According to Health.Gov, I should be eating around 2,000 to 2,200 calories a day and about 2,600 if I am active...
According to VeryWellFit.com,
A calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. Calories in food provide energy in the form of heat so that our bodies can function. Our bodies store and "burn" calories as fuel. Many people who are trying to reach or maintain a healthy weight will count calories and try to decrease caloric intake.
However, and I am not an educated nutritionist, but I have decided (right or wrong) that my caloric intake is going to be somewhere between 1,500 and 1,800 calories per day with the understanding that it is ok for me to exceed 2,000 calories one day out of seven, if there is an occasion to do so...
My Oncologist says I should eat a Mediterranean Diet but I am trying to move towards a Chinese Diet where one DOES NOT EAT anything with a FACE or a MOTHER... really!!! but, that is exactly what it says.
THEREFORE, my focus will be on FISH (Salmon, Cod, Tuna, White, Flounder) and WHITE MEAT (Eggs, Chicken, Turkey) along with a variety of FRUITS (Berries, Bananas, Apple, Pears, Peaches) and VEGETABLES (Peas, Lima, Spinach, Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Asparagus, Squash, Zucchini, Tomatoes) and LEGUMES (White Beans, Pinto and Kidney), with my GRAINS being low calorie English Muffins and my DAIRY (Yogurt and Mozzarella).
I have kept track of my calorie intake as well as the various food groups for the last 9 months and have gotten my calories down from over 2,500 to 2,000 each day with a little bit of effort, and now I am experimenting with the minimum number of calories from the foods that are the most filling like soups... and no, it does not have to be cold to have soup.
This afternoon, I decided to cook the following:
770 calories 2 cans of White Beans
100 calories 1 package of frozen spinach
320 calories 2 cans of diced potatoes
140 calories 2 turkey burgers
200 calories 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
70 calories 2 medium onions, 2 medium peppers, 1 large tablespoon Garlic
1,600 calories
My wife and I save the plastic containers that slices of ham come in to be used to store leftovers... but, I use them to store things I have cooked because each container holds just enough for a meal from which I can say I am full once eaten.
I filled 6 of these containers and place them in the refrigerator to be eaten over the next 6 days starting tomorrow. None of the food will spoil in that amount of time, and each container contains only 267 calories.
I like to keep each meal under 500 calories which leaves room for 1-2 snacks of fruit. My meals have been averaging between 250 and 350 calories... sometimes, 450 calories but that is not often. For example:
BREAKFAST
70 calories 1 fried egg
80 calories 1 vege sausage
60 calories 1 slice American Cheese
140 calories 1 English Muffin
350 calories
250 Calories 5 cups of Decaf Coffee with 2 spoons of Sugar Free Cappuccino Mix
180 Calories 6 -- 8 oz glasses of flavored teas
LUNCH
60 calories 1 slice American Cheese
50 calories 1 slice Mozzarella Cheese
70 calories 4 thin slices of Ham
140 calories whole wheat bread
80 calories 1 tablespoon of Mayo
400 calories
SNACK
90 calories 1 container of Yogurt
110 calories 1/4 cup of granola
200 calories
DINNER
267 calories Bean, Burger, Potato, Spinach Soup
1647 Calories for the entire day...
It takes me only 2-3 hours to prepare a pot of soup that will last me 4-6 days and most of that time is spent cutting stuff up. I have an electric heating device on which I sit a pot and can set the temperature and the timer for every 20 minutes so I can get out of my chair and stir...
At first it was a tad difficult to force myself to cut back on my eating especially when I was watching some kind of drama series on NETFLIX but once I concentrated and made sure I was drinking plenty of liquids, it was relatively easy to change my eating habits.
When I am writing articles there is never a compulsion or a need to eat as I am focused on research or on doing my writing.
Since I started this process about 9 months ago, I have lost 25 pounds which does not seem like too much at all... and about 5-7 of those pounds were lost while being in the hospital for 6 days... which actually helped me reduced my need and/or desire for food.
My goal is to continue reducing my weight gradually until I get down to 205 pounds which is the weight I was at in 2007 when I was first diagnosed with cancer. That leaves me losing another 20 pounds and while my calorie intake is below the recommended level, I am eating the healthiest I have ever eaten in my entire life... plus, I see my Oncologist monthly, my Cardiologist semi annually, my Urologist quarterly, and my family doctor whenever I need to.
When the COVID scare is over, I will probably return to the gym and no doubt I could walk around the community if I wanted to... I suppose... it is just that I lost my motivation...
All in all, I am doing fine and all my days are now taken one at a time.
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