Read the following from "Naturally Thin Unleash Your Skinny Girl..." regarding rule number 7:

This rule encompasses one of the most important things you can do for yourself: stop binge-eating. Never do it again. Just knowing you can have any food you want can keep you from going overboard, but until you break the binge habit, you need to stay firmly in the driver's seat and make your own rational decisions about what you will and will not eat, and when you will stop eating it. You are the master of your own life, so step up.

Day seventeen--a not so Naturally Thin day?

It's day seventeen and after two weeks of following Bethenny's rules, I did not have a "good" day eating wise. I don't know what's worse, knowing your making a bad decision and making it anyway, or not paying attention and making bad eating decisions. My morning was fine (banana) and my afternoon was fine (large garden salad). The evening--not so fine. I grilled steaks for my family and ate a whole one by myself (about a 7oz shell steak). Afterwards, I ate about a quarter of a bag of Goldfish crackers and then in the evening I ate about 5 oreos cookies. On the one hand it was a not so Naturally Thin day, but on the other hand, Bethenny writes about how they'll be days when you're starving all day and then there'll be days when your not so hungry. I'm not going to beat myself up. Could I have made better decisions? Yes. Can I make healthier decisions tomorrow? Yes, and I will.

Day sixteen-sweet tooth and the differential

Day sixteen-sweet tooth today! I was in the mood for chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!!!!! That's okay because my diet is a bank account. I had my favorite breakfast this morning, which is turkey bacon and egg whites. I drank a whey protein shake with strawberries mixed in for lunch and ate an open faced turkey and swiss cheese sandwich on one half of a multi grain english muffin for lunch as well. I was CRAVING chocolate at this point so I chose to eat a weight watchers chocolate chip muffin and a small weight watchers brownie. These really satisfied my chocolate cravings and were a good investment for me. There were oreos and chocolate chip cookies in the cabinet, but I didn't really want those. I went with the better investment for me, the low fat chocolate muffin and brownie. This is what Bethenny refers to when she writes about the "differential". The lower fat muffin was a smarter investment and I felt good about it. Go me! No one else will cheer for me so I'll cheer for myself...

Day fifteen-some days you just don't feel like balancing!

For those of you who read Bethenny's Naturally Thin book you know just what I mean when I say some days you just don't feel like balancing! For the most part I try not to obsess about food now that I've read her book. But for some reason today was a day when I was afraid to make certain food decisions. For instance, I ate turkey with a thin slice of swiss cheese on a small Italian roll. This is fine and would be considered a carb meal. Because I had this carb meal for lunch my food voice(or was it my food noise-sometimes it's hard to differentiate between the two)was telling me I should have a salad with some type of protein for dinner (I also ate a snicker bar for snack). With this in mind I ate a little bit of shrimp cocktail but was not in the mood for salad. I was just not in the mood because what I really wanted was pasta. I went on and on with this fear in my mind about it not being good to have back to back carbs. Finally, I just decided to make the pasta. I made a tiny bit of whole wheat spaghetti with a bit of marinara sauce and one meatball because SOME DAYS YOU JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE BALANCING. All is not loss; tomorrow will be a better day. It was a small bowl of pasta because I was "downsizing" like rule number 5. Seriously folks, I ate the downsized portion of pasta and it was so good and satisfying. Before reading Bethenny's book I would have felt guilty about wanting the pasta and then binge on a huge mound of it in rebellion (meanwhile I was just hurting myself). Now I know that no food is off limits. This is what I wanted so I had it. I just ate a small amount because it wasn't the best investment. No deprivation, it tasted great, and that was the end of the story--binge free!

Day fourteen--made it to the two week mark!

Day fourteen and I made it to the two week mark. I am really excited about this because I feel good. All Summer my ankles have been SWOLLEN due to overeating and the heat. Honestly, they have not been swollen these past two weeks. It is definitely no coincidence. I have lost 7lbs and I have a lot more energy.All this without deprivation. Anything I've wanted to eat, I have eaten. It's great.

So far I give this "naturally thin" way of eating two thumbs up!