Posts Tagged ‘food journal’

I ate two chocolates yesterday.

Neither one was the Turtle from my desk drawer. But still, two chocolates aren't exactly Bikini Boot Camp-friendly.

I woke up on Saturday morning with a sore throat and proceeded to be sick for the entire long weekend and beyond, so I rationalized that somehow I deserved two chocolates.

This kind of rationalizing is baloney, of course. But in my defense, there were 10 chocolates in the box and I only ate two.

The worst part is that I'm going to have to record it in my Food Journal.  Two chocolates. 100 calories. No nutrients.

But the best part is that the thought of having to record it in my Food Journal deterred me from eating the other eight chocolates in the box.

Actually, the best part was eating two chocolates. But the Food Journal is pretty good, too.

If you're new to the Food Journal, here's how to set your goals:

• 45-65 per cent of your calories should come from carbohydrates
• 20-35 per cent of your of calories should come from fat
• 10-35 per cent of your calories should come from protein

Of course, your percentages can't add up to more than 100 per cent. So if you plan to get 65 per cent of your calories from carbohydrates, you can't also have 35 per cent from protein and 35 per cent fat, because then you'd be totalling 135 per cent. You'll need to find a range and balance that works for you that totals 100 per cent.

How do those percentages translate into actual grams of each nutrient?
In a 1,500 calorie diet, healthy nutrient ranges would be roughly:

• 175-242 grams of carbohydrate each day
• 33-54 grams of fat each day
• 42-121 grams of protein each day

The ranges are wide and reflect the values suggested in Canada’s Food Guide (approximately 55 per cent carbs, 15 per cent protein and 30 per cent fat) and popular diet programs like the Zone Diet (40 per cent carbs, 30 per cent protein and 30 per cent fat).

For women age 19-50, Health Canada's Dietary Reference Intakes recommends 25 grams of fibre each day. For women 51-plus, Health Canada recommends 21 grams.

The Bikini Boot Camp Six-Week Menu is based on a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet. You may need to adjust your calorie intake based on your goals.

Welcome to Bikini Boot Camp! The first edition of the free, daily Bikini Boot Camp e-newsletter will be released this morning. Have you signed up yet?

Also! The super-fabulous Bikini Boot Camp Six-Week Menu is now online.

Our experts will be online in the Boot Camp Forum Tuesday afternoons through June 9.

• Counsellor Bev Behar, MASc, will be online Tuesdays from 2-3 p.m. EST to answer your emotional eating and self esteem questions. Weight is often an emotional issue, so get to the bottom of what's holding you back with help from Bev.
• Canadian Living's Assistant Fashion & Beauty Editor Julia McEwen will be online Tuesdays from 1-2 p.m. EST to field your style and beauty questions. When you look good, you feel good. From flattering wardrobe choices to how to apply self-tanner, Julia has all the answers and advice to help you look your best.

You can post a question for our Bikini Boot Camp Forum experts any time and expect a response from them in the forum on Tuesday, so post your questions today!

The new online Meal Planner and the Food Journal are accessible through your MyCL account to help you get organized track your progress, so check these cool tools out today.

And don't forget to work out with international award-winning fitness instructor Maureen Hagan in our specially designed Boot Camp fitness program. There's a new video for each week of Boot Camp, so get started today with the Week One video.

Yes, it's a tough workout. This is Boot Camp, after all! But the beauty of Bikini Boot Camp is that you will see (and feel!) results in just a few short weeks. So get energized, get engaged, get excited and get off the couch! It's time for Bikini Boot Camp!

I was literally absent from school on the day they taught addition. Since then, I've always been a bit math-inhibited.

My multiplication is off, my long division skills are deplorable. Even run-of-the-mill adding and subtracting can foul me up. It’s embarrassing, really.

That’s why I’m in love with Canadian Living’s new Food Journal. It does all the math for me. I just tell it what I’ve eaten each day, and it totals up how many calories I’ve consumed. (It can also calculate how much fibre, fat, protein and carbs I've had.)

There’s no avoiding the total when it’s automatically (and accurately!) added up by the computer.

Right now, I’m recording everything I eat and drink, but I’m only tracking how many calories I’ve consumed. I’ve set my daily caloric intake target at 1500.

Next time I’m in to see my doctor or my dietician, I’ll work with her to set some targets for my fibre, fat, protein and carb intake.

For now, I'll just worry about the calories. That's enough math for me, for now.