Scale says I gained 0.2 pounds this week and I'm a little baffled. Yes, I did have a cardamom roll yesterday, but otherwise I'm wracking my brain about high calorie consumption over the past week. I was still eating nuts until a few days ago and I definitely ate too many of those and those are high calorie. The tofu squash I made had 7 T in the recipe and I cut it a bit after I realized, but that was still like 6 T over 4 servings, which doesn't seem awful, but I guess all of it adds up? I did also have two bite-size candies over the course of the past week, from offices I visited. Otherwise, my diet is things like lentils and barley and squash and tofu and sardines. There is still cheese on bread more days than not, and I did yesterday have a PBJ sandwich when I was hungry and just starting to make dinner which would take over an hour, but ... it doesn't feel fair somehow.
Though I should focus on how it is just 0.2# gain, and I will turn it around now, and not again get one of those big bags of nuts from Costco. Raw nuts in moderation for me. The roasting just makes them too tasty, and the big bags lead me to overindulgence. And I do seem to go through a lot of oil so that's something to watch out for.
What I'm trying to avoid is having to log every single calorie I consume because I find it really tedious. For someone who tracks so many things both personal and at work, it's just one more annoyance. But, the tracking every single penny I spend has been super helpful with reining in especially food spending, so maybe this is just what I have to do. I've tried numerous apps to make it easier, but because I don't eat things with labels, and because I eat such variety, entering all those recipes is a pain (especially because I often don't measure things when cooking).
But if that's what I have to do to start losing weight again, then I guess it's what I'll do. The larger underlying concern though is that I don't want to get to a goal weight, loosen up my monitoring, and just yo yo right back up. And I don't want to be strict with food consumption for the rest of my life. I want to enjoy things mindlessly - so long as I'm focused around whole foods, I don't want to measure and ration strictly.
Anyway, it's a bummer to be three pounds heavier than I was three weeks ago. But it's not the end of the world and I won't get derailed.
I have to remember that things like cheese are a densely caloric food. And dates. Oh, how I love dates and although they are definitely part of a whole foods diet, when it comes to calories, the body sees their sugar the same way it would any other. Dried fruit is great but it's so easy to eat more of it than we would the same fruits if they were fresh. And as you mention- nuts. I find that for me, the consumption of raw almonds is doable. I can eat a few and be happy and my appetite satisfied whereas roasted almonds? GIVE ME THAT CAN!
ReplyDeleteYou know all of this though. Our bodies just want to consume and store as much energy as possible which was excellent when we were hunter gatherers. I have been so grateful for the help of the GLP-1 I'm on as my body no longer tells me I'm hungry even when I am definitely not. It's a miraculous relief. I can make the best choices without feeling deprived. This is just my own experience after a lifetime of fighting this battle. I'm not even sure I should post this because I know how it feels to be doing the very, very best you can with eating and have someone butt in and tell you shit you already know. But this has worked for me. As to side effects? I no longer snore, I don't bite my tongue bloody every night, my GI system has normalized, my joints don't hurt nearly as bad, and my mobility is vastly improved. I know my experience may not be typical.
It's a balance too because I just cannot be so hungry when working that I cannot think, and unfortunately that can happen easier than I'd like. Cheese on toast is one of the few things that makes me not hungry until lunchtime. And maybe sardines, so that's exciting. Bit more healthy fat.
DeleteIt's more than just the calories too, of course. High stress job, menopause, inflammation, thyroid, all the things. I used to try WW and when charting every single calorie, I'd just stop losing after a short time and couldn't nudge that scale. When I tried thyroid medication because the doctor swore it was what I needed, I ate less - and gained 10 pounds in less than four weeks.
We all have to find our thing, eh? I'm glad GLP-1 is that thing for you. I think mine is avoiding ultraprocessed foods but we'll see what else.