Keeping A Food Journal

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I've been keeping a food journal for two weeks, which I've just turned in to my doctor, and my doctor visit was chock full of good news!  I am doing so well that I won't need medication to manage my cholesterol and blood sugar!  And, here's the shocker - I actually lost 7 pounds in two weeks!

I managed to follow her directions to eat 6 times a day.  Yes, six times a day - it's not a typo!  It was, without a doubt, the hardest part of the changes I've made.  I'm an old pro at dieting - usually what's termed 'starvation' dieting.  I'm also fantastically talented at skipping meals, sometimes for a day or more.  Eating three meals and three snacks a day made me feel, in the beginning, a bit like a cow standing at a feeding trough!

Photo via www.illumination.missouri.edu

I did miss a couple of breakfasts and a few snacks, but there are bound to be challenges to forming any new habits!  I splurged and had light cheesecake and even a handful of potato chips, but I'm told that it's okay to treat myself occasionally.

It's also going to be challenging to continue this on a food stamp budget, but not impossible.  This past month, I managed to have fresh fruits and vegetables through all but the last 2 days.  It took a lot of research, a lot of planning AND changing the way I shop and do things in the kitchen and I'll continue to 'tweak' things as I learn.

I've still been able to eat Italian and Mexican food. I can still have my occasional dessert. I AM learning which foods are a better value carbohydrate-wise and complex carbs tend to be found in healthier foods. I am NOT obsessively counting calories, just simply learning to make wiser choices for my body.
The changes nutritionally involve learning about, and trying to eat following this chart

Glycemic Index Food Pyramid  www.lowgidiet.net.au

And

• cutting down on white foods - white rice, white flour, white potatoes, sugar.  Notice I didn't say cutting them out - but cutting them down!
• Using less of those yummy, calorie dense dairy foods - butter, sour cream, cheese - and using them more wisely
• Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables
• Balancing complex carbs with proteins
• Using less oil - and when I do, using olive oil or cooking spray
• Using Stevia rather than sugar substitutes (which are full of dangerous chemicals!)
• Finding ways to add more legumes to recipes 

Here's a sample, taken directly from my food journal:

 

I'll be adding more sample menus, recipes, tips, etc in future posts so I hope that you'll follow along.  If you'd like to have the sample menu as a pdf file, let me know!