Paying attention to what your body really wants and needs

Well, it's official. I'm sick. Nothing serious, just a cold. Enough to make me tired, sniffly and a little bit cranky.

It's also the kind of thing that I've let throw me off track countless times before. I use it as an excuse to stop tracking, and eat what I want. And what do I want? Well, usually I end up eating comfort food. Cookies, muffins, pasta, you get the drift. It's also easy-to-grab foods , since when I'm sick, I don't feel like taking the time in the kitchen to make things. So, sometimes that's when I grab the granola bars or the crackers. You get the drift...

To be honest, right now, I'm not too happy with my food choices today. I'll be within my points, but if you've read my post about the diet part of my plan, that's not all there is to it. I started out well, with a bowl of hot 5 grain cereal, milk and saskatoon berries, but it went down from there. Snack was crackers and cheese. I had some crispy minis (little rice cakes) in the car. Half a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch.

Don't get me wrong. I don't consider these horrible foods, and it doesn't make the day a write off, but by eating these foods, I'm not getting the whole, unprocessed foods that I do need in my diet. What I'm doing is grabbing the easily accessible foods that require little effort.

So, right now, while I'm writing this, I'm trying to focus on what my body really needs. If I really think about it, I could go for an orange right now. Maybe a bowl of soup for dinner. Those things feel like they'd be really satisfying right now.

On the other side of it, if I picture myself eating a muffin, I don't see myself feeling better because of it. If I think about a cookie (which is what I was considering prior to sitting down to write this post), I feel like it will make me feel bloated and lethargic.

Sometimes when I've been going all day, my body is lacking protein. In the past, I'd often find myself eating one thing after another - like I'm searching for the right thing. Perhaps that is exactly what I was doing. I was filling myself up with whatever was easy to grab when what I really needed was half an ounce of nuts, or a piece of chicken breast.

Sometimes what I need to do is stop and think about it. And that's exactly what I've done while writing this blog post. It's now clear to me that my body won't benefit from that cookie, but it will be worth the time to peel an orange. And later this afternoon, I think I'll have a hot peppermint tea.