Track your nutritional servings...lose weight? I think so!

One of my favorite nutrition reference guides and recipe books comes from the Eat Clean Diet series by Tosca Reno.  Her recipes are awesome, the food is fresh and easily prepared.  One thing I've noticed about my diet is that although fairly planned I did not have a method of keeping track of the number of servings I was getting from each food group.  Her 'cooler plans' do just that.  I highly recommend reading the book and really getting a better idea of what and why we should eat what we eat.  Below is the checklist I have on my fridge.  It's covered in a plastic slip cover so I can use a dry erase pen to mark off what I've eaten during the day....then I know where I'm falling short.  So far I'm down another 1.5 lbs in a week.  Because I'm getting my fruits and veggies in (ie. fiber) I'm not craving sugar and I'm not hungry.  I'm still sticking to eating every 2-3 hours getting in 6 meals a day. 

6 Portions/ day Complex Carbs
1 cupped handful or piece of fruit (berries, melon, apples, grapefruit)
2 cupped handfuls of veggies
(The X's help me count my portions for the day for easy mark off)
X           X           X        X           X          X

2-4 Portions Complex Cabs from Whole Grains
1 Handful of high protein sugar free cereal (muesli and granola)
1 handful of cooked cereal (oatmeal)
1 piece of whole grain bread or wrap
1 handful sized serving of (yams, sweet potatoes, carrots banana, squash)

5-6 Portions of Lean protein
1 cup dairy (soy, rice milk, cottage cheese, kefir, ff yogurt)
1 handful of unsalted nuts
2 Tbsp of nut butters
1 palm sized portion of animal meat
Protein powder

2-3 liters of water

My workouts are getting more frequent however we were out of town last week so this week is a fresh start:

Monday: strength and core
Tuesday:  Run
Wed:  Bike
Thurs: Strength and OFF
Friday: Swim
Saturday: Bike
Sunday: OFF

(ideally I need another swim day but I'll have to wait until May when our neighborhood pool opens for time sake)