The daily report is a chance for me to concentrate on my new lifestyle: weight control, lived one day at a time. Some might say, one meal at a time. Every day, I concentrate on living out the consequences of my transformation. I became someone who cares about controlling his body’s weight, and decided I wouldn’t let anything get in the way. Is that an uncompromising attitude? Yes, it is. I decided that was what was needed. My goal is not a particular weight, it is control – for the rest of my life. My body is slowly catching up to the realities of my new life and new understanding of the world.
Does that mean I eat only diet foods? Never.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 2x bratwurst (280) on quarter wraps (27)
- 330 calories
Lunch – skipped (00)
- 0 calories
Dinner – 2x Armand’s pizza (230); grilled hamburger (230); bun (140); cookie (50); noodle salad (75)
- 955 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); beef jerky (100)
- 180 calories
Total for the day: 1765 calories (limit 1800)
Tomorrow, pie for breakfast
The way I am able to keep myself going in my lifestyle is a constant paying attention to myself. I learn how to reward myself for doing a good job and let myself anticipate a reward. That pulls me forward into good choices. I baked a pie today. I don’t usually do that, but tomorrow is the first day of school and my grandmother and mother always baked us an apple pie for the first day of school. I intend to keep that tradition going. Looking at my picture, I can see it will take a few more years of practice, though. My fluting on the pie edges always collapses like that. Worse, this time I forgot to add any sugar to the apples before baking, so this might be a bland pie. No worries – I will sprinkle some sugar on the cut pieces tomorrow. Each slice is 450 calories (8 slices per pie), and would have been 500 calories per slice if I had remembered sugar. Is that an upside?
I have all the foods cooked and in my refrigerator that I will need this week to keep myself happy and satisfied while in calorie deficit. This is a short week (Labor Day Monday) too. This is how I prepare to live out a weight control lifestyle: weekend cooking, shopping, planning, and preparing for the meals I will eat. In my case, they are meals I will be really be anticipating. They will be a reward for keeping up the good work, and also an inducement to stay on my path.
One of my central insights is the power of hunger, at the right time. Food eaten while hungry, especially if you have been anticipating it all day, is tremendously satisfying. I want to be hungry for my favorite food so I can enjoy it properly. That means I won’t snack or overeat earlier. A big problem for me was eating after dinner. Now I don’t usually do that, because it might spoil breakfast. And I am having pie for breakfast.
How are you preparing? What are you looking forward to tomorrow? Think about that.
-The Doctor
The point of the first day of school apple pie and milk breakfast was that you boys were so excited about the day that I knew I wouldn’t be able to get you to eat oatmeal that morning. On the other hand, what boy could turn down a slice of home made apple pie with a glass of cold milk. It would hold you until lunch, I hoped! Lots of love went into those pies. xo