Weight Loss Pursuits: : Breakfast and Lunch on Work Days

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the direction to go with this blog. There are so many possible subjects that fit into the category of daily activities in regards to weight loss. If I'm not careful I could be all over the board; so I'm going to try to use each blog to speak on specific subjects. Sundays will by my weekly update on steps goals, stair climbs, calories, etc. Today I'm going to talk about food.

Breakfast

My breakfast meals don't change very much. On my work days, I eat:

• 2 large eggs (140 calories)
• 2 slices of bacon (158 calories)
• 1 container of yogurt (150 calories for regular or 90 calories for light)
• 1 coffee with sugar and creamer (105 calories)

That makes breakfast a total of around 473 calories depending on the yogurt. 

Note: I feel I should mention the differences with regular yogurt and light Yoplait brand. When I first saw light yogurt I figured it was like all the other lightened versions of sweet foods; I figured it replaced the sugar with a lower calorie (and less healthy) substitute. When I looked at the ingredients, I found the only difference is the amount of sugar added. So I would say, the light is a good substitute for the regular for cutting calories and, in my opinion, the flavor doesn't suffer. I still get some regular yogurts because at the store we shop at, there are certain flavors I like which only come in the regular. However, if there's a choice, I go light. 

Lunch

Like my breakfast, my lunches typically do not change much on my work days. Right now, they are a little different because my employer is doing a colorful challenge asking people to eat fruits and vegetables of all the colors of the rainbow. With that said, on work days I eat:

• Salad, consisting of 
• 2 cups of romaine lettuce (23 calories)
• Croutons, 7 grams (36 calories)
• Crumbled Bacon, 7 grams (25 calories)
• Sunflower Nuts, 1/4 oz (43 calories)
• Italian Dressing, 2 Tablespoons (50 calories)
• 2 large boiled eggs (154 calories)

So, typically my salad is 177 calories and with the eggs added lunch totals 331 calories.  Beginning this week, however, I've added a couple items to my salad for the purpose of my employer's challenge. My added items are:

• 1 cup of raw spinach (20 calories)
• 1 cup of cauliflower (23 calories)

Along with the added nutritional benefits, these two items only add 43 calories to my lunch bringing the total to 374.

Snacks

I decided, since we're talking about food at work, I should mention the snacks I eat as well. Typically for snacks I'll eat:

• 1 cup of pears in light syrup (114 calories)
• 1 pickle (7-15 calories depending on size)
• 1 package of 2 nutty bars (300 calories)

This week, like with lunch, I've added an additional snack for the purpose of my employer's challenge. So in addition to the above, I also have:

• 1/4 cup of raisins (130 calories)

This brings my snacks total to about 559 calories. When adding breakfast, lunch and snacks, my total when I get home from work equals 1406 calories with the new items included. While this sounds like a lot, it would be if I wasn't exercising at all. However, while many places will try to reduce you to an 1800 calorie a day diet, exercise allows for more. 

Lastly, I'll mention I also drink between 4 and 5 liters of water every day when I'm at work. I haven't completely gone off soda but, if I drink it, I drink it only on the weekends. So, this is my food on work days, not counting dinner. There will be a future blog specifically on dinner because it changes every day. For more information on food, see my wife's blog at Stay At Home Wife and Mom.