This week I will share more of my food journal. I definitely do not eat a perfect diet. In fact, there is no such thing as a perfect diet. As Dr. Freddie Ulan said, “There’s no such thing as a perfect diet. There is only a diet that is a little better than the one before it.”

The best way to make sure you are improving your diet little by little is to keep a food journal. I absolutely require all of my clients to do this. Here is the link to the Standard Process Food Journal that we like to use. But as you can see from my picture, any format will do as long as the info is there.

I also keep a food journal. It is never perfect. But I also never stop working on making it a little better than it was before. I have also, in general, found my “sweet spot” in that I know what foods I can 1) enjoy with impunity, what foods will 2) make me feel bad if I do too much of them, and 3) what foods I absolutely cannot do unless I want to suffer.

Examples of #1 are: coffee, 1 cup a day. I love it. Eggs, bacon, fatty meats. Yum. As much as I want. Butter. Of course all vegetables. I especially am loving cucumber right now, carrots, celery (with pb), and fresh kale from the garden. Nuts also seem to be fine, as many as I want within reason.

Examples of #2 are: Dairy. Too much and I will start gaining weight. Wheat and bread I can do maybe 2x/week. This includes beer. I have learned my limits and since I enjoy these foods, it’s not worth it for me to cut them out, so I just cut back. Whey protein seems to have been making me feel funky lately after I have it, so I am considering putting this on my do not eat list. Fruit is good in small amounts. If I have too much my mood crashes. So I have to watch it. Honey and maple syrup are good 1x/week as a Friday eve treat. Every day, forget it, I value being cheerful more than I value sweets.

Examples of #3 are: Sugar. Refined white sugar. For me it is the enemy. Eat it once, and I’m so far down in the dumps it might take me days to really come out of it. Not worth it. I avoid sugar like the plague.

Eventually, when you start to track your food using a food journal and see how your food choices are affecting you, you will also discover your #1, #2 and #3 category foods (which will likely be much different than mine). And you are happy to put what you have discovered into practice because it becomes more important to you to feel your best and be able to do your best each day than just indulge whenever you want. Little by little, you can exercise some self-discipline and eating well becomes relatively easy.

So here is my food journal from the beginning of the week. Right now I’m working on getting better snacks so I don’t have to rely on the SP bars which make me feel funky.

Monday 7-11-16

7:30 AM: Coffee with butter

8:30 AM: baked chicken breast with salsa and steamed kale

12:30 PM: sliced cucumber and hummus, 1 slice Ezekiel bread with peanut butter, 1/2 avocado

3:00 PM: SP berry bar

8:00 PM: more cucumber and hummus, pickles, 2 naked hamburgers on a bed of greens with raw cheddar and salsa

Tuesday 7-12-16

6:45 AM: coffee with butter

7:30 AM: 2 pcs pineapple, 1/2 strawberry :), eggs and bacon, more coffee with 1/2 and 1/2

9:30 AM: 1/2 of a stevia-sweetened chocolate bar, iced green tea

12:30 PM: tuna salad from Lemon Street Market on a bed of greens with pickle, carrots and hummus

3:30 PM: SP berry bar

8:00 PM: chicken, zucchini and onion curry with coconut milk

Wednesday 7-13-16

6:30 AM: coffee with butter

7:30 AM: 1/2 avocado, pork sausage

10:00 AM: SP berry bar

1:00 PM: green apple with tahini, coconut milk mixed with 1 scoop whey protein

5:00 PM: baby carrots, 1 pickle

8:00 PM: at DipCo: greek salad, small roll with butter, 1.5 pints of beer, 9 wings with blue cheese and Jamaican jerk sauce on the side, celery

Thursday 7-14-16

8:30 AM: coffee with butter, 1/2 avocado

12:00 PM: chicken breast baked with salsa, 1 green apple with peanut butter

And the rest of the day…I don’t have anything planned for supper but it’s likely we will have burgers again.