Okay, I had a plan. I set it up on Sunday. But it’s my plan so I get to change it up when I want. Today was supposed to be about family, but as I put together my lunch I felt more like I need to talk food.

I’m not going to use the word diet, though technically it’s perfectly appropriate for the use. I just hate the word. It has too much other meaning that people use to place chains on their souls. I won’t diet. Instead, I will deliberately choose food that doesn’t make me feel bad.

I’ve never been drunk. Yeah, I’ll drink a bit. Once in a while. Usually at the end of a miserable work week when I’m done with people altogether. But I don’t overdo with alcohol. On the other hand, I have gotten sugar-drunk more than I like to think about. You know, there’s a bag of candy that doesn’t taste all that good but you keep eating it until you have a headache and you know you shouldn’t touch it anymore but keep putting them in your mouth… I’m not proud of it. I know it has done harm and I want that harm to end.

I have been trying to learn how my body responds to food. I don’t mean the fast enjoyment that I get from putting delicious stuff in my mouth. I don’t mean the drugging sensation from eating that is soothing and puts you to sleep after. I mean I am learning how I can eat to properly fuel my body so that a reasonable amount of food is satisfying for the longest amount of time. I am trying to adapt my eating habits so that they serve proper body function rather than short term satisfaction. I think I have found part of the puzzle by leaving carbs and sweets for late in the day if at all.

These days my breakfast is coffee with cream and a bowl of cottage cheese. Fruit makes me hungry too soon so I leave it out. My lunch is packed in a homemade bag. I fill a sandwich container with cheese sticks, olives, and veggies. There is a snack baggie with nuts and seeds, a yogurt, and often a fruit for the end of my work day. Sometimes I have hard boiled eggs to add, sometimes I put in egg bites from Costco. I guess I’m aiming for low carb with a vegetarian spin. I don’t know that this is going to help me lose any weight, but so far I definitely feel better eating with this pattern. At some point I’d like to figure out how to add in intermittent fasting.

So this is where I’m at for now. It can and probably will change as time goes on and I find other ways to eat. The foundation won’t change. I want to feed my body so I can live the best life possible for as long as I can. I share it to make it stick with myself and because maybe someone else might find it useful.