Tim's Cutting Journal

[SNPiccolo5]

This summer it is my goal to finally get my body fat to ~10-12%, depending on how I look. I'll be looking for more qualitative results than quantitative ones since I don't really have a way to measure my body fat very accurately.

Anyway, my stats are I'm 16 years old, 5'3, and ~ 125 lbs. I really don't have access to weight lifiting- I might midway through the summer as my family is cleaning out our house and we might get a weight machine in the garage- but it all depends.

After some experimenting, I've decided to do low fat, low GI carbs, and trying to eat at least 1 salad every day- I really don't eat enough vegetables- so I'm trying to make one of my meals mostly vegetables. I do fine with the fruit- I eat plenty but not too much. Here's what I ate/plan to eat today. Any criticism/suggestions are VERY welcome- that's sorda the point of the journal.

6/14/2004

Meal 1
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt
2/3 cup raspberries
4 strawberries

Meal 2
1 whole wheat blueberry muffin (94: 1 / 19 / 4)- I followed recipes on back of splenda box, did whole wheat flour, used yogurt instead of butter, did 1 egg and 2 whites instead of 2 whole, and I needed to use up some dried blueberries. These I don't have very often- and I figure since it's post workout, if it's more high GI it shouldn't be as bad as if it were the last meal of the day.
1 cup cottage cheese salad (155: 0 / 14 / 23)- This is a mixture 3 cup 0% cottage cheese, 2 cups non-fat yogurt, and a sugar free jell-o packet (usually lime or raspberry).

Meal 3
Fruit smoothie- A mixture of 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1- 6 oz containted Yoplait light strawberry yogurt, frozen peaches, frozen/fresh strawberries ,and water for liquid. End up being 243: 1 / 38 / 20

Meal 4
3 cups romaine lettuce, 5 vivaldi tomatoes, 1/2 Tb olive oil, 1/2 chicken breast, 1 Tb reduced fat ranch dressing. 272: 13 / 19 / 27

Meal 5
1 whole egg, 3 egg whites scrambled. 1- 6 oz container yoplait light yogurt.

That comes out to 1191: 20 / 146 / 109

[AnnaD - TX]

Well congratulations on your new journal! Good job on the blueberry recipe!

[SNPiccolo5]

Thanks for reading my journal! It's only been one day, but here's what my plan for today is... Today my meal spacing will be more like 2:30 hours, since I'm going to a party at 7:00 and want to have my eating done by then, we'll see how that goes eating wise .

6/15/2004

Meal 1
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup skim milk
1 whole wheat blueberry muffin

Meal 2
3/4 cup heritage bites cereal with 1/2 cup skim milk
1 cup cottage cheese salad

Meal 3
1 cup non-fat yogurt
2/3 cup raspberries
1 nectarine

Meal 4
3 cups romaine lettuce
4 italian tomatoes
1/2 a chicken breast
1/2 Tb. olive oil
1 Tb light ranch dressing

I need to get some cucumbers and green peppers at the store to add to this salad- I like them but we just don't have them on hand.

Meal 5
4 or 5 egg whites with 1 yolk~ scrambled
4 Italian tomatoes (they're basically cherry tomatoes only a little bigger- in an effort to eat more vegetables)

For the day it is 1280: 24 / 169 / 108 or 18% fat 47% carbs 36% protein.

COMMENTS: does this look like too much dairy in one day? Whenever I tell my dad about cottage cheese and yogurt he says it's bad to have too much dairy. Obviously that's true, but I'm wondering what really is too much... am I having too much? I'm also going to figure out how to boil some eggs and try incorporating egg whites into my diet easier- like in the salad instead of the chicken.

-Tim

[gdawg0987]

Your meals for 6-15 don't look like they have too much dairy, but on the 14th it was probably a little excessive. It would have been a better choice to have fiberous veggies @ 8 pm with the eggs instead of the yogurt since it was so late in the evening. Looks like you got things under control for the most part though. Good luck with your fat loss, too bad about not having weights though. Maybe you'll get that gym for your garage soon because lifting would really help you reach your goals faster.

[SNPiccolo5]

Thanks for the advice! Now that I look back at what I ate on th 14th, I really did have lots of dairy ! I guess that's the point of the journal... I just made some stir fry (chicken, that is) and some separate chicken for salads the next couple of days... so I should be set. I like posting my meals ahead of time, it makes cheating even worse.

I found that I can combine egg whites and veggies to reduce some of the dairy in my diet, as I can easily just "default" to my cottage cheese salad and fruit... I could probably live off that stuff . And now that I'm used to plain yogurt (I used to have to sweeten it) I can "default" to that too, so I'll just make sure to have fresh veggies on hand and then I'll be able to get more nutrients etc... I'll post my meals for tomorrow later tonight, I'm really determined not to cheat at the party I'm going to tonight. *determination...***

-Tim

[SNPiccolo5]

OK, here my plan is for 6/16- I think I'll post using meals 1-5, not times, as I think the one thing I really have down is the timing. I like the idea of writing this the day before b/c it is an easy way to organize what I eat.

Meal #1
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 blueberry muffin

Meal #2
1 cup non-fat yogurt
1 nectarine
4 large strawberries

Meal #3
1-4 oz lean ground turkey burger
1- light whole wheat bun (80: 1 / 11 (14-3 grams fiber) / 5)
1 tomato slice, some romaine, 1/2 green pepper.

Meal #4
1 1/2 cups steamed broccoli
1/2 chicken breast
3 vivaldi tomatoes
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup cottage cheese salad


Meal #5
4 egg whites
1 egg yolk

For the day that is 1193: 25 / 139 / 114 or 19% fat, 41% carbs, and 40% protein.

Comments: For the turkey burgers they are lean, but not the extra lean variety. Are these a problem? The 4 oz has 8 grams of fat alone... is this worth eathing, or would it be worth the benefit to make these chicken sandwiches instead? I'm picking up some more eggs today so I can boil them and then see what I can fit them into (like with the oatmeal, that meal lacks some protein). Anything you see that could be better for fat loss? I'm doing cardio as regular, the sprints are becoming only slightly easier.. the most I rest inbetween them now is 20 seconds, I would like to work it up to the 20 seconds and 10 seconds rest for 8 sets, but right now only the first 4 are that. Would reducing my fat intake help at all? Thanks!

-Tim

[gdawg0987]

Your fat % intake looks good, I wouldn't take it much if any below 20%. Your 40 40 20 ratio looks good. As far as the turkey burger patties go, I buy 99% fat free ground turkey at the supermarket and make my own patties. They only have 1.5 grams of fat for 4 ounces, but it is a little more expensive though. Grilled chicken, like you mentioned, is also a good option though.

[SNPiccolo5]

Yeah, I go to the store and see the 99% lean and would really like to have that, but we buy the lean (it's something like 93% lean) in bulk (well- 2-32 oz trays) for A LOT cheaper, cheaper than hamburger I think, and my Dad is really price conscience about stuff like that... Since I buy most of my own food, and I'm putting it on his card, I figure as long as my diet doesn't go above 20% fat I'll have the lean turkey.

Thanks again for the advice- it really helps . My oatmeal today was really good- I don't know why I didn't think about adding vanilla extract before, it's the closest thing I'll get to a cinnamon role now!

-Tim

[gdawg0987]

Yeah, the extra-lean turkey is a lot more expensive. Sometimes they have it on sale though when it is close to the expiration date so I buy a lot then and freeze it. That sounds pretty good about adding vanilla extract to the oatmeal. I've always just added cinnamon and stevia; I'll have to try it that way tomorrow.

[SNPiccolo5]

Today went pretty well- most of meals were really satisfying and I was really surprised when I ate the yogurt how fast my taste buds are adjusting- before it tasted REALLY sour, but today it really wasn't sour at all. I added some cucumbers and salsa to the last meal for 6/16- the eggs weren't as filling as I'd imagined- but I think I made a wise choice for more food- I actually think what I added was less than 20 calories.

OK- here my plan is for tomorrow, I got a new cereal at the whole foods market- 6 grams of fiber per serving, and it tastes pretty good! I do, however, want to try my new "organic oatmeal", lol! It actually looks decently different- I mean it's the same type of oatmeal, just looks a little different...

Meal 1
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup blueberries
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cottage cheese salad

Meal 2
1 nectarine
3 strawberries
1/3 cup blueberries
1 cup non-fat yogurt

Meal 3
1 light whole wheat bun
4 oz ground turkey
1/2 green pepper
2 tomato slices
1 leaf romaine lettuce

Meal 4
4 egg whites
1 egg yolk
1 dry piece of toast (80: 1 / 18 (3 grams fiber) / 4)

Meal 5
1/2 chicken breast
2 cups romaine lettuce
4 vivaldi tomatoes
1/2 red pepper
1 Tb light ranch dressing
~7 cucumber slices with salsa

For the whole day it's 1233: 24 / 152 / 111, or 18% fat, 44% carbs, 37% protein.

Comments: No workout today- it's rest today, maybe I'll do some stretches or something...

[SNPiccolo5]

OK, I'm sort of re-starting my journal- just thought it would be a good idea to get some better organization going and help me make sure I keep eating clean! If all these people have the time, so do I!


-Tim

[SNPiccolo5]

OK, first thing is, I'm not going to be doing exact measurments of my food- for my meals I know calories but not exact protein breakdown. My aims for each meal, however, are~

• between 15-25 grams of protein in each meal

• earlier in the day 30-40 grams carbs and little fat-but still some

• later in the day (last 2 meals, or at least last meal) higher fat content- not over 10 grams/meal ideally, and little/fibrous carbs.

I'm working overall for a 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat split- but won't hesitate to change based on how I feel- sometimes when I stay up late working on a project for school I realize it really helps if I eat just a little something- because with my last meal being around 7 pm, 12 a.m. seems a lot without food. Sound good?

-Tim

[SNPiccolo5]

August 26th, 2004

Meal 1
1/6 pan Jakanden's Oatmeal bars, but with cocoa powder added.

Meal 2
Whole wheat pasta
Guacamole
Green peppers
Tomatoes

All this mixed into a salad.

Nectartine

Meal 3
3/4 cup brown rice with 1-2 tsp of Smart Balance Light
1/2 chicken breast
1 Tomato

I'm going jogging with a friend today for ~ 5 miles. I've never ran this far before, but we're not planning on going too fast... Just jogging from her house around a lake and back, should be fun!

Meal 4 (I'm planning for the rest of the day now)
2/3 cup brown rice
1/2 chicken breast

Meal 5
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 cup cottage cheese with cinnamon and vanilla extract.

COMMENTS: I make the oatmeal bars when I really crave something and they fix that- and they're clean too, so that's amazing. 1/6 pan has 1/2 cup dry oatmeal. Has anyone else used Smart Balance Light? Is it good, bad, or too processed? I'm really trying to change my mental state about food- if I post that I ate anything not clean- get on me for it!

-Tim

[SNPiccolo5]

August 27th, 2004

Meal 1
1/6 pan Chocolate Oatmeal bars

Meal 2
6 strawberries
1 orange
1/2 apple
1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese
1 Tb ground flax seeds

This is all blended to make a smoothie.

Meal 3
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup cottage cheese
Cinnamon, vanilla extract.

Meal 4
1/2 chicken breast
Green beans
1 Tomato
1/18 pan Chocolate Oatmeal Bars.

Meal 5
2 eggs
2 egg whites

-Tim

[rrouleau]

Hows everything going? Hows everything working? Have you cut down at all?