Calories.

I know I’ve said in previous posts that calories shouldn’t matter as long as you are eating healthy. That’s true, they shouldn’t. But they do.

I ate healthy and gymed it up for over 2 months with zero change on the scale and while I felt good, I was in need of some visible progress. I needed to change things up a bit.

I’ve been counting my calories since the beginning of March. I’m not doing it the way I did in college, where a calorie was a calorie (ie. Choosing to have 2 beers rather than dinner or eating one meal a day when that meal was In N Out). No, I’ve graduated, so I’m smarter now.

I very strictly plan out my breakfasts and lunches and leave a little wiggle room for dinner because (1) it’s my favorite meal and (2) crafting a meal that will be satisfying for myself and my boyfriend that’s under 500 calories is a big feat, that I’m just not always up for. These planned meals have a lot of protein, veggies and fruit and I allow myself bread (mostly because I can’t live without it), but I’ve greatly cut down on my cheese intake and I write down EVERYTHING I eat, down to the 3 M&M’s I took from the breakroom. Everything counts.

This has been working. Since early March, I’ve lost 4.5 lbs. It feels really good to finally have some visible progress. The only issue is that my energy seems to fluctuate a bit. Some days I have tons of energy and I find myself grocery shopping, doing dishes, cooking dinner, making crafts, going to the gym, and still feel vibrant and smiley. Other days (like today), I feel like I just want to sleep. The coffee and 3 cups of tea haven’t done anything. I’m still debating if this is a calorie related thing, a girl thing, a Wednesday thing, or if I’m just having an off day.

Anyway, if you are really trying to loose weight, it is a numbers game. You need to eat less and burn more. The exact amount of calories you intake will differ from one body to the next, but it is the only way that I have ever really been able to successfully (and healthily) lose poundage. If I start seeing a pattern with the mood swings, I’ll up the intake a tad (since my body Is telling me to), but for now, I think I’ll just chalk it up to hump day.

Here’s to half the week being over! Cheers!

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