1 Week Down

Well, after a week of eating right and exercising, I've managed to lose a whopping 2 pounds...

I have to admit, that's more than a little discouraging.  I think I know why, though. First, when I say 'eating right' I am really only talking about quantity.  I worry less about what I am eating as I do about the calorie count.  Once I get used to eating less, I'll adjust my intake to be a little healthier.  Actually, I eat pretty healthy already, though I realize there is room for improvement (less sodium, more lean protein, etc). 

Historically, once I cut the sweets from my diet, and the cravings go away, after about three or four days, the rest is fairly easy.  I haven't had any sweets since January 2, so I no longer crave them at this point.  However, I still eat an egg almost every morning.  I make myself an egg wrap, using a tortilla (yes, the kind made with lard and flour, found in any grocery store- about 120 calories each), a serving of egg whites (which I buy in a pint size carton), and one medium sized egg.  I tried to use just egg whites, but the consistency of the omelette doesn't hold up too well; it falls apart while I'm trying to flip it.  So one egg at about 100 calories added to a serving of egg whites at a whopping 25 calories, plus some sea salt (ahh, the evil part of my breakfast), salsa and onion powder, a 1/4 cup of cheese.  The whole thing weighs in at a tremendous 300-ish calories.  I also, and drink a pot of coffee (way too much, according to some) -14 calories total, without cream or sugar, and take some vitamins and supplements each day. Total: 359 calories.

When I go to work, I take with me a few talismans to use against the mid-morning hunger monster. I pack my bag with some yogurt (2 @ 80 calories each), an apple, a banana and some carrots.  I also make myself a sandwich.  So my 'healthy diet' is riddled with some things many fitness experts might frown on: bread (2 slices at 120calories total), lunch meat, whose sodium content is pretty high (can't think of an appropriate simile at the moment), and cheese (a meal without cheese is like a day without sunshine- there's your simile). Still, my sandwich fills my belly and prevents me from buying fast food or chips from the vending machine, so it's a win for me. I spread my snacking out throughout the day, sometimes eating my apple or carrots on the ride home.

Tho whole point is, I try to be proactive in this diet thing.  Truthfully, I'm not 'dieting' so much as I'm changing the way I eat.  Watching tv in the evening is a challenge, as I'm used to munching on chips or whatever, and washing it down with soda (although I've been drinking diet soda for years, so no calories, per se, but a separate issue with the aspartame in it, which I'd like to discuss at another time).  Point is, I have to find a way to occupy both my mind and my hands so I am not so tempted to fill them with comfort foods.  Luckily, I have a smart phone and some pretty cool games to play- sorry 'Angry Birds' fans, I'd rather play sudoku.

You see, I'm actually eating several times a day, but just directing my intake toward more wholesome foods. Dinner is probably the least healthy thing I eat.  I've been trying to stick with Lean Cuisine type dinners.  They are tasty... OK, they taste good enough.  Still, the sodium content is pretty high in any manufactured food: soup being the worst offender (probably), followed by everything else.  Still, a 300 calorie dinner, combined with a small, steamed bag of veggies is usually enough to get me throught the evening. If Istill need something to munch on, there are a few choices on the market these days: Special K chips are my current choice (120 calories for a serving of 27 chips), which, after not having sweets or fat or bad carbs all week, are simply delicious!

All these food choices are not the best available.  I know this.  I will eventually take a look at how I cook foods, I'll learn to make some different meats and fresh vegetables and I'll probably find a more holistic approach to eating- Eventually.  For now, I'm happy to be losing a few pounds.  I'm even more happy that I'm not starving to death, which is why most diets fail.
Losing weight is really much simpler than most people realize.  Once you cut out the industry's attempts to sell you the latest diet, you'll see the simplicity of it.  What the fitness industry does not tell you is that you can lose weight by simply eating less calories than you burn each and every day. That's the secret.  The truth is, you could eat Twinkies every day (I prefer the Little Debbie snack cake diet, personally), and as long as your body burns more calories than the Twinkies you eat, you'll lose weight. You'll be increasingly unhealthy if you eat only sweets, but the concept is the same: burn more calories than you consume.  Twinkies, by the way, each have about 150 calories. The problem is that one is never enough!

My daily allownce of calories, according to the program I set up previously, using myfitnesspal.com is 1730.  This amount will allow me to lose about 2lbs oer week.  If I exercise, I get more calories.  So, if I run 3 or 4 miles that day, I get a considerable amount of additional calories.  This might allow me to eat a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich as a treat once in a while without moving backwards. 

For what it's worth, this is the exact opposite of my approach to paying off the bills:  Spend less than you make.