Every day is a new day. That’s one of the principles I live by now – speaking of weight control. If I overeat today, I shouldn’t under-eat tomorrow. Likewise if I under-eat today, I shouldn’t overeat tomorrow.
OK, yesterday I overdid it a bit. There was cake. And pie. And they were very, very good chocolate cake and coconut cream pie.
My total for yesterday was over 2000 calories; this on the same day I reached a new low weight of 219 pounds. Today was a new day, right? So I should have eaten the normal amount. But I didn’t.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – tea (80)
- 80 calories
Lunch – sausage (270); pizza (300)
- 570 calories
Dinner – sausage (230); manicotti (250); salad and broccoli (30);
- 510 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80); chocolate cake (200)
- 280 calories
Total for the day: 1440 calories (limit 1700)
Actually I wasn't hungry.
I didn’t eat breakfast and didn’t want it. I was uncomfortably full yesterday after eating a big dinner with dessert and going over my calorie budget! But I have been here before. The last thing you want to do is to withhold food from yourself and get into a punishment mindset. But I really wasn’t hungry. I had tea and didn’t get hungry until 11AM.
For lunch I ate normally and I was quite hungry by lunchtime. Dinner I left until late, usually a bad idea. It was past 7PM and I was so hungry I wolfed it all down. I don’t like that. Normally I try to time things so I am hungry enough to enjoy things but not too hungry. Once I get too hungry it’s hard to slow down and enjoy things. That’s my main incentive to eat fewer calories, reaching that exact hunger point. If I let myself get too hungry, it’s like I am breaking a promise to myself. The promise is: I will eat less food, but I will make sure that the food I do eat is worth waiting for and served just when I will enjoy it most. See the problem? I waited too long and broke my promise.
Anyway, it didn’t work out too badly this time. I have earned a lot of credit with myself for being faithful about that promise. I even had dessert, and was able to enjoy homemade chocolate cake and more tea. That’s because I had already eaten dinner and could slow down and enjoy. It made up part of the promise I broke earlier; at least dessert was served just when I wanted it.
One other thing – I was wearing size 40 pants last night, which are just slightly tight on me yet. After I ate all that dinner, it was physically uncomfortable to be in those pants! Great feedback, and I knew immediately I had eaten too much. This is definitely one way thin people know if they have overeaten. The physical sensation of being too full for your pants is quite uncomfortable.
Don’t get too hungry, just hungry enough is best.
-The Doctor