Food Diary to get me back on track

I am exhausted!! The past 10 weeks have certainly been productive, but they have definitely drained me. Don't get me wrong, the pretty intense course load has taken it out of me, but I do have a sneaking suspicion that the recent downhill slide of my diet is also starting to contribute. I have really notice some major energy slumps and some wicked sugar cravings in the past week!

So why the food diary? I will admit that I am doing it more for selfish reasons as opposed to writing something for my readers, but I know that I personally find it quite inspiring reading about what others eat, so hopefully you do too. Basically for about the past month, every Sunday as I sit on my third cup of coffee and sneak those extra pieces of chocolate, I tell myself that I am going to eat better the next week. Then as the week goes on and I get more and more tired I start eating more sugar and packaged foods. Bit of a vicious cycle really.

So continue checking in on this post over the week, as I will keep updating it with some photos and info on what I have been eating, drinking and doing for exercise. Also, to keep me in check, I would love for you guys to send me suggestions, either on here or on Facebook, about some fantastic real foods that I could try.

Monday

Breakfast: Cinnamon and Apple Porridge with coconut and almond milk. Half piece of toast with peanut butter.

Lunch:Pastrami and egg filled roll, celery sticks with hummus and an apricot and pumpkin seed bliss ball.

Dinner: Veggie and cheese pasta bake, garlic bread and a big salad. Two piece 75% chocolate for dessert.

Snacks: Wholemeal Date Scone with peanut butter and 2 mandarins for morning tea. Piece of grainy bread with peanut butter for afternoon tea.

Drinks: Earl Grey Tea with breakfast, caffeine-free coffee substitute for morning tea, peppermint tea with lunch and after dinner and a healthy homemade hot chocolate in the afternoon (recipe up soon!) <---- a="" been="" drink="" have="" hot="" i="" kick="" on="" p="" seem="" to="" today="">
Exercise: I decided since I was feeling a little tired to start off with something a bit lighter and shorter, so I did this Bikini Belly Blaster video from Popsugar.

A further update on today, I went and saw a naturopath. The stress of this year seems to be getting to me a little bit, with hormonal acne really playing up and often feeling really tired when waking up, even after a good 8 hours. She has made a couple of really useful suggestions for me:
- We have switched up my supplements to include B vitamins which are often depleted through stress and using a powdered zinc supplement instead of a tablet form. I am also going to be taking pro-biotics for the next month just to get the good gut bacteria operating properly.
- I need to try and up my lunchtime protein to help avoid that 3pm slump.
- I should try and include 3 servings of fish like salmon in my week. Come at me salmon recipes!
- And I should probably cut back on the soda water as the carbonation affects long term bone health (sob!). Perhaps it can be a once a week treat for me.

So far I am feeling pretty positive about this all. I definitely like the naturopathic approach to try and correct the cause and not just treat the symptoms. While it is a bit pricier than the doctors, if I think about what I could spend on doctors visits, facials and skincare products to correct the acne etc. it probably works out better. Also, can you really put a price on good health?

Tuesday

Breakfast: Porridge with almond milk and homemade (refined sugar free) granola

Lunch: Lentil-based soup (protein in there), piece of cheese on toast, baby carrots, wholemeal scone with peanut butter and 2 pieces 75% chocolate.

Post-lunch thought- It has been a pretty carb-heavy kind of morning, so this afternoon/evening I will definitely need to balance it out with some protein and healthy fats.

Dinner: Hungry Male had done an exceptional job in his hunter role and had gone out fishing, so we had some delicious pan fried blue cod with coleslaw and a few homemade potato wedges. For dessert I had half a mini lemon meringue pie from the I Quit Sugar Cookbook.

Snacks: Refined sugar free banana muffin and an apple (I need to add a bit more to breakfast as I was hungry at 10am).

For an afternoon snack before work I had a greek yoghurt bowl with almonds, sunflower seeds and a few chocolate chips. (I haven't had one of these in ages and had forgotten how much I loved them!) At the end of work I had a raspberry wafer cracker.

Drinks: Lemon squeezed into warm water before breakfast (naturopath recommendation), Decaf plunger coffee with morning tea, Earl grey tea with lunch, coffee in the afternoon at work.

Exercise: I did 3 blogilates videos: The legs for days video, the Gentleman challenge, and the applause arms workout.

So overall I think that I have done a pretty good job avoiding too much caffeine and refined sugars. The only refined sugar came from the few pieces of dark chocolate and the wafer cracker. Woohoo!

Wednesday

Breakfast: Apple and Raisin Porridge. A piece of rye and walnut toast with peanut butter.

Lunch: Pretty much the same as yesterday although with my soup I had half a cheese bun and a small piece of rye and walnut bread. With lunch I had a pear and  little bit of an easter egg.

Dinner: Mexican black beans with a wholegrain tortilla, avocado, a big salad and some brocolli (yum!!). For dessert I had a homemade mini sticky date pudding with some greek yoghurt.

Snacks: A pottle of greek yoghurt with a sugar-free banana muffin crumbled on top for morning tea. In the afternoon I did quick a bit of picking at things like nuts, brown rice crackers, a piece of chocolate and some homemade kettle corn (not such a good sit down and eat snack, oops)

Drinks: Hot water and lemon before breakfast, a decaf coffee after breakfast and lunch, and an earl grey tea in the afternoon.

Exercise: 15 minutes yoga before breakfast

Thursday

Breakfast: Porridge with almond milk, chopped almonds, banana and honey. A piece of wholegrain toast with peanut butter.

Lunch: Erm I kinds managed to mess up my eating patterns. I had a Flat White that was probably closer to a Cappucino that pretty well filled me up, meaning I wasn't in the mood to eat my lunch.

Dinner: A beef and capsicum curry with rice and steamed cabbage. I also had a piece of date slice.

Snacks: Strangely around 3pm, despite not having a big lunch I was only peckish. I had a sugar free banana muffin and some homemade kettle corn.

After dinner I went to supervise a test in at uni until 8. After this not having a proper lunch really seemed to hit me. I had the chicken, veggie and pesto sandwich that I had made for lunch, and apple and some chocolate.

Drinks: Hot water with lemon before breakfast. Cup of tea with breakfast. Tea after dinner.

Exercise: I was out and about all day so I just took a day off.

Friday

Breakfast: Porridge with almond milk and some comb honey. Piece of toast with peanut butter.

Lunch: Tuna and tomato melts, a pear and 2 pieces 75% chocolate.

Dinner: Lentil and Sausage casserole served on Polenta with broccoli and cauli on the side.

Snacks: I was starving at 10! (Note to self I need to have a more substantial porridge to keep me going). I had an apple and some homemade kettle corn. In the afternoon I went into town with mum and we halved a lemon and poppyseed muffin.

Drinks: Hot water with lemon before breakfast and a decaf coffee after. A cup of tea at morning tea time and a flat white in the afternoon.

Exercise: I got out for a run!! I haven't been running in weeks!

Saturday

Breakfast: Piece of toast with peanut butter, bowl of muesli with almond milk.

Lunch: Open faced sandwiches. One was peanut butter and banana and the other was hummus, cheese and tomato.

Dinner: Before dinner we went out for drinks and nibbles as part of a family celebration. We had some bread and dips and an antipasto platter. We then shared a couple of desserts between 7 of us so I had a mouthful of each. Dinner was very small after this! Just a tiny piece of steak and some salad.

Snacks: I picked at a few things throughout the morning like a bite from hungry male's raspberry slice and a handful of peanuts. I also had a few crackers in the afternoon.

Drinks: Flat white at the farmers market. A cup of tea with lunch and in the afternoon. A glass of sauvignon blanc when I was out with the family. Peppermint tea after dinner.

Exercise: Just incidental exercise today, like walking around the farmers market.

Sunday
Breakfast: A Gordon Ramsay baked oatmeal with hazelnuts, pear and raisins (yum!)

Lunch: A rye sandwich with chutney, chicken breast and tomato. I also had an apricot yoghurt cookie.

Dinner: Steak, salad and some pan-fried potatoes.

Snacks: An apple in the morning. A piece of rye bread with peanut butter and a handful of doritos in the afternoon.

Drinks: Cup of tea with breakfast, 2 coffees (oops) and a glass of red wine.

Exercise: The weather was horrible so I stayed in a relaxed!!


So overall I think I did pretty well at trying to reduce sugar intake and caffeine. I have been reading the I Quit Sugar books and I definitely think that I could do better in this area. My aim this week if to try and swap sweet things like chocolate after meals for something savoury like a small piece of cheese.

While I still had a coffee almost everyday, I think the biggest difference was that I didn't feel like I HAD to have one to get through the next few hours. That may also have been something to do with me having a slightly lighter workload at the moment for uni.

What are your views on my food diary? Any areas that you think I could improve in?