Here's my take on it:
For me these first couple of weeks are all about breaking my snacking habits. Being home with the kids, I don't really eat a real "lunch" or even a breakfast... I would feed them and snack on some of what they're having, or graze on leftovers in the fridge, more often just snack on junky snacks all afternoon, and usually a combination of all of the above.
Also, I already stress about meals around here. Okay, maybe stress is a strong word, but my dissatisfaction with my own eating habits, combined with the horrid pickyness of my two kids and also Sawyer's soy and dairy allergies thrown in there, I've just been completely burnt out on meal planning, which has been causing a lot of poor choices and take-out options. At this point in time I despise it. Nine times out of ten, I absolutely dread preparing and sitting down to a meal with my family. It's just no fun right now.
So for me, a short term meal replacement plan -something like Special K or Slim-Fast or the like- boils down to this; I just don't have to think about food. I don't have to think so much/stress about what I'm feeding everyone (me) all day long... During the week Ryan is gone and I can just focus on getting the kids to eat during the day and then plan one good meal every evening, so that relieves some of that stress while letting my cut back my calories but still get the protein and fiber and nutrients I need without having to count, measure, or think too hard about it. It's just simple. And also, just keeping my options simple and "planned" breaks me out of the "hmmm... what do I want for a snack/meal?..." mindset. I just don't have to think about it. Instead I grab a snack bar or a flavored water/protien mix, or from my very short list of good "real food" options (i.e. grapefruit, grapes, veggies) or a meal bar. And I've truly found the Special K products to be really quite filling and sustain me easily to the next meal/snack time.
This is not a permanent plan. This is a two week (or so) deal that I wanted to do to a) give me a break from thinking/planning/preparing meals that just frustrated everybody... a bit of time "off" and to regroup and start fresh and feel better about eating, and b) to break my habit of unhealthy snacking.
After this initial "jump start" I'm planning on hitting the conscious meal planning and stricter grocery lists and trying to stick to a lower glycemic diet.
And by the way, I'm not trying to "survive on cereal and drinks"... Those are simply options for snacks and smaller meals leaving me to still eat at least one regular meal a day (trying to keep in mind balance and nutrients and portions).
Labels: eating
