The Challenge of Not Doing That Next Thing

I've got a problem, an insidious one that has plagued me for years, but which I am only now becoming aware.
I call it the Pile It On problem: When a project is going well (as is my recent food life), I will come up with one, two, or three more changes to add, changes that will get me "better" (i.e., cuter, slimmer) faster.
Perhaps there's a part of me that thinks, "Well, if this is good--a few more changes will be great!
The most recent example: In the last month I have:

• stopped eating all grains and legumes
• started writing my food down (the what, mostly)
• stopped eating sausage (as of yesterday)
• started eating a lot more vegetables

Now, those are some pretty major changes, and I'm quite fortunate that the vast majority of them were painless to make (indeed, just arose within me). I'm happy about each of them. In fact, the only item I formally committed to was eliminating grains for 90 days; the rest are delicious bits of gravy.

Yet there's been a nagging voice I've been swatting away, one telling me to do more, because I've done so much already. That is, I need to pile more on.

What would more look like?

• Tracking my carbs
• Getting my carbs down to 40 grams daily, or lower (I have been only vaguely conscious of them, although more so of late)
• Tracking the exact amount of what I eat, and when
• Eliminating chocolate and all dried fruit (medjool dates--the final frontier)

Why is this a problem? Mostly because changing food patterns is challenging, and it is easy for me to be overwhelmed. Second, because adding more on now doesn't give me the opportunity to absorb my success with the current changes; the new, the different, and the more become more important, and blot out my the value and importance of what I've currently accomplished. 

So, for now, I'm going to let myself luxuriate in the changes I have made, let them, and myself, be.

Changes: The Good News/the Different/the Undesired

The Good
The grains: Today marks my 30th day off of all grains. There were a few days when I didn't think I'd make it, but I have. My friend Cheryl asked me why I decided to get off of them. I told her it was because I felt better when I was not eating wheat, found that I was eating lots more oats, and decided to see what it was like to be off of all grains for 90 days. 
I've also wondered if certain grain components have affected my absorption of nutrients and contributed to inflammation in my body (you can read more about that here, on the Wellness Mama blog). 
The probiotics: I've been eating raw (and organic, mostly) sauerkraut for about a month to boost my body's ability to take in nutrition by boosting my gut health. A couple of weeks ago I added daily consumption of capsules containing a weird dirt (well, soil)-based blend of probiotics, as well. 
Results: I've had several positive results from these changes:

I'll Take It

My food interests and volume are changing, and I'm not exactly sure why. I'm:

• eating smaller meals
• snacking less
• eating more greens
• eating more chicken and less beef and pork
• not craving  carb-y food (as much)

Here's what I had for breakfast (and, in parentheses, what I would have previously eaten):

• small plate of salad greens (large plate of greens)
• 2 eggs with scallions (3 eggs and sausage)
• 1/2 cup of pinto beans (ditto)

I am quite full (actually, I think I'm a bit over-full from the beans), and my mouth isn't "craving" anything (well, except for some small sweet thing. I may have a date after I write this).

Why is this happening, and why is it happening now? There are a couple of possible reasons:

What I Did

Yesterday I wrote about how I'm living with food, and focused a lot on the what and how I observe and learn from myself and my food and eating experiences.
I'm now gonna talk about what I did today, and what I've learned from it.
I drank some water, meditated, then ate a peach. My stomach got a bit gurgly, and the elbow noise started up, but I felt pretty good. And I wasn't hungry for a while (2 hours?)--until I was.
And I mean, hungry. So hungry that I couldn't think clearly about what to eat. I knew I needed protein, but I was afraid that some almond butter wouldn't be enough. So I made this: chicken sausage with garlic and onions I'd already chopped. I cooked approximately 1/4 pound of the sausage.

Not very attractive, I admit...

It tasted fine, though the throat-clearing and elbow popping started immediately. With sausage (even the free-range stuff bought at a local health food chain) you don't exactly know what you're buying. Though I'm sure there's no processed sugar, or wheat, etc. in it, there's something that's a challenge.
And I feel--full, very full, but I'm still craving protein. I'll wait for a bit, and see what happens. This has happened before. I notice it when I eat tuna, and I don't feel like I'm absorbing/using/capturing the protein (as I do with salmon and almonds, especially almond butter, and pecans). I'm also tired, almost like the sleepy I used to get from carbs.
Take Aways: (1) I digest fresh peaches really quickly, and might need to eat protein w/in half an hour of eating them; (2) I will stay away from sausage if I don't know what's in it; (3) I might need to eat even smaller servings of meat; (4) I need to diversify my protein sources; and (5) sometimes I don't trust my knowing of what I need to eat.
Living. Eating. Learning.