Skip to main content

Year Two, Day 361: No Sugar! No Salt! No Mercy!

What a glorious day!  Sun is shining. Skies are blue. Birds are singing!

 I really should have gotten up early for my vigorous walk. But I had trouble sleeping last night. Much coughing!

Today is Monday. So I made sure and got my weight and measurementa before I headed to my office job.  I also filled my
"Hydro Flask" with hot water and two tea bags. One black tea, and one "Organic India Tulsi Sweeet Rose" tea. Apparently Tulsi is "Holy Basil" which is "an herb with healing properties that relieve stress and protect the immune system". https://organicindiausa.com/organic-india-tulsi-sweet-rose-tea/


sweet-rose.gif

Magical, healing properties aside, I love the flavor of this tea!  The problem this morning was that I did not even get to sip it until 11:30 a.m. So busy was I!  Like a race horse when the starting gun fires!

But I like being busy. It makes the time fly. And I feel needed!  Love feeling needed. 

Today is Monday. My stats day. I was hoping to see the scale budge a bit. I tried kicking it. That didn't help.

So...
I am going to make some small changes this week. First of all, with my coffee and tea drinks. I love tea. And thankfully, I enjoy it black. But with coffee, it feels more like a treat. And I do not enjoy the taste of coffee unless it is sweet and creamy. 

I googled "low calorie Starbucks drinks" and was pleased to find a lovely website called "Wake The Wolves." They have an article about healthy Starbucks drinks.(http://wakethewolves.com/healthy-starbucks-drinks-secret-menu/).

I am a little nervous here. They suggest not adding sugar to your coffee, but instead using cinnamon. They are healthy young adults, concerned with their daily intake of sugar. 

According to the American Heart Association:

"The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calories allowance. For most American women, that's no more than 100 calories per day, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar. For men, it's 150 calories per day, or about 9 teaspoons." 
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Added-Sugars_UCM_305858_Article.jsp#.WRC9Gu7yvcs

Then they posted a chart of typical favorite Starbucks drinks. YIKES!!!!
STARBUCKS FAVORITES – SUGAR NUTRITION FACTS
drinksizesugar
Mocha FrappGrande61g of sugar(14.5 teaspoons)
MochaGrande35g of sugar(8.3 teaspoons)
LatteGrande17g of sugar(4 teaspoons)
Strawberry Acai RefresherGrande20g of sugar(4.75 teaspoons)
Ok. This week, I am first of all focusing on sugar. I am going to start logging the sugar grams along with calories.I also am guilty of too much added salt. I do love me some salt! I used to joke, that I need one of those salt licks that guinea pigs have in their cages.
Seriously.  
Off to Google I go. BRB
Ok. The American Heart Association recommends "no more than 2,300 milligrams (mgs) a day and an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults." https://sodiumbreakup.heart.org/how_much_sodium_should_i_eat
Apparently, because so many Americans eat prepackaged, processed foods, our average daily intake is more than 3,400 mg a day!  Yikes! I am afraid of what my daily intake is. Very afraid. Luckily I blog.  And track. And obsess. I will conquer!
And to sweeten the pot (there I go with food analogies again!), the American Heart Association has a downloadable "Sodium Tracker". Sweet!  ww.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@fc/documents/downloadable/ucm_448279.pdf

Ok, on that note, here is my daily sugar, sodium, food, mood and exercise log.  Oh and my daily stats too.This is a lot of work. But I am one determined menopausal woman!

Stats: May 8, 2015
Mood while blogging (5:45 p.m.) 6
Weight: 192.6
 Neck:    13.5"
Chest:   40"
Waist:    37"
Hips:      44"
Thighs:   22"
Biceps: 13"
Calves:   16"
Ankles:   8.5"


Food Log
11:00 a.m. 2 packages Quaker Instant Grits 200 cals, 620 mg sodium, 0 sugar
11:30 a.m. Black tea (0 calories)
 2:30 p.m. : Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt (Boston Cream Pie)  80 cals, 45 mg sodium, 7 g sugar
1 T honey and 1/2 t minced ginger (For my cough.  Home remedy given to my by one of my student's moms) 64 cals, 17 g sugar
 4 p.m. 1 bowl beef pho at Pho Vietnam. 400 cals, 384 mg sodium
5:40 p.m. Venti Passion fruit-white iced tea, unsweetened, 0 cals!, 1.5 ounces raw almonds 250 cals, 0 mg sodium!, 2g sugar; 1 stick string cheese 80 cals, 280 mg sodium, 0 g sugar.

Grand Totals:
1,074 calories
1,329 mg sodium
26 grams sugar (about 6 teaspoons)

Yay me!!
Exercise: the usual 2+ miles walking. Plus, I plan on some yoga tonight before bed. Hopefully it will help my sleep.
P.S. I got a free drink at Starbucks today. And I did not give in to temptation! No dairy, no sugar. Woot woot!
I was blessed to have lunch with my son. He is a pho lover too. No matter how old my kids get, I always get supreme satisfaction from watching them eat heartily. Especially pho. It is a family tradition.

I also was happy to see my favorite, handsome, charming bus driver, "D" today. He smiled and called out my name as I boarded. But the bus was packed; we didn't get a chance to chat. But just seeing "D" brightens my day.

But the highlight of my day is my food log today. It feels so amazing to achieve a goal. It will be interesting to see if counting the sugar and sodium content in my diet will make that stubborn scale budge, this nagging cough disappear and my mood brighten.

I am a living experiment!

And now on toy next piano student, walking in the sun, catching some much needed vitamin D.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Happy Monday!





"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 347: My Big Fat Greek Salad!!

I have perfected the art of making a Greek salad!  I have made two huge bowls in the last week. My kinds rave. Essentially the secret is f vegetables , good feta cheese, Greek olives and a homemade dressing made with light, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar,  and oregano. Here is my recipe: MY BIG FAT GREEK SALAD Serves 4 hungry adults 4 cups greens (I used a "spring mix" from Fred Meyer) 2 cucumbers 6 roma tomatoes one small red onion 1 cup cubed feta cheese 1 cup Greek olives (pitted) Get out a big bowl. Peel a clove of garlic, cut in half and rub it over the interior of the bowl.  Wash the lettuce if it is not prewashed and packaged like mine was.  Dry the leaves, and tear into bite sized pieces. Throw into the big bowl. Note: Romaine lettuce is good to include in the mix, because it is hearty. Peel the cucumbers and dice. Add to bowl. Cut the roma tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds (otherwise they make th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Year Two, Day 307: Chasing Away The Gloomy Weather...with Music and a Smile! :)

It seems to me that most of the city is depressed, tired and sick. I still have my low grade snuffly nose, along with sneezing, and itching eyes.  Low energy. It is nice to know I am not the only one. Misery loves company, don't you know! Even through the gloom, I had an enjoyable day.  I told myself several times that I really am a lucky woman. My kids are grown, I'm going to be a GRANDMA, and I love my work. My church job is a nice secure little job and it seems I am quite needed there.  I am still learning the ropes. But I am enjoying it. Meeting new people. And best of all, I have only a 1 1/2 minute commute (by foot!). I have a cozy little room in a household full of wonderful laid back people.  People who love animals and music. But best of all, my afternoons are filled with music. I basically get on the bus and travel about town, sitting at pianos, visiting with students, who are like my family. We talk. They play the piano for me. I offer pointe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Year Two, Day 201: "I"

Before my first meeting with "I" I had a wonderful first date last night! We had a lot on common. The conversation flowed easily. We laughed. It was so lovely, that I think I shall not blog about him. Not yet anyway. I am just going to call him "I". I like I. 😉 Today was a long, wonderful family day. Went to church with my daughter and son-in-law. Very powerful, uplifting service. After that we went to the horse races. Had a blast. Broke even. Essentially had a free lunch and four hours of entertainment. After the horses, we had yet another Thanksgiving dinner at my niece's place. It was her first turkey. It was amazing! But thank God I had enough willpower to resist the pie! Tomorrow I go for my first physical therapy appointment. Tuesday it is back to the gym!! Happy Sunday!
Post a Comment
Read more