learning CURVES

I always knew i ate too much, but seeing in in black and white on my computer screen is really helping me see where i am going wrong. According to my vitabot statistics i should be eating a max of 1540 calories a day. Today i had 2740! Not good! I have been eating on the healthy side (although on my report card my fat and calories section i got an "F". So, i see that really granola for breakfast is out. It contains just too many calories for a portion that would satisfy me. the problem is i have some huge bags of it and i love it and don't want it to go to waste (but it is going to WAIST). So, i need to make a plan and the plan is i am going to make granola bars with it, and use them in my catering business or donate them or give them to friends in gift baskets...YES that is it. Ok, see, problem solved. Now, the problem of eating too many calories high in fat, even if it is good fat. Back away from the nuts...and carbs...I did a strenous bootcamp workout today, that is the good news, but i think exercise makes you even more hungry, a dilemma. Good news today, no bad sweets ( dark chocolate i think is ok and i had only one serving of it, didn't go back for more) the exercise was of course, good. Other good news is i was down on the scale 2 lbs. mainly due to the fact i hadn't had any wine, and when i do have a glass i tend to eat more...today probably put me back to where i was but i WILL do better tomorrow. This first week of vitabot has helped me to see i need to make better choices. There are so many foods out there that i can eat alot of that result in fewer calories (think dark leafy greens). More good news, i bought an olive oil spray mist bottle so i can use less oil on things....that is one of my other bad habits, i love olive oil and use it often and liberally. it is very highly caloric!!!! So happy to have Zumba Class tomorrow :)

Vitabot: An eye opener

I am not one for math, let me just say that right off. When too many numbers are thrown at me, it all becomes a blur. I just don't enjoy precision. That is why i don't bake. I like to COOK. To create, a little of this a little of that... So for me to attempt to use Vitabot, the online nutrition guidance counselor, basically, is a big step... it is a testament to how much i want to live a healthy lifestyle ON A REGULAR basis and what lenghts i will take to get there. Vitabot is a great tool. For my first day, i really needed to get the feel for it and see where i was at with my daily routines...like i said, i never really counted calories as precisely as Vitabot is suggesting i do. But it is not abou counting calories only. I loved that my "report card" would actually show me where i was lacking nutritionally. AND give me the knowledge and info to fix that. So, i started off with my normal routing: upon waking i make coffee...i usually have 2 large cups with at least 2 T of half and half and 1T of sugar per cup. Well that adds up to: 250 calories! Just for the coffee...when your whole breakfast is technically supposed to be around 400 calories,that does not leave much room for food. HMMMM ok, so i will have one cup...now i can have my granola (one cup) with 1 cup almond milk with one scoop of protein powder and i can't remember what else i had, but it came to over 700 calories! for breakfast...beleive me i wa not eating donuts. i might as well have been. Long story short, when the day was done, and when i finally put all my recipes/nutrition labels in, i was at 2056 calories for the day! Without a glass of wine! My only sweet for the day was 2 squares of dark chocolate. This is a typical day for me eating wise i would say, and unfortunatley, my recommended caloric allowance is somewhere between 1200 and 1560 calories. I think the lower if i wanted to lose and the higher to maintain. YIKES. So i have some tweaking to do. And my report card scores were mostly bad grades! I would say 50/50 but definitley much room for improvement. I ate all those calories, but yet i was borderline starving myself nutirtionally. Oh wait, i was high in a couple of areas on my report card, carbs, SODIUM, Calories, all the bad stuff...i was low on Vitamin B12 so checking into vitabot's site, i found that i should add tuna to my meal plan tomorrow and that will take care of that! Now if i can only cut down the calories! At least i did hard core zumba for an hour, there is a bright side. First day an eye-opener for sure. But for anyone looking for a rude awakening, try Vitabot through your fitness provider! Has some kinks, but overall a great program to help you keep track of yourself!

Analyze This

Why does that strip of bacon, leftover white chocolate chip pancake on my kid's plate (insert your temptation here) beckon me to just mindlessly pop it in my mouth??) Why are bad habits so hard to break and good habits so quick to fall by the wayside? These are questions i could theorize, analyze, probably till i am old and gray. I am constantly wondering (aka self pity here) Why me?? Why can't I just eat when i am hungry, eat till i am satisfied (not full) and move on? Why is food an all consuming thought day in and out? I do have some quick theories: that strip of bacon would give me about 3 seconds of pleasure to allow me to forget that i am : tired, fed up with (insert here), running in too many directions....but that bacon does not last long, so then its on to the next thing, see my point. MANY people struggle with this. Some give in, eat what they want and buy the next pant size up. Some restrict themselves and are able to realize they are a grown up, what they put in their mouth is their choice, period and they will make the right ones. They have developed this thought pattern over the years, stick to it, and now it is habit for them. Some restrict themselves so much that one day they give in and gorge themselves promising that tomorrow they will restrict themselves again, so they better get as much as they can now cause they won't be allowed tomorrow. I fall somewhere in the middle. I do NOT want to buy the next size up. But i am not a grown up either when it comes to my choices food and drink wise. This is why i fluctuate up and down physically and mentally speaking. My favorite (and i am being sarcastic here) is when i pretend that i don't care: So what if my pants are a little tight, have you seen those OTHER people who are WAY bigger than me? Does anyone care if MY pants are tight? The answer to that is NO, no one cares, EXCEPT YOU. YOU DO CARE. Feeling comfortable in one's own skin and clothes is paramount, it is priceless. No one else's size or personal best matters except your own. So even if you are smaller than most, if you are not at a place where you feel comfortable, healthy, then this drawn out saga of poor me, i feel like crap today....will continue. The only time i don't care it seems is when i am reaching for the (insert guilt food here)...HOW CONVENIENT. So, today i am 100% back to caring. Luckily i have not stopped exercising and that has saved me, because my diet surely is nothing to be proud of for the past few months. I always point out (in my head) those "lucky" people who can eat anything they want (which is usually not that much) and still stay slim. It is just not true. 99% of people have to make conscious decisions EVERY DAY to choose the right foods and most importantly the AMOUNT of food, because i am really good at overeating HEalthy foods... I think as long as you don't give up, ever, you have a fighting chance. Maybe one day it will become habit. Not overeating, drinking, etc. Looking forward to the next round in the battle between me, myself and I.