this isn't about chocolate, really

Yay, I've lost the three pounds I put on in Austria! Despite the decadent breakfast I had on the weekend, even. I don't tend to be paranoid about a few pounds here and there, but I also found I had slipped into bad Schloss eating habits after I got back...wanting dessert after every meal, for instance, and getting used to the taste of high-fat cuisine. If I didn't do something, I knew those three pounds would find friends.

Don't know about the rest of you, but I also find that if I eat badly and don't get enough exercise, my energy levels lag. Within a day or two of purposefully switching back to healthier foods and running, I could clearly feel the change.

I know this doesn't work for everyone, but I've lost as much as 20 lb in the past by doing the following:

- I drink water instead of juice at mealtimes (I've never been a big pop drinker, so don't like diet colas). 6 fl oz of apple juice has 90 calories, for example, and is mostly sugar water. I'd rather have an apple instead....more filling and better for me.

- Take smaller servings. Or if I can't serve myself: most restaurants serve way too much for my appetite, so I take the leftovers home for lunch the next day.

- Eat more slowly. Stop as soon as I start feeling full, even if it means leaving food on the plate and (this is the challenge for me) even if it tastes really, really good.

- I don't deprive myself. I'll still eat things like chocolate (how could I NOT eat chocolate??) and other decadent sweets, but a little at a time, savoring instead of hoovering. I especially have a weakness for the little mini chocolate bars that come out just before Hallowe'en (YES, LIKE NOW!!!). And for dark chocolate. And, um, milk chocolate. And those little chocolates with booze inside them. And chocolate and raspberry/orange anything. Okay, maybe chocolate in general.

- Keep healthy snacks handy for grazing. I'm VERY big on grazing, and this can be a problem since I work at home alone most of the time. Jeff tends to like having chocolate bars and chips and cookies around. If I don't have an alternative, I'll inevitably opt for whatever's available. The biggest problem for me in this area is boredom. Baby carrots may taste great for a few days, but then the sight of them makes me want to run screaming (and probably in the direction of Jeff's Reese's peanut butter cups in our snack jar). So I switch frequently, always looking out for interesting but lowfat things to nibble on during the day. My current faves:

• Light peanut butter on rice cakes or celery sticks.
  
• A bit of miso spread on cucumber rounds. This was a favourite childhood snack of mine.
  
• Source(tm) yogurt (50 calories/tub), different flavours.
  
• Carrot sticks and other cut-up veggies with lowfat poppy seed dressing.
  
• Small piece of soft or medium-soft tofu topped with a bit of soy sauce, vegetable oil and a few drops of dark sesame oil, broiled. Or a piece of tofu topped with grated ginger and soy sauce, microwaved.
  

POLL: What about the rest of you? Healthy or non-healthy snacks? If healthy, what do you eat? (I need more ideas!)

- Make time to exercise regularly. This is the most important for me, since I LIKE eating, and exercising more means I can indulge more often. :-) I like to go running. I also go on frequent "power walks": walking as quickly I can without running for 30-60 minutes...if I'm not red-faced and perspiring by the end, it wasn't a power walk. I often combine my runs and walks with errands I need to do, e.g. I'll run or power-walk to the grocery store with an empty backpack. Take stairs instead of escalators, etc.

A food-related aside: YAY, I found fresh figs in a grocery store on Front Street! Since trying them for the first time in Austria, I've wanted more. I had started bagging a bunch to try recreating Lazi's fig salad, but then noticed that they cost 99 cents each. Yikes, pretty expensive. So I bought two and ate them by themselves for dessert. Not as good as the ones I had in Austria, but still pretty tasty. And good for me, too!

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