I like to do experiments to see how my mind and body reacts to changes. One thing I typically experiment with is how different foods react in my body. Recently, I ate Ramen noodles for 30 days straight, in egg drop soup.  I had not eaten Ramen noodles in about 10 years, but I suddenly had a craving.  And it had to be in the egg drop soup.  I was not surprised at what I found.  My cholesterol went from 172 to 201, my LDL went from 105 to 123 and my sodium went up 2 points.  I had no other salt those 30 days.   My triglycerides doubled from 69 to 138. No more soup for me!

And no more Ramen noodles. I am glad that kick has passed, and it was good to know.  I can still have it if I want, but I don’t need to do it for 30 days straight again. My weight stayed the same since I stuck to my usual 50 grams of fat per day.  I expected to gain weight but wasn’t eating too much otherwise, just veggies and protein, so I actually lost 2 pounds.

The soup and Ramen was a small meal but I knew it had 14 grams of fat and 380 calories as well as 1580 mg of sodium per packet of noodles.   I can only guess how much in the soup.   I don’t count calories or carbs or anything else.  Fat grams is all I watch the past few years and my weigh has easily stayed the same.  Since I don’t eat much meat, no sweets and no alcohol, calories aren’t a problem.

One problem I had in the past was portion control.  That’s less of a problem now since I know about the digestive process; now I eat pretty much to keep efficiently fueled.  But I’d have 20-30 pounds less if I didn’t eat too much bread or pasta on a regular basis.

Eating them is not the problem, the problem is I may eat 3 pieces of raisin toast or 2 cups of pasta in one sitting.  I know it’s not needed fuelwise and that I am only doing it for emotional satisfaction.  So that is when I make sure to enjoy it, to make a feast of it and not just something to do while I bang away at the keyboard.  I make sure the food is the focus, the meal is the main event.  No tv, no computer, just me and my dinner.  And without fail, everytime I do that, I feel that all of my senses have been fed, and I know that’s as important as fueling the body.

But I didn’t always know that and didn’t always make good food decisions. Like eating egg drop soup and Ramen noodles every day for a month.  Not my healthiest decision, but a revelatory one.

I was looking for something in my journal file for 2006 and found an entry that I added at Making the change to a healthy eating style with a 2009 update.  My transition to a healthy eating lifestyle has been done in stages, and has been relatively painless (hunger pangless) and easy.  As I read my 2006 food entries, I think OMG that was far more meat than I eat now. And I don’t even miss it.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Or at least gets me healthy and maintains my weight.

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Reprogramming Your Eating Habits