FAO those who track points and/or calories
Philtex
Posts: 1,396 Member
(I'm posting this overnight to gain input from our Saturday morning early risers)
For those who track points and/or calories, do you determine your portion sizes based on the number you want to allocate to each item, or do you count how many points/calories are in what you are eating (or just ate), perhaps with some daily target in mind? Is it some combination of the two?
For those who track points and/or calories, do you determine your portion sizes based on the number you want to allocate to each item, or do you count how many points/calories are in what you are eating (or just ate), perhaps with some daily target in mind? Is it some combination of the two?
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I start with a daily calorie target of 1900 calories. I divide that by 4, breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks. Right now part of my plan is to get at least 40 grams of protein in each of my 3 main meals. Then comes the subjective part where each of my meals have to meet the satisfaction test. I can generally do that in the 400-500 calorie range. When eating at home I’m usually within my target.
But we regularly go out to lunch 3 times per week. So as the scale stays around 178.5 the numbers I assign for meals out are probably a bit under the actual calories. Not surprised.1 -
I’m following WW, so I’m working with a Points budget. My breakfast and lunch choices are generally a routine/default option, so there’s not a lot of “choice” happening. Having said that, those defaults options were largely defined by a) being foods I like, and b) being foods I can eat in a portion that satisfies me.
Other choices, such as dinner out tonight, follow a similar pattern. I’ll normally choose something where I can eat the portion I want within my available points rather than choosing to eat a small portion of something else that would be higher in points than I can comfortably accommodate. The latter of those two paths - the “smaller portion” path - tends to leave me feeling deprived and resentful. Neither of those two attitudes is conducive to my long term success.
And the lower point option doesn’t leave me feeling deprived, because I’m not saying I can’t have it. What I’m saying is that in that specific situation, it’s not worth it to me to spend the points to have what I consider an adequate portion. In other words, I’m saying “not now” rather than “no”. Implicit is that is the fact that from time to time, I DO decide that the full-sized version of the high point option is in fact worth it - so I’m proving to myself that I can say “yes” sometimes even if I usually say “not now”.
It’s all a mind game . . . 😉0 -
I’m following WW, so I’m working with a Points budget. My breakfast and lunch choices are generally a routine/default option, so there’s not a lot of “choice” happening. Having said that, those defaults options were largely defined by a) being foods I like, and b) being foods I can eat in a portion that satisfies me.
Other choices, such as dinner out tonight, follow a similar pattern. I’ll normally choose something where I can eat the portion I want within my available points rather than choosing to eat a small portion of something else that would be higher in points than I can comfortably accommodate. The latter of those two paths - the “smaller portion” path - tends to leave me feeling deprived and resentful. Neither of those two attitudes is conducive to my long term success.
And the lower point option doesn’t leave me feeling deprived, because I’m not saying I can’t have it. What I’m saying is that in that specific situation, it’s not worth it to me to spend the points to have what I consider an adequate portion. In other words, I’m saying “not now” rather than “no”. Implicit is that is the fact that from time to time, I DO decide that the full-sized version of the high point option is in fact worth it - so I’m proving to myself that I can say “yes” sometimes even if I usually say “not now”.
It’s all a mind game . . . 😉
Agree. It's a mind game. Or to quote Yogi Berra on baseball: "It's 90% mental and the other half is physical"1
