Kelly and I are the same age, give or take 6 months, and lived similar lives. Both athletes through school, and both remaining active well into our 40’s, we were both experiencing the same thing.
Fat.
And with the week we were having, it’s no wonder!
I have few mirrors in my house, and the two I have I rarely use. One is in the bathroom over the sink. After my shower, it’s too steamed up to see anything. Besides, after drying off, I get dressed in my bedroom. The second mirror is in my bedroom, but after getting my clothes out of the closet, I close the door.
One day, after putting on a pair of my jeans, I made the mistake of looking in the mirror. Ladies and gentlemen, the muffin batter has overflowed the tin. Refusing to buy a larger size of pant, I bought a scale instead and decided that my avoidance of grocery shopping and cooking was going to be ignored no longer. I decided to suck it up and get back in the game.
Kelly had previously followed the South Beach Diet way of living, and I told her I had been looking into the week before I left. I thought I might try it. She found it to be successful when she was able to follow it, but it was more difficult when they were up at their farm in New York as the construction of their home there left her without a full kitchen. All she had was a microwave and hot plate.
We tried, in vain, to adhere to Dr. Agatston’s plan for the delicious, doctor-designed, foolproof weight loss plan while others and I were on vacation in Ocala.
We made an agreement to give it a go once all vacationers returned home.
I am home.
My new scale had me weighing in at 142. Yes, that is a four. My goal is 120. If I look close to death at 130, I will stop there. I do not know when I was last 120, but it sounds like a nice place to be. I mentioned my new “plan” to two friends. One is loosely following along with the SBD, the other comfortable with the Weight Watchers method. We decided to stick together.
The first phase of this plan has me giving up sugar, breads, pastas, potatoes, and fruits. Impossible. My pre diet breakfasts consisted of tea with two teaspoons of sugar, toast with butter and jelly; the same breakfast I ate almost every morning since I was five. I hardly ever eat lunch, and dinner was usually some kind of pasta dish. Snacks consisted of candies and cookies; Oreos and chocolate chip. Crackers, like saltines and Graham crackers. Already I was behind the curve.
Dr A wanted me to eat 5 times a day. I had no idea how I was going to do that, as it seemed like an extraordinary amount of food, especially compared to what I currently ate. With my decision to give it a go already made, and determined to go at least the two weeks of phase 1, I went grocery shopping. I “bring” a friend along, by calling her when I’m shopping. Our conversation makes it more bearable.
Eggs, low fat lunchmeats, olives, pickles, tomatoes, broccoli, V8, fat free this and sugar free that, olive and canola and sesame oils, I was armed and ready. I made omelets every morning and washed it down with tea and splenda, and vegetable juice. I packed low fat cheese sticks, celery and peanut butter, lunchmeat and pickles. I come home from work and grill tuna steaks, sirloin steaks and chicken breasts. Nowhere near the level of Bobby Flay, I persevered. Day one found me eating five times a day because I was HUNGRY. I ate when I was supposed to, and only what I was supposed to. I still had a mild craving for sugar, but tea with splenda did the trick. Day Two was better. I packed more and ate more or less every 3 hours.
I talked with friends who gave me pointers and tips. Sugar free chocolate pudding mixed into yogurt makes a sweet treat and meets the dairy requirement. Cheesecake flavored pudding mix (sugar free) mixed into yogurt and pumpkin mix simulates a nice slice of pumpkin cheesecake.
More advice; Add oil, spices and herbs to meats, chicken and tuna, then put in a baggie. Rub vigorously, then refrigerate until dinnertime then grill or bake.
Week one of Phase One is finished.
I’ve lost 3 lbs.
