By Richard Tardif
Every Friday for eight years I ordered two medium-sized all dressed pizzas. One was for my other half and my daughter and the second was all mine. Yes, I used to eat a medium-sized pizza every Friday evening for supper.
So let’s count calories, just this one time?
One slice is on average 300 calories, and I know that my medium had eight slices, for a whopping 2,400 calories. One small bag of French Fries with ketchup is on average 200 calories, but who eats on average? For now, let’s make 200 calories the norm. One can of Coke, 12 ounces is 138 calories. So, we know to lose one pound one needs to reduce weekly consumption by 3,500 calories, but on Friday night I intake, at supper only, 2,735. Yikes. So common sense says cut it out and replace it with less calories, preferably with real wholesome foods.
Okay, so we are still counting, right? Over 30 days it would save me 10,940 calories and 131,280 over a year, which logically would result in 37.5 pounds. Infomercials always do this. Stop this and stop that and you’ll be slim. We still need to eat supper.
What am I going to eat now at supper on Friday nights? Salads, vegetables, etc., so okay I am game. That would mean, without any data, let’s say 500 calories, depending on what I ate during the day, and week, but now we are heading deeper into the counting. Exercise? It helps, but not as much as doing right in the kitchen over the same period. Hey, do both over a long period?
By now hopefully you see my point? Health (living a healthy eating lifestyle) and fitness (get your butt moving) consistently results in weight management. It’s not my formula. It’s just a formula. Because life is not a formula!
We all experience things. Divorce, work stress, family issues, car accidents, and we cannot always shine because at one point we simply need to be dull – that’s life, sometimes. People hurt us emotionally and physically, and our expectations get shattered, and we feel like giving up. We feel, we hurt, we laugh, cry and sometimes we are so happy we cry – this is life.
It’s a balancing act between healthy eating and life emotions. Sometimes, it’s difficult, but healthy eating during these times is always beneficial. Eat and love well, my friends.
Richard is a certified individual fitness coach, a tai chi teacher, a journalist and the Executive Director of the Quebec Community Newspapers Association. You can reach him at tardifrichardg@videotron.ca, or at www.richardtardif.com
