Day 11 - 2 purposes of food

Well I did it!  I joined the YMCA and I think it is one of the best decisions I have made in a long time.  The reason I stopped at my other gym - where I loved the aquatics facility - was because, although it was where I work, I found it inconvenient.  After driving in for more than an hour I just wanted to get to work and didn't want to stop;  I could never fit what I needed into a 1-hour lunch; and at night I couldn't stand the thought of an hour's drive home AFTER being exhausted from the gym.  The Y is 5 minutes from my house, and even though it's the same 1-hour commute, at least I'm only 5 minutes from home once I'm done.

Although I am not a "rah-rah" team person and never ever watch the Biggest Loser, I am signing up for one of the wellness teams, where you work 2 hours a week with a trainer, have nutritional support and counseling, and apparently are in competition with the other teams for percentage of weight lost.  I am assured that the program is adapted and tweaked for anyone with special health considerations.  I also signed up for a beginners fitness program where I am working with a trainer 30-45 minutes, twice a week.  I have 10 sessions to get me going until the team program starts at the end of February.  They are even going to look into letting me teach a belly dance class there one night a week.  I feel absolutely revitalized!

So I'm moving on to Day 11 - The two purposes of food: (1) to fuel your body and (2) to appreciate flavors.  (There isn't a third one - to medicate you so you can zonk out of your real needs and emotions! lol)
I wish I had my camera with me so I could have shared a picture of my lunch.  It absolutely satisfied both 1 and 2 - which I think is a good goal to have.  I waived back and forth so many times this morning over what to bring for lunch.  At first I was going to make it easy and just bring my dinner which was already prepared (but then I would have a problem at the other end of the day); then I thought of all the things I could buy on my way to work; and then I finally settled on a compromise - I made a tuna salad, brought my vegetable soup, and made a salad from a really good salad bar that I pass in the morning.

But why do I wish I had my camera?  I just couldn't face plain old tuna.  So what I did was take a can of drained tuna, a tablespoon of lite mayo, and chopped up red bell pepper, green onions, romaine lettuce, and banana peppers (they are sort of like pepperocini). Not only is the salad colorful but it bulked up at least 3-4 times the size of the plain tuna.  And, when making my salad at the salad bar, I chose all deep colors for the veggies.  Not only was this lunch perfect fuel for my body, but I appreciated every flavor and color and texture.  The chips (Cape Cod Lite, 100 calories a pack) provided a fun item in my lunch (and let's not discount that they have 2G protein!).  I also have a fresh apple and orange for later (the most vibrant I could pick).

I usually do anyway, but I am going to make an extra effort to eat flavorful and colorful foods: Vibrant - just like I am going to be now that I've started at the Y! :)

Miriam