I feel like I have swung from one way of thinking, to the opposite end of the spectrum and, hopefully back to a healthy middle on calories. I used to never think about it. For a long time, I didn’t have to because exercise was enough to keep me at a place I was good with. This was a great time in life because I love exercise and I love food. As I’ve gotten older, this had changed and I have found myself not too happy with my body. My body does not respond to exercise the way it used to. I have to work harder for lesser results. So, I decided it was time to attack calories. I decided on a goal weight, used a calorie counter and discovered that to reach my goal I should take in 1237 calories per day. I tried this. I was hungry and cranky and quickly realized that was not sustainable. I have a husband two teenage boys who need mom to be healthy and not crazy. I decided it was not fair to them or to myself to be less able to be my best because I am obsessed with losing my pooch. So, the new approach is be mindful but not obsessed. I know that the flourless almond butter cookies are roughly 140 calories and mayo is about 100 calories per tablespoon. This helps me make choices and know where I might want to spend my calories at any given moment, but no more restrictive obsessing. This is all happening in at the same time I am recovering from workout overload. This is not where I thought I would be one month ago. I was going to wrestle this thing to the ground. But at CS Lewis said, “When I have started a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and go back and start again, the faster I shall get on.”
Many thanks to the FB community who help me more than I can say with encouragement and shared experiences. (And allowing me the vent all of my frustrations among friends!)
New thoughts on calories
I feel like I have swung from one way of thinking, to the opposite end of the spectrum and, hopefully back to a healthy middle on calories. I used to never think about it. For a long time, I didn’t have to because exercise was enough to keep me at a place I was good with. This was a great time in life because I love exercise and I love food. As I’ve gotten older, this had changed and I have found myself not too happy with my body. My body does not respond to exercise the way it used to. I have to work harder for lesser results. So, I decided it was time to attack calories. I decided on a goal weight, used a calorie counter and discovered that to reach my goal I should take in 1237 calories per day. I tried this. I was hungry and cranky and quickly realized that was not sustainable. I have a husband two teenage boys who need mom to be healthy and not crazy. I decided it was not fair to them or to myself to be less able to be my best because I am obsessed with losing my pooch. So, the new approach is be mindful but not obsessed. I know that the flourless almond butter cookies are roughly 140 calories and mayo is about 100 calories per tablespoon. This helps me make choices and know where I might want to spend my calories at any given moment, but no more restrictive obsessing. This is all happening in at the same time I am recovering from workout overload. This is not where I thought I would be one month ago. I was going to wrestle this thing to the ground. But at CS Lewis said, “When I have started a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and go back and start again, the faster I shall get on.”
Many thanks to the FB community who help me more than I can say with encouragement and shared experiences. (And allowing me the vent all of my frustrations among friends!)