Korean Soft Tofu Soup - Cooking and calorie counting

So this dish was fairly easy to count the calories in, this is because I know that my partner and I will just split it equally, and it is all cooked in one pot.

Soondubu on my stove at home

I started with two cloves of garlic and about a cup on kimchi - 8 and 0 calories respectively in a stone bowl on my stove, medium heat
I added a whole can of vegetable stock - 30 - I turned the heat up to almost high
While this gets hot, I add about two tablespoons of red pepper powder, some of the stock, and about two teaspoons of fish sauce in a bowl and mix them up, to avoid clumping in the soup - 90, 16
Add this to the whole and this whole bunch of soup continues to heat
I added five frozen clam meats - 180
I also added about five scallions and half an Anaheim pepper - 20, 5
When this is all bubbly you add the soft tofu, the whole package in this case - 300
Then once this is all back up to a boil I added two eggs, this helps thicken the soup, and it's fun once you find the yolk and break it up - 180.

I added up all these calories and divided them in half, since I knew my partner and I would both want two bowls, which comes to half the stone pot each.  This was all we had for dinner. But it's a filling soup, and served really hot, which is nice on a cold rainy Seattle day.

I recommend counting calories in each dish, and then dividing it up before you serve.

For example, the calories in whole batch of mashed potatoes, then divide it into 6 servings, if that looks about right, take one serving. The whole calories in your roasted beets, divided into four servings, then take one serving. The calories in a chicken breast. Then add the three servings that are on your plate to each other. This way you can add up the whole calories, and then divide, while you prepare each dish. This sounds pretty obvious, but until you have done it a few times, trying to count calories while you cook can be tricky. Also, if you know that the whole batch of mashed potatoes has a certain amount of calories, but you eat one cup, you may not know how many calories are in a cup. Which is why I use the divide it up method. More hands on.

I try to write down how much of each ingredient I put in, and then before I clean up the kitchen, I go back and look on all the packages, or on the Internet for how many calories are in things.
That said, if it's a recipe I have never made before, I try to add up the calories in a rough way, so I can picture how much I can have, and whether or not it will be worth it.

Counting calories

Hi blog.

I did weigh in on Monday, still the same.

I have been to the gym twice this week already. One day of weight lifting, and one of pure cardio. I can already tell I am getting stronger. One great example are squats, I am just doing body weight squats, but the first time I was sore for days, I mean painfully sore, afraid to sit down. I can already do four more squats than I could two weeks ago, and I don't get nearly as sore. It is very exciting!

I thought I would post what a day of calorie counting looks like. Today was easy, nothing I made had very many ingredients. Other days are very complicated and annoying. If it is a recipe or meal I make often, I have been trying to record the calorie count somewhere.

I really hate measuring out my food, but I know I just have to do it with many things, or I can't be accurate. It is a good reminder of what a healthy portion looks like. I am good with most foods, but there are a few things that surprise me.

Toast - 100
Jam, about a teaspoon - 50
Margarine - 40
(This is not a healthy breakfast, but all I did all morning was sew, so I didn't need the energy for anything, I am also trying not to eat if I am not hungry.)

Coffee, splash of milk, packet of light cocoa - 70
Coffee, splash of milk - 10
(I looked around the internet, to figure out how many calories in a splash of 1% milk. This is close)

Can of light soup (It was Progresso Light Chicken and Cheese Enchilada, I do NOT recommend this soup) - 180
String cheese - 80

Three tortillas - 300
Fat free refriend beans - 160
Salsa - 0   Gotta love salsa
Hot sauce - 0
1/2 tomato - 13
shredded lettuce -15
Light sour cream, two tablespoons, I really love sour cream - 70

I made a cheesecake for my partner to take to his work, I licked the spoon - 100

Hot cocoa with water - 60

My total is 1248. This is a pretty low total for calories today. I am not worried though. I was not hungry, and I felt healthy all day. I know some days will be a little higher, and some a little lower. It was a boring food day. But some days are like that.

Anyways. I will post how I cook complicated recipes and figure out the calories another day this week.

Good news!

Well,
Monday weigh in 232.

So the same.

But the good news is that I have been going to the gym. I was afraid if I posted I would somehow jinx it. I have gone four times in a week and a half. I am going three times a week. I am doing a basic weight lifting workout, followed by brief cardio. I need to focus on my diet more, to lose weight. But I sure feel like things are going better.

monday

232.
Same.
I haven't been losing weight, been eating whatever is around, not really paying attention.
I did work out a few times this week.
Ugh.
I will start blogging more again.

Hey Blog...

Hey Blog,

I did not focus on my diet or fitness. I was sad I did not get that job, and it kind of rolled into a big ball of sadness. I got sucked down.

But my partner has been really supportive. We went to the Washington State Fair (Puyallup Fair as it is known here), we had a BBQ with all our friends, and spent time with his sister, brother in law, and children.
Everyone has been so supportive of me.

I am working on getting back on track. My sister is coming over to work on her resume, LinkedIn, and other job search stuff. Sometimes getting out of your own house will help you get more work done, so she is coming over here. I am glad for the company, and will also work on my own job hunt.

Just need to focus on the good things I have going on in my life.

I weighed in this morning at 233. Bummer. I can lose it again. But it sure doesn't look very good. Not actually losing weight is not going to make this blog super motivating to others is it? At the same time, if I am not honest with myself and my blog, then what am I doing?

My goal is to lose weight consistently over the next four weeks. Then I will start leaving comments on the other weight loss blogs I read, and start trying to get mine read by people other then family and friends. See if we can make this really work.

Monday Morning Measurements

230!

So I did not add anything to my midweek weigh in. That is okay. I had family in town this weekend, so I ate out. I was alone in the apartment, and house sitting for a family who has an elderly cat. This means my week was sort of odd. I think I didn't eat enough breakfast and lunch, and then it was hard to eat a healthy dinner.

It's good to look back and see what I can improve on. It is also good to lose a pound, better than nothing!

How to Get My Life in Shape

I am bored.

My partner is gone for the weekend. He's on a trip with college friends. I am happy for him, though I am feeling a bit at loose ends.

I have been bored. Even when I am quilting or doing other things I enjoy. It's nice that I am losing weight, but I really need to get a job. I can't stand it when I think of all the time I have "wasted" watching TV or surfing the internet this last year and a half.

It really makes me so anxious I feel sick.

That doesn't do any good though. I can't take back the last  year and a half I have been unemployed. All I can do is move on with my life. Get my life in shape. Losing weight and getting physically fit is a great start. It gets easier to stay on track, and improve my health. Now I really need to make a concerted effort to get myself a job.

Ugh. Stressful.