Calories and pennies

I wrote this on October 20th. I’m trying to actually blog all the little things I write down during the day.

Recently a couple of things have become precious to me that previously were not.

Those things are calories and pennies.

The penny thing started when I got married and found myself in abject poverty. I used to be the sort of girl who never left Target without buying something. Even if it was just gum or something small, I bought a lot of stuff. I can hardly remember a trip to the mall in my single days when I came home empty handed. I had enough money as a single girl to buy a lot of the things I wanted.

This is no longer the case. But here’s the difference: Now I have money to buy ALL the things I need, and SOME of the things I want. And it has helped me to identify what it is that I REALLY want. Chris and I get an allowance each month, and now I have to ask myself, “Do I really want it that much?” It’s been a very valuable lesson for me. And obviously there are times (quite a few of them, let’s be honest--like when the Anthropologie or Crate and Barrel catalogs come in the mail) when I lament the fact that I can’t get everything I want. But there are other moments of self-reflection and introspection when I am grateful to be living like this and learning this lesson.

The other precious thing is calories. This is also very recent. For the last few years I’ve not been happy with my weight, but I’ve also not tried that hard to change it. I exercised occasionally, and didn’t eat THAT badly, but I also wasn’t diligent in either. However, at work we’ve been doing a Biggest Loser of sorts (except you only win if you meet your goal, not just if you lose the most. This is good, because if people only lose like 2 pounds then they can’t win.) Anyway, I have now been keeping a food diary, and it is amazing. If you keep track of how much you are eating it will change your life.

Today was such a good example of spending my calories wisely. A co-worker brought in a plate of brownies and sat them in a public spot where we could all walk by and grab one. (And yes, we all asked if she was trying to sabotage us.) And I thought to myself, I want a brownie. So I will have ONE. I got one, ate some of it, wrapped it in a paper towel, and ate little pieces of it throughout the day.

That brownie was 180 calories. So throughout the work day, 180 calories is not a big deal at all. But if I had walked by and eaten 3, which 2007 Erin would have done, that’s 540, which is far too significant a portion of the day’s calories.

I don’t know who I am anymore—being careful about money and calories. Some of you will wonder the same. But I’m into it.