The numbers game

I'm feeling a little joyous today... I've lost just over 20 pounds since the beginning of the year. It feels like it's coming off so slowly, but we are told that that is the healthiest way to do it.

Since January Gabi and I have been counting every single calorie we eat. We have a food journal that we keep, and by doing it together we've kept each other honest and motivated. She's lost a lot of weight too, so the process is getting us both healthier.

Calorie counting is something that I resisted for years. I just would not go there. Finally, however, the time was right and for whatever reason I was willing to start. It's been illuminating. The most amazing part had been just realizing how many calories are in certain foods. For example, I'd always pretty much figured that a hamburger and fries would have lots of calories. No big surprise there. A whole day's worth of calories gobbled up in one meal.

But did you realized that there are 500 calories in the cinnamon chip scones that you can get at Caribou coffee?

I used to eat one of those every week or two. I just assumed it was okay, I mean, it's just bread, right? But no, I'd have to walk for over two hours to burn off the calories from just one scone. I haven't had one since I made this discovery.

Another consequence of my number obsession is that I'm not just eating better food vis-a-vis nutrition, I'm eating better tasting food as well. If I'm going to eat it, then it's got to past the is it worth the calories? test. Lots of things don't pass the test. Store-bought cakes and muffins? Nope. Fast food burgers? Nada.

If I'm going to let myself indulge, I'm going for the best I can get. I found the most exquisite, small-batch cheese at Byerly's a couple of weeks ago. Intense, nutty, tangy. Just a little piece is heavenly, and makes it easy to pass up mass-produced cheddar. When we were really craving burgers and fries, we went to Granite City Brewery for their bleu cheese burgers and waffle fries, and we split an order. Really good.

One other good thing I've discovered, a small glass of red wine is only about 75 calories, and so it's easy to "make room" for that once or twice a week. It's a small but pleasant indulgence. And since we've discovered Our Daily Red organic wine, I can drink it without getting sick.

All to the good.