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Day 120: How Much Are You Actually Eating?

Cat sitting inside of a Bosch dishwasher

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog and yes, that is my cat who decided to jump into the dishwasher after it was empty!

Today’s lesson delved into the importance of truly understanding our food intake and accurately recording it in our food journals.

We often underestimate how much we eat, especially with little nibbles here and there. For instance, cleaning up after dinner might lead to consuming enough bites to count as a second meal - for me this was something I did when my son was younger as I didn't want ot waste food. To become more aware of our actual intake, we need to consciously ask ourselves, "How much am I actually eating?" and ensure that we record everything accurately in our journals.

What to Look for in Your Food Journals

This lesson was broken into two levels - I am level one so am focused on that as I have been on past lessons that are split into two levels in the program.

The Basics

Eating to Satisfied: Are you estimating portion sizes correctly? I think that I am doing much better with this vs when we first started out.

Lean Protein and Veggies: Does each meal have lean protein and at least one serving of colorful veggies or fruit? Yes, I can honestly say that each meal has both now.

Smart Carbs and Healthy Fats: Are you choosing high-fiber, slow-digesting carbs and getting healthy fats at most meals? This one is a bit more tricky for me, most of the time would be the answer right now.

Whole Foods: Are you eating mostly whole, unprocessed foods, or relying on prepackaged items? Easily can say that most of the food that I am consuming is whole, unprocessed foods. That being said, there are times where food is not something that I am in charge of so it can vary.

Value Addition: Does everything you eat add value, nourish your body, and provide vitamins and minerals? Mostly yes. Definitely something that I am working on.

Sneaky Foods to Watch Out For

Some foods can sneak up on us, contributing more calories than we realize:

Liquid Nutrition: Be mindful of what goes into your Super Shakes or other drinks. 

Dried Fruits: These can be concentrated sources of sugar. I don't eat any dried fruits - but I used to so this is something to keep in mind.

Nuts and Nut Butter: These are calorie-dense and easy to overeat. I have really focused on the portions of peanuts/peanut butter since we had the fats habit.

“Healthy” Trick Foods: Energy bars, granola, trail mixes, and sweetened protein powders can pack hidden calories. I am actively avoiding these at the moment vs having an energy bar every afternoon with my iced tea.

Dairy and Alcohol: Keep an eye on portion sizes and frequency of consumption. Cheese! Easily what I consume the most in terms of dairy, I don't really drink milk. Sometimes I have an iced coffee made with chocolate milk, but that is mostly on the weekend if my hubby is having a coffee.

Reflecting on Your Food Journal

As you continue journaling, consider these points:

Awareness: Are you becoming more aware of your eating habits? Yes, but in a good way. I am not stressed over tracking my food. I am being mindful of what I am eating and am enjoying seeing the photos of all the food so far.

Behavior Change: Do you notice yourself altering your behavior because you know you’ll record your intake? A bit, but really I knew this habit was coming so I had been focused on each habit as they came to check those boxes and so it feels more like a continuation of it.

Resistance: Do you feel any resistance or pushback against recording certain foods or meals? I don't think so. I have only missed a couple, both because I forgot in the moment as I was talking to other people who were eating with me.

Today's Active Recovery

Today was an active recovery day. I took my dog for her walks and mowed the backyard lawn again, which seems to grow faster, likely due to my dog’s help with "watering" it. I felt some soreness in my legs, probably from the bodyweight reverse lunges with blocked knees from yesterday so it was good to be able to know that I had pushed myself a bit with those new exercises.

Gardening Progress

I finally received the last of my plant order, including everbearing strawberries and a Saskatoon berry bush. There was also a surprise free plant, a goatsbeard. I soaked them in water and planted them in small pots, hoping they show signs of life soon. I just have to get the rest of my plants I want to add to the garden this week - time feels to be slipping away lately - and I should be good to go.

Wrapping Up

As we continue with our food journaling, it’s important to remain honest and consistent. This exercise is about gaining awareness and making informed decisions, not judging ourselves. Let’s keep our scientist hats on and gather accurate data to help us improve. What I love about this is that I am not reporting to anyone, this is only for me to review and that is what I think is helping me with this habit.


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