Eating right - way harder than exercising for me :(

Warning- if you hate reading about a middle aged woman struggling with her eating lifestyle turn away from the page now- this one isn't for you.

So I have written down everything I've eaten over the last two days and decided I would share with you so a. you can feel good about your eating :) b. so I can look at what I need to change with my eating and c. to give you a laugh- yep dried apricots two days in a row- Oh NO!...
Monday:
Breakfast: bowl of cheerios with 1/2 cup strawberries, coffee and 8 oz skim milk
Lunch: 6 (halves) pita whole wheat bread  with 1 cup humus, cucumber 1/2 cup, carrots 1/2 cup, 16 oz low calorie arnold palmer drink (1/2 tea, 1/2 lemonade)
Snack: 8 oz fat free instant french vanilla drink
Dinner: Olive Garden with Mason- 8 oz ice tea/lemonade, 3 bread sticks, 2 salad plates (size of my palm) of their yummy salad, 3/4 spaghetti with meat sauce
Bedtime snack: 5 dried Apricots and 8 oz hot cocoa ( low cal)

Tuesday:
Breakfast: bowl of cheerios with 1/2 cup strawberries, coffee and 8 oz skim milk
Snack: Kashi Pumpkin granola bar and 12 oz fat free instant french vanilla
Lunch: 4 (halves) pita whole wheat bread with 1/2 cup humus, 16 oz low cal arnold palmer drink
Snack: 1 cup tortilla chips with 1/2 cup salsa
Dinner: 8 oz skim milk, three tacos ( hard shell- but not the really fatty ones :)), hamburger meat, refried beans, lettuce, shredded fiesta blend cheese and hot sauce on each taco approximately 1/4cup meat and beans on each taco
After dinner snack: 12 oz coffee and 4 dried apricots

O.k. I know, I know- way to many carbs ( next time I need to bag up individual portions of the pita so I don't keep dipping in the humus which isn't that bad for you, but 2 halves of pita are 170 calories, you add up my calories in just pita over the last two days- embarrassing), portions too large, and not enough veggies and fruits.  So now what- well after two days I recognize that I'm not drinking enough H2O (like I tell my patients to do all the time), and again I'm disappointed with the portion/carbs and lack of veggies and fruits.  Well in order to eat veggies and fruits you have to buy them and as we all know veggies and fruits don't last like carbs and processed food does in our fridge/kitchen so I will have to make weekly game plan for intake- UGH!  However, I know it will be worth it.  I'm better with all or nothing approach so I will give you update next week after I a. game plan my meals b. actually get to the store and buy produce and c. JUST DO IT!

The title of this Post is so true for me.  I really enjoy working out and enjoy the challenge of training, but I don't enjoy monitoring my intake.  However, I noticed after last year's 1/2 marathon I really didn't feel that great about body/weight even though I ran the fastest I've ever ran.  I'm getting older and I know I just can't "run it off" anymore.  I also have started to realize how my eating/choices really do impact my kids' eating patterns/food choices.  Hopefully my changes will also be an overall improvement for the whole family. 

Found a great Blog called Healthy Tipping Point which addresses a lot of nutrition/training issues.  She is my stature and realized about 5 years ago that even though her 5'3" frame was not over weight at 130 pounds she knew that her Healthy body size was less weight than that.  She really worked on her exercise and nutrition.  She lost about 10 lbs and became a vegetarian in the process.  Now no worries I don't see myself going Vegan in the near future, but I do think she has a lot of good advice for dealing with the struggle of finding your healthy tipping point.