Originally I was going to only update every other day, and I will, but something happened last night that I felt I should explain.

I tend to work pretty late at night because its so freaking hot during the day I feel like I can't concentrate unless I go to like a cafe or coffee shop or someplace with optimal air conditioning, so last night I was up at around 10:30. After dinner I had gone on my walk and still had around 150 calories left to hit my minimum, so I ate a cheesestick because I needed the protein. No big deal, and I just hit 1,200 kcal. 

After wrapping up my work for the night and checking emails, I got ready for bed - did a short high-intensity aerobic workout, did my night skincare routine, made a to-do list for the morning, set my alarms, ect. I cut the workout a little short because I was out of breath and honestly tired, and didn't want to push myself. As I was going through the motions of getting ready for bed, however, I noticed I was feeling a little sluggish, even a little unsteady.

I could have chalked it up to it being nearly 11:00 and having gotten up earlier than usualy that morning. However, I thought harder about it, and realized - I was in a serious calorie deficit.

I hadn't been logging my physical activity in MFP and therefore the amount of net calories I had consumed for the day was actually lower than what I had set as my minimum. While my walk had only been for about half an hour at a leisurely/brisk pace, and I had stopped my workout because I wasn't feeling well, when I calculated that on the MFP app, my total calories dropped to almost below 1,000, which was not good.

So I had two options. One, I could have just gone to sleep (although I honestly did not feel well at all) and thought "well the less calories I eat the faster I'll lose weight." Or, I could have made up those calories in order to hit my minimum. I wanted to chose the healthy option. So, before I brushed my teeth, I went back to my kitchen and ate a chocolate chip cookie. And to be honest, it was really freaking delicious.

The cookie put me back at my calorie goal of around 1,200, and, best of all, it actually balanced out my macros! Before, my ratio of proteins and carbohydrates were okay, if maybe a little high, because I was lacking in fats. The cookie, however, balanced it out nearly perfectly! Neat, huh?

So, in sum, anyone who tells you that you can't have sweets while on a "diet" is wrong. That cookie was actually a healthier choice for me than if I had gone with what was considered "good" and "safe" like carrot sticks or something. Also, it's an important lesson - take your exercise into account! Don't "forget" to log it an end up in a calorie deficit, that's not healthy! Make sure you meet your minimums with exercise in mind. 

Anyway, right now I'm on my lunch break, so I might as well log my food diary in for today. Still feeling really good, and kind of proud. I've been craving chocolate for a while, so I put a few tablespoons of chocolate chips into this smoothie I made for lunch and its honestly delicious! Will be posting the recipe in the next chapter, because its honestly really good.

Last night I did half of a seven-minute workout app I downloaded on my phone, and tonight I'm going to see if I can do the entire seven minutes this time, haha. But I also have to remember to log it in!

Breakfast
2 eggs, scrambled (I wanted to try both with yolks today, but honestly didn't really care much for the texture. What I usually do is one full egg, one egg white, and save the yolk to put on my rice during lunch so I still get the good nutrients from the yolk)
1 whole grain English muffin (I put 2 yesterday, which was an accident - it was actually two HALVES, for some reason my brain thinks of each half of an English muffin as a whole. Anyway, they're really yummy, almost sweet in a way, and when you put the scrambled eggs on top - yum!)
1/2 cup of strawberries

Snack
Coffee with a splash of milk

Lunch
Smoothie (recipe in the next chapter)

This leaves me with around 509 calories left for the day, sans exercise, which is about right.

Macros
48% carbs (MFP goal is 50%)
35% fats (MFP goal is 30%)
17% protein (MFP goal is 20%)

So I just need to keep on the lookout for foods with protein and carbohydates. Maybe I'll have pizza for dinner or something :) 

Anyway, gotta get back to work, but stay healthy, friends!
- Kristy