Vegetablehead

I just wanted to sign on and post an update about all the random things I have been trying to change.

When it comes to cursing, I am doing worse than the first week of Lent, but better than my normal habits. I have slipped back into more profanity while driving, which is always my weakest point. One thing I have done well this week is really keeping my temper in check and not raising my voice when I am counting to three for C. I stay much calmer and it seems to give him a chance to slow his roll on his own. When I am talking really loud at him or yelling, it's like he feels an obligation to fight back just to stand his ground, but if I keep calm, he wills oemtimes stop misbehaving on his own. I don't blame him, I wouldn't be inclined to cooperate with someone who was yelling down the hall for me to hurryupandputonyourshoesrightnowwehavetogowetalkedaboutthisalreadyspeeditupweregoingtobelate.

On the eating front, it's a mixed bag of slipping and success, but overall a really good outcome.

I have stuck perhaps 85% to my no-white-flour rule, and for a few weeks I ate very little flour at all. At any rate, I am really conscious of it when I am eating things made with flour, which helps me eat less of it. I know it might sound kind of extreme not to eat flour, but I am at my wit's end trying to get the bod to lose weight. I was doing some research about metabolism and digestion, and I was surprised to learn that -- if I understand correctly -- the only time a cell can store fat is in the presence of insulin (people who actually know, is this true? I think it is, but I am not sure.). So I thought, if I avoid having an insulin spike, I can avoid putting on fat, which might make it easier to lose fat, since I won't be replacing all the fat I burn. If that makes sense.

And without sweets and large doses of flour I seem to be doing well with it! :) Of course, I totally bombed on Norah's birthday by eating a lot of cake. I know this will sound braggy in a granola-mom kind of way, but it's seriously true: after eating well for two good weeks and then indulging in so much cake, I felt absolutely terrible! I felt like I'd been poisoned, or at the very least, like I had been out partying really hard. I had a terrible headache and felt all sluggish and gross. So, I can't just indulge in so much sugar anymore. But it makes me crave healthy food, which I can assume is a good thing. :)

I am still a big fan of the Ezekiel sprouted grain tortillas. In fact, tonight I was craving something sweet, so I heated one up and put almond butter and banana slices on it and folded it in half and then half again. It was REALLY good. It was sweet and a little salty and kind of gloopy in that pleasing dessertlike way. And it was really nutritious, and it didn't make me crave more.

As far as using my veggie shares as well as possible, I would probably get about an 85% or 90% success rate on that. I am feeling sad today because I found that my beautiful cut-and-clean greens went bad while I was intending to use them :( (Interestingly, "intending" to use a vegetable soon doesn't render it incapable of spoiling. Note to self...). I made vegetable soup again today, and it seems to be a good solution to using up every last scrap of vegetable. I added some rainbow chard stalks (diced) that have been in my freezer for a while.

Grocery bill is getting under control as well, which is great! I'll write more about the budget later, because right now my eyes are starting to cross. It's been a really long day. :)

So, to sum it up, eating experiment is going well and I feel a lot better in general. I have much more energy, and I like that now I am craving the healthy foods rather than yearning for cupcakes.

This post has been a lot of business, but on a personal note my two kids are so much fun these days. Norah is in that super-turbo-development stage between 12 and 18 months. She is saying more words, learning more skills; new stuff every day. Chris is so perceptive. I am amazed by the fact that he can watch five minutes of a story on TV and know who all the characters are, what their names are, how they are related to one another, and what their motivations are for their actions. I feel like he is ready to learn things, more than they teach him at school. Where should I start?

His personality is growing more and more like mine -- he likes to be social but then he hits his limit and has to be by himself for a while. It is kind of cool to be able to help him navigate things as a friendly introvert, instead of just labeling him shy and trying to make him change.

So that is that. I am writing in circles now. More soon. :)