Tag: strength building

Daily Food Diary – Day 173 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 173 Days since I started posting my Daily Food Diary. 

It is also 4 months since I was placed on the Waiting List for repair of my epigastric hernia.    I was told by my surgeon’s receptionist that it would probably be about  eight weeks to get a surgery date confirmed.  😐

The wait doesn’t bother me.  In the meantime, I have been working to improve my respiratory health so things will go as well as possible when I am dealing with the anesthesia.  

My hernia is generally painless.  When it does get pushed out, I can usually deal with it.  There was one painful situation that sent me to the hospital emergency room for assistance, but I have been careful since that experience so have avoided a return visit.

The only issue I do have, is that I decided to put a pause on exercising using weights until after I have my surgery.   Lifting, and holding, even seven to ten pound weights, was one thing that was almost guaranteed to bother my hernia…and it was only for a few weeks.

Obviously, the wait could be indefinite at this point and in the meantime I am losing upper body strength. 🙄

So, I have decided to (cautiously) step back to my five pound weights and restart my afternoon strength building workouts.  Wish me luck! 🤞

Daily Food Diary – Day 173

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(3) sl bacon (130)

(2) eggs (160)

(2) potato patties (240)

(1/2) tomato (11) (1 SVG)

Snacks:

(1) peach (58) (1 SVG)

(1/6) c dry roast peanuts (162)

(1/6) c mixed nuts (108)

(1) c licorice tea

(36) oz water

Supper:

(4) vegetable spring rolls (500) (2 SVG)

(4) shrimp nests (210) (1 SVG)

(3) riblets (49)

(2) pc’s buttermilk chicken (84)

(5) Gyoza (225)

(1) tbsp Gyoza dipping sauce (15)

(1) tbsp plum sauce (35)

(1) tbsp shrimp sauce (20)

(1) tbsp Dilly Dip (80)

(1) PC Butterscotch Pudding Cake (153)

Total net calories: 2243

Net calories goal: 1238 – 2243 = 1005 over 👎

Fruits & vegetables: 5 servings

Fruits & vegetables goal: 7 servings 👎

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 😊💖

Daily Food Diary – Day 164 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is Day 164 of my Daily Food Diary today.  👍

We are on Day 5 of our time with son Dan and family.  We have been too busy visiting today to wrap my head around my regular routine, but better late than never on posting my Daily Diary.

I haven’t done as well with my morning aerobics. This is the second day in a row that is a miss.  

Since I’m already this late, I am just going to wrap this up and take Molly for a walk  and get a bit of exercise. 

Looks like she is ready to go!

Daily Food Diary – Day 164

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Honey Nut Cheerios. (147)

(1/4) c milk (28)

Lunch:

(4) oz beef burger (243)

(12) lightly salted chips (62)

(24) oz water

Supper:

(1) bowl Wonton Soup (71)

(1/2) c vegetable fried rice (250)

(1) c beef & broccoli (264)

(1/2) c sesame chicken (200)

*** Vegetables in supper (2 SVG)

Total net calories: 1507

Net Calorie Goal: 1238 – 1507 = 269 over

Total fruits and vegetables: 2 servings

Fruits and vegetable goal: 7 servings

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 💖😊

Daily Food Diary – Day 121 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is Day 121 of my 375 Day Food Diary! 🎊

Yesterday was the first day of May.   This month, I am going to focus on the saturated fat in the foods I consume each day.   I will share this info every day on my blog.  I will still be  monitoring my sodium and processed sugar consumption, but I won’t be sharing that on here each day – just to keep the focus on saturated fats.

A few number related notes for today..

  • I now weigh 125 pounds (at 5′ -1″ tall). That is down 35 pounds  from 160 pounds that I was at three years ago.  It is 8 pounds down from the 133 pounds that I weighed when I started my Daily Food Diary on January 1st.
  • In April, it became obvious that there were two things that I was consuming that were detrimental to my respiratory health –  processed sugar and carbonated water.  I have cut back on both A LOT.  I have also been walking further, faster, and more frequently which is beneficial to my respiratory health.    Pre – April, my blood oxygen would run 86 to 95 %.  This past week it has been 92 to 99%      * Fun fact – % blood oxygen refers to the percent of red blood cells that contain oxygen  
  • Since starting my Daily Food Diary, I have stopped the mindless snacking, between meals and dedicated tea time.    Cutting back on processed sugar in April has had a huge effect on my appetite at mealtime.  Last night, I had 2 chicken drumsticks and 1/2 package of ramen noodles for supper.  A couple of months ago, I would have  eaten 3 or 4 drumsticks and a full package of ramen  noodles.
  • Getting back to saturated fats… My goal for each day is to stay under 13.75 grams of saturated fats.  That is 10% of my total goal of 1247 calories which is  124.7.  (2000 cal x 10% = 200 = 22 grams of saturated fat)  Mathing it out, that makes my goal 13.75 grams per day.     

Maintaining, posting, or reading a Daily Food Diary may not seem terribly exciting  or effective,  on a day to day basis.  But… numbers do not lie. My Daily Food Diary is proving that given enough time,  and consistent effort,  it is a powerful tool that is helping me to reach my health and fitness goals. 😊

Breakfast/Lunch

(1) c coffee

(2) Low sodium hotdogs (240) (7 grams)

(1) Tortilla wrap (170) (1.5 grams)

(1/8) c shredded cheddar (57) (3 grams)

(1/4) c red onions (15)

Snacks:

(48) oz water

(1) c Lemon Ginger tea

(1) peach (58)

(3) strawberries (12)

(23) Salt & vinegar chips (270) (1.5 grams)

(6) mini eggs (85) (2.5 grams)

Supper:

(2) chicken drumsticks (152) (4.4 grams)

(1) tsp olive oil (40) (.7)

(15) asparagus spears (49)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

(1/2) pkg Spicy Chicken Ramen (190) (3 grams)

Total net calories: 1264

Net calorie goal: 1247 – 1264 = 17 over 👎

Total saturated fat:  25.9 grams

Saturated fat goal: 13.75 grams 👎

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 💗☺️

Daily Food Diary – Day 62 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

I am sixty two days into my Daily Food Diary and I am still tracking what I consume, and learning from this exercise every day.

This month, I am specifically tracking the  protein in my diet.  I am only three days in, but so far I am surprised by how high my  protein intake is. I don’t know if it is a fluke.  I haven’t been planning my diet around it.  Having Dan buy a small Chocolate Fudge Cake on the weekend, certainly hasn’t helped the cause. 🙄

Meanwhile, our weather continues to stay relatively mild.  Our February temperatures were not conducive to getting much fresh air so I have really appreciated finally getting outside.

Our neighbourhood is still not great for walking, but fortunately we have a large yard.   We don’t get to a park for a walk every day.   But…  I am getting outside,  throwing a ball for Molly, and getting some exercise  fetching it for her.

Molly sitting in her favourite corner. 🤦

Food Diary – Day 62

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2) (.3)

(1) c Cheerios (147) (2.7)

(1/4) c 2% milk (31) (2)

Lunch:

(24) oz water

(2) oz Piller shaved ham (57) (8.5)

(1/2) c Mini Ritz (140) (.2)

(1) oz medium cheddar (45) (2.5)

(1) c tea

Supper:

(1) Roasted chicken thigh & drumstick

      (387) (45)

(1) c mashed potatoes (113) (1.9)

(1/4) c Swiss Chalet gravy (20) (1)

(1) side salad (90) (5)

(1) pc chocolate fudge cake (300) (2)

(12) oz carbonated water

Total calories: 1379

Total Protein: 56.4 grams

Protein goal:  46 to 58.5 grams

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! ❤️😊

Daily Food Diary – Day 59 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is Day 59 of my Daily Food Diary and  February is finally behind us. 

Heading into March, I have made a couple of changes to my Food Diary.

I have started breaking down my day into meals.  How each day breaks down and what I eat depends on what I am doing.  Yesterday, I had a quick breakfast, went to our local lab for blood tests, came home,  and Dan and I headed to a park,  to take Molly for a walk.   The blood tests took forever, so by the time we got back from our ‘morning’ walk, it was about 1:30 PM.

Breaking down my water isn’t an exact science.  I fill my 24 ounce water bottle in the morning and drink it throughout the day.

I have started tracking the protein I eat in a day.  Without particularly trying, I hit the higher end of my goal for eating 46 to 58.5 grams of protein per day. 💪

Food Diary – Day 59

Breakfast

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Cheerios (147) (2.7)

(1/4) c milk (31) (2)

Late Lunch

(24) oz water

(1) c tea

(2) sm peach (51) (1.2)

(1) lg pear (116) (1.4)

Supper

(12) oz carbonated water

(2) c spaghetti with meat sauce (574) (27.6)

(1/3) c shredded cheese (120) (7)

(3) Dill pickles (23) (1.2)

(25) Lay’s Classic chips (160) (2)

(2) tbsp Kraft Philadelphia onion dip (45) (2)

Evening Snack

(2 1/2) oz fresh coconut (175) (2)

(2) tbsp dark chocolate sauce (110) (6.8)

Total calories: 1552

Total protein: 55.9 grams

  • For my age, sex, and size my goal for protein is 46 to 58.5 grams per day (46 grams should maintain the muscle I have, up to  58.5 grams should build muscle).

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞