Daily Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib) & Banana (1 f/v, 3 fib)
Snack - apple (1 f/v, 3 fib)
Lunch - chicken sandwich loaded w/ vegies on honey oat bread (1 f/v, 3 fib) & tortilla chips (1 fib)
Snack - carrot sticks (1 f/v, 1.5 fib) & tangerine (1 f/v, 2 fib)
Dinner - baked chicken w/ corn cakes & syrup & peas (1 f/v)

Fiber = 32.5 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 3
Water = 84 ounces

Walk 60 minutes

Daily Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib)
Snack - grapes (1 f/v, 1 fib) & tortilla chips (3 fib)
Lunch - whole wheat spaghetti (3 fib) & carrot sticks (1 f/v, 1.5 fib)
Snack - tangerine (1 f/v, 2 fib) & blueberries (1 f/v, 2 fib)
Dinner - Salmon, cauliflower (1 f/v) & cheese roll (1 fib)

Fiber = 32.5 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 2
Water = 80 ounces

What's next?

So I’ve decided to continue with this blog and my 7 habits.  Even though I do feel like good habits are forming in my eating, I don’t trust myself enough yet.  Doing this blog has helped me so much.  If nothing else but the fear of public humiliation has helped keep me in check. 

I do want to modify the habits a bit though.

I am going to increase my fruit and veggie servings by one, to a minimum of 6 per day.

And I’m going to increase my water to a minimum of 80 ounces per day.  I’ve read that 64 ounces is just a minimum amount of water, that you are actually suppose to drink half your weight in ounces.  So I should be drinking 100.5 ounces per day, but that seems so daunting to me to drink that much.  So since I did so well with 64 oz I figure I can at least increase it to 80.  

Also, I’m going to allow myself one simple carb per week.  Because I definitely want to learn to eat sweets in moderation.   I want to learn to enjoy food, but not have it control me, not be an obsession.  I saw an interview on Oprah with the author of Food, Inc. (great DVD by the way).   His feeling about junk food was – you can have as much junk food as you want as long as it’s homemade.  I thought that was great, because at least if it’s homemade I know I’m getting wholesome, real ingredients, not additives, preservatives and whatever other chemicals.  Although at the moment I will not go so far as to let myself have as much as I want.  I still need some strict boundaries.  If I let myself have as much homemade junk food as I want, I will probably turn into a world class baker.  So I will just stick to one simple carb per week for now.

The Big Weigh In!

I lost 6 pounds!!!!  Yay!!!  My new weight is 201.  I have to admit I was a little disappointed initially.  Stupid I know.  All the experts say that losing 1-2 pounds per week is the best, because losing it slowly will help you keep it off permanently.  But of course being a recovering roller coaster dieter I don’t want to lose weight slowly.  I want to lose it fast.  As always I have to talk to myself so I can change my mentality.  To self:  That is why you’ve been on the roller coaster for so long, because you lose it – binge – gain it back, lose it – binge – gain it back.  I’m so done with the roller coaster.  I WANT TO GET OFF!!!  

So I felt so much better in the afternoon.  I’m so excited because this is exactly what I want – to lose weight permanently and to learn to eat healthy but in a way I can live with for the rest of my life.

21st Day!!!

Well I made it 21 days.  I am very proud of myself for making the committment and sticking to it.  I'm anxious and apprehensive about getting on the scale in the morning.  As I discussed in a previous post, the scale can have a negative effect me, whether the number is good or bad.  But I have been trying to remind myself that the number is just a measurement, a guideline.  What is really important is how I'm feeling and the good habits that I am forming.  So how have I done on each habit? 

1.       Eat only when I’m hungry/stop when I’m full - I would give myself an A+ on the first part and a I would give myself an A+ on the first part and a B- on the second part.  I was really good at only eating when I was hungry, but there were definitely a handful of times that I took a few extra bites or had a second helping when I shouldn't have.

2.       Drink 8 – 8oz of water everyday - A+ on this one.  I was actually shocked at how well I did on this habit, because I've tried to drink more water in the past and couldn't stick to it.

3.       Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday - A- here.  There was only one or two days that I got 4 servings instead of five.

4.       Eat 25 grams of fiber everyday - A+.  I didn't expect to have any problem with this one.  I was already incorporating whole grains into my diet before.  And eating my yummy Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal almost every morning makes it easy to get 25 grams in.

5.       Eat only whole grains, no simple carbs - A+.  This was probably the hardest one.  So I have to get myself a pat on the back for this one.  Staying away from junk food, especially sweets has always been hard for me.  Even though I had moments of temptation I was able to stick with it!

6.       Stop eating 2 hours before bed - A+.  Doing well at this one was a direct result of doing well at #5.  Late night is usually when I eat a lot of my junk food.

7.       Walk for 1 hour, 3 times per week - C.  Did the worst at this one.  Still having trouble finding time to exercise.  Have to really work on this. 

Day 21 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib)
Snack - tangerine (1 f/v, 2 fib)
Lunch - whole wheat spaghetti (3 fib) & carrot sticks (1 f/v, 1.5 fib)
Snack - Peaches (2 f/v, 3 fib)
Dinner - ground turkey w/ black beans & cheese on corn tortilla (3 fib) & green beans (1 f/v)

Fiber = 31.5 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 2
Water = 8 glasses

Walk - 30 minutes

Day 20 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib) & tangerine (1 f/v, 2 fib)
Lunch - mexican pizza (2 fib) & peaches (2 f/v, 3 fib)
Dinner - quesadilla (2 fib), scrambled eggs, fruit (1 f/v)

Fiber = 28gr.
Fruits = 4
Vegies = 0
Water = 8 glasses

Walk - 30 minutes

My Love Affair witih Tortilla Chips

During these 21 days I have eaten a lot of tortilla chips.  They have been my crutch.  My substitute for potato chips and my little guilty pleasure.  They are whole grain so they fit within my rules.  And I usually buy the kind made with organic corn to make myself feel better.  But I wonder if I'm defeating the purpose because I'm just substituting my cravings for something else.  Instead of learning to overcome my cravings.  Sort of like a smoker who gains 50 pounds after quiting.  I'm just transfering my addiction.

Day 19 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib)
Lunch - chicken w/ black beans & cheese (6 fib), tortilla chips (2 fib), & peaches (2 f/v, 3 fib)
Snack - tortilla chips (2 fib), grapes (1 f/v) & soynuts (2 fib)
Dinner - mexican pizza, salad (1 f/v), rice & black beans (2 fib)

Fiber = 36 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 1
Water = 8 glasses

Day 18

Wow!  Three more days to go.  Almost hard to believe that I actually was able to stay committed to my goal.  (Although, maybe I shouldn't count my chickens before they've hatched!)  Even so as far as I have come I still fought cravings today.  I think it was triggered because I was at an event and they had cookies and muffins out.  Seeing that stuff just made me want to eat junk.

On a positive note though, usually I wake up feeling tired, no matter how much sleep I got the night before.  However, this morning although I didn't wake up feeling super energetic.  I wasn't as tired as I usually am.  Hopefully that's a trend.

Day 18 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One bar (9 fib) & fruit (1 f/v, 2 fib)
snack - Banana (1 f/v, 3 fib)
Lunch - soup (1 fib), nachos (2 fib), carrot sticks (1 f/v, 1 fib) & tangerines (1 f/v, 1 fib)
Dinner - Quesadilla on whole wheat tortilla (2 fib) & soynuts (2 fib)

Fiber = 23 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 1
Water = 8+ glasses

Walk 1 hour

Day 17 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib) & grapes (1 f/v, 1 fib)
snack - Cantaloupe (1 f/v, 2 fib)
Lunch - chicken salad (2 f/v), tortilla chips  
snack - blueberries (1 f/v, 2 fib)
Dinner - Fiber One Bar (9 fib), Lunchmeat wrapped in cheese & tortilla chips  

Fiber = 33+ gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 2
Water = 8+ glasses

Day 16 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib)
snack - Tangerine(1 f/v, 2 fib) & blueberries (1 f/v, 2fib)
Lunch - 2 chicken tacos (4 fib), carrot sticks (1 f/v, 1.5 fib), grapes (1 f/v, 1fib) & blueberries (1 f/v, 2 fib) 
snack - 2 Fiber One Bars (18 fib)
Dinner - turkey burger on whole wheat bun (3 fib), corn (1f/v), tortilla chips  

Fiber = 51 gr.
Fruits = 4
Vegies = 2
Water = 8+ glasses

Walk - 30 min.

Day 15 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib) & Tangerine(1 f/v, 2 fib)
snack - apple slices and peanut butter (1 f/v, 3 fib) & cheese
Lunch - whole wheat Spaghetti  w/ ground turkey (3 fib) and slice of whole wheat bread (2 fib)     
snack - carrot sticks & grapes/blueberries (2 f/v, 2 fib)
Dinner - grilled cheese on whole wheat bread (4 fib), sliced carrots (1f/v, 2 fib)  

Fiber = 37 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 2
Water = 8+ glasses

Walk - 40 min.

Two Weeks!!!

I have made it two weeks!  This past week went by a lot faster than the first.  One more week to go. 

Day 14 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib) & Banana (1 f/v, 3 fib)
snack - grapes (1/2 f/v, 1/2 fib)
Lunch - chicken salad (2 f/v) and tortilla chips     
snack - blueberries (1 f/v, 2 fib)
Dinner - fish, salad (1 f/v) and whole wheat Spaghetti (3 fib)  

Fiber = 26.5 gr.
Fruits = 2.5
Vegies = 3
Water = 8+ glasses

Fruit Mania

I think I went a little crazy buying fruit this past weekend.  Since I've been eating so much more fruits and vegies I thought I'd better make sure I have enough.  But looking in my fridge today I think I went a little crazy.  Hopefully, we can eat it all before it goes bad.

Day 13 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib) & Banana (1 f/v, 3 fib)
Lunch - Scrambled eggs with bacon, fruit bowl (1 fib, 1 f/v)     
snack - blueberries (1 f/v, 2 fib) & banana (1 f/v, 3 fib)
Dinner - whole wheat Spaghetti with ground turkey (3 fib), green beans (1 f/v, 2 fib)  

Fiber = 33gr.
Fruits = 4
Vegies = 1
Water = 8+ glasses

Walk - 1 hour

Day 12

Today was a good and bad day.  It started out good because I was able to fit back into my jeans that I couldn't zip up on day one (yay!).  So that was incredibly encouraging.  But the rest of the day was hard because I struggled with cravings.  I wanted to eat some junk food so bad.  I was able to resist though, even though I probably had a few too many tortilla chips at lunchtime to appease my cravings.

Day 12 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal (19 fib) & Apple cider (1 f/v)
Lunch - Salad with chicken (2 f/v), blueberries (2 fib, 1 f/v) & tortilla chips (1 fib)     
Dinner - Mexican pizza (2 fib) & carrots & broccoli (2 fib, 2 f/v)  

Fiber = 27 gr.
Fruits = 2
Vegies = 4
Water = 8 glasses

Day 11 - Feeling Good

Today I just felt really good about how I've been doing.  I'm proud of myself for how I'm doing so far.  But not naive to the fact that I'm not out of the woods yet.  I still have cravings and could fall off the wagon at any moment.  The other day my son was eating french fries and I wanted one so bad.  And I thought to myself, why not have just one - that won't hurt.  But the problem is I can't just have one.  I can never have one french fry or one potato chip or one cookie.  Will I ever get to that point where I can eat just one?  I pray so, but I'm not sure

Day 11 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One Bar (9 fib) & Apple (3 fib, 1 f/v)
Lunch - Chicken ceasar wrap in whole wheat tortilla (3 fib, 1.5 f/v), carrot sticks (1.5 fib, 1 f/v) &      
             banana (3 fib, 1 f/v)
Snack - grapes (1 fib, 1 f/v)
Dinner - Turkey burger on whole wheat thin buns (5 fib) & corn (2 fib, 2 f/v)  

Fiber = 27.5 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 3
Water = 8 glasses

Walk - 1 hour

Day 10 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One Bar (9 fib) & Kiwi (8 fib, 2 f/v)
Lunch - Ham & Cheese sandwich (4 fib), carrot sticks (2 fib, 1 f/v)
Snack - Fiber One Bar (9 fib)
Dinner - Mexican Pizza, homemade & cauliflour (1 f/v)  

Fiber = 32 gr.
Fruits = 2
Vegies = 2
Water = 8 glasses

Walk - 30 min.

Day 9

Today I almost talked myself into weighing myself in the morning to see how I am doing.  But then I remembered that I don't want this 21 days to be about the scale.  Of course I eventually want to lose weight, but right now I just want to change my habits.  If I hop on that scale, my focus changes.  I become a slave to that number and good or bad I could ruin what I've been doing.  If it's a good number I'll eat junk because I think I have leaway to cheat.  If it's bad then I'll get depressed and want to eat junk to feel better.  So I realized it is better to stay off the scale until the 21 days is over.  Hopefully, I can actually do that.

Day 9 - Food Log

Breakfast - Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal (8 fib) & hot apple cider
Snacks - peaches (2 f/v, 3.5 fib)
Lunch - Chicken Tac on corn tortilla with black beans (2 fib), vegies (1 fib, 1 f/v)
Snack - soynuts (2 fib), Fiber One Bar (9 fib) & Banana (1 f/v, 3 fib)
Dinner - Baked chicken & vegies (1 f/v)  

Fiber = 28.5 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 2
Water = 8 glasses

Walk - 30 min.

Day 8 - Food Log

Breakfast - Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal (12 fib)
Snacks - Grapes (1 fib, 1 f/v), Fiber One Bar (9 fib)
Lunch - Chicken Tac on corn tortilla with black beans (2 fib), vegies (2 fib, 1 f/v) & tortilla chips
Dinner - Shreded chicken with black beans, cheese & jalapenos, vegies (1 f/v) & peaches (2 f/v)  

Fiber = 26 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 2
Water = 8 glasses

Day 7

I was hungry a lot today.  I don't know why.  I wasn't more active and I ate about the same...strange.  Good news is I didn't give in to eating the donuts that my co-worker brought in today.

Well, I made it through a week, yay!  It was a good week overall.  I did good with all seven rules except for walking.  I only walked on Saturday for an hour.  Have to work on that one. 

Going into the second week I'm a little scared, because this is where I always screw up.  Because whenever I've been on a diet or just trying to eat healthy, it is always fun and exciting the first week, but once it becomes routine and the initial adrenaline is gone I start to struggle.

     I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!!!

Day 7 - Food Log

Breakfast - Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal (12 fib) & Grapes (1/2 fib, 1/2 f/v)
Lunch - Baked chicken, turnip greens (2 f/v, 4 fib), grapes (1/2 fib, 1/2 f/v)
Snack - Fiber One Bar (9 fib) & apples w/ peanut butter (1 f/v, 3 fib)
Dinner - whole grain spaghetti w/ toast (3 fib), mixed vegies (1 f/v)  

Fiber = 32 gr.
Fruits = 2
Vegies = 3
Water = 8 glasses

Eating Healthy is Not for the Lazy

These last 6 days have made me realize that one of the reasons I haven't eaten well in the past is I'm lazy.  Making sure I get enough fruits and vegies, enough fiber, and drink my water takes a lot of effort, forethought and planning.  If I'm going out I have to make sure I have my water bottle with me.  And make sure I have some fruit and a healthy snack so I don't eat junk.  On work days I have to make sure I pack a healthy lunch and enough snacks for the day.  On top of that making sure there's enough fiber content in everything.  Hopefully, it will get easier as I go along and become more second nature.  We'll see.

Day 6 - Food Log

Breakfast - Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal (12 fib) & Blueberries (2 fib, 1 f/v)
Lunch - 1/2 tuna sandwich on whole wht bread (2 fib) & 4 carrot stks (1.5 fib, 1 f/v)
             blueberries (2 fib, 1 f/v) & tortilla chips
Snack - Fiber One Bar (9 fib)
Dinner - chicken, baked beans (3 fib), mixed vegies (1 f/v)  

Fiber = 31 gr.
Fruits = 2
Vegies = 2
Water = 8 glasses

Day 5

Tonight was a little bit of a challenge.  We went to a get together and there were a lot of sweets there.  I wanted to eat them sooooo bad, but I did resist.   Yaaaay!

Day 5 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One Bar (9 fib) & Peaches (2 fib, 1 f/v)
Lunch - 1/2 tuna sandwich on whole wht bread (2 fib) & corn (4 fib, 1 f/v)
Snack - Fiber One Bar (9 fib)
Dinner - Soup & salad (2 f/v), apple slices & peaches (3 fib, 1 f/v)
Snack - soy nuts (4 fib)  

Fiber = 33gr.
Fruits = 2
Vegies = 3
Water = 8 glasses

Day 4 - Food Log

Breakfast - Scrambled eggs w/ whole wheat/dbl fiber toast (6 fib)
                   Apple w/peanut butter (3 fib, 1 f/v)
Lunch - Taco (corn tortilla w/ black beans, shredded chicken, chopped vegies, cheese) (2 fib, 1/2 f/v)
              tortilla chips
Snack - Banana (1 f/v, 3 fib)
             Fiber One Bar (9 fib)
Dinner - same as lunch (2 fib, 1/2 f/v)
              corn on side (1 f/v)

Fiber = 25 gr.
Fruits = 2
Vegies = 2
Water = 8 glasses

Oops just realized I was short 1 f/v, have to watch that.

The Weekend!

I'm apprehensive about going into the weekend.  Weekends are a bad time for me with regards to eating.  I usually don't eat well on the weekends.  Whenever I'm on a diet, the weekend is when I cheat.  The main reason is my mentality about it.  The weekends are supposed to be fun, you're off from work, it's a time to relax and have fun. 

Having fun = food
Fun food = Junk food

I just need to change my mentality.

Having fun = spending time with my family and friends, doing fun activities, reading a good book, doing a puzzle, etc.
Having fun may equal food, but doesn't always have to.
And fun food doesn't have to equal junk food, I need to find yummy, fun satisfying healthy foods.

But of course the other key factor for me is having self control.  There is really nothing wrong with having a couple of cookies once in a while.  Problem is I never stop at just a couple.

But this weekend I am determined to stick by my rules! If anyone is reading this pray for me to make it through the weekend.

Day 3 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal w/ milk (13 fib)
                   Banana (3 fib, 1 f/v)
Snack -  blueberries (2 fib, 1 f/v)
Lunch - Tuna sandwhich on whole wheat bread (4 fib)
             2 carrot sticks (.5 f/v)
Snack - 3 carrot sticks (.5 f/v) & Blueberries (2 fib, 1f/v)
Dinner - Turkey cheeseburger on whole wheat bun (5 fib)
               mixed vegetables (1 f/v)
           
Fiber = 29 gr.
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 2
Water = 8 glasses

Day 2 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal w/ milk (13 fib)
                   Banana (3 fib, 1 f/v)
Snack -  blueberries (2 fib, 1 f/v)
Lunch - ham & cheese sandwhich on whole wheat/dbl fiber bread (12 fib)
             5 carrot sticks (1.5 fib, 1 f/v)
             tortilla chips
Snack - grapes (1 f/v)
Dinner - tortilla chips w/ salsa, cheese and corn (1 f/v)
               ice tea
            
Fiber = 31 gr.+
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 2
Water = 8+ glasses

Day 1

Well my weight at the start of this is 207.  Embarrassing to put on this blog, but the reality.  I weighed myself today because I will be curious how much weight I lose at the end of this experiment.  Weight loss however is the not the main goal of this 21 day journey.  The main goal of these 21 days is to stop my bad habits and create new ones, so that in the long term my body will settle into its natural weight.

Today was a pretty good day overall.  I had a hard time in the afternoon, wanting to eat when I wasn't hungry.  I was extremely exhausted, but that is not unusual for me these days. 

My theme scripture:  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!!

Day 1 - Food Log

Breakfast - Fiber One cereal w/ milk (13 fib)
                   Banana (3 fib, 1 f/v)
Snack - Sweet peppers stuffed with cheese & marinara dip (1 f/v)
Lunch - Whole wheat spaghetti (4 fib)
             5 carrot sticks (1.5 fib, 1 f/v)
Snack - 1 c. of peaches (1 fib, 1 f/v)
             Fiber One Bar (9 fib)
Dinner - 2 corn tortilla quesidillas
              handful of tortilla chips w/ salsa
              handful of grapes (1 f/v)
Fiber = 31 gr.+
Fruits = 3
Vegies = 2
Water = 8+ glasses

After dinner I realized I had a lot of carbs today, but they were all whole grain.  So within the rules.

What is 21/7?

21 stands for the days it takes to form a habit.  7 stands for the seven habits I want to form in my life.  I have been struggling with my weight for the past 12 years.  Frustrated with the diet roller coaster.   Irritated with myself that I haven’t developed self control in this area.  So I had this bright idea!  Since experts say it takes 21 days to create a habit in your life, why don’t I stick to the healthy eating habits that I want in my life for 21 days straight without fail.   Then I had another bright idea!  Why not do a blog about it.  Since I’ve failed time after time after time after time with dieting, I thought if I do this (potentially) in front of the whole world maybe I’m more likely to stick to it.  I definitely don’t want to publicly fail.   Although for the past few days I have been debating whether or not to actually do the blog.  Trying to talk myself out of it, and trying to talk myself into it.  Almost deciding it was a ridiculous idea, until this morning.  I went to put on a pair of my jeans and couldn’t even zip them up.  Enough is enough I thought.  I need to make a change. 

What are the seven habits?

1.       Eat only when I’m hungry/stop when I’m full

2.       Drink 8 – 8oz of water everyday

3.       Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday

4.       Eat 25 grams of fiber everyday

5.       Eat only whole grains, no simple carbs

6.       Stop eating 2 hours before bed

7.       Walk for 1 hour, 3 times per week

So I start tomorrow – March 9, 2011.