Halloween Candy Has No Calories

I've decided. Halloween will be a night off, where I can blissfully indulge in all the sugar I want! So there. Just try and stop me (translation - stay out of the way to avoid injury).

I'm back to calorie counting, and although I haven't been updating my daily counts on the side column of this blog, it's been going fairly well. According to my lovely scale I've even lost 2 pounds, which although it's not as much as I'd like, is better than nothing :) I'll take it!

If you (from the title of this post) were looking for some kind of magic that deletes the calories in Halloween candy, I apologize. I could spin something about how having a day full of sugar maybe shakes up your metabolism and makes it speed up (is that plausible? We can pretend!), but without research to support this theory I don't know how credible it would be. Hmmm.

Instead, let's just say this: Halloween Candy Has No Calories In My Head (because there's plenty of research to support that ;)

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Tasty Tummy Filler

I'm struggling with perpetual hunger (as I usually do when I calorie count) and I just discovered yet another low-cal void filler:

1 can green beans (about 50 cal.)
1/4 cup salsa (about 25 cal.)

Heat the beans, drain the water, mix in the salsa. Presto: hot, tasty, somewhat filling, and only 75 calories :)

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Resuming Calorie Counting

Today I started calorie counting again. I was trying a few other things (smaller portions, exercise, etc.) but not really having much success. It occurred to me that even though I had the right intentions, unless my calories burned exceed my calories consumed, I'm not going to lose weight. How do I ensure this happens? Eat fewer calories. How do I do this? Count the flippin' things.

I'm an unconscious snacker. I eat all day long, PLUS eat full meals. In theory snacking often can speed up your metabolism, but you still won't lose weight if you consume more calories than you burn.

Today my count was 2,030. I was STARVING, which will give you a glimpse of what I would have eaten had I not restricted my intake. Yeesh.
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The Upside and the Downside

Upside: I'm down ten pounds from mid-March :)
Downside: I've gained five of them back :(

I hopped off the calorie counting wagon (as you can tell by my record on the right hand column), so now is the time I need to put on the brakes to my current snacking before I gain all TEN back. I need to take the five pounds I'm down, pat myself on the back, and make this my new "maximum".

OK! Here's to a fresh start, and renewed optimism :)

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4 Ways To Curb Late Night Snacking

I am once again struggling with late night snacking. Yesterday, for example, I inhaled about 600 calories worth of crap after midnight (toyed with the idea of adding it to today's calorie count, then thought the better of it ;)

If it's late enough at night, my resolve weakens and I simply don't care. I want the bleepin' cookies, and nothing will stop me from eating them! So there ;) Last night it was Oreos, as well as a couple of chewy chocolate covered caramel granola bars (blissful sigh).

Ahhhhhhh!!!

Ok. Here's what I need to do:

1) Go to bed earlier, before the madness has a chance to start.

2) Hide the crap. DH buys it for the kids as treats, but telling me to keep my hands off it is like telling him he can't smoke, and leaving a pack with a lighter on the counter in plain view. Ya right.

3) Brush my teeth earlier (like, when I'm finished eating dinner, as opposed to right before bed).

4) Chew more gum. Gum gum gum. Gum.

That might help. Tonight I think I'll start with #1 (yaaaawn :)

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The Cookies Chased Me

They did!!! I ran as fast as I could, but they trapped me in the kitchen.

Lesson: put them away somewhere where they're harder to reach.

Last night I was ending the day at about 1,900 calories, when I dozed off on the couch. I woke up half asleep and wandered through the kitchen, and you guessed it - found the cookies (600 calories may be a bit more than what I actually ate - these were homemade cookies and I had four or five, but they had almond slices, so who knows).

I could say that I was half asleep so my resolve was not there, but that would just be an excuse. I'm the one who put the cookies on an easy to reach pantry shelf. I could put them up high so that I need a chair to get them, or I could put them in the basement, or... you get the idea.

Bottom line is, if you have moments when will power alone will not suffice, changing your environment can work.

On a good note - I lost another pound! That's 2 pounds in just shy of 2 weeks, and that's with an average of about 2,200 calories per day. I'll take that :)

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Should I Lower My Caloric Target?

Hmmm.

It's a tough call, because on the one hand, having a flexible, reasonably easy target makes me more likely to want to continue long term, but on the other hand, I tend to not take it as seriously.

If I lowered my calorie target range to, say, 1,200-1,700 would I continually be demoralized and give up all together, or would I start losing weight a little faster? 2,000 calories is a lot for someone trying to lose a few pounds.

Dunno.

I did :45 on Wii Fit today, which is good. I usually try and put in at least an hour, but I was short on time today. I did a :10 run instead of :20, and I skipped some of the Yoga and strength exercises, as well as shortening some of them from the maximum reps that I usually do. I have to fit in the exercise whenever I can, otherwise if I wait until I have "enough time to do a full workout", I'll never work out.

Hmmm.

I'm contemplating a new daily target of 1,400-1,900 calories. I'll let you know what I decide...

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Wii Fit

I LOVE it so far, partly because it says I'm about 3 pounds lighter than my bathroom scale does.

HA HA.

I got it on April 9th, set up my profile, and went to The Keg for dinner that night with DH and friends. The next day when I stepped on the Wii Fit balance board, it told me I was +2 pounds.

Oops.

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Counting KFC Calories

Huh.

I don't really believe that a KFC drumstick is only 160 calories... I called it 300 just to be on the safe side. DH went out and grabbed some KFC, with strict instructions from me to not get any extras. No salads, or deserts of any kind. And only ONE drumstick for me.

Ok I ate one fry too. Just one. So I figure that 300 calories is a fair, safe guess. Oh, here's the website that the screen shot below is from. Since it clearly says "Kfc", am I to assume their calorie count includes the deep fried batter? To me a plain drumstick would be 160. Oh well.

The fact remains, whether the 160 is right or wrong, that if it weren't for the calorie counting, I would have eaten 4 or 5 pieces, and not just one. It all works out for the better, even if the count is slightly off...

(LOL notice the nutritional grade? Lucky I had that banana this morning ;)




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Yesterday: 1,655

Hmmm, not much healthy stuff yesterday, other than a Greek salad and a banana.

I had two cookies, two candies, birthday cake, pizza, Bailey's in my coffee, to name some... yeesh. Good thing for the multivitamin ;) The one drawback to calorie counting is that if you indulge in treats like I did yesterday, you don't really have room for healthy calories. This is one of the reasons that I count raw veggies as zero cals. You have to have treats every now and then, because if you don't, you won't want to continue dieting.

Of course, that being said, I didn't eat any raw veggies yesterday!! LOL. What the heck - it all balances out :)

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Yesterday: 1,670

Being busy definitely helps! I eat so much more when I'm bored. Yesterday we had stuff going on with the kids so I was out of the house quite a bit.

I usually recap healthy stuff I've eaten but yesterday there wasn't much. I suppose it depends on your standards. Some people might think that frozen pepperoni pizza includes enough of the food groups to be healthy ;)

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April Fools: 3,195

Except I'm not fooling. It started off as "oh I might be a bit high in my count today" and ended up more than a bit high!!

In the past I've had trouble rebounding after slips, and the ability to do so is crucial for an effective weight loss plan. You have to get back on track.

The interesting thing about yesterday, though, is that I found myself deliberately eating more, with the intent of testing myself on April 2 (as in, can I get back on track). I know how to count and measure calories, I know how to log what I eat, I know how to make healthy choices, I just don't know how to motivate myself to continue. So yesterday it was almost as if I was trying to push myself off track to teach myself how to get back on. The difference? Control.

Irony being what it is, I stepped on my slightly wacky and unreliable scale this morning and it looks as though I've lost two pounds. Yippee :)

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Today: 1,710

I was out for two hours in the evening, so that really helped. If I'd been home, I no doubt would have eaten more.

Healthy stuff included:

• whole grain toast
• yogurt & blueberries
• banana
• apple sauce
• cheese

Hmmm. Not sure if I'm logging on tomorrow, with this April 1st virus business going on... it may be just a hoax, but I'm the kind to err on the side of caution. Soooo... hopefully on Thursday I'll have two good counts to report, one for Wednesday and one for Thursday.

I'm trying to decide if (so far, this time, at least) this blog and my public record of my calories has made a difference. Not sure. I haven't really had a day yet where I've thought about eating a lot and then not done it because I wouldn't want to admit to it. Not yet, anyway ;)

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Today: 1,855

It would have been 1,655, 'cept for the 200 cals worth of Bailey's in my hot cocoa ;) What the heck. It's still within my target.

I ended up calling the ribs 600 cals - I'm not sure how close that is. I had four (each about 3 inches long). They were cooked on a rack so that the fat could drip, and they were seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper (so they were dry ribs). I had nothing else on my plate. My six year old asked me why I wasn't having rice, and that was a bit tricky to explain! She and her brother are both pretty lean. I told her that I didn't need the energy from the rice since I'm already grown, but that she and her brother need it to help them grow. I hope that was good enough.

Healthy stuff today:

• whole grain toast with peanut butter
• banana
• apple
• carrot

Not quite as much as usual, but not every day is perfect. So far now I've had three days within my target range, which I'll take!! My challenge comes when I have an off day - I have a hard time getting back in the swing of things the next day. It's almost as if overeating makes you hungrier.

I'm off to walk the dog... have a great night everyone :)

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Calories In Baby Back Pork Ribs

Yowza. They're, um, not diet food, that's for sure. I'm making them for my husband and kids tonight and am trying to figure out how many I can eat!

I've surfed and found everything from 234 for 2, to 477 each. (I like the first one best ;) This is the one I'm going with:

http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/generic/pork-baby-back-ribs

I'm cooking DH's in barbecue sauce, but mine I'll do on a rack so the fat can drip off, and I won't add any sauce, just season with spices. I'm going to make myself four :)

Hmmm. Speaking of, I should get that started....


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Yesterday: 1,765

We had Chinese take out, and when I googled caloric values for pot stickers, it said 200 for six steamed pieces. Hmm. These were not steamed, although there were only five. I didn't put any sauce on them, but I did eat one garlic boneless pork bite and one battered shrimp. I called the whole thing 500.

The benefit of calorie counting (for me, anyway), is that even if you don't get the count right, it still puts the breaks on your eating. I had no sweet & sour pork, and no chow mien. If I hadn't been counting calories, I would have heaped it all on my plate and dove in! lol. My daily goal of 1,500-2,000 may seem high to anyone on an accelerated plan at, say, 1,200... but oh my gosh you have no idea how much I normally eat!

Healthy stuff from yesterday includes:

• banana
• yogurt & blueberries
• broccoli
• carrot
• egg
• apple sauce

I even limited myself to one piece of pizza (265) at lunch. I did this by covering the plate with foil so that I couldn't see it.

Whatever works ;)

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Yesterday: 1,510

The first day of calorie counting is always easy because at that point I'm pretty motivated. Yesterday I finished the day at 1,510 which definitely meets my daily goal of between 1,500-2,000.

In all honesty it may have been a bit higher, because I'm not sure of the size of the steak I ate last night. It was a New York, and it was kind of medium sized. I called it 550, and ate nothing else with it. This wasn't a huge sacrifice, since I'm a big steak fan and wasn't really interested in the side dish (pasta), so it was easy to skip. Mmmm... steak!!! Yum :)

Healthy stuff from yesterday include:

• banana
• egg
• carrots
• yogurt
• blueberries

Does the cream in my coffee count as dairy? lol. I have 4 tbsp per cup, for 80 calories (no sugar). For those of you who can't imagine coffee without sugar, I can relate. I used to be like that as well, until I started paying careful attention to improving the quality of the brew itself. It makes a big difference! I still can't drink restaurant coffee without sugar. Blech.

Speaking of, I'm only at 360 calories so far today, so I might just go have another cup!

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7 Tips For Making Calorie Counting Easier

Aw, it's not that bad! And it works, providing you can stick to it long enough. Here are some tricks I've learned along the way:

1) When you record your calories, use four columns:

1. time eaten (this is handy if you want to compare your progress to previous days)
2. food item (this makes you more aware of the type of calories you've eaten, and more inclined to make healthy choices, especially if other people will see your log ;)
3. serving calories (this is useful for reviewing what you can cut back on if you're having trouble making your target)
4. running daily total calories (shows you where you are in relation to your daily goal)

2) Set flexible goals. You are more likely to want to continue the next day if your target is somewhat forgiving. For example, "between 1,300 and 1,700" is better than a target of "1,500" because if you eat 1,600 you'll feel as though you've failed with a target of 1,500 (whereas that would have been success with a target of 1,300-1,700). If you feel as though you've failed, getting motivated to try again the next day is much harder.

3) Designate a handy spot to keep the tools you need:

• log book & pen
• measuring spoon
• measuring cup
• calculator (for accurate portion values, if you're eating an amount that isn't the same as indicated on a label)
• calorie reference book, or shortcut on your desktop to a site that gives food caloric values

If you can't find the measuring spoon, for example, you're more likely to free-pour the cream for your coffee. Free pour = over pour = miscount.

4) Eat protein - it's very filling, and satisfies your hunger longer. I was/am a carboholic, and my most successful calorie counting stints have been when I've incorporated some lean protein into my day (tuna, chicken).

5) Make unprocessed and raw veggies "free". This is an easy way to incorporate some valuable nutrients into your day, and veggies are relatively low in calories. Write them down in your log, with a zero next to them. That way you have the positive reinforcement of a written record of having eaten them.

If you're concerned that the small amount of calories will add up, consider this: hunger is often not about calories, it's more about your body seeking nutrients. If you eat lots of raw veggies you'll get more of those nutrients, and may not be as hungry for extra calories. Note: they must be unprocessed and raw. Canned veggies, for instance, don't count.

6) Drink water blah blah blah but water's borrring... Try this: use a fancy glass (wine glass, etc.), add ice cubes and slices of citrus (or something). Getting water in me is a struggle, until I take a tall, unmarked beer sleeve, add two slices each of lemon and lime, and about four ice cubes. Then it follows me everywhere and I refill it several times.

7) Have sugar free gum handy. Sometimes you just wanna chew something!

To be continued...


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3 Weight Loss Goals For Today

I need to remain focused!!

Sometimes I think having a relatively small amount to lose is harder (not that I'm complaining, by any means!). I take my hat off to those who have more to lose, who in a matter of mere weeks, lose the pounds that I just can't seem to shed. It's inspiring.

Anyway (speaking of focus ;) here are my three goals for today:

1) Resume calorie counting (I actually like doing this - my problem is that I'll have two or three bad days in a row and then just give up).

2) Write down what I eat (this goes hand in hand with the counting, but if you record the details, it helps you stick to healthier calories).

3) Spend a bit of time on the stationary bike (it's in the living room, in front of the TV! No excuses!)

There ya go! I have only about three months or so before bathing suit weather. Think I can actually do it this time?

Yes!!



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Waddya Mean Am I Still Counting Calories?

Soooo... it's been awhile since the last blog post, Jeanne... howya doin'? Still countin' those calories? Huh? Huh?

(and there was a day when I swore I'd never ever refer to myself in the third person)

The good news is that I haven't gained any weight. The annoying thing is that if I'd stuck with the calorie reduction that I started a few weeks ago, I could be a few pounds lighter by now.

Ah yes, no one to blame but myself...

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