Since I've started counting calories, I've been noticing what 'empty calories' are. These are calories that do absolutely nothing to fill me up. You'd think I'd've known that but somehow I missed what it actually meant.
So today I had my salad wrap and it was around 250 calories. I would have been totally satisfied but had a donut anyway. That donut was 260 calories. I wasn't overfull from eating it, I didn't feel stuffed or uncomfortable. But I was mostly full from my salad wrap and would have been fine if I'd stopped eating right there. Juice is another culprit of empty calories. I had a glass and it tasted very good, but it was 100 calories. It felt somehow that I'd wasted my calories on something that was tasty but not really usable by my body.
After keeping track of my calories for about three weeks, I discovered I eat an average of 2600 calories a day. No problem. So I thought "I wonder if I can keep my calories to under 2000 for a while"...so I started that four days ago and I've actually been successful! I am honestly surprised at the idea that I can eat less and not be hungry. Well, ok, maybe a little hungry but it's at the times I eat anyway. So before, was I eating even though I wasn't hungry? Probably.
The other side effect to keeping track of calories is that I don't want to put any unwanted calories in my stomach. Three times at work one girl gave me candies. The first one went in my mouth out of habit, but I spit it out less than halfway through. The other two times I tossed them without eating them. Why take them then? Because I don't want to deal with the usual feigned shock people give when I refuse candy/sweets. I work in a bakery and we make some excellent dough. One type is chocolate with chocolate chips in it and it tastes like cookie dough. I always used to filch a bit of dough and eat it, but this time when we made it I stayed away from it. One coworker made fun of me and kept asking if I felt ok. Like something must be horribly wrong for me to refuse the dough. And yes, I've done the same thing to other people so I'm not complaining about it, just noticing that it does happen to me as well.
Anyway the other thing I've turned away is whipped ganache. The people at work know I love, love, love the stuff so they give me the whip to carry to the washing area. It's like getting to lick the beaters when making cake, times about 100 because the whip is huge :) So the last couple of times, I've carried the whip to the sink but not eaten any of the ganache. I just set the whip down to be washed and then went and washed my hands. People still think I lick the whip, but I don't. Well, I haven't lately.
Now I'm starting to see food as calories and check in with myself as to whether or not I'll eat something. I don't know if this will work long term or not, but it's working for now. Right now I give myself treats like cookies or a bit of candy, but I pay attention to how much I eat and never, ever beat myself up if I eat a bit of extra something. And I still have been keeping my calories to below 2000/day. The other thing I consider is whether or not this food will fill me for the number of calories it has. I could eat eight cookies totaling 680 calories and not feel full. Or I could eat my fruit parfait with 150 calories and be satisfied.
Hey, that's another thing I'd forgotten about: the difference between full and satisfied. For some reason I'd been thinking that I was done eating when my stomach had that full feeling. You know, a little heavy but not super stuffed. I don't know exactly where I got that idea from, but that's how I figured I was done eating. Now I'm done eating when my portion is done, or after I feel satisfied but before the full feeling. I've been learning how big my fruit parfait needs to be (1 cup of fruit, 1/8 cup yogurt and a little less than 1/4 cup of nuts/granola) and how big my salad pita/wrap should be (1 cup salad, 1tbsp hummus and 1 wrap/pita) and these sizes actually satisfy me! Now don't get me wrong, I could eat two wraps or 4 cups of fruit, but that would be over eating. For me, anyway.
Now that I'm not filling myself to Just Below Bursting, I find I can actually feel hunger. And it's normal hunger, not urgent eat-my-own-arm hunger. Interesting that I'm learning not to panic when I have less food, and not to panic when the portion is done, and to listen to what my body really wants to eat.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Friday, May 1, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Our Convenient Lives
I was on my elliptical this morning sweating away and bouncing to my music when I thought of Oprah. Oprah has said many times how she hates exercise but has to do it to stay thin. Guests on her show have had the same opinion - that exercise is to be despised and grudgingly completed in order to be healthy.
While I don't dispute that exercise is important to being healthy, I do disagree with the idea that it should be hated. Our bodies seem to be made to move. Throughout our history we can be found walking, hunting and building. We used our bodies daily. There was little rest or relaxation. With industrialization came convenience. Suddenly things could be made without using as much of our physical selves. We could use transportation different than our feet and hunting became less and less of a necessity and more and more of a sport. Now enter the twentieth century. We don't walk very far, we drive. Our jobs are not physically demanding, they are desk jobs. And of course there are jobs out there that make people sweat - mine is one of them. But by far and large we have built a world of convenience where we don't have to exert any energy to get things done.
Food has also changed drastically. We used to eat fresh meat, fruit and vegetables. Baked items were generally made at home with ingredients that are natural like flour, sugar and eggs. Now baked goods are purchased in a grocery store with ingredients that are almost unpronounceable. All kinds of natural ingredients are removed from items to make them fat free or low sodium. But then the manufacturers add ingredients so the fat free items still feel good in our mouths and the low sodium stuff still tastes good. But...is this real food? Or is it just a compilation of chemicals made into something we are told to eat? And what does our body do with all this fake food? It tries to run efficiently of course, but often fails and diseases arrive and take hold.
So here we are in the twenty-first century eating fake food and moving far less. No wonder the population is getting more obese. We are slowly destroying ourselves by ignoring our body's basic needs for food and movement.
In my opinion, any food with unnatural ingredients should be sold under a label that says it's imitation food. That way people are fully aware that they are eating something that isn't food, that the body doesn't process easily and that could harm us. All diet foods fall into this category as they are nothing but man-made chemicals with a bit of real food added in.
And back to exercise - our bodies are designed to move and we have created an environment that makes movement unnecessary. Instead of hating the idea of sweating - why not just try moving more that you do right now? Although increasing your heart rate is very important, simply moving more than usual will have tremendous results. Associate exercise with pleasure. Find something enjoyable and do it. I like my elliptical. It's low impact and has programmed intensity changes. I also love walking and swimming. Is there anything you like to do? Anything at all? Instead of thinking of exercise as a hateful chore, try thinking of it as something that could bring you pleasure. Try new things and see what you like.
Just my two cents.
While I don't dispute that exercise is important to being healthy, I do disagree with the idea that it should be hated. Our bodies seem to be made to move. Throughout our history we can be found walking, hunting and building. We used our bodies daily. There was little rest or relaxation. With industrialization came convenience. Suddenly things could be made without using as much of our physical selves. We could use transportation different than our feet and hunting became less and less of a necessity and more and more of a sport. Now enter the twentieth century. We don't walk very far, we drive. Our jobs are not physically demanding, they are desk jobs. And of course there are jobs out there that make people sweat - mine is one of them. But by far and large we have built a world of convenience where we don't have to exert any energy to get things done.
Food has also changed drastically. We used to eat fresh meat, fruit and vegetables. Baked items were generally made at home with ingredients that are natural like flour, sugar and eggs. Now baked goods are purchased in a grocery store with ingredients that are almost unpronounceable. All kinds of natural ingredients are removed from items to make them fat free or low sodium. But then the manufacturers add ingredients so the fat free items still feel good in our mouths and the low sodium stuff still tastes good. But...is this real food? Or is it just a compilation of chemicals made into something we are told to eat? And what does our body do with all this fake food? It tries to run efficiently of course, but often fails and diseases arrive and take hold.
So here we are in the twenty-first century eating fake food and moving far less. No wonder the population is getting more obese. We are slowly destroying ourselves by ignoring our body's basic needs for food and movement.
In my opinion, any food with unnatural ingredients should be sold under a label that says it's imitation food. That way people are fully aware that they are eating something that isn't food, that the body doesn't process easily and that could harm us. All diet foods fall into this category as they are nothing but man-made chemicals with a bit of real food added in.
And back to exercise - our bodies are designed to move and we have created an environment that makes movement unnecessary. Instead of hating the idea of sweating - why not just try moving more that you do right now? Although increasing your heart rate is very important, simply moving more than usual will have tremendous results. Associate exercise with pleasure. Find something enjoyable and do it. I like my elliptical. It's low impact and has programmed intensity changes. I also love walking and swimming. Is there anything you like to do? Anything at all? Instead of thinking of exercise as a hateful chore, try thinking of it as something that could bring you pleasure. Try new things and see what you like.
Just my two cents.
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