A Three-Fer

Thursday, Friday & Saturday were busy days. I made another trip to the dentist on Thursday, and spent a lot of that day and the next two in pain from the adjustment made to my teeth from my new bridge. I plan to head back early next week to get my dentist to take a look and see what’s causing the pain, and whether he needs to make another tweak to the fit of the crowns.

On Thursday, I wasn’t up to eating much of anything. On Friday, I was, and ate too much. It was emotional eating. I wanted junk food because I felt bad. I hurt just enough that doing anything productive was out of the question. Plus, I was bored. I have a ton of catch-up things to do now that I’ve met my work deadline, but I have to feel up to doing them, and I haven’t yet.

I’m not sure if it’s chewing, or if it’s drinking soda from a can that’s triggering the jaw pain, so on Sunday I’m planning to drink only from a cup. It could be the sucking motion that’s causing my TMJ to act up, but this feels more like a tooth ache than joint pain. Still, I managed to stay under 1400 calories each day, even with the junk food binge on Friday, and I managed to write down everything I ate. The diary is what’s making it possible to lose the pounds. The only thing I remember that I didn’t record was a small handful of soy crisps, but even adding another 50 calories for those to the three day total, I’m well within range. This must mean I’m serious at last!

Thursday – February 5 – 1015 calories

16oz coffee (taken as usual) – 115 calories
Taco Bell: 1 Meximelt, 1 Pintos & Cheese, 440 calories
dinner: meatloaf, 200 calories – steamed veggies, 80 calories – Uncle Ben’s Long Grain & Wild Rice (Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil), 180 calories
12 oz Diet Dr.. Pepper x 4 (WAY too much soda)

Friday – February 6 – 1350 calories

2 16oz coffees (taken as usual), 230 calories
Lean Cuisine 3 Cheese Rigatoni Bowl – 240 calories
12 oz Diet Dr. Pepper x 2
Hostess Mini Chocolate Cupcakes, 100 calories
Hostess Mini Carrot Cupcakes, 100 calories
Orville Redenbacher Snack Pack Popcorn, 100 calories
Jell-O Sugar Free Dulce de Leche Pudding, 60 calories
Bertolli Lasagna Rustica w/ Meat Sauce, 520 calories

Saturday – February 7 – 1345 calories

2 16 oz coffees (taken as usual), 230 calories
Kashi Go Lean Cereal, 1 srv, 140 calories
1/2C Mootopia Fat Free Milk, 45 calories
Lean Cuisine Tortilla Crusted Fish, 330 calories
12 oz Diet Dr. Pepper Caffeine Free x 2
Jell-O Sugar Free Chocolate Tuxedo pudding, 60 calories
dinner: 2 corn tortillas, 110 calories – 1C fat free refried beans, 180 calories – 4T salsa, 20 calories – 4T sour cream, 120 calories – 1/2C shredded sharp cheddar, 110 calories

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary , comfort food, emotional eating, junk food, triggers

A quick report

On Wednesday, I hit my deadline and sent off my project, and had time for nothing else – except counting the day’s calories!

Wednesday – February 4 – 1285 calories

2 16oz coffees w/ saccharine, 1T cream and 2T half&half each, 180 calories
Kashi Golden Maple Oatmeal, 1srv, 160 calories
1/4C pinto beans w/ 1/2 snack cheese, 75 calories
12 oz Diet Dr. Pepper
Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli, 350 calories
1 Godiva Chocolate, 110 calories
2 crab cakes, 340 calories
1/2 can homestyle cabbage, 70 calories

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary , keeping busy

I weigh 299.8 pounds

Another four pound loss, yay! But no time for more. Deadline looming.

Tuesday – February 3 – 1235 calories

2 16oz coffees w/ saccharine, 1T cream and 2T half&half each, 180 calories
1C Kashi Go Lean cereal, 140 calories
1/2C Mootopia Fat Free milk, 45 calories
Lean Cuisine Chicken Mediterranean, 240 calories
Hostess Mini Chocolate Cupcakes, 100 calories
dinner: grilled chicken breast, 250 calories – brisket, 130 calories – 1/2C pinto beans, 70 calories – 1C asparagus, 25 calories
1 square Ghiradelli chocolate, 55 calorie3

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary, Losing Weight , pounds, success

Still on track

Fat vs reduced fat vs low fat vs fat free. <– That was what I had on my mind on Monday, but I was too busy deadlining to write up my thoughts. I was not too busy, however, to count my calories!

Monday – February 2 – 1360 calories

2 16oz coffees w/ saccharine, 2T half & half each (40c x 2s = 80c), 1T cream each (50c x 2s = 100c), 180 calories
16 oz V-8 juice, 100 calories
1C Kashi Go Lean Cereal, 140 calories
1/2C Mootopia Fat Free Milk, 45 calories
Lean Cuisine Roasted Turky Breast, 260 calories
1/2C refried beans, olives, cheese, 160 calories
16 oz Diet Dr. Pepper Caffeine Free, 20 oz water x 2
dinner: grilled chicken breast, 250 calories – 1C spinach, 40 calories – mixed veggies, 80 calories – lite creamy ranch dressing, 105 calories

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary , busy, fat

Serving sizes

For the first time that I can remember, I’m actually paying attention. Not just to the sizes on nutritional labels, but to the amount of, say, the casserole dish of king ranch chicken I used to eat at each meal. Honestly? Probably 1500 calories worth. Ugh.

On Sunday, I could have eaten a second chalupa, but I didn’t have room for another 500 calories. And I was full. It was just so good, I wanted more. If I hadn’t eaten the snack of cheese, the second cup of coffee, the portion of my husband’s omelet, I might have splurged. I didn’t. I like being in charge, instead of allowing food to be.

Sunday – February 1 – 1350 calories

2 16oz coffees w/ saccharine, 2T evap milk & 1 1/2T cream, 230 calories
1/4C omelet w/ egg, brisket, onion, cheese, 100 calories
Kashi Golden Maple Oatmeal, 1 srv, 160 calories
Land O Lakes Reduced Cheddar Cheese, 1/2 snack, 30 calories
king ranch chicken leftovers, 330 calories
1 chalupa: tortilla, refried beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped brisket, tomato, onion, olives, 500 calories

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary

It’s all about taste

I got a lot of work done on Saturday, but neither that nor eating was much fun since I lost one of my temporary crowns. Ugh. I was busy enough that I skipped lunch, and was so hungry, I had to eat a piece of cheese while dinner cooked. I was still hungry at bedtime, so had another. Probably not the best snack, but it was low fat cheese this time as opposed to the cheddar I used in the cheese sauce. I think next shopping trip, I will buy some lower fat cheese. I don’t like cooking with it if (or eating it) if it’s fat free, but some lower fat isn’t bad.

I’m all about the taste. It’s part of what I mentioned in the 10 Things I Know About Me eating post. The chocolate, for example. But it’s the same with butter and cheese. I’ll do without before I’ll substitute the taste of good cheese for waxy rubbery fat free. Tasteless. No, I won’t get used to it. I’ll eat the good stuff, or I won’t eat it at all. And as I’ve done since the beginning of this journal, I’ll adjust the rest of my caloric intake around those extra calories when I eat them. Losing weight does not have to be about going hungry, or about bland, tasteless food. It does have to be about making choices.

Saturday – January 31 – 1130 calories

2 16oz coffees w/ saccharine, 2T evap milk & 1 1/2T cream each, 230 calories
Kashi Golden Maple Oatmeal, 1 srv, 160 calories
1C spaghetti squash, artichokes, marinara sauce, 60 calories
3 oz cajun smoked brisket, 260 calories
pinto beans w/ spicy bbq sauce, 200 calories
mashed cauliflower w/ cheese sauce, 100 calories
2 snack packs Land O’ Lakes Low Fat Cheddar Cheese, 120 calories

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary , butter, cheese, chocolate, fat, snack, taste

Wake up call

I never wanted to be one of those people who decide what to eat by reading labels, counting carbs, or fat grams, or calories. I’ve dieted enough during my life that when I started this diary, I had a good idea of the calories in most foods. What I didn’t think about, was how quickly those calories add up, or the calorie totals that go into recipes.

When I made the meatballs with mushroom soup gravy, the cheddar cheese sauce, and the king ranch chicken, I measured every ingredient and tallied the calories. I then divided the entire dish into quarters (in case of the meatballs and the king ranch) or thirds, and did the same with the total calorie count. WAY big wake up call as to how much I’ve been eating all these years.

Friday – January 30 – 1390 calories

16 oz coffee w/ saccharine, 2T evap milk & 1 1/2T cream, 115 calories
1C Kashi Go Lean Cereal, 140 calories
1/2C Mootopia Fat Free Milk, 45 calories
Lean Cuisine Parmesan Crusted Fish, 290 calories
Hostess Chocolate Mini Cupcakes, 100 calories
king ranch chicken, 700 calories

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary , calories

Beginnings

I’m getting close to the end of my work project, and I’m giddy at having reached a new stage in my life, with new possibilities, and a new me to look forward to. I keep saying that my new year begins February 5th, because everything I’ve done in January should’ve been finished in 2008. That’s part of the new me, never again falling this far behind on commitments. Nothing is more stressful. Not only do I feel like a failure, letting other people down, getting into hot water I’ll never get out of, but everything else in my life goes to hell. Housekeeping, cooking, shopping, reading for pleasure, taking care of me. With this deadline gone, I’ll have time to add exercise to my schedule again. Regular fat burning, muscle building exercise. Never thought I’d say it, but I can’t wait to feel my body in use.

Thursday – January 29 – 1300 calories

16 oz cofffee w/ saccharine, 2T evap milk & 2T cream, 140 calories (the coffee was stale and bitter for some unknown reason)
meatballs w/ mushroom soup gravy & Italian cut green beans, 360 calories (the end of THOSE leftovers)
Hostess Mini Chocolate Cupcakes, 100 calories
12 oz Diet Dr. Pepper Caffeine Free x2, 20 oz water
2 boneless center cut pork chops, broiled, 450 calories
canned asparagus, steamed cauliflower, 50 calories
cheddar cheese sauce made w/ fat free milk, 200 calories

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary , behavior, exercise, habits, stress

I wanted the avocado

On Wednesday, I had my rescheduled dentist appointment. i knew I needed to eat something, but I don’t like to eat when I first get up, and I had to leave the house at 7:30 to drop my husband at his office since we share a car. I got to the dentist office at 9:00 and worked at the end of a hallway near an empty office until my 10:30 appointment time (have keyboard, will travel), and while there, ate 1/4 of a stale Medifast bar I’d grabbed. (Yeah, went down that road, too.)

After the appointment, my huband took off for the day, and we stopped for lunch at our favorite burger / chicken place before going home. I figured I could find something to squish in my deadened mouth, and they had tortilla soup. I LOVE tortilla soup, and this broth was wonderful, as were the chicken and vegetables. A perfect low-cal lunch, except it was missing the tortilla strips, the cheese, the avocado, and the sour cream I’m used to. Good for my calorie count, not for my cravings. But in the end, it worked out, because my mouth was so numb, it was hard to eat, and I didn’t need the calorie splurge.

Wednesday – January 28 – 1295

16oz coffee w/ saccharine, 2T evap milk & 1 1/2T cream, 115 calories
1/4 Medifast Smore’s Granola Bar, 40 calories
tortilla soup w/ chicken, yellow & zucchini squash, cabbage, carrots, onions, cilantro, rice, NO tortillas NO cheese NO sour cream NO avocado, 450 calories (guessing high here; was mostly chicken, broth & veggies)
Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken w/ 1t butter, 270 calories
1 oz pistachio kernels, 170 calories
1C cashew chicken w/ veggies, rice and sauce, 250 calories

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary , calories, cravings, taste

I weigh 303.7 pounds

4 pounds. It seems like such a small number when I’m looking at 150, but these are real pounds, not pounds of water lost by crash dieting. I ate real food every day of the last seven. I ate fat, protein, carbs. I ate butter, cheese, sour cream. I did not eat cookies, or drink chocolate milk, or cocoa. I had cream in my coffee. I ate under 1400 calories every day. I did not binge. I met my goal and stayed true to myself. And I lost 4 pounds. I’m happy.

Tuesday – January 27 – 1305 calories

16 oz coffee w/ saccharine, 2T evap milk & 1 1/2 T cream, 115 calories
1C Kashi Go Lean cereal w/ 1/2C Fat Free Mootopia milk, 195 calories
Bar S Thin Sliced Deli Ham 97% Fat Free, 1 srv, 70 calories
Meatballs w/ mushroom soup gravy, 325 calories
salad w/ strips of browned pork milanese, feta & parmesan cheese, green jalapeno olives, lemon & olive oil dressing, 500 calories (safe guess)
2T Hershey’s Syrup, 100 calories (a treat)

Filed under: Counting Calories, Food Diary, Losing Weight , pounds, success