I paid off some bills, bought cat food because we were almost out, and then went grocery shopping. I blew my budget by a substantial amount this trip. Le sigh. But on the bright side, I have a full fridge again and that always improves my mood.
I'm very proud that I bought absolutely no crap.
It was very tempting. When you've nothing to eat, your body naturally craves the foods with the most calories. The urge to throw a packet of chips in my cart was surprisingly overwhelming. I didn't, though. There's the whole heart health thing the I'm worried about.
In any case, breakfast this morning was enormous (for me, considering the past couple of weeks!). Two boiled eggs, a sausage, a piece of toast with Vegemite (it would have been two, but I forgot the bread I bought yesterday at home this morning), and a small peach. Sure beats two slices of toast...
Being worried for my health pretty much constantly (history of nasty diseases and heart problems in my family), and knowing that I was dangerously under-eating last year and not realising it, I've taken to using My Fitness Pal again. It's a great little website that let's you keep track of your food intake and exercise output. It's used as a weight loss app mostly, but I'm using it as a make sure you're eating enough, you dolt app. Here is what today's food intake looks like:
Now, I'm training tonight, and, apparently, you're supposed to eat back the calories you use when exercising. That means, guys, that I'm roughly 1300 calories short. Even after all that food on today's menu.
I have just one question. Who the hell eats that much? Who? How is that humanly possible? I mean, I finished breakfast an hour and half ago, and I'm so full!
There is some hope, however. I've read that there is a propensity for programmes like this to under estimate the number of calories in food and over estimate the number of calories expended during exercise. So even though it looks like I'm not eating quite enough, I probably am. Or, at least, I'm not so dangerously under the number of calories I need to function properly.
I'm in a weird position of being chubby and under-eating. It is possible. As we all know, it's far more complicated than calories in vs calories out. If you don't know that by now, I recommend some serious Googling.
I'm a bit in two minds about monitoring my food intake so closely, I have to admit. I don't want to develop an unhealthy relationship with food. I don't want to be one of those people who obsesses over every bite that goes into my body. That seems like a horrible way to live life. So, I am using this as a guide. I figure if I hover around my required intake and eat well most of the time, I should be just fine. Really, what I'm watching closely is my sugar intake. I want to make sure I don't exceed my recommended daily allowance of sugar.
And now I turn it over to you, Readers. What is your relationship to food, and how do you manage it? Seriously, though. After eating only bread and lentils for two weeks, I'm a little food obsessed. Hit me with your food stories, people!