Day Three: "Framing"

Ten jumps extra per set. Just 20% more than the last two days' exercises. It's all a matter of perception, how you frame it. Nonetheless, with the cold weather, icy wind and my inadequate jumping skills, it was a bit of an ordeal. Sometimes, my ears start to hurt when I exercise in cold weather and get my heart rate up. Today was one of those times. For the push-ups as well, I put my arms much further apart as Patrick pointed out and it was a little more difficult, in a good way.

It is not only the exercises where perception is important. With respect to food as well, the way we look at things is vital. Eating only half-sized portions, throwing away food, sitting at your desk at work and trying to figure out what to eat--this isn't necessarily easy. What I've done so far that seems to help: cook or prepare all your meals the night before and take your lunch with you to work; make what you would normally make for yourself and immediately split it into two portions and store one in the fridge; frame your meals in a manner that makes you feel more full. What exactly do I mean?

Yesterday for dinner I made Indian curry using only natural spices, veggies and chicken. Since the spices were all natural and weren't from a typical curry mix I know there was no salt or sugar added anywhere in my meal. I cooked genmai brown rice with various grains mixed in. I can imagine down the line we may not even be allowed these types of carbs at dinner. I served myself a small plate (will explain below) and put the rest in the fridge. I took one small tupperware container to work today for my lunch, half-filled.

Tonight I boiled some chicken, cut some bell peppers, tomatoes and lettuce and took a boiled egg white and made a salad. I took one chicken breast and cut it in two, used just one egg, half a tomato, etc. One half, I put in a container for lunch tomorrow, and the other half on my plate. Just a dribble of non-oil dressing, but I am going to have to find a healthier alternative for dressing. That's high on the priority list to figure out.

With the half-portion issue and the lunch issue covered, the next question is how to make yourself feel full after your meal, and this is where we get back to framing. I find it's all about making your plate seem big. With the curry, I took a very small salad plate and filled it up. It was still half the size of what I would normally pile on a dinner plate, but it looked very full. I felt like I had eaten a lot of food and didn't go to bed hungry.

With the chicken salad, I laid out all the lettuce flat (I only used three leaves) so it covered the whole plate and made it look full. I deliberately chose bell peppers and tomatoes to add color to the meal and make it seem less bland and more vibrant. It may seem hard to believe, but what's in the tupperware in the photo above is the same amount as what's on the plate below.

I weighed in today after my workout, admittedly at a different time of day (evening this time), 69.45kg. We'll see tomorrow if this is a blip or if the process is beginning already. But with little tricks with presentation to dupe my mind into thinking I am eating a lot, I am hopeful that it will be easier to deal with consuming less food.