Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Day 1: A late start, purchasing a food journal, and outlining your success story!

For your first day you should go and make the purchase of your very first food journal! Mine is a composition book that only cost me a dollar so that I don't become overly attached to it, and so that I don't have some teeny, tiny book that I can't fit daily notes, tips, etc. Whether you're looking to change your life entirely by losing 50 lbs. or you're looking to make dietary changes and lose just 15 lbs., you should still invest the dollar into a food journal, (or diary for my female followers), because it's definitely worth it in my opinion and several people suggest it. So I left the house today with my first goal in mind, find a "Food Journal" that's gonna make me stick with it, and to log my very first day! Here's what I wrote for my very first page! (You'll want to outline what you intend on doing and how, and make sure that what I do is not exactly how you're going to lose weight- you have to do what works for you!)

21.03.11.
First weigh in: 221.2 lbs.
Weight goal: 145 lbs.

My first goal for the first 3 weeks is to eliminate soda from my life. An occasional soda doesn't hurt, but it's important for me to remember that it is high in sugar and soda also causes tooth decay. (Because let's face it- nobody really brushes their teeth RIGHT after they drink a soda.) I drink soda far too often and in quick succession, especially when eating out but even sometimes when we eat at home. I will break my addiction to soda by reducing my intake to by allowing myself 3 sodas maximum the first week, 2 sodas maximum the following week, and 1 soda maximum the last week. This is the 3 week plan I will be using to eliminate unhealthy eating habits throughout the next 12 weeks. I will first eliminate sodas, then junk food (i.e. chips, pizza rolls, pierogies, french fries, etc.), then sweets, and finally eating out.

As far as exercising goes, I will start this week with 30 minutes of walking, 3 times a week, not including walking to the post office, or the weekly hike I will take at the end of each week at a nearby park.

I will keep track of my diet and exercising with this book by writing down what I eat and when I exercise.


(This is not written in my food journal- I recommend outlining your plan of action BEFORE you write down your food intake for your very first day. That way every time you open your food journal or diary, you see it. Hopefully it will motivate you to stay with your program! I also think that you need to write down your first day weigh in at the top of the page, alongside your goal weight! This is also pretty important to remain focused!)

I had a late start today because I stayed up late watching movies with Joji, and ended up waking up at around 3 PM. We decided to grab a late lunch at SUBWAY since we wanted to go visit the cemetery and have a small, spur of the moment, rather rushed picnic. (We had to go run errands after that. -_-;)

♥ a 6-inch veggie sub on 9-grain wheat bread w/lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green peppers, pickles, onions, two pieces of American cheese, 2 tsp. light mayo, and salt & pepper w/ a 32 oz. sweetened green tea that Joji and I split (535 calories)

We had to go to McDonald's since we were tagging along with Joji's parentals and they wanted dinner at Mickey D's. I resisted the temptation even though it had been 2 hours since I first ate, Joji and I both got a really cheap snack that we ate while reading and waiting for the parents to finish eating.

♥ a Fruit N' Yogurt Parfait (160 calories, I'm not sure if that includes the small pack of cinammon granola that comes with it or not since McDonald's nutritional information doesn't seem to list it...)

Stopped at the Starbucks whilst shopping for my food journal at Target.
(Went a little weak in my knees I have to admit...oh well.)

♥ a venti White Chocolate Mocha Frappucino w/ nonfat milk & whipped cream (I can't find the ACTUAL value through Starbucks thanks to their website being faulty as fuck, so all I can get is the nutritional value for the same coffee I ordered with WHOLE MILK so since I can't get it I'll just say 550 calories event though that isn't correct)

Finally had dinner around 8 PM.

♥ a medium sized chicken breast cooked with mirin, sake, onions, and mushrooms w/ a serving of corn and a serving of rice
♥ a glass of apple juice

(I don't know the calorie count for dinner due to me just not knowing how to count calories when I make my own food, but I suppose I'll learn that through this whole experience.)

NOTES: Make sure to weigh yourself in the morning, and at the very end of your day. Didn't drink any sodas today, hoping to incorporate more water into my diet. Try to figure out how to count calories when you make dinner at home! Also did not exercise today!

Total calorie intake(not including dinner): 1245


The synopsis for my first day is that I have to learn how to count calories at home! Calories have stayed the same through all the fad diets, though meat eating and other things are still disputed, the basics stay the same: If you burn more calories then you intake, then you will lose weight. If you burn the same amount of calories you intake, you will stay the same weight and will maintain. If you burn less calories than you intake, you will gain weight.
I also have learned that I need to watch my calorie intake at Starbucks! I love their coffee, but even trying it with nonfat milk makes no noticeable change in the taste of the coffee and cuts calories. I found myself shocked at nutritional values as well! The calories really add up with that whipped cream at Starbucks and it's not even worth it! It doesn't even taste that good in my opinion! (It's waxy IMO.) And look at my calorie total for today! I can't imagine how many calories dinner was and how many calories I actually had, or how many calories that would have been had I drank sodas all day! I also didn't even eat breakfast! Don't call it quits if you went over your calorie count for the first day. You have to remember that this is a learning experience and you are going to learn a lot about yourself and the changes and sacrifices you are going to have to make to actually succeed.

I hope you find this first post helpful!

As a side note, when you are bigger your clothes can weigh 1-2 lbs. Weigh yourself naked to make sure that you are getting your ACTUAL weight! (I actually tested it out by weighing myself twice and my clothes for a size 18 with just my jeans, binder, and t-shirt w/o shoes I weigh 223.2, I checked this twice to make sure, and w/o clothes I weigh exactly 2 lbs. less! :O Make sure to never weigh yourself with shoes on as well! And if you're feeling too lazy, just test out your scale and every time you weigh yourself you can just subtract the weight of your clothes.)

4 comments:

  1. you are an inspiration! i am dieting the same way. and have the same goal. i am 224lbs.

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  2. @trippamy Thank you so much! I am glad to hear that someone out there is in the same position I am! I hope that some of my tips and things I am blogging about help you along the way!

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  3. Hey sweetie~! Its lovelywarumono ^^;; I just wanted to say that this is a real inspiration, and I'm proud of you <3

    Beware that with cutting out soda altogether, you are going to be a bit more prone to headaches since you're body is so use to running on the sugar and caffeine that it supplies. It should, however, have a positive impact on your sleep, I would think.
    I heard fiber is always good for weight loss, too!

    Can't wait to read more of your entries~ n_n

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  4. @Rebecca Hey babe! Really glad to see you here! (Familiar faces! :D <3) Thank you so much and :O I can't believe people like you are telling me that I'm an inspiration! Thank you so much!

    I haven't cut out caffeine entirely. I just want to get rid of soda considering it's terrible effect on both my stomach lining and tooth enamel! I still drink coffee here and there, and don't AVOID chocolate. I haven't had headaches but I have had terrible sleep pattern issues and sleep issues in general! Bad dreams and nightmares, etc. I really feel that I need to incorporate more fiber but I haven't figured out how to just yet.

    So excited to have you reading my blog! <3

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