Tuesday, 9/28/10:

WEIGHT before eating today:  159.0 

 

Daily Calorie Goal:  1200 or less 

Total calories eaten today:  890  (MUCH better.)

So obviously, today was a better day for me.  I didn't eat my weight in crap-food, for starters.

I tried a few things that have worked for me in the past with varying results...  First of all, I skipped the calories in the morning.  I've read all the books insisting that you MUST eat breakfast to kick your metabolism into gear, and "get your furnaces fired up to burn fat all day long."  I KNOW, I know.  

However..

A lot of mornings, I'm just not hungry that early.  I know many people who are like this.  And I've read JUST as many books that say, "DON'T eat unless you're HUNGRY!"

So - which is it?

Today, I only ate when I was hungry.  I had two cups of coffee (gut-ache!) at home before going to work at 10:3o a.m., and I honestly wasn't the slightest bit hungry until 11:15, and then I only drank a glass of ice tea with a teaspoon of sugar (I cold-brew fruit teas like raspberry, blueberry, and apple-cinnamon in the fridge).  A half hour later, I had a banana and a can of mineral water (ICK - but I'm getting used to it).

Black Cherry or Lime flavors are OK...

As crazy as it may seem, I wasn't even a tiny bit hungry again until 2:00!  Instead of pigging out, I ate an apple and made a cup of hot Lipton tea (thank you, Susie O.!).  An hour and a half later, I ate a package of Carl Buddig honey turkey (90 calories).  This is how my day went, right up until I ate my two ears of corn on the cob with two cups of hot tea for dinner at 7:30 p.m.  All I did was eat a little, and only foods on my "allowed" list, whenever I was truly hungry enough that it was noticeable.

I also chop this up and throw it on a bed of lettuce!  Tasty!

The craziest thing is, all I ate all day was fruits, vegetables, one package of lunchmeat (less than healthy, but a little protein...) and coffee and tea.  It's plain to see why I ended with 890 calories for the day - and did so easily, without so much as the tiniest hunger-pang.  The only carbs in my entire day were naturally-occurring, in the fruits and veggies, plus a few teaspoons of sugar in my cups of tea (a necessity for me, unfortunately).  As a result, my insulin-response never had enough of a reason to kick in; I didn't have a single urge to eat today that was caused by carbs, rather than by actual hunger.  


Hmmm...


I'm going to see if I can eat (and drink) this way every day for awhile, until I can't do it anymore.  I need to figure in more protein and low-fat dairy, and I will.  But the "only eating when truly hungry"-thing works MIRACLES for me.  

I sometimes forget that not everyone is wired the same way, food-wise.  I'm definitely a strange breed when it comes to food.  I mean, I'd happily mug someone for their liverwurst sandwich on buttered Wonderbread.  (See what I mean?)


So a successful dieting day is a HUGE accomplishment for me, and it's also very motivating.  I need the motivation now.

"The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal.  

The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach."  ~  Benjamin Mays