Ok, so it’s been approximately two weeks since the Food Log challenge started. How have you been doing? Have you logged everything you have ate or drank every day? I’m pretty sure I have at around 95%. So, naturally I would expect you to be asking, “Ok Mark. So I’ve been writing all this down. What’s the use?”
Well, there are a two main things at play helping to set the foundation for building better habits over time. The first is just the act of building consistency in something simple. How are you going to be consistent with something difficult if you can’t first be consistent with the easy. The second is collecting data. To make progress you first have to establish a baseline by recording data.
So, if you’ve been playing along at home lets start with the next step by first reviewing my data (in all it’s ugliness). But first, keep up your logging! Date, time, and food/drink. This is a 66 day challenge and we’re only 14 days in. If any of the following seems overwhelming then just continue with the logging and skip this (come back to it). It’s more important to build the consistency muscle. For those looking to level up…
10/1
6:50 – coffee
7:15 – malt o meal
9:10 – cold brew mocha
12:30 – pork, chicken, beans, potatoes
2:15 – buddy bars
3:20 – cold brew mocha
5:40 – 4 fish sticks, chicken mush, mixed veggies
6:45 – 6 donut holes
7:40 – 3 sips shake, 4pc cheese
8:30 – English muffin w butter
9:50 – 3 squares chocolate
10/2
6:40 – coffee & 4 donut holes
8:50 – latte
12:15 – 2pc pizza
6:25 – tortalini in sauce & Brussel sprouts
10:20 – Apple cider
10/3
7:30 – English muffin w PB, tortalini, coffee
9:15 – latte
3:40 – buddy bars
6:10 – shrimp stir fry
7:50 – 2 muffins
10/4
7:00 – coffee
8:40 – 2 donuts & cider
10:00 – donut & cider
1:40 – donut
2:00 – latte
6:40 – 2 quesadillas, avocado, 1 muffin
7:10 – tea
10/5
7:30 – coffee
8:10 – malt o meal
11:00 – coffee & 2 muffins
1:35 – 3/4 quesadilla, 1 muffin, rice
5:30 – latte, spicy Thai salad, baguette @ Panera
8:45 – chips, chips & dip
10:15 – 4 chocolate squares
10/6
7:30 – coffee
9:00 – coffee, 2 muffins, 5pc bacon, 3/4 English muffin w PB
12:45 – 1/3 Apple, 1.5pc pizza, 1/2 PBJ
5:50 – burger & fries @ Red Robin
8:35 – popcorn
10/7
6:45 – coffee
10:10 – latte
2:20 – coffee, snack sized Reese’s & Snickers
6:30 – brisket chili, corn bread, Brussels sprouts, pie, ice cream
8:30 – avocado
9:30 – Brussel sprouts
10/8
6:30 – coffee
9:00 – latte
12:00 – brisket chili
4:45 – buddy bars
6:45 – brisket chili w rice, corn bread
8:00 – cheese cake and ice cream
9:35 – chocolate peppermint tea
10/9
7:10 – coffee
1:00 – brisket chili
2:00 – latte
6:50 – brisket chili, chips
10:15 – cornbread, banana
11:00 – chocolate squares
11:45 – meat sticks, cheese
10/10
7:40 – coffee
8:50 – latte
12:30 – rolls, French fries, chicken fingers
4:00 – buddy bars
5:45 – 2 donuts, apple cider
7:00 – 2 pork tacos
7:45 – donut
8:15 – applesauce w ice cream, tortilla w cinnamon butter
10/11
7:00 – coffee, 2 donuts
8:00 – coffee
10:40 – chicken fingers, donut
2:15 – ham & cheese sandwich, carrots, pear
6:00 – bammi, nachos, coffee
8:50 – cheesecake
10/12
7:15 – coffee, donut holes
8:20 – coffee, bagel w PB
11:00 – latte
12:45 – burger, chips
7:20 – coffee, salmon, rice, beans
8:30 – ice cream
10/13
8:45 – coffee, donut holes
9:15 – coffee
2:15 – Thai salad, baguette, latte @ Panera
6:00 – Fudge
6:20 – 2pc pizza, fudge
Alright. So besides how absolutely riveting that information is, let’s start to put some of the data to work. For example, I can see that the earliest I ate or drank anything was 6:30am, but generally my food/drink consumption tends to begin around 6:50am. The latest I ate anything was 11:45, and generally my food/drink consumption end time is all over the board. Also, there are way more sweets on there than I’m excited about, and definitely not enough fruits and veggis – as my wife will be quick to point out :).
Well, the next easiest thing is to start tablizing the information like so (note, your table may be different, but feel free to copy this if you’re looking for inspiration – I’m sure it will be enhanced over time anyway)…
| Date | 1st food/drink | Last food/drink | Fruits | Veggies |
| 10/1 | 6:50 AM | 9:50 PM | 0 | 2 |
| 10/2 | 6:40 AM | 10:20 PM | 0 | 1 |
| 10/3 | 7:30 AM | 7:50 PM | 0 | 1 |
| 10/4 | 7:00 AM | 7:10 PM | 1 | 0.5 |
| 10/5 | 7:30 AM | 10:15 PM | 0 | 3 |
| 10/6 | 7:30 AM | 8:35 PM | 0.5 | 0 |
| 10/7 | 6:45 AM | 9:30 PM | 1 | 2 |
| 10/8 | 6:30 AM | 9:35 PM | 0 | 1 |
| 10/9 | 7:10 AM | 11:45 PM | 1 | 0 |
| 10/10 | 7:40 AM | 8:15 PM | 0 | 0 |
| 10/11 | 7:00 AM | 8:50 PM | 1 | 1 |
| 10/12 | 7:15 AM | 8:30 PM | 0 | 1 |
| 10/13 | 8:45 AM | 6:20 PM | 0 | 2 |
… with is slightly depressing when looked at it in that way, but since we were base-lining and we’re not passing judgment – it is what it is. Based on the table, other data, and podcasts/articles there are 3 things I want to focus on…
- Finish eating/drinking at least 2 hours (3-4 preferably) before bed (which in my case means generally by 7-9pm – but I’m going to target 8pm).
- Increase my fruit/veggie intake.
- Decrease my sweets/junk food intake.
So what about you? How are you doing with your logging? What do you want to focus on in the coming weeks?