Okay, but half of WHAT??

I mentioned in my previous post that I wasn't sure exactly what my plan was, but since then, I've decided to commit myself to following the eating plan that inspired this blog for the next 24 weeks.  That will bring me to the end of the school year and HOPEFULLY to my goal weight, which is just under 30 lbs away.

In following the plan now for a few days, I remembered how much I hated "half" days and why.  The following is a re-post from my first go at this plan.

I have come to really dislike these "half" days. What is HALF of what I would normally eat? I dare you to try it sometime ~ it's WAY harder than it sounds.

And to complicate things further, my "normal" has obviously changed somewhat over the last two weeks because I often think I've stopped at half and yet I'll feel like I've eaten too much.

Interestingly, I don't usually have that problem on the two "normal" days of this eating plan.

I don't usually have problems with over-eating or excessive snacking on "normal" OR "liquids" days either.

But on "half" days? Much more likely to be an issue. Isn't that weird?

I think it's interesting that I find "liquid" days easier to handle than "half" days. It's easier for me to just not eat, PERIOD, than to try and figure out and limit myself to what I believe would be half of what I would normally eat. I'm tellin' ya, it's harder than it sounds!!

I'm sure the point of having these "half" days in the eating plan is to really force me to examine in great detail how much I've eaten in the past compared to how little I can actually survive just fine on. But it's SO hard to determine what HALF is!!!

One thing I've discovered is that I can't allow myself to eat anything beyond what is on my plate at the beginning of the meal. My lunch today is a perfect example of why:

I began the meal with a half-bun and two thin slices of cheese on my plate, a half-cup of homemade beef barley soup in my bowl, and a cup of homemade ice tea.

What I also put on the table were containers of my mom's best pickles, raw cucumber slices, and carrot sticks, and a plate with more cheese slices.

After finishing half my open-faced cheese sandwich and some soup, I grabbed a few carrots, pickles, and cucumbers. Hubby and I were deep in conversation; the girls already playing in the living room.

And then I grabbed a piece of cheese.

And then more carrots and cucumbers.

Now, I KNOW carrots and cucumbers have next to no calories and no fat at all, so likely, as far as that goes, I probably still ate only about half what I normally would have ~ half the more fattening stuff, that is. But if the point is to really examine the quantities we eat, even replacing the other half of my bun and bowl of soup with extra carrots and cucumbers is still missing the point.

See what I mean? The line between half the quantity and half the quality can be kinda hazy sometimes. You understanding yet why I find these days a little aggravating?!

What do YOU think is more important?

Can I substitute quality for quantity and still count it as a "half" meal or does it literally have to be HALF of everything I WOULD eat, regardless of nutritional value? ARGH!