Above is a picture of my actual food diary.
Above is a picture of my actual food diary.
In the beginning I used my book to write out a whole days plan. Starting with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks all upto my calorie limit. I had about 15 weekdays and 8 weekend plans. However later on as my calorie allowance decreased (alongside my weight) I changed to listing just the dinner options and then seperate lists of 'Other' options to pick from. Such as a list of foods under 100 calories and a list of foods over 100 (but under 200) calories. Then each day I could easily plan my food for the next day, picking from my different lists. Sometimes I would change things around a bit ON the day or sometimes just be full enough and not need all the items I was allowed. As I recorded my daily food on FitBit, an app with exercise, weight and calorie options, it was easy to delete or change what I actually ate from my plan. Below is some actual daily food plans I had in the past few weeks. I show these so you can see how I am still losing weight (and fat) despite my diet being not traditionlly healthy or full of salads!
| Breakfast 8am | Lunch 11am-noon (at work) | Dinnertime 4-5pm | Snacks 7pm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crumpet and butter 108 calories | Ginger Nut Biscuit 46 calories | Sausage Casserole, 242g diced potato, calories 587 | Crisps calories 79 |
| Jaffa Cake 46 calores | Mint Ice Cream 33g calories 53 | Lemon curd 6g on Milk Roll calories 64 | |
| Twirl one finger calories 90 | |||
| Fibre Popcorn Bar calories 84 | |||
| Carr Cheese Melts x3 calories 63 | |||
| Total calories 1405 | Turkish Delight Bar calories 185 |
| Breakfast 8am | Lunch 11am-noon (at work) | Dinnertime 4-5pm | Snacks 7pm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 muffin with 20g light soft cheese calories 91 | Ginger Nut Biscuit 46 calories | Spaghetti Carbonara and 147g chips calories 445 | Crisps calories 79 |
| Jaffa Cake 46 calores | Raspberry Ripple Mousse calories 81 | Chocolate Spread on 1/2 Tiger Bread calories 84 | |
| Crunchie 26g bar calories 122 | |||
| Cadbury caramel bar calories 179 | |||
| Carr Cheese Melts x2 calories 42 | |||
| Total calories 1400 | Turkish Delight Bar calories 185 |
| Breakfast 8am | Lunch 11am-noon (at work) | Dinnertime 4-5pm | Snacks 7pm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemon Curd 8g on 1/2 Flat Bread calories 72 | Ginger Nut Biscuit 46 calories | 1/2 tin Tikka Masala. 1/2 Microwave Rice calories 464 | Crisps calories 79 | |
| Jaffa Cake 46 calores | 147g Chips calories 122 | Twirl One Finger calories 90 | ||
| 1/2 Banana calories 39 | Mint Ice Cream 33g calories 53 | Fibre Peanut Bar calories 90 | ||
| Jaffa Cake calories 46 | Lemon Curd 8g on 1/2 Flat Bread calories 72 | |||
| Total calories 1404 | Turkish Delight Bar calories 185 |
| Breakfast 8am | Lunch Noon | Dinnertime 4-5pm | Snacks 7pm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 Tiger Bread with 20g light Soft Cheese calories 65 | 1/3 Baked Beans on Tiger Bread Slice calories 199 | 1/3 New Yorker Pizza and 242g Chips calories 646 | Crisps calories 79 |
| Crunchie 26g calores 122 | Jaffa Cakes x2 calories 92 | Mint Ice Cream 33g calories 53 | Chocolate Spread 7g on 1/2 Tiger Bread calories 84 |
| Peanut Butter 9g on 1/2 Tiger Bread calories 100 | |||
| Cadbury Caramel Bar calories 179 | |||
| Total calories 1804 | Turkish Delight Bar calories 185 |
| Breakfast 8am | Lunch Noon | Dinnertime 4-5pm | Snacks 7pm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadbury Creme Egg calories 170 | Crunchie 26g calories 122 | Chicken Roast Dinner calories 597 | Crisps calories 79 |
| Lemon Curd 6g on Milk Roll 64 | Jaffa Cakes x2 calories 92 | Raspberry Ripple Mousse calories 81 | Chocolate Spread 7g on 1/2 Tiger Bread calories 84 |
| Peanut Butter 9g on 1/2 Tiger Bread calories 100 | |||
| Twirl One Finger calories 90 | |||
| Fibre Popcorn Bar calories 84 | |||
| Carr Cheese Melts x2 calories 42 | |||
| Total calories 1790 | Turkish Delight Bar calories 185 |
I should also mention that I had my medical check up just after my 40th birthday and came up with a completely clean bill of health! Including my cholesterol! I was given less than 1% chance of getting
heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol or stroke type issues over the next ten years! With the amount of chips and 'fatty' food I eat it was the cholesterol I was most concerned, and curious,
about.
I would like to add here though that if you DO like healthier foods (alongside your sweet-tooth) please go ahead and make your diet and your journey as healthy as possible! I am not here to tell people
to eat junk food. Only that if you must you CAN still lose weight!
Even if I weighed myself more often I only recorded my weight on an online chart once a week on a Friday morning. The chart above is a screen shot of my actual chart. You can see how when I was just doing the 5:2 diet my weight yo-yo'd up and down. However from October when I began walking, then jogging and other exercise, my weight-loss was consistent and a loverly downward slope! Also note two small blips! One in December and one in April. December was of course for Christmas and April I had a three-day off-diet binge for my birthday! I still exercised and I was happy the pounds I put on were not too great and only set me back a week or so to get back on track!
When cooking family meals I do try to cook my portion (weighed and measured where possible) seperate. As you get used to your portion size you can just estimate. But I like knowing I am getting the right amount for my calculations. Above is a picture of spaghetti boiling. My portion is in the smaller saucepan to the left. I also found that on days when I was not at work, such as vacation days, I would want a dinner and lunch but as I didn't have the same level of calories to use as on a weekend I had to plan two lower-calorie meals instead of my one higher calorie meal. In my food diary I made plans that covered such events! Also how to plan my calories around going to the cinema or on days when my mum wanted me to have lunch out with her! Your food diary can pre-plan for all events so you are not caught off guard!
Yum yum! I just couldn't end this page without a shout out to my favourite food! Chocolate! I eat a lot less of it than I used to but I still have it daily (Turkish delight is my very special treat despite being quite high in calories!. In the above picture you can see my most frequent bars. What would life be without these sweet treats? Just make sure you enjoy every mouthful and be mindful when you eat! I once grabbed a naughty chocolate being given out at work as I was leaving to go home. I ate it so fast on the way to my car that I realised I didn't even taste it let alone enjoyed it! A total waste of extra calories! If you are going to do it then at least sit down and enjoy it!