I'll Have Fries With That!

I fell in love with these guys.

I made the mistake of drinking black coffee for breakfast.

It's too harsh for me now that I'm eating French Skinny portions.

Tomorrow I'm back to the tea.

A leaf hanging in midair.

4 had a play date with his buddy. Afterwards, we went to a diner for lunch.

A real jukebox.

I can't order French Skinny portions, so I ordered a giant cheeseburger with fries and a to go container.

It felt a little funny at first but I didn't want to be staring at all that extra food on my plate. And I don't feel French enough to just let them throw it away.

I'm amazed at how full I am on half a cheeseburger and four fries.

When we got home, 4 gave himself a 2 hour nap. He woke up and we both wanted ice cream.

His favorite, mint chocolate chip.

I ordered a kids one scoop chocolate fudge.

This was dinner. Sweet potato fries dipped in mayo.

I actually ate more today than I have for the last few days and feel a little uncomfortably full. I have totally changed my "normal full feeling" in 3 days and after 2 or 3 bites I don't really "taste for flavor" anymore.

Today's motto:

"I'll have fries with that!"

Day 123 from France

Shaboom sends us her update from Paris SoCal...

Saint Lazare train station



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Joyeux Dimanche - Here's to you!

Karen - Burbank, CA

I took this yesterday. The holidays are here, ready or not!

Happy Sunday.

As we speed toward the holidays I had to dedicate Joyeux Dimanche to you!

Thank you for keeping me inspired.

Sarcastic Bastard said...

This is so helpful and well-distilled. Thank you! I found you through Ms. Moon's page.

Best,

SB

December 3, 2010 12:34 PM

Than you Sarcastic Bastard! I love your name and Ms. Moon too!

Joni N. said...

So glad you had your epiphany. I had mine this summer. I was having back problems (degenerative disc) and had to totally stop working out (except for some physical therapy exercises) for about 4 months. Freaked out about not working out, I watched my portion sizes and ate reasonably heathly foods. To my amazement, I actually lost a couple of pounds (I'm not overweight to begin with). I'm back to working out again but just for 20 minutes a day. I discovered that I don't need to kill myself working out hard because it only made me hungrier and frustrated. Now I'm so much happier.

December 2, 2010 5:08 AM

Joni, I'm so glad you found your epiphany too! Thanks for sharing this!

thecommonsensualist said...

It's very interesting, isn't it? I had a similar epiphany about a year ago. I stopped dieting, stopped constantly worrying about how many times a week I went to the gym. My only rules for myself were 1. don't eat mindlessly and 2. If you're not really enjoying it, stop eating it/don't cook it. But as I went on, I noticed small habits I'd had all my life: like eating in the car on the way home from the store (!), putting too much on my plate at once (I usually only use dessert-sized plates now, unless it's a bulky salad), plopping down on the couch with snack food at the end of a tiring night at work and watching tv (now I take a book into the bathtub instead).

Instead of gaining weight uncontrollably as I thought I would this year, I went up slightly at first, and then started going DOWN...and this is with barely walking the past 2 months due to an injury. But the best part of all: I feel like I'm 'myself' again, not trying to fit into anyone's idea of what I should be like; and I have zero anxiety towards food, only joy and anticipation. That's pretty much what my whole blog is about...

bon chance! not that you'll even need it. :-) you got this.

December 4, 2010 7:49 AM

Of course this is why I have gravitated to TheCommonSenualists blog. Her motto is "eat only what you love".

I now eat "only what I love" and if it's not absolutely wonderful I pass.

karen in slo said...

Okay, I've got to say that you are blowing my mind.

I've been reading your blog for so long, but it's always been in a "fly on the wall" sort of way. I've been cheering you on (in my head) but NEVER did I consider that this is something for me. No way, Jose.

My Type A personality feels safer with counting things. Counting calories doesn't work for me because I become crazy-obsessed way. I usually do an "unoffical" weight watchers approaching, journaling and keeping track of points. I also exercise like a fiend.

And I'm not losing weight. (this could also be due to the fact that I get frustrated and eat as much chocolate that I can find, and then have to start the process all over again.)

But now.

I can't get your recent posts out of my head. They're calling me! But I'm having serious control issues. How do I let go of counting?!

I'm nervous about trusting myself.

December 4, 2010 10:56 AM

Karen in Slo, thank you so much for rooting me on! I can absolutely relate to the diet mentality and working out like a fiend! How do you let go of counting? How about you give yourself a week off. Tell yourself you can always go back to the old way, this is not a diet. Remember to give yourself 3 days to get used to French Skinny portions, but eat whatever your little heart desires. No working out like a fiend just walking to the store, looking for gnomes and smelling flowers! When those sneaky little thoughts start to make you feel guilty tell them to come back in a week. Let me know what happens!

zanymad said...

I don't know why we didn't come to this conclusion sooner. As I think back over the last year that I have also tried all of the above mentioned diets, I also remember thinking that I wished I could eat like I was 20 again. The point being is that I hardly ate...I was, in my mind, never hungry. The truth of it is, I had so many other things going on, I only ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was full. I weighed 105 lbs. Now after two children, a nasty divorce and years of sacrifice, I've found that food has been my one constant. It has become a habit...even when I am not hungry. So now I am trying to break that habit...and thinking it sounds a lot more fun to do this in France!

Zanymad, you know how much I love you. You've hit the nail on the head and are EXACTLY right! Food makes us feel better. It just does. It can still be your constant. Just start eating French Skinny portions. They will become your new normal portions in 3 days and you will be amazed at how full you become. You and food can still be friends!

"Choose carefully and with passion!"

"They Say......."

Karen - Day 122 - Burbank, CA

Lunch

To let myself off the hook about what I "think" I should be eating or doing is like a vacation. I've been on so many diets for so many years I have a suitcase full of ideas from the world of "they say".

The no carbs diet, the blood type diet, the grapefruit diet, the cleanse, the shakes, counting calories.....I've tried it all. They all worked. For awhile. I would reach my goal. (I love a goal.) And then I'd reward myself by eating all of the things I had denied myself. You know where I'm going with this. I'm nothing if not a cliche.

But I'm not an idiot. I knew deep down this is where my answer was. I fought hard against this being the answer. I would have rather walk 64 miles a week and mindlessly go up and down 640 flights of stairs instead of this being the answer. If I had started this experiment with no breakfast except a pot of tea, the lunch above and the same thing for dinner I would have been depressed for weeks. It would have felt like another diet. To me, Diet=Denying myself.

This is not a diet. I was not hungry at breakfast so I did not eat it. I was actually excited when I started to get hungry around lunchtime and enjoyed thinking about and deciding what I would have for lunch. BBQ rib dipped in sauce. (I love to dip.) Fresh baguette with butter and cheese. I made some iced jasmine tea to go with it. (I know, Michele, tea with lunch is not French!) The joy of eating is important. I have missed it. Now that I have it back, I'm hanging on for good.

It's interesting that "I" tried everything I could think of for 119 days before I finally asked for some divine guidance. Divine guidance brought me to science. Science brought me these 2 facts.

1. If I ate 10 hamburgers a day or 1/4th of one hamburger a day, my stomach would get used to this in 3 days. Which means I have been eating what I have deemed the right portions for myself and I can change that. In 3 days. I will not be denying myself anything because I will be full, just like before.

2. People only "taste for flavor" for about 3 or 4 bites of food. I've been trying this and for me it's really only the first 2 bites. After that it's just eating to fill up.

Shaboom told me that in France it is unheard of to eat standing up. Stores are closed for hours to enjoy lunch. It becomes an event. (Now, it's not going to take hours to eat French Skinny portions so I can only imagine what shenanigans are going on after lunch in a locked store! Ah the French.....)

Day 122 from France

Shaboom sends us her update from Paris SoCal...

Arts & Métiers metro stop



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Everything looks a little brighter

Karen - Day 121- Burbank, CA

Everything looks a little brighter.

Pot of tea for breakfast......Just not hungry.

Lunch: A baguette with Momma's tomatoes, some cheese and water.

Hubby made BBQ ribs and stuffed chili peppers for dinner.

This is my portion.

I spot raised eyebrows from Hubby.

Which leads me to my next hurdle.

"Other people's idea of a healthy portion."

My sister, Tammy, who has always been one of my spiritual guides, reminded me of this quote.

"One eats in holiness and the table becomes an altar."

How Beautiful.

Day 121 from France

Shaboom sends us her update from Paris SoCal...

Near Hôtel de Ville...




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone 4