July 27th

Today was a great day. Having determined through the metabolic type test that I am a protein type, most of my calories come from protein. I've been getting a little "bored" of all the protein and have added more vegetables to my meals. Hunger has changed a bit for me. I used to be "hungry" all of the time, now it comes on unexpectedly and I find that if I eat "allowable" foods soon I am fine, but if I can't then I get really hungry and begin craving sugar and other foods that aren't healthy for me. When trying to lose weight and maintain a healthy I think its really important to be able to know your body and how it operates. Knowing the things that trip you up and set you back is extremely helpful so that you can create ways to make it through the tough times. A couple of helpful things for me have been:

Making up snacks for when I'm on the go (not only does this take away the hunger, but I'm not stopping at a fastfood joint and plunking down a couple of dollars for food that I shouldn't be eating)

Making up meals ahead of time: On the weekend I make a couple of whole chickens and then pull the meat off and put it in the fridge, it's great to have it available for my meals the following week. I then use the chicken bones to make broth and use for soups, beans, etc.)

Starting to make and eat my meal before I am really hungry. When I get really hungry, all sense seems to fly out the window and I behave like a coocoo. (It's kind of along the same idea that you shouldn't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach)

Also, as I consult the scales I see my weight fluctuate throughout the day anywhere from 2-3 lbs. I think this is completely normal. Over time the 2-3 lbs. it fluctuates changes a bit as I continue to lose weight. (for example: When I started at 180 lbs I fluctuated between 180 and 177, and then down to 177 and 175 and now 172-170.

So here's what I ate today:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1 slice of bacon, 1/2 cup of steamed broccli, 1/2 slice of SWG bread

Snack 1: 1 oz. walnuts, 1/2 peach, 6 carrot sticks

lunch: large salad (spring mix, my favorite), 2 slices of bacon, 1 oz. walnuts, dried cranberries, sliced red onion, Mike Geary's salad dressing

snack: 1/2 banana, hard-boiled egg, 2 tbsp. almond butter, celery sticks

supper: curried tilapia over brown rice and mango salsa, small salad with dressing

snack: 3 SWG pancakes w/ real maple syrup