Today, I tweeted

I think of it as a loyalty card for nutrition. Rather than going to Skyline, spending $5 getting our card punched and then after ten lunches getting a free meal, we are taking charge of our nutrition and waiting to splurge.

We had been eating out weekly, which for some might not be a big deal, but when you are busting your rump at the gym you start to realize that it takes 45 minutes on the ellipitcal machine to burn 500+ calories that are so easily consumed at lunch, nevermind dinner.

My coworker created this cute chart called Red Veggie Baggie It & S’Cool Matin’ It (my lunchbag and her sweet cooler). There are eleven blocks in each column, ten to mark packed lunch dates and the eleventh being our out to eat date. Each day we pack, we initial and date the block and do the same for the eleventh block including where we dined. The trouble with that is now that we are more aware of calories, we are very limited by the fast food around us. The eleventh block of the tenth column is our GRAND PRIZE in which we plan to not watch the calories as much.

For me, this has made me a better planner. I had always been good about making meals ahead on Sundays (pretty much any entree recipe I’ve posted is 4-6 servings or enough for my weekly lunches), but now because of hearing someone say Americans could be healthier if they had an apple, orange and carrot a day instead of processed food, I am better at what I eat WITH my entree. Fruit or vegetable is the first pick.

Also, it carries over into dinner. I anticipate I will enjoy at a meal out at least once a week whether with family or friends so I plan for that. Then, I make ahead entrees for dinner just as I do lunch. This helps in that I know I’ll have a meal nearly ready when I get home from the gym. So I can go to the gym after work and then come home and eat without eating my arm first.

I haven’t been blogging much, but when I’m not planning my meals and packing my lunch, I’m working out at the gym and finishing the remodel on my bathroom. Check back, when I hope to write about the music that motivates me and my new toilet (two unrelated topics, btw).