Update: April 7-April 13Weight change this week:
up .6 of a pound to 128, BMI 21.8.
I'm finding this very interesting! I haven't knowingly changed anything about my eating or my activity levels since the end of my CRON-o-meter project, but my weight hasn't gone down (to speak of) since April 1. My monthly cycle started a couple of days ago, which may be confounding the results this week, but I think it's fair to say that my progress has at the very least slowed down. I lost weight at a consistent pace in January, February, and March while weighing all my food and logging it into the CRON-o-meter, but it seems that just keeping a food diary isn't having the same beneficial effect on my habits.
Looking at my Fitbit report, my daily energy expenditure has gone down a little bit, but not that much. In March I was expending 2,200-2,300 calories per day, and in the first two weeks of April I've been burning about 2,000-2,100. So reduced activity (and reduced calorie burn due to lower body mass) may account for up to a 200 calorie per day difference in my total energy balance. The rest must be coming from food.
I am still eating the same very large portions of raw and cooked vegetables before I eat my starches. I am still eating two meals per day. My lunches haven't changed at all. So the areas that seem to have changed -- not much, but it doesn't take much! -- are:
--slightly larger portions of the starchy "main dish" at dinnertime
--occasional eating between or after meals, usually fruit or leftovers
--slightly increased consumption of flour products (still small amounts, but more than before)
--slight increase in number of coffees per week
--slight increase in number of glasses of wine per week
All of this would be imperceptible without my food diary. I would be sitting here scratching my head and wondering why I've stopped losing weight.
Below, I've highlighted items that may need more attention, and made some notes. The highlighted items are not necessarily "bad," but they are different from how I was eating in March, and I think they hold the key. My plan for this week is to put a stop to the between-meal noshing, to put a complete ban on coffee and alcohol, and to stop and think before I consume any calorie-dense foods like bread or baked tortilla chips.
I still can't get over how minor and easily forgettable these things were, and yet they seem to be having a big effect on my progress. This is a such a learning experience for me.
Food LogApril 7, Monday5:15a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Roasted broccoli, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms w/ nutritional yeast and garlic powder
Japanese sweet potato
Bengal spice herbal tea, 1/4 c. soymilk
5:30p
Homemade baked corn tortilla chips & mango salsa (~4 tortillas)6:30p
Cauliflower
Spinach
Large baked Yukon gold potato
Chef AJ's lentil chili
Felt overstuffed after half of the potato/chili but kept eating until plate was clean. Should have stopped but was enjoying the taste.
8:00p
Mango, 2 tangerines
ate fruit despite being quite full already.
April 8, Tuesday6:30a
Coffee, 3/4 c. soymilk, 2 sugar cubes12:30p
Massaged kale salad (fat free) w/added beets
Crudites (celery, cherry tomatoes, carrots)
Japanese sweet potato
Bengal spice tea, 1/4 c. soymilk
6:30p
Homemade whole wheat chapatis (3) These are healthy, but not good for weight loss. I need to stick with whole, intact foods.
Spicy-sweet tomato chutney This is a condiment used in small amounts, but the recipe contains sugar, and I scooped up a bit too much of it on my chapatis.
Broccoli
Asparagus
Aloo Palak (potato and spinach curry)
Brown rice
My portions of curry and rice were a little larger than they needed to be. It was so good though!
8:00p
Banana-oat-walnut breakfast cookies (3) I make these for my son out of oats, bananas, applesauce, etc. These had some walnuts also. No added sugar. They were freshly baked and they called to me....I know better than to eat them though. Grrr.
Leftover brown rice with splash of soymilk and drizzle of maple syrup Why did I eat this??
April 9, Wednesday6:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Giant green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing (normal)
Japanese sweet potato
Decaf black tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
6:45p
Homemade whole wheat chapatis (2)Spicy-sweet tomato chutney See comments about chapatis and chutney above.
Cauliflower
Red cabbage
Aloo Palak (spinach and potato curry)
Brown rice
6:30p
Half a banana-oat-walnut breakfast cookie8:00p
Small apple
2 tangerines
A few spoonfuls of leftover rice with a splash of soymilk and drizzle of maple syrup
Handful of raisins Eating this the night before made me crave it again. I love rice with soymilk and sweetener....but I didn't need it.
April 10, Thursday6:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Giant green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing (normal)
Japanese sweet potato
Decaf black tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
2:00p
Small apple (at movies with friend) Nothing wrong with this as a movie snack, but I am highlighting it because it is an instance of between-meal eating.
4:30p
Herbal tea w/stevia (at Starbucks with friend)
7:00p
Asparagus
Broccoli
1 Starchburger, curry flavor
1 Tablespoon tomato chutney Eaten this way I feel the chutney was okay; it was used very sparingly.
Baked potato wedges w/ ketchup and mustard
8:00p
Bowl of mixed fruit (pear, mango, strawberries)
April 11, Friday6:30a
Coffee, 3/4 c. soymilk, 2 sugar cubes12:30p
Giant green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing (normal)
Oil-free roast potatoes w/ bbq sauce
Bengal spice herbal tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
8:00p
Steamed beet greens
Cauliflower
Vegetable chowder
1 slice toasted ww bread ("Dave's Killer Bread") This bread is on-plan (no oil) but I could have done without it.
1 glass white wine10:00p
Herbal tea
April 12, Saturday6:30a
Roastaroma tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
12:30p
Giant green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing (normal)
Japanese sweet potato
Bengal spice herbal tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
7:00p (at potluck)
Small bowl of green salad w/ small drizzle of walnut Caesar dressing
Steamed broccoli (lots)
Half a baked yukon gold w/ lentil chili
1 small slice whole wheat sourdough I can't be too hard on myself about this; there was so much tempting CRAP at this potluck, but I ate all my own food that I brought, except for this one little piece of whole wheat sourdough about the size of my palm. Still, it all adds up.
2 cups mixed fruit (pineapple, mango, tangerine, strawberries)
1 glass wine11:00p (back home)
Herbal tea
April 13, Sunday8:00a
Coffee, 3/4 c. soymilk, 2 sugar cubes12:30p
Giant green salad w/ walnut Caesar dressing (normal)
Japanese sweet potato
Decaf black tea, 1/4 c. soymilk, stevia
Strawberries Our local strawberry stands opened this weekend, and we bought a flat of 6 heaped-up baskets. So I ate loads of strawberries on Sunday. If we didn't eat them all, they'd go bad....
4:00p
More strawberries
Small leftover sweet potato This was just opportunistic eating.
7:30p
Steamed red cabbage
Spinach
Vegetable chowder
1 glass wine8:30p
Strawberries
Herbal tea
Activity