Today is the first day of the rest of my weight control life! OK, that doesn’t work as poetry but it is meant to express how high the values of weight control rank in my new life. They are now, and they will be from now on, the last things I think about at night and my alarm clock in the morning.
That’s all a metaphorical way of saying I am going to keep writing a food journal. That means planning ahead, cooking ahead, and learning about myself. That last part surprises people, but it is the key to making it all work.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 1 cup steel cut oats with sugar free syrup (200); 1 cup lowfat Kefir (140)
- 340 calories
Lunch – vegetable curry with rice (200); bratwurst wrap (300)
- 500 calories
Dinner – 10 ounces jambalaya with rice (510)
- 510 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); Snickers ice cream bar (180); pretzels and hummus (200)
- 460 calories
Total for the day: 1810 calories (limit 1800)
Unfinished business
Yesterday I finished my post early and went to the pool. I came back very late and ate late, so I didn’t have jambalaya yesterday like I planned and posted. I had leftover chili instead. But since I waited so long, it wasn’t enough and my body got rebellious – I ended up eating about 500 calories of chocolate and cookies and pretzels and cheese at night. So my calorie total for yesterday was higher than planned (2400). It’s all in my food journal.
Today I was careful to eat when I was supposed to, at least early in the day. Since I was up and working at 6AM, lunchtime came early (11 AM). I had dinner just before 6PM, but that might have been slightly too late. I felt the need for some pretzels after that, even after dessert! You would think I would learn, having had this lesson over and over again. Don’t get too hungry or your body will rebel!
The jambalaya, though, lends itself to calorie counting really well.
- 1020 calories for sausage,
- 210 for crushed tomatoes,
- 100 for olive oil,
- 75 for peppers and onions, and
- 640 for rice
Cooked, the jambalaya was just under 1400 calories and weighed 41 ounces; I had 1/4 (10 ounces) with 1/4 of the rice (5 oz on the scale), which was another 160 calories and the total I ate was 510 counting rice and jambalaya. That’s almost a pound of food for 510 calories. Weighing food is a good way to divide it into countable portions, and you can even store the leftovers in single containers that way.
Tomorrow is a new day and maybe I can get it right this time. It will be fun trying!
-The Doctor