Thoughts from the Grocery Store. . . . .

as i walked out of the grocery store the other night, 

i started thinking of the little things i noticed in just one trip.

yes, i do have more important things to think about.

but sometimes, it's a good thing to let your mind wander,

right?

i hope so!

because mine wanders a TON:)

what i thought about at the grocery store:

~ ~ ~that i prefer doing my shopping at night.

i know my mom hates hearing that.  but it's so much more relaxed

and i sometimes take one of the girls with me:)

~ ~ ~i am so HAPPY to see the big juicy blueberries in January. . .

and they're pretty inexpensive!

STRAWBERRIES, too:)

~  ~ ~note to cashier. . . .

i know you think you're being incredibly thoughtful if, by chance,

i'm buying a little treat.

but you know, that doesn't mean it's for me!

it could be a treat for one of my girls.

so PLEASE don't hold it up and ask, LOUDLY, 

"Is this for you"?

or "Would you like this in your purse?"

because i promise you, if it is for me,

i WILL deny it.

regardless of who it's for,

i will deny the possibility it's for me by saying

"no, just put it in the bag"

or i might even go so far as to say

"it's not for me...just put it in the bag".

GEEZ. . . .

do you expect me to grab it and say

"oh thank you!  I'm glad you reminded me.

i need to SCARF it down in the car before i get home,

so good thing you loudly asked if i wanted it in my purse!!!"

GEEZ. . . again:)

but thanks anyway for your thoughtfulness!

what else, what else. . . .

~  ~ ~i know!  I went to the dr. yesterday and mentioned how frustrated i was

at all the different diets out there,

how stubborn my body was being. . .

you know, stuff like that.

she is so REAL and down to earth.

i love her!

here was her advice.

my extreme FATIGUE was in large part due to my MS.

good luck with that one:)

but my diet was most likely contributing to it.

she said, based on her conversation with me, that i might benefit from

a higher protein and high fiber diet.

and within a few weeks should feel some good effects.

so, i asked the $30,000 dollar question (s)

1.  was she saying to cut out all carbs, sugar and flour stuff?

(as i watch my morning show and see a commercial for the CUTEST

heart shaped donuts at Dunkin Donuts!:)

HELP!!!!!

2.  in addition to lowering my fatigue,

would i lose a few (or more) pounds?

3.  what about all the HOOPLA about 

clean eating, Paleo diet, hunter and gatherer dieting.....

what about it?

this was her take on it and as i respect her opinion,

i have to say i agree.

HER ANSWERS:

1.  i did NOT have to cut out all carbs.

yes, it would be beneficial to cut out white stuff. . . .

white flour, white sugar, white rice, white potato (i think she said that)

the good stuff.

the best i can.  she didn't say go crazy.

just make a better effort.

but she does want me to still have whole grains in moderation. . .

whole grain bread, pasta. . . .

(no heart shaped dunkin donuts, i guess.  boo!)

and as i said, more protein.

one tip she had was to drink 2 packs of the

Special K protein water flavorings/day,

which would mean i had 4 of my 6-8 glasses of water with protein added.

this drink flavoring has 5 mg of protein per packet,

so by drinking 2/day was an easy way to add 10mg of protein to my diet:)

2.  yes, i would probably lose some weight, 

depending on me controlling cravings, moderate exercise and eliminating

fried foods and that kind of thing.

3. what about all the EXTREME diets out there?

TOTALLY not necessary, in her opinion.

not bad diets.

just not necessary.

(ya, try telling that to all the people who try to make you feel like

a criminal because you just ate something that had a label on it.)

she said diets like that are still fads, regardless of what anyone says.

some may stay on them for life, but diets like this have been around forever.

i totally agree. . . .just as i agree that if someone loves eating this way and is doing well,

that's great!

but as she said, you "have to buy into the whole plan, philosophy and all that"

and if you don't, they won't work any better than anything else.

which is true of anything.

what she DID suggest was. . . .

drumroll please. . . .

w

e

i

g

h

t 

w

a

t

c

h

e

r

s

they have changed things so you get credit for eating more protein and fiber, i believe.

i'll be honest.

i'm going to have a piece of my daughter's birthday cakes.

and a warm chocolate chip cookie once in awhile.

and strawberry shortcake at least once or twice during strawberry season.

i know this about myself.

and i know i get tired of meat.

and hate touching raw meat.

so, i need a healthy eating plan that understands i will cheat sometimes.

and my whole body isn't suddenly screwed up because i did.

(excuse me for a moment while i change the channel.

Al Gore is on the screen. uggggh  GO AWAY!)

okay, back to my eating.

i'm gonna give it a try.

my neurologist doesn't want me to do anything extreme for a diet or exercise.

and this all seems pretty non-extreme.

so i'll try...for real this time.

i'll keep you posted.

and now that i've gone over this,

have you ever seen

The Biggest Loser?

i kinda get tired of the yelling, screaming, crying. . . .

good tips sometimes but i would rather read a book.

or watch Honey Boo Boo.

JUST KIDDING!!!:)

however, Bob Harper, the trainer from the show, has a great book.

in particular, he has a list of "rules"

called 

The Skinny Rules

1. Drink a large glass of water BEFORE Every meal-No Excuses!
2. Don't Drink Your Calories
3. Eat Protein at EVERY Meal -or stay hungry & grouchy!
4. Slash Your Intake of Refined Flours & Grains
5. Eat 30-50 grams of FIBER per day!
6. Eat Apples & Berries Every single day- Yes, EVERY-SINGLE-DAY!
7. NO Carbs after Lunch ( eat 'lean & green' at night)
8.Learn to Read Food Labels so You know what you are eating!
9. Stop Guessing about Portion Size & Get it Right-for good!
10. No more added sweeteners-including artificial ones!
11. Get rid of White potatoes!
12. Make one day a week Meatless
13. Get rid of Fast foods & fried foods
14. Eat a REAL breakfast
15. Make Your own food and eat at least ten meals a week at home
16.. Banish High Salt Foods
17. Eat Your Vegetables-(no excuses)- Just DO it!
18.Go to bed hungry!
19. Sleep Right
20. Plan one splurge MEAL per week

OK- there you have them --print them out, tape them on your refrigerator and let them be your guide to NO EXCUSES. 

These rules are NONNEGOTIABLE remember!!

I think these sound pretty reasonable, don't you?

and last but not least (i promise) a few other interesting tips.

i tried to make these printouts as large as possible but if you can't read them,

do whatever you need to in order to make them bigger. 

they're really good:)

that's it for me!

i'm sure the only person who read this all the way through is my mom,

and even she might have had enough! hahaha

have a great day!

Suzanne