Originally Posted by
ericgu
Could you tell us what foods you eat on a typical day? The vast majority of people answer "yes" when you ask them if they're eating a healthy diet.
Okay, here's one day's worth of food. Total: 2,624 calories.
Breakfast: 650 calories
Muesli with milk
Lunch: 333 calories
Multigrain bagel with light cream cheese and tomato
1/2 cup of grape juice
After ride: 368 calories
1% chocolate milk
Banana
Quaker cereal bar
Raw apple
Dinner: 683 calories
Home-made chicken wings (cooked in sake and basil)
Fettucine
Assorted stir-fried vegetables
Evening snack: 590 calories
Raw orange
Whole wheat pancakes (small, two) with maple syrup
I don't always have an evening snack, mind you. And I don't go to sleep until 2:00 am, so that snack would come at about 8 or 9 pm. But I know, for one thing, that I'm not eating enough fresh vegetables. I rarely eat salad. It's not that I don't like it, I just don't get around to it. I know, I know...I should.
Originally Posted by
ericgu
I also think the beer is an issue. 3 pints twice a week is around 1000 calories if it's light beer, perhaps 1500 calories if you drink the decent stuff. There's roughly half a pound a week right there.
Hmmm...where do you get those numbers? I'm drinking Harp, an Irish lager. I calculate 590 calories for 48 ounces of beer. Where do you get 1,500? That's quite a discrepancy.
EDIT: I've just gone and found the specific caloric content for Harp's, and I get 566 calories for 48 ounces. So all this time I've been overcalculating by 24 calories. Whuhoo!
EDIT AGAIN: Oh, you said "twice a week." Okay, gotcha. But I specifically gear my calories and exercise during the day to account for the beer I have on a Saturday, so that day I either have a much smaller deficit or maybe "break even."
Originally Posted by
ericgu
I do think, however, that small changes are more likely to stick than drastic ones. It's also true that weight that comes off more slowly is more likely to stay off. Diet is about what you eat for the long term, not specifically about losing weight.
I agree. I've cut out the silly snacks, and can live with that. There have been a couple of times over the past two months where I've indulged in potato chips or cake, and have felt regret almost instantly. I'm certainly not suffering.
Actually, if anything, it's rather fun. I've just come in from my ride, entered all my numbers, and see that I have a 2,173 calorie deficit for the rest of the day. With a nice, light dinner I can easily finish today 1,000 in the hole, or I can indulge in a few extra oranges or an apple, and still be down 800. This is a very kewl thing.