First Week High and Lows

My first week on Ideal Protein is behind me, and to say I’m relieved is the understatement of the century!  I didn’t cheat once, ate the right foods, the right veggies, and consumed more water than I thought possible!  So, with a smile on my face and excitement oozing out of me, I headed in to meet with my coach.

And what did the dreaded tape measure say?  Well, it said I lost almost 4″ in the first week!  HELL YEAH!  And what did the scale say after that?  Well, that I lost just over 7lbs!  WAHOO!  This week I killed it on weight loss and inches loss, which makes the sacrifice of the past week totally worth it!  Go me!

Now, labs were a different story.  My labs were my first set and they are nowhere near ok.  It was another in a long line of wake-up calls the past few weeks.  Downside, it bums me out how far I’ve let my health slide.  Upside, it’s amazing motivation to stay on track.  The more weight comes off, the better my labs will be.  The better my labs get, the health issues disappear.  The health issues disappear, and I won’t end up like every other woman in my family by dying from complications of diabetes.  Morbid, I know, but true.  And this blog has to be about the honest, awful, naked truth for me.

So, great first week with a new wake up call.  All in all, we’ll call this a win.

Ciao for now,

M

Rutabagas and Chopsticks and Jicama, Oh My!

Ok, so this whole cruciferous veggie part of Ideal is tough for someone with a limited palate when it comes to veggies.  So, I’ve been doing a lot of online searching for recipes, and two words kept popping up:  rutabaga fries.  And my first thought was: what the hell is a rutabaga?

Well, it looks like this:

It’s pretty in that photo, but it’s seriously ugly in person.  But, I bought one. I took it home, peeled it, julienned it, tossed it in one tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkled salt and pepper and tossed it in the oven.  And I was not a fan.  The pieces didn’t crisp up, they were quite soggy.  And the texture was not pleasing to my palate at all.  I might need to try a different recipe, because the one I used made the ‘fries’ burnt on the outside and not quite cooked on the inside.  So, even though I don’t know that the rutabaga and I will be buddies, I will give it one more shot before discarding.

Now, on the other hand, I also tried, for the first time, to navigate a jicama.  I’d had jicama slaw in restaurants before, but between the dressing, the other veggies, etc. in the salad, I couldn’t tell you what a jicama tasted like.  And so when I went to buy one, I had no idea they looked like this:

So, I got it and julienned it, and was an instant fan.  It’s kind of the cross between an apple and a water chestnut.  Light flavor, crispy texture.  Its a great compliment to raw celery or cauliflower.  If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it.

However, my best discovery of the week is using chopsticks to get myself to slow the hell down when I eat.  By the time dinner rolls around I’m craving real food, and have been quite creative in my 8oz of protein and 2 cups of veggies.  However, I scarf them down.  So, I was at the kitchen store buying a fish spatula (which really does make a difference, btw), I noticed chopsticks and the light bulb went on.  Eureka!  And so now, for lunch veggies and dinner, I use chopsticks.  These little wooden gems help me slow down while I eat, and thoroughly enjoy each bite.

Ciao for now,

M

The Afternoons are the Hardest

There are two times a day I crave carbs.  And not just any old carbs, but crunchy, salty, cheesy carbs.  I want anything from the Frito Lay world, and I want it in volume!  Any, or a number of these would be staining my fingers, tantalizing my taste buds, and expanding my waistline right about now 6 days ago:

But today, today, in day 5 of my diet, today, I fight the urge with everything I have!  I do not take the elevator ride downstairs, and walk the few feet to the drug store to get a bag, today it would be Funyons, and enjoy their oniony goodness mindlessly while I worked the last few hours of my day.  Today, instead, I make a cup of hot orange spice tea to satiate my cravings, although it’s not really working.

Today is the first day I’ve actively felt how much boredom drives my appetite.  How much snacking is ingrained in my DNA, to where I think I NEED it.  I don’t need it.  I’ll survive just fine after it!  And there’s no need to go running for the first bag of salty, fattening, crisps I can get my hands on, because I have a goal to attain!

Evenings are no picnic either, but at least I have TV and chores to distract me. Work is just a mundane repetition of executive assisting a low maintenance boss where I just want to friggin eat!  Ugh!

But I can do this.  I had BBQ Ideal chips for lunch, and they rocked and helped a little.  But tonight, when I put that big red X on my calendar to mark that I successfully got through another day without cheating, I’m going to feel so much better than any chip could taste!

And when I step on that scale on Friday, I’ll be glad I stuck to my plan.

Ciao for now,
M

 

The Hunger Games

So, today is day 4 and I’m hungry.  Or am I?

The brain is a funny thing.  It tricks you, especially when you’re trying to change bad habits, it tricks you.  My entire adult life, every time I tried to get healthy, my brain would trick me into thinking I couldn’t do it.  Or shouldn’t do it.  That I should give up, quit, eat the things that bring me comfort because the sacrifice isn’t worth it.

Well, not this time.  I refuse to let my cravings control me.  But that doesn’t mean they aren’t trying.  I feel like Katniss, offering myself up as tribute in this game we call dieting.  And my competitors, rather than creepy young people from other districts who want to kill me, are unhealthy foods from all the fun categories.  The things trying to kill me are starch, carbohydrate, and sugar.  They come in the forms of chips, crackers, pizza, and pasta.  They bring their friends bread, cheese, rice, and milk.  They hunt me through the jungle I call my life right now, and taunt me from every angle.

All the protein and vegetables in the world aren’t satisfying.  Or are they, and my brain is trying to trick me into giving up, giving in, and cheating?

I keep reminding myself I’m stronger than my cravings.  I keep reminding myself of the ultimate goal.  Of the health I want to have.  Of the body I want to have.  Of the fact that I am committed to undoing the bad habits that are hard wired in my DNA by my mother.  I can do this.  I will do this.

Like Katniss I will defy the rules, follow my own path, and win the games.  I will eliminate my enemies of carbs and sugar and their cohorts one by one. In a few days, my hope is the cravings will lessen, and will be replaced with my craving vegetables and lean protein.

Today the struggle is real.  I hope that tomorrow it’s less than today.  And they day after less than tomorrow.

Wish me a happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in my favor!

Ciao for now,

M

Photo courtesy of page lady.wordpress.com

Gotta Love a Coach with Winning Experience!

So, I had my first meeting with my coach today.  And I love her!  And why, might you ask, do I already know that I love her? Well, because she is someone who has successfully gone through this program!  And I love that, because she’ll understand the struggle for going through this diet.  Because, trust me, the struggle is real.  Very friggin real!  And she’s done it, which just helps with the motivation.

So, I headed to my new home away from home to meet Dr. Giorano at 7:15am in the morning.  For those who know me, I clearly must be committed to this program, because yeah, mornings and I do not get along at all!  But I was there, on time, and ready for my appointment.  I got a very warm welcome at Stability Health Center in South Lake Union. And not only is Dr. G. going to help me get my weight under control, but she’s going to help manage my diabetes with natropathic methods.  To say I’m excited by that is an understatement.  So today was blood work, tour of the building, meeting the team, and my first one on one with my coach.

We talked about how I got to this place, my support system, my goals, and all that fun stuff.  I did another weight in,  blech, but had to be done.  Coach Jill is awesome, and I love her energy, and I know she’s going to help me meet my goal of finally, once and for all, getting rid of this weight.  I’m not losing it, because I refuse to find it again  I’m getting rid of it.

Ciao for now,

M

I’m Baaaaaaack!

Life has righted itself, so back to Ideal Protein I go, and I go with fervor!  I’ve found a different health center and a new coach, and today was my first day.  And it was great because I got to pick my own food without having to go through the gross variety like last time.

This place is a lot more robust than the last health care center.  They give you all kinds of stats, including your metabolic age.  Evidently I’m at a metabolic age of 90!  90!!!!!  Yes, you read that right, I said friggin 90!  Well if that isn’t motivating, I don’t know what is!

So today, I had a vanilla pre made shake for breakfast, BBQ chips with a salad and celery for lunch, and a scrumptious chicken, mushroom, and asparagus stir fry for dinner.  I rounded it out with  chocolate coconut bar, um, can ya say yum?!?!  I only needed one cup of chicken broth, and so far the sugar withdrawal hasn’t been too bad.  I hope tomorrow is just as easy!

Looking forward to tracking my progress all the way to my goal of the ideal me!

Ciao for now,

M

We’re Getting Robbed, People!

So, I need to vent.  In finally being able to select my own foods, I decided to buy two weeks worth at once so I’d have some variety.  One of the easiest things for me to have for lunch are the pre-made shakes.  The vanilla one I really enjoy (and my coach suggested putting that in my coffee, which I hadn’t thought about, but yum!), so I chose that as one of my foods.  I wasn’t paying too close of attention, and got home to organize it and realized they only give you 6!  Friggin 6!  When you buy for  a week.  Last time I checked, a week had 7 days.  And the premade drinks are tastier, in my humble judgyness, than the mixes.

I emailed my coach and she said ‘Oh yeah, you only get 6 with the premade drinks.  But the mango one has 8 if you want to do that one.’  I do not want to do that one.  Blast!  GRRRR!

Second Week Check-in Was a HUGE Success!!

I was worried about my check-in this week, given the whole cheating extravaganza.  I was prepared to not see the scale move or anything, and was prepared to properly chastise myself about it, forgive myself for it, and move on.  But that is not what happened because I lost 4lbs last week!!!  WAHOO!!  My losses looked like this:

• Neck – lost 1″
• Chest – lost 2″ (that’s 3″ total loss in my chest!)
• Arm – lost .75″
• Waist – lost 2″
• Thigh – lost 2.5″
• Pounds – lost 4lbs (total of 7 lost in the first 10 days)

For whatever reason, my hips haven’t lost any inches yet, which is weird to me.  Hopefully next week, I’ll see the tape measure move.

I did get to choose my own food this time, though, and that was awesome!  I ended up buying two weeks worth, though, so that I have some variety.  I was really irritated when I found out that the premade drinks, which I really like, only come in 6packs when every other product has 7 packages to cover the whole week.  Sigh.  Oh well.

So, I chose, cuz I’m more of a savory girl:

• Salt & Vinegar Crisps
• BBQ Crisps
• Southwest Cheese Curls
• Rotini
• Lemon Wafers
• Vanilla premade drinks

That sounds like a tasty couple of weeks for me!  Proud of the progress I’ve made so far, and am very much looking forward to seeing everything keep shrinking in the weeks to come!

Holy Lemon-y Goodness, Batman!

Breakfast was delicioso this morning!  I am in heaven. Say it with me:  Lemon Wafers.  Did you see that ‘s’?  Yeah, cuz there’s two of them in the package and they are huge!  Light and airy wafers around lemony goodness, with a layer of chocolate on the bottom.  This one is a winner fo sho!  And what’s great is that, as light as it is, it’s really satisfying, and one package was more than enough and I’m not hungry at all!  This one is a keeper! Lemon Love!

 

Sweets to the Not-So-Sweet

I gotta say, in addition to the banana pudding disaster, one of the struggles of this first two weeks is that I don’t have a sweet tooth, and man a lot of these foods are super sweet.  Three in particular have been tough on me, as I truly don’t like sweet things like this.  However, if you’re going to do Ideal Protein, and you do love sweets, these will probably knock your socks off!

First up, the Caramel Crunch Bar.  This bad boy is suuuuper sweet.  Like hard caramel over a dense rice crispy treat.  Took everything I had to get this down, and I think it gave me a cavity.  Way too sweet for me.

 

Next up, the cookie dough bar.   This this is literally like eating raw cookie dough, which I don’t enjoy at all.
There are crunchy bits inside, kind of like crumbled oreo texture.  It hurt my teeth, it was so sweet.

Lastly, the double chocolate brownie.  Now, this bad boy was actually tasty.  Now and again, I do like a brownie,a nd this one is no joke!  Chocolate chips inside this softy, chewy gem was a great way to start the day today.  It was a bit to big for me,
but I’m guessing chocolate lovers will be snagging this box each week.  I enjoyed this, but wouldn’t want one more than once a week.

So, this not-so-sweet-toothed girl has been over sugared this week.  But you sugar babies out there, if you want to eat sweets on a diet, this diet is for you!