Commentary for 8/20/10

Please note, that I've stated approximate calorie counts next to the food, and a meal tally at the end of each meal. I hope this extra piece of information helps. It's amazing how even the healthiest meals can add up, that's why I like to use my calories for protein and vegetables (some fruits) first, and then pad a little bit with some empty carbs for my taste buds! My body needs the nutrients from the vegetables, fruits and protein...if it doesn't get them, it will continue to ask for more food, even though I already have enough calories. Then, the extra calories get stored as fat. Also, I avoid anything with high-fructose corn syrup like the plague, as this will mess with your hunger signals so you never feel satisfied or full.

8:30am: Zipp Fizz (10 calories) with 1 liter of water (I slept in! Catching up on sleep is the best thing I do for myself every week. Your muscles rebuild during rest periods; both downtime from exercise as well as actual REM sleep. Also, your appetite will vastly increase if you are low on sleep, because your body is in need of energy, and food is an energy source. Unfortunately, your body will use the energy and then store the excess calories as fat. (You can google sleep diets to read more on that).

9:30: 1 hour of elliptical at home. My baby sis is coming over, so I need to get done with exercise and get showered and ready for the day. Today, exercise is a means to an end...instead of an end unto itself like it usually is for me. Elliptical machines tend to read calories at least 20 and sometimes 40 percent high. My home machine reads really high. It tells me I burned 1,000 calories...no way!!! I estimate somewhere around 600 is accurate. Treadmills are probably the closest to accurate...maybe 10-15% high. Hey, people like machines that tell them they burn a ton of calories...just like we like clothing brands that err on the side of small instead of big sizes. So, manufacturers set the machines to read high. If you want to read more about that, you can google the brand of machine and ask for how accurate the calorie count on that particular machine is.

Noon: 5 egg whites (20 calories each and), 2 cups of chopped fresh veggies (40-50 calories?), 1/2 ounce extra sharp vintage white cheddar (40 calories), salt to taste (I throw all of these into a bowl, cover the bowl and microwave for 2 minutes, stir and microwave for another minute)

2 servings of Chex cereal (250 cal), 2 tbsp peanut butter(200 cal), 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (30 cal), 1 1/2 cups 1 % milk (I usually buy from Trader Joe's because all of their milk/dairy is hormone-free. I don't put out the cash for organic, but I do not buy meat or dairy with hormones. You can google meat/dairy with hormones for more info)...these I eat all together. I put the peanut butter to the side of a bowl in a little glob and take bits of it with each bite of cereal. I haven't eaten all day, so the egg white / veggie mix won't cut it, and my cupboards are bare, so I search for the healthiest and still yummy way to fill my gut. The Chex is really just empty calories, but the flaxseed has healthy omega-threes and fiber, the milk has calcium and protein, the peanut butter has healthy fat, some protein and some fiber.

The tally for this meal is around 600 calories.

4:15pm: That last meal really stayed with me. As usual, bigger meals don't make me feel great, and lunch was big for me. However, I didn't eat breakfast and I was pretty hungry. I'm hungry again now, but I know we're going out for dinner. I eat just enough to fill my gut and get more protein and vegetables in me. 2 servings of steamed broccoli (50 calories), 1/4 avocado (70 cal), 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese (50 calories), 1 TBSP low-sugar strawberry jam from Trader Joe's (30 calories). 200 calories...much better size of meal for me.

6:30pm: 2 cups watermelon (I'm guessing about 150 calories...you can look it up on calorieking.com if you want a more precise count), 1 serving low-fat Cheetos-style chips (from Trader Joe's) 130 calories, 1/2 cup cottage cheese (50 cal), 1 TBSP low-fat jam (30 calories).

(360 calories for this meal)

8:30pm: Dinner at a VVietnamese restaurant: 1/3 bowl of chicken noodle soup, 1/5 plate of chicken peanut curry over the top of a side of steamed broccoli (no rice).

I could look this up for a more accurate count, but I would guess 200 calories for the soup (the noodles are where the calories are there..plus some sugar in the broth), 300 calories for the chicken curry...even though I ate very little, the coconut milk in the sauce is extremely calorie dense! 50 calories for two servings of plain steamed broccoli. 550 calories for this meal. Can you imagine if I had added rice to that tally? Ouch!!

10:30pm: 1 banana (100 cal), 1 cup of fat-free plain Greek yogurt(120 cal...I did add a packet of no-cal sweetner...Stevia is natural and the best choice) from Trader Joe's, 1 TBSP low-fat strawberry jam from Trader Joe's (I added that to the yogurt as well. 30 calories) , 1/2 bag of Wild Harvest Organic microwave popcorn from Albertson's (225 calories), 1 liter of diet Sprite.

475 calories.

2,185 for the day

Keep in mind, that this is a maintenance day for me. I'm down to about 1,500-1,700 calories if I want to drop weight. I also exercise very intensely, so my calorie count will be about 800-1,000 higher than if I did not burn those calories during a workout. I refuse to starve my muscles or myself. As I've said before, though, I don't let myself stay hungry, but I don't eat until I'm full, just until I'm not hungry anymore.