The lower back pain lasted most of the week, so “walking as much as I could” did not amount to much, until Thursday or so.

Tweak four will have two components:

1/ I will track everything I eat in a food journal. (Just to assess things, but I suspect it will lead to more circumspect choices). This is my new tweak. Going to weight watchers is one of my larger goals, but going and following their plan perfectly and tracking everything all at once is too much for one week (small steps, you know). So this is a first step.

2/ I will “walk as much as I can.” This is one I want another shot at.

Two tweaks this week is no small order, but I think they are manageable.

Oh, and let’s not forget, the third tweak for the week–

3/ I am never, ever going to sit in that particular chair again. (I am pretty sure this one will be easy even though, as you know, I normally eschew “forever” promises.)

I am happy to report that tweak two (eat beans) is thriving. I had beans six days this week, without trying. I think it’s safe to say this one is a keeper.

So how are you doing?

How’s it going?

If you remember, my tweak was to eat beans every day.

Well, I haven’t quite.

Sunday: cannelini beans in soup for dinner

Monday and Tuesday: no beans

Wednesday: pre-packaged Tasty Bite brand Madras Lentils (which actually appears to consist of black lentils and kidney beans) for lunch

Thursday: cuban style black beans for lunch

Monday and Tuesday it just didn’t happen.  I  left it for dinner time and on Monday I felt gassy, sorry to be graphic.  (As I said, beans are nothing new to me, so I don’t assume they were the reason).  Tuesday I just plain forgot.

No worries!  Onwards.  If anything, I have learned it may be best to plan to do something X number of days a week, but not seven.  Too hard.

I hope it is going well for you?   If not, focus on identifying a great idea for next week.

What would make life better?

Well, this was a short tweak, New Year’s Day coinciding with a Tuesday. If you prefer to start the week on Sundays as I do, you only had to endure it for five days.

In my own case, it was not difficult at all.

Was it worthwhile? Yes, and no.

Since I’d prefer to eat less fried food and fewer simple carbohydrates, it might seem like my last tweak (giving up french fries) was a good idea. In practice, five days is not long and probably too short to notice.

I do wonder, though, that I seemed to be craving simple carbs even more during this time. So in effect, I probably ate more potatoes and white rice than I might normally in five days. Again, not an enormous amount. But it gave me pause for thought.

So here’s what I am taking away from the tweak: if I want to tweak my diet (using the word in the broader sense), it might be best if I added things, rather than subtracting them. Forbidding foods seems to make me want them more, or at least similar ones, and this seems self-defeating.

I did in fact make an additional diet “tweak” this week, though it was not planned nor “official.” I ate steel cut (Irish) oats for breakfast. I like steel cut oats. I had them the last five mornings.

For those not familiar, Irish or steel cut oats are more whole-grainy than regular American oats or “oatmeal.” They take a while to cook. Cooking them in a pan can be messy and take a while. Microwaves work. But my preferred method is to stick them in the rice cooker, with the amount of water specified on the package. I then add dried fruit, a good amount, which rehydrates using some of the water. (It’s not an exact science, but if you intend to add a lot of dried fruit, then you might need a bit of extra water.) I then run the rice cooker on the normal setting, and when it’s done, stir it.

I have done this with all kinds of dried fruits, including peaches, Trader Joe’s “just flattened bananas,” mangoes, and apricots, but my favorite right now is dried pineapple, which rehydrates and cooks nicely. I throw a few chopped nuts on top, and it keeps me going until the afternoon. I should note that normally, I have little or no use for dried fruit, which I find to be too dry and sweet. But rehydrated, it’s just cooked fruit.

Sometimes, as a special treat, I use the flattened dried bananas and a tablespoon of dark chocolate chips. With nuts. Very decadent, but not unhealthy. (Unless you’re really avoiding simple carbs, and not just dancing around them as I am.) This is a good way to get skeptical people (like picky boyfriends and children) to try steel cut oats, and then later, you can slip them the pineapple, and they’re happy. (Note: This has been tested on picky boyfriends, but not children or others; your mileage may vary.)

Anyway, I might have made this my tweak, but after five days, I might need a wee break from the oats.

So this week, in continuing with my goal of eating more whole foods, and in the spirit of adding, not banning foods, I am going to eat some beans (legumes, not green beans) every day. (”Some beans” need not be a lot.)

I like beans. I am not a vegetarian, but I eat them often. But not every day. And I think it would be a good economical thing as well as healthful thing to do so. (And would you believe, I often prefer to boil my own, in the rice cooker? Easiest thing in the world. Recipe next time if anyone is reading this and interested and has a rice cooker. That’s a lot of ifs.)

Finally, as I said the other day, I keep getting weird urges to do other things on my long list of possible future tweaks. I cleaned my desk, and started on the steel cut oats, both probably a bigger achievement than my “official” tweak this week. And now I have the urge to exercise more vigorously. I will be continuing to give in to these whims, as they arise, and not wait to make them “official” tweaks. I do hope they continue.

How about you?

Did your tweak suit you? Or not? Did you do it, or abandon it? Will it continue next week?

Remember, no pressure, no guilt. What you are doing is fine. You’re still here, right? It wasn’t a New Year’s Reoslution, just a tweak.

And since it’s all about where we are right now, and what we’ll do next,

What are you tweaking this week?

Please comment below and let us know!