Weight Loss Challenge - Week 1, Day 2 - Meal Plan & Cardio Workout

Posted in: July to October 2009, Suzanne's Weight Loss Journey, Week 1 | 1 comment

Day 2 went very well! But doesn’t that usually happen in the beginning, when you’re trying to lose weight? Ha!

An interesting thing happened yesterday. A couple of hours after supper, I was surprised to find that I had only eaten 1400 calories and I wasn’t hungry at all. I checked and re-checked to make sure I hadn’t forgotten to log anything into my tracker.

But then 9:30 PM came around and… *grumble grumble* I was feeling hungry! Now, “they” always say don’t eat after 7:00 PM or you’re going to gain weight, right? But what “they” forget to tell you is that they mean overeating and snacking on unhealthy, calorie-laden food. If you’re hungry in the evening — and I mean hungry; none of this “Oh, I feel like nibbling” kind of thing — then you need to eat. Your body is telling you it hasn’t had enough. If you go to bed hungry, what’s going to happen is you’re going to wake up in the middle of the night, VERY hungry, unable to sleep — and chances are you’re going to head for something unhealthy. You’ll most likely be tired and grumpy the next day, which usually triggers cravings (especially for processed carbs).

Listen to your body…

Here’s what I ate yesterday and details on the cardio workout I did.

Notes:

Overdid it with the fat. And I found my saturated fat was very high — see what happens when you eat red meat!
I used to eat oatmeal mixed with protein powder instead of “cereal” but the oatmeal’s not agreeing with me. I try to get protein in when I’m eating cereal to balance the glycemic load.
I realized that when I do eat cereal, it’s not enough calories. No wonder I feel hungry! I added in two brazil nuts to balance it out.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a nutritionist! This is just an example of what I’m eating…

Food Item	Amount	Cals	Carbs	Prot.	Fat	Mono Poly Sat
Tea, 1 sugar	4 serving	148	28.96	8.24	0.20	0.12 0.04 0.28
Cereals ready-to-eat, KELLOGG, KELLOGG’S ALL-BRAN Original	0.25 cup (1 NLEA serving)	39	11.13	1.97	0.74	0.10 0.32 0.10
Cereals ready-to-eat,, KASHI GoLEAN CRUNCH by KELLOGG	0.5 cup	100	18.00	4.64	1.53	0.86 0.56 0.12
Soy Protein (Small Pieces)	15 gram	45	2.00	7.00	1.25	0.00 0.00 0.00
Milk, nonfat, fluid, with added vitamin A (fat free or skim)	0.75 cup	62	9.11	6.20	0.15	0.09 0.02 0.22
Nuts, brazilnuts, dried, unblanched	0.25 oz (6-8 kernels)	47	0.87	1.02	4.72	1.74 1.46 1.07
Cheese, monterey, low fat	1 slice (1 oz)	88	0.20	7.90	6.05	1.58 0.24 3.93
Nectarines, raw	1 fruit (2-1/2″ dia)	60	14.35	1.44	0.44	0.12 0.15 0.04
Beef, short loin, porterhouse steak, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 1/8″ fat, choice, cooked, broiled	2 oz	169	0.00	13.18	12.52	5.54 0.44 4.78
Rice, white, long-grain, parboiled, enriched, cooked	0.25 cup	50	10.82	1.00	0.12	0.04 0.03 0.03
Spinach, raw	1 cup	7	1.09	0.86	0.12	0.00 0.05 0.02
Soy Nuts (1/4 cup)	1 serving	190	13.00	15.00	9.00	0.00 0.00 0.00
Water, municipal	3 cup (8 fl oz)	0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00 0.00 0.00
Salmon - Kirkland Frozen	0.5 serving	170	0.00	18.50	10.00	0.00 0.00 3.50
Hummus - Roasted Garlic	2 tbsp	70	6.00	2.00	5.00	0.00 0.00 0.00
Naan (1/2 naan - 60g)	0.5 serving	85	14.50	2.50	2.25	0.00 0.00 0.00
Mayonnaise, reduced-calorie or diet, cholesterol-free	2 tbsp	97	1.96	0.26	9.72	2.26 5.70 1.34
Bread - Country Harvest	0.5 serving	125	19.50	6.00	2.50	0.75 1.25 0.50
Bananas, raw	1 medium (7″ to 7-7/8″ long)	105	26.95	1.29	0.39	0.04 0.08 0.13
		1657	178.44	99.00	66.70	13.24 10.34 16.06

Cardio Workout
Had a great interval workout on my elliptical machine using Cardio Coach on my iPod. I used my heart rate monitor to see how hard I’m working (but also use RPE). Here are some stats:

Time: 38:39
Strides: 4558
Cals Burned: 355
Avg. Heart Rate: 152bpm