Day 3 and Day 4.

What I am committed to more than anything else and want more than anything else is to have a really healthy relationship with food. I want to love food and to enjoy it without any remnant of compulsive behavior. A follower wrote me that she suggested that I drink a glass of water before each meal and I have taken her advice. In the last two days I have eaten and enjoyed my food -- intentionally. I've counted calories, stayed within my limits and have eaten many types of low glycemic and nutrious foods. For example: I had 1/2 cup of Alvarado Street Bakery original granola for breakfast with one sliced banana. I was not hungry until lunch which consisted of a modest portion of shephard's pie and a small slice of zuchinni bread. For dinner I fixed shrimp with tomatoes and broccoli serve over thin spaghetti noodles. I had a fresh pear for dessert.

Two of my staff members gave me fresh tomatoes which are growing in over abundance this year and I boiled them down with garlic and herbs and cooked small shrimp in the light sauce with broccoli and serve it over the noodles. It was light and delicious and all of mychildren loved it. I was thinking at dinner about the year in which my older daughter who is no w away at college and I started down the path of learning to love and manage food. My daughter lost about 10 lbs which stayed off and put her at her perfect weight and I lost the original 85 lbs. It all began with a decision to love food and to consider it my friend and a source of pleasure and not an addictive enemy.

I had no desire to eat between meals today which is unusual and I cut way back on my coffee. I am going to work -- again -- toward eliminating coffee from my life -- in my new fast-pased work, it makes me feel "buzzy" and I notice that when staff all get "caffeinated" that we talk fast, interrupt each other and get very wound up. I had a particularly enjoyable day at work today and came home feeling ready to eat a lovely light meal, post to the blog, do some laundry and clean-up and to go to bed early. One major feature of successful food management for me is getting enough sleep; and I have never gone back to erratic sleep habits -- my ability to do as much as I do begins with a really pleasurable night's sleep.

I climbed stairs at work today and did not allow myself a sedentary evening -- I moved around more than usual and did not go out to walk -- because it is still raining and drizzling.

I finished today with 1350 calories and 9 glasses of water and am going to bed feeling peaceful and content with the day. Managing what I eat gives me a sense of self-control and a sense of self-love -- which is the struggle that characterized much of my younger years. I never felt good about being obese, though I dressed well and was competent. I always knew that I was not able to find a way of eating that was satisfying and moderate and I would start over and over and over.

I am happy about having followers and hope that the sharing of insights will continue as we read each other's blogs.

I am determined to log on My Food Diary and to write every day.

I will post some photos in the next few days. And I'll post the recipe for the delightful fresh tomato and shrimp sauce -- the flavors were just wonderful.