Going to School AND the Beach - Phase 1

[inkbottle]

Need to loose 10-15 pounds--but what's keeping me from reaching this goal is my eating habits. I have no problem getting my butt to the gym, but getting my butt out of the peanut butter jar? Not so much. THEREFORE! I have decided to start on the south beach diet, using a more lenient version of phase 1 to accommodate my gym-ing!

Anyway, I'm a n00b at this, so any feedback is greatly appreciated!

My meal today:

Breakfast
2 eggs + 2 mushrooms + 1 slice sandwich meat [chicken breast]
1 tsp EVOO
coffee + 0.33 cup original almond milk + ~0.5 tsp honey

Post-walk snack
0.5 cup ricotta
1 tbsp natural peanut butter

Lunch
.5 red pepper + ~1 or 2 tbsp ricotta
2 cups of veg: spinach + carrots, zucchini, green beans with 2 tsp parmesan cheese
1 cup milk

Snack
Babybel cheese

Dinner
chilli with: 0.25 cup kidney beans, 0.5 chicken breast, ~0.5 cup veg [corn, carrots, green beans, peas], 0.5 cup Classico tomato sauce

Dessert
1.5 tbsp peanut butter

Seems like I need to up my veggie consumption!
Meanwhile--anyone got tips for pre and post-workout snacks?

[inkbottle]

Didn't so do well today in the eating department I need to drink more water...and snack on something other than peanut butter! D: Am slipping back to my old habits--bad bad bad! Hopefully tomorrow will be better

breakfast @ 7: 30 ish
1 tsp EVOO
0.5 cup onion & spinach
2 eggs
black pepper
1 cup milk
0.5 cup ricotta + 1 tbsp PB

snack @ 10: 51
babybel

lunch @ 2: 40
1 cup chilli
1.5 tbsp PB
green tea

dinner @ 7 ish
frozen veg - 1 cup
deli chicken breast - 2 slices
fat free cheese - 1 slice
chilli - 1 cup

dessert
1 tbsp PB
0.25 cup ricotta

Can't wait til Friday so I can go grocery shopping for some vegetables! All I have in my fridge is corn and carrots and I know that's not phase 1 friendly at all...but I figured some veggies is better than no veggies!
Going to the gym tomorrow--excited!

[inkbottle]

Okay so yesterday's eating was kind of so so...but that could be due to the fact that I got...4 hours of sleep?
Anyway, when I entered all my stuff into FitDay, I realized that my fat % was like...42%...is this way too high? I have been trying to increase my veggie intake, but since they're not exactly high in carbs or fiber, it seems like I'm not getting enough? I hit 22% carbs with 15.5g fiber and 35% protein. I definitely need to eat more foods that are high in protein but low in fat--any suggestions?

Breakfast
scrambled eggs with onions & spinach
0.5 cup ricotta + 2 tbsp PB
0.5 cup vanilla almond milk + coffee

lunch
85g frozen spinach
4 small mushrooms
0.5 chicken breast
[cooked in 1.5 tsp EVOO w/ 1.5 chicken breast and salmon fillet]
worcestershire sauce & black pepper

snack
1 mini cheddar cheese bar
0.5 chicken breast
0.5 cup almond milk

snack II
2 tsp PB

dinner
0.5 salmon w/ EVOO
2 tsp parm
0.5 red pepper + 85g spinach, 0.5 cup mixed beans, cauliflower, green beans

dessert
0.5 cup ricotta cheese

Overdid the peanut butter again! But I managed to cut down on 1 tsp...so that's progress I suppose? And I'm getting better at not eating when I'm only a little bit hungry. Incorporating fun drinks like milk and coffee definitely helps! Today I'm going to the gym and my goal is to cut down even more on the PB consumption so that I'm only doing 1 tbsp a day. Need to control my cravings!

[inkbottle]

Today was good in terms of getting my veggies! I finished the bag of frozen spinach that I bought yesterday Yay! And I drank a lot more water today--although that was 'cause it's really dry out. I also went to the gym--didn't stay too long because I was literally falling asleep on the elliptical...don't ask me how that's possible! But yeah--did 32 minutes and then cool down for 5 minutes--it was fun despite the lack of energy!

As for the peanut butter eating? Still not so good. It seems like the best solution would be to buy it less often--which is too bad because if I could control my urges, it's a great snack to have around! But the rate I polish off a jar is way alarming, so I'm going to save that for when it goes on sale.

Anyway! My nutrition breakdown is a lot more balanced today--thanks to eating more veggies. Managed to get 28g of fiber in as well! Compared to the measly 17g yesterday. 33% fat, 32% carbs, 35% protein. But I'm planning to stay up late again today to work on my thesis proposal so that might change! I plan to drink some coffee later on tonight...

pre-gym snack @ 5: 30 ish?
0.5 cup spinach & carrots
0.25 cup ricotta cheese w/ 1 tbsp PB & cream cheese

Frittata!!!!
2 eggs
0.5 artichoke heart
2 small mushrooms
1 tbsp milk
0.5 slice fat-free cheddar
black pepper, oregano, parsley

cheese + 0.5 chicken breast
1.25 cup milk
0.5 cup almond milk

lunch @ 2: 30 ish
0.5 salmon fiillet
85g spinach + worcst sauce + parm
0.5 cup beans

1 tbsp PB
0.5 cup ricotta

dinner
2 slices deli chicken breast
151g frozen spinach
0.5 red pepper + 2 artichokes + 3 small mushrooms
~0.25 cup mixed beans

~0.33 fat free milk

And I'm going to drink coffee, so add 0.5 cup vanilla almond milk to that list!

Can't wait to go grocery shopping tomorrow! I'm going to buy some broccoli and maybe some fat free cheese and yogurt for snacks so I wouldn't be so PB dependent every time I want something quick!

[Kyan]

Hey Ink,

Sounds like you are doing good! It's really hard to lose weight when you only have a little to lose!

You might want to get some low fat triscuits and some of that Laughing Cow cheese for snacks, too. Very tasty! Oh wait - are you still on Phase 1? Well save that thought for phase 2!! Cheese string is always good!

Keep up the good work!

[inkbottle]

Hey Kyan, thanks for visiting!
Will definitely keep your snack idea in mind! I love triscuits <3
-------------------------

All the peanut butter is gone! Kinda scary how quickly I can polish a jar off. But at least now I can have the remainder of the week to get my fat intake back down!
Yesterday's eating was kinda off...but that might be due to the 3 hours of sleep and the sore throat that I have X_x
I also went to the gym AND went on a 1-hr walk to the grocery store, so I ate more than usual.

bkfast @ ~3: 40 ish
leftover frittata from yesterday + 0.25 cup ricotta cheese
2 tbsp PB

pre-gym snack @ 6: 40 ish
~10 grapes

post-gym snack @ 8: 40 ish
1 cup milk
mini cheddar cheese bar
0.25 cup ricotta

coffee + 0.5 vanilla almond milk

lunch @ 1: 30
2 slices deli chicken breast
127g spinach + ~0.33 cup beans
0.5 cup milk + 0.5 cup almond milk

post-grocery trip snack
1 low fat mozzarella stick

dinner
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
ground ginger
garlic
1 tsp EVOO
1 block of tofu
3 mushrooms
0.5 red pepper
broccoli

2 low fat mozzarella sticks

Yeah...I had a lot of tofu for dinner yesterday...so my nutrition chart was way wacked up:
1588kcal
44% fat, 27% carbs, 29% protein, 21.8g fiber

Not sure if this is good...I have a feeling I might actually need a little more carbs since I do exercise 3-4 times a week and go on 1hr walks 2-3 times a week--anyone have any input on this?

[inkbottle]

Day 6!

Okay today was BAD. Lack of sleep + cold = (tired + decreased will-power) * CARB CRAVINGS!
But that's okay, it's the first time I cheated so I'm not too worried--just have to make sure to prep more Beach-legal snacks so that it won't happen again!

On the other hand, I discovered two new recipes! I officially have some new addictions. See below for the recipes!

bkfast @ 7: 30 ish
2 eggs
3 mushrooms & 1 artichoke heart
0.5 red pepper
4 mozzarella sticks

post-grocery trip snack @ 10: 30 ish
0.5 cup 0% cottage cheese + 1 tsp each of honey & jam [first no no!]
coffee w/ 0.25 cup 0% milk + 0.33 cup vanilla almond milk

11: 30 ish
BROKE DOWN AND HAD 0.25 CUP KASHI!!
But I was going to have a cinnamon roll so it was good I stopped myself

lunch @ 12: 00 ish
Tuna Salad with Yogurt Dressing!
Mix all of the following together:
0.67 of a can of tuna
1 stalk of celery [or more veggies...in hindsight I should have put in more celery...]
1 tbsp 0% yogurt
10 drops lemon juice
1 tsp mustard

1 mozzarella stick

2:00
cinnamon bun!!! so bad but so good! THE WORST MISTAKE OF ALLLL!

dinner @ 5: 00
~1 - 1.25 cup frozen broccoli
~0.5 cup ground chicken
raw red peppers

Mashed Beans! - 2 servings
1 can of romano beans [or any type of beans]
1 clove garlic, minced
generate pinches of oregano, parsley, and dill weed
2 tbsp 0% cottage cheese
1 tsp EVOO
0.25 tsp lemon juice + 1 tbsp water
black pepper to taste
1 tbsp sunflower seeds [optional--I didn't have this tonight, but I might do it tomorrow]

Saute garlic in the oil til browned. Then add herbs & sunflower seeds and saute some more.
Finally, add beans and mash. Add lem juice & water & pepper as needed.

SO GOOD! And notice that I added NO salt at all, but the cottage cheese provided all the flavor it needs! The whole thing turned out to be very creamy -drool- I tried some beans with the Greek yogurt I made today and it tastes EXACTLY like mashed potatoes and sour cream! It was all I could do to keep myself from eating the rest of the beans. Am definitely making this again!

Yeah...all in all, WORST DAY EVER, but added 2 new recipes to my personal cookbook! Still need more veggies. I need to find a way to make veggies EXCITING so that I won't snack purely on protein...not getting enough fiber definitely contributes to my problems

Today's nutrition breakdown:
1467 kcal
54.1g fat, 110.5g carbs [thanks mostly to cinnamon bun], 133.4g protein, 21.9g fiber

[Kyan]

Wow Inkie,

I have never seen anyone keep such an organized and detailed journal as you do! How do you keep track of everything? (Like your daily intake of calories and stuff!) Are you that organized in all areas of your life? I am sincerely and seriously jealous!!

Your mashed bean recipe sounded so good, I copied it down for future reference! I tried a white bean and cheese recipe this week that was pretty good - and of course I LOVE LOVE LOVE red bean mash from the SuperCharged book! The bean mash isn't all that great when you first make it.. but next day the leftovers make the most awesome bean patties with eggs!

Sorry to hear you are feeling crappy today. It's hard to go to the Beach when you are under the weather!

Hey how was the tuna with the yogurt dressing? You said the beans were awesome but I didn't see a comment on the tuna. Is it yummy?

Have a terrific Sunday!

Ky

[inkbottle]

Unfortunately I'm only organized in the "planning things" aspect of my life--my room is a huge mess!
I keep track of daily calories through fitday.com and record my meals and recipes in notepad--great way to avoid studying!

mmmm Beans and cheese--I'll have to keep that in mind!

Oh the tuna was good! Mixing yogurt with mustard makes it seem like I'm eating mayo--which completely blew my mind, because I never thought I'd find a substitute for it!

[inkbottle]

So today went REALLY well in terms of getting plenty of veggies and staying away from too much fatty foods! Chugging lots of tea really helps keep my appetite down. The problem is--I don't know if I have enough "snack veggies" to last me through the week! I polished off 1 red pepper yesterday and finished the other one today, so I only have 1 more left! Aaaah! I can't believe I still haven't bought enough!

breakfast @ 7: 30 ish
2 eggs + ~0.25 cup 0% cottage cheese
3 small mushrooms + 1 med mushroom, a little bit of green peppers
1 tsp EVOO
1 cupmilk
1.5 part skim mozzarella sticks

snack
~0.25 cup ROASTED CHICKPEAS!! <3
1raw red pepper
0.5 part skim mozzarella stick

lunch @ 12 ish
eggplant pizza!
4 slices of eggplants
mozzarella & fat free cheddar [ended up being about 0.5 slice of cheese 'cause a lot of it spilled off and a lot was burned
'cause I baked it for 25 minutes ]
~ 0.25 cup Classico Mushroom & Olive tomato sauce
mushrooms & ground chicken, sauted in a little bit of olive oil

IT WAS SO GOOD! Reminds me how much I love pizza -drool-

~0.67 cup milk

snack @ 3: 00 ish
cucs + 2 slices deli turkey breast + ~1 tsp yogurt hummus

almond milk--had sips here or there throughout the day...adds up maybe to 1 cup?

dinner @ 5: 20 ish
0.5 cup broccoli + 0.5 small yellow zucchini + ~ 2 tbsp diced onions
2 slices roasted eggplants from the afternoon
0.5 cup mashed beans + 1 tbsp greek yogurt
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
0.25 cup roasted chickpeas
~0.5 cup milk & a splash of almond milk

snack @ 7 ish
cucs + hummus

Um yeah, so tons of food today! And uh....I finished the entire cucumber...'cause I was trying to stave off my HUGE sugar cravings, and the fact that my housemate's mom brought muffins doesn't help! I WANT SOME DESSERT!! I tried looking for sugar-free syrup today, but we don't have that So I guess I'll grab some splenda or something, and make dessert with one of my avocados! I'm also really tempted to get peanut butter...but I'll try my best to resist!

1458 kcal
51g protein, 141g carbs, 28.7g fiber!, 112g protein

Carb count is rather high today, but that's okay because LOOK AT MY FIBER COUNT! Whoo!
I still feel like I need to eat more, but I think that's just because I need some dopamine to counteract the misery of having a cold

[inkbottle]

Today was so-so. I'm in DESPERATE need of something sweet! It's all I can do to stop myself from going to my cereal bin and eat something out of there RIGHT NOW.

It also doesn't help that earlier today I sat in front of a table full of FREE COOKIES, GRANOLA BARS, AND TIMBITS for 2 hours I mean...I didn't eat any of it--which I find quite amazing, but it's not helping my cravings either! BUT I finally got my hands on some Splenda and Sweet&Low today so I'm making pancakes tomorrow! I can't wait...maybe I'll go to sleep early so I can have breakfast sooner

breakfast
~1 tbsp yogurt hummus
2 eggs w/ 1.5 slices eggplants
1 cup milk
66g spinach
4 sticks part skim mozzarella cheese

snack @ 10 ish
7 grape tomatoes
0.25 cup roasted chickpeas

snack @ 10: 40 ish
12 almonds

lunch @ 1: 30 ish
1 can tuna
2 stalks celery
yogurt dressing
dash black pepper

1 cup milk
2 grape tomatoes
1 slice deli turkey breast

snack @ 4 ish
1 slice deli turkey breast
2 grape tomatoes
A few gulps of almond milk

dinner @ 5: 30 ish
0.5 yellow zucchini
0.5 cup ground chicken
0.5 eggplant slice
1 medium mushroom
~1 cup cauliflower
8 almonds
1 stick skim mozzarella

I'M STILL HUNGRY. I don't know if it's the munchies or what...but I'm already in the 1500s in terms of caloric intake [minus 100-200 kcal, I guess, since I was running all over campus today] and I don't know what to make! I'm just going to chug some tea and see if my hunger will go away. If not, I'll find something to eat. ARGH NEED MORE FOOD IN MY HOUSE! I wanted to buy canned pumpkin today, but the grocery store was all sold out of them

1588 kcal
73.6g fat, 90.9g carbs, 18.1g fiber, 140g protein

Yeah...fat count too high..thanks to almonds and cheese. I EAT TOO MUCH CHEESE! I think it's to compensate for the loss of peanut butter...which used to make up the bulk of my fat intake. I need to figure out someway to incorporate the cheese into my cookie so that I can do portion control and find something healthier to snack on!

[inkbottle]

SBD - Attempt #2

I'm starting over because the past few months have been immensely stressful for me and a diet change wasn't helping...but now that it's nearing the end of the school year and things are starting to slow down a little, I'm going to give this another shot because I really want to loose as much weight as I can before summer! So starting over with phase 1 today.

I think my approach this time would be to stick to phase 1 as much as I can but if I have a bowl of oatmeal here or there, I'm not going to beat myself up about it because money's tight and dairy and meat products are expensive. Also I want to do some exercise here and there so going full protein may not be a good idea anyway. As long as I'm not eating chips and crackers, I think I'll be okay.

Breakfast: banana oatmeal, dark chocolate
Lunch: blueberry & vanilla yogurt with flax and cinnamon, coleslaw
Snack: 2 handfuls of cashews
dinner: turkey & bean chilli, bean sprouts

1616 kcal
- 218 kcal burned
1398 kcal

[Smakquist]

Hello!
I agree with not beating ourselves up for living life! In the grand scheme of things, a bowl of oatmeal is not going to be the end of the world! Especially when there are things like donuts, ice cream, and french fries!
Keep up the good work!

[inkbottle]

Smakquist - for sure! If a bowl of oatmeal helps us avoid ice cream and cookies--I'd say go for it! Besides, oatmeal is yummy

----------

I'm still struggling with portion control. Sometimes I wondering if I have an emotional eating or binge eating problem because it seems like I'm a bottomless pit all the time. I feel like maybe it's because I need more hobbies--sitting around the computer and web surfing or studying only provides so much stimulation...maybe I need to turn to other sources that'll get the reward pathway in my brain going. It seems like I'm always turning to food for pleasure and I need to find something else--or no diet is going to work...I just have to figure out what...

Today's meals:

Breakfast: turkey & bean chilli + a ton of bean sprouts
huge snack: 8 cadbury mini eggs [dark chocolate], coleslaw, hazelnut coffee <<< nooooo with the chocolate!!!
lunch: yogurt & cottage cheese with flax, peanut butter, zucchini
dinner: 2 eggs, spinach, mushroom, nonfat cheddar cheese

1621 kcal
- 182 kcal << maybe I'll do some yoga later today to get my energy levels up and/or keep myself awake...
1441 kcal

Argh. I blame this partly on not getting enough sleep...but at least with the huge amount of protein for breakfast, I don't need to head over to the snack cabinet as often as I used to, compared to if I had banana oatmeal for breakfast. But then again, meat & bean calories are higher too :\ Roar at trade-offs!

Eating well tomorrow's going to be a challenge as well since I'm working at the sleep lab tonight. I really hope to finish my thesis experiment next Friday! This eating this is difficult enough without the added challenge of being sleep deprived as well!

[inkbottle]

Day 3 of phase 1!

Doing alright so far despite the sleep deprived thing. I've been surprisingly good at showing restraint on the peanut butter today--more than usual. I'm not sure if this means the diet is working or if I'm too stressed out or tired. I did have a bunch of veggies for lunch though--so that might help.

Menu for today:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, spinach, mushrooms, 1 cup 0% yogurt + tiny bit of cottage cheese, 1.33 tbsp PB
Lunch: a bunch of coleslaw, 1.5 slices soft tofu, 1 tbsp PB
Dinner: 0.25 + 2 tbsp [dry, uncooked] red lentils, tomato & onion pasta sauce, zucchini, eggplant, 1 tbsp flax

1128 kcal
- 36 kcal
1092 kcal

Assuming I don't go overboard after dinner! But I'll be sure to load up on veggies so that doesn't happen. Must. Stay. Motivated. Perusing fashion blogs and fantasizing about getting a new haircut kinda helps And also preparing for my grad school interview tomorrow. SO NERVOUS. Will continue chugging orange pekoe tea to lower chances of stress/sleepiness binging.

@ 5: 45 - post-dinner update!

Okay so for dinner I had basically what's listed above except minus the flax and add another tbsp of PB. I was actually feeling pretty full on the lentils and zucchini [I had a small-medium zucchini which I ate all of] and sauce alone, but I still had the munchies so unfortunately I went for the PB before I went for the eggplant But that's okay because I managed to stop myself and chopped up some eggplants to munch on instead so now I'm kinda stuffed :p Better stuffed on veggies than PB though! When I feel stuffed on PB I always feel so heavy but this right now is just a plain, less gross, stuffed feeling.

New calorie count: 1173 kcal

It's going to be difficult keeping away from the PB jar for the rest of the night so I need to hang on and be strong! I'm really pleased with the way I was able to constrain myself for longer than usual--I think the extra sunlight definitely helps! I always want to be outdoors and just feel generally much happier when it's nice out

Will maybe update again before I go to bed--just to keep myself accountable