Best Intentions

I wake up most days just before 5am  .... because that's when my daily alarm goes off.  And on days where I don't have to pop out of bed in order to be somewhere important, like work, I lay and contemplate all that I should accomplish in my day, or things that are important to do.   I did that this morning, thinking I would be able to get this, that and the other things all done .....

And yet, now it's 2pm and I have only accomplished a few things - necessities, mainly.  How I would love to take time to peruse my photo files and get them organized back into shape.  Or get my house cleaned up after the whirlwind week of family here.  And get back to being behind the lens - and in front of the lens too! - and get some photos taken.  I always feel terrific when I'm being creative. Taking them isn't as much of an issue as editing them.  My pup and I disagree very strongly about how much time I should be spending sitting at the computer.  *laughs*

I did manage to get into the back yard and get some of the patio stuff cleaned and hosed off.  With a puppy, that's been a waste of time lately, however, because Sadie runs through dirt and water leaving muddy footprints in every little place. Which of course makes me want to start all over again and get things cleaned up.  I had a very nice yard BD:  Before Dog!  *laughs*

My best intentions weren't good enough today to battle the bit of depression I've sunk into.  Its a cold day and all I want to do is curl up, eat some delish carbs and catch up on my sleep.  I know for a fact I can't do the carbs thing, but I am taking a bit of a siesta and curling up here for a quick nap. 

10 teaspoons

I listened to an interesting woman who was talking about heart health and how it relates to what we eat.  Our food choices these days are quite different from how we used to eat 50 years ago.  So much more of our foods are processed and/or prepared by corporations and not in our own kitchens.  And in my own quest and struggles with weight loss, I like information, all kinds of information, so that I can make informed choices. 

Her recommendation?  Limit sugar intake to 10 teaspoons per day. 

If you're like me, you read labels.  You know there is added sugar in every food we eat.  But the problem is that sugar content isn't listed in teaspoons on the label.  Plus, carbs convert to sugar in the body as well.  So how do you calculate those 10 teaspoons?  You can take the number of carbs in grams, subtract the fiber grams, and divide by 5. 

Lets take a slice of 12 grain bread.  19 carbs.  3 grams of fiber.   (19-3)/5 = 16/5 = 3 teaspoons.
and that's just one slice of bread!  And most of us eat two slices of bread for a sandwich, or with breakfast.  Hmm, this might be more difficult that we imagine!!!

With two slices of toast for breakfast here, I've reached more than half my limit for today....  lots of meat and veggies the rest of the day for me!  

I'm going to attempt this to jump start my week and see if I can get some momentum going in my weight loss journey.   If it works well, I'll keep you posted!!