So, you've probably gathered if you've slogged your way through my recent pity party that I've lost my way lately in terms of both diet & exercise. I'm not being all self-hating or overly critical when I say that, I've had lots of challenges and haven't really invested enough time & energy to overcome them. The result is that I feel fat - and the way my clothes (don't really) fit supports that feeling. Part of this - a small part - is down to me allowing carbs, including the dreaded gluten carbs, back onto my plate so that I'm now retaining some water. More of that is down to the sheer amount of food I've been eating (and to me allowing myself a fair amount more booze) so that I've gained actual weight, though I've no idea how much. As far as the constant eating is concerned that's also down to a few things - the comfort / stress eating is a large component, but I do also believe that carbs increase the appetite and make it harder to be mindful and resist overeating.
I obviously don't have the degree of control I'd like over my food. I'm not staying in the serviced apartments I was looking at so I don't have a kitchen. To save money I'm staying on a hotel that offers a corporate deal to the company I'm contracted to. The good news is that the hotel I'll be staying in next week has a full health club attached, one good enough to attract non-resident members, so I'll have no excuse to continue avoiding exercise. Of course we all know you can't outrun - or out-train - your mouth, so I need to find better ways to manage my food. This week I'm kind of giving myself a pass as I was too busy at the weekend to be able to plan my eating let alone execute a plan. But that has to end. I have discovered that the office has a breakfast bar with full fat Greek yoghurt, fruit - mostly tinned or defrosted - and seeds, so that sorts out breakfast (though it doesn't open till 8 am which isn't ideal. I could buy tomorrow's breakfast today & stick it in the fridge over night perhaps.)
Lunch is difficult because the main options are sandwiches or pasta salads, and I have to treat getting rid of the gluten as a top priority, even above general low carbness. There are options, though limited, I just have to accept them.
Then there's dinner. This week's hotel is a 3 minute walk from a Lidl store, and I used that yesterday quite satisfyingly (although I carried a 100 g bar of dark chocolate around the store with me and only put it down at the last minute). I'm not sure if there's anything similar near the hotel I'm moving to next week, and if not things will be both awkward & expensive should I have to rely on their restaurant. I may buy a small veg / rice steamer - electric - at the weekend in the hope I can use that to make things better. I can easily bring tinned fish for protein and some meat as well so long as I use the fridge at work to keep it cool.
Today there was a team lunch at a local pub, so I was immediately faced with a challenge. I tried to check the menu online in advance and couldn't find anything compliant with all the restrictions I wanted to impose, so was forced to focus on the gluten issue. I did really enjoy the lunch despite it including potatoes, and as they're one of the lest processed starchy carbs you can eat I don't feel too bad about it.
Food today:
Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with fruit & seeds
Lunch: not low carb, but grain & gluten free - salmon fillet with pesto mash & green beans,topped with a poached egg
Dinner: chicken Caesar salad (minus the croutons) with a snackpack of raw veggies & pot of butternut squash dip to make up for the boringness of a Caesar salad with no croutons. It didn't
Snack: almonds & an apple