Eating Less, Exercising More

As the days and weeks go by, something strange is happening: I am eating less. Not just less compared to pre-surgery -- that's been happening every day since I started the pre-op fast in October -- but less than when I first started to eat real food. 

When I look back at my nutrition tracking, I see fewer days when I hit the upwards limit of calories, fewer days that I exceeded the range, and more days when I'm towards the lowest end of the range.

A regular bariatric diet is in the range of 1000-1300 calories per day. (Don't try this at home!) When I first started tracking calories, most days were in the 1300 range, and a few days were around 1500. I considered that a good start. I wasn't concerned about going over for a few days, as the amount I was eating was still well below what I had been eating before surgery. 

But more recently, I never have days over 1300, and am usually well below. On a few days, I needed to add a snack to avoid being under 1000 calories!

I think this is coming from a combination of factors.

• Eating real food. This gives me more variety and enjoyment from the food I eat, which is important to me.
  
  
• Choosing foods that give me more bang for the buck. Peanut butter, for example, is very healthy, but also packed with calories. I'm using less per serving and eating it less often.
  
  
• 85% thinking! One night last week, my partner was having breaded chicken strips and hash browns for dinner, both from frozen. This is convenient, yummy, reasonably nutritious (if you choose the right brands) but higher in fat and sodium, and not something we should eat too often. But I wanted some, too! So I made sure that breakfast and lunch were on the low-calorie end, and asked P to make a specific amount for me (frozen foods are his domain). I had 3 chicken strips and 4 hash-brown discs. (The discs are about the size of a loonie, the Canadian one-dollar coin.) I'm not going to eat this food frequently, but it was a nice treat on a night P was working, and I was still well under 1300 calories for the day. Having the occasional indulgence is going to help me stay with this for the long run.
  
  
• Planning, planning, planning. Plan the meal, plan the day, plan the week. Perhaps I'll write a post with tips for planning eating and exercise.
  
  
• Eating more slowly, then waiting at least 20 minutes before eating or drinking anything else. This is still quite challenging, but I am making progress.

The increase in exercise is down to one simple change: I've discovered I can read on the treadmill. 

I'm a voracious reader, and like many readers, I never have as much time to read as I would like. I can't read at night, and it's often difficult for me to concentrate on a book, when a big to-do list is always waiting.

Most people I know watch Netflix or other TV while they exercise at home, but I have never enjoyed that, and I certainly don't need any more screen time in my life. I normally listen to music.

Two weeks ago I decided to try reading -- and it worked. This has been motivating me to get on the treadmill more often and stay on it longer. I feel all the other positive effects of exercise, but it's no longer boring. Big win!