[Mindful i Mouse] More Cooking on the Truck

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We might get to go to an antique store today! We went to a truck stop in IL over a year ago that had an antique mall across the street. It is extremely rare for us to be anywhere near any kind of store when we park at night. So this will be such a treat! I messed around with more photo's of dinner last night. This time, I took a shot of my tiny kitchen. Click to enlarge any photo. The slide out table is out, I sit on my husband's bed to cook. You can see the refrigerator in the back, we keep it on the bed during the day so we have floor space. He puts it on my seat during the night. The red nets hold apples, onions, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes. The spices and canned good are above in the cubby and under the bed, as there are two shelves there. Under the table is more food storage, including a breakfast box that I can pull out in the morning that has everything I need, as I often am making coffee and breakfast in the dark while we drive. That’s the potato bin underneath. Opposite is the closet my husband uses for his clothing and stuff and above is our water jug. I use this water to make coffee with as I boil it. We drink from water bottles. Here are the bunks, which are messy because we had been sitting for a few hours while waiting for a load. I usually sit in my bunk and knit when we are parked, so my pillow is in the middle of the bed for a back rest. I have a lot of head room in this new truck. As you can see, my husband’s lower bunk, one cannot sit up in, on our old truck, I had the lower bunk because there was more room, the upper bunk was more like a shelf. I took a comparison photo of my husbands bowl and mine: This is how different we eat. His bowl gets piled high, while I rarely fill mine. It's not a virtue thing, but something I have been working on for a very long time. How much do we really need to eat? I know that the popular idea is to eat more to lose weight, but I have to eat significantly less to lose. I actually prefer learning to eat less and feel so much better physically. Of course, my foods are more dense, mostly meats with veggies, for example. The main difference between what he eats and me, is that he will have about 3 potatoes with his meat and veggies. Here I am back at the kitchen table, I’ve chopped up all the veggies, the potatoes are cooking in the microwave to get them started and I will add the veggies, sliced potatoes and 3 sausages for my husbands dinner, about 1/3 of the veggies I will save for my dinner and I eat two of the sausages. These are chicken, sundried tomato and provolone sausages from Sam's Club. We love the taste and are lower in calories that regular sausages. Here is husbands dinner: I missed taking a photo of mine. I will grab that another time. BG this morning was 89. Today, I felt thinner when I woke up. I love these mornings! It makes my walking seem effortless. I feel bright and cheerful. I am not feeling any intense hunger, at all anymore, it is mild and only right before meal time. As it should be. My mind seems clear and focused, my energy is strong and when I really pay attention to how this feels, I have no desire to ever overeat again. I look at my husband's bowl and think, wow, how far I have moved away from that kind of portion size. I marvel at how well the body adapts to less food. I think about how people get intensely upset that anyone talks about eating the minimal amount of food with dire warnings of starvation consequences, but in reality I am far from starving myself. I venture to reason that as long as there is excess fat on the body, then starvation is impossible. Bad nutrition aside, I do make every effort to make sure my intake is full of meats, fats, veggies, eggs, cheeses, nuts and seeds. I even get a nibble of apple every day, All I have eliminated is sugars and grains. I have slowly over a long period continued to lower the amount i eat. This second year, everything feels right. I don't feel the hardship of the diet as I did the first year. My hair is no longer falling out by the handfuls. My skin is softer and smoother. I believe in myself and the direction I am going in. And with gratitude, I am able to step away from calorie counting and still do it just right, completely on my own and with a sense of contentment. I know now, without a doubt I will get to a normal weight and stay there. I get it now and it is no longer a daily struggle. --

Posted By i Mouse to Mindful i Mouse at 1/18/2011 04:24:00 AM