It's January

Yes - January.  Otherwise known as diet month.  It's no secret that I packed on a few pounds over the Holidays.

So today I started my diet.  Instead of setting a weight loss goal which will inevitably fail, I am going to call this diet "Three Months of Healthy eating".  Yes until April 8th I plan to eat a very clean healthy diet.  A combo of Furhman and zone type meals, 2/3 vegetarian. No booze, coffee or sweets for the first month.  It started today.

I also have been ramping up the exercise since Christmas - hiking, doing yoga, riding.  I intend on adding Pilates and weights. We will see if that happens this time.

Well, I need to go menu plan.  Wish me luck.  I hope this doesn't happen tomorrow.

What are your New Years plans???  Any healthy resolutions to tackle?

AND SO IT BEGINS...

Well sisters - tomorrow I start a diet that I call "slim down to Halloween".  It is my attempt to get a corset on my plump little body.

The diet rules are:

No booze!!!

Eat a Furhmanesque breakfast and lunch followed by a zone dinner.  At least I am going to give some of the Furhman recipes a try and see how they go.  I worry that the dinner recipes will not be filling enough so I am going to add 4 oz. of protein.

Here is my plan for the first four days:

day 1

breakfast - soaked oats
lunch - veggie pizza, small salad
dinner -  lamb curry over cauliflower rice, green salad

day 2

breakfast - berry smoothie
lunch - big salad
dinner - tomatillo chicken breast, spinach, new pots

day 3

breakfast - veggie smothered omelet (zone not Furhman)
lunch - veggie stir fry over cauliflower rice
dinner - lamb kebabs, capris salad

day 4
breakfast - apple pie oatmeal
lunch - Mexican salad
dinner - salmon, green salad, sautéed mushrooms over spinach

day 5
breakfast -big smoothie
lunch - mixed green salad with pears, apples and walnut vinaigrette
dinner - carrot soup with cashew cream and crusty bread stork bread, green side salad

what are you eating?????

Just Kick Me...

I have been on the zone diet for a week and have lost 4 1/2 pounds.  It has been fairly painless thus far.  Menus have consisted of smothered omelets, health drinks, Icelandic yogurt and fruit mostly for breakfast, a big old salad for lunch, and a meat and veggie dinner.  No flour. No booze. 1 cookie on Tues. and even an Indian meal out last Saturday.  I think portion control is making a big difference - I have been good about controlling the serving size.  Of course, limited carbs helps with that since I am a carboholic and have no bottom to my carb rubbish pit.  So next time I blog that I have gained 4 pounds, please just kick me and remind me of how painless it would be to go on a diet for one week (before it is 12 pounds and requires 2 months of dieting).

Sardines

I have tried sardines for years.  I could never really wrap my brain around liking the chalky, fishy, yucky taste.  That was until I met Wild Planet sardines.  These little suckers are just yummy.  Packed in olive oil,  they are really high quality sardines and the difference is noticeable.  Plus, look at the back of the box.  What a super food!  Packed with omega 3's and coq 10, they are doing my heart a world of good. They make a great snack or protein source if you are planning to go back on the zone diet like old fatty me!

Hanging in the zone...

So I am pretty pumped about living in the zone and I wanted to share - plus Terri asked of a little more detail on how it works.  So here it is in a nutshell:

3 meals a day and 2 snacks a day
Each meal contains 21 grams of protein, 27 grams of carbs and 9 grams of fat
Each snack contains 7 grams of protein, 9 grams of carbs and 3 grams of fat

If you want large meals - you eat lean meat, low fat dairy and veggies with a limited amount of fruit.  If you want tiny meals, you can eat anything you want - you just won't get a lot of it.

I avoid grains, bread, rice, pasta etc. because with only 27 grams of carbs, you only get a tiny serving and it uses all your carbs so you can't have any veggies and fruits.

I am usually over on the fat about 3 to 6 grams as it is impossible to make most meals taste decent with less - stick however, with monosaturated fats that contain omega 3s - olive oil, avocado oil, nuts, seeds, avacados.

The two types of grain you can have, in limited quantities are barley and steel cut oats.

Here are some websites with more information:

http://www.drsears.com/
http://livehealthy.chron.com/food-block-list-zone-diet-9011.html
http://sourcesofinsight.com/the-top-100-zone-foods/


Why I am so pumped is that in two weeks, all the inflammation I have been living with for 2 years is gone. My elbows, knees and hips do not ache any more.  I climbed part of the Barr Trail today (3 1/2 miles up the mountain) and my knees felt great.  I must be doing some right. I am sleeping better and have tons of energy for exercise.  Plus, I fart less and am losing weight.  I don't know if I am ever coming out of the zone.

I got these out of the library - they will give you all you need to get into the zone

Monday morning weigh in.....

Drum roll please.....after one week in the zone, my weight is:

130 and 1/4! Yes - I can actually fit in my jeans!

Zone day 2

So I have almost made it through day two but the witching hour is upon me - that time around 6 pm when I want a beer with my hubby.  Stay strong - mantra - no booze, no booze, no booze.  Time for some herbal relaxation tea.

So the diet today was/is

Breakfast
1 egg and 1 egg white omelet with a topper of 4 shrimp, bell peppers, a shitake mushroom, fresh basil, fresh oregano, garlic and red onion

16 oz. health drink - cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, 1/8 mango, 2 inches of banana, fresh turmeric, 1 brazil nut, 1/4 scoop of hemps seeds, 1 cup of raw spinach and water

Lunch
3 turkey meatballs with mushrooms leftover from dinner
1 cup homemade chicken/purple barley/veggie soup

Snack
Apple with 1/2 oz. of cheese
1/2 oz. of beef jerky

Dinner
Ancho chili rubbed flank steak - 3 oz.
1/2 c fresh garden peas - boiled
1/2 c cooked crimini and shitake mushrooms
Spinach salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions with tbsp. homemade dressing

Snack
2 squares girdelli 70% chocolate with 1 tsp. peanut butter

Exercise was a bit of a let down as I intended to ride Casper but the arena footing is still trashed due to all this snow and ice.  Did 30 minutes of yoga, 15 minutes of weights, 20 minutes of pilates but whimped on my hike due to more snow (which is falling as I type this).

This has to be the most boring post - sorry.  It helps to write it down.  It keeps me honest. Thank you for putting up with me.  How is your diet going today?

Poor Casper is the most neglected pony ever.
 

1st day in the zone

Step 1 - Weigh myself
Hmmm - how many ounces can I lose if I take of my pjs, and evacuate my orifices?  The answer is not much.  So starting weight this AM is 134 lbs - that's the baseline.

Step 2 - Come up with a zone breakfast
I didn't plan well for breakfast and lunch - just for dinner.  So I have come up with 16 oz of health drink with about 15 carbs and 4 fats and a concoction of tuna, hardboiled eggs, hummus, celery, bell pepper and green onion for 21 protein, 15 carbs and 5 more fats. Drink water

Step 3 -
Exercise -  Do some yoga. Drink water

Step 4 - Get out of this house and away from the kitchen until lunch when I can have some shrimp lettuce wraps and another health drink and drink water

Step 5 - Go take a hike and away from the kitchen again until dinner whereupon I will make Turkey meatballs with mushrooms and spinach over spaghetti squash.  Drink water

Ok that is the plan for the day - wish me luck

 

 

Big changes in March

So despite my best efforts of the last two months, I have not lost a pound.  I am working out a lot and hard, really pushing my limits.  But my body seems complacent to stay the heaviest it has ever been in my life outside of pregnancy.  I cannot seem to shake this stability.

So March brings THE DIET!  Yes I must force my fat cell into submission.  They can no longer hang around on my love handles - they must be burned for fuel.

The plumbishness must go

So I have chosen my old standby "The Zone" by Barry Sears.  This is a diet whereupon one balances the carbs, fats and proteins to keep the blood sugar from spiking and no it is not just about eating bacon not bread.  It is a piece of lean meat and lots and lots of lower carb veggies.

I have reserved three books from the library to help in this diet quest and will begin tomorrow.  My goal is not too lofty - just 10 pounds.  My love handles and belly.  But the biggest kick is no booze - this brings me to my next goal "THE BOOZE FREE MONTH".

Yes unfortunately research shows that giving booze up for a whole month has amazing health benefits. It lowers all the stress factors associated with the liver etc.  So wish me luck - this is gonna be way harder than the diet!