I have made it my job to control my body’s weight every day, one day at a time. That’s recent. Two years ago that wasn’t on my list of priorities. By deciding to value taking responsibility for my body’s weight so highly, I effectively became a new person with a new way of living. I have been living those choices out ever since.
The old me is still there. If I stop paying attention to my body’s weight, I will fall back in to my old habits. That means I could easily gain the weight back. I have been working hard to make sure my new way of life and new way of seeing the world, are just superior and worth fighting for.
My food intake and calorie count
Breakfast – pancakes (300); Splenda syrup (25); butter (50);
- 375 calories
Lunch – 10oz nacho topping (450); Ole wraps (100); sour cream (25);
- 575 calories
Dinner – 8oz chili (350); cornbread (100); sour cream (50); chips (140); salad (25);
- 665 calories
Snacking – tea with half and half (80);
- 80 calories
Total for the day: 1695 calories (limit 1700)
Yard work
I’m not the first to notice this, but yard work burns a lot of calories. According to my Fit Bit, I spent 2 hours blowing and raking leaves, and walked just as much as a typical 3-mile walk and burned even more calories. Not bad for slowly walking around with a leaf-blower backpack on my back. The raking itself was probably more strenuous, but even so I was amazed how much energy goes into just blowing leaves.
And the great (?) thing about yardwork is that it doesn’t end. I will be blowing and raking more leaves next weekend. Then comes the point where the leaves have all fallen. Then it’s time to spend hours picking leaves out of all the shrubbery. I wonder how many calories that burns? Probably not a lot.
Tonight I have to head to bed early. Monday is going to be a busy day in what will be a busy week for me. I am hoping to keep my vision where it needs to be: food is for satisfying physical hunger and no thing more. I haven’t been totally successful with that in times of busyness or stress. I may have to do some more thinking.
Good night,
-The Doctor