Lissa's Better Eating Journal

[DCLissa17]

Hi all!

I'm Lissa, a newly 28 year old, 5' who is currently at a consistent 120lb. My journey with SB is not so much about losing weight as it is about getting in shape, being more mindful of making good food choices, and preventing weight gain. Because finally I have reached the point where eating Doritos and Skittles every day is no longer compatible with my metabolism.

Food restriction is a foreign concept to me. I have always been skinny with a fast metabolism and could eat whatever I want without paying for it. Making myself NOT eat things that I love is hard! Even the idea of planning meals ahead of time is strange, I've always liked to have the flexibility to make whatever I felt like at the time. I felt like planning out meals daily or weekly would feel really constrictive and make me rebellious.

I made the decision to do what I could, and looked into SB. It seemed to be based on sound, healthy principles, not a "fad" diet. I started on June 4, 2010 and did one week of Phase 1. I was pretty well-controlled with just an occasional low-carb version cocktail. It was harder to give up fruit and to find enough veggie dishes more than anything else! But not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be to restrict myself. After my bday on June 11th (I went to Olive Garden and ate breadsticks/alfredo and chicken fettucine alfredo), I decided that I felt pretty good about moving on to Phase 2. I wasn't having much carb cravings and really wanted to start adding back fruit/starches to expand my menu. I decided that in order to keep straight how many fruits and starches I was eating each day and to schedule snacks/etc with good variety, that I would *try* a weekly meal plan. If I felt cornered by it, I would drop the idea.

So I made up a meal plan for Week 1 of Phase 2. It is very balanced and includes a protein and appropriate amounts of veggies for each meal, usually a starch serving in the morning, and usually a fruit serving as a snack. Also some nuts and cheese sticks/yogurt in snacks. I also made sure to account and plan out when to use leftovers from previous dinners so that by the end of the week I have everything eaten up and can start with a fresh slate of dishes for the next week. I am very proud of this menu!! I am on Day 3 of Week 1 and have stuck with the plan very well. The only variance has been that I ate a candy bar as an AM snack yesterday instead of my hardboiled egg and peanuts.

I think from now on, I will try to post my planned menu at the beginning of each week and check in as to how I stuck to it (or cheated) for the week prior. For today, this was the plan (and I've stuck to it!)

Breakfast: Hardboiled egg, mini bagel with LF cream cheese, 1/2 c. sliced cucumber. AM snack: LF yogurt w/ 2 peach slices and granola. Lunch: Leftover Beef & Veggie soup, FF string cheese stick. PM snack: small apple w/ PB. Dinner: Leftover chili, green salad. Dessert/Late snack: almonds/peanuts

[DCLissa17]

Almost time to go to bed (I work overnights so my days are topsy-turvy as are my meals. I ate everything I said I was going to today and nothing extra! Go me! Also for the day, I:

~Did my 2nd day of Phase 1 interval walking
~Drank about 4 glasses of water (I don't tend to drink much so this is a big amount for me!)
~Went grocery shopping (again! I really love grocery shopping and SB is giving me such a great excuse and I am constantly thinking/discovering new things to get Good deals that I bought:
-2 cucumbers on sale 2/$1(normally 79c-99c each)
-A presliced small ham on sale 30% off for $6 (normally $9)
-2 containers of Lite Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese w/ a $1off coupon ($3 each vs. $4)
-2% cheddar/colby shredded cheese (finally! have had a hard time finding RF cheddar)
-1% milk, FF cream cheese, shredded parmesan cheese (oh the plans I have for home-made alfredo sauce over spaghetti squash)
-2 boxes of Rice-a-Roni Whole grain & herb for $1/each (a mix of long-grain brown rice, pearled barley and pearled wheat with herbs/spices. Actually has no SB-forbidden ingredients!! Awesome! I am a huge rice-a-roni fan and it's nice to find an option that is allowable for quick fixing.
~Sloooowwww night at work so I spent some time on the forums looking through recipes and copied some great new options. I am a very non-adventurous eater and am picky so there are a lot of things I won't eat or cook with, which always makes finding acceptable recipes hard. I HATE tomatoes and am not a fan of peppers or onions.....so Phase 1 breakfasts were reaaalll fun to figure out. Phase 2 is easier. Here are some of the recipes I clipped:
-Kale chips. I had bought a bunch of Kale at the farmer's market and I will try this out. Otherwise, maybe I'll try the kale in a salad.
- Zucchini coins--yum!
-Spaghetti squash & chicken. I'm going to add artichoke hearts and broccoli to this and see how it goes
- A bean soup. Never made much of anything with beans so we'll see what happens.
-Sweet potato fries. Can't go wrong, right?

I'll let you know how tomorrow goes! Feel free to offer any advice or comments you please

[JRW2010]

Hi Lissa,

Thanks for your comments! I'm taking it slower in P2, I started with just a fruit the first week and now I'm having 1 fruit and 1 grain. Actually, yesterday was the first time I had a grain .

Best,

Jos

[DCLissa17]

Thanks for stopping by Jos! Yeah I am pretty much following the book and just seeing how it goes. So far 1 fruit/1 grain is working fine. Today my "grain" was just 5 WW crackers so not too significant. I love that I am finding new options and sides and ways of preparing things to replace all the grains I am usually pairing my foods with.

Here's today. I've been very faithful!

Breakfast: Cucumber/egg hash, 1 slice of ham, 5oz glass of diet cranberry juice, one cup black coffee
Snack: LF vanilla yogurt w/ 1/2 peach and granola
Lunch: Tilapia, cauliflower "rice", sauteed asparagus, one cup tea w/ Splenda--I finally learned how to make GOOD asparagus! It's all about not cooking it too long. Sauteeing is much better than steaming.
Snack: 5 WW crackers w/ one wedge LF Laughing Cow swiss cheese, one cup tea
Dinner: Pork chop, Cheesy Cauliflower "mashed potatoes" (OMG so awesome! Much faster than real potatoes and taste good enough that I don't even miss the "real" thing!), sauteed baby carrots, one 6oz glass white zinfandel
Snack: SF jello, grapes

I've only drank about 2 glasses water but I've had lots of other drinks today which help make up the gap.

And I did the Phase 1 total body workout this AM when I got home from work. Go me!! No walk as it is pouring outside

~Lissa

[DCLissa17]

Ok, so I tend to do really well on my workdays...because they have a built-in structure AND I only have access to the food I have planned out and brought with me! I have a crazy June, working 5 12-hour days a week which is why I started SB this month....I knew the limited days off would make it easier to stick with the diet. I had Friday off, the first after a string of 6 on. And kinda fell off the wagon. The biggest thing was that I had 2 glasses of champagne and 2 martinis (the real version, not my diet cranberry juice/splenda kind). And while I didn't eat a bunch of forbidden foods, my meal plan fell apart and I wasn't very structured with meals/snacks. I feel really guilty about it, which I take to be a good sign! I'm not beating myself up or anything destructive, I just regret it, which is good because it means that following this path is important to me.

So back to work today and somewhat back on track. I woke up with a horrible headache and drank a bunch of water. I was going to have a mini bagel w/ cream cheese and some veggies for breakfast but couldn't even look at the bagel after I had made it. I just munched on some carrots instead. So here's the day:

Breakfast: Veggies
Snack: cheese stick, coffee
Lunch: Tuna noodle casserole w/ carrots & peas
Snack: Apple w/ PB, coffee
Dinner: Grilled chicken salad w/ my leftover cauli mashed potatoes
Snack: SF jello, kale chips

I've also had lots of water today (finally the headache is gone after about 6 glasses of water and 2 doses of ibuprofen) and I am planning on doing a walk around the block when I get home (if it's not raining) and the Phase 1 total body workout.

All in all, I'm pretty proud of myself and I can't believe that the cravings have disappeared! Now I just have to drink less and structure my days off better.

[DCLissa17]

So moving right along! I am on week 2 of Phase 2 and I have added a second fruit to my day (so much awesome in season fruit!!!) so I have 2 fruits, 1 starch. In the middle of the week I will add a second starch. At that point, meal planning is MUCH easier.

Yesterday I had the day off and considering that, I did really well:
Breakfast: 1 HB egg, 1 slice ham, 8 grapes, mixed veggies, 2 slices cheddar cheese
Snack: Laughing cow cheese w/ 5 WW crackers
Lunch: Spaghetti squash w/ chicken
Snack: mango
Dinner: Steak, sweet potato fries, sauteed asparagus
Snack: strawberries/cherries

And then I screwed it up by having 2 glasses of white wine and 2 vodka cranberries. And some goldfish crackers. The funny thing is, when I overindulge in alcohol now, I REALLY feel it the next day, which I never have before. So hopefully I will soon learn not to do that! Plus soon I will have drank everything in the house and then I just won't buy more. I did drink like 5 glasses of water, take a 15min walk, and do the total body workout Phase 1. I also planned my menu for the week.

Today it's back to work and going to plan so far:

Breakfast: 1 slice ham, 1 string cheese, cucumber slices
Snack: PB on 5 WW crackers
Lunch: Steak, sweet potato fries, sauteed asparagus
Snack: fresh fruit salad
Dinner: Spaghetti squash & chicken
Snack mango/cherries

Exciting new finds: spaghetti squash! It's incredible. And the recipe I pulled off the the spaghetti squash and chicken toss is not like something I would EVER normally eat (or even try) and it is really good! Made 4 portions. And sweet potato fries! I've made oven-baked white potato fries just the same before but the sweet potato fries just add such a nice sweet nutty flavor. I like the way better.

Plan to do a session of interval walking when I get home. Haven't drank too much water so far, maybe 2-3 glasses.

[DCLissa17]

Doing well so far! This week I am eating 2 fruits and 1 grain and I think tomorrow I will add a 2nd grain. Doing well so far. The only time I've felt cravings/hungry is when I eat a fruit for a snack without pairing it with some kind of protein. I'm glad to have recognized it. AND yesterday morning we had a staff meeting where they made pancakes, sausage, and fruit. I had no pancakes, 2 veggie sausage patties (little ones), and fruit. The best part? I didn't even feel like having a pancake. I can't believe how I don't crave stuff anymore!

Today (it's my Friday yay!!):
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, 2 slices, mixed veggies, coffee
Snack: 1/2 mango & grapes,
Lunch: turkey hot dog on one slice WW bread, 1/2 c. baked beans, 1 c. mixed raw veggies, tea
Snack: mixed raw veggies, LF string cheese
Dinner: Salmon fillet, brown & wild rice, steamed mixed veggies
Snack: cherries/strawberries, kale chips

I am feeling a twinge of shin splints from pushing my friend's toddler in the stroller on my "easy" walk yesterday so I won't be doing my interval walking. I'll probably do some of my physical therapy stretches as my shoulder is bugging me and then go ice skating for 1/2 hour or so. I'll do some low impact intervals there.

Today I have a busy day after work! I am dropping off my two dogs to get groomed (eeks!) and while that's happening, I'm going to clean out the car, go ice skating, go grocery shopping, and possibly buy a new laptop. After picking them up I need to make dinner and do my PT. Then sleep! maybe. We'll see how it goes!

~Lissa

[DCLissa17]

It's been a weird weekend, food wise. My schedule was all wonky. After getting off work on Friday morning I ended up staying up for 24 hours because my friend wanted to come over and help her clean house and babysit while she cleaned house. Well that didn't turn out to be exactly how it all worked out but I did go over. We made tacos that night and had other friends over. I didn't do too bad, but not much veggies. 2 WW tortillas w/ taco meat, RF cheese, lettuce + slice of watermelon. And 2 glasses of wine. Then I was way beyond exhausted and fell asleep on the couch. Woke up at like 3am to see the evidence of chocolate covered strawberries that they made while I was sleeping. And I only ate one! With a couple of fried eggs and a handful of nuts for "breakfast"

And then Saturday I had a last shift at my part-time job and I ordered pizza. So instead of my prepared lunch, I had a piece of pepperoni pizza for my "snack" and a small portion of chicken alfredo and a breadstick for lunch. But I didn't eat too much so that's better than I would normally have been.

So today I am back on track:

Breakfast: slice of cheese pizza, mixed raw veggies, 1/2 cup baked beans, coffee
Snack: fresh fruit salad, FF string cheese
Lunch: baked salmon, brown rice, steamed broccoli
(to be eaten):
Snack: LF vanilla yogurt w/ sliced strawberries & granola
Dinner: pork chop, cauliflower mashed potatoes, sauteed asparagus
Snack: grapes, nuts

I will be doing my interval walking when I get home. I have been really good with my exercise (following the plan in the SB book right now). It has helped that it is nice outside. Yesterday I went on my "recreational" walk with the dogs. They were VERY excited! My biggest challenge has been cheating after dinner. I have found that if I let myself have my allotted glasses of wine at dinner, I am much more likely to cheat. So I have to be very careful about that. I have drank almost all the wine in the house and I will not buy more. I am going to try to just drink when I am hanging out with friends to curb this issue.

Also, I have been cheating here and there with the munchies in the cupboard and they are whittling down. Again, once gone I won't buy more so that should really help with that problem. It is much easier to stop myself from buying things than from eating them. So I should be cheating less and less!

[DCLissa17]

Ok, doing well now! I am feeling pretty confident and settled in this new way of eating. After a month in, I am still excited about it (not as obsessively though, which is good I think!). I am firmly onto Phase 2 with eating 2-3 fruits and 2-3 good grains a day. Occasionally I have a few too many snacks or eat a "bad" grain, but not too often. And the good thing is that when I do, it is either because I am allowing myself a treat and therefore fully enjoy it, OR I have cheated and I usually feel lousy afterwards (like physically yucky because my body is no longer used to eating those kinds of things) So it's self-reinforcing.

Plus, as I mentioned before, I have drank all the alcohol (which triggers my binging/cravings) and I've eaten up most of the "illegal" junk food in the house. I went shopping last night and got some good Phase 2 foods, such as whole wheat flour, whole wheat pancake mix, whole wheat crackers and a bunch of beans. Oh! And Mott's fruit/veggie juice. It's kinda like the V8 fusion but just apple & carrot juice. I was skeptical but it tastes just like apple juice! I hate tomatoes so I could never do V8. Now I have an easy way to get in my breakfast veggie serving! I made my meal plan for the week utilizing just the things I already have in the house (I have shopped way too much last month! but that's all part of this new way of eating). I love that I have SO many more choices now than I used to! Putting such a focus on veggies, especially during Phase 1 when your other options are limited really made me think outside of the box and try new veggies and new ways of preparing them.

And I've stayed REALLY good about being on track with the interval walking/TB workouts. I am really proud of myself because exercising in general and especially something like walking is very hard for me to stick with. I will be buying a new laptop soon and then I will hopefully be doing my online yoga workouts more too so that will help more.

Ok, here's today:

Breakfast: 1 HB egg, 1 slice ham, 1 glass fruit/veggie juice.....I feel like there was something else too that I am forgetting...
Snack: Cup of chai spice tea, 2 tootsie rolls (mini)
Lunch: chef salad w/ lettuces, spinach, leftover pork, HB egg, carrots, radishes, olives--yum!, coffee
Snack: carrots and triscuits w/ hummus
Dinner: turkey hot dog, baked sweet potato fries, mixed veggies
Snack: kiwi & LC cheese on triscuits

Go team!
~Lissa

[DCLissa17]

Well I stayed true to the plan yesterday...was so tired that I fell asleep before my after-dinner snack! Today I got up early because I had a phone call and couldn't get back to sleep. It was sunny and lovely out, so took the dogs on a walk around the block, my "rec" walk. The plan for today:

Breakfast: 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 scrambled egg, 1 WW pancake w/ SF syrup, 1 glass fruit/veggie juice---yum!
Snack: fruity gelatin snack thing....total cheating but work was crazy and I wasn't going to get any snack otherwise and I was soooo hungry
Lunch: "antipasto" platter, which is: WW mini bagel w/ deli turkey & 1 slice cheddar cheese, small serving LF vanilla yogurt w/ strawberries and granola, 2 dill pickles and couple of green olives, mixed raw veggies. This meal is so SB friendly and so filling, I love it! All the different types of food and colors, it's very appetizing.
Snack: strawberries & kiwi, string cheese
Dinner: Beef noodle veggie soup--homemade!
Snack: SF jello and ??? maybe apple w/ PB or laughing cow

Plus TB workout while soup is cooking

~Lissa

[MaxiJ]

Hi Lissa! You are doing a great job even with a few slip ups.
I know what you mean about your eatting patterns being crazy while working night shift. I eat breakfast when I get off in the morning, dinner when I wake up, and lunch about 2:00 in the morning! Crazy, but it somehow works out.
Fortunately, I only work 2 days a week.

Keep up the good work!

[DCLissa17]

Hi MaxiJ! Thanks for stopping by Yeah, my eat/work pattern is the same, and I work 3-5 nights a week. What really screws me up is my off days. My sleep schedule shifts all around pretty randomly on my off days depending on what I am doing so it screws up the eating schedule to. I need to stick to some kind of consistent pattern for off days, but life is crazy and I just try to go with it, you know?

Been a long week this week, on night 4 of 5. Then it's the 4th of July and god only KNOWS what I will be eating. I am NOT going to worry much about cheating as I know that I am spending the day at my friend's friend's house where they are having a BBQ and we are DRINKING. So I will pick the best choices I can at the BBQ and just enjoy a day of friends, alcohol, and fireworks. And then be back on the plan on the 5th.

So depending on the scale and the day and the time of the day, I have lost between 0-7 pounds in the month I've been on SB. I am HOPING that I have lost at least a couple. I need to get a household scale and start weighing myself at a consistent time of day maybe once a week or so. That way I can have a more accurate way to assess if there is any losses. I think also taking measurements would be good since I'm more looking to be more fit and toned than losing weight persay. I do know that in general I feel better. More satisfied, stronger, less craving/binging/guilt days. And I was getting a bit out of control with the alcohol at home but having trouble convincing myself to actual DO anything to rein it in, so it being one of the things to avoid has really helped. Since I noticed that if I indulged with even a glass or two of wine I was MUCH more likely to start munching and cheating with food, it makes it easier to avoid the alcohol in general. I am not worried about a glass or few occasionally, or a mini-splurge when with friends, it was the 2-3 glasses of wine or martinis or rum/root beers almost every day at home alone that was starting to freak me out. So YAY SB!

Ok, today is a good day, here's the gist:

Breakfast: 1 glass fruit/veggie juice, 1 WW pancake w/ SF syrup, 1 HB egg, 1 slice turkey bacon
Snack: 3 mini Hershey's choc w/ toffee (not my official snack but yum!! In the past I would have had like 10 so 3 is a BIG improvement!)
Lunch: leftover Beef Veggie Noodle soup (OMG this came out SOO good! It made 4 portions and this was my last one. I was saaaadddd to see it all eaten up) coffee
Snack: carrot sticks w/ homemade hummus, coffee
Dinner: Not sure. I may try this broccoli/artichoke/pasta/chicken salad thingy. Or not. I don't have any broccoli at home so I'd have to buy some and I don't really want to go to the store this morning. I think I'll probably have soft chicken taco wraps w/ WW tortillas and a side of the extra green beans I have in the fridge.
Snack: Kiwi/Strawberries, peanuts/almonds

Also doing the Phase 2 total body workout for the 1st time!

[DCLissa17]

Ugh I am so disgusted with myself. Wasn't I just saying in the last post that I know that drinking triggers my eating and I shouldn't do that anymore? Well yesterday morning (my "dinner") I polished off the last 1/2 bottle of wine that was hanging out in the fridge. THANK GOD I don't have any more alcohol in the house! My new plan is to not buy ANY and just take a bottle to a friend's house if I plan to indulge or to drink out. Because I obviously have no willpower to stop myself if it is in the house and then my snacking gets wayyyy out of control. For accountability sake here is the tally once I got off work:

Stopped at Albertsons and Safeway....got some great stuff. Including a 1/2 flat of raspberries. Ate raspberries on the drive home, probably a little over one serving.
Made a lovely Chicken taco pita pocket for dinner
Dessert was about a cup of strawberries w/ Choc/PB dipping (not great for SB but not too awful) along with a glass of wine
Then I had some more wine......the rest of the bottle
And a bag of microwave kettlekorn popcorn
And about a 1/2 cup of cherries
And a LC cheese w/ WW crackers
And about a 1/2 cup of roasted peanuts
And some SF jello
I may have eaten more but I can't remember right now. I'm so annoyed at myself. And even worse, this was the day before 4th of July where I planned on going off-diet so now I will have 2 bad eating + heavy drinking days this week. Grrr!

Today I have been VERY good. (guilt is good like that!)

Breakfast: 1 glass fruit/veggie juice cocktail, 1 glass 1% milk, brown rice cake w/ 1tbsp PB, 1 slice turkey bacon
Snack: hummus w/ baby carrots and WW triscuits
Lunch: Antipasto platter (see post a couple days ago) and coffee
Snack: Kiwi and string cheese, tea
Dinner: Bacon/Lettuce/Cucumber wrap, cherries
Snack: SF jello

Also going to do my interval walking when I get home. And then straight to sleep because I have to wake up early to go do 4th of July stuff! I am going to make homemade baked pita chips and homemade hummus to take with me to the BBQ as well as a berry fruit salad. I picked up a bottle of sparkling wine and one of champagne to contribute and I will NOT be taking any leftovers home with me. Hopefully that will stop the drinking at home and subsequent snacking binges and I can stay on track a bit better.

Have a great holiday everyone!
~Lissa

[DCLissa17]

Alright, I am starting over again. New Year's resolutions and what not. I felt WAY better on SB this summer so hopefully I can stick with it a little better this time! I decided to start over on Phase One to get control of my habits better, so Day One is today! I made a mealplan that I am happy with for this first week and have all the items for it in the house. One of my main hopes with starting this is that I can also get control over my drinking...it has gotten bad!

Here's the plan for today:

Breakfast:
2 scrambled eggs
yogurt
veggie/fruit juice
Snack:
almonds/cashews, coffee
Lunch:
Lentil soup
string cheese

Still to go--
Snack:
mixed veggies, coffee
Dinner:
Beef & Veggie soup
2% colby cheese cubes
Snack:
veggies w/ hummus

[lakegran72]

Welcome back!!!!!!!
Many of us have had a previous go round on SB and were successful, then slowly slipped away from this woe that works for us. P3 is seductive. I personally will try to be p2 .....4 or 5 days and p3 the rest of the week,( forever) but more important for me is staying with the accountability and support I get here.
I am finding the second time sooo much easier. I welcome back a variety of yummy beachy recipes that I had gotten away from. and the habit of treating myself to beachy snacks twice a day.
Hope you enjoy this new walk with us on this lovely beach.