Back on the Wagon

Sooo I disappeared for a couple days and ate a lot. A LOT. Being at school isn't conducive to eating well. Nor is dealing with Rob :(

Breakfast: 2.5 cups kashi go lean with 1% milk, OJ
Lunch: pb&J on 7 grain bread, goldfish
Snack: tostitos, dark chocolate
Dinner: honeydew, pineapple, watermelon, 1/2 turkey and lettuce wrap, 1.5 scoops chocolate ice cream w/sprinkles

Books Books Books

All that is on my mind today is: reading about nutrition! I am all over the NYtimes.com, reading reading reading. Reading articles about health, reading articles about books on health, etc. etc. The most interesting one so far has been "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan. He is neither dietician nor doctor, he is just a journalist who is trying to help people sift through the mess that is modern eating. I can't wait to buy it after work today :D It has brought questions to my mind about processed food and am I eating too much of it? If you look at my diet records, I think I eat a fair amount. I should stop, right? That would be tough, but if it'll be better for my body...

Breakfast: 2 bluberry Nutrigrain waffles with sugar-free syrup, OJ, coffee
Lunch: bluberry Yoplait lite, pb&j on 7 grain bread, 3 Hostess mini-cupcakes
Snack: diet Coke

minus 18 pounds :)

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, despite all the eating yesterday, and yes I realize that that will eventually effect my weight, I have lost EIGHTEEN(18) pounds since I began the "Best Life Diet" in June 2007. YAY!!!!!!! I can't believe I have actually come this far!!! I began at 173 pounds and I am now 155. My goal weight is 150... for now :) I can't even imagine being able to get that low, but if I can, I might try for 145, depending on how I look and feel of course. This is so super exciting. I really don't remember the last time I weighed this much! Before I went to college I was around 158, and going steadily upward because I was doing tons of stress eating. It's so strange that I don't even know how much I am actually supposed to weigh! Perhaps I shall look up some stuff online, even though most of it seems a little on the lower side, most likely because insurance companies can charge you more if they deem you overweight. OY!

Breakfast: 2 blueberry Nutrigrain waffles with sugar-free syrup, OJ, coffee
Snack: blueberry Yoplait lite, 1 Hostess mini-cupcake
Lunch: banana, pb&j on 7 grain bread, 2 Hostess mini-cupcakes
"Snack" (more like dinner): one slice cheeze pizza, one-third/one half slice of pepperoni pizza
Dinner: 1-1.5 cups cavatelli
Snack: Fiber One PB bar

Today is my birthday!!!

So I let myself go today because it's my 20th birthday. Tomorrow is right back on track, no doubt about it! I am going to focus, focus, focus!

Breakfast: blueberry Nutrigrain waffles with sugar-free syrup, 10 oz OJ, coffee, 2.5 donut holes
Snack: blueberry Yoplait lite, pear
Lunch: massive amounts of chicken with snow peas, white rice, 2 fortune cookies
Dinner: cheez-its, tortilla chips, guacomole, wine, cavatelli, 1 meatball, cucumbers, chocolate cake with homemade whipped cream icing and bananas, more coffee

Tomorrow = back to healthy eating!!!!

Additionally, it was one of the best days I have had in a while. If I could learn to be this happy and relaxed all the time, I would lead a much less stressful life. Which I could use. I brushed off conflict and I allowed myself to just enjoy the day. Here's to many more birthdays, and relaxing days like this, to come! :)

Am I Always Hungry?

I don't know what it is about me, but I constantly want to eat. Okay, maybe not constantly. But I like the taste of things and given the choice between eating and not eating, I'd eat. If I had no self control, I would shovel food down my throat all day long, just because I enjoy the taste. I'm trying to eat slower and to savor flavors and really appreciate what I am eating, but it's still hard for me. When I watch TV or read, I like to have something to munch on. It's probably out of habit--and it's one I need to break. Mindless eating doesn't accomplish much, except more of this carb belly that I carry around my waist. Right as I wrote that, I googled belly fat. It bothers me. A lot. I probably just don't exercise enough-- maybe I should change that? haha yeah.. that's a goal of mine. Maybe I'll walk on the treadmill again tonight.

Breakfast (7 am): 2 Nutrigrain blueberry waffles with sugar free syrup, 8 oz OJ, coffee
Snack (10:15 am): blueberry Yoplait lite, 1 Hostess mini-cupcake
Lunch (12 pm): pb&j on 7 grain light bread, 2 Hostess mini-cupcakes, 1 pear
Snack (2:30 pm): Coke Zero, 2-3 cups popcorn, lettuce
Dinner (6:45 pm): 2 pieces of pizza, carrots

Exercise: 40 minutes total walking - 25 of which were walking up hill. crunches!

No Case of the Mondays Here!

So far I am feeling very in control of how I feel towards food today, which is most likely because I am no longer terribly anxious about anything. The biggest concern weighing on my mind at present is how to get rid of this cold that I seem to have. I am worried that it is the strep throat I got for Christmas coming back, but I think that's unlikely. I did party for New Years, while still on antibiotics, so that might have screwed things up a bit. Anyway, I'm happy to be feeling so mentally good and stable. It scares me how much I am physically able to eat when I feel stressed--I just keep going even when I start to feel full. I'm learning, though, and the best thing I can do is take it one day at a time :)

Breakfast (6:45-7 am): 2 blueberry Nutrigrain waffles with sugar-free syrup, 6-8 oz. of calcium-fortified OJ, coffee with skim milk
Snack (10 am): blueberry Yoplait lite, 1 Hostess mini-cupcake
Lunch (12:05 pm): pb&J on 7 grain light bread, 1 small banana, 2 Hostess mini-cupcakes
Snack (1:30 pm): 20 0z. Coke Zero had over the course of 2 hours
Snack (4:45 pm): 2 Hershey's kisses, one Fiber One PB&Oats bar, 1 large carrot
Dinner: 2 cups gemelli and 1 cup broccoli in garlic and olive oil
Snack: 1 serving Cheez-Its and 8 oz. Coke Zero

Woke Up at Noon This Time

Weekends are perfect for catching up on sleep... eating, however..

Breakfast: kashi with skim milk, OJ, coffee, banana, bite of sesame chips
Lunch: asparagus, chicken, lettuce, popcorn, coke zero (8 oz. tops)
Dinner(ish): pb on a whole grain english muffin, 3 crackers with jelly

I think the combination of stress and bad food yesterday killed my stomach :(

Okay, back on track

Meals are going to be a little screwed up today since I woke up around 1... I needed the sleep but I hate when that happens!

Breakfast: 2 waffles with sugar-free syrup, 10-16 oz. calcium-fortified OJ
Snack: banana, coke zero
Lunch/Dinner: french fries, honey bbq wings, diet coke (no wonder my stomach is upset NOW)

I did get some exercise in, however. I walked around Chestnut Hill with Chris before I left for TCNJ and then my friends and I walked around TCNJ after dinner. Woohoo!

Missed Yesterday

Here's yesterday's food:

Breakfast: two waffles (they're always the low fat Nutrigrain ones) with sugar-free syrup, OJ, coffee
Snack: blueberry Yoplait Lite, 2 Hostess mini-cupcakes
Lunch: pb&j on low fat 7 grain bread, 1 Hostess mini-cupcake, 6 burger king french fries (which upset my stomach! never again)
Snack: 20 oz. coke zero, 4 peanuts, tortilla chips, piece of banana
Dinner: shrimp stir fry! a lot of shrimp, probably a cup and a half, 1.5 cups pasta, broccoli and other assorted veggies, chardonnay
Dessert: 1.5 creme brulees and 2 strawberries, berry and cream Dr. Pepper

It was a fun night overall :) I watched Die Hard 3 and 4 with my friend Jon and it was a very relaxed and laid back evening.

Note: I exercised! I spent about a half hour on the treadmill, walking uphill for the majority of it, at a pace of about 3 miles per hour!

And so it begins....again.

I'm beginning another food diary because it seems to help me lose weight. I am a very emotional eater and so when I feel an emotion strongly, I tend to put whatever I can find into my mouth in mass quantities. And it isn't just junk food. The other night I wolfed down a huge bowl of Kashi Go Lean. Even though that is a better choice of food, eating in excess and past the point of being full is not good for my body and is a habit I want to break. If I eat every time I am upset, I will end up overweight for the rest of my life and put myself at greater risk of heart disease, which already runs in my family.

I am proud of the progress I made over the summer with losing 15 pounds and I want to lose about 8-10 more to get down to 150 pounds. The loss of weight isn't the most important thing, however. Eating healthy is essential because I could lose weight just by eating a decreased amount of food, but I might still be clogging my arteries.

Another big reason I am doing this is because I want to become a dietician and I should REALLY practice what I preach. How can I tell people to treat their bodies better if I am not doing it myself?

And so, I begin again.

Breakfast: 2 Nutrigrain toaster waffles with sugar-free syrup, 6-8 oz Orange Juice, 10 oz coffee with skim milk
Snack: 4 peanuts, Yoplait Lite in Blueberry, 1 Hostess mini-cupcake (from 100 calorie pack)
Lunch: chunky peanutbutter and four fruit jelly on 2 slices light 7 grain bread, a medium-large banana, 1 Hostess mini-cupcake
Afternoon Snack: Coke Zero (20 oz.), Hostess mini-cupcake
Snack at Home: clementine, 1-1.5 cups Kashi with 1% milk
Dinner: green tea with honey, 1-2 cups wheat penne with tomatoes and asparagus, lettuce with french spray dressing
Snack: 2-3 cups of popcorn

Totals
Carbohydrates: 4-5
Dairy: 3
Fruit: 2-3
Veggie: 2

I am really proud of myself. Today I told Rob to back off, which was really hard for me and I had been anxious about it for a week or so, and I did not stress eat. I was completely in control and I felt good about it. :)