This week is about saving calories--and I'm going to ask you to keep a food log for one week (in your journal) or for at least 3 days!
Assignment:
Day 1: Write down EVERYTHING you eat
Day 2: Write down EVERYTHING you eat and WHY you ate it! (hungry, bored, nervous, sad, etc.)
Day 3: Write down EVERYTHING you eat and HOW it made you feel (full, sadder, etc.)
During the rest of the week, journal about the types of foods you eat (healthy or unhealthy, organic, etc.), how often you eat (3 meals, plus snacks, grazing all day, no breakfast, handfuls of chips spontaneously, etc.), and what food means to you.
One of the goals of this week is to see the theme of the "You are what you eat" as a commentary on how you and I think and feel about food. If it is more than fuel, we will fall into a pattern of eating for other reasons and find ourselves eating more than the 2000 or fewer calories a day that are advised for sustaining a healthy weight. Though this isn't a course on healthy eating, there are so many online resources available to educate us on the right foods to eat, that I encourage you (like last week) to do a little research for "extra credit."
Be encouraged,
Becky
Becky, we are what we eat. From January to May, I threw caution to the wind and broke all of the rules I had put in place to prevent relapse, like you snack it you track it or you bite it you write it. I broke the rule that I had about bringing my own lunch and I started throwing caution to the wind and I ate out. I also would not eat the food at work if I did not bring it or plan to share a meal with a friend. I broke the planning 20 minutes the night before and taking time to write down what I was going to eat the next day. As I shared in the last post, feelings got in the way for a sane response to food. I also started eating later and later at night. Food is for nutrition and when we go to food for comfort instead of God food is an idol or our God. Fulfilling the head hunger was more important to give into instead of going to God to help deal with the emotions. I am in recovery after being in relapse for five months and I am praising God for sanity and answering my many prayers. What good is confession if I have no intension of changing what I am doing? Blessings....Diana
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ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement and the discipline of accountability. I know I sure can use it. But often I think it is more then accountability... I just need to do it... I know that programs like Weight Watchers where you weigh in each week are good for that sort of thing... but been there and even that form of accountability doesn't do it for me... I have to find the motivator that works... and now that I have health issues this doesn't even seem to be enough of one... perhaps I am just a rebellious child. Anyway, I want to change. So I am going to really try and make this quarter work for me... I have too. It means my health....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the prayers and the encouragement
Sandra
I'm going to approach this week a bit differently than some. I'm a type I diabetic (39 yrs of it now) and use an insulin pump.
ReplyDeleteThe pump is just a gadget that saves some of us from taking mutiple daily injections (the standard regimen of type I's).
I'm supposed to count carbs at every meal and take insulin accordingly, and present a log to my Endocrinologist every few months. I bought a paper log book, even though I have software I can use, because it's better for me to be seeing things on paper. It graphs and logs carbs, exercise and blood sugar readings.
Anyway, I need to log my blood glucose test results and readings all day long, and I get really sick of it. So, pray that I can get this done. It takes a lot of remembering to write things down for every meal, count the carbs and journal the test results. I also have to watch for patterns and note when the insulin isnt working right, or is hitting me too hard. One walk around the block can cause lows twelve hours later for me. It 'aint' easy!
My next appointment is due to be in August, so I really need to be accountable to getting this done and I promised the doctor I would do it.
Thanks for prayers, and mine will be offered for the group.
Thanks Becky!
Thanks for the encouragement today! Tomorrow is a new day and I plan on using my journal to help me be more accountable, at least to myself. I have a hard time admitting this problem of emotional eating, so hopefully this in a beginning for me. My prayers are with each one of us in our daily lives to live for the Lord and glorify Him with our mind, body and spirit. I really feel like to overcome this sin will free up so much time and energy to do the things the Lord has planned for me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great assignment for this week, Becky! When school ended, I vowed I would get back to exercising and stop making excuses to myself for making poor food choices. Keeping track is the best way I know to curb overeating and help us be honest about the choices we've made.
ReplyDeleteBecky urged everyone during the call to "find a system that works and stay true to it!" As I've said in previous posts, I have worked part-time for a major weight loss company for 30 years, and even after all that time, I still have lapses. When I live the program, it works; when I get lazy, it doesn't. Having to weigh in monthly in order to keep the job has helped me tremendously, but even with that, sometimes I mess up. This spring I could feel my clothes getting tighter, and I felt horrible standing up before my members when I wasn't "walking the talk."
I'm not trying to push my particular program, but I have a couple of suggestions for those who are struggling. July's WW focus is to urge members to make sure they are getting five servings a day from fruits & vegetables; each week we are focusing on a different way to make that "doable." This week's challenge is to focus on color and make sure we eat at least three different colors of foods. It's a fun way to look at it. The beauty of having so many fruits and veggies is that they fill us up and provide real nutrition, unlike so much of the processed junk we all crave.
In preparing for my meetings this week, I was doing a little research on the internet, and I found a GREAT website! I know some in this 3rd quarter group have mentioned health concerns; this is a perfect spot for you! It's called www.nutritiondata.com. In it, you can see clearly how nutritionally sound a particular food is. In beautiful colored charts, they show what percent of various vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients are in the foods, as well as fats, proteins, carbs, fiber, etc, and they give lots of other interesting data, too. For example, I plugged in asparagus, which I love, and found that it is a super choice for many reasons. At only 20 calories and 2 grams of fiber per serving, it is ranked at "94%" for "completeness" and "92%" for "amino acids." It's "filling factor" is rated at 4.5 on a scale of 1 to 5, and it's nutritional density is 5.0. Now try that against a candy bar!
I hope everyone is having a great week and doing well with the journaling.
God bless!
Wanda
Oops! Should have proofread before posting. Corrections: ITS filling factor and ITS nutritional density--not it's.
ReplyDeleteHello there
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the title for this week, I have to say oh know here we go again!!! I have a really hard time writing things down, but I know in the back of my mind it is good for me.
When I think of food I think of chocolate! I have to keep things in the freezer or I will eat the whole pan of brownies! :)
When I think of dieting, I think of skipping meals to try to loose those extra pounds. :(
I know not a good weight loss program. I have done WW, but if I dont have an accountabilty partner then its not going to happen.
I would appreciate your prayers on this new way of thinking and to write things down. To be honest with you I do need to loose about 50lbs. The only way that I know is skipping meals. So help is TOTALLY needed!
Thanks
Grettings!
ReplyDeleteI was late getting to the call, but I recorded all of my food yesterday and found that I typically ONLY eat when I am hungry (YAY!). However, it appears that I am eating too many calories per day. Prior to dinner, for example, I had already eaten 1300. I eat healthy and exercise a lot, but I am a short gal and need less. This morning I had a fabulous breakfast for only 100 calories! So journaling is always great to see where the breakdown is occuring. We can do this!
Wanda, is there a main section on that web site or??
ReplyDeleteBecause all I'm seeing is links on the side and then lots of different web sites?
Also, for anyone who has an old fashioned Palm Pilot or something like it, the USDA food data base is downloadable for free.
I put it on my old Palm, but I dont use it much anymore.
Laura, make sure you're going to www.nutritionDATA.com, not just www.nutrition.com. Once you are there, look at the very top. You'll see their logo with a bunch of pictures of colorful foods right after the name. Then it says "SEARCH" followed by a box to type in and "in" and a pull down menu that starts with "all categories." Try plugging any basic food in the box and hit enter. That should bring you to the page with all the charts for that food. Please let me know if it works!
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else having trouble posting through their blogger account? I've been having to use AIM instead.
Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteWhatever I did before wasnt right.
That is a very nice web site.
Thanks for sharing it with us!
And we'll see if this posts!!!
Have a blessed weekend all.
Test...Test
ReplyDeleteI am so frustrated spending my time to comment, then I cannot get it to post.
This is a test...if it goes through, I will try to send my "real" comment.
ok after not being able to post my first comment, the "test" obviously worked, but now I cannot go back and find the "real" comment I had written. So...here it goes again.
ReplyDeleteI am excited to be back with the group. I did the first quarter faithfully, but did not do the 2nd quarter. When I did finally check in, I felt so behind and did not understand the initials and comments that everyone was talking about. So....I am back and excited about this fresh start.
I wanted to share my praise and success. I have lost 50 pounds. I went on a trip with my husband to Costa Rica in May, and I wore a dress (size 6) that I had worn 7 years before to a resort island. It fit! Woo Hoo!
Then, last night, I attended a 20 year college reunion of my husbands football team. It felt great to wear my size 6 jeans and to have the confidence to walk in without the excess baggage (fat!). Someone even asked me if I had been a cheerleader, which is funny because I cannot even do a cartwheel. (But maybe I looked the part being fit and confident). When I started to get focused on losing the weight, I had prayed for God to really help me, because I want to serve HIM with all my heart, soul and mind. I taught 2 year olds at BSF (a Bible study), and it was so hard getting up and down the floor with those children. I knew to serve HIM and give Him (and the children) my best....I HAD to get the weight off. It was hindering my service!!! Satan knows right where to attack us to keep us from serving our best. But praise GOD...He is able and willing to fight our giants for us...if we allow Him to. Pray, Pray, Pray, and be sure to put on the Full armor of God each morning, because we are in a battle each and every day. But we serve a God who is bigger, and stronger than our enemies, and desires to give us His peace, confidence, and our BEST! Don't get discouraged ladies! We can do this with God's help and this accountability group. It sure helps me to stay focused!
I still need help with time management and money management. I do NOT want to keep being late or hurrying to get places on time. I am learning to allow more time to get places, and I have experienced the peace that comes from being on time; but I do still struggle. I currently stay home with my 3rd child, and definitely need to do better at budgeting, so I can enjoy this last year of my 4 year old being at home before he goes to school.
Sorry for the lost post...guess I am making up for lost time--ha.
Again....excited about this 3rd quarter. Did not make the live call this week, but about to listen to it. Have a great week!
Your sister in Christ,
Beth
Wow! I wish I had listened to this call on Wednesday instead of today. On Thursday I went on vacation to the location of my childhood memories of the beach. The main draw? The seafood and desserts. I ate whatever whenever... as if I would never experience these particular foods ever again. Because I live 3,000 miles away... that might be true... but tasting versus my feeding frenzy would have been a bit better.
ReplyDeleteSo, today is a new day... and I am journaling and it is taking away my inexcusable feeding frenzy. One day at a time. One day at a time!
Thanks, Becky! Praise be to God!
Beth, after 13 years in BSF, I have nothing but praise for you children's leaders.
ReplyDeleteI miss those little ones!
Just testing to see if I can post again using my Blogger account. . . .
ReplyDeleteI must say my biggest struggle is staying focused for more than a couple weeks. I dive in w/all 4's and then after a couple weeks a switch flips off and I just stop. I actually did WW for a couple months and lost 16 pounds. I dropped a few sizes and felt SO GOOD. I made my 10% weight loss and was thrilled! I'm ashamed to admit I never went back after I made my first goal. It's been a couple months and I've crept right back up and have gained 10 back. BUT I feel like my walk w/God is closer. I don't know how to balance God, myself, my kids, etc. I'm so glad to be a part of this group. I'm happy to know we all ultimately just want more JESUS! Love and blessings to you all! Tara :)
ReplyDeletetesting first
ReplyDeleteWhat sweet comments you all have made. Beth your comment wasn't too long; it was inspirational. Becky what was the comment you made when people offer you something that isn't on your diet? I routinely choose not to eat something ie desert because it isn't on my healthy conscious diet and would like to have a comment to give others that isn't smug but polite why I am refusing their desert. I don't look at food as something I am giving up but what I am getting (more years on this earth). I am a 10 year breast cancer survivor. I pretty much stick to diet in David Servan-Schreiber's book Anti cancer A new way of of Life. Maybe I can figure this blog thing out
ReplyDeleteit seems that others of you are having trouble as well. God Bless Robbie
I didn't get to listen to live call either but when I did listen to it I was SO inspired! I have gotten to my goal weight and want to stay there but after journaling my eating for 3 days I realized that I eat for emotional reasons and then feel awful about it! I really want to keep the weight off and didn't realize that I sometimes give in to my emotions. Through this journaling experience I have realized that I need to lean on Jesus when I'm stressed, bored, angry, etc. and get on my knees and pray. I am really enjoying this group so far. I have never done anything like this and it is so nice to know I'm not alone. We are all struggling with the same things in one way or another. This has really been encouraging.
ReplyDeleteRita
Hello All, Thank you so much for your prayers for myself and my doggy ! I am sorry I have had to miss the last 2 weeks of calls and was not able to get online to respond sooner. We were out of town and traveling where we did not have internet or even cell service most of the time. I will catch up today on the calls and just be a little bit behind on my food journaling and WOW, I am always late for everything so that is a huge challenge :-)
ReplyDeleteThe Lord came through with people coming to help with our dog everyday we were gone. We are home now, his stiches are out and he seems back to normal. I know if you are not a dog person you wouldn't understand but IF you are a dog person you totally get it and I really appreciate your prayers and concern !!