Catchy headline, yes?  If my actually caloric intake equaled what my calorie counting program says it is, then I should be dead by now.  Yesterday I ate leftovers (pork chops, fried sweet potatoes and a portion of salad) for lunch. It was good, I was satisfied, couldn’t even eat every single bite, so some went to waste.  367 Calories.  Had water with it, no calories there. Dinner was about two cups of spaghetti squash with three meatballs and some marinara sauce. Had a salad, with a nice creamy sauce. Threw in a little Asiago cheese.  379 calories.  Didn’t eat breakfast just had coffee.  Total for the day, 875 calories.

Am I just used to starving now?  In weeks past I would be hungry every moment of the day after taking in so few calories.  Maybe the people starving around the world are not suffering that much, once they get used to it.  Or–maybe my calorie counting program isn’t that good at figuring out what I am eating, maybe I am inputting the numbers or portions wrong. The software complains any time I don’t get 1200 calories and if it is to be believed, I am a good 30% short of that number.

There is a feature where I can add my own recipes to the day’s food.  I used it to calculate what my Steak Au Poivre was worth, for instance. If I go to a nutrition site and search for it I get a calorie count of 497, and when I put it in the software I get 415.  That’s a pretty big difference.  I suppose I shouldn’t worry because my body has been good at telling me that i need more, just like it was good at telling me I needed less.

Dinner yesterday was a half a spaghetti squash smothered in marinara sauce and three Italian meatballs.  In times past I have had this and I hated the squash as a replacement for the pasta.  I think I had been cooking the squash improperly, because this time, it was a very good replacement for the pasta.  I could hardly tell the difference, the texture was right, and the flavor, well, neither quash or pasta really adds too much flavor to spaghetti dinner, you have to admit. Maybe it was the addition of asiago cheese to the dish, in place of the normal Parmesan cheese. Asiago cheese smells like it’s namesake ass, so there is a lot of flavor when you add it to your dinner.

Had a great desert, it was a pecan half smashed into a flavored butter, smashed into a half a date, and slightly frozen to firm up the butter.  Tasted like a caramel. I will try and get the recipe for it, because it was something you will want to eat if you are giving up table sugar.

If I am getting used to less–less sugar, less food–then this life change has truly been life-changing.  Not three weeks ago I was dragging around like I had a boat anchor on my shoulders, and now I don’t feel run down or hungry, but I have not started eating more or doing less.  We are working ten hour days, Karen is working more than ever, but our output or emotions have not suffered, we don’t pine for the day when we can start putting sugar in our morning coffees.  Time will tell but it is going to be easier and easier, which will let us change something else for the better.

One little thing at a time is the best method of making everything better.