'By jove, I think I've got it!!'

Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady - the fairest of them all

Well I have been battling my personal 'snacking ninja' alter ego for what feels like ages. Realistically it has only been maybe max 8 weeks BUT it's been BUGGING me like crazy. 

But I think I know that I've finally cracked it for me at this point and time.  I heart making progress ;-))

While I love the idea of going strict Paleo, honestly I'm just not prepared to go 100% strict Paleo at this juncture. I was just reading Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet (basically a vegetarian version of Paleo) yesterday which helpfully reinforced the Paleo messages and my appreciation for this approach to nutrition, except I also know vegetarianism or a slightly different sort of eating programme is NOT for me right now either. As far as vegetarianism goes my assigned role in my family is 'Baby Lion': I LOVE meat and I love that role in my family life. So meat stays. Grrrrrrrr.

Essentially I'm only here in the US for a short time and while I'm here I want to experience what America has to offer - culturally, educationally and also in culinary terms - be that good or bad (but hopefully only the bad in moderation ;-))), without having to Paleo censor myself all the time. Simply put, for example I have driven past Dairy Queen so many times and never stopped. Not even once, and I really do want to stop by just to satisfy my curiosity so that I can put my own reference to Samantha's Sex and the City Dairy Queen references. That and just this morning one of my Crossfitting ladies was raving about their milkshakes or 'Trip Treat' as she calls them, so I now feel obliged ;-)). So I hereby give myself permission to stop by Dairy Queen sometime, even just one time.

I still think Paleo is a great principle for great health so I'm committing to 70% Paleo :: 30% Non-Paleo as my personal goal at this point in time.

But what I'm eating is not really the crux of the matter, it's really the volume of food I've been consuming and the frequency of my snacking. That's my personal snacking ninja's specialty. So the ninja has been cut off. Simple as that.

Actually this matter has been taken out of my hands: This week I finally got around to doing some trip accounting and balance checking - in short, it is not pretty. Essentially, in just over a month I have already blown my self-imposed personal allowance for my four month US Trip out. of. the. water (which to some extent I was always kind of expecting) BUT shockingly to me, it has mostly 80% gone on food. I'm not sharing figures. But trust me. Its OBSCENE. And the reality is it's a looooooong time yet til I get another pay check so..... whilst my brain doesn't get the notion of 'food as fuel' it does appreciate that the Bank of Justine is finite and is temporarily closed for business so....

Discipline is back. with. AVENGEANCE, and as follows:

1. I get one trip to the store a week to shop for food.


2. I have to purchase UBER wisely and I find the most affordable healthy protein, veggies as well as some non-Paleo (but not too sugary) snack options and THEN check again to see if there are any equally healthy but more affordable options.


3. That food has to last for a week.


4. No exceptions. 


5. If I do dine out, then that meal that I should have eaten at home gets added to the end of the week, i.e. if I dine out three times, my scheduled food shop gets pushed back a day. 


6. TOUGH LOVE!!

Already when I go to the fridge/ cupboard/ freezer I'm find myself thinking that I can eat 'x' now - but once it's gone, it's gone. That's me for a week. A week with no nice edibles is a really long time for the snacking ninja. So better habits are already prevailing. Half quantities of protein are finding it's way onto my plate at meal times. Four squares of Divine 70% dark chocolate with ginger and orange - soooo good - is the treat. NOT the whole bar. (Next week this choco bar will not be allowed to make it to the cash desk - it costs 400% more to purchase in the US than in the UK. However good this chocolate is, the cash saving ninja must prevail!) The Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade - totally AMAZING btw- which is designed to be three portions - 100kcals each!! - is already lasting way, wayyyyyy longer than three treats plus it's cheaper and lasts soooooo much longer than the Simple lemonade drink (similarily scrumptious) that I also heart. I'm learning.

So now you know - Accidental poverty is the absolute answer to overcoming gluttony!! xx

FYI: For any Vegetarians out there Crazy Sexy Diet is such a fun twist on such a serious nutritional message if you appreciate a lot of sass and no frills honesty (although Carr's description of cheese as glorified mucus was a little too much honesty for my own gag reflex! That and I don't do enemas. EVER.) But I totally recommend reading this book if you feel stuck in a nutritional rut. Carr was formerly a NY model living the high life but after being diagnosed with inoperable cancer she turned her personal situation around through her diet. She still has cancer, but she has crazy sexy cancer. LOVE Carr's crazy sexy spirit. So inspirational}

p.s. I feel like I need to add a caveat to today's post: It is my own special gift ;-)) for personal money management that created my current money situation. I budgeted more than adequately for my USA trip but I just forgot to stick to it. People who know me too well know that's unfortunately just how I roll ;-)) So some remedial action is the logical natural step. That and my brain is being drafted out of holiday mode and back to the real world pronto. A bit of watching what I consume (figuratively and literally) is 100% guaranteed to get me feeling bikinilicious, right?! Even Audrey Hepburn would be jealous! Win Win huh!! People like Lady Carr add a great sense of perspective; temporary cash flow issues is nothing compared to a cancer diagnosis or a thousand other things I could think of so I have no complaints. Plus no dependants, children, pets etc will be harmed in this tough love trial. So panic NOT.

p.p.s. Weekly shopping day has been ordained as Thursday. So if I'm a tad grumpy Tuesdays and Wednesdays it's cos the cupboard is bare and I'm snacking on ice cubes ;-)) so please forgive me.