The Diary is Back

Starting tomorrow, I'm going back to my photo log for my food.  I've been off line due to a wrist injury, but I'm finding that photo's of my daily intake really help me.  So I'm going to do it more.

 Here is a Fab meal I got from traders joe.  Veggie inside of pizza dough. 

 Veggie soup with one piece of toast

Fish Tacos!  YUM!  Used a chipolte mustart that really gave it good flavor.  Salmon/white fish grilled.  Fresh lettuce, peppers, onions, salsa.

Fish Success!!! Last day of challenge!

Well no photos today.  I'm very busy at work.  Suffice it to say that it was a good day.

My body bugg is making me aware that I have to move.  It is interesting.  Tonight it told me I had a deficit of 768 calories but I needed to burn 500 more.  Goodness gracious! 

I'm going to continue this food blog for the next week.  I'm going to stick to my primarily fish diet, but will add Chicken or turkey breast.  I'll also start logging the data I get from the bugg.  That probably will be more interesting than the food photos, but the photos are still fun.

Today I'm at 1200 calories and am finished for the day.  It was a more difficult day for me for some reason. I thought about cheating after my workout...but drove my behind home instead.  Good decision.  I need to get the extra pounds off and adding to my calorie intake is detrimental to my long term goals.

Conclusion of week one:  No meat protein.  All Fish or beans.  What did I miss?  I guess the fatty foods.  But those I'll miss for the rest of my life.

Sunday, Sunny, but cold

Today, another successful day.  I started off the morning at 6am with my standard Oatmeal.  Nothing you haven't seen before.  I was rushing out of the house to go to an agility event so did not have time to take photos.  But breakfast was yummy, albeit a bit rushed.  For a mid day snack, I had 22 almonds. 

I did take my lunch, but quite frankly I was very cold (it was in the 30's and I did not wear waterproof shoes...a big mistake).   I couldn't imagine eating the cold salad I had planned so waited till I got home close to 1pm.  I'll admit, I was starving.  Made myself slow down and cook a piece of Maui Maui (Maui Maui burgers from Trader Joes).  Put the fish that in a Lavash bread atop my salad (veggies and a little Quinoa). Added a dot or two of mustard.  Ended up 472 calories, but it was totally filling.

 Dinner about 5:30 was a salad with dressing and Ahi Tuna steak.  Four ounces.  I cooked it quick so the inside was a little pink. The combo was yummy.  My husband added a baked potato to his, but I elected to stick with the salad only.

My friend surprised me with a bodybugg.  I have the best friend EVER!!

I've got it charging and will start using it tomorrow.  It will track my exercise and I'll be able to compare that with my food intake.  It is gonna be an interesting next week.

I have decided to keep doing the food log for one more week.  I have decided on my next week challenge:   hit the gym every day. 

I will add chicken breast to my allowed proteins.  I'm so excited!  Chicken on Tues!

Today at 6:30pm I'm only at 1199 calories.  I'm still a little hungry so I'm thinking about yogurt and fruit.  I'll let you know what I decide.

Another day down on Fish challenge

As I work my way through day 5, I am analyzing my feelings.  I'm wondering, is it my imagination, or do I have a little bit of a brighter outlook on life.  Last night I read the "clean eating" book that Laura lent me.  Seems to be a good way to go, but I'm not quite ready to give up my diet coke or salad dressing just yet. 

I need to decide on another challenge and also whether I'll keep up this food diary blog.  Here are some of the things that I'm considering for my next one week challenge:

-try eating 5 meals a day

-add only chicken to my protein food list

-cook without oil for one week

-have breakfast for dinner

Not sure what I will decide, I certainly don't have to pick any of these. 

 Today for breakfast, I made both Kel and I oatmeal.  He didn't want the almonds in his, so I decided to try something different as well.  I added 1/2 a banana and a tsp of pumpkin maple butter in addition to my blueberries.  It was a winning combination.  Much sweeter than just the almonds.  Lower in fat (lack of nuts).  Just as filling.

Lunch was Tuna on a tomato wrap.  I added spinach, lettuce, and pickles.  The tuna is premixed with non fat mayo. In addition I had green grapes.  It was truly a green meal.  318 calories.

Dinner plans are a green salad with white fish. I'm planning on grilling it, but have to get myself over to buy the gas for the grill.  I will have a snack sometime this afternoon, fruit and yogurt probably (apple).

Surprise!

 Went to Traders Joe this afternoon and picked up the vegetarian type foods.  Decided to try tom Tom Yam Soup (since I was low on my calories).  I split it with my husband so only 105 calories.  I'm not sure I'm a fan of the lemon grass, but I really enjoyed the soup.  It is spicy and warmed me up.

Dinner was as planned.  White Ruffy, spinach/tomato/pepper salad, green beans, and 1/3 cup Quinoa.

Total calories for the day: 1302.

Tomorrow is a "road trip".  Gotta get up early to make my breakfast.  Lunch is already prepared and is leftovers from dinner.

Note:  Kel was a little tired of all the fish so he got the same dinner but I had some Pork in the freezer that he had.  Unfortunately I'm not sure he is a fan of the Quinoa as he is currently eating english muffins with butter and jam. 

Day 4 and Going Strong

Halfway through my veggie challenge and I'm doing great.  So healthy eatting is not easy.  Not only is there a ton of planning involved, but the dirty little secret no one wants to talk about:  Dishes.  Yikes.  The one thing about fast food is that there are no dishes and I can keep a clean kitchen. 

So, the question:  "do I want to be a size 6 and live a long life feeling good, or do I want no dishes, feel sluggish and die earlier then necessary?"

Hmmmm.  Is this a trick question?

I had to rush out of the house due to sleeping in this morning.  So I grabbed a banana and 20 almonds.  Not necessarily a breakfast of champions, but almonds are a great source of both protein and fat and a banana is yummy and filling.

Got back home around 10:45 and was starving (I did stop and get some tea to help fill me up, but was still hungry).  So I cooked up 4 ounces of fish and ate that (no photo).  I had a piece of salmon that I got for lunch, cut it in half and just ate it.  Saved the other half for lunch.  It was more that I expected at 4 ounces, but I took all the skin off (the doggies LOVED that) and just ate the incredibly delicious but not too fatty parts.

Lunch is the other half of the fish (3 ounce) no skin and the left over Quinoa. One cup of Quinoa goes a long way!  How many meals have I had from this one cup and I still have one more serving.  I did add cucumber to this batch to freshen it up a bit.  Lunch was delicious.

It is now 1:22 and I feel satisfied. 

My plan for dinner is Fish Tacos.  I have some Ruffy and salmon I'll mix together with some cabbage.  Sounds like an interesting dinner....I'm looking forward to it.

It is now 8:30pm.  After a nice walk I came home and had an orange.  I looked at my food log and realized I needed more fruit.  It wasn't the best looking orange, but it was good.

 Dinner was the fish Tacos I planned.

Salmon and white fish (ruffy) cooked with seasonings (cumin, garlic, cilantro, and minced green chilis) -skin removed from the salmon (happy dogs).  I steamed the tortilla and added a chipolti mustard, cabbage, slice of avocado, and cut up tomatoes.  Not only did it look good, tasted amazing!  My husband ate it as I served it and pronounced it to be yummy.

Ended the day just under 1500 calories at 1451. 

Waiting for time to pass

Today is day 3 of my week challenge.  I find it interesting that this morning I woke up hungry.  Not starving, but since I usually am not hungry in the morning, I consider this a positive change.

Today I also weighed myself.  Oh lordy.  I have not weighed myself in 4 months.  I am not happy about what I have done to myself.  Yet, there is hope for my future.  Day 3 and the sun is shining and there are beautiful blue skys out my office window.  It might be cold, but it certainly is bright and beautiful.

 Breakfast is a repeat from day 1.  A winner for sure.  I'm generally not a fan of the blueberries raw, but in the oatmeal, there is a certain yumminess to the "pop" of flavor when you bite into one.  I added 10 almonds that I chopped up.  My husband even joined me in the healthy eating and didn't add butter or sugar...he did add milk.  I might try that sometime as I have to get more calcium in my diet.

Speaking of calcium.  I had a 80 calorie yogurt for a morning snack around 10.  I was really hungry so I drank 8 oz of water and ate my yogurt.  Maddie thought she might like some yogurt to.  No WAY!  I'm eating all of it.

A change for lunch.  Mex beans with no fat.  I used 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and cooked onions and mushrooms, added the beans and then portioned out into 3 servings of 110 cal each.  Served with a salad and balsamic dressing.  A nice warm lunch on a cold winter day.

So far, I miss my portion size the most.  With the weights and measures I'm taking, the serving on the beans seems sorta small.  But seriously it filled me up so I can't complain.  Just something to get used to.

I am going to have to do some research.  I never realized how much food had carbohydrate in it.  I knew foods like carrots and peas, but it seems that without eating any bread, I'm getting a ton of carbs.  So far today 42% of my intake is carbs.  Now I'm wondering how many carbs I was eating on a day were I wasn't counting.  Yikes.  Maybe it is better not to go there.

Dinner will be posted when I eat it.  The plan is Tilapia and my leftover Quinoa.

Well, dinner did not include the Tilapia, I went for the shrimp instead.  Warmed up the quinoa a little and mixed with the shrimp.  Very good.

511 calories for dinner

Today for some reason, I have been really hungry.  I did drink more water today and exercises about 1:30.  It is cold today and maybe my body is wanting comfort food as a result.  I am going to get some veggie soup from Erics after agility tonight.  That will end the day nicely.

Total calories for the day, 1230.

Making time to eat properly

Today is a busy day.  I'll have to eat lunch for dinner as I'll be mobile.  The plan is for 1356 calories today and trying a new grain "Quinoa" for lunch. 

Breakfast is a poached egg on mini english muffin (100 cal).  1/4 apple to round out the breakfast.  Interestingly enough I am not really hungry for breakfast usually.  I honestly felt like I only wanted to eat a banana, but I would like to balance my meals so I'm not so hungry later in the day.  Once the egg was made, I was very happy with my choice.

Lunch, Tilapia, broccoli, and Quinoa with mushrooms and peppers.  Very filling. 560 calories.

Dinner is tuna sandwich.  So far on track for expected calories.

6:45pm change of plans.  Got back late from the Dr.'s appointment and I was not able to make it to class.  So, looked at my plan and decided to cook instead.  This resulted in I think a more filling dinner with less calories.

 Veggie soup.  All veggie (squash, cauliflower, onion, carrot, etc).  High in carbs, but no fat.

Grilled shrimp on salad greens with tomatoes and onion. 

Final for the day: 1271 calories instead of 1356.  Less carbs then planned and more veggies than plan...all a good thing.

Tomorrow I'm planning oatmeal fro breakfast again, and I've got to finish up the Quinoa so that will be dinner.  Lunch?  maybe tuna, crackers and a nice juicy orange.