Weight Loss Journey - Week #2 (Feb. 1-7)

Well here it is at the end of week two and while there have been some improvement there are still improvements that need to made. I am so sorry for not having this up last night but since I had to go to my brother's birthday party I was dead tired when I got back home and was out by 10:00!

One improvement has been my water intake. Since downloading the app 'Water Your Body', I have noticed that my water intake has increased. Since the app alerts me every 2 hours that I need to drink a certain amount of water, it is a daily reminder. Also discovering that I need to drink at least half of my body-weight in ounces of water; now I am far from reaching this goal but within a couple of weeks or so I hope to achieve it. Another trick I now use is that I drink all of my water out of a Powerade sports bottle; the bottle itself holds 20 ounces of water and since I don't have to worry about it spilling, I can keep it by my laptop where I am found most of the day without worry. Keeping this bottle in sight also keeps me from reaching for something else to drink, even though my body has started rejecting drinks like that but I'll go more into that in a minute. A third and final trick I've started to use this week is that for every 20 ounces of water I drink, I mix in 1/2 tsp of lemon juice. I found out about this trick online and as I got tired of just drinking water all the time and felt like I was basically forcing myself to drink it; this trick has helped me out a whole bunch this week.

Now when I said that my body is starting to reject other drinks let me explain. For some reason, and I think its a good reason and can only be good for me, my body has started to reject nearly all forms of carbonated drinks. Perhaps reject isn't really a word that should be used, I guess its more like has stopped craving would be a better term. Either way my body has been changing this past week and I feel that it is for the better. Now usually I can drink a few glasses of Coca-Cola or other carbonated drinks daily but for some reason this week my body just was not having it at all. For example, I got a glass of Barq's Root Beer Monday so that I could eat it with my lunch; I literally took maybe two to three sips of it before I started to feel nauseous and had to put the drink down. After I set it down and let my stomach settle for a bit I tried to drink it again with the same results. Now it did take me a few days to realize this and then realize what this meant. As of right now, I can only drink Sprite and Vanilla Coke but I'm not complaining at all. This is because I never realized just how much carbonated drinks I drunk during a day. And even with the Sprite I can only drink it in small quantities and only for a short period of time. This has also made me turn to water as my primary drinking source and sometimes Milk. Again I don't look at this as bad thing but rather as a blessing in disguise.

Another improvement that I noticed was that I'm not craving really greasy foods. Such as fried foods for instance. I have also started to cook more in the oven, thus eliminating the need for cooking with grease on the stove top. Not only do I feel that this is a better, healthy option for me but for also my grandfather and uncle whom I live with and cook for.

Oh! Another odd improvement that I've noticed is that I'm going to bed early and getting up earlier now, which is great! Though this doesn't happen every night but rather a few nights out of the week but still this is a vast improvement as I am not sleeping the day away due to me being up all night the previous night! So yay for that!

Now even though there have been improvements, there are still many more that need to come about.

For instance, this week I still didn't exercise at all and for that I don't have an excuse and I'm not going to give an excuse. I simply just kept putting it off and putting it off. My thoughts ranged from, "Oh I'll do it tomorrow" and "I don't want the people of the neighborhood to see me." It took me a few days, not gonna lie, to realize that what did I care what other people thought? That I needed to get out and do this for myself and not for them. I have nothing that I need to prove to them and why should I be bothered by what their opinion is of me. Now with that being said, I am hoping that Week #3 is going to be filled with daily walks, whether they are for five minutes or for 30 minutes. But no more excuses and no more putting it off.

Another improvement that needs to occur is my late night cravings. I suffer from Insomnia from time to time and the times that I suffer from it, I find myself almost constantly eating and eating for no good reason. I'm not hungry at all but I still can't understand why I keep on eating at night, especially here late at night. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can keep these cravings at bay then please send me a comment, I would really love to hear any suggestions.

And now with all that out of the way, let's get on with food journal. Now please keep in mind that when I don't list anything to drink during a meal, its because I was drinking water instead of something else. Also the amount of water that I drunk daily will be listed under the days as well. Also whenever I eat scrambled eggs, I do not add any salt or pepper to it, so I don't add any extra seasoning to them; though sometimes I add a splash of milk in order to make them fluffier but that's it.

 
Sunday - Feb. 1
Breakfast:
- 1 Pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple and Brown Sugar)
- 2 Pieces of Toast (white bread) with Apricot Jelly
- 1 Apple (red) w/ 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter to dip it in.

Lunch:
- 1 pack of beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1 sausage dog with slight mayo

Snack:
- 1 apple (red)
- 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter for dipping

Dinner: 
- 1 Hamburger w/ cheese & mayo
- 1 cup of steamed rice (white)
- 1/2 tsp of soy sauce (Kikoman)
- 1 tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)

Snack: 
- 1 oatmeal cookie
- 2 pieces of to toast (white) with apricot jelly
- cheese sandwich with 2 slices of cheese
- 1 cup of sprite

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 80 ounces!

Monday - Feb. 2
Breakfast:
- 1 pack of instant oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 pieces of toast (white) w/ Apricot jelly
- 2 scrambled eggs w/ slight amount of ketchup
- 1/2 cup of sprite

Lunch: 
- 1 pack of beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1 sausage dog w/ mayo only
- 1/2 cup of sprite
- 1 Oreo Cookie

Snack:
- 1 apple (red)
- 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter for dipping

Dinner: 
- 2 scrambled eggs
- 4 slices of thinly sliced beef steak
- 1 pack of beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1/2 cup of Sprite
- 1 Oreo Cookie

Late Snack: 
- 1 Peanut butter & jelly sandwich

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 60 ounces!

Tuesday - Feb. 3
Breakfast:
- 1 Peanut butter sandwich
- 1/2 cup of Sprite

Lunch:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/ slight ketchup
- 2 Sausage Links
- 1 Hamburger w/ mayo
- 1/2 cup of root beer (which I regretted as soon as I drunk it...blah)

Snack: 
- Personal size of Double Strawberry Ice Cream

Dinner:
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 10 pieces of Popcorn Chicken (Cooked in Oven so no grease)
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Snack:
- 4 Oreo Cookies
- 1/2 cup of 2% Milk

Exercise: None
Water Intake: Only 20 ounces (insert frown face)

Wednesday - Feb. 4
Breakfast: 
Nothing

Lunch: 
- 12 pieces of Popcorn Chicken (Cooked in oven so no grease)
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 1 cup of Sprite

Dinner:
- 1 chicken patty sandwich w/ mayo (Chicken Patty was cooked in oven so again no grease)
- 2 Slices of Red Baron Pizza (Pepperoni & Sausage)
- 1 Muffin (Whole Wheat Banana)
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Snack: 
- 1/2 cup of Sliced Peaches
- 1 Oreo Cookie

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 58 Ounces!

Thursday - Feb. 5 (I think this is my best day thus far)
Breakfast:
- 2 scrambled eggs w/ slight ketchup
- 2 Sausage Patties
- 8 Mini Eggo Waffles
- 1 cup of 2% Milk

Lunch: 
- 1 Mini Sonic Fry
- 2 Small Sonic Cheeseburgers
- 1 pack of Fruit Gummies

Dinner: 
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 2 pieces of Sliced Ham (Lunch Meat) Slightly Seared in a frying pan
- 1 cup of 2% Milk
- 1 Hamburger w/ mayo only

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 60 Ounces!

Friday - Feb. 6
Breakfast: 
- 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 2 Pieces of Toast (Whole Wheat) w/ Grape Jelly
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Lunch: 
- 1 Cup of Steamed Rice (White)
- 1/2 Tbsp of Furikaki (Japanese Rice Seasoning)
- 1 Tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 1 Cup of Sprite
- 1 Sausage Dog w/ Mayo
- 1 Whole Wheat Banana Muffin

Snack: 
- 2 Small Cornbread Muffins
- 1/2 Cup of 2% Milk

Dinner: 
- 1 Pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan)
- 2 Pieces of Sliced Ham (Lunch Meat); Lightly Seared
- 1/4 Cup of Sprite
- 2 Cornbread Muffins
-  1 Cup of 2% Milk

Snack:
- 6 Oreo Cookies
- 1 Cup of 2% Milk

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 20 Ounces (insert frown face)

Saturday - Feb. 7
Breakfast: 
- 1 pack of Instant Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar)
- 1/2 Cup of Tangerines
- 2 Pieces of Toast (Whole Wheat) w/ Grape Jelly

Lunch: 
- 1 Sausage Dog w/ Mayo
- 1 pack of Beef Ramen (Maruchan) & 1 tsp of Soy Sauce (Kikoman)
- 2 scrambled eggs
- 1 Slice of Pound Cake
- 1/2 cup of 2% Milk

Late Lunch/Early Dinner:
- 1 Grilled Chicken Leg w/ Hot Sauce on it
- 1/2 cup of BBQ Baked Beans
- 1 tbsp of Potato Salad (Homemade) (A FIRST FOR ME!!!)
- 2 tbsp of Butterfinger Cake (Not sure what else I can call this)

Dinner:
- 2 Hamburgers w/ Mayo, Ketchup & Mustard

Exercise: None
Water Intake: 76 Ounces!

Well there is it, a week of recorded eating, water intake and exercise (well the lack there-of). While I do see improvements in my water intake and in some days of my eating, there is still much improvement that needs to be made. Hopefully Week #3 will be even better than this week and loads better than Week #1.

As always, thank you for reading this blog and if you have any tips/tricks that you would like to share then please feel free to leave a comment.

Until Next Week!