Resolution 13: Eat Breakfast at Home

Eat Breakfast at Home

I am not sure when it happened, it was sometime last year or the year before, but I fell into the habit of driving through the McDonald's drive-thru for breakfast once a week. Typically on Friday, I would leave the house without eating breakfast and instead eat it in my car on my way to work, enjoying the greasy goodness of whatever number of meal I had ordered that day. It all started as my way of rewarding myself for making it successfully to the end of a busy work week.

Unfortunately, over time, a once a week treat gradually developed into a bi or tri-weekly habit. This past fall I took an assessment of this habit of mine; quickly realizing that I was consuming too many calories during each McDonald's breakfast stop. But, did I discontinue going? Not at all. Rather, I tweaked what I ordered so that would minimize how many calories I consumed. Since this last fall, I have been ordering a sausage breakfast burrito (300 calories) or an egg McMuffin (also 300 calories) with a small diet soda.

Nonetheless, even with only 300 calories being consumed with each of my McDonald's stops, I can't shake this feeling in my gut that it's simply not a healthy habit. I am sure there is research out there to prove it, but I could not find it. No matter, I am going with my gut on this one. Therefore, this week I eat breakfast at home.

Resolution 12: Eat Fewer Potatoes, Especially French Fries & Potato Chips

Eat Fewer Potatoes, Especially French Fries & Potato Chips

When I was a little girl, maybe nine or ten years old, my teacher that year had asked each of her students to answer a list of questions. One of those questions had been, "What's your favorite food?" I had answered, "Potatoes!" 

Poutine: fries, covered in cheese, covered in gravy. Mmm.

That love for potatoes has never ended. There were more than a few times when, during my living-single days, I would come home from school and boil a potato or two, cover them in butter, and call it diner. When I was in late elementary school, my mother, my grandmother, my cousin, and I drove to Colorado to visit one of my aunts: it was she who introduced me to one of my favorite snack foods still to this day--salt and vinegar chips. About five years ago, on a trip to Quebec with family, Scott and I fell in love with poutine: a Canadian "delicacy" of french fries, covered in cheese, covered in gravy. And now, with Newt's only a few miles from our home, sometimes it is all but impossible to ignore the calling of their crispy, golden fries (which I then dip in their tasty, fatty, chipotle mayo). 


It is this love that I have for potatoes that will make this week's resolution all the more difficult. This week, I eat no french fries and no potato chips, plus I will attempt to avoid potatoes all together (no matter what the preparation). 


This past June, Harvard released a study that addressed a few foods that, when eaten regularly, cause pounds to creep up on a person. According to the Washington Post:

"Among all the foods studied, potatoes stood out. Every additional serving of potatoes people added to their regular diet each day made them gain about a pound over four years. It was no surprise that french fries and potato chips are especially fattening. But the study found that even mashed, baked or boiled potatoes were unexpectedly plumping, perhaps because of their effect on the hormone insulin."

It is the findings of this study that will serve as my motivation for this week. Can I do it for a week? I think so. For a lifetime? Well, I'll take this resolution one step at a time. 

Resolution 11: No Caffeine & No Snacks Two Hours Before Bed

No Caffeine and No Snacks Two Hours Before Bed

In the past few weeks there have been a few nights during which I struggled a bit with falling asleep quickly. The time for bed would arrive and I would go through my nightly routine of putting on my pajamas, washing my face, and tucking myself in beneath the covers, but then would proceed to simply attempt to count sheep (actually, I count shoes, but I digress) while listening to my husband snore as he soundly slept. In the past, this had not been an issue: always I fell asleep before Scott. This new trend of sleeplessness is why this week I am working on improving my ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep solidly through the night. 


First of all, I am going to avoid caffeine at least the last two hours before I send myself to bed. According to the Mayo Clinic, "the stimulating effects of...caffeine--which takes hours to wear off--can wreak havoc with quality sleep." When I was younger, this never seemed to impact my sleep patterns, but now that I am in my mid-thirties, it seems to keep me from crashing as soon as my head hits my jersey-covered pillow. Additionally, I am not going to eat the last two hours before I head to bed. Today Health, in the online article "Eat Your Way to a Good Night's Sleep," recommends eating a dinner that contains 600 calories or fewer, and not consuming large snacks 2-3 hours prior to bed because one's digestion slows down and makes an individual feel uncomfortable and often prohibits a sound sleep. Hopefully these two small tasks (or lack there of) will help me rest better each evening. 




As for not drinking my calories last week: it went well. In fact, in seven days I took in fewer than 200 liquid calories. I plan to continue this resolution in the weeks to come.

Resolution 10: Drink Fewer Calories

Drink Fewer Calories

According to a 2011 CNN article, most Americans consume sugary beverages on a daily basis; unfortunately, these caloric drinks are linked to weight gain, obesity, and diabetes. Despite the fact that this article focuses on sugary sodas and sports drinks, neither of which are my crux, I do consume too many of my daily calories through beverages. For me, juice (Simply Lemonade calls to me every time I walk though the grocery store) and beer are the caloric drinks I consume most each week. Therefore, my goal for this week is a fitting one. 

As a general rule, I plan to drink no beverages that contain more than 100 calories a serving. This way, I can drink a serving of skim milk in the morning with no worries (91 calories for 8 ounces), or after a hard day of work I can feel free to help myself to a whiskey and Diet Coke in place of my typical beer (98 calories a serving in place of the average 150 in a beer). I'll will, however, eliminate all juice, mixed drinks (a Newt's margarita is a guilty pleasure that, according to Health magazine, likely contains near 500 calories), and beer. Additionally, this resolution should create more opportunities for me to work in drinking more water: if I am not sipping juice or beer, but I find myself thirsty, I will just grab my water bottle instead. 






To touch base on last week's goal--I was not as successful as I have been with other past goals. I found that in my busy life, I multitask without even thinking about it. More than once I found myself halfway through a meal before I realized I was also reading or catching up on my email. Therefore, in addition to working on drinking fewer calories this week, I will also be continuing to work on eating mindfully. 

Results: Month 2