Pathways of Grace: What I Ate Wednesday: More than 1100 calories per day....

Many years ago (about 9) I joined Weight Watchers for the first time. Hahahahaha.

OK. I'm better now.

Anyway, WW has their nifty little points system to help you track what you're eating. But let's be real, you're counting calories. I'm all for psychological games, but it didn't take me long to figure out I was aiming for about 1100 calories per day. AND I WAS HUNGRY. All the time. Hungry. Sure, I probably wasn't eating the most fibrous and filling foods, but once again, let's be real.

But it works. Eating 1100 calories a day works. I lost a couple of pounds a week and pretty soon I had lost 20 pounds. It was a daily, painful, hungry, food-obsessed struggle. Eventually I could do it no longer. Like a person holding her breath, I exhaled....and then I inhaled everything I could get my hands on. It didn't take long to gain the 20 pounds back....and then some. And keep in mind that I wasn't gorging. I'm talking about going back to my normal, probably 2000-2200 calorie diet.

Repeat the above cycle 4-5 times throughout my life. Deprivation. Weight loss. Return to normal eating. Weight Gain.

I've finally and very gratefully realized 1100 calories is not realistic. God bless the people who can do it, but I was not created to live happily on that amount of energy intake. Articles from this blog and this blog have also helped me realize that eating that few calories is not even healthy. It's not supposed to be.

So, recently I've switched to a much healthier model. I've calculated how many calories I need to maintain my weight (about 2,200) and subtracted 500 from that. 1700 calories is about what I need to aim for if I want to lose weight. Will the weight loss be rapid? No. But it will be healthy, realistic, doable, and maintainable. Eating 1700 calories means there are still things I have to say no to and still planning that goes into my meal plan for the day, and honestly, it's still a struggle sometimes. But I'm not left with hunger pangs and always on the verge of a binge fest.

My goal isn't even really to lose weight, but to be healthy and happy. Eating more than 1100 calories per day make me very, very happy. :)

Breakfast

South Beach peanut butter protein bar and Pike Place Roast. Remember when the South Beach Diet was popular?? Does anyone do that anymore?

Glazed chocolate cake donut and FREE coffee from Dunkin Donuts.

Lunch

Red Velvet Tacos with breakfast potatoes at Liberty Kitchen.

3 lonely raspberries.

Carrot Salad. Delicious! I subbed dried cherries for cranberries because I already had them and like them better. And I omitted the onion because, gross.

Red bell pepper and guacamole.

Dinner

Chicken fajita, pinto beans, Fritos, guacamole, and white wine.

Fried fish strips with pita bread and fruit at Olympia Grill.

Gross green smoothie (with Vega One Berry and I discovered I do not like avocado in my smoothies) and the last part of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Snacks