Food Journal: Day One

Hey everyone,

One thing I've learned in my journey towards better health, it's that maintaining your weight is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise.  That's why it is so important to be mindful of what we put in our mouths.  You can think of it this way: if you want to lose or maintain your weight, it boils down to calories in vs. calories out; but if you want to feel good then you need to put high quality foods on your plate.  High quality means no processed or fast food, and plenty of fruits and vegetables, superfoods, complete lean protein and complex carbohydrates.  I don't claim to be perfect, but I do try to stay balanced.  I try to eat plenty of nutritious foods, and maintain my calories throughout the day to account for my sweet tooth at night.  

I've decided to track my diet for the next week or so here on my blog for myself and for you.  For myself, it will help me stay accountable to myself.  For you, it might be good to see portion sizes and how I manage to eat pretty healthy even with a very fast paced lifestyle.  I hope this little experiment helps us both!

Be powerful.  Be strong.  Be focused.

Monica

Here are today's meals: 

I started the day with a bowl of organic maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal topped with blueberries and a cup of coffee with peppermint mocha creamer.  I know it would be better for me to ditch the creamer, but this is one bad habit I allow myself. ;)

My day was go-go-go so along the way, I grabbed a chocolate protein shake and a bag of strawberries to refuel for my busy afternoon.

I wait tables a couple of nights a week and I am in love with this pizza we make at the restaurant!  It is a personal 7 inch pizza topped with an alfredo-pesto sauce, gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese, pecans and Italian sausage.  The flavors combine perfectly.

As you can see, I didn't eat the entire pizza.  I stopped eating when I felt satisfied, but not yet full.  It was so delicious that I wanted to eat the entire thing anyway, but if I had eaten more then I would have felt stuffed and that would have made me feel sluggish and hurt my digestion.  A balanced, healthy lifestyle means making the little choices each day that lead to bigger results.

I ended my evening with my favorite go-to salad: green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, kidney and garbanzo beans, a hard-boiled egg, mozzarella cheese, chicken, and topped with italian dressing.  This salad is packed full of protein with the beans, egg, cheese and chicken, which keeps me feeling satisfied for hours.

We have a little tradition at my restaurant that we call "tea time."  It is actually white wine in a coffee cup, the perfect camoflauge.  I had two cups of "tea" tonight while unwinding with the girls.

 

The Midnight Munchies attacked on schedule and my oh-so-sweet boyfriend picked up one of my favorite candies, Starburst FaveReds.  I want to shake the hand of whoever was brilliant enough to put all the reds together in one package.  Forty pounds ago, I would chow down on multiple bags of goodies, so I don't beat myself up too hard for eating one candy bar.  As long as I haven't eaten too much earlier in the day, then there is no reason I can't indulge in small portions of foods I love.

Well, the Starburst didn't quite cut it tonight and so I'm munching on this dark chocolate and oats granola bar.  It is sweet and chocolatey, in a healthy way.  This is one of the ways I try to trick my taste buds.