The BLTS

Wish I could take credit for thinking of this one, but I am not quite this creative.

I have written a few times about one the tools that has really helped was to write everything down that I ate.

If you bite it, write it.

On more than one occasion that process has stopped me from eating something. I simply didn't want to have to write it down and see it staring back at me.

I am no good at inserting links into these things but I'll try, separately, to see if I can link up to a blog that my aunt passed along to me. On this particular day, the author was talking about all the decisions we have to make all day, especially when it came to weight control.

She said it wasn't the things she was actually eating that were causing her problems, it was the BLTS.

Bites

Licks

Tastes

Sips

The little things that we do, sometimes out of habit, that can add up when you aren't looking. I mean, really, who doesn't want to lick the beaters if you've made a cake? Any good cook will tell you that you need to taste the food as you're cooking, to adjust the seasonings and all.

But it is that unconscious behavior that can be the most damaging.

Every bite counts. Every bite of everything, pretty much, has calories so if you're watching and keeping track of what you're eating, you've got to include those as well.

Notice, I didn't tell you not to do it. Would not dream of that. Life is to be lived and cooking and eating is fun. No doubt about it. People love to eat and it is very much a social activity.

But I am reminding you to be aware. Trying to keep your calories under a target goal is a tough challenge in and of itself. Trying to convince yourself you've stayed under that target when maybe you're being less than honest with yourself about what you have truly eaten that day is an even tougher challenge. We can sometimes easily look for excuses for failure, reasons to give up trying, without really looking honestly at the situation.

So, go have a wonderful day, and try to save those BLTs for the summer. When the tomatoes are homegrown and the bacon is turkey.