Category Archives: Food Journal

Starting the Week Right

Monday’s are rough. You get thrown into a week of work, responsibility and stress. As soon as Sunday rolls around I start dreading the week ahead. Lately I have really found that taking an hour or two to plan and prep for my week makes a world of difference in the way I eat and in the attitude I have.

Sitting down and planning meals can seem kind of tedious at times but I find it really does make a big difference. Not only does it help cut down extra cost at the grocery store (no more mindless purchases) it also helps to streamline things when I’m in a rush. I don’t like to get overly specific with what I plan, mainly putting my focus onto dinners. What I eat at breakfast is usually a combo of a few core meals I rotate through. There are a few days where I don’t want to eat what I had planned but that tends to b a pretty easy fix. I’ll change up the protein or throw in a different vegetable and my tastebuds are satisfied yet again. Whatever I make for dinner is typically turned into a small meal for lunch the next day. It makes it super easy!

One other thing I like to do before the week starts is write my workouts on a calendar. Once I complete a workout I cross it off and continue on to the next day. There is something satisfying about seeing a whole bunch of accomplished workouts on a calendar. It helps keep my focused.

Monday mornings are important for me. They set the tone for the whole week and a few little steps help me ensure I’ll have a healthy and a happy week.

Do you have any rituals you do on Sunday to help set up a strong week?

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A Day on the Plate – 04/16

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Yesterday was a pretty typical food day. I did snack on some mushrooms that are in pictured after I ate my sandwich. I like to see what I ate in a day, I find it helps keep me on track. I snuck a lot of veggies in today. Spinach in my smoothie, mushrooms in my egg whites. Today was probably more carb based then I’d like but it was damn tasty and well within my weight watchers points!

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Skipping Class.

Today was a sleep in and don’t go to school kind of day. Not the best for a Monday but the extra few hours of sleep felt divine. I woke up this morning and was starved so I immediately made some turkey bacon and a scrambled egg. This meal was a little lack lustre. Is turkey bacon really that much better for you then real bacon? The ingredient list is long, the sodium is really high and it is just not satisfying. I think I am going to go back to keeping real bacon on the menu but only as a once in a while type food.

One of the benefits of skipping class is staying home and doing school work in your pyjamas. Nothing better than a big cup of coffee and being curled up on the couch with my laptop. It is pretty much right back into study mode as I have another midterm at the end of the next week and a paper due shortly after that. Summer can not happen soon enough!

This weekend was pretty low key. In my psych class we have a certain amount of research participation that we have to do, so Saturday morning was dedicated to a few hours of that. It was quite a simple project but a bit on the tedious side. As a benefit I got paid $4 to be there so it wasn’t all bad.

The best part of the weekend was a surprise tweet from Eric!

We email back and forth but any extra chat time is always welcome. He is still gone for another few weeks! Sunday was an early lunch with an old friend and then the best nap I have ever had. It was hard trying to get out of bed and be productive after that nap.

Today is all about one choice at a time. Healthy eating is not natural for me yet so I am finding I really have to be proactive and make every decision count. It pretty much comes down to not allowing myself to make excuses. My goal this week is to journal all my meals and how my emotional state is when I eat something. All to often I eat because I am bored, tired, sad etc. I want to start being more mindful of the reasons I eat or overeat. Hopefully it will set me up for success down the road. Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

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Sunday Afternoon

The rest of my food day went moderatley well!

My mom made some pancakes and bacon for breakfast, and I just couldn’t resist.

I then went to the gorcery store, and faired pretty well. I get so easily sidetracked with all the new stuff to be found. Today my only exception was roasted red pepper hummus that is so delicous.

I ended up having some hummus and pita chips for a snack, followed by an apple later in the afternoon. All together not a bad afternoon. I was eagerly anticpating my turkey soup that was bubbling away.

Dinner was turkey soup, filled with veggies and a slow simmered broth. I really tried to keep the sodium down in the soup, and it was tough. Low sodium chicken broths taste funky, so I did end up using a little bit of salt. I did have a peice of garlic toast with the soup, that I didn’t get a picture of.

Following dinner I had a giant cup of coffee, and out of habit I added cream and sugar. I need to break out of the instant sugar habit, and I actually don’t mind black coffee. I just need to make it happen.

 

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Late Night Snack

I got hungry and caved into some soup. Calories for the day stayed just under 1700, but I shouldn’t of eaten the soup. All in all I did not bad for a compulsive snacker.

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WLOB -Aug 2 Part 4

Tonight I had one big snack. I’m trying to stop eating 3 hours before I went to bed.

Snack

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Today was a really great day. I didn’t get much in the form o excericise but I feel great. I’m proud of what I ate.

A big part of eating healthy is planning ahead. I’m a big procrastinator so planning meals for the next day is a challenge. Tonight I spent time preparing my lunch for tomorrow. Counting calories and pre-portioning my food seems like a lot of work but it will be worth it in the end.

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WLOB- Aug 2 Part 3

After having my soup and cucumbers for lunch I felt pretty satisfied. My full feeling didn’t last long though. I need to learn that not feeling over full is ok. I’m so used to over eating that I forgot what it was like to just be satisfied.

Snack #1

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I have a bunch of wraps that need to be used, so you will probably see them appear quite often. I love 1tbsp of crunchy organic peanut butter (ei the only ingredient is peanuts) smothered on a wrap and rolled like a taco around a banana. It satisfys my sweet craving every time.

Snack #2

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I had about 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt in the container so I added in about a half cup of strawberries and 1/4 cup of Alpen cereal. Alpen is one of my new favorite boxed cereals. It’s high in fibre, high in protien an very low sodium. Major bonus points awarded because I can ready everything on the ingredient list.

Dinner

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Dinner was easy tonight. The rest of the family was eating KD and smokies so I decided to look around and see what I had. Nothing is easier than defrosting shrimp, adding some Cajun spice and tossing with a salad. I missed not having garlic toast but for right now thats something I’m just going to have to do without.

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WLOB – Aug 2 Part 2

Mid morning snack

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A juicy ripe tomato was exactly what I wanted. In my household we eat tomatoes like apples. So yummy.

Lunch today involved 1 cup of Gardennay red pepper and black bean soup, 2 tbsp of sour cream and 5 croutons. I love the tangy creaminess that the sour cream adds to the soup. I also had about a cup of cucumber slices for volume.

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Weight Lost or Bust – Aug 2 Part 1

Good morning everyone!

Today is day one of rededicating myself to weight loss and getting healthy. Most important is keeping myself alive, keeping my heart strong and living a long and meaningful life. In order to do that I need to change. I’m excited to even feel excited about food again. I am at my happiest when I’m in the kitchen creating delicious meals, now my focus will be on wholesome food. I rely way to much on prepackaged crackers, bread and deli meats. This stuff is not good for me at all! I’m a white sugar addict and I love salty chips. I know how I should be eating but I tend to allow myself to overlook what’s healthy and give into cravings for carbs loaded with cheese, huge bowls of pasta and sugary drinks.

Every couple of days I’m going post some pictures of what I’m eating to help keep myself accountable. I’m in it to win it!

Aug 2

Breakfast

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4 egg whites
1 6 inch whole wheat wrap
3 tbsp salsa
1 medium grapefruit

So far I feel good. I’m not overly hungry. Adding a decent amount of protein in the morning really helps keep me fueled for the day. I’ll be back with lunch!

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A Day In The Life Of Me – On A Plate

To keep myself on track I am going to let the whole world know what I have eaten for a day.   Letting everyone know helps keep myself accountable.

June 09 2011

Breakfast -

2 eggs, scrambled

1 piece of whole wheat toast

2 tbsp salsa

 

Lunch -

3 cups spinach

6 whole strawberries

6 crushed walnuts

1 tbsp mustard vinaigrette

3 0z yogurt

1 cup cucumber

1.5 cups cantaloupe

 

 

Snack -

10 M&Ms

med baked potato

 

 

Dinner -

1 cup cooked vermecilli

3 oz  panko crusted tofu

2 tbsp spicy thai sauce

 

Snack-

Smoothie ( 1 cup blueberries, 2 cups spinach, 1/2 greek yogurt, 1 small banana)

 

All in all it was a pretty healthy day.   I used 34 Weight Watchers points and didn’t feel hungry, deprived or left out.  I will hopefully be updating my with my food journal every couple of days just to check in.  Any feedback is appreciated!

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