Day 122: Lower calorie day
Posted by Paola
11am Cottage cheese salad + pear + pint of fizzy squash
| 1 serving | calories | protein | carbs | fat | fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lemon juice | 12 | 0.2 | 4.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| lettuce | 15 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| radishes | 16 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| sultanas | 29 | 0.3 | 6.9 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| extra virgin olive oil | 31 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.4 | 0.0 |
| Peppadew | 35 | 0.3 | 8.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Hovis wheatgerm bread | 73 | 3.4 | 13.1 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
| cottage cheese w/pineapple | 86 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 |
| pear | 98 | 0.6 | 26.3 | 0.2 | 5.2 |
| Total | 395 | 15 | 74 | 6 | 12 |
5:30pm Tangy cabbage with mozzarella + orange [recipe]
| erving | calories | protein | carbs | fat | fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| balsamic vinegar | 16 | 0.1 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| cabbage | 50 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 1.5 | 5.2 |
| orange | 62 | 1.2 | 15.3 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
| fat-free yoghurt | 73 | 12.7 | 4.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| light mozzarella | 91 | 11.2 | 0.2 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 292 | 30 | 28 | 7 | 6 |
8pm Mulligatawny soup + orange + pint of fizzy squash
| 360g serving | calories | protein | carbs | fat | fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fat-free yoghurt | 42 | 7.3 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| orange | 109 | 2.1 | 27.0 | 0.4 | 2.1 |
| Mulligatawny soup | 152 | 5.1 | 30.2 | 2.1 | 6.0 |
| Total | 303 | 15 | 60 | 3 | 8 |
Evening drink: hot chocolate
| Day 122 | calories | protein | carbs | fat | fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunch | 395 | 15 | 74 | 6 | 12 |
| Drunch | 292 | 30 | 28 | 7 | 6 |
| Dinner | 303 | 15 | 60 | 3 | 8 |
| Other drinks | 100 | ||||
| Total | 1,091 | 59 | 162 | 15 | 26 |
| 23% | 63% | 13% | |||
| Allowance | 1,200 | 75 – 105g 25 – 35% |
120 – 165g 40 – 55% |
33 – 40g 25 – 30% |
|
Back in town
Posted by Anna
I don’t know why it is when faced with a free hotel breakfast, I feel cheated if I have my normal yoghurt or cereal. Why do I have to have both? And why, when in response to my request for a pot of tea, the waitress asks, “Would you like some toast, as well?” I don’t say, “No thanks, I’ve already eaten more than I usually do!”
That was a rhetorical question, really, because I know the reason why. It’s free and it’s a ‘waste’ not to take advantage. Isn’t that often the issue when you’re on a ‘freebie’? I console myself that I avoided all the cooked breakfast items and the yummy pastries (I adore pain au raisin). My rationale this morning was that I’d have a light lunch to make up for it (and I did, stopping in at M&S Simply Food at the station for a low-cal sarnie). At the offer of breakfast on the train back, I only accepted the fresh fruit platter on the grounds that I don’t eat enough fruit as it is and this was a perfect opportunity to make up for it now, at no cost other than to my calorie counter.
I’m reading a book written by a Prof of Psychology at Virginia Uni who is in the process of explaining why it is that our rational self says, “I will do this”, but we actually end up either not doing it or doing the opposite. Once I grasp the idea, I’ll share it with you — it seems to be about a conflict between our rational self and our emotional self (it’s more complex than that, though). This phenomenon would certainly explain why we so often let ourselves down when dieting (or giving up smoking, or following an exercise regime, etc.).
Having gone straight to work off the train from Liverpool early this afternoon, I stayed late and finally arrived home with a strong urge to have lemon chicken for dinner. Despite having foodstuffs in the freezer with far fewer calories, an hour at home didn’t dispell my longing and I finally caved in at 8pm. I don’t really know how many calories it was, but there was no more than 200g of chicken, the batter was the thinnest of coverings and around 150g of rice, plus a yummy lemon sauce. I did my food table to check the total before deciding if I could have a little 60 calorie diet chocolate mousse or not. One look at the total and it was ‘not’. Oh well. :-)
I was disappointed not to be able to walk home in this wonderfully warm weather we’re experiencing, but my overnight roller bag would have been a nightmare over the nearly two and a half mile walk. That said, it was probably just as well as walking from my work to the station, I had to fight my way through hoards of women making their way to Battersea Park for a 5k Race for Life event. Even so, I still managed 6400 steps today, which isn’t bad.
| Breakfast | Yoghurt | 125 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 weetabix | 80 | |
| 2 slices toast + thin skim of flora and marmalade | 200 | |
| Snack | Small fruit salad | 70 |
| Lunch | M&S plain chicken sandwich | 250 |
| Dinner | Lemon chicken + boiled rice | 550 |
| Drinks | Various beverages | 50 |
| Total Calories | 1,325 | |
Wednesday Swimsuit shopping Keeps Me Keen
Posted by Becky
Part of the reason I ate so little today is that I started the day swimsuit shopping. Dear oh dear, what a depressing task! Some shops’ dressing room mirrors are better than others. Marks and Sparks had lovely mood lighting and enough room to stand away from the mirror. Next’s dressing room was about 4 x4 feet and the mirror made my skin look like that of an uncooked chicken who hasn’t been plucked properly. My dear little daughter kept saying “But Mummy, you look beautiful in that bikini” as I tried on costume after costume…
| Meal | Food | Drink | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 1 piece of white toast | 100 |
| Scrambled egg | 75 | |
| Lunch | 1/2 baked potato | 40 |
| baked beans | 100 | |
| diet coke | 0 | |
| Dinner | Beef and Guiness Pastie | 327 |
| New potatoes | 100 | |
| 2 glasses white wine | 170 | |
| Total | 912 | |
Cheating on a Tuesday
Posted by Sylvia
I knew I needed to sort out Monday’s food diary and I thought it was going to be more difficult than it was to put together the calories for the salad (I found a recipe for almost exactly the same thing and then added the walnuts) . This seems to have had a knock-on effect in that I just didn’t bother to weigh things at all on Tuesday! I am not sure why that seemed sensible.
I also have a jar of roast peppers in olive oil that I’ve been dying to taste – so I put some in with the leeks, using the oil from the peppers to sautee the veg. It was really good.
Here’s the list (I did write it all down at least) with some approx calories
| Tuesday | |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | |
| milky coffee | 150 |
| Lunch | |
| 1/2 duck breast | 242 |
| 1 tablespoon oyster sauce | 9 |
| sesame and olive oil | 40 |
| Lots of veg | 75 |
| egg noodles | 77 |
| Lunch Total | 593 |
| Dinner: | |
| pork tenderloin | 150 |
| leeks | 55 |
| red peppers | 133 |
| 1 tablespoon olive oil | 119 |
| 1/2 baked potato | 80 |
| most of a tub of cottage cheese | 150 |
| pat of butter | 36 |
| Dinner Total | 723 |
| Snacks & Drinks | |
| cottage cheese | 30 |
| truffles | 108 |
| wine | 635 |
| Snack Total | 773 |
Total: 2,239 calories
I don’t think it’s coincidence that I stopped weighing stuff and jumped right up on my calories!
I have come to the conclusion that leaving a partially eaten tub of cottage cheese just isn’t something I can do. Worse, having gone into the kitchen to finish it off, I was already “being bad” and so I had the truffles as well! They were a gift and all gone now, so that’s something at least!
On the other hand, I’ve already had a handful of pecans this morning. *mutter* *sigh*
Monday Food Diary
Posted by Sylvia
I thought the salad would be a good option for dinner but I guess combining it with ham and beers didn’t really help!
| Monday | |
|---|---|
| Stewed Rabbit | 616 |
| Boiled potatos | 86 |
| with olive oil | 40 |
| a dozen strawberries | 50 |
| Lunch Total | 729 |
| cottage cheese | 180 |
| plate of ham | 150 |
| Ensalada Turka | 333 |
| walnuts | 93 |
| 2 beers | 306 |
| 1 espresso with sugar | 11 |
| Dinner Total | 893 |
Total for the day: 1802
Day 121: The Red Cafe
Posted by Paola
12:30pm Hummus and rocket baguette + cider + coffee @ Cafe Rouge
We went to Windsor for lunch in the sunshine. There’s lots of places to eat in Windsor but I haven’t been to a Cafe Rouge in ages. I previously always had either the deep-fried camembert starter with side orders of fries and salad OR I’d have the chevre salad.
Today, I chose the lowest-calorie sandwich I could find, a hummus baguette. Frank ordered from the prix fixe menu and, as I was wondering how I was going to get a tiny portion of fries, I noticed that all the baguettes came with fries and a salad garnish.
Can you see the hummus in my sandwich? I reckon there’s just a teaspoonful in there. What a swizz. I gave most of my fries to Frank. I left some of the cider (too dry) and most of the filter coffee (too bitter). I had a teaspoonful of Frank’s dessert of apple pie with custard.
Pedometer: 4,937 steps
On returning home, I found a cached page of Cafe Rouge nutritional information for my baguette with fries:
- 1,057 calories
- 23g protein
- 146g carbohydrates
- 43g fat
I calculated my lunch based on my own weight estimates:
| 1 serving | calories | protein | carbs | fat | fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tomato | 5 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| rocket | 10 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| custard | 11 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| hummus | 23 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
| salad dressing | 26 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 0.0 |
| apple tart | 30 | 0.0 | 7.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| fries | 154 | 1.8 | 18.1 | 8.2 | 1.7 |
| cider | 281 | 0.0 | 69.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| baguette | 300 | 8.8 | 61.3 | 1.3 | 3.8 |
| Total | 840 | 13 | 164 | 14 | 7 |
Unfortunately, I had a mistake in my spreadsheet when first calculating this, and was originally under by about 200 calories.
6pm Mulligatawny soup with yoghurt
Plus some jalepeno chilli sauce from the fancy Oil & Vinegar shop.
| 363g serving | calories | protein | carbs | fat | fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| balsamic vinegar | 5 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| fat-free yoghurt | 55 | 9.5 | 3.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Mulligatawny soup | 154 | 5.2 | 30.4 | 2.1 | 6.1 |
| Total | 214 | 15 | 35 | 2 | 6 |
9:30pm Cottage cheese with crackers + pear
It got late again as I was making tuna pasta for Frank. I always make a big pan of pasta and put single portions into bags for freezing. Now that I’m dieting, I’m writing the weight on each bag.
| 1 serving | calories | protein | carbs | fat | fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| wholemeal Crackerbread | 60 | 2.1 | 11.7 | 0.6 | 1.8 |
| cottage cheese w/pineapple | 86 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 |
| pear | 106 | 0.7 | 28.5 | 0.2 | 5.7 |
| Total | 252 | 12 | 50 | 2 | 8 |
This includes a third Crackerbread I had at 11:30pm while watching a film.
| Day 122 | calories | protein | carbs | fat | fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | 840 | 13 | 164 | 14 | 7 |
| Snack | 214 | 15 | 35 | 2 | 6 |
| Dinner | 252 | 12 | 50 | 2 | 8 |
| Other drinks | 100 | ||||
| Total | 1,406 | 40 | 248 | 18 | 21 |
| 12% | 75% | 13% | |||
| Allowance | 1,200 | 75 – 105g 25 – 35% |
120 – 165g 40 – 55% |
33 – 40g 25 – 30% |
|
