Meal Planning

There would really be no way to stick to carb cycling without meal planning.  After reading the book on Tuesday I planned out meals for the rest of the week.  It took me about 30 minutes and I was only dealing with Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Saturday is a reward day... thus not planned).  Susan and I keep saying we need to sit down and make a list of options for each meal of the day so we can just pick things off a list.  This. Needs. To. Happen.  It would make planning much faster.  I was particularly hard to think of proteins for every meal and snack.  Here's what I came up with.

Wednesday:
Breakfast- Protein: Eggs with peppers, Carb: Toast with jelly and an apple

Snack- Protein: Yogurt, Carb: Granola

Lunch- Protein: Tuna with mustard not mayo, Carb: 1 slice wheat bread, grapes

Snack- Protein: Whey powder, Carb: Almond milk

Dinner- Protein: Tilapia, Carb: Brown rice, Veggie: green beans

Thursday:
Breakfast- Protein: Whey powder, Fat: Almond milk, Carb: Apple

Snack- Protein: Egg muffin, Fat: cheddar cheese

Add caption

So I was trying to think of ways to get in more protein, enter the egg muffin.  I cooked up some peppers and spinach, put them in the bottom of a muffin tin, and then poured an egg in each cup.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.



Lunch- Protein: Chicken, Fat: Parmesan cheese, Veggies: Salad

Snack- Protein: Egg muffin, Fat: Almonds

Dinner- Protein: Chicken, Fat: Blue cheese, Veggie: green peppers and hummus

Seriously... this dinner was delicious.  Broiled blue cheese should be on everything.  I just cooked the chicken and sauteed some onions.  Top the chicken with the onions and blue cheese and then broil.  Yummm.

 Friday:
Breakfast- Protein: Egg muffin, Carb: Apple

Snack- Protein: Whey powder, Carb: Almond milk (And I do realize I'm using almond milk as a carb and a fat depending on the day.... I refuse to drink protein shakes with water- I tried and its gross- so I'm manipulating almond milk to suit my needs).

Lunch- Protein: Chicken, Carb: Brown rice, Veggie: Peas

Snack- Protein: Yogurt, Carb: Granola

Dinner- Protein/ Carb: California roll (going to be out to eat at a sushi place.  Planning to get a califirnia roll... I know its not brown rice but its the best I can think of).

I've been doing the 9 minute workouts the last two days too.  He really packs a lot into 9  minutes.  Yesterdays workout was:
5 squat thrusters (like a burpee but no push up)
10 swing ups (kind of like a v up sit up)
15 marching soliders (kind of like hip raises)

So you do that as many times as you can in 9 minutes.  I got through it 6 and a half times...

Today's workout was:
3 minutes of triangle push ups
3 minutes of bench dips
3 minutes of pike press

In today's workout you did as many as you possible could of each.  I got to 50 of each and stopped counting at 50.  My arms were dead after wards.

Wednesday I had a snow day and today was a 2 hour delay... we'll see how successful I am tomorrow getting up and doing the workout.  I'm setting my alarm for 4:45.  YUCK.  But I have boot camp at school at 7 am so I need to get up and get moving.

This week I've been doing a lot less exercise than last week because of the snow.  No boot camp Monday and Wednesday, no kayak rolling on Tuesday, and no running. :(  But I am going to a class at the gym Saturday morning and skiing on Sunday.  So bring on a weekend full of activities to make up for a lazy week.  I'm hoping to run on Saturday too if the side walks are at all cleared by then. We shall see.

So I finally read the book...

So I started carb cycling a week and a half ago without ever reading the book about it, just skimming the blog post on Chris Powell's site... Today I finally read the book. 

Overall the book is ok... however it wasn't the amazing, life changing thing I was expecting.  First, it has a lot less information than I was anticipating.  There are a lot of success stories.  While I think its a creative way to start each chapter, all the success stories are these depressing, my life was in shambles and I weighed 400 pounds stories.  The book doesn't really address people like me who are pretty fit and just looking to loose a few pounds.  I just don't know that carb cycling is what I'm looking for long term. 

I think in the last week and a half the good things it has done for me are paying attention to serving sizes and macro nutrients (carbs, fat, protein).  I've also eatten A TON more veggies then I usually do (I tend to stick to fruits).  Some good things I anticipate it doing for me: quick workouts every morning to get the day started.

So let me start by telling you that I have not been doing things right:

- You're supposed to start each week day with a 9 minute workout (and he actually provides 20 different workouts so you never have to repeat one all month)

- You're also supposed to do cardio 5 days a week... just not possible with my time schedule

- I have been eating fats (mostly peanut butter) everyday instead of just on low carb days

- I have not been having protein with every snack

- Some days I only have 4 meals instead of 5 (they are still 3 hours apart but I just don't get to the 5th one because I wake up late and still go to bed around the same time on weekends)

Going forward things I am going to try to commit to:

- Doing the 9 minute workout in the morning

- Planning more carefully to avoid fats on high carb days (mostly- sometimes a girl just needs cheese on a piece of chicken or a sandwich) and getting in more protein

- Cardio 3 days a week 

I like that Powell has different carb cycling options in his book "Choose More, Loose More for Life."  I am going to stick with the classic for now (high, low, high, low, high, low, Reward day) but will probably switch to the easy cycle (same as the classic but you get 1 reward meal on each high carb day) or the fit cycle (high, high, low, high, high, low, reward) once I loose 5 to 10 pounds.  I get the science behind carb cycling, and I also just think it makes good sense to flush out your system with more veggies and less carbs every few days.  I'm just not sure that its going to be sustainable for me.  I need wine and ice cream and chocolate on a fairly regular basis. In the short term, I definitely need to get more creative with my planning.  I'm really bored with chicken and brown rice.  Last week I did ok with BBQ chicken and chicken parmesean but I need to do a little bit more (turkey burgers, maybe tofu, burritos- which means I need to buy whole wheat tortillas).

Saturday's are my reward days so I really only have 3 days left to plan for this week.  I've kind of been muddling along since Sunday. Ok.. tonight I'm going to plan for wed- fri.  Starting tomorrow I am going to do the 9 minute missions (that's what he calls the workouts in his book) in the morning on week days.  I am going to attempt to get in 3 runs a week, but will not beat myself up if I don't since I still have boot camp, power hour at the gym, and hiking with friends. Tomorrow I had planned to run but since its still snowing its doubtful that will happen... I would have to run in the street since sidewalks are not cleared and I would probably fall on ice and break something. Hmmmm. Will keep you posted tomorrow. :)

Cauliflower pizza... I finally made it successfully!!!!

So if you've been following the blog for a while you know that a good friend of mine gave me a recipe for cauliflower pizza crust and I've tried it two times but it comes out pretty mushy.  I finally found a recipe that worked!!!!!
Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe

Ingredients:

•  head (Small Head) Cauliflower
• ¼ cups Parmesan Cheese
• ¼ cups Mozzarella Cheese
• ¼ teaspoons Kosher Salt
• ½ teaspoons Dried Basil
• ½ teaspoons Dried Oregano
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1 whole Egg

Directions:

Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450ºF. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil.

Wash and thoroughly dry a small head of cauliflower. Don’t get one the size of your head unless you are planning on making 2 pizzas. Cut off the florets—you don’t need much stem, just stick with the florets. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower. You should end up with 2 to 3 cups cauliflower “snow”. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover. Cook for 4 minutes. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit before attempting the next step.

Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the heck out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.

Dumped squeezed cauliflower into a bowl. Now add Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, kosher salt, dried basil (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), dried oregano (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), garlic powder (not garlic salt), and a dash of red pepper if you want. I also added 1 tablespoon almond meal because my cauliflower yielded closer to 2 cups of cauli snow; this is optional and I would not add the almond meal if you have closer to 3 cups of cauli snow. Now add the egg and mix away. Hands tend to work best.

Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down thoroughly, you want it nice and tightly formed together. Don’t make it too thick or thin either.

Using a cutting board, slide the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8-11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.

Add however much sauce, cheese, and toppings you want. I’m not gonna give you measurements for this. You know how you like your pizza—so go for it! Slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.

Test your patience and allow it to cool for a minute or two. Probably closer to two. Then using a pizza cutter and a spatula, serve up your delicious grain-free cauliflower crust pizza!

So the words from the recipe above are not mine.... they are from the link at the top of the post.  But the pictures are mine (just in case my husband making a cameo didn't tip  you off).  I could not believe how much water came out of the cauliflower!!!  This is definitely the step that was missing from when I've tried this in the past.  The pizza was great (a 4 year old who was over for dinner actually chose this over a frozen pizza I had made just in case the cauliflower didn't work!).  I think next time I could probably make the crust a little thinner.  I just never know if its too thick or too thin (it makes me feel A LOT like Goldilocks).  Over all it was great!  I had some leftover today for lunch and it was ok... a little mushier once it was stored in the fridge and then reheated, but still good. YAY!!!!

Carb Cycling: Week 1

On Tuesday a coworker lent me Chris Powell's book about carb cycling.  When I started reading it I realized I was doing A LOT of stuff wrong.  Like on high carb days  you're not supposed to have any fat.  Apparently this includes putting milk in my coffee.  Powell's is crazy if he thinks I'm drinking my coffee without milk. Also, I had not been having protein with every meal.  I mean my three big meas yes, but some days my snack was just a cheese stick or a piece of fruit.  I bought his book for my nook and my plan is to read that today/ tomorrow so that I can better plan out meals for this week (yes, I know this week already started... but since I'm a teacher and not at work today or tomorrow its still basically the weekend).

Things that are going to be really hard:

- No fat on high carb days (seriously how is that possible)

- Getting bored with salad and grilled chicken on low carb days
- Eating 5 meals on weekends.  Its easy to do when I'm at work.  But this weekend was bad.  Sat, Sun and Mon I only ate 4 meals each day.  I slept later and just don't want to have a meal at 8 or 9 pm..... 

Things that I still don't understand:

- I work out a lot more than he suggests in the book (he has a 9 min workout each day).  How do I accommodate for this when I'm planning meals?

Anyway... some highlights from this week. 

Thursday night: Low carb... chicken parm.  Technically not totally low carb because there were bread crumbs on the chicken.  But close enough.

I had half a serving of chicken with some leftover eggplant Parmesan to get in more veggies. 

Then I had leftover chicken on a sandwich the next day for my high carb lunch.  Technically doesn't fit the profile because it has cheese on it... but again, close enough!

Saturday was my reward day.  My breakfast was not too extravagant.  Although that is cream cheese inside of the omelet. Yummmm. 

We went rock climbing on Saturday and went out to lunch afterwards with friends.  I had a grilled chicken sandwich with green apple cole slaw and rice and beans.  If it wasn't for the cheese and the bread that was not whole wheat I think it would have actually qualified as a high carb meal. Since it was a reward day I had my lunch with a Woodchuck Pumpkin Cider. Delicious.

When we got back in the late afternoon we went to my neighbor's house to continue the merriment in the form of wine and rock band.  We ended up ordering pizza and Chinese for dinner.  I had a slice (or 3) of Papa John's think crust with BBQ sauce, chicken, peppers and onions and crab and cheese wontons.  Most delicious combination ever after a bottle of wine.  Yup, I certainly took advantage of the reward day.

On the plus side, this week I did A LOT of exercise.  8 mile hike on Sunday. Boot camp at school Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Went for  run Tuesday night and then to a kayak rolling class. Power hour at the gym Friday night. Rock climbing on Saturday.  Then another hike on Sunday. 

At the end of the week (Saturday morning) I got on the scale.  I did not loose any weight this week, but I didn't gain any either.  It might just be my imagination but I feel like my stomach is flatter. I will read the book tomorrow (I started typing this blog post earlier today and planned to do some reading today... but then Tom and I went to the zoo instead :)  Hopefully the book will answer some of my questions and help me to plan better for the rest of this week.  About to go have brown rice, peas, and grilled chicken for dinner (although all I really want is the leftover pizza that Tom will be having for dinner.... the reward day might have ruined me).

Carb Cycling... day 2 and dying for ice cream

Ok, so the detox is done.  Tom keeps insisting that I always do well when I calorie count.  The problem with that is that I use calorie counting as an excuse to skip eating fruit and eat ice cream instead.  I need something with more structure.

A coworker told me that she just bought a book by Chris Powell about carb cycling.  This is the book Susan and I skimmed before going to dinner last Thursday.  I also read up on his blog.

http://chrispowell.com/carb-cycling-101/

It has a lot of rules but here are the basics:

What is Carb Cycling?

Carb cycling is an eating plan with alternating high-carb and low-carb days. It’s that simple. It also has built-in reward days or reward meals (depending on the plan you’re following), so you can still eat your favorite foods on a regular basis. Sounds pretty much perfect, right? You can eat healthy foods, enjoy foods you love, and still lose weight.

While each plan has a different mix of high-carb and low-carb days, each day works basically the same:

• Eat five meals—no more, no less.
• Eat a high-carb breakfast that includes both protein and carbs within 30 minutes of waking.
• Eat your remaining 4 meals—either high-carb or low-carb, depending on the plan you’re following—every 3 hours.
• Choose approved foods (Sign up here to receive a FREE printable food guide!)
• Drink a gallon of water.

He has several different plans. I decided on the Classic:



Basically you alternate low carb and high carb days with one day off each week.  I was hoping that after the first week I would feel comfortable enough to switch to the Turbo Cycle (2 low carb days for each high carb day) but after two days I feel like that might not happen.

Ok so since most of you won't click on the link to his blog... here is why this works (supposedly)

So why do we alternate high-carb and low-carb days in carb cycling? On high-carb days you’re stocking your calorie-burning furnace so that on low-carb days your furnace burns fat, and lots of it! This pattern tricks your metabolism into burning a lot of calories, even on those low-carb days. It’s an amazing and well-proven process.


So the basic idea is that on Low Carb days your meals are just a protein and 2 servings of veggies.  Then on High Carb days you can have fruits and whole grains.  Breakfast everyday is supposed to include carbs.

I sat down to meal plan yesterday and came up with this:

Sunday (Low carb day)
Breakfast: Eggs, turkey sausage, toast with PB and grapes

Snack: Nothing, we were out on an 8 mile hike and didn't get home until lunch

Lunch: Protein shake (milk and protein powder), grilled chicken, celery, hummus



Snack: Peanuts

Dinner: Garden Salad with grilled chicken from a carry out place.  Really yummy.  Ate half and am having the other half for lunch tomorrow.

Monday (High carb day)
Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter, apple
Snack: Yogurt with granola
Lunch: 1/2 Tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread, Parmesan cheese, apple (planned on the apple... didn't end  up eating it)
Snack: Fruit smoothie (blueberries, mango, banana, coconut water)
Dinner: Tilapia, salad with grilled chicken*\

*I had a low carb dinner tonight bc I am going to a friends house tomorrow before a kayak rolling class and know that I will have carbs for dinner tomorrow...

Tuesday (Low carb day)
Breakfast: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter, apple
Snack: Protein shake
Lunch: Leftover salad
Snack: Almonds and dark chocolate (I know dark chocolate is not low carb, but I don't care)
Dinner: Salad, chicken, brown rice*

*High carb dinner, swapped with Monday nights dinner

More on the meal plan for later this week later....

It's day two and I am already having trouble.  I definitely ate some dark chocolate yesterday.  And today I REALLY want some of the Ben and Jerry's frozen yogurt in my freezer.  I've been logging all my calories into myfitnesspal and I know that I am under for the day (not under my 1200 calorie goal, but I worked out and burned about 500 so I still have a couple hundred for today). I was 800 calories under yesterday!  I didn't starve myself I swear, I just burned over 800 calories on my hike and had trouble eating them back.  I'm really going to try hard to stick to carb cycling at least until I go to Vegas in February (going to see Britney Spears Valentines day weekend and am SUPER excited).  After the trip maybe I'll just resort to regular calorie counting, but going to try and stick this out for now.  I will probably be cheating a little more than I should (Chris Powell's "Easy cycle" includes 1 cheat meal every high carb day... I don't plan on a full cheat meal, but maybe a cheat snack on high carb days.

Stay tuned. :)

Reward Meal!

On day one of the smoothie part of the detox Susan and I needed something to get us through.  At the time, we decided a dinner at Olive Garden when the week was over would get us through.  As the week drug on we changed our minds to crab nachos at Nacho Mama's and then a blue cheese chicken cheese steak at Looney's.  By the time Thursday night actually rolled around, we decided to go to Red Brick station (this was the restaurant I went to on the last night of the smoothie detox and wanted everything that I saw on the menu...).

We stopped on our way to dinner to look at this book by Chris Powell about carb cycling at Barnes and Noble..... but more on that in another post.

We started with appetizers, crab dip and shrimp pot stickers.

I was AMAZED at how full we both got really really quickly.  I ate 2 pot stickers and Susan only ate 1.  When we were finished there was still this much dip left:

If this had been a week ago, we would have finished all of that.  It was delicious, but we ate slow and listened to our bodies instead of stuffing our faces.

Next up was dinner.... 

 Susan got a burger with blue cheese and I got a chicken cheese steak.  I literally only ate 1/4 of the sandwich and picked at the chips a little bit.  (and am excited for leftovers tonight).

We talked at dinner about what we wanted to do going forward.  We're going to look into carb cycling and try that for a week (like I said... look for more info later this weekend). We'll start back up again on Sunday so that we give ourselves a break for a few days.  We're also going to build a reward day in each week so that we are more likely to stick to it.  Today I still followed the plan for the most part, but I will be eating leftover cheese steak for dinner.  I also had a small scoop of cheesy potatoes at a staff breakfast this morning.

Anyway... onto the important part of the evening... DESSERT.   I was planning on having some ice cream at home after dinner but after seeing this on the menu we had to get it. 

Chunky Monkey
Milk chocolate cups filled with rich custard, peanut butter & topped with bananas & caramelized brown sugar.

SOOOOOO DELICIOUS.

All in all, a successful week.  Total weight loos was 4. 5 pounds.  I didn't feel deprived.  And even though I splurged last night, I still averaged 1200 calories a day for the week.  Not to shabby. 

Day 7... last technical day... but still a long way to go

Breakfast:
Protein shake: 1 cup milk, 1 scoop protein powder
Apple

Morning snack:

Greek yogurt, granola 

Totals: 1 protein, 2 dairy, 1 grain

Lunch: (leftovers from the day before)

Tilapia

1/2 cup brown rice

**Ended up eating my yogurt and granola with lunch because I was too busy to eat it this morning**

Totals: 1 protein, 1 grain

Snack:

Apple

Dinner:

Chicken in Cajun seasoning (yummy but a little over cooked... my bad) with 1/3 slice swiss cheese

1/2 cup whole wheat pasta salad (peppers, celery, olives, cheddar cheese)

Peas
Wine

Totals: 1 protein, 1 grain, 1 fats (oil in pasta salad)

Daily Totals:

 Protein: 3

Grains: 3

Fat: 1

Dairy: 2

No where close to my fats for today.  I've been calorie counting too and I'm amazed at how close to 1200 calories I am each day (which is my target calorie intake) by just sticking to the types of food and totals in this cleanse.  

Today was the last official day (although I plan to continue a lot of the same components into my everyday life... more on that tomorrow).  I have to say I am AMAZED at how full I am.  My cravings are still there... like when I wanted school pizza REALLY BAD for lunch today. 

 I mean come on, how yummy does that look. 

 But then I ate my tilapia and rice and felt full and satisfied.  I definitely think going forward I need to allow myself some sort of sweet treat though (like a dark chocolate square, not a piece of cake) or I won't stick to it. 

I'm sticking to this tomorrow until dinner time, then Susan and I are going out to dinner to celebrate being done (but we will watch our serving sizes... promise).  We've changed our minds several times about where we are going and what we want to eat.  Don't worry, there will be pictures!  Tomorrow for lunch I made a sandwich on a hollowed out cucumber instead of on bread.  We'll see if it tastes any good but I was really craving a sandwich... 

Update.. Day 5 and 6

Before I get started... pictures from Day 4 (which was the first day off of smoothies)

This chicken... seriously so good!  Garlic and herb seasoning on the chicken.  Sooooo yummmy. 

Susan came over to celebrate the end of the smoothie detox and we had the chicken, 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta and green beans in balsamic dressing. 

Ok.. yesterday was Day 5. Here was the menu:

Breakfast:
Protein shake: 1 cup milk, 1 scoop protein powder
Apple

Morning snack:

Greek yogurt, granola 

Totals: 1 protein, 2 dairy, 1 grain

Lunch: (leftovers from the day before)

Chicken

1/2 cup whole wheat pasta with oil and garlic

Green beans in balsamic dressing

Totals: 1 protein, 1 grain, 2 fats

Snack:

Apple

Dinner:

Turkey burger

1/2 cup whole wheat pasta salad (peppers, celery, olives, cheddar cheese)

Carrots
Wine

 That's Tom's hand in the top of the second picture... he tried to block my shot but I got it anyway. 

Totals: 1 protein, 1 grain, 1 fats (oil in pasta salad)

Daily Totals:

Protein: 3

Grains: 3

Fat: 3

Dairy: 2

I was pleasantly surprised at how full I was all day.  YAY.

Cut to today... today is Day 6 total.  Here's the menu:

Breakfast: 

Greek yogurt, granola 

Totals: 1 dairy, 1 grain

Lunch: (leftovers from the day before)

Turkey burger

1/2 cup whole wheat pasta salad (peppers, celery, olives, cheddar cheese)

Totals: 1 protein, 1 grain, 1 fat

Snack:

Cheese stick
Total: 1 dairy

Dinner:

Tilapia
1/2 cup brown rice
Peas

Wine
Total: 1 protein, 1 grain

Daily Totals: 

Protein: 2

Grains: 3

Fat: 1

Dairy: 2

So it looks like I'm going to be low on protein and fat by the end of the day.  I might have veggies and hummus if I get hungry this afternoon.  The hummus would be another protein.  All in all its pretty hard to get the second serving of dairy (one cheese stick is not a complete serving).  3 servings of protein is hard too.  I really need to just start having a protein shake for a snack each day or something.  Yesterday I had the protein shake and apple in the car on my way to work, worked out, and then had my yogurt later in the morning.  I will keep this up on M, W, F when I have boot camp at work.  On non workout days I don't really need the extra calories in the morning...

Dextox done!

Day three of the detox is done. YAY!!!  It was actually much easier than I expected to do the three days.  My husband will tell you that I complained a lot (which is kind of true... but who would make it through 3 days of not eating without complaining?).

Last night we went to see a movie and then out to dinner with some friends.  When crab dip and shrimp pot stickers showed up at the table I almost broke down.

I will definitely  be back a Red Brick Station when all of this is over.

Wait... it's not over yet you ask?  Yup, not done yet.  The next four days is a lot easier, but still no sugar, and not a lot of carbs. Here's what the next four days looks like:

Days 2 through 7 are filled with delicious foods that will keep you shedding fat while feeding lean muscle. By eating adequate protein throughout the day, you will knock out afternoon energy crashes. And by night two, you’ll be boosting serotonin production in the brain to enhance your mood and promote better sleep.

To balance your meals, every day you get to eat:
3 (4-Oz) Servings of ProteinProtein is key to building the lean muscle you need to look and feel slim in that swimsuit. Here are some great sources:

• Fish (oily fish, like salmon, tuna (chunk light), sardines, herring, and lake trout, are best)

• Skinless poultry: Turkey, chicken; white meat is better than dark meat

• Lean beef: Flank, sirloin, round steak, cubed steak, London broil, filets, or extra-lean ground beef; cuts of meat with little or no marbling

• Lean pork: Tenderloin, loin chops, Canadian bacon

• Wild game: Venison, elk, quail, dove, etc.

• Shellfish: Clams, shrimp, oysters, etc.

• Beans or peas: Black beans, kidney beans, navy beans, pinto beans, white beans, lentils, and garbanzo beans

3 (1/2-Cup) Servings of Whole GrainsHealthy, whole grains will keep you full and satisfied. Try some of the following:

• 100% whole wheat or whole-grain Pasta

• Quinoa

• 100% whole grain cereal

• Brown rice

• Bulgur 

2 (1-Cup) Servings of DairyThe calcium and protein in dairy will keep your hunger under control and help you sleep by maintaining healthy levels of your hormones ghrelin and cortisol. Try any of the following, higher-protein dairy sources:

• Cottage cheese

• Greek yogurt

• Mozzarella cheese

4 (1-Teaspoon) Servings of FatGood fats are satiating, and packed with omega-3’s that help burn fat and reduce cellular inflammation. Seek out healthy fat sources like:

• Avocados 

• Nuts

• Canola oil

• Olive oil

• Flaxseed oil

1 Small Glass of WineA glass of wine at the end of the day can soothe inflammation and shrink fat cells.
The best part of the plan is its variety, allowing you to mix and match between meals. Enjoy a protein at each meal, as well as a serving of whole grains. You can decide when you want the 2 servings of dairy, as well as the fat. Enjoy that glass of wine at night.
The tasty eating doesn’t stop there. Between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you’ll get to snack to keep your metabolism burning strong. Eat any non-starchy fresh fruit or vegetable you want. They’re a great source of fiber, and will decrease hunger. 

Ok so this sounds pretty simple.  Its actually a lot harder than it seems.  When planning out meals I realized I hardly ever eat protein with breakfast (yes, Greek yogurt has some protein but its main component is dairy). 

Here's what on the menu today:

Breakfast: 

2 eggs, 2 turkey sausage

Greek yogurt, granola 

Totals: 1 serving protein (eggs and sausage together), 1 dairy, 1 grain

I only had 3/4 cup yogurt bc I put a little bit of milk in my eggs, so it evens out to a 1 cup serving of dairy.  I also could  not eat 1/2 of granola... that's a ridiculous amount of granola in 3/4 cup yogurt!

Lunch:

Salad with dressing

Tuna mixed in bean salad

1/2 cup brown rice

Totals: 2 fat (oil in bean salad and salad dressing), 1 protein , 1 grain

Snack:

Cheese sticks

Totals: 1 dairy

Dinner:

Chicken

1/2 cup whole wheat pasta with oil and garlic

Green beans in balsamic dressing

WINE (anyone who knows me knows I'm excited about this glass of wine)

Totals: 1 protein, 1 grain, 2 fats (oil in pasta and dressing in green beans)

Daily Totals:

Protein: 3

Grains: 3

Fat:4

Dairy: 2

Detox: Day 2

First, let me start by saying this is the first time in my entire life I have not been totally excited by having a snow day.  Ugh.  This detox is ruining snow days.  I knew from my text messages with Susan yesterday that being at home while only eating smoothies (Susan works from home) was not as easy as being at work and being distracted.  Nevertheless, mother nature wanted to torture me.  So alas, we had a snow day.

Bright side... I slept until 9:40 am so I figured I would not need to eat the whole lunch smoothie....

I had my green tea when I got up and started putting away Christmas decorations.  I decided productivity would be my friend today.  Halfway through taking down decorations I had my breakfast drink.  It was yummy but not large enough.  I feel like I finished it in 3 gulps.

When the decorations were put away I set my sights on the kitchen.  I went through the cabinets and got rid of cookies, candy, and chocolate (gasp- don't worry teacher friends- I'm bringing the good stuff in to school on Monday).  Then I started working on my meal plan for days 4-7 of this detox (more on this on Sunday... but essentially its just going to be a very regulated diet, 4 servings protein, 4 servings grain, 4 servings fat, and 2 dairy every day).

By this time Tom had gotten up and was on the couch watching How I Met Your Mother on Lifetime.  The couch beckoned.  I spent most of the afternoon reading and was even able to eat more of the lunch smoothie than yesterday.  I re blended it last night... I don't think it did much but I couldn't taste the celery as much today so I guess it did help a little.

After a lazy afternoon, Tom and I headed to the grocery store so that he had something to eat for dinner.  I was really nervous about going there hungry but I did just fine.  When we got back I guzzled down my snack smoothie and started cleaning out the fridge.  There was a fair amount of expired condiments in it.... gross.

While Tom was cooking his steak for dinner, I got on the computer to drool over Olive Garden's menu.  Susan and I have already planned a celebratory "we made it through a week" dinner at Olive Garden next Thursday.  Turns out planning future meals is a good distraction for feeling bored and hungry with your diet. Susan and I texted back and forth about our ideal ordering options.  We might have 5 days worth of leftovers by the time we finish ordering.... And yes, I know, we shouldn't use food as a reward for our detox.  But man is it going to taste delicious.  We plan to use the time at dinner to plan out how we are going to use aspects from the detox as we move forward in our regular lives.  Anyway...

Next  up was my epson salt bath.  Now I'm "eating" the dinner smoothie while typing this.

All in all, not a bad day.  Oh yea, and the best part.... I LOST 2.4 LBS!!!!!!  I told myself I was going to wait until the end to weigh myself but I couldn't help it.  I weighed myself this morning and had lost 2.4 pounds in 24 hours.  Score.

Tomorrow I'm going rock climbing.... Not quite sure how physical activity is going to jive with this diet.  I might add protein powder to my snack smoothie to make sure I have enough calories to use up during rock climbing. We'll see how I feel tomorrow...

Detox: Day 1

Back story:

I ate an entire box of Oreo's over winter break. And m and m's. And cookies. And this yummy pumpkin dessert. And pie. You see the pattern that is developing right?  I ate lots of yummy stuff, most of it very processed.

 Somewhere over the break my friend Susan and I stated talking about doing a cleanse.  She will tell you it was my idea, while I'm pretty sure it was here idea.  Either way, we decided to do it.  Susan did all the leg work and found this Dr. Oz detox online:

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-ozs-3-day-detox-cleanse-one-sheet



Last night we got together and went grocery shopping for everything we needed and pre made all three days worth of smoothies.

Raw breakfast and snack smoothie on the left.  Finished breakfast and snack smoothie on the right.  Susan found a blog that said the breakfast one was the best so we decided to use that one as the snack.

Raw lunch smoothie ingredients.  More on this smoothie in a minute.  Spoiler alert... its gross!

Seriously... look at that.  Ick. 

Raw dinner smoothie.  We forgot to add the cayenne pepper.  I poured my three bottles of this back into the blender tonight and re blended with the pepper.  Bad idea.  Now its all I can taste (I'm drinking the dinner one as I type).

Ok so here was the day:

This morning I had half the breakfast drink in the car on the way to work while I waited for my tea to cool.  Then I drank the tea.  I was REALLY worried that not having coffee was going to be a miserable experience, but it really wasn't that bad.  Once I got to school I finished the other half of the breakfast smoothie while I got ready for the day.

10:18 AM when I texted Susan: "My tummy is grumbling."

I made it to lunch.....

This is not the face of someone who enjoyed their lunch.  The lunch smoothie is GROSS.  And you are basically still chewing the celery.  So not good.  I left some in the cup in case I got really hungry in the afternoon, but I did not go back and finish it.

I had the snack smoothie in the car on the way home. When I got home I took an Epsom salt bath (because it was too early for dinner since I had just finished the snack).

 Anyway, after the bath I added the cayenne pepper to the smoothie for dinner and started drinking.  My mouth is pretty much on fire.  About 4 sips left....

Thoughts on Day One:

•  I survived without coffee... go me
•  I thought I'd be hungry and I'm really not
•  I may not be hungry but I do want to eat everything!!!!  Like everything.  Tom went out to get subway for dinner because I neglected to buy groceries for him (sorry honey) and I wanted subway.  And taco bell. And doritos.  Someone sat next to me in the staff lounge with a bag today and I had to get up and leave because I wanted them so badly.
• I don't regret doing this.
• Tomorrow will be SUPER hard if I have a snow day and am at home with food available all day.
• Three days is not that long.