A fast for the afternoon and evening

A small bowl of mango and watermelon on waking. Water.

Then, when Jenna emerged from sleep, she went to Dunkin and brought me back a medium iced coffee with skim milk and two Splenda, and a glazed stick.

Dental courtesies paid

I skipped breakfast, so as not to present the hygienist at my morning dentist appointment with too daunting a challenge. I did have a bottle of lemon-flavored Poland Spring Sparkling Water, zero calories.

For lunch, I had  selection of salad bar and hot bar items from Star Market, coming in to a little less than a pound of food. As such: two ounces of mashed potato, 90 cals; one chicken wing, 100 cal; one half-ounce of pot roast, 100 cals; two ounces of penne with chicken and broccoli, 320 cals; three ounces of marinated mushrooms, 30 cals; one hard-boiled egg, 80 cals; two ounces of grilled chicken, 70 cals; two ounces of baby arugula, 20 cals; less than two tablespoons of bleu cheese dressing, 100 cals; a half-ounce of bacon bits, 10 cals. Total, something like 900 calories.

As an afternoon snack, I chomped down two Sweet Crunchy Rice Snacks by Jay-One (80 cals. total), a can of Arizona zero-calorie Half & Half (Iced Tea/Lemonade), and a snack square of Cabot Seriously Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, 80 cals. (Happy 100th birthday, Cabot. Why do I know cheese things? One likes to learn about the target of one's ardor.)

Dinner was a slice of leftover chicken alfredo pizza; one and a half fried chicken tenders with garlic-parmesan sauce; a bowl of chopped salad; maybe eight french fries; and a slice of cheese pizza, when after finishing the rest of the meal I decided I needed a splurge.

I've been drinking water all evening.

Pizza, fingers, puttering

Started the day with a medium hazelnut iced coffee with skim milk and two Splenda, and a glazed stick, from Dunkin.

At work, I drank water in the morning.

For lunch, I had a junior cheeseburger at Wendy's, and a large diet Coke.

For a snack, I had a serving of watermelon (85 cals) and some mango (120 cals).

Dinner was quite an indulgence; I picked up a chicken alfredo (!) pizza from Doughboy's, along with an order of 10 boneless fried chicken strips with a garlic parmesan toss and sauce. I had two slices of pizza, and perhaps four fingers, along with ten or so french fries. I drank Coke Zero.

After dinner I went to my weekly writing session at Strong Style Coffee, and ordered a large iced cold brew, with milk and two Splenda.

At home, puttering around, I drank water.

It took about 4 minutes to record this; but of course, I didn't run through the calorie counts. I'll do that when I'm online, later this morning. 

In which a food diary is reawakened

This boring game again? Sure. It serves as a kind of mindfulness; as long as it does not devolve into an act of self-supervision and reproach...

The day began non-ominously but nom-nom-inously with a glazed stick donut (440 cals) and an iced hazelnut coffee with skim milk and two Splenda (30 cals). Then a lunch at Starbucks. One string cheese (80 cals) and a tall (small) S’mores Frappuccino (320 cals). In the afternoon, I had five peanut butter pretzels from the massive barrel we keep in the reception area of our department (80 cals). On the train ride home, I had a Diet Mountain Dew (10 cals) and an almond Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Granola Bar (160 cals).

For dinner, I sautéed kale with onion in olive oil, and added chicken and some leftover garbanzo bean salad, to make a warm dinner salad. For one serving, say: 600 cals? On the side, half a round of grilled pita with homemade zaatar: 130 cals. Drank water. (On reflection, I did not drink enough water this day.) Dessert was a Hannaford’s ice cream sandwich: 160 cals. Had a glass of water at bedtime.

For the day, a calorie total of 2010. For a person of my size, and for someone who has been overeating the past few weeks, that’s good! But still, that’s not a loss figure, especially considering how sedentary I am during the work week...