Day Three

Getting off to a good start today...

Exercise (at last!)

• 35 min on the exercise bike

It's about time. I know I always say oh I have to get to the gym, but we have this machine taking up space in the office all the time, and it's a lot easier to hop on there than drive a half hour both ways to use the bike at the gym. Of course, I was still in my pajamas and concentrating more on my reading than getting a good workout, so I could more accurately describe this session as "dogging it," but at least it's a start.

When I finished, I drank two big glasses of water, so I've got that going today too.

Breakfast

• ham & cheese on whole wheat bread with a dollop of yellow mustard
• skim milk
• prunes

I guess I really like ham sandwiches in the mornings. Or anytime really. It's hard to go wrong with something I enjoy so much. The prunes are very sticky and perhaps overly sweet, but I do like them very much (I may be the only non-geriatric New Yorker to feel this way about prunes).

I went back to the grocery to get items for two more meals. Now I know I get a lot out of these ingredients - it's really several meals' worth, and in the case of peanut butter and graham crackers, days and days of snacks - but it's still pretty painful on the wallet to shell out $100 for three days' eating. (click to enlarge)



I just have to remember this is an investment in my health. No amount of 4-for-$1 hamburgers can provide good health.

I think that cost is a pretty big deterrent in a lot of diets, and the allure of value in the grocery sometimes overpowers one's will to eat well. To that end, I want to keep track of how much I actually spend on food and ingredients to see if I can't find smarter ways to stretch my dollar while still buying healthy, tasty foods. I have a feeling that when I am ready to start a family, this experience will be very useful.

Lunch

• ham & cheese on 7-grain bread with low-fat mayonnaise
• mixed greens salad with yellow pepper, cucumber, tomato & fat-free Italian dressing
• green grapes

This was a truly spectacular lunch. I'm really into ham and cheese sandwiches lately. I was thrilled with the salad, the sandwich was perfect, and the grapes were unbelievable. I had four more glasses of water as well, so I'm feeling downright healthy.

Snack

• graham crackers with Smart Balance chunky peanut butter

It's a bit harder to control the quantities with chunky peanut butter, but it's still pretty tasty. Something about eating graham crackers reminds me very much of preschool or kindergarten, but I guess I'm okay with that - they really make a fabulous snack.

Dinner

• beef tacos with salsa, pickled jalapeños & chopped fresh cilantro
• steamed baby carrots
• fresh herb salad with low-fat creamy Parmesan dressing
• green grapes

I was planning to prepare something else for dinner, but I had leftover taco meat and my boyfriend was out with friends, so I made these instead. They were, predictably, fantastic, and I have a feeling I'll be preparing these often.

I messed up the carrots some, microwaving them instead of steaming them the way I was supposed to, but they were still decent. The salad was fantastic.

I also had two more big glasses of water with dinner, bringing the day's total to eight. Hmm. Today I followed my diet, exercised, and drank plenty of water. Wow. Feels pretty good.