Tracking
Yesterday I decided to track my food to see where I'm at. I told myself I wasn't going to let me sway how I normally eat on a Sunday, especially a Sunday when my husband is at work, but as I started logging my food in my Fitbit app I realized how many calories just my breakfast was. I had a homemade bean and cheese burrito with tomato and onion. I even skipped the sour cream because for one tiny burrito it was already almost 500 calories. Then when I added my coffee drinks the total went up from there. I found myself feeling guilty about those calories even though it seems like a sensible choice of food. I invested in a food scale too so I can be more accurate. It turns out I was actually over-estimating my serving sizes on things. I was in shock when I weighed out 1 oz of the new Lays grilled cheese and tomato soup flavored potato chips, it's way more than I would think a serving would be.
Anyway, my son and I took the dog for a big walk last night (almost 3 miles) and I had almost 14,000 steps on my Fitbit for the day so Fitbit gave me extra food calories in my allowance. I only ate 3 meals and one snack all day (which is less than I typically eat) and I was still 4 calories over my calorie budget for the day. Fitbit calculates your budget based on how much energy you are expending and how much you want to lose. Anyway, I don't typically workout that hard or long (I would be getting up at 3 am, that's not happening) and I eat more times a day than that so it is going to take some real work to figure out how to make this calorie budget thing work so it's something I can stick to. Already this morning I was thinking to myself how much South Beach Diet is way easier because you don't have to weigh or track or count, you just eat foods that are allowed and avoid foods that are not allowed. But I've tried that a lot of times and maybe it's that very freedom that has been a little too tricky for me to maintain composure with. To be fair, when I had tried it in the past (and lost 70 pounds) I didn't really have the knowledge I do now, but my hormones were young and helpful. LOL! So I will give the calorie counting thing a try before discounting it because it's hard.
I did have the opportunity to put into place an old trick that has been helpful to me. This morning after dropping the kids at school I was already thinking about what I could/would eat when I got home. I had eaten breakfast about 2 hours prior but wasn't hugry yet, but one of my triggers to eat when I'm not hungry is being alone. I had the quiet house to myself. But when I got home I decided to stave off my urge to eat with a cup of warm chammomile tea. It was perfect and it held me over until my stomach really growled for real. The feelings of deprivation and effort make my mind rebel, and it doesn't help that Aunt Flow was supposed to come yesterday and I'm still waiting on her. But I can't always use the same old excuses if I want to make lasting change. So even though I am not really starting my new lifestyle until Jan 1, I just wanted to get a feel for what it's going to be like and maybe put some thought into what I can even eat to keep me under the food budget. It's going to take some serious planning! Getting a head start on it's not a bad plan.
So that's my Monday. This week's extra challenge is to do random acts of kindness and I already have a bunch in mind and can't wait to start!
Hope you're having a great start to your week!
Anyway, my son and I took the dog for a big walk last night (almost 3 miles) and I had almost 14,000 steps on my Fitbit for the day so Fitbit gave me extra food calories in my allowance. I only ate 3 meals and one snack all day (which is less than I typically eat) and I was still 4 calories over my calorie budget for the day. Fitbit calculates your budget based on how much energy you are expending and how much you want to lose. Anyway, I don't typically workout that hard or long (I would be getting up at 3 am, that's not happening) and I eat more times a day than that so it is going to take some real work to figure out how to make this calorie budget thing work so it's something I can stick to. Already this morning I was thinking to myself how much South Beach Diet is way easier because you don't have to weigh or track or count, you just eat foods that are allowed and avoid foods that are not allowed. But I've tried that a lot of times and maybe it's that very freedom that has been a little too tricky for me to maintain composure with. To be fair, when I had tried it in the past (and lost 70 pounds) I didn't really have the knowledge I do now, but my hormones were young and helpful. LOL! So I will give the calorie counting thing a try before discounting it because it's hard.
I did have the opportunity to put into place an old trick that has been helpful to me. This morning after dropping the kids at school I was already thinking about what I could/would eat when I got home. I had eaten breakfast about 2 hours prior but wasn't hugry yet, but one of my triggers to eat when I'm not hungry is being alone. I had the quiet house to myself. But when I got home I decided to stave off my urge to eat with a cup of warm chammomile tea. It was perfect and it held me over until my stomach really growled for real. The feelings of deprivation and effort make my mind rebel, and it doesn't help that Aunt Flow was supposed to come yesterday and I'm still waiting on her. But I can't always use the same old excuses if I want to make lasting change. So even though I am not really starting my new lifestyle until Jan 1, I just wanted to get a feel for what it's going to be like and maybe put some thought into what I can even eat to keep me under the food budget. It's going to take some serious planning! Getting a head start on it's not a bad plan.
So that's my Monday. This week's extra challenge is to do random acts of kindness and I already have a bunch in mind and can't wait to start!
Hope you're having a great start to your week!
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