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!

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