Diet Log Week #1

6/16/11
I just thought I would put some of my thoughts and actions each week in a log, so my diet stuff does not clog up other posts, but is still given a fair amount of attention, because I really do think about these things a lot. Eventually the stuff that I am doing will no longer be novel and new, and I will be able to not think about the different things I will cook as much, but until then I will include them in here.

Well I had some leftover grilled marinated chicken from last week, which was paired with some roasted vegetables. I also have since made some delicious pork chops in a paprika tomato sauce, along with even more roasted vegetables.

I have had a salad that had some tuna and white beans on it. I didn't really like the white beans though. they are too mushy in texture, so I may just have to stick with black beans, or try some kidney beans or something. I realized that i could eat a big salad with a ton of tuna on it any time. I love tuna, I tried some of the seasoned tuna which was really good, and allows me to add even less salad dressing than i had been adding. I also have been tossing in some baby carrots and some cucumber slices which have been a good change of pace to the regular pile of lettuce.

Right now I am having my last grilled chicken breast on top of a salad. I am already looking ahead to what I will cook on the weekend, should the weather be nice, I might have to grill some steaks, and some more marinated chicken breasts. I will probably spend some more time roasting some more vegetables as well. I just really love the roasted garlic flavor on top of the cooked broccoli and cauliflower specifically. There is a little big of oil on them, but not too much where they feel heavy. I might even do a double batch of those, in 2 separate pans so that I won't have to cook them twice a week.

On this diet, you spend a lot of time thinking about what you will do for your cheat day. For those that don't know a cheat day is a day where I am supposed to eat a lot of carbs, and a lot of the foods that I otherwise would not be able to have on this diet. It helps to make sure that your cravings don't completely ruin your diet completely. I guess there is also some science behind it. Your body is not able to process all of the carbohydrates and fat that you eat on a binge day, and they leave your body as waste. I know this because the writer of this book actually measured his own waste, which was gross, and interesting to read.

So I have my game plan which will be my cheat day:
Fried eggs in the morning, I am supposed to still eat protein for breakfast
Grapefruit juice, which will help manage the glycemic load of what i am going to be eating
I have been craving chocolate milk, and some cake of some kind
For lunch I am going to go to culvers and get a double butter burger with cheese basket with fries
For dinner I am going to have some Thai noodles of some kind and some egg rolls
Some sort of ice cream, maybe cold stone, or DQ

I know this sounds like a gross amount of food, but its what it recommended by the book, so I don't know what else to do. This diet makes you think about what it is you want over the course of a week leading up to your cheat day, so you have a pretty good idea of what do buy that day. Sitting at the office, or at my other job, ideas will pop into my head, and I just need to make a list of what I am craving this week. Last week it was a chinese buffet, which I realized I could probably do on the diet, I have some pizza and some ice cream, and some chocolate donut holes.

I think this diet is really going to teach me to manage my temptations well. This diet is really making me utilize sunday as a day to cook food for the rest of the week as well. Planning is really important in this case, because I want to always have a few items available to myself to eat. I am already planning what I should buy tonight when i am done at work. More chicken, and some salad are the 2 top things. I will also look at what the price on some shrimp would be. I need to get some more broccoli and cauliflower for roasting as well.

6/17/11
My cheat day was fun, the night before it I had a dream about food, but only the bad kinds of foods. I definitely drooled on the pillow.

I had my normal high protein breakfast before delving into the depths of carbs. Oh how sweet carbs are, but of course also the cause of all of my problems. I like the idea of limiting all of my carbs into one day. It makes me plan ahead, and limit all of the things I eat to what I can consume in one day and not actually explode. Culvers was great for lunch, a double butter burger with fries so deliciously greasy. I had some Cold Stone, which is probably my favorite ice cream. I love Ben and Jerry's, but it makes me sick if I have too much, its too rich. Cold Stone is nice and creamy, and not that heavy. I love the cake batter ice cream. I like the peach iced tea ice cream, but I don't really know what to mix in with it, so its not that great of an offering from Cold Stone.

I had some chocolate milk with some cake, which was disappointing. The chocolate milk was amazing, and I had missed it, but the cake really somehow missed the spot. For dinner I had some Thai noodles with some eggrolls. It was a good dinner and some more carbs. I am glad that I got rid of any of the leftovers of my bad foods before the night was over, and I threw some stuff out rather forcing myself to finish all of it, which was some development in myself. I would usually, in the past, just binge on the sweets to finish them.

6/19/11
I spent a lot of the day cooking. I am liking more and more the fact that I can spend a few hours cooking on a sunday and have food for myself for the whole week. Having food ready to eat at home makes all of the other temptations much easier to resist. I made some chicken, some steak, some broccoli and some cauliflower. I might need to look into making some new sort of way of preparing vegetables, but its not a big deal. Maybe some curry vegetables for a change of pace.

6/21/11
I had my usual lunch from Burrachos today, and it really is filling. I was worried a burrito without rice would not be able to hold me over through the last 4-5 hours of work, but the fact that I get double beans really helps keep me full.

6/23/11
I got a new tape measure to take my measurements with because my old one was falling apart. If I were to compare my new measurements with my old ones I have lost 6 total inches from my body over the course of a week and a half, which is really good news. I still have not received my scale so I can't report on any weight loss at all, but I should be getting it today or tomorrow. I have felt like my clothes have been looser on me, which is a great feeling, but it might just be psychological. I am ok with tricking myself into thinking things are looser as long as I am feeling better.

Looking ahead to this weekend, I am making my first trip away from home while on the diet so it should be a different experience. I still have my cheat day to use so it won't be so hard to keep the good work up.