So I know that I haven't had my dinner or snack, but I have that mostly planned out. I had my normal oatmeal for breakfast and a mid-morning snack that totaled 370. I had a lunch meeting again so I made sure to have mostly sald but I also had some fish. I skipped the dessert which looked great and I am happy that I did. The lunch total was 650. For dinner we will be having steak(300), parsley potatoes(200) and peas(70). I also had celery and salad dressing(100) for snack after work and I had a lollipop today(100). So my total for the day will be 1792 and I can still have a snack. I have only 208 cals left so I will have either popcorn or a granola bar. Either of those will leave me under my allowed limit for today(1900) so that will be fine.
Now on to my realization.....I was looking in the cabinet a few minutes ago to see if I could have a teaspoon of peanut butter for a snack. (This is a rough day for me because I got my period so I am extremely hungry for salt--peanut butter solves that for me). I looked at the calorie content of that small amount and realized it was about 90 cals. I was shocked. I can't tell you how many times in the past that I have just taken a spoon or two of peanut butter around 4:30 for snack. The amount of calories I have been consuming doing that is outrageous. I also will occassionally just eat what my kids left over for lunch instead of just making my own. Then I am hungry in an hour and eat another small meal. I can't even imagine the amount of calories I was consuming before I really started watching what I ate. I know this may seem like a silly realization to some, but it was really eye opening for me. It also helps me to realize how much I should give my kids to eat because they do not need as many calories as adults. Their portions are reasonable now when I feed them their meals. When we are at someone else's house I still try to make sure they don't eat too much. I notice that when they eat too much they get little bellies also. I am desperately trying to teach them about portion size in a kid friendly way and without saying the word diet. We teach them that we need to eat balanced--a veggie or a fruit is served at every meal. We also teach them that they don't need to eat too much. The hardest part was teaching our girls that you can't eat toast and pancakes because it is too much bread.
A new rule that I might have mentioned before is that we only eat baked goods desserts on the weekend. DUring the week they can have fruit or graham crackers or jello for dessert. It is hard for them to understand all the time, but our oldest understands that we want her to be healthy. She enjoys it actually. I don't want to seem like we are making our kids diet, we are just teaching them about nutrition on a leve they understand. With so much childhood obesity and the struggle that I have always had, I don't want them to have to suffer.
Anyway, enough rambling. I just wanted to share. Hope I didn't bore anyone!!
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Hey dlv, I totally had the same realization as you did about peanut butter but also some of the other snacks I used to just grab and eat like nothing - and then when you start counting calories you realize - HOLY SMOKE - this little bit of food has a ton of calories! And then the bell goes off in your head - wow, this is why I gained so much weight.
I totally respect what you are doing with the kids and teaching them to eat healthy without emphasizing "diet" or weight. Kudos to you!
If you really like peanut butter (but not the calories), give this product a try: PB2
http://tinyurl.com/26cynq
Here's a review that explains the product: http://tinyurl.com/2telyl
This stuff is really good! I've tried it and it's great when you are craving peanut butter but can't have all the calories. I also sometimes add a tablespoon of it to my protein shake when I want it to be extra peanutty.
Good stuff!
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