I have been dieting for a good 25 years now (how sad), so I tend to know around about how many calories and carbs most of the foods I eat have in them. I don't usually track calories because I find it way too tedious to have to weigh and measure my food (I am quite lazy). It also tends to make me a little too obsessive about every bite of food I put in my mouth and all of a sudden I am worrying about the calories in celery...
So, while I don't count my calories, I am still very conscious of what I eat every day. I generally aim to eat about 1000 calories and 50 grams of carbs every day. I keep a bit of a mental tally of what I have eaten as the day goes on to ensure I am on track, but there is a lot of guestimating going on!
Now AJ has been at me for ages saying that I am over-estimating the calories I eat and that I don't eat enough. So I thought I would track what I eat during a typical week for me and see how much I am actually eating and if I need to adjust my calories. I very diligently weighed and measured all my food and counted my calories for four days. The results are below...
Tuesday 25 September
Calories: 897 Protein: 77 Fat: 47 Carbs: 31 Sugars: 14
Wednesday 26 September
Calories: 694 Protein: 54 Fat: 39 Carbs: 35 Sugars: 15
Thursday 27 September
Calories: 715 Protein: 75 Fat: 47 Carbs: 31 Sugars: 17
Friday 28 September
Calories: 717 Protein: 64 Fat: 46 Carbs: 24 Sugars: 16
OK, so bloody AJ was right, I really should be eating a bit more. Especially as I do at least an hour of exercise 5-6 days a week. No wonder I feel like I am dragging my legs through cement some days.
The problem is that I do get hungry a lot, but I have been binge eating and starving for so long now that I really don't know when I am genuinely hungry. I am also scared that once I eat a little bit more that will open the floodgates and then I will just keep eating and wake up and be 130 kilos again. I just don't trust myself.
So I am going to keep going along eating similar to how I have been for the past few months, because it does work for me, but I am being more lenient with my portions of things like nuts, cheese, olives, avocado and peanut butter because those are all foods that seem to keep me fuller and give me engery (plus they are delicious). Who am I to complain about a pre-workout tablespoon of peanut butter!
Hi Tully,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you know that I think it is a good idea to log your intake. I know it works for me, and when I stop, I start gaining weight. On the flip side, sometimes I don't realize that I haven't eaten enough. I blogged a while ago on how much I love the app called Lose It. You should check it out. It has really helped me. I also love that you can scan barcodes with it and get nutritional content. Hope this helps you!
LOL you get to add in a post work out tablespoon of peanut butter too now :0)
ReplyDeleteCounting & weighing IS a pain in the arse! I recently did a week of counting too - was interested in my fibre & protein intake which were lacking!!! Did a bit of research & rejigged the food side of things & am travelling along OK.
I can see value in counting 1 week in every month or 3 as you've just done to keep things in check, & so you can adjust as needed. At least it's not such a chore & doing it every now & then is more like a fun(ish!) science experiment! You look at it as more of a nutritional thing that a (negative?) weight loss thing (I hope).
I guess if you increase (or decrease) exercise significantly it would be worthwhile tracking for a week just to make sure you are getting enough food to fuel the activities!! :0)
I was doing the exact opposite! When I tracked my calories I realised the teaspoon of Kewpie mayo I was putting on my salad wrap was equal to the calories of 2 slices of bread! Holy shit! So, am tracking to hold my calories back!
ReplyDeleteYou really should be eating much much more than that. At this stage in your weight loss you should be as close to your maintenance calories as possible. Because as soon as you do hit your goal you won't be able to maintain.
ReplyDeleteI use the 'My Fitness Pal' app which really helps but i'm outstounded how high my carb count can get due to my fruit intake but i cant give it up. My perception of 'band life' was that if used correctly it's all about eating less so I think as long as you feel good your calorie intake looks ok. lol @ Cat, I think you've earned that extra tspoon of Peanut butter too.
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