No pictures today! That’s partly because late last night I had a thousand calories. Tsk, tsk. So my appetite was affected today. That’s something I am working on. My plan going forward is to wind down earlier in the evening and go to bed on time. That will prevent a lot of late night eating. Eating late at night has been a long term problem for me. For most of 2019, I managed to keep it to a minimum.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – skipped
- 0 calories
Lunch – ham (100); bread (250); chips (150)
- 500 calories
Dinner – pretzels and hummus (300); lentils and rice (200)
- 500 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (160); chocolate almonds (100); chicken (100); cheese (150); cottage cheese (50); banana and mandarin oranges (100)
- 660 calories
Total for the day: 1660 calories (limit 1800 + 500 bonus from swimming, total 2300)
It will all average out; have faith
One thing I learned from the last year is not to make up for a bad diet day by starving (punishing) myself the next day. That’s two days ruined. Instead, I try to make the next day and every day afterwards perfect. The bad day will average out over time. If the vast majority of your days go well calorie-wise, you will still be in control of your body, mostly and effectively.
But what I wanted to talk about today was exercise. Recall that I have been swimming twice a week for several years. When I lost significant weight in 2019, I was surprised that my lap times didn’t seem to decrease. Somehow I thought it would go faster, since I was pulling less weight through the water. At the same time, I worried I would burn fewer calories since I had less weight to work with!
Strangely, this year (2020), my lap times have decreased by several seconds. I think my body is starting to catch up with being a little lighter. That’s one explanation. I’ve also been working on improving my strokes, which is another explanation. They’re related. Since I lost some weight, it’s easier on my legs and wrists to swim and so I have been able to concentrate on swimming efficiency rather than just avoiding discomfort. Also, my breathing is easier while exercising. That might be due to the weight loss. Halfway through my workout I took my pulse and it was around 80bpm. That’s not bad for an exercising heart rate.
I am a little worried about not getting back on my weight control diet yet. What am I missing? How can I get myself focused, or interested, motivated, or sufficiently rewarded? I will have to give it some more thought.
-The Doctor
Keep up the good work…today was yoga for me and tomorrow I will walk three miles, at a good clip, with some neighborhood friends. Too bad there aren’t hills in Florida. But at least we don’t watch the birds when we walk! Thursday I’m going to a ZUMBA class. Oh my. It all piques my interest in keeping down the calorie count.
I resonate with your struggle. If I overeat it tends to be late afternoon where a snack between lunch and dinner and/or something after dinner before bedtime. On occasion, but rarely, I wake hungry around midnight – and I succumb 100% to that call of the wild!
The late afternoon snack – if I let myself start I cannot will myself to stop. If I will myself to never start I can avoid the problem. And I do not think I am actually “hungry,” but my brain says that I am. The after dinner timeframe is trickier. If I cannot find a task that is preoccupying (gym, home improvement physical activity, laundry/cleaning) I have an overwhelming urge to snack. 1,000, 2000, 3000 calories… yikes.
The best method I have right now creates a sense of urgency I do not like – I come home from work and make dinner and dessert. Dinner is consistent. Salad @~200 calories (1oz spinach, 3.5oz spring mix, 2oz carrot, 2oz peppers, 1oz onion, .5oz feta cheese, occasionally .5oz walnut, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and apple cider vinegar dressing) and something else – chicken (~6 oz), pork (~6oz), beef (~3-5oz) and occasionally 3-5oz of potato (sweet or white), or .25 cups of brown rice. I also make a fruit bowl – I have gone back and forth and am back to a larger serving even though that is my carb bomb of the day. @~200 calories, with ~36g carbs, 3.5oz cantaloupe, 3.5oz apple, 2oz blackberries, 2oz blueberries, 4oz strawberries.
I eat dinner with the evening news (meaning ~6:30pm, the same time every night). 30-minutes after dinner is complete I am out of the door to the gym where I do 1-2 hours of work (cardio, core, weights, yoga). I shower at the gym and am home sometime around 9pm. As a post workout and dessert I have the fruit, a large bowl of sugar free jello and am ready for bed by 10pm. I have found organizing the basement, painting the walls, vigorous cleaning (really scrubbing the kitchen, cleaning the garage) can take the place of the gym. But if I just sit at home and watch TV, read or surf the web… I eat the fruit, then a full bowl of nuts (~500-2000 calories) with a little chocolate and maybe some graham crackers… and maybe a cheese stick or three… idle hands. And I cannot will myself to stop.