So. Much. Food.

For the past couple of days, I’ve been tracking my calorie intake/output on MyFitnessPal just to make sure I’m not over or under eating.  On vacation, I just ate whenever I was hungry (or even when I wasn’t and the food just looked too good to pass up), and after a week like that, it can be hard to get back on track with how much you actually need to be eating.  As a general rule, I try to listen to my body and eat whenever I’m hungry, but sometimes those cues are hard to pick up on.  That can lead to overeating, or even under eating, which can both have negative effects on your body.

I track my calories burned with my Garmin, and yesterday’s workout definitely had my heart pumping with all those burpees!  Here’s what it looked like:

1. Warm up: 10 minute walk on treadmill
2. Front squats: (I kept the weight lower because I had to clean the bar but next time it’s going up!)
   1. 12 @ 45lbs
   2. 10 @ 65lbs
   3. {8 @ 85lbs} x3
   4. {8 @ 65lbs + 16 bodyweight lunges} x5
3. Workout:
   1. 10 burpees x2
   2. 10 dips (assisted @ 60lbs)
   3. 10 pull ups (assisted @ 60lbs)
   4. 10 hanging knees-to-elbows
   5. 12 burpees x2
   6. 10 dips (assisted @ 60lbs)
   7. 10 pull ups (assisted @ 60lbs)
   8. 10 hanging knees-to-elbows
   9. 14 burpees x2
   10. 10 dips (assisted @ 60lbs)
   11. 10 pull ups (assisted @ 60lbs)
   12. 10 hanging knees-to-elbows
4. Core:
   1. {20 Kettlebell swings with med ball + 30 Standing obliques with med ball} x4
   2. {12 Back extensions + 20 Obliques} x4
5. Cool down: 10 minute walk

Since I’ve started with this new workout plan, I’ve been burning more calories during my workouts, which means I should be eating more during the day.  And because I often incorporate lots of lower-calorie vegetables in my meals, it can sometimes seem like I’m eating a ton, and all day long!  That was definitely the case yesterday.

I started the morning off with a very non-traditional-for-me breakfast of three hard boiled eggs with black pepper, two small pieces of baked chicken seasoned with spices, and a banana.  I’m generally a I only like breakfast foods in the morning type of girl, but I had these random things in my fridge and wanted to use them up, and it ended up being a surprisingly delicious morning meal.

My coworker, who is new to Paleo, brought in some coconut cookies he made too, so I tried one of those out and they were great!  It’s always awesome to have people around that like to eat the same way I do.

I brought chicken, zucchini, and tomatoes with spices for lunch…

And spent the time in the cafeteria at work studying for my CPT exam.  I’m planning on taking the test in the next few weeks, so it’s definitely getting down to crunch time!  I always get nervous before tests – no matter how prepared I am – so the anxiety is starting to set in, but I’m trying to stay calm and focused so that I can do my best.  I know that if I work hard during the next few weeks, I’ll do fine!

My afternoon snack was cantaloupe and raw cashews…

And for dinner last night, I had leftover turkey meatballs with spaghetti squash, sliced red peppers, and plum tomatoes, topped with basil and crushed red pepper.  It started out like this, before it went into the microwave…

And it looked like this about a minute after it was finished warming up.  It’s so much better all mixed up!

At first, I felt like this was so much food (the picture is sort of deceiving – that’s a huge plate), but really, it was only about 365 calories worth of nutrient-dense nourishment.  If you wanted to eat 365 calories worth of fast food burgers and fries, pizza, or ice cream, I can pretty much guarantee that you wouldn’t be nearly as satisfied with your portion as I was with this meal.

But that’s also one of the reasons I’m counting calories right now – even though it seems like a ton of food, it’s not necessarily as much as you might think!  When you pile in all kinds of unhealthy foods, you’re much more likely to reach your daily calorie limit more quickly, but when you’re eating healthy foods, it can take more.  (Keyword: can.  Just because foods are healthy does not mean they’re low-calorie.  Take nuts, nut butters, starchy vegetables, and olive oil, for example.)

But the other day, after tracking all my meals and workouts, I realized I was only at a net of about 500 calories on the day… far, far too low for what I need!  I felt full and satisfied and I’d been eating all day long, but the foods I had chosen were all very low-calorie ones, clouding my assessment.  Of course, there are lots of other nutritional factors to consider, like carbohydrates, fats, and protein, so it just goes to show you that calories can be tricky little buggers!

Questions:

Do you count calories or any other nutritional macros?

What’s the best thing (healthy or not) that you’ve eaten this week?