Numbers Don't Lie

The truth sometimes hurts, doesn't it?  One day of following my "back to basics" plan told me everything I needed to know.  Putting it out there in writing makes it pretty clear.  No matter how confident one feels in their ability to do it accurately, counting daily calorie intake in your head requires a reality check from time to time.   My reality check came yesterday.

Here, as promised in yesterday's post, is what I ate:

Breakfast:  1/2 cup cereal with 1 cup milk (I make my own granola)
Snack:   1 oz. Potato Chips  (o.k., so it was all that was left in the bag, at least I measured it!!)
Lunch:  3 oz. Smithfield Ham, Multi-Grain Bagel, 2 T Cream Cheese, Carrot Sticks
Snack:  1 oz almonds
Dinner:  2 chicken thighs (grilled), Salad w/lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, slivered almonds, homemade  ranch dressing)
Snack:   1/2 c Yogurt w/granola

Total Calories Intake:   1978

My body loses weight comfortably at 1200 calories per day and I can maintain at 1600-1800.  

Evaluation:  Eliminating the three snacks and eating 1/2 of the bagel/cream cheese would have dropped it to 1219 calories.  I try to eat something every three hours to keep my blood sugar stable. This helps eliminate cravings for white flour/sugar. I will make better snack choices today.  I knew the open bag of chips in the pantry (this is my major trigger food) and the bagels would be a problem.  Mountain Bagels 'n a Hole Lot More is a locally owned place in Boone, NC that sells one and two day old bagels at an amazing price.  I came home with two bags which was a mistake, but just couldn't resist.  Will have to use power of control to eat them 1/2 at a time.  They are safely stored in the freezer at least eliminating the visual temptation every time I open the fridge.

Lesson  Learned AGAIN:  Write it down, write it down, write it down.  'Nuff said.................

Because I used the morning hours to catch up on personal stuff from being out of town last week, the afternoon heat and humidity forced me to walk in the mall.   I intensely dislike doing this and makes getting my daily steps a chore rather than something I look forward to.  Looks like I'll be doing the same thing today.  We have our first air quality alert of the summer.  Believe me, this is NOT something our tourism brochures brag about!!