This week's changes in my eating have given me a bit more clarity about my weight, my weight loss history, and my future. Somehow, the loosening of the reins of restriction has helped me "see" part of the problem of why I have not lost any fresh pounds in the past 16 months.
Restriction is, for me, part of weight loss. I think if you are honest with yourself, you'll agree that restriction of some sort is necessary to lose weight. Maybe it is a food group, or a certain trigger food you have to restrict. Maybe it is portions or carbs or calories. The fact is, if you just kept eating the way you ate when you were fat, you'd still be fat. You don't lose weight without making some kind of changes.
Some plans are more restrictive than others, and that can be good or bad depending on what you need in your life at the moment. I *needed* to cut out a lot of things in order to gain clarity and get control of my binge eating. Cutting out bread, grains, sugar, fruit and even high carb veggies helped me figure out how those foods affect me. Adding them back in slowly also is helping me discern how those things help or hinder my weight loss and health. That is important to me.
But sometimes restriction starts to backfire. It is a fine line between restricting enough to lose weight, and restricting so much you can't stick with a plan. That's what started happening to me, over time. At first, cutting out so much stuff and sticking to low carb veggies, lean proteins, healthy fats and Medifast meals was great. It was fairly easy. I dropped 59 pounds in under 8 months and changed the way I look at food forever. Then it started getting hard to stick to. Over the past year, I have gone on and off the 5 & 1 plan many times because it was getting hard for me to stick to. When I was ON plan, it was easy, food took a back seat, and I lost weight. Yet, when I'd give in and eat something higher in carbs it would knock me out of the mild ketosis that is part of the Medifast plan. Getting back into ketosis was sometimes physically difficult, including headaches and nausea. The other thing about low carb eating is that you can drop and gain water weight super fast, because carbs are stored in the body with extra water. Eat low carb for a week, lose 5-8 pounds. Eat high carb for a DAY, gain 3 or more pounds. It's water, but it still feels great coming off and horrible coming back on.
Thus, the crazy train I have been on for months now. If you pay attention to my Weight By Month page, you'll see what I mean. Take the past year:
184 April (-1)
198 May (+14)
195 June (-3)
184 July (-11)
191 August (+7)
201 September (+10)
190 October (-11)
203 November (+13)
214 December (+11)
201 January 2012 (-13)
199 February (-2)
The scale swings widely with my going on and off low carb eating. Up ten, down 11. Up 14, down 13. It is a crazy train. I cannot do it anymore. That's partly why I decided to Transition to a more moderate carb way of eating. Even if I only lose a couple pounds a month, it *has* to be better for my body than that.
A low carb plan, a restrictive plan like Medifast, is fine if you stick to it. But I have come to believe that if you get to the point you can't STAY on plan, it's better and healthier to do something else. So if you are on Medifast, BE on Medifast. Do it in as short a time as you can. Do it 100% and get it done so you can transition back to whole foods. I am transitioning early but I am doing it for both my health and my sanity. I do need to lose weight for the sake of my health, but I am listening to my body and hope to see a more moderate downward slope rather than the crazy train I was on before.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
A Tale of Two Salads
Here's a little story about two salads I ate recently. Both of them were in restaurants, both low carb, both made with fresh delicious ingredients. But I had two very different reactions to them because of one little variable.
My daughter and I were out shopping, and we decided to have a nice little "girls' lunch out" together at a new restaurant nearby. We went in, were seated, and as is my usual habit I began perusing the menu for salads. I found one that looked on plan and tasty: mixed greens, fresh mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, hard boiled egg, crumbled blue cheese, and grilled chicken. Great! That is the kind of salad I love. But when I ordered, I made a mistake I have not made in years. I forgot to ask for "dressing on the side." I always, *always* do this. Let me tell you why.
When I was a kid, I used to go to salad bars with my dieting mom and her Weight Watchers friends. I remember loving the salad bar and feeling like I was so healthy! I piled my plate with iceberg lettuce, bacon bits, grated cheese, and croutons and then I ladled one... two... three or more large spoonfuls of blue cheese dressing over it all. I'd go back to my seat and mix it all together. So yummy! Every leaf and bit of cheese would be coated... soaked, even... in dressing. There would be a puddle of dressing left on the plate when I was done, which I would sop up with a buttered roll. And no one ever told me how unhealthy this was. It was the most vegetables I got as a kid unless you count canned corn and mashed potatoes with butter and gravy. I developed a taste for salad ONLY when it is *loaded* with dressing. Even as an (obese) adult, I would often feel dismayed at the piddly, tiny portions of dressing that restaurants would use on salads. I always asked for extra and used it ALL. Fast forward to weight loss efforts. I remember reading a tip: order dressing on the side, and just dip your fork into it for each bite. That way you get the taste of dressing without all the fat and calories. Ridiculous, I thought! But I tried it. I remember choking down a few bites. I could not even TASTE the dressing doing it that way! So I started out by dipping each bite of salad into the dressing on the side, so it was only half coated in dressing. This was hard for me to do. After all, salad was *all about* the dressing for me. It took me a very long time doing this before I started weaning off the dressing even more: dipping less of the veggies into the dressing, eating a few bites without dressing. Eventually I got to the point of the fork-dipping method, and this is what I've done ever since. I generally use a tablespoon or less of the dressing nowadays.
So the salad came to the table and immediately I saw my mistake. The salad was pre-tossed and *coated* in dressing... not as much as I used to use, but each leaf was definitely covered. Oh well, I thought, I will just have to watch my fat intake for the rest of the day. This will be a nice indulgence! May as well enjoy it!
I took a bite. Oh, wow. This did not taste like a salad. Don't get me wrong, the dressing was good, homemade, tasty. But I couldn't taste the vegetables! All I tasted was blue cheese. It was overwhelming. I picked out the cheese crumbles. I drank a lot of water. I ate 3/4 of the salad. But it was really just not enjoyable, and I vowed to never make that mistake again.
Fast forward to this week. I was out for a birthday dinner with family, and part of my dinner was a nice large side salad: fresh baby spinach, sliced mushrooms, hazelnuts, Parmesan cheese... and dressing. This time I definitely remembered to ask for dressing on the side, and it was divine! Most of the Parmesan shreds fell through to the plate, so I didn't get too much cheese (I got just the right amount). The veggies were so fresh and delicious! The nuts were toasted and flavorful. The dressing was a homemade creamy fresh dill dressing that was seriously fabulous! I dipped my fork in it every few bites to enjoy the taste. This salad tasted amazing to me, and right then and there I realized how much my tastes have changed. I am now one of *those people* who enjoys the flavor of plain, fresh vegetables! That makes me so glad. Just because the dressing was one of the best I'd ever tasted didn't make me want to pour it over my salad or drink it. When I was finished, the little cup of dressing looked nearly untouched. I might have used a half tablespoon at the most, but it was just enough. When the waiter came back, I complimented them on the dressing and asked how it was made. He looked puzzled because my salad was gone and the dressing was still there, yet I was raving about how good it was. And it really was that good.
Take heart. Even if you are like I used to be... only eating vegetables that are hidden under buckets of dressing or cheese or sauces... your tastes can REALLY change. And I don't just mean you will learn to *tolerate* plain veggies. I mean you can actually PREFER them in time. Just gradually cut down on your sauce or butter or salt or whatever you load up your veggies with. Take months to do it. Suddenly you will turn around and realize you are eating and *enjoying* your salads and other veggies nearly naked. It's a great feeling, and your body will thank you.
My daughter and I were out shopping, and we decided to have a nice little "girls' lunch out" together at a new restaurant nearby. We went in, were seated, and as is my usual habit I began perusing the menu for salads. I found one that looked on plan and tasty: mixed greens, fresh mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, hard boiled egg, crumbled blue cheese, and grilled chicken. Great! That is the kind of salad I love. But when I ordered, I made a mistake I have not made in years. I forgot to ask for "dressing on the side." I always, *always* do this. Let me tell you why.
When I was a kid, I used to go to salad bars with my dieting mom and her Weight Watchers friends. I remember loving the salad bar and feeling like I was so healthy! I piled my plate with iceberg lettuce, bacon bits, grated cheese, and croutons and then I ladled one... two... three or more large spoonfuls of blue cheese dressing over it all. I'd go back to my seat and mix it all together. So yummy! Every leaf and bit of cheese would be coated... soaked, even... in dressing. There would be a puddle of dressing left on the plate when I was done, which I would sop up with a buttered roll. And no one ever told me how unhealthy this was. It was the most vegetables I got as a kid unless you count canned corn and mashed potatoes with butter and gravy. I developed a taste for salad ONLY when it is *loaded* with dressing. Even as an (obese) adult, I would often feel dismayed at the piddly, tiny portions of dressing that restaurants would use on salads. I always asked for extra and used it ALL. Fast forward to weight loss efforts. I remember reading a tip: order dressing on the side, and just dip your fork into it for each bite. That way you get the taste of dressing without all the fat and calories. Ridiculous, I thought! But I tried it. I remember choking down a few bites. I could not even TASTE the dressing doing it that way! So I started out by dipping each bite of salad into the dressing on the side, so it was only half coated in dressing. This was hard for me to do. After all, salad was *all about* the dressing for me. It took me a very long time doing this before I started weaning off the dressing even more: dipping less of the veggies into the dressing, eating a few bites without dressing. Eventually I got to the point of the fork-dipping method, and this is what I've done ever since. I generally use a tablespoon or less of the dressing nowadays.
So the salad came to the table and immediately I saw my mistake. The salad was pre-tossed and *coated* in dressing... not as much as I used to use, but each leaf was definitely covered. Oh well, I thought, I will just have to watch my fat intake for the rest of the day. This will be a nice indulgence! May as well enjoy it!
I took a bite. Oh, wow. This did not taste like a salad. Don't get me wrong, the dressing was good, homemade, tasty. But I couldn't taste the vegetables! All I tasted was blue cheese. It was overwhelming. I picked out the cheese crumbles. I drank a lot of water. I ate 3/4 of the salad. But it was really just not enjoyable, and I vowed to never make that mistake again.
Fast forward to this week. I was out for a birthday dinner with family, and part of my dinner was a nice large side salad: fresh baby spinach, sliced mushrooms, hazelnuts, Parmesan cheese... and dressing. This time I definitely remembered to ask for dressing on the side, and it was divine! Most of the Parmesan shreds fell through to the plate, so I didn't get too much cheese (I got just the right amount). The veggies were so fresh and delicious! The nuts were toasted and flavorful. The dressing was a homemade creamy fresh dill dressing that was seriously fabulous! I dipped my fork in it every few bites to enjoy the taste. This salad tasted amazing to me, and right then and there I realized how much my tastes have changed. I am now one of *those people* who enjoys the flavor of plain, fresh vegetables! That makes me so glad. Just because the dressing was one of the best I'd ever tasted didn't make me want to pour it over my salad or drink it. When I was finished, the little cup of dressing looked nearly untouched. I might have used a half tablespoon at the most, but it was just enough. When the waiter came back, I complimented them on the dressing and asked how it was made. He looked puzzled because my salad was gone and the dressing was still there, yet I was raving about how good it was. And it really was that good.
Take heart. Even if you are like I used to be... only eating vegetables that are hidden under buckets of dressing or cheese or sauces... your tastes can REALLY change. And I don't just mean you will learn to *tolerate* plain veggies. I mean you can actually PREFER them in time. Just gradually cut down on your sauce or butter or salt or whatever you load up your veggies with. Take months to do it. Suddenly you will turn around and realize you are eating and *enjoying* your salads and other veggies nearly naked. It's a great feeling, and your body will thank you.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Potatoes vs. Cauliflower
Something I learned rather quickly when I began "low carbing" is that white potatoes are to be avoided because they're starchy and high in carbs. Thankfully, I also learned that I didn't have to go without "mashed potatoes": a lot of low-carbers make something very similar by steaming and mashing cauliflower instead. This has become a staple of my diet over the past two low carb years. I started subbing cauliflower for potatoes, rice, pasta, and white flour in many of my usual recipes with great results! But my kids never became fans of the steaming white mounds of creamy mashed cauliflower. They always kept their preference for mashed potatoes, and that's okay. I made potatoes for them and cauliflower for myself.
But now that I am in week 1 of Transition, the guidelines state that I can have an additional cup per day of ANY vegetables I want! No more limiting things that are higher in carbs like artichokes, Brussels sprouts, yams, and corn. And potatoes. Yes, even white potatoes are now officially "allowed" on my Transition plan! So, what do you think? Is it the end of my love affair with cauliflower? After all, it is much easier to just make a pot of low fat mashed taters and not bother with the mashed cauliflower anymore...
So I decided to do a comparison. What exactly is the difference between a half cup of plain, boiled white potatoes and a half cup of plain, boiled cauliflower? Let's see.
White potatoes, boiled without skin, flesh only, 1/2 cup (nutrition data source)
67.1 calories
1.3 g protein
15.6 g carbs
0.1 g fat
Cauliflower, boiled, 1/2 cup (nutrition data source)
14.3 calories
1.1 g protein
2.5 g carbs
0.3 g fat
Wow. So by eating cauliflower instead of potatoes you save about 53 calories and 13 g carbs. That's significant, especially if you're doubling that and eating a whole cup, which I often do. The potatoes and cauliflower are nearly equal in fat and protein, so that's not significant. They are also exactly equal in fiber content (1.4 g). What about nutrients?
Well, they are about equal in iron content (1.3% vs. 1.1%).
Potatoes contain more B1, B3, B5 and B6 than cauliflower:
B1 5.1% vs. 1.7%
B3 5.1% vs. 1.3%
B5 4.0% vs. 3.1%
B6 10.5% vs. 5.4%
Cauliflower contains folate, more B2, and calcium than potatoes, and the most significant edge they have is in vitamins K and C:
folate 1.8% vs. 6.8%
B2 0.9% vs. 1.9%
calcium 0.6% vs. 1.0%
Vitamin K 2% vs. 10.7%
Vitamin C 9.6% vs. 45.8%
Another factor to consider is Glycemic Index. Potatoes can raise your blood sugar really fast; they have a higher glycemic index than refined white sugar because of the way they are processed by our bodies. Baked white potato (no skin) has a GI of 98, while white sugar has a GI of about 60. Cauliflower, by comparison, has a very low GI of 15. This means it will have little to no effect on your blood sugar levels.
So, for those reasons, I am going to keep choosing cauliflower over potatoes. And when I eat cauliflower I actually feel better... not as stuffed, tired, and heavy as when I eat potatoes. They seem to energize and nourish me. I will still occasionally have a potato here and there, especially when the baby new red potatoes are ready at the local Farmer's Market, but for a "mashed potato" side dish with steak or in a creamy "potato" soup, I am sticking with cauliflower.
But now that I am in week 1 of Transition, the guidelines state that I can have an additional cup per day of ANY vegetables I want! No more limiting things that are higher in carbs like artichokes, Brussels sprouts, yams, and corn. And potatoes. Yes, even white potatoes are now officially "allowed" on my Transition plan! So, what do you think? Is it the end of my love affair with cauliflower? After all, it is much easier to just make a pot of low fat mashed taters and not bother with the mashed cauliflower anymore...
So I decided to do a comparison. What exactly is the difference between a half cup of plain, boiled white potatoes and a half cup of plain, boiled cauliflower? Let's see.
White potatoes, boiled without skin, flesh only, 1/2 cup (nutrition data source)
67.1 calories
1.3 g protein
15.6 g carbs
0.1 g fat
Cauliflower, boiled, 1/2 cup (nutrition data source)
14.3 calories
1.1 g protein
2.5 g carbs
0.3 g fat
Wow. So by eating cauliflower instead of potatoes you save about 53 calories and 13 g carbs. That's significant, especially if you're doubling that and eating a whole cup, which I often do. The potatoes and cauliflower are nearly equal in fat and protein, so that's not significant. They are also exactly equal in fiber content (1.4 g). What about nutrients?
Well, they are about equal in iron content (1.3% vs. 1.1%).
Potatoes contain more B1, B3, B5 and B6 than cauliflower:
B1 5.1% vs. 1.7%
B3 5.1% vs. 1.3%
B5 4.0% vs. 3.1%
B6 10.5% vs. 5.4%
Cauliflower contains folate, more B2, and calcium than potatoes, and the most significant edge they have is in vitamins K and C:
folate 1.8% vs. 6.8%
B2 0.9% vs. 1.9%
calcium 0.6% vs. 1.0%
Vitamin K 2% vs. 10.7%
Vitamin C 9.6% vs. 45.8%
Another factor to consider is Glycemic Index. Potatoes can raise your blood sugar really fast; they have a higher glycemic index than refined white sugar because of the way they are processed by our bodies. Baked white potato (no skin) has a GI of 98, while white sugar has a GI of about 60. Cauliflower, by comparison, has a very low GI of 15. This means it will have little to no effect on your blood sugar levels.
So, for those reasons, I am going to keep choosing cauliflower over potatoes. And when I eat cauliflower I actually feel better... not as stuffed, tired, and heavy as when I eat potatoes. They seem to energize and nourish me. I will still occasionally have a potato here and there, especially when the baby new red potatoes are ready at the local Farmer's Market, but for a "mashed potato" side dish with steak or in a creamy "potato" soup, I am sticking with cauliflower.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
How To Cook (and Eat) an Artichoke: An Easy Lesson with Pictures
When I first tried artichoke (hearts) long long ago, I was unimpressed. They came from a jar and were placed on a salad. I found them rather oily and flavorless. And so, the decades flew by without me ever trying another one until I was in my late 30's. I was blogging and losing weight and trying new things, so I was determined to learn how to cook an artichoke myself. At least then I could say I'd tried it, right?
I had to look in a few cookbooks to figure out what to do with this big pokey thing, but once I figured it out, it was easy! Here's your lesson, in just a few easy steps: how to cook and eat an artichoke.
First, go to the grocery store and buy a nice, big, firm, heavy artichoke. It looks like this:
Rinse it under cold running water and shake off the excess. Use a kitchen knife to cut off the stem. You can save and steam it along with your artichoke; it is very good peeled. Mine didn't have a long stem so I tossed it. Then use your knife to cut off about an inch off the top. Take some scissors or kitchen shears
and cut off the tip of each leaf. They are kind of pointy on the end, so this will keep you from getting poked while you cook and eat it. Plus it just looks prettier trimmed.
Now put a few inches of water in the bottom of a big pot and bring it to a boil. You can add things to the water to flavor the artichoke, like lemon, herbs, a bay leaf, or garlic, but I usually don't bother. If you have a steamer basket, use it. You can also set a metal colander over the pot instead. Put the artichoke in the basket or colander and cover it loosely with a lid or aluminum foil. Steam it for about 30 minutes. Smaller artichokes might take 20-25 minutes while giant ones might take 40. You can tell it is done by turning it over and poking the center base with a fork; it should be tender, and the leaves should pull off very easily without effort. Undercooked artichoke is hard and not good.
Remove the steamed artichoke to a plate and cool slightly so you don't burn your fingers eating it. Enjoying an artichoke is a ritual and takes time, but is so relaxing and enjoyable to me. If you are working on eating slowly, an artichoke is your best friend.
Once it is cool enough to handle, turn it over and start peeling off the leaves one at a time. There will be a little lump of tender flesh at the base of each leaf, see?
You scrape that flesh off with your teeth. Do not eat the leaves! Yuck! They are tough and fibrous. Just place each leaf between your front teeth, bite down, and pull the leaf out. What you scrape off is the tender flesh.
At first, you will wonder why you bothered. The outer, bottom leaves are the least tasty with the least amount of edible flesh to scrape off. But as you work your way through the artichoke, the leaves get more and more tender, with more yummy flesh to eat. See the leaf with the flesh scraped off?
Keep going. Oh, if you like, you can dip the leaves into a sauce or melted butter. There are recipes online for mayonnaise-based artichoke dipping sauces, but I just like to melt a little butter or "light" butter and/or have my salt shaker handy. So good. Just keep on pulling off leaves and eating...
The leaves get smaller and more tender until you can just bite off the very base of the small leaves. Then all of a sudden you have this:
Do not eat the fuzz! Yuck! Gross! That is called the "choke" and believe me, if you try to eat it you will know why. Instead, now is a good time to empty all those leaves off your plate, and use a spoon or small knife to scrape out all the fuzz, leaving behind the crown jewel of artichokes: the heart.
Doesn't look like much, but this is what you worked for! This is the best part. Slice it up and eat it with a fork, dipping it in butter if you like. It is so delicious and tender and to me tastes *nothing* like those marinated ones in a jar. This is a real, yummy vegetable, slightly reminiscent of tender, fresh sweet corn. It has a flavor all its own. You really have to try it.
One large artichoke (edible parts) has only 60 calories and gives you 4 g protein, 13 g carbs, 6 g fiber, no fat, 20% RDA of vitamin C, 8% RDA of iron, and 6% RDA of calcium. It is very much worth the effort and feels like a special indulgence every time I have one. If you haven't tried one, I hope this inspires you. Eat your veggies!
I had to look in a few cookbooks to figure out what to do with this big pokey thing, but once I figured it out, it was easy! Here's your lesson, in just a few easy steps: how to cook and eat an artichoke.
First, go to the grocery store and buy a nice, big, firm, heavy artichoke. It looks like this:
Rinse it under cold running water and shake off the excess. Use a kitchen knife to cut off the stem. You can save and steam it along with your artichoke; it is very good peeled. Mine didn't have a long stem so I tossed it. Then use your knife to cut off about an inch off the top. Take some scissors or kitchen shears
and cut off the tip of each leaf. They are kind of pointy on the end, so this will keep you from getting poked while you cook and eat it. Plus it just looks prettier trimmed.
Now put a few inches of water in the bottom of a big pot and bring it to a boil. You can add things to the water to flavor the artichoke, like lemon, herbs, a bay leaf, or garlic, but I usually don't bother. If you have a steamer basket, use it. You can also set a metal colander over the pot instead. Put the artichoke in the basket or colander and cover it loosely with a lid or aluminum foil. Steam it for about 30 minutes. Smaller artichokes might take 20-25 minutes while giant ones might take 40. You can tell it is done by turning it over and poking the center base with a fork; it should be tender, and the leaves should pull off very easily without effort. Undercooked artichoke is hard and not good.
Remove the steamed artichoke to a plate and cool slightly so you don't burn your fingers eating it. Enjoying an artichoke is a ritual and takes time, but is so relaxing and enjoyable to me. If you are working on eating slowly, an artichoke is your best friend.
Once it is cool enough to handle, turn it over and start peeling off the leaves one at a time. There will be a little lump of tender flesh at the base of each leaf, see?
You scrape that flesh off with your teeth. Do not eat the leaves! Yuck! They are tough and fibrous. Just place each leaf between your front teeth, bite down, and pull the leaf out. What you scrape off is the tender flesh.
At first, you will wonder why you bothered. The outer, bottom leaves are the least tasty with the least amount of edible flesh to scrape off. But as you work your way through the artichoke, the leaves get more and more tender, with more yummy flesh to eat. See the leaf with the flesh scraped off?
Keep going. Oh, if you like, you can dip the leaves into a sauce or melted butter. There are recipes online for mayonnaise-based artichoke dipping sauces, but I just like to melt a little butter or "light" butter and/or have my salt shaker handy. So good. Just keep on pulling off leaves and eating...
The leaves get smaller and more tender until you can just bite off the very base of the small leaves. Then all of a sudden you have this:
Do not eat the fuzz! Yuck! Gross! That is called the "choke" and believe me, if you try to eat it you will know why. Instead, now is a good time to empty all those leaves off your plate, and use a spoon or small knife to scrape out all the fuzz, leaving behind the crown jewel of artichokes: the heart.
Doesn't look like much, but this is what you worked for! This is the best part. Slice it up and eat it with a fork, dipping it in butter if you like. It is so delicious and tender and to me tastes *nothing* like those marinated ones in a jar. This is a real, yummy vegetable, slightly reminiscent of tender, fresh sweet corn. It has a flavor all its own. You really have to try it.
One large artichoke (edible parts) has only 60 calories and gives you 4 g protein, 13 g carbs, 6 g fiber, no fat, 20% RDA of vitamin C, 8% RDA of iron, and 6% RDA of calcium. It is very much worth the effort and feels like a special indulgence every time I have one. If you haven't tried one, I hope this inspires you. Eat your veggies!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Medifast Transition: Week 1 (Day 1)
Well, I had planned to switch from the Medifast 5&1 Plan to the Transition plan on March 1, but I started today instead. Why? Because a coffeehouse barista (apparently) put regular syrup instead of sugar free syrup in my 12-ounce coffee yesterday, and I didn't notice until the sugar ZING hit me... along with the crash later. It is a real headache (literally) to get back on the 5&1 Plan once you get knocked out of ketosis, so I decided to just stay out and start Transition a week early.
So week 1 of Transition is simple. Add two extra servings of vegetables a day, and keep on eating 5 Medifast meals and a Lean & Green (protein & veg) meal as well. The exciting part of this is that the two extra veggie servings can be ANY vegetables... not just the low carb ones allowed on Medifast 5&1. I get to add back in all the starchier, higher carb vegetables I have avoided for so long, including:
green peas, snow peas
onions
winter squashes such as acorn squash, Delicata squash, Kabocha squash, Butternut squash
corn
white potatoes, baby new potatoes
sweet potatoes and yams
artichokes
Brussels sprouts
carrots
canned pumpkin
beets
Today was great and I feel so much better with the extra vegetables added! I have more energy and am not hungry at all. In fact it was almost hard to eat so many veggies today, but I'll get used to it!
My dinners will look much the same for awhile, with a Lean protein (steak, chicken, fish, eggs, turkey, low fat dairy) and 3 lower carb veggie servings (mashed cauliflower, salads, roasted broccoli, green beans) with healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, olives, salad dressing). I still space my 5 Medifast meals 2-3 hours apart, but can include the extra veggies at breakfast or lunch.
So today, for breakfast I mixed 1/4 cup of plain canned pumpkin into my Medifast oatmeal along with a dash of pumpkin pie spice. It was so good and filling! I love pumpkin, so I will probably mix it into puddings, shakes, and oatmeal for awhile. I also love to add a Tablespoon of canned pumpkin to a Medifast brownie mix, which will be my evening snack for tonight. Very moist and good.
Midmorning I had a bottle of water and a Medifast protein bar while I went to agility class with my pup.
Lunch was the usual Medifast chocolate protein shake, but an hour later I enjoyed one of my very favorite treats: a whole, fresh, steamed artichoke. Oh, it was just heavenly! I adore artichokes and it is so nice to have them back in my diet again.
At 3:00, I mixed up a Medifast hot cocoa with coffee and ice to take with me on errands. That kept me full until dinnertime.
Dinner was in 2 parts because I split my Lean. One part was a 6oz bowl of nonfat Greek yogurt. The other part was an omelet made with 1/2 cup of Eggbeaters, 1/2 cup of turkey sausage crumbles, 1/2 cup of spinach, 1/4 cup of leeks, and 3/4 cup of mushrooms. That is a LOT of food!
All in all, today was a great success. I am so happy I decided to get started transitioning off Medifast back onto whole foods. If you want to know more about what weeks 2 through 6 look like in Transition and what the usual food intake will be in the end, you can read this post I wrote about it: New Plan Coming!
*FTC-required disclosure: Medifast provided me with its products for my personal use for free.*
So week 1 of Transition is simple. Add two extra servings of vegetables a day, and keep on eating 5 Medifast meals and a Lean & Green (protein & veg) meal as well. The exciting part of this is that the two extra veggie servings can be ANY vegetables... not just the low carb ones allowed on Medifast 5&1. I get to add back in all the starchier, higher carb vegetables I have avoided for so long, including:
green peas, snow peas
onions
winter squashes such as acorn squash, Delicata squash, Kabocha squash, Butternut squash
corn
white potatoes, baby new potatoes
sweet potatoes and yams
artichokes
Brussels sprouts
carrots
canned pumpkin
beets
Today was great and I feel so much better with the extra vegetables added! I have more energy and am not hungry at all. In fact it was almost hard to eat so many veggies today, but I'll get used to it!
My dinners will look much the same for awhile, with a Lean protein (steak, chicken, fish, eggs, turkey, low fat dairy) and 3 lower carb veggie servings (mashed cauliflower, salads, roasted broccoli, green beans) with healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, olives, salad dressing). I still space my 5 Medifast meals 2-3 hours apart, but can include the extra veggies at breakfast or lunch.
So today, for breakfast I mixed 1/4 cup of plain canned pumpkin into my Medifast oatmeal along with a dash of pumpkin pie spice. It was so good and filling! I love pumpkin, so I will probably mix it into puddings, shakes, and oatmeal for awhile. I also love to add a Tablespoon of canned pumpkin to a Medifast brownie mix, which will be my evening snack for tonight. Very moist and good.
Midmorning I had a bottle of water and a Medifast protein bar while I went to agility class with my pup.
Lunch was the usual Medifast chocolate protein shake, but an hour later I enjoyed one of my very favorite treats: a whole, fresh, steamed artichoke. Oh, it was just heavenly! I adore artichokes and it is so nice to have them back in my diet again.
At 3:00, I mixed up a Medifast hot cocoa with coffee and ice to take with me on errands. That kept me full until dinnertime.
Dinner was in 2 parts because I split my Lean. One part was a 6oz bowl of nonfat Greek yogurt. The other part was an omelet made with 1/2 cup of Eggbeaters, 1/2 cup of turkey sausage crumbles, 1/2 cup of spinach, 1/4 cup of leeks, and 3/4 cup of mushrooms. That is a LOT of food!
All in all, today was a great success. I am so happy I decided to get started transitioning off Medifast back onto whole foods. If you want to know more about what weeks 2 through 6 look like in Transition and what the usual food intake will be in the end, you can read this post I wrote about it: New Plan Coming!
*FTC-required disclosure: Medifast provided me with its products for my personal use for free.*
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