Diet - day 16

Day 16 of the diet, 18 April 2020)

I was surprised to find my weight was still at 84 kilos this morning. It's gratifying to know that I didn't lose any ground after suspending my diet for months, surprising but gratifying. I felt like I had piled on the pounds, but no. Anyway, I want to keep losing weight so it was on with another day, with a calorie budget of 1,600, and my usual good intentions.

I woke up with hunger pangs, which are just the empty stomach telling the brain to engage in what scientists call 'appetitive behaviour' which are `hunger pangs'. They can be safely ignored, and my passed in about ten minutes or so.

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A Message from the Author


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Like yesterday, breakfast was thin Italian sandwich bread, for 115 calories, spread with two cheese triangles for 82 calories. I rounded that all up to 200 calories.

I was still hungry after such a small breakfast, by my standards, but I stayed tough and ignored that 'empty' feeling. I managed to remember it just meant I was losing weight, and so instead of continuing to eat I lost myself in writing my latest sci-fi book, number six in the Dark Galaxy series. Then loud stomach grumbling started, so thank goodness I am at home today, so nobody heard it except me. 

A little later I had to get up from the computer to adjust the thermostat, which is next to the kitchen. Danger. Danger. My mind immediately went into action, trying to persuade me to just take a couple more steps and have a slice of toast, but I know all about the tricks the subconscious plays when it thinks you aren't eating enough, so I ignored this impulse and stayed strong. I quickly scurried back to my laptop and got back to work to distract myself. 

I finished a couple of pages then had one slice of cheese on toast for 100 calories, bringing my running total to 300 calories. I actually made two slices and dropped one, but strangely felt that was lucky, because it meant I was ingesting fewer caloris.

Then I had some slim bread sticks for 100 calories and a coffee for 60 calories (I like it milky), bringing my running total to 460 calories. Not bad for four in the afternoon, 1,340 calories still to go. I decided I might even have something crazy like lasagna or pizza for my main meal (but as you'll see I didn't stick to that, maybe tomorrow).

Then I wen to the shop and bought more of the white chocolate and cranberry cookies I love, and ate one as soon as I was home, for 100 calories, bringing the running total to 560. That's no bad thing, though, before starting the diet I would have eaten four or five of the delicious little biscuits instead of just one.

The main meal was the day's next bout of eating, and it was rice and carrots and peas. The rice, of course, was the biggest calories hit, at 400 calories, but there was also some oil, 60 calories, half an onion at 22 calories, five carrots at 25 calories each, so 100 calories, and lastly peas at 50 calories. By my calculations that made the rice and peas main meal a whopping 632 calories. That brought the day's running total to 1192 calories.

That was a real cause for celebration because at nine in the evening I still had 408 calories to use in eating bed-time snacks.

I spent the first 200 of those calories on toast and cheese, bringing my running total to 1392 calories.

Then two more of those delicious biscuits, 200 calories, brings the running total to 1592 calories, and that was it for the day. All I had to do then was keep my mouth shut so no more food could get in until bed time.

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