Days 3 & 4

DAY 4:

Just so everyone gets the days straight, the above post for Day 3 was retroactive for Sunday, and today, Monday, is day 4. I did REALLY good today. Not that I didn't do well the other days, but I worked out and ate really well. I woke up really early (for me, anyway) and that coupled with the fact that i'm going to bed later made for the perfect eating schedule. I was able to eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner with about 3 or 4 hours in between each, and I drank a good amount of water. I also stayed active/busy, was in and out all day and I really never got the chance to "think" about extra eating. I really think eating out of boredom was a major problem for me, I know I mentioned this above already but it's funny how when you keep yourself busy and you come home it's like "oh wow it's time to eat again already?"...the other thing I noticed is that I used to have a laptop, and I was online a LOT and sat in front of my family room TV, and the next room over is the kitchen...so as I was mindlessly watching TV I'd be constantly going back and forth for snacks. Now, I have a desktop computer that's up in my room, and I really don't ever feel like going up and down stairs just to get a snack...this is probably one case where my laziness is actually paying off haha. Now although I can commend myself for a job well done so far, I really haven't had any TRUE temptation yet. I mean so far I have really just been around my family, who eat healthy to begin with. I haven't been around my friends, haven't gone out to any restaurants, haven't been to any parties, etc. So I don't know how strong my willpower is yet...but so far I'm doing better than I have in the past so that's good.

I just worked out, I know it's late but like I said I was in Cherry Hill this morning without my workout dvd, and I didn't want to work out in the middle of the day in between meals so I figured I'd wait before bed. My muscles have been sore since the last few days, and the workout tonight was HARD! It's all tough, but anything with arms is deadly...I have ZERO upper arm strength, so pushups etc. were hard. They tell you do do 8-15 reps of each exercise, and while it was very difficult I've been pushing myself to do at least the 8, since in my opinion it can only get better from there! I feel great and now lifting a glass of water to my mouth feels so difficult haha. Anyway, on to my favorite part of the blog, my food diary! Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:

-1 packet plain oatmeal with a sliced banana in it

Snack:

-Coffee (BLACK)

Lunch:

-turkey, low fat swiss cheese, dijon mustard and lettuce on whole wheat bread, put on a george foreman grill with 2 pickle slices on the side

Snack:

-plain nonfat greek yogurt with a sprinkle of granola cereal and a small drizzle of honey

Dinner:

-Self-made personal pizza: a whole wheat flatbread with homemade marinara (tomatoes, olive oil basil and garlic), low fat mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, onions and bell peppers

-Small salad (romaine lettuce, spinach, bell pepper, carrots) with about 10 spritzes of spray balsamic salad dressing

Ok so some notes about the food. The plain oatmeal is very plain, but as soon as I add some fruit in it it's just delicious...it's not SOOO sweet the way flavored oatmeal is, and it's not so plain...it's really just right. The black coffee is SO not me, I'm Miss "grande caramel macchiato with extra whip" at starbucks. But after I poured my coffee this morning I noticed that my choice of additives was either whole milk, half and half or buttermilk (<-yes, seriously) and I chose to take no milk versus AWFUL FOR YOU milk. It actually was enjoyable. Plus, caffeine works as somewhat of an appetite suppressant for me, so I knew that I wouldn't want to eat soon after drinking the coffee. The sandwhich at lunch was really good, I decided last minute to grill it and I think it made a world of difference. As far as dinner tonight, it was satisfying but a little bit of a letdown. I don't think there was anything really substantial in it. I should/could have added chicken or some kind of meat to it, instead it was just bread and vegetables. PLUS the flatbread didn't crisp in the oven like I expected it to, it got REALLY soggy and almost impossible for me to eat neatly. That recipe needs some improvement.

My morale right now is really good, I expected to practically be going through withdrawal at this phase but I'm surprisingly not. I am proud of myself for letting go of the fact that I didn't work out yesterday instead of dwelling on it and letting it destroy me. Also, writing this blog is keeping me in check, during the day every time I do something "good" for myself I can't wait to write about it later! Hopefully this feeling lasts for another....(ugh math)...another 86 days.

Day 3:

Sooo I wasn't able to get onto a computer last night to post since I wasn't home and stayed over somewhere. This post will make up for yesterday's. Yesterday was a good day, I'm really happy that I've been able to stick with it so far. I know that 3 days doesn't seem like a lot, but usually I'm having a lot of trouble adjusting and this time I'm not. I think there are a few reasons why this is so. 1) I've been keeping myself busy. Usually when I sit at home or at work with nothing to do, I start eating out of pure boredom. But I have been running around like crazy the last few days so I know that has definitely helped. 2) I have been making food days beforehand. Each time I start a diet I say I'm going to "plan out" my meals and then I don't actually do it. This time I've stuck to my word and I make my meals at least a day ahead of time. Also, I had the foresight to know I was going to cherry hill last night, so yesterday morning I made food for last night's dinner, today's breakfast and lunch, AND tonight's dinner, since I knew I wouldn't feel like making it when I got home. The fact that I'm now able to anticipate my laziness and combat it by being proactive really impresses me. 3) I've been eating more filling foods and less "empty" calories. In that past, if I really wanted to indulge a craving, for example pizza, I'd say to myself "ok I'll allow myself to eat it but I'll only have a slice"...calorie-wise this is a better decision, but then I'd be starving soon after since pizza isn't exactly satisfying. I'm now learning to eat more filling foods like turkey for protein, cottage cheese and I allow myself to have my fill of veggies. I realize that by eating smarter foods, I'm not hungry from meal to meal. 4) The last reason I think I've been successful so far is I've cut out processed foods and added sugars. Normally I'd eat cereal for breakfast, which is generally ok but they are usually sweetened to some degree, and I noticed that the more sugar I consume the more I crave it later. I've started drinking BLACK coffee, which I would normally never do but I actually am starting to like. I haven't cut out sugar COMPLETELY (still eating a good amount of fruits) since sugar is basically addictive and I can't just cut it out cold turkey.

Here is what I ate yesterday (sunday):

Breakfast:

-serving size kashi whole wheat cereal with coconut milk (instead of regular dairy)

Lunch:

-Veggie burger on whole wheat toast with tomatoes, lettuce and ketchup

Snack:

-green apple

Dinner:

-Turkey stir fry with broccoli, sugar snap peas, peppers, carrots and soy sauce.

Snack:

-Kid's cup of lowfat ice cream

I felt bad about the ice cream, but it was the only snack I had so it was OK! I'm not going to criticize or punish myself for it! The beachbody program says I can have lowfat ice cream or frozen yogurt as long as it's a small serving. They even go so far as to say I can put sugar-free syrup and nuts on it too, but I didn't think those toppings were necessary.

I DID mess up yesterday in the fact that I didn't work out :(...like I said I was in cherry hill, and the plan was to bring my DVD with me to do at my friend's house...I even brought my workout clothes! But forgot the DVD. I really didn't know what else to do as far as working out. I guess in retrospect I could have climbed her stairs a bunch of times. But it's ok. I'm learning not to punish myself if I make a mistake, which I definitely would have done in the past. Actually I would have punished myself, and said "screw it I'll just start over on monday" and I'd let myself be bad for the rest of the week. But i'm learning to tell myself a slip up is OK, even if it is still the first week. I don't want to go backwards! Anyway that was the post for sunday, when today is over I'll add on to this post!