Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Twaddle and tea and calories

Mental note to self.

No more streams of conciousness posts when asleep. Let's face it, in that last post, I was asleep, for all I may have been moving about and so on. And I missed who was eliminated, but it's ok, don't tell me. I'll cope.

R and I had a good discussion last night about the ongoing tiredness. I have, with thought, given up tea for Lent. My reasons for doing this were not because of some huge element of self sacrifice (oh my word, look how great I am to give up the thing I truly love!) but more because I need to think about the sacrifice that God made for us, and that Jesus made, and so I chose something that would remind me on a regular basis.

My usual tea-drinking schedule would look like this.

1x first thing in the morning
2x before school
1x break
1x lunch
1x after school
1x tea time
3 x evening.

So a total of 10 cups a day. And that's a minimum btw. I have been known to drink a lot more than that.

This may not seem like a massive problem. After all, I've given up some hot water, some flavouring, and a few cc's of milk.

And the sugar. Did I mention the sugar? I thought not. The sugar can be anywhere from 2 teaspoons a cup (not level, but rounded!) to 3 teaspoons a cup towards the end of the school day, and then back to two at home.

1 heaped teaspoon = 25 calories.

so 1 cup of tea for me = 50 calories, + 13 semi-skimmed milk calories. = 63 calories.

So over a day, that's

10 x 63 = 630 calories.

over a week

7 x 630 = 4410 calories.

It's 2 weeks since Shrove Tuesday, so

2 x 4410 = 8820 calories.

British women are supposed to be having around 1940 calories a day.

8820 divided by 1940 = 4.5 ct1dp.

So basically, in 14 days, I've had 4.5 days less calories, just from not drinking tea.

Now. As a long term thing, apparently each pound of fat takes 3500 calories to lose, so a person would either have to cut out 500 calories a day, or exercise to burn off 500 calories a day, or a combination of the two. I'm doing that comfortably, so realistically I might have lost a couple of pounds, although I have been exercising less recently, due to the delivery of a large otterman to my front room.

Later on, I'll get the old Wii fit board out and see what it says.

I don't want to lose weight really, I'm around a UK size 12 and R loves me the size I am. Mind you, he's also seen me at my unpregnant biggest which was a size 16, and weighing almost 12 stone (168lbs) The advert for Simply Be came on the other day, which does clothes from UK sizes 14-32, and they had some nice things on the advert, but R pointed out they would hang off me now!

It's a nice thought, but it's also a weird thought that it's a nice thought. I've never been body concious in that way, I exercise because if I don't I stiffen up and that HURTS so being of the un-pain-enjoying persuasion, I exercise! And I like to do things with the AC, and if I don't exercise then I'll struggle to do that - I know me.

Anyway, it's getting on, so I had better post this and then start the day.

1 comment:

Angela said...

Wow, that's a lot of tea! I don't drink coffee (can't stand it) and cut way, way back on my Coke addiction (to the point I seldom have any at home), but I do enjoy a cup of Earl Grey now and then. The most I might have in a day is 2large mugs, but normal is more like 1 large mug once every two or three days. If I drank as much tea as you are used to then I'd be spending all my time in the washroom! lol

Love the background!