I had another night of interrupted sleep last night – invaded by two children at different times. However, my total food intake was great and I had prepared wonderful meals to keep me going all day. Here’s my food intake from today:
Breakfast – Bratwurst wrap (340)
- 340 calories
Lunch – 2 homemade chicken enchiladas (500)
- 500 calories
Dinner – Sausage chili, (350) egg noodles (220), and peas (30)
- 600 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80), Nestle Li’l Buddies vanilla (110)
190 calories
Total for the day: 1630 calories (limit 1800)
I started off with a Johnsonville bratwurst sandwich. Each brat is 260 calories. Usually I have it on a small square of flatbread for 40 calories extra, but today I only had sandwich bread. It’s so easy to have brats prepared ahead of time. I just cook a pack of five in my cast iron skillet in the oven (with a whole diced onion) at 400 degrees, then just keep them in the fridge until needed.
My lunch enchiladas were left over from last night. Enchiladas are great because you just count up all the calories you put in the dish and divide by the number of enchiladas. Portioning made simple! Notice I do round the numbers a bit, but I always round up.
Homemade sausage chili is also really meaty and satisfying. My goal as always was to be hungry (but not too hungry) and be really looking forward to the meal. It was worth the wait and I got noodles and peas too. With chili you have to use a liquid measure (if you made 8 cups of chili, a one-cup serving has one-eighth of the total calories) but noodles are easy. I just weigh them. 2 ounces of noodles dry equals 4 ounces cooked.
How do I keep from eating more at night?
Eating at night is my kryptonite. If I am going to lose control, it’s between dinner and bedtime. BUT I have learned, by observing and negotiating with myself, a way forward. If I am really looking forward to breakfast, I am willing to sacrifice snacking to get my reward in the morning. A Jimmy Dean sausage and egg croissant sandwich sounds really, really good…..maybe with hot sauce (no calories extra!)
Notice I didn’t eat near my limit of 1800 calories tonight. I don’t feel hungry and I don’t need to eat to the limit today.
I have found a great balance. I’m not hungry now, but I will be in time for breakfast. I am willing to put up with eating a small portion of chili tonight because feeling hungry in the morning is a wonderful way to start the day. When I have binged at night, I always notice how bad I felt in the morning. Now I get to feel good, both because I am anticipating a great breakfast and because I am listening to myself and working with myself to achieve a lifetime goal. I am on a journey to lose 120 pounds and everything is coming together for me.
-The Doctor