Friday, February 19, 2010

Closing Out Diet #2

Winding down the Flat Belly Diet- one week to go. Despite my abyssmal failure at sticking with it properly- almost a whole week of not properly following the guidelines, plus the horror of Valentines night-on which I may well have consumed an entire week's allotment of calories in a single sitting-I like this diet in many ways! I plan to keep the diet book and cookbook because the recipes are tasty, easy, and low-calorie. For me, this will be a fallback plan when I need to lose a few pounds without feeling too terribly deprived and cranky.
Here is one of my favorite easy lunches that I'd like to share with you from the book:
Turkey Quesadilla: Spread 1 Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb Cheese wedge on one Thomas Whole Wheat Sahara Wrap(I actually used an Ezekiel tortilla). On half the wrap, place 2 oz. Applegate Frams antibiotic-free Honey Maple Turkey, 1/4 c. baby spinach leaves, 2T crumbled feta, and 10 sliced large black olives. Fold over and heat in toaster oven or nonstick pan over medium heat. Total calories:346

Here are the Vital Stats for the Flat Belly Diet(if there are any changes over the next week, I will edit this post!). And I want to clarify that my 5-point rating scale for these diets does not represent worst-> best, but rather least->most. In some cases it will reflect the former as well, but not necessarily :

My impression of the overall healthiness of this diet: 3(many of the recipes call for healthy ingredients- I especially appreciate that some call for specific brands that are organic, preservative-free, etc.), and I think limiting calories and portions is healthy in & of itself, but I am concerned that the diet has no limitations- white sugar is included in some of the recipes, for example. I think the reasoning behind this on the author's part leads right into...

Ease of Implementing: 3- I think the author wanted to make the diet attainable, and not such a far cry from one's ordinary eating that the dieter would feel deprived and give up after a few days. And I do believe that for many folks, the ease of implementing would be a 4. I shared my struggle with calorie-counting- I had NEVER done it before, and I was frustrated in trying to utilize recipes that do not include calorie counts or grab a muffin at a bakery, or figure out how to have my Deathcake & eat it too:)...however, if I had simply stuck with the recipes included, I would have been fully satisfied, and ease would have indeed risen to a 4. It was my resistance to sticking with it as closely as I should have that led to problems.

Cost of Implementing: 1- no more expensive than regular groceries- in fact, I daresay I spent less. When your portions are much smaller, it just naturally stretches your food budget! The initial cost of the 2 books sets you back a bit at the start, but you could check them out at your local library or purchase them used to cut down on or eliminate this factor.

Feeling of Deprivation: 2.5 On the days I was doing it right, I felt slightly hungry throughout the day. On some days when I ate dinner early, my tummy rumbled through the night. Suffice it to say I am not used to this:). But in terms of being deprived of foods I enjoy, not at all, because as I mentioned before, you can eat what you want, but you might just need to make it a smaller portion than what you are used to.

Energy Level: 4 I felt fine- really no better or worse than usual. Though I'll admit as I did in my last post that I took to an afternoon cup of coffee on some days to gather the energy to work out in the late afternoon/early evening. But I certainly do not attribute flagging afternoon energy to this diet.

Pounds lost: 3
So now we are at a grand total of 4 pounds lost between the 2 diets. I believe I would have lost more had I stuck with it better, and if I am lucky I'll be able to edit this post in a week and roll the number over from a 3 to a 4:)

Next Up: My older son Derek will be visiting from Feb. 26-March 3, so no diets allowed at that time! My next diet plan will be postponed until a few days after his departure instead of starting it immediately thereafter because I anticipate having some yummy leftovers still in the fridge after he leaves, and I don't want to set myself up for failure...or waste yummies. Anticipated start date for the next plan: March 8. I am both eagerly anticipating the results of this plan and at the same time dreading the work it will surely take to see said results. The plan? P90x. I have gathered my materials and will post in early March to let you know more!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

A Fall off the Diet Wagon

And I thought this Flat Belly Diet would be a piece of cake! Turns out it was...literally. 2 Cupcake Royale cupcakes and and an entire Deathcake to be exact. Cupcake Royale wouldn't even tell me how many calories I downed in that thing. And therein lies the problem I am having with this diet: I have never EVER in my entire 39 years of life counted calories. Never! If I cook a meal, I have no idea how many calories are in it, and if it isn't calculated in the cookbook or magazine, I am not ABOUT to make the supreme effort it would take to figure it out. Many restaurants and bakeries cannot tell you how many calories are in their dishes. And this diet relies upon calorie-counting. Sigh. So I fell off the wagon and landed with a thump, and just gave up entirely last week. And it saddens me, because between the detox diet and the beginning week of this one, I was 3 lbs. lighter on the scale. But now after my relapse, only 1- 2 max. I am determined to behave for the next 2 1/2 weeks, at which time I have scheduled a PLANNED "No-Diet-Allowed" week, because Derek is coming for a visit! And you better believe I'll be sharing at least one cupcake:) Hopefully I will not be back to where I started...or worse!
And in a strange juxtaposition, during this week of misbehavior, I have been spending long periods of time joyfully planning a vegan/raw food diet for the summer, when local produce is abundant. Two of the favorite sites I have discovered are the Pure 2 Raw site, a blog written by a set of twins who happen to be raw vegan bakers who are also exercise enthusiasts. They are running a V-day contest right now, and I would love to win some of their treats to try out! The other site is called G Living and has the most gorgeous photos of vegan & raw delights, accompanied by recipes. Although I must admit that at both sites what I am sooooo drawn to would be...ahem...the desserts.
So far today I am back on track- yummy black bean & avocado burger on a sprouted bun for lunch...and is it wrong that I am back to drinking coffee, especially to perk myself up when I am feeling to fatigued to work out? Whoops.