As part of my new fangled effort to lose weight, my doctor suggested counting calories. So I've been very diligently counting calories for a little more than a week now - keeping an average count of between 2000 and 3000 calories a day. As I understand it, you should have approximately 10 calories for each pound of weight you want to achieve. So, if you weigh 250lbs, for instance, and you want to get to 200lbs, you should eat only 2000 calories. Since I'm still dialing in a total that I can live with, my number fluctuates wildly.
On Monday, I only managed a little more than 2000 calories and my stomach growled when I went to bed. But it was simply annoying. However, by the end of last night, due to a combination of eating right and being rushed, I only managed a whopping 1400 calories - less than half of what my body would consider normal. I went to bed last night feeling really rather weak and starving.
As I tossed uncomfortably in bed trying not to think about food, I had a sudden divine smack upside the head - Hey Stupid, there are kids all over the world that do this every night. There are kids for whom 1400 calories would be a feast. That is why you're trying to help them, remember.
I was able to get up this morning and have a larger than usual breakfast (still probably under my normal calories though). The kids I'm trying to help in Africa probably got up for another day of scrounging for food and survival. Talk about putting things in perspective.
I may go hungry again before I head off to Africa, but I doubt that I'll ever complain about it.
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Alas, as with so much in life, there is no quick fix.
I'm looking for a bailout - maybe someone can take all of this caloric debt off of me for the good of the nation? ;)
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