So I woke up this chilly California morning thinking about portion control. Don’t ask me why I have these random thoughts at 5 am, but I do. Maybe that nerve in my stomach that sends the satiety signal to my brain has crossed with the one that sends random thoughts flying around in there. Who knows…Anyway, back to portion control. I decided yesterday that I was going to stop with the catch phrase “I am eating around xxxx calories and start writing everything down. Time for some follow your own instructions Sandi. It’s been a while since I have journaled and it’s time to take it up again on my journey. It’s something I seem to do in cycles now that I am eight + years post op. I started with my coffee first thing in the morning and this is how my day looked:
- Up at 5 am and had 2 cups of coffee with SF decaf Swiss mocha added at 30 calories per cup plus 15 each for the coffee itself
- Made my protein drink after thinking about - I don’t need 200+ calories right now- so I made half and measured everything. Boy was I surprised to find out I had been tossing in just a bit more than I was estimating. Took out measuring spoons and measuring cups and put in ½ scoop of protein powder at 65/10, 1 Tablespoon of PB2 at 25/2, 2 ounces of coconut milk at 15/0, ½ cup blueberries at 42/.5, handful of chopped kale at (maybe a cup) at 34/2.2 ice cubes and water. What did I learn from making this 181 calorie, almost 15 gram protein breakfast smoothie? I learned that ½ cup blueberries was less than I had been measuring and that if I added the other ½ scoop of protein powder and the other tablespoon of PB2 as I had been for months my day was starting off with 276 calories instead of the 200 I “thought” and had been counting in my head. Oops you say…..me too! I was shocked. Those 76 calories per day add up to 27, 740 calories per year or over 7 pounds. YIKES! And that is just breakfast…time to rethink.
- Between my protein drink and my next meal I will have water, a cup of tea with nothing in it, and a cup of SF decaf Swiss mocha at 30 calories per cup.
Next meal between 11 am and noon usually my egg frittata at 175/20 or just egg beaters with salsa and bacon bits. If I measure the egg beaters I will use ½ cup at 60/12 and 1 Tablespoon of bacon bits at 25/3 and 2 Tablespoons of salsa at 15/0. So if I carefully measure it is 160 and 15. However, if I toss in what I think is ½ cup of egg beaters and have the measuring cup to catch it I find that it is really ¾ cup of egg beaters, and the tablespoon of bacon bits is really 2 so my eggs are now 55 calories more than I thought. Its 55 calories of protein, just like the 76 calories of protein drink was but it is still calories and at the end of the year can be almost 19, 000 calories or over 5 pounds….WOW!- Water, herbal tea and yes, my SF decaf Swiss Mocha are my usual hydration between meals. I need to count 30 calories every time the choice is the Swiss Mocha so let’s count 1 cup of that each day for a year. That is over 10, 000 calories in a year or 3+ pounds. Mindfulness provides us with amazing insights, don’t you think?
- Next meal is around 3PM or 4PM and can be a 100 calorie piece of fruit and a lite cheese at 60/6, not 2 cheeses, one, or ½ cup cottage cheese with some fruit at 150/14, or my new best friend Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt at 80/12
- More calorie free liquid until dinner.
- Dinner is at about 7 or 7:30 and will typically be a spinach salad with tomato, cucumber, ¼ avocado, tsp of slivered almonds, ranch dressing (brand- Follow Your Heart lite) at around 220/6 and then a piece of fish and a veggie usually totaling around 400/30
After dinner there should be NOTHING except a cup of warm tea before I go to bed or at worst a cup of SF decaf Swiss mocha at 30. I do have to admit that my new best friend is Arctic Zero “ice cream” and a single serving of that is 37/3.4 but more often than not my “serving” will be 75/6.8. Again, that’s protein right so it’s okay…NOT so in reality. That 75 calories every day accounts for over 27, 000 calories in a year which adds up to over 7 pounds. This never counts my super munchies nights when I might eat the entire container. It is a slider food after all (add another 75 calories)
What have I learned from this exercise besides the fact that I delude myself when I say about ½ cup or around 1 Tablespoon and my estimates usually will get me in trouble? I just learned that my average day is around 1220 calories and 92 grams of protein. This will certainly keep my weight in my maintenance range no problem.
However, remember if I add just those “mis-measured” amounts to this daily total it climbs 315 calories (sure there is more protein but that doesn’t mean my body needs the calories) to a total of 1535 calories. I am also not accounting for the glass of wine or 1 cocktail on Friday and/or Saturday night, or the “just a few” tortilla chips and guacamole at the Mexican restaurant on Saturday night, or the popcorn (no butter of course) at the movies. You get the picture. YIKES!!!! I think I have just been scared smart by my own random thoughts.
My major takeaway then becomes I better start measuring and journaling again if I want to continue wearing my favorite pair of jeans. How about you?