Last night, I stayed up way, way too late. It was my own fault, I was busy until late doing some personal financial management. I may do a series of posts on that too, sometime. I am a Doctor of Things, after all.
Today I woke up very, very hungry. That often happens after an exercise day, and I was a few hundred calories short of my budget yesterday, too. But it’s Wednesday, and that means Gyro sandwich for lunch day! I look forward to that all week. Remember, my diet strategy is to want to be hungry because the upcoming meal is going to be so good. The Big Greek Cafe near me has a $5 Gyro deal. Behold my diet food:
You are seeing 600 calories of hot, yummy gyro with sauce, cheese cube and pepperoncini. Notice on my diet, I am not restricted in what foods I can eat.
That is great because I can eat the same things the family does, just a regulated portion of them. I was reading about keto today, and people were definitely missing their favorite foods. Too much willpower required for me! I would definitely be concerned that about eating that way for the rest of my life. I am trying to make a lifestyle I can joyfully adopt, which improves my appearance. Wouldn’t you be happy about this lunch?
Notice that I didn’t get any fries or dessert. But my stomach is really happy to be on this diet. I love how with a mental transformation, I have sidestepped the willpower problem: with food like this, what willpower do I need?
My daily food intake and calorie count:
Breakfast – Bratwurst wraps (2 x 300)
- 600 calories
Lunch – $5 gyro from the Big Greek Cafe (600)
- 600 calories
Dinner – Spaghetti (200), meatballs (230)
- 430 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80)
80 calories
Total for the day: 1710 calories (limit 1800)
Now that I have my Costco flatbreads back in stock (110 calories each), my bratwurst sandwiches are down to 300 calories each (1/4 flatbread at 28 calories, 1 sausage at 260 calories, horseradish sauce for the rest). I don’t count the fried onions. Onions are basically crunchy water.
I had the same spaghetti and Costco meatballs for dinner as my family – and just about the same amount as the kids. Please, remind me sometime to do a post about my system for portioning!
After such a rich set of meals, I am really thankful that I have discovered a way to keep myself so happy while depriving myself of at least 800 calories per day (I should be burning 2500 per day for an average male, per the USDA). Well, the calorie burn total is a little more complicated than that, but I’ll go into that another time. The point is, I don’t feel deprived and I hope I keep listening to myself.
-The Doctor