Trust me, I didn’t think I would be counting calories. I started putting two and two together recently and realized if I am going to hit my weight loss goal by the end of 2007, I better be aware of what I am putting in my body so I get the results I want – lose 23lbs by the end of December 2007.
Right now I am eating a lunch of Progresso New England Clam Chowder. The large can has 190 calories per serving and I am eating both servings, 380 calories. I have already eaten an apple for lunch and have an orange for later.
This morning I had – and yes, I measured it out – a quarter of a cup of GrapeNuts, a half a cup of instant oatmeal and a quarter of a cup of skim milk and some water. That small quarter of a cup of GrapeNuts has 100 calories and the instant oatmeal has about 100 calories (I think).
So far today, I figure that I have put away at least 600 calories. If I remember, you would need to cut out about 500 calories per day to lose a pound a week, assuming a pound is 3500 calories. The only problem with now counting calories is that I didn’t previously keep track of my calorie consumption, so I have no reference. I can tell you that I am consuming less calories, but I just don’t know by how much.
Don’t forget that this month I am exercising every day for thirty days. I have not missed a day this month (today is the eighth) and the increased exercising should also burn more calories. If I keep up the previous eating style from December and just add exercise I should be losing additional weight.
But then there is me 
Sometimes after I exercise, I want to eat because I am hungry. I don’t know why that is true exactly because I can tell from experience that often I am not hungry after exercising. There must be some scientific explanation that details why after exercise and in particular strenuous exercise, your hunger is diminished. That’s what happens to me most of the time, I lose my appetite for food.
Thinking out loud now. What do I need to do to keep the hunger and the urge to eat (read “gorge myself”) after exercising? Should I drink a lot of water before or after exercising? What about a sample fruit snack before or after exercising? Should I exercise to exhaustion? What is the best time of day to exercise? I know that exercising just before bedtime doesn’t work for me – I’m usually amped up and can’t settle down right away. Before dinner is a logistical challenge – getting home from work and getting outside before dinner isn’t easy, plus I usually end up late for dinner anyway. Exercise after dinner and after the food has had a chance to settle seems to be OK. The trick is to make sure I am not stuffed after dinner.
I have given up on exercising before work (see the previous discussion on “Dave Light Savings Time”). Early morning exercise might resume when we return to day light savings time. It might be worthwhile to throw in a “hell week” sometime in the next few weeks – exercise twice a day for seven days to toughen up the mind and body.
Looks like I have strayed from the calorie counting conversation I started with. Let me just finish by saying that I am looking at the calorie count on the side of boxes and keeping a mental note of how much I have consumed throughout the day. I really would like to have a more precise way of keeping track without having to eat the same thing every day. But, hey, if that is what it takes …
[tags]calories, weight loss, diet, exercise[/tags]
