Captain's Log...I mean..journal entry!

Food journaling really isn't that hard. I would argue that it's a foolproof way of holding yourself accountable to whatever it is you're eating. Every journal entry starts the same. I put the date on top, the times I eat, what I eat, the calories in it, and what exercise I did or didn't do that day. I also put what times I ate, how much sleep I got, the amount of water I drank, and how much stress I was under that day. This post is starting to remind me of the last minute of 20/20 when Andy Rooney starts babbling about random nothings. But I guess what I wanted to say is that food journaling is the critical component. I thought it was about will power, and it's not. The truth of the matter is you really don't want to eat more than you're supposed to...but ignorance is bliss. The food journal takes away all temptation because I can see what I have eaten and I can tell myself and show myself in an empirically valid way that nothing else needs to be eaten that day. Moral of the story, if you want to lose weight, get healthy, and change your life, you need to start food journaling. Now if you want to start increasing your mental health as well then journal journaling doesn't hurt either ;)

Eggs are Excellent

So as I have been watching what I eat, I must say that I am continually shocked at how many ways eggs can be prepared, how filling they are, and let's remember the most important part...tasty! I have been eating eggs in a variety of ways. A hard boiled egg at lunch is a 70 calorie addition that is tasty, filling, and really gives you some energy to get through your afternoon. I had an egg white omelete the other night with some salsa and toast. This morning I stopped at Starbucks and got their reduced fat turkey bacon breakfast sandwich with egg whites on it, and it was AMAZING! So good and so filling. As I am now officially entering week two of my 2000 calorie a day lifestyle there have been some bumps in the road. More specifically, my boyfriend I think is going through dinner mourning. It saddens him that I don't want to eat what he's eating if I don't know what's in it. But he's proud of me too, and while eating different foods at dinner is surprising lonely, it is none the less essential. I refuse to put unknowns into my body any longer. I have been telling everybody I know about my successes, losing seven pounds in one week is truly an accomplishment. But exercise is important too. I will forever thankful toward Bikram Yoga for changing my body and my mind. Yoga is something that has made this journey easier as when you are taking such care of your body you want to take care of what you are putting in your body as well. Anyway this post was supposed to be about eggs and I got sidetracked. Needless to say, this message goes to all the Chickens out there, specifically to all the ones treated humanely at fair trade farms where I get my eggs from, thanks Chickens, I do appreciate your bounty!

Down SEVEN pounds!

Well the official week one tally is in. SHOCKED that I was able to lose SEVEN pound in ONE WEEK by doing yoga four times, eating 2000 calories every day, and drinking a ton of water. I used portion control, didn't let myself get hungry, and made good food choices. I've discovered that if I eat an apple after Yoga I actually don't get ornery and impatient while I am cooking my dinner. So that was a major discovery. The apple is enough to tide me over until I can prepare myself a well portioned, healthy, and food pyramid balanced dinner. I am truly so proud of myself. I think this could be the start of something good. It appears the yoga and portion control are a deadly combination for fat stored extra in the body! What an amazing feeling this is! Very motivating! I will have to keep you posted on future successes!

Bikram Yoga: Great for the Body and Soul

Well I just got home from ninety minutes of Bikram Yoga. Considering that I worked all day and went to the 530pm session I am very proud of myself! It's tough to get motivated sometimes after work. But it's so much easier to get there if I have everything I need packed and ready in the car. It's like I am fine once I get there but in my head it's like "just go home, relax, you deserve to rest on Friday". But you know what? Once you go you feel great; not only about yourself and what you are able to accomplish, but it also makes it easier to watch what your putting inside your body. If our bodies are truly our temples why not take as good of care of them as we can? As I write this the bf is whipping together some black bean dip, we are eating grilled chicken pitas with black bean salsa, and some organic blue chips on the side. While our metabolisms slow down in the evening, it's a Friday night, and I have saved 800 cals for the meal I am about to dig into! See it's now about depriving ourselves from good food, it's about making ourselves the food we want to eat, about knowing exactly what's in that food, and enjoying it! Here's to TGIF, good food, and watching those 2000 cals a day!

Oh Breakfast.

I love breakfast. Seriously, it might just be the best meal of the day. As a couple we do one brunch per week. The breakfasts of my past can no longer be the breakfasts of my future. A new, tasty, more conservative breakfast must emerge. I will have to do some research on this. I want to continue this weekly brunch ritual but I need to know what I am eating. I think I read somewhere that if you are going to eat meat at breakfast your best choice is Canadian Bacon. Further reflection on the topic of breakfast is needed before the weekend brunch presents itself. I will keep you posted on my ultimate breakfast decision!

Yes to the coffee No to the Biscotti

I have begun to realize some bad habits of mine. My morning stop to pick up a cup of black coffee or a small latte sometimes leads to other choices. Like a muffin, or biscotti, or perhaps even a breakfast sandwich. And to be quite honest these choices add up. And to start the day off with a muffin just doesn't seem like a good idea any more. So I've decided to no longer purchase anything other than my coffee. It seems like a good rule to follow. Not only will I be saving money I will be saving my calories for more filling options, like fruit, fiber, and other items that don't pack a four to five hundred calorie punch in a single blow.

And the Food Journal Begins

This has been coming on for a while now. I knew that my clothes weren't fitting quite the way they should. I was rewarding myself with food. I would do 90 minutes of Bikram Yoga only to turn around and eat a giant wedge of lasagna and some garlic bread followed by a desert (because after 90 minutes of yoga there's nothing better for your inner and outer well being than Italian..right?) And then there is my boyfriend. The man loves to cook, worse yet, he loves to coat everything with a healthy layer of cheese. Being from Wisconsin the readily available Crack n' Cheese you can find on every corner has become a problem. I didn't want to restrict calories I mean I am an active twenty something professional. I work out a few times a week and I am a full time graduate student. There was no room for a significant reduction of food. But then a thought entered my head...just how much was I eating? I know that I read about those diet where people eat only 1400 calories a day..but considering how fat America is..I bet I was eating way more than the 2000 calories we are supposed to be eating. Shocking right! Well after four days of eating and counting exactly 2000 calories, along with two sessions of yoga, I had dropped 3 pounds. I don't think the answer is about restricting our food significantly. I think it's more about portion control and actually holding ourselves accountable to 2000 calories. This doesn't feel like a diet, rather it feels like I am following the golden rules of eating. If we are supposed to be eating 2000 calories, and we eat more, then of course we gain weight. If we eat 2000 calories a day and are moderately active I bet we would all become healthy. So this is my blog, and here I attempt to find out, what happens to a girl, who has at least 50 pounds to lose, counts those calories to the 2000 calorie mark. Do we really need to subtract so much? Is portion control enough? I think so.