[w8Bgone]

Well, here goes my first dose of daily accountability.

Today started off ok for me-I ate breakfast, which is always a challenge!!
Here goes my food diary starting from there:
Breakfast:
1 0z. marble cheese
1 mixed berry Nutrigrain Bar
1 banana
Lunch:
2 wholewheat dinner buns
leftover turkey from New Years
lettuce
Supper:
2 frozen fish fillets (battered-not good I know)
8 french fries (also not good I know)
Snack:
bag of Ketchup potato chips (my husband snuck them in to the house and I sniffed them out-try to keep this stuff out of here!)

2 litres of water
1 diet coke


This is the thing with me-I start the day off really well, with excellent intentions, and by the end of the day I am tying into those potato chips(or just anything I can put my hands on!). I have been reading that it is good to eat 6 small meals a day, and to try to eat some protein with the carbs to help feel full, so I have to concentrate on doing this better. I always seem to lose it when I get home from the work at the end of the day. I use food to reward myself if I have had a good day, and to make myself feel better if I have had a bad one. Any ideas how I can get out of this rut? What can I replace the food with?
Tomorrow I am going to try journalling when I get home and maybe that will help.
I guess to be truly accountable I will need to tell you my goals.
For this week, they are to:
1. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
2. Exercise for 30 minutes at least 3 days this week (small steps!)
3. Eat breakfast.
4. Eat more balanced meals ie. protein w/carbs, more vegetables and fruit.

I will probably change my goals from week to week. 2 out of 4 for today. Tomorrow is a new day though!

How's everyone else doing? What are you all doing for exercise?

Please feel free to criticize what I eat-I need all the help I can get.
ACCOUNTABILITY is what I desire here!

Talk to ya on Thursday! Have a great day!
Tammy

[curley]

Hi Tammy, I put my journal on another post of yours, but I wanted to reply to this one. I think you have the right idea. You did pretty good as far as I can tell. Just don't get fooled into thinking that carbs are innocent, because what threw me off my last successful attempt was overdoing it on the fruit. They have so much carbs in them yet we eat fruit thinking we're doing great getting in healthy natural foods as opposed to junk, and what we're really doing is setting ourselves up for a fall. Now, I suppose you wouldn't want to take any advice from someone who ate like I did today, but even though I cannot seem to get it together myself right now, I am becoming quite an expert at how my body reacts to certain foods. My goals are as follows: WATER, WATER, WATER ( I am dehydrated), lay off those carbs, mostly early on in the day, lots of fresh veggies or fresh veggie juice (this really gives me an energy boost that cannot be matched by sweets or coffee), moving for at least 15 minutes (it's hard moving this body AT ALL), and stopping eating after dinner. Really, for me, I can only lose weight if I eat only one meal a day and exercise. I don't know if it's because of all the years of abuse I have done to my body or just age, but it's going to take drastic measures to get rid of the fat. I hope this wasn't too long or boring. Thanks for being here, and you're right, TOMORROW IS A NEW DAY!!

[nasus40]

Tammy do you low carb? That makes a difference in the critique of your dist, and if you are have you done this boefore? I am an old time low carber so i will be glad to help. what you should do is add your foods to a online journal like www.fitday.com it is free and really helps so you know exactally what you are eating you many have to search for the foods but it is worth it after you have used it a few times. you can really judge how you are eating. If you are hungry and doing low carb keep a bunch of lower fat higher protein snacks on hand they will help rid your body of the hunger pains many have. and many times no matter if you low carb or not you need to drink water. that will act like hunger. your body requires when you are trying to lose weight about 0.5 oz of water for each pound so if you weith 200 you need to take in 100 of water, thast will help with the flushing of waste products and keep you on an even keel. it takes some time to get used to drinking that much but you will in about a week or 2.

my yesterday intake

2 protein bars,
3 TBS pf PB (not a good choice)
1/2 lb of lean meat loaf
2 c of okra
4 eggs


today
3 eggs
1 protein bar
1 slice of ham
4 thin bacon
small serving of hasbrowns (bad but ate out for breakfast)

[w8Bgone]

Hi Curley, Sue ( hey, wasn't that the name of a movie????)

Thanks for all of your helpful tips.

I am not really into low carbing, but definitely trying to cut them back and eat more protein in its place. When you say "lo carb", how low do you go? I want to eat better than I have in the past, in a more balanced way. Most of my diet has consisted of carbs in the past.
I have a lot of trouble trying to come up with snacks that are low fat protein, rather than eating carbs. Especially when I come home from work at night: I want to eat everything in sight!! And it seems the only quick thing to grab that satisfies me is carbs. A handful of carrots does not cut it!!! Or a salad! And to cook up a chicken breast for a snack is NOT gonna happen!!! The hard boiled eggs is a good idea, but too many eggs make me sick. Any other suggestions?? I need help here. Once I get into the carbs after work, I can't seem to stop!!!
Here is my diary for the day:
Breakfast: nutrigrain bar, apple(no protein-bad, bad!)
Dinner: chicken noodle soup, salad
Supper: 6 meatballs (elk-low fat), rice
I registered for Fitday, but I am unsure what to set as my targets for proteins, carbs, calories- any suggestions here?
I drank 3 L of water, which would equal 96 oz, which isnt too bad, but I can drink more. The water part does not bother me- I can drink water til the cows come home!
Curley-don't feel bad cause you had a rough day yesterday!! That journal looks like mine used to for most days!! Eating that stuff is not a habit we are going to get rid of overnight!! So, brush yourself off, cause Tomorrow is a new day, and it can only get better if you make it that way!! I think that was excellent advice to focus on eliminating the carbs in the morning for now, and once you kick that habit for the most part, then you can move on!
I also want to say that no one can have longer or more boring posts than mine, so keep on typing til you can't type anymore, because I will be here to read it!!
I will be back again tomorrow! Hope Friday goes well for the both of you!

Tammy

P.S. You didn't happen to get Ginger Beef did you Curley? I am drooling just thinking about it. Is it wrong to live vicariously through your eating turmoils??? I don't mind at all if you do through mine, cause I know I will be posting some doozies somewhere along the way!

[SusanTaw]

Tammy...from reading your food list for the day, it looks like you're NOT eating
enough to burn up your metabolism.
Where's your salad and fresh greens and
veggies...where's your fruit...and where's your dairy. You certainly drank enough of water, but you could also incorporate
some seltzer, skim milk, cheese. etc.
Any why not lil Jello cups for 10 cals for
a snack...the strawberry kiwi is great!
And Jello has those low fat low sugar
puddings in a cup...soooo satisfying!
Or some (just about 10) of BAKED
potato chips or tortilla chips & salsa.
You really need to liven up your daily
intake to make it interesting and fun and satisfying, so you can stay on it
for a long time without feeling cheated
and bored.
This morning I had 3/4 oz of cereal
with skim milk, 1 orange, and coffee.
I brought in celery/carrot sticks with a
little cup of Marie's diet ranch dressing
for a dip for some munchies. For lunch
I have 2 oz turkey breakst on english
muffin with diet mayo & lettuce, and
an apple. Then about 4pm I have a
fat & sugar free jello (10 cals). For
dinner tonight I plan on having a
grilled tuna steak, salad, a baked
potato (with lite butter). For snack
tonite, skim milk cappocino. This day's
meal is completely on program and
within my points range for WW (in
fact, I even banked a couple points).
Have fun with your food...try new spices and condiments. Vary your
meals & this sounds crazy, but make
it look pretty on your plate. Serve
salad in a separate bowl, like in a
restaurant. A lot of "satisfaction" is
derived from presentation. Just like
Baylee mentioned...prepare those
snacks in advance and have them
visable in your fridge..so when you get
home, you can just grab one to cut the
edge off hunger. But you gotta plan.
Good luck.

[nasus40]

Another snack that i couls suggest is

faux rice pudding

cottage cheese with
a dash of cinnammon
several packest of sweetener
dribble of vanilla

now when you make this my recipe calls for a dribble of half and half but i low carb and this is not needed so you may want to add skim milk and use low far cottage cheese.

also limit your snacks when you are hungry and start to eat it takes 20 min before you feel full so eat one thing and set a timer for 30 min and tell your self that you can not have anything till it rings. if youare hungry still then have some thing else and only one portion. then that should hold you till dinner.

I agree with Susan you need to have variety if you do not then boredome will kill your attempts. and make sure that you sit down to eat. if you eat standing then you will not have the satisfaction of eating and it will not register that you have eatten.

and last but not least take it one day at a time. if you do not stay op today or have a snack that was off program so not continue the day off, gat back on the wagon immediatly it makes it easier and helps tremendoulsy with the "damage contol"

[w8Bgone]

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for your helpful tips. They are all excellent ideas! I especially liked your ideas for getting more protein Baylee. Rolling meat up in lettuce leaves is an excellent idea that appeals to me.
I am curious though-when you say you only eat protein and veggies for the first two meals of the day, what do you have for breakfast? Eggs everyday?? I have trouble thinking of breakfast as meat and veggies.
I have had the flu since Friday, so I am not going to bother to post my food diary for the last 3 days, cause all it amounts to is a WHOLE LOT of water and a couple pieces of dry toast, since that is all I could stomach. I am feeling a little better today-may try some more food tonight and hopefully back on track for tomorrow.
I definitely do need to plan to get a well balanced, healthy diet going, so I avoid grabbing whatever is there. Do you sit down and plan out your week every weekend, or how do you stay on track? I find when I am busy at work, I do not eat enough, as Susan observed, or I binge and eat too much of the wrong things. So planning is what I need to control this. I am not used to taking the time to do a plan, so it will take a while before this habit is in place!
Well, I am off to grab a few more zzz's so I am healthy for work tomorrow. Take care everyone!

Tammy

[nasus40]

Tammy the knowledge that you do it is enough to make you more aware and will do better. Take care of the flu we want you healthy not sick!! LOL so take it easy for now and rest drink plenty of water. then you can get on the "ball"

meals today are
b-4 eggs/salad
l-4 tbs of PB
s-1 hard boiled eggs
d-bean soup (I know over the carbs but it reallly is not bad as it is full of fiber (subtracted from the carbs) and much protein) and it is full of ham!!!

I did not eat enough today that is why i am sancking on PB!! UGH!!!

[SusanTaw]

If you cannot find the time to plan for
each day, then on your least busy day,
you should try to 'plan out' your eating
schedule for the week, and then go
shopping for just those items. Do not
go food shopping when you are tired
and hungary, cause you'll just grab
anything off the shelves. If you look at
the week in advance you can say I'll have
fish on 2 days, veal chop one day, mini
meatloaf another day, tuna salad, etc.
Pasta another day, varied cereals, etc.
you dont have to know day.
Make sure you bring your snacks in to
work and store in the office fridge.
After a couple of weeks, the advance
planning will be easy..

[w8Bgone]

I am feeling better finally today.
I am in desperate need of groceries, but I have not had time to go get them as I have been sick. I will be getting them tomorrow, and have already planned out a rough schedule for the week ahead as Susan suggests.
This is what I scraped together to eat today-the best I could do with what I had left in my house:
Breakfast:
1 slice wholewheat toast
1 poached egg
1/2 grapefruit
1 cup skim milk

Dinner:
tuna salad on whole wheat roll (made with ultra low fat miracle whip) with my last piece of lettuce and onions
1 cup yogurt-lo fat
fruit salad packed in juice

Supper:
1 pork chop trimmed of fat b4 cooking (grilled)
baked potato w/ no fat sour cream and chives
microwaved frozen broccoli

Snack:
1 apple

Not too bad, I thought, considering. I really need some fresh vegetables, though. This is what planning will help me with!

I was happy to drink 3L of water, and I went for a 40 min walk, so I had a good day for me!

How is everyone else doing?

I will check back tomorrow!

Tammy

[Chellefn]

nasus40, I've heard alot about low carb diets, but I'm still unsure - what do you consider low? How many carbs do you eat in a day? I know there are lots of books out there, but I'm just curious. I'm not sure I could live with out my carbs!

Chelle