Reflection on the first day(s)!

Monday was a pretty bad start to the healthy eating challenge I have given myself. I am not even sure if I will call it a day out of the cycle. Yesterday was much better, although I still faltered (who doesn't?). Mostly in the afternoon and evening and mostly out of complacency, lack of will power, and fierce sugar cravings. I use this handy chart and some extra notes to record what I plan to eat and actually do. Now usually I have a bunch of these charts printed off and I hand write on them. But this one I did up all fancy, just for you. This is what I ate yesterday:

Meal :	I plan to eat:	I did eat:
Breakfast	Protein: 2 hard boiled eggs Probiotic: yogurt Fruit: pear	Protein: 2 hard boiled eggs Probiotic: Oikos greek low fat yogurt –raspberry pomegranate (100g) Fruit:
Lunch	Protein: 2 hard boiled egg whites Vegetables: Pre-made salad with strawberries, grapes, lettuce mix, and 2 tbs nuts, seeds, and raisins.	Protein: 2 hard boiled egg whites Vegetables: Pre-made salad with strawberries, grapes, lettuce mix, and 2 tbs nuts, seeds, and raisins. Probiotic: Liberte 0 greek yogurt- blueberry, and sillouettes- kiwi (200g total)
Snack	Fruit: berries and grapes in Lunch salad	Fruit: berries and grapes in Lunch salad, 2 mini crème eggs.
Dinner	Protein: steak Vegetables: salad greens, caramelized onions	Protein: Steak seared and baked with garlic and steak spice Vegetables: leftover lunch salad
Snack(s)	Probiotic: yogurt	1 cup 1% chocolate milk, 2 oreo cookies, 1 homemade chocolate chip cookie.
Oils	-Salad dressings	-         Salad dressings  (totaling 4 tbs)

I did pretty good on the starchy carb front. No Bread, chips, crackers, pasta etc. None of it. And I didn't feel hungry or deprived at all. Probably because I wasn't. Likely because of the sugary snacks that I grazed on without thinking about it or with ridiculous justifications ("one mini egg right now will be all right, it's just one, and I have done so well today!" and "It's just one cookie" and "the chocolate milk will replace the fruit sugars and dairy that I missed by not having the last 100g of yogurt I was supposed to eat"). These excuses are not valid, and deep down I know that. But similar to the first time I went on this eating plan, I am sort of weaning myself onto it, and weaning myself off of the unhealthy stuff. What I had for my snacks throughout the day (I did not eat them all at once, I just list them in the same place on the journal page) is about the equivalent of what I was eating all at once in the evenings a few days ago. All in all I am quite proud of myself for the way I ate yesterday, and I hope to improve on the bad habits that die hard as each day passes.

 I also did not get my 2L or 8 glasses of water for the day. This is something that I regularly struggle with and often find myself dehydrated, which is never good. There are a few techniques I have heard of to help drink more water and eat less. For instance- drink a large glass of water before each meal so your stomach will seem full and you will eat less. Another one is to put the fork down and take a drink between each mouthful of food. While I cannot say I am going to adopt one of these ideas it did get me thinking that I have to be more aware of when I drink. I also have to make the conscious decision to drink water more often instead of waiting until I am thirsty and only drinking enough to wet my thirst for a short while.  What things do you do to make sure you drink enough water?

A New Start!

I promised myself I would go through another period of weight loss before my wedding. And I am starting today! I thought about a number of alternative methods that I could try, like P90X, weight watchers, etc. But Then I realized that I had a plan that worked before, so why not try it again? I have been pretty successful at maintaining my weight since I went "off" the diet. I have kept roughly 30 pounds off (everyone goes up and down a little bit right?). And now I need to get another 30 pounds to go away and never come back. That is my goal for the short term anyway. 30 pounds now, the rest later.I have indeed weighed myself today, although it was not first thing in the morning before eating when I usually step on the scale. Needless to say I have recorded the number but am not going to reveal it here. I want, maybe selfishly, to keep the big numbers a secret for now. Maybe at the end of the 3rd cycle of the diet this time around, I will reveal where I started in September and the total loss I have accomplished.

I woke up this morning and found lovely ginger cookies. I had the first one half eaten before it dawned on me that this was not the best way to start a new day in healthy eating. I finished the cookie anyway. For the rest of the day I have followed the first cycle of the 17 day diet pretty well, minus the fruit. I haven't had any yet, but I assure you this is a strategic move.

During the first 17 days of the healthy eating plan you eat no carbs or starchy fruits and veggies. You should strive to eat your two servings of fruit before 2 pm so that your body can break them down and process them before bedtime when their energy might be converted to fat. You can eat as much lean meat as you want and as many low carb cleansing veggies as you want. I haven't had any fruit yet today because it is largely going to be my main source of sweetness for the next while. And since I usually eat my sweets in the evening, this is when I know I will be craving them the most. So today I am saving my fruit servings for desert time in the hopes that I don't break down sobbing this evening when it comes time to refrain from eating chocolate and drinking pop, and when hubby-to-be is chowing down on them in close proximity. 

So far today I have eaten:

2 ginger cookies (at least I didn't eat them both at the same time)
1 egg and 2 egg whites made into an omelet with spinach and 1 tbs mixed shredded cheese
1 small chicken breast, baked with 1 tbs barbecue sauce
a cereal bowl full of sweet and salty popcorn
a cereal bowl full of plain potato chips

Hmmmmm can you see where I've gone wrong? I can. Clearly I wasn't as prepared for this re-start to the diet as I thought I was. I definitely need to move starchy snacks out of eyesight and back into the cupboards. I also need to fortify my fridge and kitchen with more fruits and veggies, and force myself to eat them instead of the alternatives. The cheese was not really the best choice, but there was really such a small amount that I am not at all upset with myself about making my eggs tasty and different.

Tonight I am going to try a new recipe for Turkey Meatloaf. This one is supposed to taste like Thanksgiving. It calls for cheese and breadcrumbs that I am going to leave out while trying not to sacrifice too much in the way of texture and flavor. Served with salad. I will let you know how it works out!