Day 27, Week 4: No pain, no gain...right?

XD Weird title, but I feel like it deserved it. Not much to say about my Saturday as it was HIGHLY uneventful. (We don't have friends who hang out very often, and those who do seem to tire of our company...so we're almost ALWAYS bored, and almost always not able to go anywhere, since my boyfriend's parents are always giving excuses as to why we can't go out, but they refuse to help him get his license, then get mad when we ask them to take us somewhere out of town...) It was a highly stressful day because dad was having chest pains, and then everyone got into a fight...so it just ended up getting worse and worse until finally we went out over to Starbucks and then went to PetCo to get our new puppy a collar and leash to make sure we were prepared for the following day. I guess I'm not MEANT to have a social life, or something...onto my Food Journal for the day:

Day 27, Week 4
16.04.11. Saturday

1:00 AM Snack
♥ 1 small bag of Doritos (240 calories)
♥ 2 "Frosted Cherry" pop-tarts (400 calories)
♥ 1 7.5 fl. oz. can of Coke or Coca-Cola (90 calories)

Calorie subtotal: 730

Morning weigh-in: 214.4 lbs.

♥ 7/8 of a bottle of "Fruit Punch" Powerade (175 calories)

Calorie subtotal: 905

5:00 PM Dinner @ home
♥ Lean Cuisine Steamer Garlic Chicken w/ vegetables in a parmesan sauce w/ noodles (270 calories)

Calorie subtotal: 1,175

8:30 PM Starbucks
♥ 1 venti white chocolate mocha iced coffee w/ nonfat milk and w/o whipped cream (460 calories)

Calorie total: 1,635
Bedtime weigh-in: 217.0 lbs.

NOTES: I failed my calorie goal today and most of the week and also failed my soda and junk food goals for the week. I must attempt them again in the upcoming week to succeed in those areas in order to lose weight in the long run by teaching myself healthier eating habits.

Day 23, Week 4: You gain some, you lose some. You maintain some, you grow some.

I don't remember my day all too much, only that I felt pretty overwhelmed. I do know that it was a really slow day and nothing eventful happened. We went up to a store that was supposed to be a stationary store, and turned out more of a Kinko's than a quaint little shop. "Paper Trails" was the name of it, and I honestly wouldn't recommend it since it had no quills, ink, or parchment, and didn't have much of a selection of wax seals either. On top of which, if you're alternative, I wouldn't go there because the owner seemed to be rushing us out as if she felt it would look bad on her shop to have us in there, or that we would steal something. She was very obnoxious and incredibly pushy. Anyways...onto my Food Journal:

Day 23, Week 4
12.04.11. Tuesday

12:30 AM Snack @ home
♥ 16 Pringles (150 calories)
♥ a 7.5 fl. oz. can of Coke or Coca-cola (90 calories but I didn't drink it all so I'd say 70 calories worth)

Calorie subtotal: 220

Morning weigh-in: 214.6 lbs.

8:30 AM "Pick-me-up" @ home
♥ 1 Kasi TLC "Trail Mix" chewy granola bar (140 calories)
♥ a Yoplait Light "Fat Free" blueberry yogurt (100 calories)

Calorie subtotal: 460

9:30 AM Coffee @ Starbucks
♥ a venti white chocolate mocha iced w/o whipped cream (460 calories)

Calorie subtotal: 920

9:45 AM McDonald's
♥ a sausage biscuit (430 calories)

Calorie subtotal: 1350

7:00 PM Dinner @ home
♥ Lean Cuisine "Cafe Cuisine" Roasted Garlic Chicken (170 calories)
♥ 8 fl. oz. cup of water (0 calories!)

Calorie total: 1,520
Bedtime weigh-in: 215.8 lbs.
NOTES: Whilst I went over my calorie goal, it was mostly because I haven't had a steady sleep pattern during the entirety of my changes in diet. Thus, I haven't had to split my calories more sparsely until now. So this was a bit of a learning experience to say the least considering I took a nap from 1 to 6 PM that burned calories and left me hungry when I woke up.

Day 2: Noting changes that you want to make in your diet, and applying them the following day!

"Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork." ~English Proverb

As you saw from yesterday, I made a LOT of errors. I also woke up late and didn't get the best start on my first day of dieting, but I still didn't want to wait to get a start on it. Today I woke up MUCH later, and I still tried to be as successful as possible in my endeavor. Remember to keep your mind neutral, and not to view things purely optimistically or pessimistically. And now, for a view of my second food journal entry!

22.03.11. Tuesday
Day 2

Morning weigh in: (missed thanks to waking up late and not even having time to weigh myself because we had to go pick-up car parts and get dinner while we were out because we had friends coming over)

6:00 PM Chipotle (I wasted the time I could've spent weighing myself on looking up the nutrition information on the internet before we left! Remember if a place doesn't have their nutrition information posted or available at a counter, you can always look it up pretty fast via the internet and a lot of places like Chipotle have a calculator to know EXACTLY how many calories you're eating.)

♥ a barbacoa (a spicy seasoned pulled beef) fajita burrito bowl w/ cilantro lime rice, green peppers, onions, sour cream, and cheese (540 calories) (only five more calories than my Subway lunch yesterday and that was NOT including my sweetened green tea!)

♥ a 12 oz cup of water (0 CALORIES! And I'm trying to slowly introduce water into my diet!)

(Another thing I'd like you to note is that by getting a BURRITO BOWL instead of a BURRITO w/ a 13" tortilla you cut down 670 mg of sodium and a whopping 290 CALORIES! Check chipotlefan.com if you don't believe me! Isn't that astounding? Paying attention to what you eat whether you dine in or out is extremely important...and I've found that most teenagers and adults don't look at the nutritional facts on anything. I wasn't even brought up to read them! But now I'm trying to practice what I should've known to do all along!)

7:00 PM Starbucks

♥ a grande white chocolate or just white mocha frappucino light (w/o whipped cream) (300 calories, but this is probably less because once again Starbucks.com's system for calculating calorie intake by drink doesn't work correctly and they don't even HAVE the choice for a LIGHT white chocolate or white mocha to see your ACTUAL calorie information!)

11:30 PM Snack at home

♥ 1 medium sized apple sliced (about 80 calories) w/ about 4 tsp. or 2 tbsp. of peanut butter (about 47 calories per tsp.; about 95 calories per tbsp. equaling out at about 190 calories, for a complete total of 270 calories)

♥ 1 yoplait light fat free strawberry yogurt (6 oz. or 170 g = 100 calories)

Notes: Success on learning calorie counting at home! You can find fruit calorie values pretty easily on the internet these days! Incorporated a cup of water with ONE of my meals successfully as I try to add into my daily ritual. Did not exercise today but I will try to incorporate it into my week starting tomorrow! Cut my calorie intake down significantly today! Try to incorporate more fruit and vegetables and to eat a bigger breakfast as well as get up earlier to acquire 3 meals a day instead of packing my calories into dinner! Try to eat heavier in the morning than in the evening!

Calorie total: 1210
Bedtime weigh-in: 221.8 lbs. (including my clothes!)

Tips for you today!
Be sure to not give up even if you aren't losing weight during the very beginning. Installing healthy habits takes a ton of dedication and persistence! If you see something during your first week of analysis that you don't like, then CHANGE IT! You must be willing and ready to tackle down the biggest obstacle during your weight loss: Being frozen by the fear to fail! I found myself disappointed by my first Food Journal entry, but I knew the only way to cure my disappointment is to change what I see so that I won't disappoint myself any longer. I highly recommend making a "Note" section to note things that you see logged in your food journal that you want to change. It reinforces it and is great to look at the next day as a small reminder of what you set out to accomplish goal wise the following day!

And as a small side note: I just want to let whoever IS really reading this that tomorrow I am going to start on taking photos so that my posts aren't boring anymore! I'm sure you guys would actually like to see a picture of my current weight and what my Food Journal actually looks like so that you can see that I am actually telling the truth!

Goodnight!

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.)