My Food Journal

Thank you all so much for your encouragement! Your comments, emails, FB messages & tweets- they are all so awesome! As many of you mentioned, 5-15 pounds isn't a lot of weight to lose. I know that. However, I really struggle for every pound I lose (I don't struggle at all to gain weight, go figure!). It's a constant battle for me and I always need to stay on top of it.

A few of you asked how I managed to lose 12 pounds. Well, it was hard! It was actually really hard. I kept a food journal, I worked out 5 days a week, and I was diligent about EVERYTHING.
I kept my food journal online, and thought I would share a typical week with you. I don't journal all the time. I don't have the time to do it. HOWEVER, this has been a really beneficial tool for me when I am losing weight. Also, I'm very nosey and I love seeing how other people eat, so I thought some of you nosey buggers might be interested in my food diary too;) I never lie in my food journal- that's the key I think. I also write down how I worked out and how I'm feeling- both key for me when I need some additional motivation!

While I was keeping this food diary, I was losing close to a pound a day! That's not realistic in the long term, but it sure felt good in the short term:)

I'm not a dietitian, nutritionist or doctor. I don't know what will work for your body. But this is what worked for me...

Monday:
M1- protein shake (Body By Vi); M2- green salad with cut up chicken breast, cucumber, balsamic vinegar & a handful of almonds; M3- a few bites of a Cliff Bar (I like Lara Bars better, but this is what I had at home); M4- scrambled eggs and 7 mini breakfast sausages (oh so good!); M5- Tea (this isn't a meal but it's what I had)

Workout: 20 minutes BootyCamp DVD (calesthetics workout), walk/playing with the kids.
How I'm Feeling: not starving at all. Not too grumpy (except when Z dropped his entire glass of milk on his brother. But I would have been grumpy about that no matter what)! Glad I got in a workout during the day:)
Water: About 40 oz.

Tuesday: 
Feel a bit bloated when I woke up, which I wasn't excepting:( Perhaps it was due to the increased water intake of yesterday.
M1- Body By Vi protein shake; M2- cheese string (benefit of having kids!) & a few almonds; M3- large green salad (Organic Girl mixed greens- SOOOOO good!) with one small can of lemon and dill tuna; M4- half a Cliff Bar & a few almonds (post workout); M5- cucumber salad (cucumber, red pepper & tomato thinly sliced and marinated in 2 tbs of apple cider vinegar, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, and a tsp of olive oil) topped with a grilled chicken breast (this was a really good meal!); M6- a few baby carrots and 3 tbsp of hummus

Workout: 25 minutes Treadmill (combo run/jog/walk)
How I'm Feeling: a LITTLE hungry today. Drank some extra water, especially following my workout. Started getting pretty irritable around 4:00 p.m. so I threw on a dvd for the kids and drank some coffee:) VERY hungry at about 9:30 pm so I ate the carrots/hummus.
Water: About 36 oz.

Wednesday: 
Woke up starving but not quite as bloated as yesterday. 
M1- Protein pancakes; M2- green salad (organic girl mixed greens- the best mixed greens out there) with half a chicken breast and half an avocado and a handful of almonds; M3-half a individual sized package of Spitz (sunflower seeds, with shell on) and a Forever Nuts tea; M4- Cheese string; M5- ground turkey piled on large lettuce leaves (wraps??) with a smudge of mustard and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese.

Workout: An hour running after the kids at the park (it was hot, I was sweaty, so I'll count it!)
How I'm Feeling: I have had a bad headache all day. Don't know if it's because of the low carbs or the heat of the park. I had a meeting tonight so I didn't get a sixth meal in and I really missed it!
Water: I didn't keep track today but I would guess around 40 oz.

Thursday: 
HUNGRY! but not bloated:)
M1- Scrambled egg whites with leftover veggies mixed in (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots) and a sprinkle of Mrs. Dash; M2- caprese salad (fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, balsamic/olive oil) and a handful of almonds; M3- half an apple and one tbsp of natural peanut butter; M4- pan-seared salmon and wilted spinach

Workout: squats (20x3); walking lunges (20x3); knee to elbow standing crunch (20x3); plank (45 sec x 2); chair dips (10x3); pushups (20x3)
How I'm Feeling: Tired (I think this is due in large part to the heat!) but good!

Friday: 
HUNGRY in the am. Still feeling a bit of tummy bloat...not sure what the culprit is. Will throw in a few more planks today:)
M1- Scrambled egg whites with leftover veggies and some Mrs. Dash; M2- 3 handfuls of almonds (in the car); M3- green salad with mini boccancini and a splash of balsamic; M4- homemade chicken burgers (ground chicken, egg whites, dash of oats, splash of olive oil, liberal sprinkling of Mrs. Dash) with mustard& ketchup on a bed of lettuce; M5- banana with 1 tbsp natural peanut butter
ALSO- I had a few bites of Zach's pizza and watermelon while we were at a playdate

Workout: Bootycamp DVD (cardio/calesthetics mix- SWEATY!)
How I'm Feeling: REALLY good today! ENERGY!

Saturday: 
REALLY GOOD! not hungry, raring to go! I had a few extra carbs yesterday, which I will assume led to no pounds lost, but they were good carbs (mostly fruit) so I'm ok with that. 
M1- Tone It Up Protein Pancakes; M2- 4 mini chicken burgers on a bed of lettuce; M3- handful of almonds; M4- Tone It Up Protein Pancake w/a tbsp of natural peanut butter.

Workout: 25 minutes of HIIT on the treadmill. DRENCHED in sweat.

How I'm Feeling: REALLY good! I was at a bbq the whole afternoon and my kids pretty much ran the entire time. I didn't get to eat. Trust me, I wanted to. They had mustard salad, and that's my favourite thing in the whole world, but I never had a chance. I was not trying to avoid food! And, don't worry, I made sure my husband felt good and guilty about my lack of opportunity to eat;) So, I had another protein pancake when I got home because it was 9pm and I was starving.

Sunday: 
Energetic, happy, healthy and not bloated!!
M1- Tone It Up Protein Pancake (these are so addictive) with 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter; M2- handful of almonds (it's a theme, I know, but I have to go to the grocery store!); M3- small can of lemon & pepper tuna and 1/3 sliced english cucumber; M4- 2 slices of a salad roll; M5- steak & grilled asparagus (BEST THING I'VE EVER HAD!). I also had one twizzler and 2 jubejubes (husband was eating them).

Workout: 35 minute boot camp DVD.
How I'm Feeling: Again, I'm seriously feeling great. I told my husband I'm going to continue with this eating 'plan' because I am feeling the most energy I have had in at least a year! I'm having to work on my WATER intake because I just don't like water, but I'm getting there.

Monday: 
Hungry (which is important in the morning, I never used to feel hungry). No bloating. Good energy.
M1- Tone It Up Protein Pancake with 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter; M2- about 6 strawberries sliced (they were big and SO DELICIOUS!); M3- 6 slices of a salad roll with a few pieces of mango; M4- larabar and a handful of Spitz; M5- Indian food (at a restaurant!)- I shared an order of Chana Masala and some cheese in a butter chicken sauce (can't remember the name) along with a few scoops of rice and a few pieces of Naan. It was so good.