Food Diary

Hey guys! So here is my food diary for today. I went to my workout class tonight. It was great as always. Busted my butt, but that means I am more more day towards my goal!! I did have a sore wrist. My instructor said it was probably exercise related. SO instead of doing pushups I did a plank stand, and I lifted lighter weights at one of the stations.

But on to my food diary

Wake up 9am: Hot water with lemon. I did it with one slice today and I liked it a lot better.

Breakfast 9:30am: 2 fried eggs, on glutton free bread, with hot sauce. I know I have this everyday, but I love it, and it is easy.

Snack 11:30am: 1 yoplait vanilla yogurt, and 1 small avocado

Lunch 1:30pm: a bunch of veggies dipped in hummus. I wasnt very hungry so this was more like a large snack.

Snack 3:30pm: cottage cheese, and salsa

Dinner 6pm: Half of a whole wheat pita, stuffed with Hummus, Light Tuna, and half of an avacodo. This was so delicious! and I 6 strawberries.

I drank 2 litres of water today!!

Yesterday's food diary

Hey everyone! Sorry I did not post this yesterday I went out to a movie and got back really late. but better late then never :) So here is my food diary from yesterday April 20 2010

Wake up 7:30am: Hot water with lemon....I put 2 slics of lemon in this time and found it too sour so I will go down to one slice from here on in.

Breakfast 8:30am: 1 fried egg, on gluton free bread toasted plain no butter, and some hot sauce.

Snack 11am: 2 small avocados. I love avocados they are my favorite thing to snack on.

Lunch 1:30pm: 1/2 cup baby spinach, some cucumber, some tomato, 1/2 can light tuna, and 2 tbsp of raspberry vinigrette. This was the best salad ever!! The tuna get it a nice flavor.

Snack 3:30pm: 1/2 cup of light cottage cheese, and 3 tbsp of chunky mild salsa

Dinner 6:00pm: leftovers from the chicken and tomato, and rice I had the night before

Snack for movie: 1 bottle of water and 1 bag of light smart popcorn only 120 calories!! we popped this at home and put it in my purse to take with us to the movies. This helped us resist the urge to get concession foods, and we still enjoyed a nice treat while watching the movie :)

Ten Tips for Conscious Eating

Eat When Hungry: There is a difference between physical hunger and emotional eating, stress eating, eating from boredom, or timed eating. You can practice recognizing physiological hunger by following these steps before you eat;
- Stop
- Close your eyes
- Take 3-5 deep breaths
- Place your hand on your abdomen and focus on your stomach pouch (internally)
- Notice
- Ask yourself - Where is my hunger? What is my hunger?

Slow Down: Remember digestion begins in the mouth and taste buds are on your tongue not in your stomach! In order to assist your body during digestion, try chewing your food thoroughly. This may mean chewing it 10 times or 30 - whatever it takes to make the food unrecognizable in your mouth. You can practice this with a mindful eating exercise. Take a raisin or dried piece of fruit and exaggerate the eating experience by holding, smelling, and chewing the food slowly.

Enjoy Food: We spend so much time avoiding certain foods or viewing food as the enemy that we forget it can be pleasurable. We may worry that once we eat a food that brings us pleasure we won't be able to stop. Actually, the result is controlled eating rather than out-of-control eating. Ask yourself - What do I feel like eating? Be aware of the taste, texture, temperature, and smell. And believe it or not you don't have to finish it if it doesn't taste good!

Stop Depriving Yourself: Skipping meals, low caloric intake, imbalanced meals, and nutrient deficiencies can all lead to compulsive or binge eating.

Create an Atmosphere: Clear off the table, put down the book, turn off the TV, get away from the computer, put down the phone, get out of the car, sit down, eat with a friend or family member, add candles or flowers to the table, and enjoy!

Stop When Full: Just like hunger, you can practice recognizing fullness. You don't have to be a member of the Clean Plate Club! Every ¼ of your plate follow these steps;
- Put down your fork
- Close your eyes
- Take 3-5 deep breaths
- Place your hand on abdomen and focus on stomach pouch (internally)
- Notice
- Ask yourself - Am I full? How full am I?

Relax Before and After Meals: Avoid starting a meal when you feel tense or angry and try sitting for a half hour after a meal before you reach for dessert.

Discover Your Metabolic Type: Are you a Protein Type, Carbohydrate Type, or Mixed Type? Track your food intake and physical responses to determine your type. Should your diet emphasize protein, complex carbohydrates, or include a balance of both?

Respect Your Individuality: Your body is like no other. You are not your spouse, sister, best friend, coworker, or the person in the magazine. Your life will change the moment you begin taking care of your mind, body, and soul in the way that is best for you.

Learn From Your Experiences: There will be times when you eat too fast, too much, too little, and the wrong choices...and its okay!

If you work towards even one of these changes you will be better off than you were the day before. Enjoy the journey!

Food Diary

Everyday I will be logging what I ate and drank for the day:

wake up 7:30am: Hot water with lemon, and I did add some honey to this. I asked my trainer and she said not to do that but just to get used to it. So that is what I will do. The lemon water will jump start your metabolism for the day.

Breakfast 9:00am: 1 piece of plain toasted gluton free bread (found in your freezer section) and 2 fried eggs. Also a dash of hotsauce to taste. I found the bread to have an odd texture, another adjustment I am sure to get used to in time.

Snack 11am: 1/2 cup light cottage cheese, and 3 tbsp of mild chunky salsa. I know this sounds like a weird and gross combo, but I promise you it tastes delicious!

Lunch 1:30pm: 1cup baby spinach, 1 small avacodo diced, 1/4 tomatoe, 1/4 cucumber, and 2 tbsp of Kraft raspberry vinegrette dressing (my fav). This salad was amazing. Avacodo's are one of my favorite things ever to eat, so adding it to the salad was a no brainer for me.

Snack 3:15pm: 2tbsp of Hummus and sundried tomatoes, and some sliced ham.

Dinner 5:30pm: i simmered some onions with some chopped garlic in a skillet, with 1 tbsp of EVOO,then I added 1/4 of an onion and browned them. I then added a small boneless skinless chicken breast. I cooked the chicken in with the mixture and then added 1/4 of a can of tomatoes mixed with herbs. I simmered this and then served it over 1/2 cup of brown rice. It was super yummy. I think next time I will add some hot sauce, or lemon juice though at the end for some extra flavoring, as I found it to be a little bland.

I remembered not to drink while I ate. I worked on smaller bites and taking the time to eat enjoying my meals and focusing on those alone and not anything else that was going on at that time.

I drank almost 2 litres of water today. I am working my way up to 2.5 litres. I hope that by the end of the week I will be at that goal.

All and all I found it very easy to eat as often as I did. I had preplanned out my meals for the day, so it took the thinking right out of it. I look forward to my meal adventures for the next few weeks.

I love to cook. So I am looking forward to coming up with recipes and healthy alternatives to things, and I will be sure to share them with you!

Healthy Eating

I didn't eat badly. I just didnt eat much. With the job that I have it doesn't leave room for a consistant lunch break, and time to eat. I have discussed with a nutritionist about what my best options are. We decided that smaller meals more times a day would be my best option.

You should write down everything you eat and drink for a few days before you start to change your diet. This will give you a chance to go over what your eating habits are, and will give you a better understanding of what you need to change.

I will be writing each day as to what I have eaten and what times I will be eating them. There are simple ways to jump start your matabolism in the morning. When you first wake up you should drink a glass of hot water with lemon. If you find you need it to be sweeter you can add some organic all natural Honey to this. That is what I like to do, until I get used to the taste.

You want to make sure that you drink 2.5 litres of water a day. yes I said 2.5 litres. I know that sounds like a lot. But if you get a pop bottle and fill it with water in the morning and drink that until around dinner time then fill it up to half way, and finish this before you go to bed, you will find it is a lot easier to do, and wont seem so overwhelming. I myself Drink 2 and a half 1 litre bottles of Dasani. I buy it in the morning before work and then drink it through out the day.

You want to make sure that you eat a large healthy breakfast. You want to stay away from wheat based bread and go for gluton free. I like Ezekial rice bread. You can find this in the freezer section at your local grocery store. I like the honey and oat flavored. This bread has an aquired texture to it so you will need to get used to it. I suggest toasting it and putting an egg on top and eating it together.

Do not drink when you are eating. When you eat you want to focus on that and that alone. I will post a separate posting on tips to how to eat properly to get the most out of your food.

Make sure that every time after you eat, you drink a large glass of water, this will help to move everything through the body as it should. You should eat breakfast and a snack 2 hours later. Then you should eat your lunch, and then another snack two hours later, and then dinner, and then one more snack if need be. You want breakfast to be your largest meal of the day as you need this for your most energy. Lunch should be smaller, and dinner smallest.

You want to eat as much raw veggies, and especially green veggies as possible. Eating your veggies raw or aldente when cooked will give your body the most nutrients from them. You want a high protein in your diet. Staying away from fatty meats, and sauces. No deep frying. Grilling your food will be your best option for maximum nutrient value. Try to steer away from sugar, salt and butter as much as possible. use PAM to lightly spray your pans and use lemon or hot sauce to taste these have very few calories and taste delicious!

These are just a few of many more tips and tricks to come!

Exercising

I can not stress how much exercising is important in your healthy new lifestyle. Along with a healthy change in diet you will see much success. Here is what I do on a daily basis

Monday: I have my training class from 6:30 till 7:30. I drink lots and lots of water during this, and work at my breathing making sure to pay attention to my heart rate as well. We mix cardio, and strength training to make it fun. No class is alike, so it always keeps things interesting and fun. The girls are very uplifting and we all work together to make it a fun expierence. After the class I take a hot shower, and am planning on starting to use the sauna that is available at the gym. I then drink a large glass of water to rehydrate my body further.

Tuesday: This is a day of rest and body recovery from the night before.

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Wed: I have another class on this day and do all the same things as I do on Monday.

Thursday: This is another day of rest.

Friday: I work out at home once in the morning and once in the evening. In the morning I do 100 hundred crunches in different positions, and then I hold a plank stand for 2 consecutive minutes. After this I drink a large glass of water. In the evening I do another 100 crunches, and the plank stand.

Sat: I repeat my workout from Friday.

Sunday: This is a day of rest.

My goals

I am 5'3 and 130 pounds....In no way overweight. I have found though that I am a little soft around the middle section and I am not proportionate to my body size I once was. My goal is to tone up and get healthy. If I lose some weight along the way that is alright with me :)

I have recently enrolled in a fitness bootcamp. It is 6 weeks long twice a week for one hour sessions. The woman training us is the trainer for Miss. Canada, so that in itself is rather reassuring of its success. This class as long as some small workouts at home and a healthy eating schedule I hope to achieve the results I am looking for.

Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Stacey brennan. You may already know me from my beauty channel on youtube http://www.youtube.com/staceybrennan If you do not then welcome to my journey of a healthy life style.

I am doing this as a way to better my lifestyle, and regain some energy that I have lost. I am in no way an expert on the subject but have done a lot of research on how to do this the proper way. Wont you come along this journey with me.