Morning, everyone!
Calorie counting is a right pain!! I'm so glad it's not my go-to eating plan. I'm also glad that my approach to SW seems to be bang on as far as calories are concerned - at the moment, at least! I'm also glad that my exercise 'regime' gives me a little bit of leeway too, when I need it.
That's why I do some calorie counting from time to time. Reassurance.
How do I plan?
Someone asked me this last week (at group, I think, although it might have been elsewhere).
It all starts with recipes/ideas that I come across and fancy. I go with my reaction to it, whether it excites me or bores me. Thankfully, I usually get excited by reasonably healthy stuff!
I have a grid on the computer for each week (see below) and I note down the ideas/recipes on that. They're usually dinners with the occasional lunch or breakfast.
Then I start refining the very rough jottings on the grid. I can't honestly say that I start from anywhere but the above - if it doesn't excite me, I'm far less likely to stick to it.
So I start breaking it down, looking for where I can slot in the healthy extras, where I can add more speed food, is there enough protein, too many carbs, etc. What syns might I use (almost always IN meals, not as extra snacks)? Am I using too many expensive or unusual ingredients - if so, what can I do about it? Are there any ingredients I can sub? How?
I don't write all that down, I just think it through.
I also really try to base it all on what I have in but have the next shopping list to hand, just in case.
Gradually, a plan for the week appears. On Saturday, the first few days are fairly detailed and the rest becomes more detailed as they get closer. It's always a work in progress, as flexible as possible and as wide ranging as possible
Breakfasts start as fruit and yogurt and then change according to what the rest of the day looks like. I try to have leftovers from the previous evening for lunch, if I can, or maybe protein and a salad, a toastie or hm soup. Filling but not too stodgy.
This is what this week's planning looks like (the right hand columns are for when I'm keeping a diary to hand in at Group)
And here's the following week's one
Apologies for the quality - they are screen shots.
Broken down like that it sounds like a lot of work but it really isn't. It's pretty much a habit now and I don't break out all that often really. I like that it removes the uncertainty, the 'what shall I have today' from my life.
Yesterday's meals:
A nice, safe breakfast of fruit and 0% Greek yogurt. Delicious.
180 calories
Sadly, the new waffle maker/toastie gadget didn't arrive in time for lunch but not to worry. The toastie was really tasty and satisfying anyway!
Later on, I had a pear and a plum.
493 calories, including the fruit.
The potato kugel was really lovely. I wasn't going to torn on the oven for one little dish so I cooked it partly in the microwave and then in the oven. It could perhaps have done with another ten minutes but, all the same, it was delicious.
This was a real comfort dinner, a bit high in stodge but most satisfying.
I didn't have anything else.
640 calories
1313 calories for the whole day's eating.
Today's plans
B: fruit and yogurt
SW: syn free
L: mushroom and bacon omelette, coleslaw, salad; fruit
It was going to be a crustless quiche but I want to try the omelette function on the new gizmo!
SW: one healthy extra A (in the omelette) and one syn if I have salad cream
D: Cantonese lemon chicken, noodles; yogurt
This is another from the Fast Feasts book. I will have to sub some of the vegetables but it does look tasty so fingers crossed.
SW: the book says half a syn per serving plus half a syn for the yogurt
Ex: none today
Summary:
one healthy extra A
no healthy extra Bs
two syns
What do I mean by low spend?
At the beginning of this year, as part of a de-cluttering thing, I did a detailed audit of all the food I had in cupboards, fridge and freezer and was somewhat horrified at how much stuff I had.
So I determined to make a huge effort to reduce it down and use it up with minimal waste.
January and February were no spend and low spend months respectively. March is going to be another low spend month with just a few exceptions and, of course, all the essentials. It has got to work with Slimming World.
'Essential' means food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs and other essentials including things like cleaning products and toiletries as needed. A few other things will come up through the month but generally it is just real essentials as I see 'essential'.
Of course, all regular bills, direct debits, etc, will still be paid as usual - hey are essential.
It's really helping in these difficult times. I am still able to save a wodge of my income (which is all pensions now) as I have done since I retired, plus a bit more. After all, at some point, I will have to start replacing things - just not yet.
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