Daily Journal

I thought I would try out a daily eating/exercise journal to see how it goes!

6:00am
Wake up to exercise. A little sleepy but know the exercise is important to my mental health for the day!
Decide to do a stretching video since I did a strength training workout yesterday.

6:15am
The baby awakens! Workout cut short but feel good that I did a little something.

6:45am
Baby back to sleep but time to get ready for work!

7:30am
Hungry. Was going to wait and eat at work but hungry now!
Small bowl of raisin bran with whole milk, glass of water.
I don't drink lowfat milk. I like whole milk and lowfat milk is kind of triggering for me.
Feel satisfied but not full, figure I will have a snack later in the morning.

9:00am
Stop to get gas on way to work (after dropping off the baby). Feeling a little hungry, craving something sweet and carby. A muffin, perhaps? Go into the station store and peruse, decide on a cream-filled donut. I LOVE these and get them very rarely (can never find them!). 99 cents, I'm feeling good!

9:30am
Finally to work! Traffic was terrible this morning. Run to get my morning coffee. Wishing I had real creamer instead of powdered but will make do with what is available (add real creamer to grocery list). Coffee is really strong but will drink it for the caffeine boost! I munch on the donut over the next hour, as I usually am very busy right when I get to work.

10:30am
Finished with donut, only a quarter through the coffee. Going to heat it up and add more creamer, just too bitter! Not feeling satisfied from the donut but will drink some water and continue to sip on my coffee and then see if I'm still hungry! I am notorious for feeling hungry when I'm really tired or thirsty.

11ish-1ish
Running errands, literally! I actually worked up a bit of a sweat on my extra-long lunch break.

1:15pm
Lunchtime, finally! This is a little late for me so I was famished by the time I sat down to eat. Sadly, I eat at my desk but this is the main option I have these days. Lunch was a turkey cutlet and a bit of mashed potatoes and corn. I tried not to wolf it down but was still hungry afterwards and craving something sweet, so I had an applesauce. I didn't feel full but thought I'd wait and relax a bit/get some work done to assess whether I was still hungry or not. Also, I always drink water with lunch because I find anything else (soda, for example) gives me a false sense of fullness.

2:05pm
Feeling fuller and mostly satisfied, toying with the idea of an afternoon snack. Continuing to sip on my coffee and enjoy a little down time while waiting for phone calls. (I drink 1 mug of coffee over the course of the day.)

4:15pm
Busy spell at work over, starting to feel hungry. One problem I regularly experience (like today) is not wanting the snacks I have. There is a vending machine here but that gets expensive so I try to pack a good variety of snacks to broaden my options. Today, raisins are sounding good so starting with that!

5:35pm
Hungry again. Obviously, raisins aren't the most filling snack. Leaving work in 25 minutes so going to wait and have dinner when I get home.

6:30pm
Planning caesar salad, pasta salad, and leftover turkey cutlets. I eat my caesar salad but then the baby wakes up!

7:00pm
Baby playing on her own but I realize I'm no longer hungry. I put the rest of my dinner away.

8:30pm
Hungry again. Really wanting ice cream but feel like I should eat some "real" food first. I think I had this idea that I would eat too much ice cream or not be full if I ate only ice cream. I had a small bowl of pasta salad and then a bowl of ice cream.

9:30pm
Rats, still hungry. I guess that's what happens when you don't finish your dinner! I eat a granola bar and finally feel satisfied.

I think the thing I have to be careful of is not questioning my hunger too much, as I'll tend to restrict. Then, I obviously end up hungrier later. I also have a strong emotional attachment to sweets so I try to restrict them as well. Not sure how this really makes sense....well, I think it's leftover diet mentality. For me, when food becomes too important, I have this irrational fear that there won't be enough and I want to overeat.

I also want to focus more on enjoying my food. In reality, this is a challenge since I eat a lot of my meals at work and have an infant at home to care for. I will still do the best I can in each moment.