Laurie's Adventure So Far

Post from Laurie's Blog April 8

So after just one week of my diet, I'm down 8 lbs! (Too bad I still have a long way to go.) Anyway, I pretty much eat a huge breakfast, a good sized lunch, and a very small dinner. I try not to eat anything after 7 pm. I was really worried this week that I wouldn't lose anything because my work outs have been a little sporadic. I still can't bring myself to leave my little guy at the gym childcare...I know, I'm going to have to get over that!

I know I'm not a dietitian or anything, but here's my diet in case you're curious or you'd like to try it out yourself.

These are my food restrictions:
NOTHING Processed
NO Flour products, Rice, Potatoes, Bananas, Candy, Soda, Fruit Juice,
NOTHING sweetened with sugar OR with a sugar substitute

What does that leave?
Vegetables, Fruit, Meat, Nuts, and Water, pretty much anything in it's natural state. I guess they are called 'whole foods'.

So here's a typical day:
BREAKFAST
Egg (just one, portion control)
Bacon
Strawberries
Oatmeal (only 1/2 cup)

LUNCH
Big Taco Salad
with out chips but with everything else.... Meat, Beans, Salsa, etc. Hold the dressing, I use the salsa to "wet" it down.

SNACK
Grapes
Handful of Almonds

DINNER
Homemade Chicken Soup

When I just don't feel like an egg or oatmeal for breakfast, I pull out the leftovers from last night's dinner. The protein helps sustain me throughout the day. Carbs for breakfast make me hungry!

I'll keep ya'll posted on how this week goes. I'm sure I won't continue to lose at the same rate, but it's a good jump start, for my body and my attitude.


Post from Laurie's Blog April 10

I've had a few questions regarding my last post about my new eating habits. I am just following up with them here in a Q and A style, just in case anyone else out there had the same questions. I said in the last post that I'm not an expert, just sharing a journey, that's all.

Also, I need to clarify that this really isn't a "diet" it is actually more of a "eat healthier for the rest of my life plan" which actually has striking similarities to this plan. It doesn't restrict any food groups and encourages healthy eating in moderation... but more on that later.

Q. How long do you plan on eating this way?
A. This first part of my plan is just called a "jump start". I will only eat this restrictively for the first three weeks, so I'm already over halfway there. For me, it's just a good way to "detox" from the sugar and carb addiction that processed foods and refined sugars have led me too. After doing this for a couple of weeks I am noticing the natural sweetness in everything. Obviously in things like fruit, but also in things you wouldn't consider sweet. For example plain oats, vegetables, nuts, even in fish (weird, I know). Also, most processed foods contain a little thing called High Fructose Corn Syrup. Most "whole wheat" or "whole grain" breads contain this sweet, sticky stuff. It's hard to get this stuff out of your diet without eliminating the processed foods. I highly recommend reading this article about it in Women's Health. It goes into way more depth about HFCS, sugars, sugar substitutes, and the effects they have on your body then I can.

Here is a small portion of the article I had to share...

"Even when you're perfectly aware that your favorite brand of peanut butter is spiked with sugar, buying the unsweetened kind can feel like a major sacrifice of taste and texture. And that's just peanut butter--think of all the other sweet indulgences that are hard to resist: a croissant on the way to work, a handful of M&Ms, the candy-flavored cocktail in the sugar-rimmed glass at happy hour. There's a reason you keep coming back for more: You've got a habit." (emphasis added)

Q. Why eliminate the sugar substitutes when they don't contain any calories?
A. Again I highly recommend reading this article. The substitutes are actually sweeter than the natural stuff, so they trick your palate. It helps feed your desire for the sweet stuff and therefore it feeds the addiction!

Q. What about dairy?
A. I see nothing wrong with dairy, as long as it is as unprocessed as possible. I realize milk is pastuerized and butter is churned, but I wouldn't put those things in the same category as processed food. I would consider having a lowfat yogurt, limiting the amount due to the sugar content. I don't do cheese just because I think it can be more processed than other dairy products, but that's just me. So milk, butter, yogurt, even cream are fine as long as it's as close to it's natural form as possible. I'm not counting calories or fat grams, I'm just retraining my body to eat more healthy, natural foods.

Another thing I didn't mention is that it's absolutely necessary for me to drink a lot of water. Especially in the beginning because of the "detoxing" it really helped me eliminate those toxins faster so I didn't feel all that bad. Just a couple of days and I felt better then I did before I started.

So I will continue to blog about my plan and update on the things I'll be eating after the 'detox" period! By the way did I mention this is a really good ARTICLE! If you don't have time to read it now, just print it out and set it by your toilet!