alright folks- here's the update you've all been waiting for. :)
so the 17 day diet week one has had some definite ups and definite downs. it hasn't been easy, but it hasn't been complete torture either. so far- i have lost 11 pounds! seems awesome, right? yes, except that the majority of the weight came off very early on in the diet- by wednesday of last week i had already lost 10, and was feeling great. since then though, it seems to have plateaued a bit. i knew a couple of things when that weight was initially just falling off: 1) my body was obviously in total shock because of the MUCH lower cal diet i was taking in. 2) my body was shedding a lot of water weight. and 3) while the weight was seeming to just fall off really fast, i knew that it would not continue to fall so rapidly or easily. what i didn't expect however, was to be completing my first week with only ONE additional pound gone since wednesday of last week. im not saying the diet doesn't work, and im not saying this little plateau will last forever. i AM saying though, that it might be time to kick it up a notch and get my ass in gear. i have always and im sure will always HATE working out, so it's quite sad for me to admit that this is obviously my next step to continue my weight loss adventure. this doesn't surprise me, and i want to say that i do not plan to go crazy and push myself further than necessary in the whole work out department. ive done that before and always just end up quitting. so this week my plan is to move more- be more active- and try to burn some more calories. the weather man is calling for a gorgeous week so i don't see why taking brisk evening walks would be a problem.
now- for those of you who have emailed or texted saying that you're totally planning to start this diet, i wanted to enlighten you with a few great finds that have pretty much saved my life this past week... as you read in my blog last monday, i was quite annoyed about having to eat a dressing-less salad. let me be clear- on the diet you ARE allowed to eat fat free dressings, but when i tried them, i nearly gagged and thought they were disgusting. i tried a few and gave up, which is why i sat eating my dressing-less salad in complete misery. to fix this, i started making homemade tazhiki sauce. (the greek cucumber sauce most commonly found on gyros and things of that nature). this sauce has doubled as a great salad dressing, and dip for my fresh veggies while snacking. here's how i made the sauce:
ingredients:
2 cucumbers, peeled, chopped and food processed
the juice from 1/2 lemon
16 oz of low fat plain greek yogurt (i use cabot)
3 gloves of garlic
1 TBSP of chopped fresh dill
a tiny touch of extra virgin olive oil
and salt and pepper to taste
directions:
my food processor is quite small, so i had to alter the method just a bit but really is totally easy. you basically peel and chop the cucumbers into 4th and mix in the processor. from there, you're supposed to add the remaining ingredients to the processor and mix it until smooth. since my processor is so small, i just have the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl/tupperware and add the cucumbers to the mixture. if you're using the bowl because your processor is small too, at this point you just need to mix, mix, mix. stirring a lot will help the yogurt (which is usually pretty clumped) to become more liquid-like and creates the sauce. then you refrigerate for at least one hour and you're done. very simple. and very delicious. and very healthy!
a few other helpful hints ive learned along the way:
1) go to your grocery (and walmart will probably not work- something like kroger or publix) and go to the yogurt section. look for a bottle of lifestyle kebir in that section and get as many as you can. LOL! ive leaned quite heavily on this kebir to get me through many times. i love the strawberry flavor! when making the smoothie all you have to do is this:
mix 1 cup of strawberry kebir, 1 cup of ice, 1 cup of frozen strawberries (or any berry for that matter) and 2-3 truvia's depending on how sweet you like your smoothie. blend well until it's all thick and creamy and delish. this shake kicks ass! not only does it feel like you're really treating yourself to something awesome, it fills you up and holds you over AND it knocks out one of your fruits and probiotics for the day. since i don't typically love yogurt, this is awesome! try it 17 day diet peeps! you wont regret it!
2) it's important to eat things that actually taste good because otherwise ill go nuts! so i came up with this chicken recipe i wanted to share. it is totally delicious and easy easy easy to make!
all you have to do is this:
chop and saute 1 onion in 1 TBSP of EVOO until cooked
add 1 large (or 2 small) cloves of crushed garlic and saute just until you smell the garlic cooking
add sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts
add salt/pepper/basil/juice from 1/2 lemon
continue saute-ing until the chicken is cooked through
add a handful of fresh broccoli and then the juice from the other half of the lemon
stir until the broccoli is softened and coated in the little sauce that's been created
and of course.... enjoy!
this dinner is so delicious and SO healthy!
3) it's so important to plan, plan, plan if you want to have diet success with this! i feel like i spend so much time with my food. :) washing it, chopping the fresh veggies, packing lunches and snacks and planning for dinners can become exhausting, but it's a total must if you're working out of your house and want to succeed.
4) the hardest time of day for me is in the evenings. i work really late and am typically not getting home until at least 6:45 or sometimes 7, and by then im so hungry i could happily eat my right arm off just to get the hunger pains to go away. ive tried spreading my snacks out to hold me over through that late afternoon/early evening hour, but it's difficult. i come home on a total mission to eat, and once thats done i am able to talk to/hear my eric. lol. not a second sooner though. :) SO- my suggestion would be to not let yourself get super hungry if it's at all possible. and if (like me) you know that, that's just the situation, i would say to try and have your dinner all worked out so it's totally easy to throw together once you arrive home.
5) it's easiest for me to drink my 3 cups of green tea in between my meals. so i typically have one mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and after dinner. the green tea can be a drag sometimes, but i think it's good for curbing my appetite and holding me over to the next meal.
now that ive kinda got the hang of this ive pretty much got a little routine down:
-i start my day with my warm glass of lemon water (ugh- this is disgusting!)
-then i have my smoothie (mm)
-about 2-2.5 hours after my smoothie i have a cup of green tea
-about 2 hours after green tea i have my lunch: typically fresh veggies dipped in tazhiki sauce and a pretty plain- pre-cooked piece of boneless/skinless chicken breast. (i boil it in the evenings for 30 minutes (because it's frozen when i start to boil it) with salt/pepper/onion powder to season. then i refrigerate it so it's chilled the following day.) that might sound bland and boring (probably because it is) but on this diet, it's been a saving grace because it's edible and i actually enjoy eating it.
-about 3-3.5 hours after lunch i have a piece of fruit and another cup of green tea
-about an hour or an hour and a half after that snack (i try to push it as long as possible so i can make it home without my stomach eating itself) i have my activia yogurt
-as soon as i get home and can get the food cooked i eat my dinner. last week i tried turkey meatloaf and that pretty much was lame. but the chicken recipe i mentioned above is delish and super easy! i typically eat whatever lean meat im having with a side of fresh salad with tazhiki sauce.
-an hour or two after dinner i have another cup of green tea and that is it! my whole day!
-oh yeah! and in between all of that im chugging water like it's my J.O.B. that in and of itself is exhausting!
SO i hope my first update has helped those of you who are planning to start (and several of you have mentioned it, so message me or something when you do and ill totally help if i can!). say a prayer for me during this next week as i try to get out there more, and work out some. i dont want to get discouraged, and i KNOW that it's the answer to continuing this weight loss adventure. maybe next week at this time, ill be positing that ive lost another 5 pounds!
in other news- its valentines day friends. i hope you feel the love from whoever you've got in your life that's special. be blessed, and as always- be thankful!
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