Calorie counting

Well after three months of being on Weight Watchers (last summer) I thought I was a calorie-counting expert, but looking up nutritional values of foods, I realized the steady decline of my skills. And as if I needed more proof that my skills aren't what I thought they were, I read this article on the New York Times Web site.

The bigger the meal, the bigger the error rate in calorie counting; and with the holidays coming up, I have a feeling accuracy is going to take a dive on my list of priorities.

I don't know how I'm going to measure all the ham, green bean casserole, rolls, mashed potatoes, carrots and pie that I plan on eating Christmas Day (and that doesn't include the wine). I didn't even attempt to count my Thanksgiving meal.

I looked at my empty plate and felt disgusted with how much I had eaten. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and a VERY sizable piece of french silk pie. Before dinner (which was at 3) I had a ham sandwich. And at about 9:30 p.m., after a glorious nap, I ate a turkey sandwich for a late snack.

Go ahead, be disgusted. I'll give you some more space to be grossed out.

Are you O.K. now? Sorry I had to give you all those details, but I feel better now that I've gotten holiday eating habits off my chest. I know I needed to be more careful, and if I was still doing Weight Watchers, I would definitely be dreading the next meeting.

Hopefully I'll be more careful during Christmas, and I'm sure being under my mother's watchful eye will help. (She gives my plate what I like to call "The Look of Judgement.") At least now I know not to trust myself when it comes to counting calories.