I got a premixed batch of "Berbere Ethiopian" spices and added a teaspoon full, which made it quite noticeably spicy

Ooh, that sounds pretty neat--where did you get them? At some sort of specialty store, or Ethiopian market?

If anyone wants real Berbere, I can get you some from Ethiopia, most likely. No idea on the cost though.

People in time zones behind me -- my city's mayor is on Undercover Boss tonight, and it was actually pretty entertaining. His first undercover job was with the dude who picks up roadkill. Hilarious!

I'm also sometimes surprised at how satisfying a proper portion of something can be.

This has been the surprise of the food log for me. Knowing the calorie count of a portion makes it more satisfying in odd, knowledge is power, sort of way.

I've gotten to the end of my calorie allotment in an evening and actually felt full...just because I know I've had all I need.

I'm tracking what I eat on MyPlate, and...knowing I've had all I need does not make me feel full. But I definitely appreciate the help it gives me to be mindful of what I'm choosing to eat, and it is actually a smack in the face to be reminded that, oh yeah, I can't just grab 3 cookies and expect it to not count.

I can't just grab 3 cookies and expect it to not count.

This was a real jerk up for me too. My tendency to pick at little stuff make it feel as if not having a big meal was somehow more virtuous. Not so, turns out.

I logged my free day eating for today and discovered it totaled a full two days worth of calories. Ouch. Got to figure out how I can work that off in the next week.

Getting the new pedometer might help.

I logged my free day eating for today and discovered it totaled a full two days worth of calories. Ouch. Got to figure out how I can work that off in the next week.

Fast one day and even it out? That's probably a bad idea. I don't know.

I can't just grab 3 cookies and expect it to not count.

This was a real jerk up for me too. My tendency to pick at little stuff make it feel as if not having a big meal was somehow more virtuous. Not so, turns out.

I'm also juuuuust obsessive enough to hate it when I eat somewhere like our corner bar, which is well-known for its burritos, which are as big as but WAY tastier than Chipotle's burritos -- but when I log my food, obviously MyPlate doesn't have "burrito from that bar in Cincinnati," so I try to approximate it with a Chipotle burrito, but I know it's not accurate. I just hope it's close and try to let it go. (Not very successfully, I might add.) But on the whole, it's helped me be a lot more mindful, which is what I wanted. I often still opt for the 3 cookies, but now I'm aware of what that means in my overall diet and nutritional balance.

Oh man FNL, i had to save my emotional fortitude to watch even one episode and the opening credits alone are enough to bring me to tears. Perhaps i shouldn't have had that glass of wine along with Out of Gas.

I overestimate my intake to compensate for what I'm sure are technical inaccuracies in the food log. If my total allotment totals 1151, I do my best to stay around 950 because I know I probably eat more that that.

Steph, I watched your mayor and he was great. I always cry at the sappy stories, but man...he really seems to care. Then I got mad thinking that other mayors or governors would probably NEVER even consider doing what he did. Hello, Wisconsin...

Steph, I watched your mayor and he was great. I always cry at the sappy stories, but man...he really seems to care.

I sometimes forget I have people friended on Facebook who I know from high school but haven't really seen in 20 years, who don't share my worldview, nor do their friends. So I'm a bit appalled to see some of the comments on my FB feed about the Undercover Boss episode. Shit like, "He should spend more time fixing the city and less time trying to be famous on TV!" and "So the whole point is to lie about who he is? Typical politician, just like Obama!"

The part that made me roll my eyes forever was that half the comments are from one woman who lives in a rural county that's not even the county that Cincinnati is in. She's entitled to her opinion, but if she doesn't even live here, I'm not sure her opinion about what a "hellhole" Cincinnati's neighborhoods are is exactly based in fact, or even personal experience. And that annoys the shit out of me, since I *do* live in one of those neighborhoods (the ready-to-work job program that the woman from the recreation center was talking about? that's my neighborhood, and that program is really popular and really successful).