A moment of self pity, please...
For I, unlike the ones among us blessed with perfect DNA, do not have a lightning fast metabolism and can not just eat anything I want. In fact, I feel as though I may not have any metabolism at all. Always such a battle.
Unlike my friend who can eat chocolate, not exercise and loose 10 pounds because she is "watching her fat content more closely", unlike my mom who can go to Curves for three months and loose 9 1/4 inches (hooray mom!!) , unlike my husband, who can drop 20 pounds by switching to a ligher beer...
Nope, that's not me.
I have been keeping a journal of what I’ve been shoving down my throat. It’s amazing how quickly things add up…
First its one rice cake (that’ll be 50 calories, thank you).
Then it’s two rice cakes (now you’re up to 100 calories.)
Then three and four, and the next thing you know, you’ve wasted a meals worth of calories on apple flavored Styrofoam.
Keeping a journal is definately a reality check. You’d be surprised to see what you actually consume during the course of a day without even thinking about it.
I now see that my cup of 6:30am-keep-me-awake-in-traffic-while-lowering-my-cholesterol Cheerios, my 9am package of instant oatmeal, my 12:30pm light turkey sandwich on dry 12-grain bread and my small apple (because lets get realistic, a single stupid yogurt for lunch doesn’t fill anybody up and I need some energy for kickboxing) and yes, my 3:30 rice cakes have used up most of the calories I think I should eat a day.
And what, you may ask, is my magic number? Its certainly not an unrealistic number. I do not want to go over 1500 calories. Not over, I said. So 1400 wouldn't be a bad number either. I read in a fitness magazine that one should never go under 1200 a day (hey, no problem there).
So given what I eat during the day, if I don’t want to go over 1500, then eating 950 calories before 6pm leaves me 550 for both dinner and a glass of cholesterol lowering red wine. That, in reality, is plenty. Yet somehow, last night after I ate my salad for dinner, I was over my limit. How did that happen? I ate too much, that’s how.
I’m feeling down.
I watch the people I work with eat Taylor ham & cheese sandwiches for breakfast and Italian subs for lunch without giving thinking twice about what they are consuming. That’s not to say what they’ve been snacking on or what they plan to have for dinner. And I guarantee they are not planning on doing any kickboxing when they get home either. Then again, that’s why they look like they do. And here I am beating myself up over too many rice cakes. In fact, I’m already making plans for tomorrow to cut my cup of Cheerios in half, to use one piece of bread on my sandwich, perhaps I will skip the apple...
As for tonight, if I don’t eat any rice cakes now, I can squeeze in an extra glass of wine later on…
Boy, I really am my own worst enemy.
For I, unlike the ones among us blessed with perfect DNA, do not have a lightning fast metabolism and can not just eat anything I want. In fact, I feel as though I may not have any metabolism at all. Always such a battle.
Unlike my friend who can eat chocolate, not exercise and loose 10 pounds because she is "watching her fat content more closely", unlike my mom who can go to Curves for three months and loose 9 1/4 inches (hooray mom!!) , unlike my husband, who can drop 20 pounds by switching to a ligher beer...
Nope, that's not me.
I have been keeping a journal of what I’ve been shoving down my throat. It’s amazing how quickly things add up…
First its one rice cake (that’ll be 50 calories, thank you).
Then it’s two rice cakes (now you’re up to 100 calories.)
Then three and four, and the next thing you know, you’ve wasted a meals worth of calories on apple flavored Styrofoam.
Keeping a journal is definately a reality check. You’d be surprised to see what you actually consume during the course of a day without even thinking about it.
I now see that my cup of 6:30am-keep-me-awake-in-traffic-while-lowering-my-cholesterol Cheerios, my 9am package of instant oatmeal, my 12:30pm light turkey sandwich on dry 12-grain bread and my small apple (because lets get realistic, a single stupid yogurt for lunch doesn’t fill anybody up and I need some energy for kickboxing) and yes, my 3:30 rice cakes have used up most of the calories I think I should eat a day.
And what, you may ask, is my magic number? Its certainly not an unrealistic number. I do not want to go over 1500 calories. Not over, I said. So 1400 wouldn't be a bad number either. I read in a fitness magazine that one should never go under 1200 a day (hey, no problem there).
So given what I eat during the day, if I don’t want to go over 1500, then eating 950 calories before 6pm leaves me 550 for both dinner and a glass of cholesterol lowering red wine. That, in reality, is plenty. Yet somehow, last night after I ate my salad for dinner, I was over my limit. How did that happen? I ate too much, that’s how.
I’m feeling down.
I watch the people I work with eat Taylor ham & cheese sandwiches for breakfast and Italian subs for lunch without giving thinking twice about what they are consuming. That’s not to say what they’ve been snacking on or what they plan to have for dinner. And I guarantee they are not planning on doing any kickboxing when they get home either. Then again, that’s why they look like they do. And here I am beating myself up over too many rice cakes. In fact, I’m already making plans for tomorrow to cut my cup of Cheerios in half, to use one piece of bread on my sandwich, perhaps I will skip the apple...
As for tonight, if I don’t eat any rice cakes now, I can squeeze in an extra glass of wine later on…
Boy, I really am my own worst enemy.
posted by Sp00kalot at 3:24 PM
4 Comments:
I hate having to keep track of what I put inn my mouth but if I don't stay at least somewhat conscious of it I eat more than my metabolism can handle. But 1500 calories doesn't sound like very many; won't you lose if you eat just that?
If you don't eat ENOUGH calories, you won't lose weight because your body won't ever kick in your metabolism because it will think you are starving.
I would start adding some nuts in the morning, sunflower seeds in the afternoon, and stop counting calories.
I LURVE nuts and seeds. I like to eat them before my workout. They are very healthy for you, however they are very high in fat, although its mostly good fat. But I am not sure nuts are good for high cholesterol.
You're right about not eating enough calories too. You cant eat too many and you cant eat too little. What the hell. When I first started working out years ago, I was eating about 1900 calories a day. So anything below that should be good, right? I remember trying for weeks to eat less than that and I dont remember ever losing any weight. I kept pushing it and got down to eating 1000 a day, and so obvioulsy I wasnt losing anything because I screwed up my metabolism.
Last night, Earl made chili and I drank some Miller Lite, and I think my calories came to about 1650. Must have been the damn chili...
you need nuts & grain as part of your diet, rice cakes don't count :-) It depends on the nuts you eat, 10 almonds per day is good as is unsalted raw peanuts [sml handful] & sunflower seeds.
I don't count calories anymore, I look at the saturated fat content [below 20gms per day to lose weight] Hubby's cholesterol went down & is back in normal ranges now since I do this. Look at the saturated fat content not the good fat though, but try to keep total fat & sugar lower rather than higher *g*
A lot of the problem is the size of portions, go for smaller & add salads & veges [fresh, not canned etc] Jen-o-rama is right, not enough & your body goes into famine mode.
Try not to think about being on a diet as such [only when buying groceries] then you don't feel stressed or depressed.
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