Monday, October 08, 2012

Day 26: Easier Said Than Done

Two weeks ago, I pledged two things: To be more mindful while I'm eating, and to work on my to-bed transition time. I proceeded to eat dinner while watching TV. Then I stayed up too late watching more TV or looking at Reddit or playing Drop 7 (or some combination of the three).*

Lather, rinse, repeat for several days, until last week I consciously prepared a meal and sat down at the table, with no distractions, to eat. I hate to admit this, but it was uncomfortable. I wanted to finish eating quickly. I glanced at my phone sitting on the table next to me, and vaguely lamented that I had to use both a knife and a fork to eat and thus didn't have a free hand to check email. I even looked around for an easily-reachable magazine or newspaper.

I don't know why this was so difficult, but I kept it up for all of last week, when I was bacheloretting at home. I'm happy to report that it did, in fact, get easier. Look at that: Practice!

The bedtime transition has been another story. My first mistake there was discovering "Homeland," and watching all 13 episodes in just 4 days. So, uh, yeah, there were maybe a few late nights. Then Oktoberfest rolled into town, and all bets were off.

This week I'm traveling again, and plan to renew my commitment to a healthier pre-bedtime ritual. I'm also considering a fall cleanse so that I don't fall into hibernation habits like carb-loading and excessive couch-sitting.

Last week's inspiration: Trujoy Nutrition's Jenna Gass' suggestion via Twitter to eat 1 serving of raw vegetables with every meal (including breakfast!). I already throw a kale leaf or two in my morning smoothie, and subbing (or just adding!) raw veggies at other meals is working out well so far.

*I should note that I achieved my highest Drop 7 score while simultaneously browsing Reddit, so, you know, I'm not going cold turkey on that one.

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