Goal 4, Calories

So week three went pretty good. My goal was to not eat out for lunch for the entire week and eat what I brought for lunch. I was able to do it. I even ate the salad I brought to work the day my boss ordered pizza for the entire branch. I did eat a couple of pieces of pizza for and my salad. It was so hard on other days to not get sick of what I brought for lunch. There were days that all I could think about was just going across the street to have a sandwich from Subway. It took a lot of discipline to just sit down and start eating what I had. It was hard.

I had a small glass of soda some time last week. It just didn't taste good. It wasnt that it was too sugary, it just tasted like chemicals. I thought I would rather have a glass of water. Go me!

So my goal for this week is to count my calories. This is the first goal that doesn't involve giving up anything. The first three weeks have been challenging at times but so worth it. I'm curious what the scale is going to tell me in the morning. It would be nice to be down a couple of pounds.  I have never been good at tracking calories. I think it's because I never have really put my mind to it. Last week's goal, ultimately, was to get myself to eat fewer calories. I didn't track last week but I would assume I was able to lower my daily calories. So how am I going to track my calories?

Hubby and I picked up iPhones on Friday and I downloaded the Myfitnesspal app to start tracking everything. After inputting all my information, I was told I need to net around 1400 calories a day.  Any food eaten counts towards those calories and any amount of exercise takes away from those calories. As of 9pm, I am at net 1009 calories. Does that mean I need to eat another 400 calories before I go to bed? Do I need to wish I had a Snickers bar hidden somewhere in my house? Or is it ok if I didn't make it to my calories for the day?  I guess I'm not sure what the right answer is. So if you know, please fill me in. Count my calories every day and be truthful about it.  I can do that.

Some positives that have come out of this weekly challenge:

1. I no longer crave pop yes!
2. If I distract myself during my lunch break, I will forget about the candy sitting on the back counter.
3. I’ve learned that McDonalds breakfasts should be a rare occasional meal. I can live with out it.
4. I’ve been eating until I’m full and then stopped.
5. I opened a hard cider a few nights ago, took a couple of sips, and then dumped it out. I know I’m a beer waster but I needed a glass of water instead.
6. I need to drink Gatorade before I work out to avoid cramps.

Please let me know if you have a goal for me. I have ten weeks until the New Year and I only have 5 more goals on the list