Calorie Counting

After my 2500 swim left me nauseous, cold and depleted, I began to suspect that I'd fallen short on calories today--not on purpose, but I paid the price tonight and my workout suffered a bit too.

Out of curiosity, I went back and added up approximately how many calories I consumed today--every last morsel I put into my mouth--versus how many calories I burned. Here's the result:

Pre-ride: 
Slice of whole grain toast with almond butter (210)



Post-ride:
Protein shake (140)
Nuts (150)
Oatmeal (500)



Mid-day snack:
Medium Peach (60)
Cup of Chai (100)



Lunch:
Medium Salad with 1 T olive oil (300)
Dried Fruit (100)
Dark chocolate covered almonds (220)



Post-swim/Pre dinner: 
Nuts (150)



Added together, that's about 1930 calories. Not bad at all if all I did today was exist: the recommended number of calories for a woman of my age and weight is about 2000 daily.

However, I did more than just breathe and walk from point A to B: I went for a 25 mile bike ride (calories burned: about 1460) and a 2500 meter swim (calories burned: about 1000) for a total of 2460 extra calories burned. 

If I were to replace the calories burned, so that my input would be equal to my output, then I probably should have consumed 4460 calories today--so I'm about 2530 calories short! No wonder I felt like el crap-o after my swim.

Now, I'm busily (and happily) trying to make up for lost calories with a serving of a pasta casserole for dinner, and a side of tortilla chips with melted cheese (one of my favorite indulgences). Next up: ice cream for dessert (of course).

I'm feeling better already! :)