ACDC's Food Journal

[Nokie173]

Hi Anna,

Congrats!!! You’re getting married….. That’s exciting news…
Sorry to hear about the lay offs….
When I was in that position, I found working out helped me a lot and kept me positive…
Even though money was a big issue…
But by you budgeting your money, it will help you watch what you eat better.
Make a shopping list what you need and can afford, don’t waste money on junk food!
Good luck with everything and hope all will work out for you.
So far, you’re looking good so keep it up.

Again, Good LUCK!

Nokie

[Boss Man]

Congrats on getting married next year.

Some ideas for you.

1. Buy large boxes of Cereal, but buy large biscuit ones, not little biscuit or flake ones. Little Biscuit and Flake types can be harder to monitor for usage, but big biscuit style ones are easier to monitor, so you use only what you need, never more than you thought.

2. Two for ones and three for twos are good, and so are % discounts too.

3. Buying larger in general works out better, so things like 2 pint Milk cartons instead of 1 pint for example. The probable reason for this is, that something with 2x the content, isn't 2x the size, so you use less packaging and people hours and it's better environmentally as well, as this is the age of recycling, being green and Carbon footprints and all

4. Bulk buying Meat and Poultry is another example. As often they do come in bulk buy bags, as well as individual quantities.

5. Also be a bit sneaky and try haggling. If you're in small shops buying stuff, it might work. Obviously if you're in a big supermarket, you can't really haggle with somebody at an Epos, but a shop owner standing behing a counter, might be willing to give you a bit off, if you haggle for it, like maybe 2%, but even if you bought say $100 of stuff perhaps, that's still $2, so that's something, even at that low haggle percentage.

Or maybe haggle for items that might possibly have a little problem, like a slightly damaged packet or something like that. Just don't damage them on purpose, because if you're seen on a security camera, you could get barred.

You might find some small shops have a discount food bin perhaps, for stuff hours from the sell buy date, or a bit damaged, but still usaeable.

Plus some small shops might value you more and agree ot haggling type buying, if they are those who like the personal touch. Big places generally don't too much.

6. Possibly use loyalty cards, not credit Cards though, as they give you too much freedom to overspend possibly by mistake, or use schemes where you bring back stuff like Egg Cartons or old bottles, and get given a small return on them, like 5 cents for example.

7. Don't buy from the same place for everything. If you can go to somewhere else nearby, even to get just 10% of the items you want, because they're cheaper there, that's better because the extra walking won't be that bad, and you'll save a bit of money.

[AnnaCruzDC]

Hey Guys! It's been foreverr!!! Lately I've been wedding planning and studying for this grad school test this coming May 1st. Wish me luck! I found a trainer to workout with me three times per week, and a gym buddy to spin and run with me. Now instead of just doing cardio and losing fat, I'm toning up and gaining muscle. It's great! I am still at 114, but with more muscle in arms, legs and abs. I'm hoping to reach 100 or 105 by May 28. I'm learning so many different exercises and I didn't realize how BAD posture was until she pointed it out.

Anyways, I've reached a plateau at 114, and I'm trying so hard to get past it. I'm attributing this plateau to not getting enough sleep, eating too late, needing to drink more water and eat more veggies. That being said, I'm going to start logging in what I eat again! So great to be back!! Hope you all are doing well.

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Apples, egg whites, red bell peppers
Snack: Fat free yogurt
Lunch: Baked chicken, salad, quinoa
Snack: Carrots
Dinner: Salmon, salad

5 mile run.

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

[ironwill]

ooops...I posted this on Nokies log...but welcome back. Congratz on the weeding, and wishing you luck on your grad school test...wow thats awesome. 114 sounds pretty lean.......

[AnnaCruzDC]

Hi Ironwill,

Haha thanks! I'm a shortie though - 5'2, so should be leaner!!! Any tips?

[ironwill]

Hi Ironwill,

Haha thanks! I'm a shortie though - 5'2, so should be leaner!!! Any tips?

hehe..on the shortie. how long have you been stuck at 114? Do you know your %?

[AnnaCruzDC]

Well BMI is around 20-21.

[ironwill]

Well BMI is around 20-21.

BMI is kind of a pain, as it doesn't take muscle into account really, kind of groups everyone together by height. Sounds like you've been having a blast with your trainer, I've never had one, but it sounds fun.

[AnnaCruzDC]

Check out results:


"Using your measurements of a 25 inches waist and weight of 114 pounds your body fat percentage is estimated to be 16.56 % using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, or 22.76 % using the formula developed by the YMCA.

Neither method is as accurate as a water displacement test, but is usually within 1-3% for most people. If you have a very small waist, it will show a low value. On the other hand, if you carry all your extra weight around your middle, you may have an elevated percentage. Please note that having this extra weight in the middle is a high risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The waist to hip ratio calculator can give you more information.

The average body fat percentage for U.S. females is around 32%, with the ideal at 22%. Athletic females should be around 15-20%. You could have an eating disorder if you are below 10%. Remember these are guidelines; your physician should help you determine the ideal weight and body fat for you."

So am I 16% or 22.76%? 22.6% sounds big, but 16% sounds skinny? What do you think?

[ironwill]

Hmmm.....like you say, sounds like a broad range. I didn't realize they did one by height to waist size ratio. What does your trainer say?

[Boss Man]

16 isn't skinny unless you're low on muscle, in which case maybe. 22% sounds acceptable, but I'd probably say that's more likely if you were another 10lbs heavier, but that's an estimate. Depends on things like muscle and / or water weight as well, which can determine what fat % is, relative to total weight, excluding things like Bone and Organ weight obviously.

[AnnaCruzDC]

Thanks for the advice, guys! It's allergy season and meds are making me BLOW UP! I'm trying so hard not to eat so much and workout despite being tired all the time. Does anyone else feel this way during allergy season? Last year I gained 10 pounds and was up at 125lbs. Eek! I'm def trying to avoid that this year. trainer is great and is introducing me to new exercises, but I need to incorporate more cardio on own. Anyways, here's diet:

Workout: 30 minutes of interval training on treadmill. Odd laps: 4.1 mph, even laps: 5.1 mph. Abs.

Snack before workout (60) : Carrot juice

Breakfast (500 calories): multi-grain bagel with cream cheese, decaf tall vanilla latte

Lunch (360 calories): Spinach wrap from Starbucks and decaf tall vanilla latte

Dinner (300): Boiled veggies (green beans, bak choy, tomatoes, onions, and eggplant), Peach Chobani with flaxseeds (trying to move along bowels!).

Snack (320): Strawberry Chobani with flaxseeds, 2 scrambled whole eggs with tomatoes

Total Calories: 1,540

What to change about this diet:

1. I'll be cutting out multigrain bagel and replacing it with one of the following items: Chobani yogurt with flaxseed, grapefruit, egg whites, salmon, tomatoes, spinach, peanutbutter, bell pepper. Although Chobani has protein, I should have included more. I'll be sure to eat salmon and egg whites tomorrow.
2. Eliminating vanilla latte for tea.
3. Eating dinner before 6:30pm
4. No eating after 8pm
5. Sleep by 9pm
6. Wake up at 5 am everyday.

What do you think?

[ironwill]

Nice job! Sorry to hear about the allergies. I'll let the more knowledgable check your diet, but I think dumping the Vanilla Latte is a good idea.....

[AnnaCruzDC]

thanks, ironwill!

[Boss Man]

Onions are good choices for someone in your situation, as are Apples and Peppers, because the Quercetin acts as an Anti-histamine.