Showing posts with label net calories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label net calories. Show all posts

Sunday, August 3, 2014

August 3rd, 2014 My Peace Instead of A Piece

August 3rd, 2014 My Peace Instead of A Piece

I slept so well last night. I slept like a baby for over nine hours straight. I woke up today and felt incredible. I must get more of that kind of rest.  Getting up so late--and not eating my first food of the day until after 1pm, really set my calorie management up for a shortfall later. More on that in a moment.

We had a cookout tonight in celebration of my daughter Amber's first day in her brand new career as a special education teacher for Ponca City Public Schools. The kids don't report until the 12th, new teachers start tomorrow morning!
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Here's my daughter Courtney, grandson Noah, daughter Amber and Me at the party tonight! Noah was getting pretty tired at this point.

My brunch was so big and filling (see Tweet below), I wasn't the slightest bit hungry until it was time to eat at the cookout. It didn't even occur to me to eat something, say--4 or 5pm, even something small. I was too busy preparing for the cookout to think about eating. After calculating my cookout plate of food, I realized I had an issue. I was still over 600 calories short of my minimum target daily goal of 1700 calories. And that's not even thinking about net calories after exercise! I decided I would get at least two miles in at the trail and then I would eat something to bump up the calories, late. Not the best strategy, for sure--considering the time--but as you'll read in the Tweets below-at least my net calories after exercise was over 1200 for a change! I was still 194 calories shy of my target 1700.

I'm not going to stress or beat myself up for the poor calorie management today. Tomorrow is a big, beautiful new day--and I will manage better. Interesting how "calorie management" means getting enough--when it used to mean trying to not get too much! It's very clear my brain isn't centered around constantly obsessing over food. I eat well at appropriate times. This sugar free discipline has given me a peace and calm I never thought I could experience. There was cake at the party tonight and I wasn't the least bit interested. It wasn't a case of "I can't have any," it was a thank you, but (polite, yet matter-of-fact type tone) "I don't eat cake." It didn't take will power because I didn't want cake. Will power is only summoned when we resist something we truly want. This was a different kind of power--not even a "power," really. For me, I had my peace instead of a piece.

Speaking of cakes...

My Aunt Kelli found some more "Lost Before Pictures:"

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Apparently there was a time when I couldn't be too far away from a box of those little snack cakes. I have no idea what I'm doing holding a box of Little Debbie Snack Cakes while posing for a picture in a restaurant. (pictured: Amber, my late Grandmother, My brother Shane, Mom and Me.)

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I have no idea what I'm holding in my hand. It's food of some sort. There's an 80% chance it's a Little Debbie snack cake. ;) (pictured: My mom, Irene, Me)

It was a tough little two miles at the trail tonight. The humidity made it feel like a much harder workout. Two miles felt like much more. My clothes were drenched in workout juice.

My food Tweets and a few others today:










Tomorrow is set to be a monumental day. I'll be doing a spin class followed by a swim in the pool. If this sounds like a normal routine, you're obviously new to this blog. If you are new--welcome!! Dive into the recent archives and you'll understand why me diving into that pool tomorrow will be epic.

Thank you for reading and for your continued incredible support,
Strength,
Sean
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Monday, July 28, 2014

July 28th, 2014 On The Road With Mom

July 28th, 2014 On The Road With Mom

I took a half day of vacation time to transport mom to her doctors appointment in Oklahoma City today. I packed some watermelon and a half sandwich each for the drive down. Her appointment was after 1pm, so I knew a lunch afterward would be a late one. I can remember trips like this where the first stop would be a convenience store for "road snacks." I guess you could call our 1/2 turkey and provolone on a Joseph's Pita and watermelon "road snacks," except there's a night and day difference in our selection. As expected, mom and I had a great time--we laughed so hard while waiting on the doctor, the staff must have heard us in there. I bet they thought we were crazy. Good laughter is incredibly healthy!!

Our lunch afterward was at a fast food Mexican place where I know they use fresh ingredients. There's not a lot of mystery involved, except maybe some extra sodium I can't see or taste. I'm very careful with my selections at a place like this. I didn't want flour tortillas and I didn't want any shredded cheese I can't personally weigh on my digital food scale. I ordered a simple bean tostada without cheese, not too unlike I would make at home, with beans, sauce, lettuce and tomatoes with two crispy shell chicken tacos with lettuce and tomatoes, again--no cheese. I added some salsa, black olives and jalapeños to everything and it was delicious. Best of all, I felt good about the choices.  It would be very easy to go way overboard in a place like this. I have many times in my past--and it doesn't feel good afterward. I felt fine after this trip.

I brought mom back to Stillwater, took her to the store before taking her home, then headed North to Ponca City for my workout, dinner and writing.

The workout was fantastic tonight. I allowed my brain to go into "airplane mode," where I don't think about anything other than the music. The music inspires me to push harder, work stronger and sweat more. I flat out move! I stopped using my regular iPod a while back--and now I use my phone with all the same music files. I do occasionally get a text or call during a workout. Unless it's very important, I keep right on going until I finish.

I didn't manage my calories too well tonight. I was still 108 below my 1700 calorie budget and after exercise, my net was 293 below a minimum net of 1200. I will buy a shaker container tomorrow and on days I need to bump it up, I'll have a protein shake--preferably Shakeology. I need to keep my net calories after exercise to at least 1200 to make sure my body is getting enough fuel. As difficult as it might be for me, this means some days I will deliberately go over my 1700 calorie budget. I've had some really good counsel and advice on this, so I'm going to trust the process on these days. If the calories need to go up some, it'll be with solid nutrition--either in the sugar free shakes or lean meats and other proteins, like eggs for example.

Tomorrow evening will require expert navigation of my schedule to get done what I plan in a timely manner. It's spinning class followed shortly after by my weekly weight loss support group conference call. The only thing that could derail this plan is if severe weather moves into our area and I'm activated for on-air coverage, at which point I'll have a plan B ready to go.

My meal tweets today:









Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
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