The Advantages of a Journal

Just a quick post with a few ideas.  First, the advantages of a journal. Now I know there are journalers and there are non-journalers.  And both sides are pretty opinionated about their way of doing things.  But if you are on the fence about this, maybe sharing some of my experience with journaling might sway you one way or the other.

I can hardly believe I have written down practically everything I have put in my mouth for FIVE YEARS!  My first week at Weight Watchers I was one of those people who said, ‘no way am I writing down everything I eat.  No way am I looking up points values and keeping track of that.’  Ha!  Little did I know.  It was just something that worked for me.  I like numbers, and I like having a plan.  I also have a bad memory.  It is so easy to forget what you have eaten if you don’t write it down.  And since some of my big problems were identifying hunger, stopping when full, and just eating for the sheer joy of eating, keeping a journal came in very handy to keep those problems at bay.

Lately, I have noticed a different reason to value my food (and exercise) journal.  When I have had a particularly ‘bad’ week, like I thought last week was, I can look at the journal and realize that I actually stayed within my calorie alotment on 3 days, I still stayed under what would be my maintenance calories on 3 days, and there was only one day that was a complete blow-out.  The same thing has happened on weeks where I thought I had really ‘failed’ on the exercise front.  I REALLY can’t remember what exercise I have done earlier in the week.  So it is always very encouraging for me to add up my exercise minutes at the end of the week.

Another thing I’ve been meaning to mention is protein pancakes–made with yogurt!  Yes, it works just fine!  One day I didn’t have any cottage cheese, so I substituted 1/3 cup of yogurt.  The batter was a little thinner, but the pancakes tasted great.  I bet if you use greek yogurt, the batter would be almost the same as the cottage cheese batter.  Better protein, too.

I have had a great day today.  I can barely believe how much I enjoy the WHOLE DAY  when I have these 6 hour shifts.  Even though the driving takes a good part of the day (commute time is even longer during these drive times) I enjoy the morning before I leave, I enjoy being at work, and I particularly enjoy how much I can do after work and how very relaxed and happy I feel.  Today after I left work, I stopped at the gym for a brief workout before coming home, and I also picked up my 3 day’s worth of food from Vicky.  I hurried home, and got here just in time to get in a little walk/run with Noah, which he really needs when I’ve been gone all day.  I had fun looking at all the food I had gotten from Vicky, and wrote out my food plans for the next three days.  I don’t always stay exactly to the plan, but it definitely gives me a framework to stay within.  It takes away a lot of the angst over deciding what to eat or cook next.

I have been thinking about chili FOR DAYS!  (I have my Cooking Light magazine opened to their article on chili, Shelley!)  So when Vicky mentioned that she was packing some chili for me, you know what I had for dinner tonight.  It was SOOOOO GOOOOOD!  And it was a small bowl, and she had included just a little container of shredded cheese and onions to top it with.  But it was so very satisfying.  And to satisfy my need for volume, I cooked up a bunch of zucchini.  I routinely have a simple dinner like this, and it is very satisfying to me.  I ended the day with a peanut oat crispy cookie–another of Vicky’s creations!

The Noah report:  he is growing by leaps and bounds–44 pounds today at 13 weeks old.  Sorry I keep posting these night time head shots–I’ll get another whole body shot eventually.  And I did try to do a video, Jill.  I am a really bad cinematographer, come to find out!  Wow, right now he is laying next to me chewing on his legitimate toy.  Of course, that is after ‘bringing’ me both of my new tennis shoes and his slicker brush.  Oops, in the minute it took to type that sentence, he got up and found a leash I had left within reach.