Saturday, March 19, 2011

Can you go WAY over on calories and still not feel like you overate?

This week, the nutritional challenge in Pilates was to keep added sugars down below 30g. That's not a problem for me, not even a challenge (unless I forget about the challenge and go overboard with the grade B organic Vermont maple syrup on my very healthy version of French toast on Friday morning...oooops!) That's added sugar. There's naturally occurring sugars in fruit and dairy. Those don't count. We're talking adding sweeteners like sugar, honey, agave nectar, even artificial sweeteners. The point of this challenge was to adjust our palettes to crave sugar less. I was way ahead on this! Not even a challenge! Should I even be earning a star? I'm taking one anyway!

Today, at my house, we celebrated St. Patty's Day. My godmother Eve and her lovely husband George came over for dinner. I found uncured corned beef at Trader Joe's earlier in the week. It was already cooked, so all I had to do was heat it through. I roasted cabbage wedges drizzled with olive oil (at 400 degrees, 12 minutes on each side - also delicious!). I made a big pot of vegetarian chowder with leeks, baby peas, corn and red potatoes, cooked in a vegetable stock, and finished with half and half. Homemade whole wheat Irish soda bread with Irish butter. And for dessert, homemade Bailey's Irish Cream ice cream. Only 22g of added sugar!

Yeah, I was WAY over on calories for the day. Just over 2700 calories. But I kept my portions small, except for the bread and butter, and an extra slice...okay, two...of the corned beef. The meat was pretty salty, but I didn't add much salt into anything else. And right now, I don't feel bloated and sick at all. I ate what I wanted, made sure most of it was a good choice, and stopped when I was satisfied.

So, is it possible to eat 1000 extra calories in a day and not feel like I overate? Yes, I think it is. But I won't be doing this everyday. Or even every holiday. Maybe tomorrow I won't feel like eating at all...

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