Every day, since January 2019, I have been keeping a food journal and carefully regulating how much I eat. Before then, I paid hardly any attention to how much I ate. My gauge was fullness, and you can never be full for very long. Result: a slow climb into overweight. It was slow. I don’t know exactly the pace, since I wasn’t paying attention or recording my body’s weight regularly, but I got up to 325 pounds.
Then, I allowed a revolution to occur in my mind. I began thinking like a person who was in control of his weight, and put that first in my life. Or, very nearly first. Top three. Since then, my body has been catching up to my mind. The revolution has already happened. I won. Unfortunately, nothing stands still. Paying attention will take the rest of my life. And I still have pounds to go.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – 1/8 apple pie (450)
- 450 calories
Lunch – Italian sausage (300); 4 oz. cooked noodles (200); roasted peppers and onions (25); goat cheese (50)
- 575 calories
Dinner – 4oz chicken strips and hummus (200); 4x baby back ribs (90); pretzels (100); Snickers ice cream bar (180)
- 835 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); beef jerky between lunch and dinner (200)
- 280 calories
Total for the day: 2085 calories (limit 1800 + 500 bonus from swimming, total 2300)
Right where I want it
I was very, very hungry today for everything I ate. That made it satisfying but wow, every meal was early. Being hungry for meals is a good sign. It means I am operating right at the place where the calorie deficit is spread out over the day. I am hungry when it is time to eat but not too hungry. If I let myself get too hungry I tend to lose control and go into a food panic. Part of my mind insists it is starving and I find myself eating too much. That part of me doesn’t listen well to the rest of me. But being hungry means I am operating in calorie deficit and that is excellent for losing weight.
How do you count the calories in a pie? I can tell you how I do it.
Crust: 12 ounces of flour (1200 calories); 16 tablespoons of butter (1600 calories); 3T sour cream (90 calories).
Filling: 3# apples (650 calories); 1/2 Cup sugar (500 calories). In this case I totally forgot to add the sugar, but normally I would. For flavor, you can also add a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar.
The other ingredients don’t materially affect calories: cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Once made, the whole thing is baked at 425 for 30 minutes, then at 350 for a further 30-45 minutes, until the whole thing is full of bubbling juices and the apples are tender.
Adding all that up, an apple pie is about 3940 calories and a 1/8 serving is nearly 500 calories. In this case, since I forgot the sugar (!!!) the total is 450 calories per slice. I am sprinkling a little sugar on a slice when I eat it, but it amounts to about a teaspoon. How does it taste without sugar? Like it needs sugar! I mean, the balance is off, the pie is a bit dry (sugar counts as a liquid ingredient in baking), and the flavor is a bit tart – thanks to the lemon juice, and a bit dull, lacking the sweetness of the sugar. I did use sweet apples (Gala) so it’s not as bad as it could be. Maybe I will have to make another pie for my next reward! Only I will remember to add all the ingredients next time. (My father suggested adding maple syrup to the pie as a sweetener, I am not sure about that. He also suggested ice cream. Great idea!)
Tomorrow for breakfast: apple pie! The anticipation is pulling me forward into tomorrow. Are you looking forward to tomorrow? What would it take?
-The Doctor