193.8 - Diet Food, Who Needs It?

In the beginning of this weight loss effort, at the end of June, I was really strict about what types of foods I ate. If I could take calories out of something, I did. Sue, you remember that no fat, low salt popcorn I made for our movie outing, and snuck into the theater in a really big purse? How tasteless it was? Well, I've since relaxed a little about food. I still make substitutions now and then, especially when it doesn't affect the taste or consistency of a recipe, but I've found that some things just aren't worth it for me. I'll take my popcorn with canola oil and salt now, thank you. And milk? I drink 2%. The extra 20 calories a cup are totally worth it to me.

I manage all this with portion sizes. If I want to eat a "naughty" food, yet still be within my calorie range between weight loss and weight maintenance, I know I have to eat a small portion of that "naughty" food, or really cut back on some of my other meals. That's it, it's not that complicated. And if you are counting calories, you become really aware of what calories foods have in general, and you begin to instinctively cut back on some things, and increase other things like fresh fruits (the low-cal kind like berries and apples) and vegetables. Speaking of which, veggies tend to be the thing that really make a meal "pop" in flavor. Have a "blah" sandwich? Jazz it up with lettuce, tomato, and red onion. Same thing for a wheat tortilla and fat free refried bean burrito. You've taken something plain, and made it taste wonderful with the infinite flavors found in veggies, yet you've hardly added any calories. Veggies are your friends!!

Weight - 193.8
Weight Lost - 41.6 lb. in 116 days
Total Calories Eaten - 2075
Today's MFD calorie allowance range - 1258 for a 2 lb loss/week rate, 2258 for weight maintenance
MFD occupation activity level - Moderate Activity
Total MFD Exercise/Activity Calories Earned - 0
MFD Calorie Balance - 817 over at a 2 lb a week loss rate, 183 left to eat at a weight maintenance level
MFD Weight Loss Rate Today - 0.4 lb loss/week
HWHL Points Today - none, we are between sessions
Cat's Challenge Points - Session 7 goes from 15 Oct to Oct 21. I earned 39.5 points for Session 6. That makes 292.5 points so far!!
Exercise - None today, and I think that's going to be the case on Sundays for a long time, probably at least until spring

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Breakfast/Snack - about 1.25 piece of Strawberry Jello Cheesecake Pie (recipe tomorrow), 1 package (6 sandwich crackers) Austin PB & J crackers, 12 oz. 2% milk
Total calories - 594

Lunch - about 1.5 piece of Strawberry Jello Cheesecake Pie, 1/2 piece of Easy Key Lime Pie Cheesecake, 1 El Monterey Bean and Cheese Burrito, 1.5 Tbsp. Kroger mild salsa, 2 Tbsp. Naturally Yours fat free sour cream, 24 oz. water
Total calories - 628

Dinner - 1-1/2 pieces of Papa Murphy's Taco Grande pizza, 24 oz. water
Total calories - 485

Dessert - 24 oz. water, 2 slices Easy Key Lime Pie Cheesecake
Total calories - 368