Diet/How to lose weight without bonking

[Helen]

Hi Nanci ... How did you manage to keep track of all the calories you take or burn every day?
I only heard about online tracking services but I don't know where to start ...

[Nanci]

Hi Helen,

I use Diet Diary software from Calorie King. Http://www.calorieking.com Look under software. There is a Windows version, but I have mine on my Palm Pilot, which goes everywhere with me. It makes it easy to make choices at lunch or at a restaurant. I usually have the same thing for breakfast, so I enter in that for the whole week, then I plan out what I am having for dinner and put that in, and then see what's left for lunch/snacks. Mostly I have a bottle of grapefruit or cranberry juice for breakfast, and a couple cups of coffee. Then for lunch, chicken or fish and a veg or two- about 200-300 calories. Then dinner is something like a turkey burger or turkey mignon or grilled chicken breast, with a salad and a veg or small baked potato and a glass of skim milk.

You can buy a pretty cheap Palm Pilot for around $150, I think.

One thing I figured out to save calories- when I'd get home from work and want to ride for an hour before dinner, I'd be hungry and need some sort of snack. So instead of eating something extra, I'd microwave my baked potato for dinner and eat half.

Yesterday I did my longest ride ever! 92 miles. I had sushi for breakfast, then an 80 cal Energice gel every hour, and my Endurox R4 at 52 miles. I stopped for a Diet Coke with 30 miles left to go, yum! It's hard to drink enough when you've been out there for five hours and your water is 90 degrees...

I think my total calories for the ride were 670, and I burned 5000 something! I am doing ok, not bonking, and each ride which is 20 miles longer seems easier than the last shorter one, so I must be building up my base ok.

Nanci