One final down, two to go!

I had two options this morning. Either I could wake up at 5 and study for another hour before leaving for my meal management final or I could get up at 5:30, get an extra half hour of sleep, and not study. I chose the latter. :)

I decided to sleep a little more and have a good healthy breakfast. Sometimes those help out moreso then cramming in a little more study time!! Besides, my entire day yesterday consisted of studying and reviewing and I felt as if not much more would sink in at that point.

Breakfast was two slices of whole wheat bread from Trader Joes with 1/2 an avocado and some fresh pepper ground on top. And a glass of milk on the side. YUM...this breakfast held me over for a good 3-1/2 hrs, which is a lot to say for me. :)

I decided I could use a little bit of a caffeine boost for my 8'am final. This is made the regular way: 1 c. coffee, 1/2 c. milk, and 1 tsp. sugar. So good. :) I also brought along a handful of almonds to have for a snack before going to whole foods for some supplies.

Lunch was a hodge-podge. My typical Thursday lunch is meant to clean out the leftovers from the fridge, and I love it. Ha...one of my favorite ways to eat is to sample a bit of everything. I finished up the salmon from yesterday, had about 1/4 c. each of cottage cheese and ricotta cheese, the rest of the kashis (which equaled a serving,) a carrot and the last of the cherry tomatoes, the last of yesterday's quinoa, the rest of the beans (about 1/4 c.,) and a really juicy, delicious peach that I picked up at whole foods for dessert. This lunch kept me full and happy to go grocery shopping with mom. :)

...I also brought along a cup of hot soymilk to-go. Perfect for the rainy weather.

I was so excited to try out the new hand-held scanners that stop&shop have now! I wanted to scan everything in sight just for fun. ha...but I restrained myself. ;) And mom was happy because it kept me entertained...ha...I felt like a little kid again. I'm just wondering how they know people are being honest with these things? Either people are incredibly honest or the stores are being very, very trusting. I don't know. Either way, I liked the idea of seeing what my bill was coming up to, and I think it prevents a lot of mindless shopping.

I had a snack when I came home, even though I really wasn't all too hungry. A banana with a T. of almond butter was just perfect.

I was thinking of not going exercising today since shopping and walking around campus had kept me busy. BUT, the clouds cleared up long enough to get me out the door for a brief 3-4 mile walk with mom. It felt good to move and chat and laugh. It's funny how even a quick burst of energy can really wake a person up. :)

I had a nice big salad for supper with some yummy yellow bell peppers on top, along with the regular additions. I also added about 1/2-chicken breast and 1/2-c. black beans, with some fresh Trader Joe's salsa and a tsp of olive oil. Yum...

And on the side I had a slice of whole wheat sourdough bread from whole foods. Gooey and doughy and delicious. I think it might work it's way into tomorrow's breakfast. :)

I split this grapefruit for dessert with dad...

...and this is not you dreaming. This picture was stolen from yesterday's dessert, because I ate my peice too fast before snapping a photo! :)

I decided that tonight I'll just be refreshing and not studying. My brain needs a rest in order to make a full day of hard-core studying tomorrow, so I'll take advantage of a night off. Maybe journaling? And lounging in my pj's for sure. :)

Exercise: Just a 3-4 mile walk

~Edited to Add:

My night snack of yogurt topped with 2 T. of the best granola ever and a handful of raisins. Mmm..

~~**Cutting Calorie Counting**~~

I've noticed a lot of people have a hard time with this. There are a ton of personal opinions and stories based on the pros and cons of it all. Personally, I think it has its time and place but isn't meant for long term usage.

When I needed to lose my freshman-15, it came in handy to figure out what a day typically would look like and kept me accountable for keeping my portion sizes reasonable.

It also came in handy when I needed to gain weight. There were times when I just wasn't hungry but knew that I needed to force myself. It helped me find the foods that would pack in the calories without filling me up too much.

But with maintenance? Where do people draw the line? I think once you figure out proper portion sizes, and start to get a hang of intuitive eating (learning what it feels like when you're hungry or full) you'll be better off without it. It can be compulsively obsessive, or make you eat more when you don't really need it (aren't hungry) or eat less when you could use it (some days you just need more food then others!)

Try giving up calorie counting for a while and see how you feel. If it's too scary to go cold turkey, write down everything you ate throughout the day and tally it up at the end. Are you hungry? Did you eat when you were full and hungry and did it pan out pretty well? Did you choose healthy options most of the time? How does your calorie count look in comparison to where you were aiming for?

Do this for a while until you can go a couple days before tallying it up. Try a week next. And if you're feeling really good about this new idea, try giving up the tallying journal for a couple days at a time. You'll be surprised over how liberating this new way of eating can be. :)