You may have noticed that I seldom, if ever, make any notation about drinks I've consumed in my daily diary. That's because my favorite non-alcoholic drinks are water and decaf green tea (hot or cold) without sweetener. These both have no calories and no caffeine, so they count toward the 8 glasses of water you're supposed to drink each day. I love water, so I drink a lot more than 8 glasses a day. (It's just past noon, and I've already had 6 or 7 glasses of water today.)
If you have a hard time consuming that much water, here's a tip. Find a 64 ounce bottle (2 quarts, or half a gallon), and fill it up with water each morning. Then, fill your water glass from that bottle throughout the day so you can track your water consumption.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Tip: Write It Down!
Want my best diet secret?
Write down everything that you eat, and also track your daily exercise. I also make a note of my weight each day.
There are a couple benefits to keeping a diet and exercise diary.
You can identify patterns and trends. Maybe you gain weight each time you eat a particular meal. Or maybe you had a particularly good diet week, and want to repeat it. You'll know what you did to make it happen.
You'll be more motivated to stick to your diet and workout regime. I love food, and often eat when I'm not hungry. If I'm not tracking my food intake, I'd have a list a mile long of each and every thing I snacked on when I got bored and walked through the kitchen. Having to commit it to paper is a good incentive not to snack. It also motivates you to keep up your good habits. Doesn't you get a good feeling each time you enter a workout into your diary? I do!
So write it down...today.
Write down everything that you eat, and also track your daily exercise. I also make a note of my weight each day.
There are a couple benefits to keeping a diet and exercise diary.
You can identify patterns and trends. Maybe you gain weight each time you eat a particular meal. Or maybe you had a particularly good diet week, and want to repeat it. You'll know what you did to make it happen.
You'll be more motivated to stick to your diet and workout regime. I love food, and often eat when I'm not hungry. If I'm not tracking my food intake, I'd have a list a mile long of each and every thing I snacked on when I got bored and walked through the kitchen. Having to commit it to paper is a good incentive not to snack. It also motivates you to keep up your good habits. Doesn't you get a good feeling each time you enter a workout into your diary? I do!
So write it down...today.
September 4, 2007 Diet Diary
Weight: 135 pounds
Breakfast: Oatmeal with cottage cheese (cook 1/3 cups of oatmeal with 2/3 cups of water, when finished add 1/3 cup 2% cottage cheese, 1/2 teaspoon fructose, 2 teaspoons almonds, 1 tablespoon milk)
Morning Snack: Half of a Balance Bar
Lunch: Half of a Balance Bar, Cedar's Hummos with celery
Afternoon Snack: Fiber One Clusters
Dinner: Basil Shrimp with Feta and Orzo (the last of my leftovers!...on to something new, I promise)
Evening Snack: Red wine and low-fat string cheese
Exercise: I took a 3+ mile, 50-minute walk today, and think I probably pushed myself a little too far since I'm still sick, and it was hot outside. I'm alive, but was very flushed for an hour or so afterward, and got a little bit of a heat rash.
Note: Although I'd lost a pound or more a day for the first couple of days, I new it was unrealistic to expect that I'd keep up that pace. So I wasn't too surprised when I got on the scale this morning and found that it still read 135 pounds. Last night's dinner was very salty, so I may have retained some fluid. And, on the flip side, I've been popping decongestants and antihistimines over the past four days. In my experience, they dry you out and can cause some constipation.
Breakfast: Oatmeal with cottage cheese (cook 1/3 cups of oatmeal with 2/3 cups of water, when finished add 1/3 cup 2% cottage cheese, 1/2 teaspoon fructose, 2 teaspoons almonds, 1 tablespoon milk)
Morning Snack: Half of a Balance Bar
Lunch: Half of a Balance Bar, Cedar's Hummos with celery
Afternoon Snack: Fiber One Clusters
Dinner: Basil Shrimp with Feta and Orzo (the last of my leftovers!...on to something new, I promise)
Evening Snack: Red wine and low-fat string cheese
Exercise: I took a 3+ mile, 50-minute walk today, and think I probably pushed myself a little too far since I'm still sick, and it was hot outside. I'm alive, but was very flushed for an hour or so afterward, and got a little bit of a heat rash.
Note: Although I'd lost a pound or more a day for the first couple of days, I new it was unrealistic to expect that I'd keep up that pace. So I wasn't too surprised when I got on the scale this morning and found that it still read 135 pounds. Last night's dinner was very salty, so I may have retained some fluid. And, on the flip side, I've been popping decongestants and antihistimines over the past four days. In my experience, they dry you out and can cause some constipation.
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