Hey Asianaaaa,
I don't have a food diary. I don't like to think about it that much, that's why Weight Watchers wouldn't work for me. I am not a point counter, I don't weigh my chicken, count calories, etc. I look at ingredients, sodium content (and always choose the lowest option available) I pay attention to brands and pay special attention to what companies put on their products like: "whole grains, healthy, all natural" things of that nature and see if they are true. In other words it could have just a slight bit of whole grain in it, and they can legally put whole grain on the package.
So in other words, I surround myself (my pantry, frig, my office, etc) with healthy choices. Eating lots of vegetables, fiber, whole grains, fills me up a lot faster and I end up not eating a lot anyways (but still a good healthy amount.) It might not be what works for some, but that is what's cool... we can customize a lifestyle change to our own needs.
I can however give you some ideas as to what I eat. My blog will help you with that as well. But for example I will tell you what I ate this week. In the mornings I almost always eat some type of Kashi/Cascadian Farm cereal with fruit in it, esp. during the week. Other times I make egg muffins, breakfast burritos, etc.
For lunch this week I made a taco pizza on a whole wheat crust, with low sugar sauce, fat free refried beans, fat free sour cream, red. fat shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and black olives. The taco meat was 4% fat, with a reduced sodium taco seasoning, I also cooked that up with diced tomatoes.
Tuesday I had a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread, with a light mayo and fat free cheese with lettuce. I had grapes, strawberries, raw brocceli and cauliflower with some veggie dip.
Today for lunch I made meatloaf and had that with aspargus. One way I love to cook aspargus is to pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay the aspargus out on a cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil over the aspargus. Then I put salt and pepper on them. That's it! Put it in for 12 minutes exactly and it's wonderful! I think thinner aspargus tastes much better, so that's one tip too. To get the woody ends off, snap the aspargus in half and where it needs to snap off... it will. It works beautifully.
I personally don't think your eating too much food. As far as keeping it fresh and not eating the same things everyday.. that is an easy fix by visiting my blog or reseaching Low-Glycemic recipes online.. there is an endless amount. You have to be prepared though, or you'll end up eating the same things every week or worse yet.. not so good food (eating out, etc)
As far as exercise, I've recently started doing a Pilates and yoga class. It's an awesome work-out! I thoroughly enjoy it and let me tell you, it works every area of your body! I am very impressed by the results so far, I can tell my legs are more defined and my arms are looking better, etc. The yoga is very peaceful and I feel it brings a great balance to my life.
I also do the treadmill on the days off from Pilates/yoga (which I typically do that class 2-3 times per week) I do a lot of weight lifting in the class with Pilates (just 3-5 lb weights but it's great.) Also I bought this suspension rod that straps to your feet and the bar comes up past your arms when extended.. I find that helpful as well in between my work-outs. I don't know what is right for you with exercise, but I would say 3-5 times a week is what I need. Typically an hour or more on those days.
I don't take any medications. I do take a Omega-3 Fish Oil Supplement that's a Lemon Zest Smoothie Swirl. It tastes great, I keep it in my fridge at my office and take it every morning with my cereal. It's by Barlean's (
www.barleans.com or 800-445-3529 to see where you can buy it from) Or you can simply take the pill form. Also I do take a multi-vitamin everyday.
As far as the tests you can do at home for BP, ovulation, and blood sugar levels... here's what I did. For BP, I bought an at home monitor. Often times in the malls they have those as well, or check in your community at local hospitals, churches, etc. They usually have free screenings. If you donate blood you would also find out your BP, or of course at the doctor.
For ovulation you can do a combo of two things: buy a Basal Body Thermometer (it must be this kind because it's extremely accurate with an extra decimal point) You will need to read up on this and the how-to's but if you track it BEFORE getting up in the morning, going to the bathroom etc. In other words, while your still in bed, over time you'll see the rise in your body temperature while you are ovulating, if you are. Also you can by kits, that are near the pregnancy test that can detect your ovulation. Also I didn't know this but a lot of women don't know that the white (slimy egg white-like mucus) that women can sometimes see.. more than likely means you are ovulating. So you can check for that approx. 14 days after your period. You should be able to see a bit on your panties, or when you wipe etc. And this is too much for some, but you can squeeze it between your thumb and pointer finger and if it stretches and you are TTC, good timing! Get to work that is your most fertile time
You can utilize www.ferilityfriend.com for the Basal Body charting as well.
Then lastly with your blood sugar, I bought an electric Blood Glucose Monitoring System. That tells you your blood sugars, I haven't done it in awhile because now my blood sugar is normal, but I think you typically do it 2 hours after you eat. It's a small finger prick then you put the blood into a strip and then into the electronic tester and that's how it detects your blood glucose levels.
All of those are worth the money, because they are at home and you can do them time and time again. But if you have insurance, you should go for a full physical, including a CMP (Comprehensive Metabolic Panel) and a Lipid Profile. The CMP will check for things like sodium, potassium, glucose, calcium, your liver function, blood protein, etc. The Lipid will check your HDL "good" and LDL "bad" cholesterol, your total cholesterol and your triglycerides. Those are both good to get and then you might not have to get the blood monitoring system, unless your blood sugar is borderline, you might want to consider having that around. I think it's good for everyone to know all of these things, for general health.
Hope that helps in answering your questions