Intentions: A Review

I thought it might be useful today to remind myself of my avowed intentions, first posted a week or so ago, rate my perfomance, and maybe add another one or two.

• To eat a maximum of one slice of bread, or the equivalent, per day
• To drink a maximum of one glass of wine
• To avoid sweets
• To avoid pre-dinner and between-meals snacks
• To eat early in the evening
• To minimize my use of milk, butter and cheese
• To take small portions
• To leave food on my plate when I’m no longer hungry
• To maintain my regular exercise program
• To avoid reading while eating

Bread, then. I've done pretty well on this front, though I have fallen short of the goal on a couple of occasions. Same with the glass of wine: I think I only exceeded that mark on one occasion during the week. I have, I confess, indulged in some pre-dinner snacks--mostly a few lightly salted nuts. The jar sits in front of me while I wach the news. Or humus with small pita slices or yam sticks. Diary: not so good. Small portions: improvement needed. Leaving food: fail. I'm addicted to finishing my plate. I attribute this habit to growing up in England during World War II, plus my family's "waste not, want not" philosophy. More of this one day. Exercise: good. Avoiding reasding: Pretty darn good, too.

My son, in England, wisely suggested this addition:

* Eat slowly. Put down the knife and fork or spoon between each bite.

Yesterday, Wednesday

I don't know how many different ways I can say this: morning tea at 7AM. Exercise: twenty minutes of light weight work on the bench: at home, our maximum is 15lbs., better than nothing, but not quite heavy enough for me. Then a brisk walk around the hill with George.

For breakfast, a couple of poached eggs on a toasted English muffin. Butter, no marmalade. And a cup of coffee.

A very late lunch at Nordstroms--too late for me, but I'd made a date with Ellie to go shopping for clothes: a Chinese chicken salad. I ate the whole thing. And a cup of chai. And mid-afternoon, as a break from the shopping exertions, a small cup of coffee and---gasp--a chocolate biscotto at Starbucks.

Pre-dinner no-no: a half dozen nuts AND three of four pita pieces with humus. And for dinner, a full plate of leftover Cornish game hen (one half--see above somewhere) with couscous, Swiss chard, and green salad. And a glass of white wine.

After dinner--nothing!