Evening Food Journal

Dinner:

• 3 soft tacos w/corn, beans, veggie “meat",” etc.
• 1 1/2 glasses water

Snack:

• 1 WW chocolate cake
• 1 bowl Special K Red Berries w/skim milk {sooo good}

Evening Food Journal

Oops, forgot to post this yesterday. @_@

 

Snack:

• 1 bowl Special K Red Berries w/1 cup milk

Dinner:

• stir fry w/vegetable and seafood medley and Udon noodles
• 2 eggrolls w/plum sauce
• 1 glass water

Snack:

• 1/2 cup ice cream
• some Cheerios Lucy just had to feed me

Morning/Afternoon Food Journal

Breakfast:

• 3/4 cup Special K & 3/4 cup Special K Red Berries w/
• apprx. 1 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup green juice
• 1 glass water w/benefiber
• 1 clemmy shared w/Lucy
• vitamins

Snack:

• 1 non-fat yogurt shared w/Lucy
• 1 bite toddler cracker {to encourage Lucy to try it}
• 1 banana wrapped w/1 piece WW bread and peanut butter

Lunch:

• 1 tuna salad sandwich on multigrain bread w/lettuce and tomato
• about 1/3 cup cucumber salad
• 2 glasses water
• 1 bite of a Mum-mum? cracker to encourage Lucy to eat

Evening Food Journal

Snack:

• 1 bowl Special K Red Berries w/1 cup milk

Dinner:

• stir fry w/vegetable and seafood medley and Udon noodles
• 2 eggrolls w/plum sauce
• 1 glass water

Snack:

• 1/2 cup ice cream
• some Cheerios Lucy just had to feed me

Afternoon Food Journal

Snack:

• 1 banana
• 1 WW chocolate cake

Lunch:

• 1 smallish portion of leftover potatoes/carrots/onions from last night’s dinner
• 1 banana “wrapped” in 2 pieces WW bread w/peanut butter
• 1 glass water

Progress Report

I’m doing well, really well, too well. I’ve lost 5 pounds in a week. My goal was 1 pound a week. 5 pounds a week is doable…for people who aren’t breastfeeding. But it’s just too fast for me right now. Even my Wii Fit expressed concern about my rate of loss. It kinda sucks to purposely slow down when my new eating habits are working so well. But, oh well. I’ll get to my goal eventually, even if it takes a while.

What am I doing that’s working so well? For starters, my food journal is making a big difference. Not only do I have to admit to myself what I’m eating I have the accountability of this blog. It’s a lot easier to resist eating a box of donuts when you know you have to tell the world about it. The food journal also helps me really see what’s going on. And, after counting calories for several days, I’ve gotten a much better idea of what my needs look like. It’s also a lot easier to look at the label on a food and determine if it’s a low-cal or high-cal choice. I’m not counting calories at the moment, but I learned a lot from doing it and I highly recommend giving it a try.

Another suggestion I have is Special K and Weight Watchers products. I’ve come to think of them as my secret weapons. The Special K cereal is really low-cal so I can have a big bowl of it but it’s the caloric equivalent of a small bowl of something else. And the Weight Watchers items are helpful because of the portion sizes. The cakes are small, individually wrapped portions so it’s easy to say “OK, I’ve had one, I’m done.” And the bread is good, and also in smaller portions than regular bread.  {By the way, I’m not getting free samples or anything, these are just my opinions on things I’ve tried on my own.}

I still haven’t taken “before” pictures, but you can get idea of where I’m starting from by checking out these pictures.

Anyway, just thought I’d check in with my progress. Thanks so much for all your support so far. It’s been helpful. :)

Green Juice

What is green juice?

It’s basically a smoothie made with green, leafy plants {such as wheatgrass, or spinach}. You can make your own in a blender. I buy mine because it’s just so stinkin’ convenient {I usually get the Bolthouse Farms version, but there’s also Naked brand, sometimes a store brand, and the Odwalla version}. The trick is that they’re made with fruit to make them taste better.

I first learned about green smoothies when I worked in a health food store. We were allowed to read the store books if we weren’t busy with customers and I read Green For Life. It’s worth taking a look at if for no other reason than to get some of the many recipes in the back. I suspect the claims it makes for the power of green juice are exaggerated, but I do believe green juice is healthy stuff!

Green juice is a great way to get a serving of veggies, or several, quickly. Give it a try, you might find you like it, even if it takes some getting used to. And if you don’t, well, you can still get veggies the old fashioned way.

Morning Food Journal

Breakfast:

• 3/4 cup Special K Red Berries & 3/4 cup Special K w/
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup green juice
• 1 glass water w/Benefiber
• vitamins

Evening Food Journal

Snack:

• 1 “Nutrigrain” bar
• celery w/light cream cheese
• about a cup of Cheerios {snacking w/Lucy}

Dinner:

• 1 baked fish fillet
• rosemary potatoes/carrots/onions w/evoo {2 servings}
• 2 glasses water

Snack:

• 1/2 cup birthday cake ice cream
• 1 WW chocolate cake

Morning/Afternoon Food Journal

Breakfast:

• 1 bowl Special K w/1 cup skim milk

Lunch:

• 2 slices canteloupe
• 2 slices WW bread w/strawberry rhubarb jam
• 1 cup green juice
• 1 glass water w/Benefiber
• 1 no-fat yogurt shared w/Lucy
• vitamins

Evening Food Journal

Snack:

• 1 cup grapefruit juice

Dinner:

• 1 grilled turkey and swiss on WW bread with
• 1 cup Knorr broccoli soup with Boursin cheese
• 1 glass water

Snack:

• 1/2 molasses cookie
• 1 “Skinny” iced latte {both from Starbucks where I was for a book club meeting}

Morning/Afternoon Food Journal

Breakfast:

• 1 1/4 cup Special K w/1 cup skim milk
• 1 clemmy shared w/Lucy
• 1 cup green juice
• 1 glass water w/Benefiber
• vitamins

Lunch:

• 1 glass water
• 1 Rueben sandwich {soooo good!}

Evening Food Journal

Snack:

• 1 clemmy
• celery w/1 TBS peanut butter
• 1 glass water
• 1 nibble homemade pumpernickel bread
• 1 WW carrot cake

Dinner:

• 1 cup broccoli
• 1 Rueben sandwich
• 1 1/2 glasses water

Morning/Afternoon Food Journal

Breakfast:

• Special K w/skim milk
• 1 glass water w/Benefiber
• 1 cup green juice
• 2 pieces toast w/mixed berry jam made w/WW bread

Lunch:

• 1 no-fat yogurt
• celery w/cream cheese
• 1 cup Knorr Tuscan Bean Soup With Sweet Basil and
• 1 piece WW bread toasted {to dip in my soup}
• 1 glass water

Evening Food Journal

Dinner:

• 3 pieces of freezer pizza {I ate so well today I had plenty of room to spare in my calorie “budget” so we had our usual Friday pizza night}
• 1 glass water

Snack:

• apprx. 1 cup Special K w/skim milk
• 3 bites of cheese

Afternoon Food Journal

Lunch:

• 1 “Slim-Fast” w/skim milk
• 1 piece WW whole grain multigrain bread w/peanut butter

Snack:

• 1 no-fat yogurt shared w/Lucy
• 1 piece WW bread shared w/Lucy
• 1 glass water

Morning Food Journal

Breakfast:

• 1 1/4 cup Special K {I can have more food but fewer calories with Special K compared to most cereals} w/ 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 nectarine shared w/Lucy
• 1 cup green juice
• 1 glass water w/Benefiber
• vitamins

If you’re interested in how I’m counting calories for items with no nutritional label {such as fruit} I’ve found this calorie counting website to be very helpful.

Evening Food Journal

Dinner:

• 1 Smart Ones cheese ravioli with spinach and tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 glass water
• 1 no-fat yogurt

Snack:

• 1 WW carrot cake snack cake {really yummy}
• 5 cups plain, air-popped popcorn {air popped popcorn is a great low-cal snack, it’s filling but only 31 calories p/cup – but margarine, well…margarine is 70 calories for 2 TEAspoons}
• 1 stalk celery

Today I found myself too far under in my calories. I not only had room for snacks in the evening, I actually needed to eat more if I wanted to protect my milk supply. So I did. :)

Afternoon Food Journal

Snack:

• 1/2 cinnamon raisin bagel w/light cream cheese
• 1 glass water

Lunch:

• 1 “Slim-Fast” w/1 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cinnamon raisin bagel w/light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup dry Rice Krispies
• 1/2 glass water

Morning Food Journal

Breakfast:

• 1 cup life cereal w/ 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 cup green juice
• 1 glass water w/Benefiber WM
• fruit salad {1 kiwi, 1 clemmy – we ran out of banana yesterday}
• vitamins

Some thoughts on counting calories:

This calorie counting thing is both easier and harder than I expected. I’m going to keep it up for as long as I feel like it. I don’t want to force myself to do it if it stops being helpful but at the moment I’m finding it really educational. I’m getting a better idea of what a serving size REALLY is, and what it feels like to eat what I need vs. what I want. It’s kind of like our financial budget. We have so much money we can spend each month and we need to keep are spending at or under that amount. And some things are just too expensive to fit into the budget, or need to be severely limited. Well, I have so many calories I can eat each day and I need to keep my eating at or under that amount. And some things are just too “expensive” to fit into the budget, or need to be severely limited. Same principle. In fact, a recent Psychology Today article suggests that setting a “mental budget” helps with self control. And I’m finding that’s true for me. Self-control has never been my strong suit, which is probably why I’m 30 pounds overweight to begin with. It’s certainly not my metabolism’s fault {I have a great metabolism}. So, for now, I’m gonna keep it up.

Evening Food Journal

Snack:

• a handful of whole grain goldfish crackers

Dinner:

• 1 fish fillet w/herbs
• 1 potato roasted with e.v.o.o. carrots and onions
• 1 glass water

Snack:

• handful whole grain goldfish
• 1/2 cup dry Rice Krispies

And that brings me to just under 1800 calories for today! Yay for me! It was hard this evening because I was hungry after dinner and wanted to snack. But I found the Rice Krispies actually made a pretty good lo-cal snack. They kept my fingers busy, tasted somewhat sweet, and helped me feel more full.

Afternoon Food Journal

Lunch:

• 1 “Slim-Fast” made w/skim milk
• 1 cinnamon raisin bagel w/light cream cheese
• 1 glass water

Snack:

• 1/2 grapefruit shared w/Lucy
• 1 piece of w.w.bread w/peanut butter
• 1 glass water

In the News

Here’s a round-up of recent news pertaining to health, weight, and fitness.
High Fructose Corn Syrup, Another Nail in the Coffin?

“A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.” {via Princeton.edu}

Now, we all know soda is bad for us, but most of us still love it. If you’re worried about HFCS in your Coke now is the time to stock up on Kosher Coke {released for Passover} which is made with honest-to-goodness, real sugar. Just look for the special yellow caps on 2-liters. The linked article also suggest looking for Mexican Coke in glass bottles. Check the ingredient label to confirm it’s made with sucrose and not high-fructose corn syrup.
Exercise for Your Mood, Mama

“Physical therapy and a health education programme are effective in improving postnatal well-being and can reduce the risk for postnatal depression (PND), according to a new study.” {via TopNews.in}

Health Care Reform
How could I not mention the recent reform law? Here are several articles about the reform and what it will mean.
5 Dystopias Healthcare Reform Could Prevent (And One It Could Cause): This article comes from, of all places, a Sci-Fi website. It’s somewhat tongue in cheek, but very informative, and fun to read. After all, how many of the articles about health care reform have you seen that talk about the zombie apocalypse?
What The Health Care Bill Means For You: This article outlines some of the basics. It doesn’t address everything, such as the fact that working moms now have the right to pump at work {in a private area other than a bathroom} nation-wide. But it’s a good starting place.
Who Voted How: This handy chart lets you see which people voted yes or no as well as seeing how much they receive in financial contributions from the health industry and how many uninsured people they have in their districts.
That’s all for this round-up. Here’s to your health! 
*ting* <---that’s me, toasting you with a wine glass of water

Morning Food Journal

Breakfast:

• 1 glass water w/Benefiber weight management powder
• 1 cup green juice
• 1 cup Life cereal w/ 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 fruit salad {1 banana, 1 kiwi, 1 clemmy, shared w/Lucy}
• vitamins {D, multi, Omega-3, and acidophilus}

A word on supplements: There’s a lot of hype about supplements. Heck, there are whole stores that sell nothing but. But do they work?
Yes.
And no.
Some supplements have sound science to back them up. And some are merely snake oil. Here’s an article from the Consumerist that links to this handy guide to figuring out which supplements are helpful and which to save your money on. If the interactive version is too much for your computer to handle you can check out this simple, static graphic instead. You may have noticed I dropped a supplement from my morning routine {Vit C}. I had already had my doubts about it, and checking out the guide confirmed my suspicions that it was probably not evidence-based medicine. Live and learn.

Evening Food Journal

Snack:

• 1 clemmy shared w/Lucy
• 1/2 glass water

Dinner:

• 1 glass water
• 1 cup cooked broccoli
• 1/2 cup leftover potato salad
• 1 piece chicken-cordon-bleu

Snack:

• {I’m planning on having} a clemmy and
• a piece of w.w. bread w/margarine
• 1/2 glass water

So, that brings me to about 2,107 calories, including the snacks I’m planning on having. That’s still more than I need each day, especially if I want to lose weight, but that’s 713 fewer calories than yesterday {the potato salad was not the healthiest choice ever}. So that’s improvement. At this point I’m not gonna beat myself up over this sort of thing. I’m learning. I’m learning what foods are worse than they seem, and learning what my habits are.

And I have a crying toddler, gotta go!

Afternoon Food Journal

Snack:

• 1/2 cinnamon raisin bagel with light cream cheese spread
• 1 glass water

Lunch:

• “Slim Fast” w/1 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cinnamon raisin bagel w/light cream cheese
• 2 1/2 pieces turkey lunch meat {the 1/2 because Lucy wouldn’t finish hers}
• 1 off-brand Nutrigrain bar {opened it for Lucy who rejected the turkey but kept signing for food…she rejected the bar too *sigh*}
• 1/2 glass water

Food For Thought

So, last night before I went to bed I decided to count the calories I had consumed that day. I don’t plan on counting calories every day {too much work and I know I’ll just give up all together}. I was just curious. What I discovered shocked me. I had over 1000 CALORIES MORE than I need per day! @_@ I consumed about 2820 calories. I need anywhere from 1500-1800 {the excepted range for breastfeeding mothers who would like to lose weight without affecting supply}. So, um…yikes.

It was the pizza and donuts that did me in. I could have eaten just as much food of another type and probably not gone over my caloric needs. But the pizza and donuts were so high in calories that even though I didn’t completely pig out {at least not compared to how I normally eat} I took a big hit.

I guess we can think of our caloric needs like a budget. You might have $200 to spend on a shopping trip. But if you buy the designer purse you won’t have room left in your budget for pants and a jacket. If you buy the Target purse for $25 you still have plenty for other items. You’re getting more without paying more. Food is the same way. In exchange for ONE honey dip donut from Timmy’s I could have FIVE clemmies. And a clemmy at least has some nutritional benefet {vit C for example}.

Just some food for thought.

Morning Food Journal

Midnight Snack:

• banana {I don’t normally have midnight snacks, I think my body is adjusting to the fact that I’m trying to eat less}

Breakfast:

• 1 glass water w/Benefiber weight management powder
• 1 cup green juice
• 1 cup Life cereal w/ 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 fruit salad {1 banana, 1 kiwi, 1 clemmy, shared w/Lucy}
• vitamins {C, D, multi, Omega-3, and acidophilus}

Food Journal

Snacks:

• 1 clementine shared w/Lucy

Dinner:

• 3 pieces pizza {brought home by Adam}
• 2 glasses water {I resisted the beer Adam brought home}
• 1 and 1/2 donuts {also brought home by Adam…so it’s all his fault?}

Snacks:

• 1 donut
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/2 glass water {it seems the more I drink the more I want}
• 1 banana

Food Journal

Breakfast:

• 1 bowl of Life cereal w/skim milk
• 1 glass water w/Benefiber weight management powder
• 1 cup green juice
• vitamins {acidophilus, omega 3, multivitamin, vit C, vit D}

Lunch:

• 1 glass “Slim-Fast” w/skim milk
• 1 glass water

Snack:

• 1 banana shared w/Lucy
• 1 and 1/2 cheerio and 1/2 of a goldfish cracker {Lucy likes to feed me her snacks}

{I’ll post dinner and any further snacks later}

I’m Not Gonna Lie…

I’m not gonna lie…I feel fat. And that’s a big part of why I’m doing this {“this” being the new blog and the whole “getting in shape thing}. This blog isn’t going to be as entertaining as Domestic Dork, I’m sure. Because, really, reading about what I eat? Not that exciting. And I’m not going to worry so much about grammar and typos on this blog. Because, while I’m sharing it {for accountability, and just in case someone does find it interesting for some reason} this blog is for me.

There was a point last year when I could run a mile. I’m afraid to see how far I could run now. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t make it a mile without having to stop and walk. So I’m back to square one in my efforts to be a runner. Someday I’d like to run a marathon. But first I need to be able to run a 5K. And before I can do that I have to get off my butt and run, period.

Sugar and I, well…we’re tight. But sugar isn’t a good friend. I need to spend way less time with her. Water, on the other hand, does not see me enough. She and I need to reunite. That’s why I’m gonna have 3 glasses of water a day for the next 31 days. They say you should have 8 glasses. But you know what, I’m starting small. I’m not gonna let perfectionism get me down. 3 glasses a day is better than 0 glasses a day and if I feel overwhelmed by the goal of 8 glasses than I can promise you I’ll give up.

Tonight I’m going on a walk with Adam and Lucy. It’s another small step, but it’s better than sitting on the couch and watching a movie which is normally what we do in the evenings.

I’m going to try the whole food journal thing. I’ll post everything I consume here on The Last 30 Pounds {30lbs}. Maybe knowing I have to tell the world that I ate a box of mini-donuts for lunch will be motivation enough to NOT eat the box of mini-donuts for lunch…you know, just for example…not like I would ever really eat a box of mini-donuts for lunch…*cough cough*…um, yeah…moving on!

So, why am I doing this? Well, like I said, I feel fat. And yeah, I know…we live in a culture with an unhealthy obsession with looks and I shouldn’t focus on my appearance as much as I should being healthy. Weight is just a number, yada yada yada. But even though I know that, I still don’t like feeling fat. I can fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans, but by “fit” I mean I can get them on, not that they’re comfortable or that I don’t have a massive muffin top spilling over them {because they aren’t and I do}. I’d like for that to change. I’d like to be about the size I was when I got married {which was a little over 4 years ago}. Maybe that’s not possible since I’ve had a baby. But I need a goal and that’s what I’ve chosen.

I also want to do this for Lucy. Aside from the appearance factor I’m not healthy. I’m too sedentary and I don’t eat well enough {I blame a lot of that on the fact that I hate, hate, HATE cooking}. I need to set a good example for her.

I’m also doing this for myself, to prove to myself that I CAN make changes, that I AM stronger than I think, that my will power is not entirely non-existent.

I’m not sure if I’ll choose a reward for myself should I reach my goal. I’m not sure yet what all I’m going to do. I’ll start with the water, and the food journal, and exercising for comments {1 minute per legitimate comment on this blog}. I’m also experimenting with the off-brand SlimFast. It’s maybe not the healthiest food ever, but it’s better than skipping lunch and then going overboard on junky snack foods because I’m so hungry.

So, that’s that. Welcome to my new blog.