Last night, I had a full night’s sleep and was not inundated by any children in the small hours!  I find that bad sleep is a risk factor for overeating.  It’s harder to pay attention, and also eating food seems to take away some sleepiness, so it’s doubly tempting.  I always track my sleep quality along with my food and calorie intake.  And it was a good day – I went swimming.  

Exercise is tricky for many dieters.  Many people have lost a lot of weight and kept it off by dieting alone.  Very few the other way around.  But I like swimming and always have.  Going is not a struggle, I like being in the water and I enjoy the exercise.  I burned off 600 calories (I will explain that calculation later) and I added 500 calories to my food budget for the day.  It’s win-win; I get to swim, which I like, and I am down another 100 calories on the day.  And I don’t feel like swimming is punishment because I’m not hungry afterwards – I let myself have most of the calories back that day.  

I have noticed now that I have lost 40 pounds that swimming is easier.  My times are a little faster and I don’t get sore legs and hands like I did while at my most overweight (325 pounds).  What will it be like when I have lost 60, 80, or 100 pounds?  It’s hard to imagine, since I have been heavy for so long (8-10 years over 300 pounds).  

• My daily food intake and calorie count:

Breakfast – Jimmy Dean breakfast croissantwich (sausage and egg) (400)

• 400 calories

Lunch – BLT sandwich (330), bratwurst sandwich (340)

• 670 calories

Dinner – Costco pepperoni pizza (710)

• 710 calories

Snacking – tea with half and half (80), beef jerky (180)

• 260 calories

Total for the day: 2040 calories (limit 1800 + 500 from swimming = 2300).