Day 7...Plus the First Results are in!

Week 1 is officially over! Today was my long-awaited weigh-in and my "free day"! What an interesting week, too. I learned a few things and I am sure this is just the beginning of my learning process. I am so glad I decided to keep this blog while embarking on this challenge because it has helped me to see what is working and what isn't...

Ok, the big news first: I lost 4 lbs on my first week! I was so excited when I jumped on the scale this morning and saw the scale had moved that much, especially since I had not been as vigilant as I should have been with the very restrictive diet.

That brings me to my first lesson on this journey so far--I am scrapping the diet I used for the first week. I realized (with a little help from some friends) that I need to build a plan that is livable. Diets don't work because people make the mistake of utilizing a diet that is not sustainable for the long haul and therefore, don't make the necessary permanent changes that keeps the weight off. As I stated in a previous post--beans have never been a major staple in my diet and they are not a food I can comfortably eat every day for the rest of my life. That means that I am not making any long-lasting changes by sticking to this program, which also means that my chances of keeping the weight off are slim (pun intended).

Does anyone remember the Optifast diet Oprah went on in 1988? She wheeled out the little red wagon on her show filled with 67 pounds of fat--the amount she had lost on that diet plan. Well, she gained it all back for a variety of reasons, the primary reason being that the diet was not a sustainable one--it was not a program she could live on the rest of her life. That is one of the lessons I have taken with me after this week as well.

My new plan is going to be a modification of the old one. I am sticking with the slow carb, low fat idea but I am making some changes. After doing some research, I found a whole list of low GI (glycemic index) carb foods that I can eat and still lose weight. This will open a lot of food choices up for me which will hopefully allow me to stay on track better. I will probably have one or two days dedicated to the old plan, but the rest of the time will be with a wider variety of other food. I look forward to sharing some of those menus!


Yes, I went to Starbucks and had my coffee--delicious! After weighing myself today I had a hard time just going wild with my food choices. Since I was already indulging with my calorie-laden coffee, I had Special K fruit crisp. Has anyone tried them? I love them! They are available in strawberry or blueberry and two crisps are only 100 calories. To me they taste like a Pop Tart, but not quite as sugary. They just don't taste like a 100 calorie snack--they are too good! Lunch was the big no-no: french fries. They tasted so good, though!! Dinner was much more sensible. Since I had not had any fast food for a week, I treated myself to the Drive-thru Diet at Taco Bell. I had two of the freso chicken soft tacos and they were fabulous! Each one is only 170 calories, but it certainly tastes like more. I had tried the steak burrito (from the frecso menu) previously and was not very impressed, but the chicken soft tacos tonight were absolutely delicious. I am glad I gave the drive-thru menu another shot. They were so good that I plan on making them my new fast-food treat!

After drinking water all week, I also had my first Diet Coke this evening and I have to say I was surprised to find it wasn't as appetizing as I thought it would be. It did not taste as good as I thought it would (like the coffee and french fries did). I find this to be good news since I know that soda (especially diet) is not good for you anyway. I think I may be making my first permanent change--water instead of soda. That is not to say I will never drink another soda again, I just think I will try to make it a once-in-awhile treat.

I've noticed that this post is probably going to take a full page, so I am going to stop here. Suffice it to say it has been a good first week with some interesting discoveries. I think the "free day" is great for indulgences and for reviewing the week, so I will be keeping the free day. I think the free day is good to keep motivation fresh because I am definitely looking forward to getting going again tomorrow. I am so happy with my 4 lb weight loss and I want to keep losing!

Let's see what this next week brings!

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't -- you are right."

Day 6

Ok, one last day before weigh in and I am feeling the pressure to toe the line and not screw up. I don't want to weigh in and find that I haven't lost anything because then I know I will feel very defeated.

I did some more thorough reading on the web-site where I found my diet and it left me feeling somewhat unsettled. The list of comments is quite extensive and, while I did spend quite a bit of time reading many of the posts, I did not read all of them. I really wish I had even though it literally would have taken hours. It seems that quite a few women left posts wondering if this was a diet designed just for men as they were not losing any weight using this system. Honestly, I cannot understand why it would work for a man and not a woman and I could not find anything by way of an answer. I am thinking of modifying the plan I am currently on, but I won't decide for sure until after my "free day" tomorrow.

Speaking of...I am so excited tomorrow is "free day" and weigh-in! I am a little nervous because I don't know what the scale will read. I keep trying to remind myself that this is still Week 1 and not to expect much. Still, I can hardly wait...

Breakfast was simple--eggs. Yep, that was it! I wasn't very hungry and it was all I could stomach. Lunch turned out to be difficult. Without a long explanation, the only acceptable option available to me at the time was a small fruit-and-yogurt parfait. Not a bad choice, per se, but definitely not an option on this current plan I am on! Dinner was grilled chicken and sauteed spinach with garlic. It actually turned out to be quite tasty! Here's what I did:

Super-Easy Spinach Sautee:

• Olive oil Pam
• 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic (or more, depending on preference)
• 2 1/2 cups of fresh spinach leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon of water
• salt & pepper to taste
  

Spray a sautee pan or frying pan with the Pam and sautee garlic for 1 minute on medium heat. Add spinach and water and sautee until spinach begins to wilt (1-2 minutes). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Yum!

Beans did not make it into my diet again today. Another reason to re-think my current plan. I have discovered that, although I like beans just fine, I do not like them so well as to make them a part of my daily intake. As I have said before, this is just one of the many reasons I have this log--so I can look at what is working and what isn't.

Well, with "free day" being tomorrow, I have been thinking a lot about what I am going to eat. The plan I have been following says I can go wild, but I really hate that idea. I mean, it would be so easy to undo everything I have done for a week! One thing I do know for sure--I am hitting Starbucks! Brewing my own coffee has been fine and I haven't felt too much like I am missing out until today. I just really wanted a toffee nut mocha today! So tomorrow I am having it for sure!

I plan for tomorrow to also be a day of re-evaluating what has worked and what isn't. Tomorrow's post may be a long one, so everyone be forewarned!

One last note: in case you haven't already noticed, there is a new poll. Please take a moment to answer and, as always, please PLEASE leave a comment and/or any suggestions. And a big thank you to those who already have done so--keep 'em coming!

Until tomorrow.....

P.S. I am looking for a tasty lentil soup recipe. Anyone have a good one they can share?

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't -- you are right."

Day 5

Finally, a day off from work! My day didn't start off so well when I discovered that my e-mail account associated with my blog wasn't working. I sent an e-mail to Yahoo! asking what was going on and they are supposed to get back to me. I suspect someone may have reported one of my posts on one of their sites as spam, since I see all of my posts are gone as well. I did include a link to this blog so that people can see what I am doing here and I wonder if that is the reason. I am a little upset about that since I see flat out advertising done on their site regularly (in the comment section, no less). I see other people posting links to other sites, so I am confused. Hopefully, I am wrong about what is going on and I will find out soon.


With that off my chest, I can say today was not the most productive day. I guess I needed my rest! After sleeping in, I spent too much of my time trying to resolve whatever issue there is with my e-mail account, then I went searching for new recipes. I am already starting to really crave foods like potatoes and bread. I was going to have a ground turkey patty for lunch, but I really wanted it on a bun! The idea of eating just the turkey patty (sans bun) suddenly was so unappealing that I chose something else for lunch. From what I understand it is not at all unusual to start craving carbs after the first few days, so I am hoping this is temporary. I am really looking forward to my "free day" and find myself thinking about what I will eat on that day. Not a good sign this early in the game! So the recipe search is to find some new ideas to help keep me on track.

Another not-so-good sign: I went back to the web-site where I found this diet and found some posts by other women complaining that they did not lose any weight while on this program, despite strict compliance. A few of them complained of headaches, low energy and a being in a nasty mood. One woman gave up after 8 days because she only lost 2 lbs and couldn't handle the cravings, low energy and bad mood. She felt the weight loss was the result of just cutting out sugar anyway so she decided to craft her own plan. I am going to look a little further into what experiences other women have had and will post what I find tomorrow.


At any rate, breakfast was a chili omelette so I finally managed to fit the beans into my breakfast. Lunch was my left-overs from last night (chicken and vegetables in pesto sauce). Dinner was grilled fish and mixed vegetables (green beans, broccoli, and cauliflower). The fish was a great change of pace, too. Still not getting the quantity of beans that the diet calls for and I am beginning to have the dreaded thought that perhaps this wasn't the best choice for me in terms of a diet plan. Like I said before--not a good sign!!

I've noticed over the last few days that might water consumption has dropped so I know that I need to keep an eye on that for tomorrow. I am still drinking it, but I haven't had nearly as much as I did the first couple of days.

My husband was really sick today (maybe stomach flu?? I hope not and I hope I don't get it!) so did not get to the gym to re-sign. I am hoping to get there tomorrow since the work-outs have been sorely lacking. I have felt fairly confident that my activity level at work has been sufficient, I just feel like I am actually accomplishing something when I do a deliberate work out. If that makes sense at all...

Anyway, I am feeling a bit discouraged today. The fact that I am feeling this way so early in the challenge make me feel even more discouraged! I am trying to stay motivated and remind myself that "free day" is just 2 days away (so is weigh-in!!). Maybe I will look for some motivational articles, too.

So that was Day 5. Lots of time on the computer and trying to stave off cravings.

I'd like to hear from others who have experienced these same issues. How did you deal? What did you do to stay on track? Please leave a comment and let me know!

Until tomorrow...

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't -- you are right."