[K-Diet] 52.3kg (115.3 lbs / 8 stone 3 lbs) Morning Surprise & Cauliflower Tuna Dip Recipe – Jennie’s Body Goals Challenge Day 2

Hi there! Welcome to Doughly Noted. 

Let me start my Day 2 journal entry. My Day 2 journal starts the next morning when I stepped on the scale, especially after my late-night yogurt bowl with extra jam and peanut butter.

And here is the result.

A Complete Surprise on the Scale

• Morning Weight: 52.3 kg (115.3 lbs / 8 stone 3 lbs)
• The Night Before (Before Bed): approx. 54 kg (119 lbs / 8 stone 7 lbs)

Before hitting the pillow that night, the scale was holding steady at around 54 kg (119 lbs / 8 stone 7 lbs). But somehow, I woke up a 0.7 kg (1.5 lbs / 0 stone 1.5 lbs) lighter! Now, full disclosure: my home scale does run a tiny bit lighter than the official InBody scale at my fitness center, but still, this was a total plot twist.

Let’s see how it happened.

1. Day 2 Weight Tracking

I actually started tracking both my morning and evening weights from week one because I wanted to see exactly how my body reacts to what I eat during the day, and how much it naturally burns off through metabolism while I'm fast asleep.

(*Just a quick heads-up: these are from my home scale, so there's a slight margin of error compared to a real InBody machine!)

• 7/6 (Sun): Morning 52 kg (114.6 lbs / 8 stone 2.6 lbs) / Evening 53.4 kg (117.7 lbs / 8 stone 5.7 lbs)
• 7/7 (Mon): Morning 53 kg? (116.8 lbs / 8 stone 4.8 lbs) / Evening 54 kg (119 lbs / 8 stone 7 lbs)
• 7/8 (Tue): Morning 52.3 kg (115.3 lbs / 8 stone 3 lbs) / Evening 52.2 kg (115 lbs / 8 stone 3 lbs)

Look at Tuesday, July 8th. I was so bummed the night before when I saw 54 kg (119 lbs / 8 stone 7 lbs) staring back at me. But by the next morning, it had plummeted down to 52.3 kg (115.3 lbs / 8 stone 3 lbs)! And it gets better, by Tuesday evening, it dropped even lower to 52.2 kg (115 lbs / 8 stone 3 lbs). What was going on with my body?

2. Moving From Walking to (Actual) Jogging

If you caught my Day 1 post, you might remember me firmly saying, "I am NOT jumping around on a BOSU ball for cardio. It stresses me out way too much." But after just walking for an hour day after day, I slowly started jogging a little bit. I'd put my headphones on and just let my feet move to the rhythm without overthinking it.

I rarely ran for more than a minute at a time. No rigid timers, no stressful workout plans. I just listened to my favorite tracks, walked to the beat, and whenever a high-tempo song came on, I'd naturally pick up the pace and run. When I ran out of breath, I'd just walk again. My only hard rule was never running for more than 1 minute straight. :) 

My interval routine layout on the treadmill on July 7th.

3. Bringing ChatGPT Into the Kitchen

Right around this time, I was a little late to the trend, but I finally started using ChatGPT to help map out my meals.

I’d plug in my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and target weight, tell it what random ingredients were sitting in my fridge, and let it suggest portion sizes based on a routine of one or two meals a day. I actually had a tiny kitchen scale at the time, so I used it to weigh out my carbs and bread exactly. Looking back, it was a pretty fun experiment. Though, down the road, it made me think, Is obsessing over these numbers actually good for me? But hey, that's a story for another post.

4. Day 2 Meals and Cauliflower Tuna Dip Recipe

The food journal of a food-loving, non-professional dieter.

Brunch (Late Morning)

Since I had such a heavy dinner the night before, I wanted to keep things super clean for my first meal. Around this time, I was starting my mornings on an empty stomach with a Berber smoothie.

A healthy lunch plate Day 2 featuring steamed beets, quinoa, a boiled egg, oat whole wheat bread, a beet smoothie, and cauliflower tuna dip.

• Meal Layout: Steamed beets, Quinoa, Boiled egg, Oat whole wheat bread 105 g (3.7 oz / 0.23 lbs), Beet smoothie, Cauliflower tuna dip
• Cauliflower Tuna Dip Recipe: This recipe was originally inspired by the cookbook A Bowl of No-Knead Healthy Bread [ One-Bowl No-Knead Healthy Bread] by Chiaki Fujita (translated by Moon-hee Park; published by Design Eeum). The original recipe is surprisingly simple: Minced cauliflower, 1 can of tuna, Whole grain mustard, Mayonnaise, A pinch of salt

But to keep things on the lighter side, I swapped out the mayo for some thick soy Greek yogurt instead.

Honestly, my memory is a little foggy, but I remember trying to whip up my own healthy mayo from scratch back then using avocado and egg yolks. Spoiler alert: it was way too much work to keep up with. (Honestly, there's nothing wrong with just eating regular mayo in moderation, but when you struggle with self-control, sometimes completely cutting things out feels like the only way to stay on track.)

Doughly's Quick Tip: Don't stress about strict measurements for this dip! Just throw the ingredients together, adjust the ratios until it tastes exactly how you want, and slather it generously over a warm slice of bread.

5. Is "Healthy Food" an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet?

On a random note, now that I'm back on the fitness wagon, I've tried Primal Kitchen’s Avocado Oil Mayonnaise (on iHerb). It has zero sketchy additives and uses great quality oil, so it tastes perfectly savory to me but the calorie count is actually higher than regular mayo!

It makes you think: is dieting about cutting calories, or is it about eating clean ingredients? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. After my previous diet, I loaded up on "healthy" stuff like nuts, olive oil, and ghee butter, only to end up gaining 3 kg (6.6 lbs / 0 stone 6.6 lbs) of pure body fat.

I'll save the whole "good fats trap" story because it definitely deserves one.

Soy Latte for snack

A red beet smoothie consumed after 8 p.m.

• Snack: A cup of soy latte
• Late-Night: A beet smoothie in the evening

6. Wrapping Up Day 2

Day 2 was surprisingly light on food, but honestly, I didn't feel hungry at all. Instead of obsessing over my next meal, the day just flowed naturally without any food anxiety. In hindsight, this was the exact moment I started realizing that building a consistent movement routine and tracking my habits mattered so much more than the exact amount of food I put on my plate every day.

To be continued in my next [Day 3] journal!