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I find that keeping a food diary daily, that I have much more weightloss.  If you want to see my weekly example of how to keep a log of food and simple ideas and tips, check this post out.  Cute journals motivate me, but you can also use any notebook, planner, or even photos to keep track of your new healthy vegan Nutritarian diet.  #eattolive #fooddiary #foodjournal #weightloss #vegan #nutritarian #nutritarianlife

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted my food diary for all to see. Summer time has been tough since my two young boys are home and we’ve been on vacation off and on. I stopped writing down what I ate and unfortunately, that’s not a good thing for me.

See, just the act of writing down what I eat really helps me stay much more accountable. Not that I ate really bad this summer – I did ok. I’ve been, I’d say, 98% plant-based, but we’ve eaten out a lot and the hidden oil and salt and processed foods…..has caught up to me.

If I don’t write in my food diary…I literally FORGET!

It’s like I don’t even realize how much we eat out sometimes. And even though I do my best to avoid oil, sometimes it’s hard and I just don’t want to have to explain to the waiter 5 different things to do with my order…although I shouldn’t feel embarrassed, I don’t like to be difficult. I think a lot of people feel that way sometimes!

But, I need to get back on track and I know for me at least, writing down exactly what I eat in my food diary every day really helps me. I’m so forgetful!!! If I don’t write it down, I won’t remember that I had some tortilla chips at lunch or avocado 2-3 times a day instead of my limit of one. It’s just so easy to slip up and not even realize you are doing it WAY too often.

So here is my “Week 20”. I put that in quotes because there is quite a gap in actual time between week 19 and week 20, but I’m just going to pick up right where I left off. No use beating myself up over it.

Eating a salad every day is where I struggle

eating to live food journal week 20 nutritarian kroger salad

My biggest weakness is eating a large salad everyday. That’s pretty ironic considering that is the cornerstone of Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live plan! But, it’s what I struggle with. So, I decided to take a page out of my husband’s book and make it easy for myself. I’m going to go to Kroger EVERY DAY and just make a salad from their salad bar. Our Kroger is 3 minutes from our house and has a LEGIT salad bar! And since it charges by the pound then I know I’m getting my pound of raw veggies in every day!

Looking back on my food diary over the past week, I’m pretty proud of myself for eating a salad EVERY SINGLE DAY. That’s a record for me!

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No-oil salad dressings are a must

As for salad dressings, I started off using a couple new Maple Grove Brands I hadn’t tried (all available at Kroger and probably other grocery stores for just $2-3 a bottle) – Wasabi Dijon and Vidalia Onion. Both very good! Although they do have a little added sugar, they are both oil free and fat free.

But then one day, I wasn’t able to go home to use my own dressing and was in a hurry so I decided to just use one of the dressings that Kroger has at the salad bar. The only problem is there aren’t any without oil, besides just straight red wine vinegar. I decided I would give the red wine vinegar a try, thinking I wasn’t going to like it and would have to choke down my salad that day.

Well, while I was waiting to get my tire fixed (it had a nail in it…) I decided to give my salad a go with the red wine vinegar. I was starving and couldn’t wait any longer. Let me tell you. That was the BEST salad! I liked it even better than the Maple Grove dressings! It was just so simple and clean and worked so well with all the vegetables, fruit, beans, & sliced almonds I had loaded my salad up with. I devoured that salad so fast and it’s a good thing there wasn’t anyone else in the waiting room with me because they would have thought I was crazy by the way I was ravenously chowing down my salad. LOL

I think I might have turned a corner with my salad difficulties.

I just need to make a commitment to myself to get my Kroger salad every single day, not matter what, and not negotiate with myself. It always fills me up, keeps me full, and makes me feel great so I just have to remind myself about that and do it without fail.

Yes, this way will cost more than if I prepared every thing myself, but I have to do what works for me and I like to have a TON of choices for my salads so I don’t get bored. Usually, I end up wasting so much food at home because it goes bad before I can eat it, so really in the long run it’s probably about the same cost and saves me time.

Food prepped for snacks & dinner

I did do some food prepping for the week, which really helped. I made a big batch of my favorite soup – Taco Bean Soup and also a batch of Fudgy Black Bean Brownies. Those are STILL to this day, staples in our household, along with the Tofu Marinara Fingers. YUM!

So on to what I ate. You’ll see a lot of repetition this week in my food diary and I think that helps me. If I have to think too much about what to eat that’s when things can go haywire. I don’t mind eating the same thing several days in a row. My big Taco Bean Soup is HUGE and lasts me all week.

If you want to make this soup but don’t want such a big batch, spoon half of it in a gallon freezer bag BEFORE you cook it and then just freeze that half for another time.

Related reading – start from the beginning of my journey with WEEK 1.

I find that keeping a food diary daily, that I have much more weightloss.  If you want to see my weekly example of how to keep a log of food and simple ideas and tips, check this post out.  Cute journals motivate me, but you can also use any notebook, planner, or even photos to keep track of your new healthy vegan Nutritarian diet.  #eattolive #fooddiary #foodjournal #weightloss #vegan #nutritarian #nutritarianlife

Eat to Live Food Diary – Week 20

Day 134: 155.7 pounds to start

Day 135:

Day 136:

Day 137:

Day 138:

  • Breakfast – banana, cantaloupe, coffee w/unsweetened almond milk
  • Lunch – Kroger Salad Bar – spring mix, spinach, arugula, kale, red cabbage, red bell peppers, carrots, chickpeas, corn, green onions, jalapenos, pineapple, kalamata olives, sunflower seeds, red wine vinegar; Fudgy Black Bean Brownie
  • Dinner – Spaghetti Marinara w/whole grain pasta

Day 139:

  • Breakfast – avocado & arugula on whole grain pita, coffee w/unsweetened almond milk
  • Lunch – Kroger Salad Bar – spring mix, spinach, arugula, kale, red cabbage, red bell peppers, carrots, chickpeas, corn, green onions, jalapenos, pineapple, kalamata olives, sunflower seeds, red wine vinegar
  • Snacks – apple slices, strawberries, and chocolate hummus
  • Dinner – Portobello Mushroom burger and baked tortilla chips

Day 140:

My weight loss on the nutritarian diet this week:

  • Starting weight this week – 155.7 lbs
  • Ending weight this week – 150.5 lbs
  • Weight loss this week – 5.2 lbs
  • Total weight loss so far – 13.5 lbs

So yes, I’ve gained a few pounds since my previous “week 19”. Week 19 was actually about a month ago and we were traveling during that time which made it difficult to keep the pounds off while eating out so often. BUT, I was able to lose 5 pounds this week and I’m super proud of that. I know some of that is just water loss from sodium, but I’m the happiest by consistently eating my salad at lunch every day and choosing an oil free dressing. THAT’S a WIN in my book!

Make your own simple food diary

I really think writing everything down in my food diary really helps me be consistent. And it’s nothing fancy! Since school is starting soon, that means there are a lot more choices in the journal/spiral notebook selections and I found a cute new spiral journal notebook that was purple and swirly on the cover. I find that if my food diary is pretty that motivates me to open it up and write in it. Hey, I do what works!

But you could even use your own phone notes or even just take pictures of your meal with your phone if you don’t want to write it down. I tried that for a while and I would always forget to take the picture until after I was done eating LOL, so writing is the best way for me. But a photo diary might be best for you!

A food diary is for positive reinforcement

The diary is really about positivity and accountability to yourself. If you know you have to write it down, you might think twice before indulging in a bag of tortilla chips. And seeing all the good nutritious things you are putting in your body helps you to see all the good choices you are making which is positive reinforcement. Plus, if you aren’t achieving your weight loss or health goals, you can look back and see where you might need to improve. Maybe you are eating too much avocado (me!), nuts, starchy foods, and not enough salads.

But ALWAYS make sure you are honest. Even if you make a mistake and don’t want to write it down….DO. You will be glad you did in the long run. And this will motivate you to make better choices the next meal or the next day. You can’t just “forget” about it and then keep indulging if you write it down consistently. This is what helps me get back on track much more quickly instead of sliding down a very slippery slope that is easy to get on and hard to get off the farther down you go. Ya know?

Also, I write everything down exactly like you see above. I short hand some things like B, L, D, & S for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, & Snacks. I don’t write down portion sizes or calories or anything like that, but I might write down 1/2 an avocado or something because I try to limit myself with avocados because I can go crazy if I’m not careful! But otherwise I just write down WHAT I eat.

I hope these food diary tips help you!

Continue following my Eat to Live Journey – Week 21

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