Monday:  276.6 lbs., burned 2539 calories, consumed 1285.
Today:  278.2 lbs., Activities:  8.9 mi. on the exercise bike.

I think I mentioned yesterday that I went grocery shopping - well, I was supposed to shop over the weekend, so by Tuesday, I was like, out of everything.  My Eating Plan is really really no fun when I don’t have any of my low-cal foods to fill up my day.  The Big Plan calls for me to surround myself with foods that are allowed, so that I don’t stray toward foods that aren’t.

It absolutely amazes me, though, just how much food I can fit into my day when I have low-cal alternatives around!  There’s no way I could possibly feel deprived.  Here’s what I ate the last two days:

Tuesday      Breakfast:  Had to shop before a staff meeting, didn’t have time.
Lunch:  a big ol’ salad made with romaine, smoked turkey, cottage cheese, pickle slices, sunflower seeds, raisins, and lowfat Catalina dressing, ranch-flavored rice cakes on the side, and a sugar-free banana-fudge pudding with ten little teddy grahams for dessert.
Snack:  two slices of whole-wheat bread with low-calorie margarine and peanut butter.
Dinner:  Raw broccoli and carrots with fat-free ranch dressing, and two chicken burritos with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, lettuce, and fat-free sour cream.
Snack:  Ritz crackers with cheddar cheese and pecans.

Total Calories for Tuesday:  1285

Today       Breakfast:  slept in until 10:45, didn’t see the point.
Lunch:  a large caesar salad with blackened chicken and shredded parmesan (with the dressing on the side so I only used about a tablespoon) and a couple of onion rings from my husband’s plate.
Snack:  a dark chocolate sugar-free pudding with teddy grahams and a third-cup of pistachio nuts.
Dinner:  another big salad (like Tuesday’s lunch), with smoked turkey, plus broccoli and carrots with ranch dressing and two slices of whole-wheat bread with low-calorie margarine.
Snack:  a banana smoothie made with 2% milk, sweet-n-low, vanilla, and banana.

Total Calories for Today:  Incredibly- only 1064…!

This blows me away.  It’s a lot of food.  It’s plenty of food.  It’s yummy food and it still includes things that are satisfying (like chocolate, sweet, and salt).  What blows me away is that a single meal at Chili’s - for example, their Chicken Crispers - is almost 2,000 calories!  There was a time when I would have - without a thought for its caloric value - scarfed down a Chili’s meal and then ordered dessert besides.

I can now eat for two days - within the same range of calories that I once consumed for a single meal.  Now that is a significant change!

773