Jamaica Me Crazy!

Beef Teriyaki Stir Fry w/White Rice – 618 cal.

So, my Love and I have decided to go to Jamaica for our first trip.  Passports are on the way!

We have approximately two months before we leave, and my Love has decided that he wants us to try to shed a few pounds between now and then.  Urg.

After much debate, I decided that I didn’t want to go on some diet where I couldn’t have something I wanted, so I decided that we’d just do the eat healthier thing and count calories in addition to working out.  We joined a gym yesterday, which we will go to on the days he doesn’t work.  On the days like today which he works, he walks a bajillion miles (okay, I may be exaggerating, slightly) and I will walk around the neighborhood.

I’ve been having a lot of trouble spreading my calories out through the day like I’m supposed to.  There’s this little voice in my head that keeps whispering ‘Don’t eat that now… it’s early, what if you’re hungry later and have already eaten up all your calories for the day?‘  It’s not that I have a problem with being hungry, I usually feel hungry several times a day when I’m counting calories, it’s just that I want the option to be there to be able to eat more if I am still hungry.  If I haven’t left enough of a ‘calorie-cushion’, I can’t do that.

In addition, I’m of the southern, home-style cooking type.  I grew up eating huge portions of greasy, fried foods, potatoes with every meal, and super-sweet tea to wash it all down with.  And I’m good at it, too.  I am completely clueless how to eat and cook healthy.

Forgoing the tea wasn’t that hard.  I just force myself to drink water instead.  Unpalatable, but easily done.  Food, on the other hand, is proving to be a nasty beast.

I did have this salad for lunch today (this is an oversize bowl, the outside edges are about as big as the center of a dinner plate), with Lite Italian Dressing, Feta cheese, red onion, tomato, cukes, mushrooms, scallions, iceberg lettuce & green leaf lettuce for a total of 97 calories:

Italian Dressing & Feta cheese give it a boost of flavor. 97 cal.

I’ve been sticking with an omelet for breakfast with two eggs, onion, green peppers & mushrooms topped with shredded cheddar and salsa.

The top photo was the dinner we’ve had for the past two nights.  It was about double the size I should eat, but I had to eat the whole thing, because I needed to make sure that I consumed enough calories.   It’s Beef Teriyaki stir fry with white rice.  That ginormous portion only came out to 618 calories, believe it or not.

Tonight, I’ll be having another salad, and a cheeseburger (homemade), and my Love will be having the stir fry again, except instead of beef, it will be chicken.  If I remember to take them and have time to post tomorrow, I’ll be posting photos of our dinner, along with the calorie count of each.

If anyone thinks something I post looks tasty, feel free to message me and ask for the recipe.  Since I have to weigh everything I put into the dish, the recipe will be in grams for the most part, so you will need a kitchen scale to follow it and get the same calorie count.  If you don’t give a hoot about calories, then you can just put however much you want of whatever I’m using in it as you like, and it will taste just as good!

Here’s to me learning to cook and eat healthier, and a thinner me (hopefully) in Jamaica!