First real business

Here we go: a calorie log for all this week.

Monday 6/7

1 toast, 2 eggs, and milk (100+2*70+150=390)
Cheese and veggie sandwich and apple (2*100+100+50+100=450)
Coffee/cocoa drink (200)
2 bowls beet soup, 1/4 loaf french bread, and 2 glasses wine (2*100+250+2*125=700)

390+450+200+700=1740

Tuesday 6/8

2 toast and yogurt (2*100+100=300)
Orange (100)
2 slices polenta pie and cold milk chai (2*175+350=700)
Banana (100)
Handful of crackers (50)
1.5 bowls potato beet soup and 1/3 loaf french bread (1.5*200+330=630)

300+100+700+100+50+630=1880

Wednesday 6/9

1 bowl cereal and 1 nectarine with cream (100+150+100+100=450)
Apple (100)
2 slices polenta pie (2*175=350)
Soda (150)
1 bowl potato beet soup, cheese, and crackers (200+300+200=700)
Hot cocoa (200)

450+100+350+150+700+200=1950

Thursday 6/10

Scrambled eggs in tortilla (150+150=300)
Milk (150)
1/2 PBJ sandwich and boiled egg (250+70=320)
1/2 PBJ sandwich (250)
1 piece pizza and 2 glasses wine (500+2*125=750)

300+150+320+250+750=1770

Friday 6/11

Banana milk chocolate protein shake (100+150+150=400)
1 piece pizza and coffee with a splash of milk (500+0+25=525)
1 yogurt (140)
Red beans 'n' rice dish, asparagus baked in oil, and 1 glass wine (200+150+125=475)
Peppermint milk (150)

400+525+140+475+150=1690

I was pretty surprised on Monday when I tallied up my calories, because I hadn't been trying to eat any particular amount. According to this website, 1740 calories would sustain a 130-pound sedentary person of my age and gender. So basically I said damn, I'll just make sure I keep eating that sort of amount and if I don't start losing weight, the next step is ask the doctor about thyroid conditions. I don't really think that's likely though, because if I had a metabolic problem I should get exhausted doing the activity I do.

That's the other thing that's annoying. These websites never tell you what qualifies as light, moderate, heavy activity. My desk job is sedentary, for sure, but I ride my bike to work and back (~2 miles each way) and use my lunch break to work out sometimes, pretty intensely. (Don't worry, I still eat, just do it at my desk when I come back.) On Tuesday and Thursday both I worked out, 10+ minutes on the treadmill and 10+ minutes on the elliptical, burning a total of 200-250 calories each day, but the machines calculate it for a 150-pound person so at this point I get a bonus of sorts. I could calibrate them for my real weight, but I'd rather just let them underestimate it and know I'm getting extra credit.

So I put in light activity and got that I need about 2100 cals to maintain 181. Between that, and the fact that my body never really wanted to be this heavy (fuck dorm food), I expect conservatively that I can lose 5 pounds a month, if I stick to it. From past experience I hope it will actually go faster, at least at the beginning, but we will see.