Wednesday, April 20, 2011

"Just Say No" to the Evil Apple

Ah, today is one of THOSE dieting days.  You all know the kind I mean...  It's not even 1:00 p.m., and though I've only consumed 360 of my daily allowance of 1100 calories, which would suggest that I'm squarely on-track to hit my goal, I have a sneaking suspicion that this particular day is going to suck some major ass.

I've been succeeding without too much trouble on the mornings when I stick to my fool-proof routine, which is a cup of tea at 8:00 a.m., one diet pop around 10:30, and NOTHING ELSE before noon.  I blew it today by drinking my tea too early (6:30 a.m.), and I ended up so friggin' hungry as a result that I broke down and ate an apple at 9:00.  HUGE mistake.

Most people would laugh right about here, and say, "What's wrong with eating a friggin' apple?!  Apples are good for you!!!"


Yes.  Apples ARE good for you.  But they're also 90 calories, and unfortunately, when you're only allowing yourself 1100 calories total all damn day, you can't "waste" 90 calories on a friggin' apple at 9:00 a.m., because you're in danger of blowing your 1100 limit if you do.  Not only that, but the sweetness in the apple totally spiked my insulin response, and I was STARVING to the point of stomach-twisting agony within an hour of the apple consumption.  WTF?!  That BLOWS.

So the following three hours were torture.  I suffered in silence and ate a stupid salad for lunch instead of the Ezekiel-bread-tuna sandwich I wanted to eat, because my early-morning apple ate up half of my available lunchtime tuna calories.  Damn.

I realize that this all sounds stupid and ridiculously-obsessive.  I won't deny that.  But I also know that this crazy-ass approach is working for me, when nothing else has worked in SEVEN months of effort.  Yes, I am at THAT point.  I'll do whatever it takes - even if it means skipping fruit in the morning in favor of something else equally as healthy later in the day.  I'm being careful to make sure that every calorie I consume is high-quality.  I do have moments of weakness, and I do cheat a little here and there.  The weekends are the hardest; I rarely hit my 1100 mark on Friday and Saturday, but I try to work out on those days to combat the indulgence.  I'm not eating white flour carbs.  I'm not eating sugar or salt.  I avoid butter.  I skip pasta.  No crap-food.  No junk food.  No fast food.  NO FUN FOOD.

All of this insanity is paying off, albeit S-LO-W-L-Y.  I am holding steady at 18.0 pounds lost, and will throw myself a little party when I hit the "-20" mark this week.  My eye is still on the -40-pound prize, and that prize is going to be a platter of food containing a gazillion calories - plus sangria - sometime during the first week of June. 

1 comment:

  1. You know, It'd be healthier for you if you exercised rather than dieted. Health eating (not calorie counting) and exercise 5-6 times a week for 30 minutes a day is FAR healthier for your body than just starving yourself of needed calories. Just don't forget, the more you exercise, the more caloric intake you need to stay healthy.

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