What's on your plate contributor
Posted on by Debbie

Trying not to eat what’s on my plate!

No that’s not true

In my title I allude to not eating what’s on my plate which is a bit of an untruth. I’m currently participating in a 30 day challenge (which I will be extending) trying to increase my daily movement, watching what is going into my mouth and drinking more water.

It’s not a case of NOT eating, it’s more a case of thinking about what I’m eating and trying to eat more healthily.

I already move a lot with walking, cycling and my online fitness sessions but I’ve been trying to make a more concerted effort in my activities. And it’s been working, I’ve enjoyed an uptick in my weekly activities, I’m getting my heart rate in the right zones for my age and I’m taking care of myself.

The water part not so much – I am constantly reminding myself to drink more – let’s say there’s room for improvement there!

The eating part is going OK – I’m looking at the decisions I make when I choose to eat something and being more mindful and aware of what goes into my mouth.

When things get a bit hard for me I tend to resort to having a biscuit or two with my cups of tea, plus extra snacks, which can add up after a while. I’ve also tried to prevent this mindless eating from happening by making a bit of a plan beforehand and I’m always surprised when this type of preparation works – why I’m surprised I don’t know!

I find these types of challenges help make me accountable and are a good wake-up call. Do you find this too?

Unproductive Days are more than OK

I had a setback over the weekend when the weather turned cold and wet – I found it became an effort to even go outside and just wanted to curl up inside on the couch doing nothing at all. I don’t think I’d do very well in those countries that only have a few hours of sunlight a day – either that or I’d get a lot of books read.

Which lead to this! I shared this meme my Facebook page and we all agreed we need to have these types of days every now and again! It’s more than OK to do so.

Unproductive day
Unproductive day

So here I am trying, in a roundabout way, to say I’ve not got much to share on the food front this month.

I have a lot on my metaphorical plate though!

Cooking by Zoom

As you’ve probably read in other posts, our online bookclub celebrated finishing the works of the Brontë sisters with one of our fun-filled cook-ups via Zoom. Under Jo’s watchful eye we made Yorkshire Puddings with Apple Crumble – they were great and afterwards I went for a brisk walk to mitigate some of the yumminess that went into my mouth – sometimes I even surprise myself!!

Yorkshire pudding
Yorkshire pudding
Yorkshire pudding with apple crumble
Yorkshire pudding with apple crumble

You can read more about the history of Yorkshire Puddings in Jo’s wonderful post here and she also shares the recipe which is really very easy! There’s so much to love about reading the origins of these types of staple meals and then making and eating our own version! Having worked our way through the Brontës, it was a perfect way to end our journey. I’ve never made them before, have you?

We’re moving onto Jane Austen next!

One of the best parts of our cooking sessions, which rarely go for longer than an hour, is the screen shot of us all proudly displaying our creations. We’re always so happy and this photo, thanks to Donna, is no exception – just look at our smiles!

Cooking by Zoom
Cooking by Zoom

Feel like joining in?

So now you know what I’ve been trying not to eat! What about you?

It’s always fun joining Canadian bloggers Donna and Deb for their What’s on your plate challenge series each month. These posts go live on the first Wednesday of each month and you can join in too with a food related post, just by adding your post to their linkup.

It’s not a hard challenge and I can assure you it’s not just for ‘proper’ cooks!

It’s also fun looking at what others are making and how they do things – we live and learn don’t we?

What's on your plate contributor
What’s on your plate contributor badge

Hope to see you 🙂

Deb xx

Coming Up:

Letting you know that our monthly What’s on Your Bookshelf post which is usually the 3rd Friday of the month will be a week later on Friday 22 April as we’re participating in a special event! We’ll let you know soon what it’s all about! But for now mark your calendars with the later date for the WOYBS challenge for April only.

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Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

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47 Replies to “Trying not to eat what’s on my plate!”

  6. HI Deb,
    I too have found both the need and effectiveness of doing what you’re doing; decreasing how much and being careful about what I eat while paying much more attention to keep moving.
    After covid gave me a nice head start on loosing some weight (10 whole pounds in my case -wow) I decided that it was likely easier to keep off than another round of taking it off.
    A big reduction in breads and rice along with building up my strength (another loss to covid) I’ve well surpassed where I was before covid and my doctor is loving my new healthier blood tests and weight loss.

    But yes – there are those days when I just give myself a break and take the day off, like um, birthdays – mine or my wifes – or my kids’ – or doughnut day,
    and of course, there’s . . .
    Oh – okay. I’ll stop now.
    🙂

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    1. I hear you loud and clear Gary! Good on you for keeping off the weight you lost while having Covid. I’m not at all keen to go to those lengths just yet!

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      1. Ha – yea – this was not what I thought would happen when my test came back positive and we (our family) had to switch into family quarantine mode, when I was feeling better and stepped on the scale a few weeks later, it was a pleasant surprise that I really – really did not want to undo.
        I don’t recommend it as a weight loss technique but since it happened and I otherwise survived – I’m good with it.
        Thanks for stopping by.
        Blessings.

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  7. I’ve been doing the exact same thing– trying to increase my water intake and my daily exercise while watching what I am eating and trying to cut out sweets. Today is the first time I’ve seen a decent weight loss from all my hard work too.

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  8. Always good to try a ”getting healthier” challenge, I’m going to try something myself, starting a habit to go for a walk every morning except if the weather is really bad, and I also need to drink more water! I always have a bottle of water on my desk but still drink too little. Your Zoom baking sessions look like a lot of fun!

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  9. Debbie, Good for you to take charge of staying healthy. Your Zoom cooking session look a lot of fun and the results look delicious. Thank you for sharing this with #weekendcoffeeshare.

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  10. I do love a challenge Deb. Good luck with yours. It sounds sensible and worthwhile. All my good intentions have come to a full stop due to the broken arm. Just doing what I can manage with my left hand. Hoping to be able to get a post up for #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge. My one fingered left hand typing is woeful so it’s a slow process.

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    1. I haven’t caught up with the news about your broken arm Jen, off to read your post now. Our What’s on your bookshelf will be a week later this month on Friday 22 April so that might help you out a bit! Take care x

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  12. I love water and it’s the easiest healthy thing I do. I also need to pay more attention to the snacks. We eat well but I snack WAY too much. Denyse’s words about that are ones I need to take to heart. English background so Yorkshire puddings are normal fare but gosh never had them as a dessert. Off to read Jo’s post about them. Bernie

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  13. Oh Debbie you put me to shame as I sit here feet up with a glass of wine!
    I did a fair bit of running round today after my two grandies and am attempting to go back to Zumba tomorrow.
    I will have to start taking photos of my dinners as I do tend to cook a lot
    Your puddings and crumbles look yummy, as I don’t eat wheat I couldn’t try

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    1. I would love to be enjoying a wine as well Ali but water it is for the moment! I’m sure running around after your grandies was a fair workout 🙂

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  14. Interesting isn’t it that food is a comfort as well as nourishment…l sure know a lot about that. I often ate to soothe or compensate to calm myself …and now as I can’t do that nearly as much since oral cancer reconstruction I’ve become more adept at noticing when I feel discomfort/stress and asking myself “what can I do other than eat & isn’t it better to be owning up to how I feel?” And generally I am better at that after many years of avoiding! I refuse to miss out on anything these days that is possible for me to eat because the list is short…so to avoid excess I have a little less. Never eliminate because that becomes a source of wanting! And as for water, I keep water near me all day but probably don’t drink enough & I like water! A great reminder! D

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    1. Yes food is a comfort as well as nourishment Denyse. I agree we should never miss out on things we really want (within reason) life is far too short! Thanks 🙂

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  15. Hi, Debbie – One of the things that I love most about your posts, is that you have a special way of making me feel like I am sitting in your living room chatting with you in person. That is an incredible talent!
    I 100% agree that mindfulness/keeping a log/embarking on a shared challenge with friends can make a very positive difference to our motivation and outcomes. I’m best at focusing on one main challenge goal at a time. Last week, was water (I’m also pathetic at this but am getting better). This week, it’s avoiding food and snacks with extra sugar. Even though I really didn’t think that I was a sweet-tooth gal, this particular focus has been very TOUGH for me. But, it has made a remarkable difference in me chosing much healthier snacks. 😀

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    1. Thanks so much Donna! One of the reasons I enjoy your comments is they always make me smile because they are so encouraging :). Good luck on the sugar avoidance, it’s hard going!

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  16. Deb, once again, I have drifted too far afield and am also in ‘pay attention to the plate’ mode. It would be wonderful to maintain some kind of consistency year-round, but I am simply not wired that way.

    I am with Leanne on the Yorkshire Pudding thing. I thought it was a side dish for meat and potatoes. Thanks for setting things straight!

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  17. Delightful post, Debbie! I loved that meme especially. I feel like I need to embroider something similar, to hang in my house as a reminder now that I am retired! 🤣 Never heard of a sweet version of Yorkshire pudding…intriguing! Oh, I hope you do enjoy Jane Austen…I have rewatched Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility lately…and just recently watched Emma for the first time. I could never get through Emma as a book, although I love to reread the books that inspired the other 2 films.

    Deb

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    1. Thanks Deb, it was my way of trying to show how I was being ‘good’, but I’m actually enjoying the challenge. We all learnt something new about the Yorkshire pudding as a sweet. I’m looking forward to spending some time with Jane!

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  18. Oh Deb, I couldn’t begin to count the amount of Yorkshire puddings I have made, they are a huge favourite in our family. They used to be made in the form of ‘toad in the hole’ when our kids were young and we would always have them with roast beef on a Sunday. But when my daughter met her husband, he was used to having yorkies with every roast dinner so now they are also made every time they come for dinner!
    I love the idea of a cook a long with the book club, that sounds like so much fun!

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  19. Your zoom cook looks amazing. What a great idea.
    Being aware of what you eat is so liberating. It is all about mind set. At first you think you’re depriving yourself because you choose a healthier option but then you start preferring your healthy choice because it actually tastes nicer and makes you feel less hungry.

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  21. Those cook-ins look a lot of fun. I must confess I’ve never made Yorkshire puddings, I buy them from M&S. I agree with you on it being OK to occasionally have unproductive days. I did this recently when I had Covid. Felt guilty, but it was what I needed.

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  22. Hi Deb – I didn’t know Yorkshire pudding was also a dessert (I thought it was a casserole/stew/roast dinner accompaniment. So I’ve learned something new. Good on you for being so proactive with your health. I’ve just dusted off my good old bike for some exercise and think of your zooming around on your electric one as I puff up and down the local streets. x

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