Still Hanging In There

B is still sticking to his diet of salads and fruits during the week.  He is eating light during the week and eats whatever he wants in moderation on the weekends.  I've been following suite more or less.  I also have been eating fruit or a shake for breakfast along with a salad for lunch.  Dinner time is where I struggle.  Although I do not over indulge, I do eat more than I should.  I keep my calorie count fairly low throughout the day and then just basically blow it in the evenings.  The good news is that I do not eat after 8 pm. 

This week, I've been eating my apple salad for breakfast and my lunch consists of either Greek or a caprese salad.  I might have one small piece of chocolate sometime in the afternoon.  When I get home, I'll eat maybe two eggs with toast or the other day I seared three scallops and served it with a small portion of pasta and a "cream" sauce (made with skim milk).  Healthy?  Not really, but better than what I was eating.  Tonight I'll have a portabella mushroom pizza (no crust).  Basically I'll top a portabella cap with a little tomato sauce and a bit of cheese and broil until cheese is bubbly.

B has lost almost 20 pounds and I have just seemingly maintained my past weight loss.  I know I'll have to cut my treats and really watch my portions and food intake to match B's accomplishments.  B says he sees my body changing for the better, but the scale is not moving too much.  I might have to give it an extra push.

Diet Check In

I've been kind of successful in my new diet.  I have not adhered solely to the diet of greens, fruits, low fat dairy, and whole grains.  I am totally better about what I put in my mouth, but I am not perfect.  That's okay.

For the past few days, my breakfast has consisted of a shake made from unsweetened almond milk, a scoop of protein powder, and a bunch of frozen berries.  Does it taste like Jamba Juice?  No, but I'm okay with it.  Lunch has been a small portion of something I made earlier in the week.  This week it is a bit of rigatoni and a few turkey meatballs.  Dinner has been more or less grazing.  This is where I struggle.  I come home from work and although not really hungry, I start snacking.  For example, yesterday I had a small frozen pizza, a handful of corn chips, and then a several spoonfuls of ice cream.  I didn't eat anything for the rest of the evening, but what I did put in my mouth was a bit excessive.

B is living on mostly fruits and salads.  Good for him.  We both eat "regular" food on the weekends.  I made a pot of pasta with meatballs on Saturday.  I've been eating the leftovers for lunch.  Just a tiny portion of what I used to eat, but it is still real food.  Last week, I had mostly salads.  I haven't noticed much in weight loss, so I'm obviously not doing something right, but I'll figure it out.

Tonight I think I'll make an open faced egg sandwich on homemade bread.  One egg, one slice of bread.  That should hold me for the rest of the evening.

New Diet

I've been off my Master Cleanse for a few weeks now.  I've gained back some of the weight I had lost (not all of it).  This was expected and anticipated. 

The cleanse got me thinking of the food I put in my mouth.  I try to make better choices and even though I may fail from time to time, I do try.

Tomorrow, I'm going to start eating mostly salads, lean protein, low fat dairy, fruits, and whole grains.  Basically food I should have been eating all along.  I will allow myself two cheat days a month.

My breakfasts will consist of either a shake of almond milk and frozen berries, fruit with Greek yogurt, or one egg on one slice of toast (weekends only).  Lunches will be salads and dinner will consist of either salad, soup, or a stir fry with a bit of rice.  I really hope this will boost my eating habits in the right direction.

Master Cleanse -- Final Results

It's been over a week since my Master Cleanse experiment.  I'll be honest, I did not last the full eight days.  I only did 6 days. Under the demands and pressures of work, I caved.  I lost a total of 11 pounds, which as of today I'm still keeping 8 pounds off. 

I am more aware of the food I put in my mouth.  Even though, I do give in to cravings at times, I have started to make better choices in my food.  Sure, I've eaten pizza, ice cream, and burgers since I ended my cleanse.  But I also pay attention to my body and see if I'm really hungry or just greedy.  I"m not perfect and I'll still sometimes feed myself due to greed, I'm at least aware of it. 

My bff is getting married in a few months.  Although, I am not a believer of crash diets for a special occasion, I am going to use her wedding as a deadline to get my ass in gear.  My plan is basically to eat healthy and occasionally allow myself to indulge.

Many many years ago, I lived by the principle that if I ate well from Sunday night to Friday afternoon, I can be less careful Friday evening thru Sunday afternoon.  It worked well for years.  I did not feel deprived because I allowed myself to indulge within reason, but did not splurge the moment the forbidden food entered my mind.  If I remember, by the time I was "allowed" eat it, I didn't even want it anymore.  I have to get myself in that mindset again.

Master Cleanse -- Day One

Last night, I made a healthy dinner of salmon and grilled asparagus.  The portions were adequate and I was satiated.  Around 8:30, I started looking around the kitchen for a one last hurray snack.  I was at B's place and therefore my options were limited.  B suggested if I wanted to order a pizza.  I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't resist.  So we ate pizza at 10:30 at night and it was wonderful!  I did not drink the laxative tea that night, but opted for two herbal laxative pills instead. 

This morning I woke up and after a few seconds I remembered that I am no officially off solid foods for at least 8 days.  I don't eat too much in the mornings anyway so I didn't wake up hungry.  Once I arrived at work, I made myself a laxative tea. It tastes good!  It takes like black tea.  I had to double check to make sure the tea didn't have caffeine.

Now it is almost 11:30 in the morning and I already had one cup of my lemonade.  I'm hungry.  I've brought about five servings of my lemonade with me along with peppermint tea.  I think I'll be fine.

I also opted to put only half of the maple syrup than the recipe calls for.  I'm allowed to put as little has half a tablespoon per serving.  I have started with one tablespoon, hopefully I'll decrease that as times go on.  I'm not a huge fan of pure maple syrup.

During busy days, I've gone a day without food.  That is totally different than refraining from eating!  I was fine while at work, but as soon as I got home I was insatiable!  I did not cheat, I was home alone on a Friday night and all I could think about was food.  Although I was hungry, I wasn't famished.  It was the cravings that tore me apart.  I ended Day One with another cup of lemonade (6 cups total) and a laxative tea.  

Master Cleanse -- The Day Before

Tomorrow I start The Master Cleanse.  I've been sick for the past five days and still feeling pretty crappy.  I did think about postponing my cleanse, but the timing to start tomorrow is perfect.

I had a lunch of Thai noodles with mushroom and chicken.  Tonight, I'll have salmon with grilled asparagus.  As an aperitif, I'll have a cup of delicious laxative tea.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm supposed to do a saltwater flush every morning.  I think I'll save that for the weekends only when I know I'll be close to a restroom.  As a substitute, the laxative tea will be my "breakfast" along with being my "dessert".

I made a cup of my lemonade concoction yesterday.  It's not bad.  I mean, it's not the same as eating a delicious pizza, but at least the drink doesn't suck.

I am going to start this cleanse with a bit of excitement along with a ton of anxiety.  My goal is to go to the end of the day on February 8, but I'd like to finish it on February 10.  We'll see how the no food thing agrees with my body and mind.

To prepare for the cleanse, I stopped drinking coffee on Saturday.  Sunday was going to be my last coffee day, but I got sick instead and started gulping herbal tea to try to nip my sickness in the bud.  Useless.  So, since I haven't had my daily coffee in almost a week, I'm confident I won't experience any caffeine withdrawal headaches for the next 8-10 days.

I will have a lot of free time since I won't be meal planning, food shopping, or food preparing.  My plan is to read, clean, and rest.  I have always wanted to learn how to knit and I do have a beginner's knitting kid.  I might go through some You Tube videos and see if I can find anything I can follow along with.

I'm praying the next 8-10 days will fly by.

The Master Cleanse: Have I Lost My Mind??

I've never really been one for fad diets.  I did the South Beach Diet once a couple of years ago.  I lasted a week.

When I was in my 20's, I developed a bit of an eating disorder.  I was obsessed with food and fat grams and for years I never ate more than 1 fat gram a day.  I was skinny, but not healthy.  There are no plans to repeat that diet, but it does show me that I have do have will power somewhere in my body.  I'm going to have to call it it out again and reintroduce myself to it soon.  My insane plan is to start the Master Cleanse on February 1.

For those who are not familar with it, it is a cleanse where all you drink is this lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper concoction for 10 consecutive days.  The cleanse requires that you do a salt water flush every morning, consuming up to 12 glasses of the lemonade, and ending the day with a laxative tea.  Yummy! During the duration of the cleanse, you do not consume one morsel of solid food.  You do not consume anything else other than water and the occasional cup of herbal tea along with the lemonade.  It is drastic, but I think I'm up for the challenge.

I'm mentally preparing myself for this challenge.  Unfortunately, one of my coworkers pushed back her last day at the job, therefore her celebratory lunch will take place on Day 8 of my cleanse.  I'm hopeful my cravings and hunger pangs will have subsided by then and I can be around people who are eating delicious food while I'm sipping water after not eating for 8 days.

Although you are supposed to do the cleanse for 10 days, my goal will be 8.  After the eighth day, I'll see if I can continue for another two days.

After you break the cleanse, you cannot resume eating your normal foods.  You will remain on a liquid diet for another 2-3 days.  The first day after breaking the cleanse, you will be allowed to drink only watered down orange juice.  The second day you are allowed watered down orange juice along with a bowl or two of fresh vegetable broth (no actual veggies).  If your digestive tract does not protest, you can have a bowl of vegetable soup with the veggies on the third day.  If all goes well, you can resume your normal eating habits starting the fourth day after breaking the cleanse.

What I've read is that you will lose cravings of bad foods and the taste of fruits and vegetables will be euphoric.  My plan is to use that time to change my diet and to limit my sweet and dairy intake.  We'll see how that goes.

I will blog daily during my cleanse.  I really hope I don't have any adverse reactions to it.  I do expect to be hungry, tired, and irritable.  I hope that is all I experience as I would love to do this cleanse 2-3 times a year.

Wish me luck!!

A Nice Surpise

Like many women out there, I am always struggling with my weight. I've been thin and I've been large and I am never happy with my body. I have the motivation, but I guess not the drive. I know I have to do something, but don't. It's a never ending cycle.

Anyway, today I weighed myself. Good God, it was not pretty, but I was down 3 pounds from the last time I stepped on the scale. That might be the little shove I need to actually do something.