What's on the menu today, RNYers?

I haven't planned out entire day, but have so many leftovers in the fridge that I won't have any problems.
Probably looks something like this;
B-leftover Jimmy Dean turkey sausage links (2)
S - Quest bar
L - spinach salad with 3oz leftover ground turkey (extra lean)
D - leftover blackened salmon and 3-4 large shrimp, with some steamed mixed veggies
S - either a fruit or another Quest bar
I exercise every day, and take all my vitamins and drink all my liquids.

Hey TDBull!  I always love seeing your posts - at goal in 8 months and with your travel schedule...it's just awesome!  I know a bunch of people like the turkey sausage and turkey sausage crumbles.  I haven't found them at my grocery store but I might be using "man" eyes (staring right at them and not realizing lol).  Your menu sounds good!  I haven't quite graduated to salads because sometimes I get full and then haven't fit my protein in.  But I love making my own dressing with olive oil, dijon mustard, lemon, and rice wine vinegar, plus spices.  YUM!  Enjoy your day :)

Hi DcGirl - thanks and enjoy your day, too. Already got my exercise in and now cleaning all of my work papers out of my home office. Retiring in 2 days!! YIPPEE

tdbull, good to see you posting here! Your menu for the day looks good, and with a fridge full of choices it looks like you're making the right decisions. I wanted to add that I see your comments about the urge to binge here and there, and I totally relate and get it, and I sympathize as well. I too feel sometimes like "OMG I just want to eat a whole pound of pasta with olive oil and parmesan!" The mental stuff, ugh. I wish they could just fix our bad brains instead of operating on our guts.

Thanks, Pam. So do you have any coping mechanisms that you want to share with me?? I am on the verge of seeing a therapist.

Well, so far the coping mechanisms that have worked for me are to try to distract myself with another activity, to remove myself physically from where the food is located, and to promise myself that if I still want the food tomorrow I'll think about eating it then. Usually by the time tomorrow comes around I've either forgotten all about it, or I can recognize that it's just an urge to binge and I can eat something else in reasonable quantities. I'm also learning that sometimes it's just that I want the taste of the food I'm wanting to binge on, like if I'm thinking about Oreo cookies I have a square of super dark chocolate instead and that satisfies, or if it's a plate of pasta carbonara I'll make up some parmesan crisps which help. So I guess you can add substitution to my list.

I think a therapist could be helpful, and have considered it in the past for myself (for a related but different eating issue.) If my coping strategies don't seem to work for me anymore at any point I'll definitely head to a therapist. I figure I've come too far, and I owe it to myself to give myself every chance for continued success to not look into therapy.

Good luck! If you go the therapy route, let us know how it works out for you, please.

All great tips which I will definitely incorporate. The other thing I have learned is to not let myself go too long between eating, so then I just want to eat everything all at once. Again, not from physical hunger, just head hunger and low blood sugar, maybe.
Thanks so much for sharing, Pam!

Oh, definitely! I've found that waiting too long to eat is almost a guarantee that I'll wolf down my food which leads to urgent trips to the restroom, LOL! Even though I didn't "feel" hungry when I sat down, I've learned to recognize that if I wait too long to eat it will guarantee that I'm ravenous and will have a hard time pacing myself. It's way too easy to fall into this mode:

Hope the tips help!

Amen!  Waiting too long to eat is a surefire way for me to get the foamies.  It's so uncomfortable.  And it's like I can feel it happening but I can't stop myself.  It's crazy.  I like all of your coping mechanisms, Pam and Anny.  I find I just need to be busy.  Laying on the couch watching TV is not a good activity for me!

I'm totally right there with you ladies on the head hunger and fantasies of binge eating. I had not dealt with too much of it until the last week or two and I'm feeling it more and more. I'll drive by some place with an old favorite and just be driven crazy!

I think I've shared this in the past, but one coping strategy that has worked for me in the past is a basket of ideas. I was working with a therapist who suggested it. At first I thought it was stupid and didn't do it, but eventually gave it a try and have found it useful in many situations from getting my mind off something I'm obsessing over to dealing with head hunger. 

Basically you make little slips of paper with things to do on them - mine are a combo of self care, exercise, chores, and just for fun things. When I feel myself obsessing or getting bogged down I pick one of the slips and I do it (there are a few I give myself a pass on, like if it's after 8pm I don't call my grandma LOL), but generally I just DO IT! Moving my thinking to something else always helps me. My slips says things like:

• take a bath
• walk up and down the steps twice
• do my nails
• read a chapter
• email a friend
• message a guy (this is internet dating related - ugh)
• knit 2 rows
• call Gram

I have 15 or 16 things in my special little jar.