Keeping Calories in the Black

Eating is part physiology and part psychology .  Sometimes we eat more than we think we do, and sometimes we think we eat less than we do.  Our perception can really play tricks on us.   Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs.  Our habits are mindless at times.  Before we know it, we eat 100 calories of honey roasted peanuts, 150-calorie beverage, “just a couple of bites” of somebody’s double fudge brownies with icing  then be “STARVING” for supper and think all we had for lunch was a salad.   It’s easy to overeat when we are not paying attention. 

One of my favorite girls EVER had a major misconception of her eating habits.  She was morbidly obese, had had three heart attacks.  THREE!   The girl was a nutritional train wreck, but she was my buddy.  At first she told me she never ate anything except one meal a day that consisted of a small portion of grilled chicken and some steamed vegetables.  Later she gave me a special gift…. A favorite quote:     “It’s nothin’ for me to eat a box of Little Debbies in one sittin'.” She told me.    

Calories can really sneak up on us if we don’t pay attention to what we are doing.   One thing that really helps to keep an eye on the ol’ eating plan is to keep a food diary of everything we taste, lick, chew, etc.   It’s not a rule.  It’s not a law.  It’s not a punishment.  It’s a tool.  It’s a tool to help us stay on track.  I don’t know about you, but when I’m hiking down an unfamiliar path, the markers nailed to the trees bring comfort as they remind me I’m still where I’m want to be.  Ahhhh….restful instead of stressful! 

I made a ledger sort of like a check book.  I calculated the calories I need to promote a gradual and safe weight loss.  I need 1200 calories to stay on my chosen path.  The food diary doesn’t have to be anything fancy.  It could just be a list of foods and the calories.  The important thing is that you try to eat close to the calories you need everyday.    Because I'm sort of a food nerd, I note the time, amount of the food item, calories, protein, fiber, carbs, and then the calorie balance from 1200 calories.

Here is an example of a day and how I analyzed it so I could make changes to my eating that would make life "easier" on my path the next day:

1200 calories minus:

coffee with chocolate milk  =  1005 calories to go….

½ cup pintos and a salad with light raspberry vinaigrette. = 585 calories to go…

coffee with light cream = 510 calories to go…

1 container of raisin bran with skim milk and 6 oz coffee = 307 calories to go…         
AND IT’S STILL NOT SUPPER TIME YET!!!!!!

What’s a girl to do?  At first reminiscence, I would think I haven’t eaten much in this day.  The truth is, I spent 175 calories just on the sissy in my coffee.  The “light” salad dressing still had 100 calories in one pack.  The cheese, ham, and egg I added to my salad really packed on the calories. 

How did I end this caloric day in the black?  With a plan!  I put in a request for some steamed veggies to add to Leftovers Night.   I ate a plate full of vegetables and then the carrots and beef from the beef stew.   I went to bed a decent time.  Sometimes at night I feel hungry again when my body demands energy when all I need is sleep.

Tomorrow is a new day, a new breakfast, and a new ledger with plenty of calories in my account to keep me in the black.