Daily Eating/Exercise Journal: Part 2:
Yesterday I blogged about daily journaling for exercise and eating. It helps me track and motivate my workout progress. Today, I want to share the importance of the food journaling to my success managing my weight after having three children and being in my mid forties.
Many people believe that calorie counting is counter productive to weight loss and a healthy body. That it makes people too neurotic about the count of food vs. the nutritional value of food, while also removing the fun of food. I understand their point of view, but for me, it helped me to get a handle on how many empty calories were being consumed through pop, lattes, candy, and mindless eating ( off kids plates and just 'noshing' while opening the fridge). When I really started to realize my actual daily calorie count vs. what I thought I was consuming it was enlightening. The practice of looking up calorie counts of food ( I got a second hand calorie dictionary), kept me to a more reasonable eating plan. Writing down calorie amounts for drinks ( lemonade and apple cider have 70 calories each) and candies, made me less likely to consume them. This journaling helped me to move into a predominantly clean eating diet ( because who want to write on paper they ate a 1/2 pound fried hamburger with biggy fries?)
I also use my journal to track my stomach and back symptoms and if I used any laxatives or over the counter medications like Prilosec to control them. When I went to see a gastroenterologist, I presented him with an accurate history of my symptoms and let him decide what parts of that information were relevant.
Take the information that I shared with you in full, or in part, to help you manage your daily calorie intake, which when combined with exercise, will help you attain the body size that you are striving to attain.
Thursday 11/19 Workout Diary:
Recumbent bike- 30 minutes
Strength Train- Biceps/legs
Split squat- 12lb
Biceps row- 1 tube
Straight legged donkey kick- 26 lb
Incline alternating dumbbell curl- 12 lb
Biceps curl- 12 lb
Thursday 11/19 Food Diary:
Breakfast-
1 small apple (47 cal)
Organic Steel cut oats (150 cal)
A.M. Snack-
1/4 cup protein cereal, 1/4 cup raspberries/blueberries, 1/4 cup non-fat cottage cheese, 1/2 cup yogurt (170 cal)
Lunch-
4 oz chicken( 187 cal)
Salad- 2 cups spinach, 1/4 cranberries (100 cal)
2 oz. dark chocolate (130 cal)
P.M. Snack-
5 organic, roasted no salt almonds (140 cal)
Dinner-
4 oz. tuna steak (208 cal)
salad- 2 cups mixed greens, 1/2 red sweet pepper ( 60 cal)
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