What I've Learned

I have sporadically been monitoring what I eat with livestrong.com for the last few weeks.  And I've learned a lot more than I thought I would.  Please be patient with this post.  I get so excited about it that I get a little scatterbrained.  Because I am never ever scatterbrained otherwise.  No, really.

I've done the Weight Watchers thing, and I loved it.  About 4 years ago (right before I decided to have 2 more babies and by default gain 40 lbs.), I lost about 30 lbs with Weight Watchers.  And on and off again, over those years I've used their online food tracking system.  I thought it was pretty decent, although I had some issues with user-friendliness.

The livestrong thing has its pros and cons, but it certainly answers to my user-friendly issues, and for some reason, I had an easier time dealing with my emotional issues with this than the WW.  One thing I learned from WW is that when you are tracking your food, you have to think of it as a tool which enables you to know yourself and make necessary changes.  You can't look at it as the food police putting limits on you, and you can't be afraid to monitor your food choices, good or bad.  You kind of have to take the emotions out of it.  When I tracked my food before, I'd hit my limit for the day and give completely up.  I think because my new tracker breaks things down into a little more detail it was easier for me to look at my choices a little more objectively.  Anyway.  Whatever.  It's all rationalization and gets me farther away from the point I'm really trying to make here.

So, I learned a lot more about what I eat than I did with WW.  With WW (under the old points system, not the one they've come out with this year, in all fairness), I was counting my points (essentially calories) and trying to stay within my range.

With my new-to-me tracker, I've learned that even when I'm staying within the calorie goals I've set for myself, I eat a lot, a lot, a lot of fat.  True, it's better-for-you fat than I used to eat; I've spent some time trying to get partially hydrogenated oils out of our cabinets.  But still, it's a lot of fat.  Way more than the recommended 30% of your calories.  I'm sure that eating peanut butter by the spoonful has nothing whatsoever to do with this.  Even though this should have been really obvious to me, this was a real revelation for me.  I thought I was being good (except for the PB), but I wasn't.

Then, combine that whole fat thing with the realization that I don't get nearly enough fiber.  Not even close.  Not that this is really a shocking realization since I tend to crave refined carbs and avoid fresh vegetables.  But still.  I need more fiber.

And, and, and I get way too much salt.  (Fluid retention, anyone?)  Again, this shouldn't be a shock to this American since we hear about all three of these issues regularly.  Still, though, I thought I was doing so good.

AND (this might seem totally random, but it's a big deal to me since I am an avid milk-drinker) did you know that Braum's fat-free milk, which we buy because it's BGH free, has 50 MORE CALORIES per cup than other brands of fat-free milk?  I sure didn't until about 2 weeks ago.  How does that work anyway?  It creates a dilemma for me.  Another reason we buy from Braum's is because a gallon of milk there costs the same as a half gallon of organic milk at Wal-Mart or Target.  When your family of 8 goes through 4 gallons of milk a week, that's a whole lotta $$$ (upwards of $55/month).

And suddenly, voila!  No wonder I stay put at my current weight.  Not to mention that my exercise program has gone completely out the window. 


Soooooo, I am now going to work really hard at altering my food choices.  This won't be easy.  Expect whining.  And crying.  I'm such a wuss, and so in love with food.  But I gotta do this.  Wish me luck!