Several things are going through my mind lately. A personal goal of mine has been to feed my family balanced meals for dinner regularly. How does this fit in to my knitting you ask? Well, I need to knit or craft daily for my sanity, and in doing so, I usually end up snacking and always end up sitting around. I decided that to reach my weightloss goals, I need to do something with my eating habits.

So far so good. The toughest part of this goal? How do I get my knitting and crafting in when I'm spending time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning. I have a small family, so fortunately the key has been to cook as little as possible while having substance and of course minimal use of dishes for a quick easy cleanup. I've actually been getting pretty good. Because of this goal, I'm thinking to myself, "I should write a book. 365 days of knitting and cooking. Quick hearty meals that leave plenty of time for a little knitting, and ideal projects that can be done a little at a time." While it's a nice idea, it will likely need to evolve and it will take time to put together. So my first suggestion? What do you eat. How do you balance your meals so that you don't over eat, so you feel satisfied, and you feel good? How do you eat what you want when there are so many good foods, and you feel guilty for every one of them that is put into your mouth? I promise if you start focusing on the tricks I give you here, you will start feeling a difference. I have finally reached a point where despite all my sitting around knitting, the weight is creeping off. In a healthy way, in a long lasting way.

Focus on Variety: Use your palm to measure everything. No don't put food items in your palm. Just visualize. Have three things on your plate. Protein, Starchy Carb, Vegetable. 1 palm size of each item. Don't focus on the fat content yet (you need fat to digest properly) Obviously you don't want to use a tub of lard or a cup of margarine. But If your starchy carb is a roll, put butter on it. Think It might be difficult to measure some items in 'palm sizes'? 1/2 - 3/4 cup is about right. Use a measuring cup. No scale, no precise measures, just your palm and a measuring cup. Try it for a week or two, see how different you feel. And if you have a tough day at work and need something comforting, have it. Whatever it is. And don't beat yourself up. Just get back to the basic plan tomorrow, or the next day or the day after that. Even if you try it for a few days, you will be doing something different and deserve a pat on the back.

Now that I have given you the first trick, I will be posting other tips that help me save time and plan meals accordingly. If anyone has questions that they want to ask or need more detail about what starchy carbs are, feel free to ask. I am now 6 pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of the year and plan to continue losing. So bear with me, focus on baby steps and really understanding them, and you will notice a difference.

Another thing I want to share.... Thinking errors. What is a thinking error?

"Thinking errors are irrational patterns of thinking that cause you to feel bad, and sometimes to act in self-defeating ways."

How does this relate to knitting you ask? More than you possibly know. There are many traits of my personality that I can see translated in my knitting. And in knitting, I have had to let some go and embrace others. Knitting has literally saved my life and continues to help me grow as an individual.

So #5 of the 10 Most Common Thinking errors is Mind-Reading. I like to live the "golden rule". But I have to remember that my "golden rule" is not necessarily like your "golden rule" Just becuase I think a certain way and my actions are motivated by how I think, does not mean that others think and behave the same way.

Do you suffer from this thinking error (be honest)? Do you critisize your knitting? Do you feel discouraged when it doesn't look right? Don't be. Just because you critisize it does not mean that others will. Don't assume that just because your unhappy with it, that others will also be unhappy with it. Most people will just be amazed that you not only had the patience to knit something fabulous, but they will also be amazed that you could turn a piece string into something more useful or purely asthetic (whatever the case may be).

So don't be hard on yourself because you think others will be hard on you. If you want to expect certain things of yourself in your knitting simply to challenge yourself, go ahead. Just don't be so critical that you rip out hours of work, because of a minor flaw.

One last thing. Apply this concept in reverse. Don't feel dissappointed when others don't live by your "golden rule." Remember that they don't think like you so their behaviors my not be like yours. This does not mean that they thinking any less of you, it simply means that they are thinking differenly than you.

You can take whatever you want from this post. I know that my goal this week is to minimize any dissatisfaction I may feel this week with myself or my knitting, and that if I focus a little extra attention to this particular thinking error, I may just learn something about myself.

As usual, thank you for bearing with me and happy knitting!!!