Fitness journal #3 | Sunday October 4, 2026
Good evening, guys.
So I awoke at 5:20 this morning and was eager to work out but wanted to wait until daylight. A major reason for my wanting to wait is safety. I feel safe in my town for the most part, but it just feels right today to wait for daylight.
Also, I’ve witnessed that the atmosphere spiritually changes in the fall as halloween approaches...
Before my physical activity, I of course needed to eat something. Pineapples and sausage links met all my macros.
I consumed this while watching an episode of Three’s Company. Great, funny show but the jokes can be cleaner. I’m reminded of how Golden Girls is also a great show, but the jokes could have been cleaner on it, as well.
I was really hungry before bed yesterday and ate a couple of dinner rolls that totaled 90 calories. My goal today is to consume more water than I did yesterday to help combat hunger.
While having the pre-workout meal (that's what I'm calling it, anway) and allowing daylight to take its time to come, I wanted to watch the episode of Arthur entitled ‘My Club Rules’ but couldn’t find it on YouTube nor on the PBSKids app. I did, however, find it on one website, which I'm not sharing the link to since I don't know much about the site, though I'm 87.629% sure that the site is safe.
Here is what I consumed today:
Water: 100oz
- 2/3 cups pineapples, 80
3 links, 100
Banana bread, 150
Candy, 15
2. Sloppy Joe
Ground turkey, 110 cals
2 rolls, 90 cals
Coleslaw on the sloppy joe, 85
Peaches, 60
1/4 cup Manwich, 20 cals
I used 1 tbsp agave, 60 cals, to make Agave Lemonade. I also used lemon juice, 0 cals.
3. Tilapia Alfredo
Tilapia, 90 cals
1/4 cup Alfredo sauce, 50 cals
2oz Pasta, 200
2/3 cup Peas and carrots, 50
1 1/3 cup Kale, 30
4. Sloppy Joe
Ground turkey, 110 cals
4 rolls, 180 cals
Coleslaw, 85
1/4 cup Manwich, 20 cals
Total: 1,585
Remaining: 15
Physical Activity:
At a leisurely pace, I visited a local park where I walked for about 9 mins, breaked for 1, then walked for about 6 more, so I had about 15 mins of light physical activity today.
I did really well with my water intake, having consumed 64oz (a half gallon) by noon.
Things I Noticed:
- The lemon juice curbed my appetite. I usually drink my water room temperature but put some bottles of water in the fridge so that I can have cold lemonade in the future when I make lemonade again. Looking into pineapple, apple, or white grape juice for an even healthier, natural sweetener since agave contains fructose.
- I included kale in today’s meals because I want to increase my iron intake. Google said that kale is a good source of iron, but 1 serving of kale has only 1mg of iron, & I need 18mg/day. So either I’m eating lots of servings of it per day, or I’m returning to the iron gummy supplements that I tried before. I’m going to continue looking up iron-rich foods.
- The serving size on the spaghetti that I used for my alfredo was 2oz. I learned that that serving size is for dry pasta, not cooked. I was going to make zucchini noodles for this dish and use it instead of spaghetti, but the process of making the noodles didn't go smoothly. I will try again in the future to make zucchini noodles.
- My kitchen keeps getting messy, but I feel satisfied & satiated.
- Lentils will be the base of one of my meals tomorrow.
Fitness journal #2 | Saturday October 3, 2026
Hey, guys.
So here’s my fitness journal for the day:
Someone shared with me a couple of places that she hikes. One place is Hole-in-the-Rock in Phoenix. I reside in metro Phoenix & decided to visit this place.
I wanted to consume something for energy prior to starting the hike. I ate 2/3 cups of pineapples and 1 TBSP of peanut butter. This covered my macros. As much as possible, I want my macros covered whenever I’m eating, even if I’m not eating an actual meal, which is why when I ate again later in the day and that which I ate lacked fat, I consumed 1 almond to ensure that I received some fat.
The pineapples doubled as a pain reliever for stomach cramps : p
I left the house at 5:20am. It was still plenty dark, dark enough to see the beautiful, bright stars. The stars shine differently here in Arizona. They appear to shine brighter, & u can see them more clearly; there’s nothing obstructing my view. There are only wide open spaces here.
I made the 27-min drive to Hole-in-the-Rock at Papago Trail.
I had taken with me a half gallon of spring water. The walk was really short, though, & I didn’t need near that amount. I saw that some hikers didn’t bother bringing any water, & the weather was a nice and gentle 78 degrees.
Here’s a hiking tip: when you have only half of your water remaining, turn back.
But I took some pics of the wonderful views. Then I called my little nephew; it would have been nice to have taken that hike with him - with any of the littles, actually - but I thought of him specifically.
I had taken a meal with me.
After the hike, I ate in my car, drove home to shower, then attended an event that was giving away unlimited free children’s books. I got countless books. I parked close to the door, but with all of the back and forth I did by getting more books, placing them in my trunk, re-entering for more books, there’s no telling how much ground I covered.
I prepared 2 pieces of tilapia today. I am planning to have tilapia alfredo a couple of times tomorrow.
Below is a list of the things that I consumed today and of my calorie intake.
I also prepared banana bread today according to package instructions, portioned the bread, then froze the portions.
Talk soon xx
What I consumed today:
Water, 64oz
1. 1 tbsp peanut butter, 90 cals
2/3 cup pineapples, 80
2. A meal that I prepped yesterday, 391
3. A meal that I prepped yesterday, 391
4. Peaches, 60
1/4 cup Ground turkey, 110
1 Almond, 7
5. A meal that I prepped yesterday, 391
6. Banana bread, 150
7. 2 rolls, 90 cals
Total: 1,760
Remaining: -160
Fitness journal #1 | Friday October 2, 2026 7:08pm
Hey, guys
I’m starting a new journey tomorrow. Or, rather, I’m restarting a journey that I feel that I’ve been on for a lifetime.
Weight has always been a factor in my life. Even when I was a kid & was skinny, I was told that I was fat, so I believed it.
When I was 16 & was in foster care for a period of time, I dropped 40 pounds in 3 months and got down to 160.
I gained it back plus more.
Then I started living on a college campus at 20, was active though I still ate poorly, & dropped 80 pounds in 8 months, bringing me to 165. I still thought that I was fat. I didn’t think that I was thin enough. I’m 5’7 and a half, though I put 5’8 on my license : p
I gained it back plus more.
I believe I was 260lbs at 25 when I moved to Florida from Georgia.
I became active. Lost 65 pounds. I was 195lbs at 27.
I was 275lbs at 28.
I hovered around that weight for a while, dropping some then gaining it back along the way, struggling along the way.
I gave away my scale this year; it had become unhealthy for me to keep checking my weight.
I have a great doctor. I told her earlier this year that I don’t wanna know my weight when she weighs me.
A few months ago, I looked away from the number on the scale. She kept it to herself. She was pleased that I had lost a few pounds by meal prepping, exercising a little, and counting calories. Someone had taught me how to eat, and I had been following that teaching.
“Keep doing what you’re doing,” she said.
I saw her again this past Monday.
“I haven’t been taking care of myself,” I told her.
She wasn’t happy to hear that.
I take high blood pressure meds and anxiety meds. I take those religiously. There was no change there; only a change in my diet and exercise.
I decided to look at the scale on Monday.
289.
She wasn’t very happy.
I’m trying again with caring for my physical body. I just hope that it sticks & that I’m patient with myself if I’m imperfect some days.
The way that I’ve been taught to eat is to consume 1 meal within an hour of waking; eat 4 meals/day 3 hours apart; have my meals be no more than 400 calories each; & have a protein, a carb, & a fat with every meal.
I can stick with the calorie count, for sure, as well as with the macronutrient requirements.
I have my meal prep completed for tomorrow. I will find something else for my 4th meal even as I decide on meals for the next couple of days.
One of the reasons that I failed before with meal prep was the lack of variety in my meals; I got tired of eating the same thing, & I didn’t have a ton of time to keep prepping & figuring out meals.
I was fearful as I prepped these 3 meals, as my mind reminded me that I’ve failed over and over again.
But I’m looking forward this time.
I’m focused on being kind to myself, no matter what. I want to see myself old,
& the one who is going to take care of the old me is the young me.
I’m sharing this journey only on my blog for now.
I’ll do my best to share updates and meals.
Thanks for checking in on my fitness journey,
Ash xx
