Wednesday continued and 10pcd concluded

OK,

 

Wednesday finished with a chicken veggie stir fry for lunch (still my favorite on the diet) and scallops for dinner.  Right now I’d say for ease and taste, day 1 and 2 are my staples, so I repeated day 1 on Thursday in preparation for the Comic Con. And then, it all broke down.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday I ended up not following the diet at all.  All 3 days were the same thing, roughly.  Starbucks coffee, sausage, egg, cheese breakfast sandwich.  Lunch was a roasted chicken sandwich (6 inches) and dinner was an Asian chicken salad from Trader Joes.  A little boring and probably no where near enough food, but there you have it.  Sunday ended on an interesting note.  I’ve done this show for 9 years, and Sunday night everybody gets together and has a celebratory dinner.  This year I went out with my buddy Gary and his 7 year old.  We ended up at Red Robin… hmmmmm.  I ordered a burger, but wrapped in lettuce, no bun.  I DIDN’T forego the fries.  And the next day I felt sooooooo bloated and slow.  I knew I was taking a chance eating that much starch after whittling down the carbs for the last 2 weeks, but WOW.  So, lesson learned.  Come Monday morning, I weighed myself in at 189.  I started this diet at 197.  So I’d call that a win!  Thanks Susan for letting us in on this beta test.  I hope we did right by you!

 

JD Green

Personal Training Supervisor   |    Stroum Jewish Community Center    |    206-388-1989

Learn more at www.SJCC.org

 

 

Last Few Days of the Sprint

Hello~

Overall, I really enjoyed this experiment. It made me think about everything I ate (and it also helped to write it down) I only lost about 3 pounds, but I plan on continuing much of this diet and incorporating parts of the Good Mood Diet. 

It was a bit more difficult than usual since the last two weeks I have worked more hours than normal, so the snacks before and after workouts and the timing of them was a bit difficult.

I substituted fish or a bigger salad with more veggies instead of meat and chicken. 

My daughter surprised me and came home this weekend, and I made the raspberry soy salmon with  a big salad and asparagus, and she loved it.

One of the biggest changes for me is to eat a big breakfast.... I like it and it definitely helps with the rest of my day. I especially liked the omelets.

I also do not find myself craving sweets which for me is huge!

I am wondering if going forward we can add back in more fruits and veggies?

Many thanks to Susan and JD for putting all of this together!!

Best to all,

Sandra

Sorry For slacking on my posts...

I have been MIA from my posts over the last week. Tomorrow will mark day 14 for me and I can't wait! I'm not a huge carb eater so that hasn't been a problem for me, but I am ready to choose my own foods and for the occasional piece of sugar free chocolate.
Last Monday I went to JD's class and on my way there started feeling super sick, I never actually started the workout but an hour later I was all shades of green! Yay Stomach flu, I lost 4.6lbs in a day! Gross! All I ate this day was 4 saltines and 2 cans of 7!up
Tuesday I was better but still not ready for normal foods. For breakfast I had 5 saltines and a sprite. For lunch a bowl of couscous, and dinner consisted of another bowl of couscous, a banana and half of a plain bagel. Half way through dinner I turned to my mom and said "I HATE CARBS!" (can you tell I haven't eaten processed carbs since September?)
Wednesday I was back to normal and followed day 12. I only did a short workout to a dance video on tv, but I was feeling better. I had gained back 1.5lbs post flu.
Thursday was good, I got back into bootcamp and it was nice being back. I found during the warm up cardio I was able to go without stopping the entire 5 minutes. It was an arm day and I did notice that my muscles were fatiguing a little prematurely, but that could have been aftermath of the flu. I gained a pound again, but I expected it so I felt good. I went out with my friend but was good and stuck to diet coke, I even went to dicks at 2am and watched my friend eat but waited till I got home before consuming 6 almonds and going to bed.
Friday I woke up feeling great! I got on the scale and was down 2lbs! This was huge for me because I have been stuck between 164 and 167 for the past 2 months! This broke my 20lb barrier and has me down 23lbs since September! Next goal is to break into the 150s! I had lessons all day and after work I had to house sit for Dana (pretty much take care of the dog) I took the dog for a 1/2mile run and then went to dinner with friends. We went to palamino and I was pretty much able to get exactly what was on my menu, I had tuna, broccolini, and a side salad. That Night I went out and it was my friends last night in town, so I gave in and had one jello shot with the group. I woke up the next morning and felt a bit guilty for taking it. It wasnt enough to do anything so it felt like a waste of calories, but at least I know for next time!
Saturday I woke up and took the dog for a run. I came home and made an omelet, but I knew i was not going to be keeping the diet well. Around 3 we went to Pike Place and I got fresh yellow tail and crab meat from one of the local stands. For dinner I had chicken and veggie stirfry from Gourmet Teriyaki.
Sunday was hard because I wasn't at my house and had to go straight to work but I took the dog for a run and then I got some plain yogurt and berries for breakfast. For lunch I went to whole foods and made a salad. Dinner was special because it was my brothers birthday, I gave in and had some brown rice and a little lemon meringue pie minus the crust.
Today I followed the diet pretty much to a tee. I had an omelet for breakfast then I went on a run with my mom, and then I had my protein shake. I had a greek salad from the grocery store and some deli turkey for lunch. For dinner I made chicken stirfry. And because I never got my yogurt in I had half an apple for dessert.
Tomorrow is my last day on the diet,but for now Im down about 4lbs. And feeling good but ready to eat my own choices. I like the idea of the omelet and the salads and i like many of the dinners but Im ready to mix and match and not be as rigid.

My day 14

I finished strong.  5 pounds and feeling great.  It was indeed a wonderful experiment and I will continue to incorporate it into my daily food program.  The rest of this month will involve travel (Las Vegas and Hawaii...poor me) so that will be interesting.  Lots of eating out and a few adult beverages.

Susan, the only day I can meet would be right after class on Wednesday.  JD, how about you?  Can you meet Wed. at 9:30ish?  I won't have my next client until 11 so I can be a little flexible.

Karla

Day 14 ends

An interesting 2 weeks for me. While the last 5 days have been very tough with a very sick daughter at home, and not knowing if we were going to the hospital or not, I found that I still never ate anything off the menu. I just didn't eat everything on the menu. And, I didn't exercise for the last 5 days, either. So now that I've come clean about that, everyone knows that life happens, even to me.

But I'm going to continue this experiment. I will choose my favorite days, and repeat them. I've lost some weight (3-4 pounds), look much better (at least to myself), and want to see if I can lose a little more fat. The diet may need slightly more carb if I'm going to ramp up my training, but otherwise I feel pretty good.

How about everyone else out there? 

And would you like to debrief sometime this week?

Susan

Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, FACN, CNS, FISSN

www.drskleiner.com

www.solixir.com

www.drskleiner.usana.com

High Performance Nutrition, LLC

7683 SE 27th Street, PMB 167

Mercer Island, WA 98040

p. 206.232.9138

f. 206.236.2188

susan@drskleiner.com

NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you have received this communication in error, please do not print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or otherwise use the information. Also, please indicate to the sender that you have received this communication in error, and delete the copy you received. Thank you.

Day 12

Thanks for the input Susan.  I, too, really feel the change.  My daughter noticed I looked lean.  After my last scale experience I was hesitant to get on the scale again.  Last Wednesday and Thursday were tough food days.  My stomach was out of whack and I didn't sleep well.  Lo and behold... today my period started (that explains the tummy upset) and when I weighed myself I have lost 5 pounds!  Amazing.

No I don't want to undo what I've done.  This has been a mental challenge for me as well as a physical challenge.  I have never really stuck to any kind of disciplined food program, ever.  I could have easily said to myself that I didn't really need to lose the weight and why bother.  I am hear to tell you, I feel great!  It's not just the five pounds.  It's the sense of accomplishment and discipline.  I have learned so much about what I need andthat  what I WANT isn't necessarily what I NEED.

I am looking forward to adding in some carbs.  I will pull out my copy of "The Good Mood Diet" and be smart about it. 

Finally, even Brian has had some success.  Even though he wasn't as adherent as I was, I can see a difference on him and his pants are fitting better.

Susan, thanks for all of you help with this and thank you JD for facilitating this.

heading toward the finish line?

Tomorrow is day 13 for me, so I'm in the "am I going to stop, change, or keep going?" mode. 

First, this isn't at all about a finish line. You know the saying: it's a journey, not a destination. As in, how healthy do you want to be?

Second, you can actually stay on this plan if you want to. You could pick your top 5 days, or so, and just rewind those. You don't have to repeat all the menus from all the days. That was to show you that this diet is not limiting in the choices (except to limit starches, of course). It's a fairly complete diet, and would be very healthy to follow for much longer than 2 weeks. Just make sure you are taking a good multivitamin-mineral supplement. If you'd like to know some brands, I can offer suggestions.

Having said that, if you'd like just a little change, like a couple of starch servings, add them in. You can see what 1 serving of bread/starch is by looking at the thumbnail outline of food groups that JD emailed out in the first few days. If you want to keep calories at 1600, then you can lower the fat a little to make room for the extra carbs. I suggest eliminating 3-4 fat servings and substitute 2 bread/starch servings. Leave the protein as is.

If you want to really switch things up but still continue to lose some weight, move to The Good Mood Diet. That is a 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, 30% fat plan, with about twice as much carbohydrate in the 1600 calorie plan as The Ten Pound Countdown, but you can choose your calorie level from 3 plans.

Weighing myself this evening, the 12th day, I've lost 3 pounds. But that's only part of it. I wish I had taken my circumference measurements and body fat percentage. My body looks like it shrunk all the way around. I am certain that I've had some positive changes in body composition. 

One of the differences that I think we're seeing in body weight on this diet, which is significantly different than most low carbohydrate diets, is that we get a little bit of a dehydrating effect the first 5 days when, because we exercise, we use up the stored glycogen and water (1:3 ratio) in our muscles. Without completely refueling the muscle, it doesn't completely rehydrate either, and we see that weight loss on the scale. That's a false weight loss. And then (and this is what's different from other low carb diets) because the diet is so rich in water-filled vegetables and I encouraged you all to drink plenty, the fluid weight loss disappears around day 7 or 8. Then you start to see the real weight loss from fat alone. What you don't see, again because we have just enough carbs to keep up some level of exercise, is the muscle gain. Yes, I think we're gaining muscle from enough calories and protein in the diet to support it. I know that is what I'm seeing on myself. If I was looking at a client instead of myself in the mirror, I would know that is what I'm seeing. 

So what's the take away? That's up to you. Continuing on this plan, with perhaps a couple of days, say the weekend, where you substitute a few starch servings for fun and refueling, might be the ideal solution. I think that's what I'm going to try as my experiment. I certainly want to give this more time. The results are really not that slow if it's all fat that I'm losing, and it's definitely steady.

Remember, on almost any other diet you lose muscle with the fat. I think we've beaten that problem. In fact, I'd bet on it if we had the instruments to measure it. And there is no better way to keep weight off for the long term than by hanging on to as much muscle as possible.

I must caution you not to just throw in the towel and go back to your old high carb diet. You will quickly reverse any gains (losses, really) that you've made here. Change slowly to maintain your results.

Susan

Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, FACN, CNS, FISSN

www.drskleiner.com

www.solixir.com

www.drskleiner.usana.com

High Performance Nutrition, LLC

7683 SE 27th Street, PMB 167

Mercer Island, WA 98040

p. 206.232.9138

f. 206.236.2188

susan@drskleiner.com

NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you have received this communication in error, please do not print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or otherwise use the information. Also, please indicate to the sender that you have received this communication in error, and delete the copy you received. Thank you.

Update

So, I've been about 90% with the diet.  Of course I've subbed some of the veggies.  I am pooped and my workouts this week were not as many as I would have liked.  Monday will be my last day and some advice about how much carbs to bring back into my diet and in what form would be helpful.  There is some info into green book (no, not Qaddafi's green book) but a few more specifics would be helpful. 

Overall, I feel great.  The positives are that I feel clean and that I've learned so much about amounts and interesting ways to put food on the table.  A big victory is that Brian is on board with the veggies.  Hurray!  The downside has been the running out of gas mid-workout and around day 7 REALLY wanting some bread/pasta!  I have even had food dreams.  Finally, in talking to people who are on the plan and to others who have asked about it, I feel that we all need to reboot out relationship with food and that from day one, everyone needs good information and an understanding that good food doesn't have to be that expensive.  Ok, I'll get off of my soapbox.

How about a debriefing meeting (over coffee and croissants!) to talk about making this available to the members?

Spaghetti Night

Oh boy!  I like spaghetti squash.  I like the parm option.  There isn't an amount listed but I'm sure it must be 1/2-1 cup.  Right? :0  Ok, I'll be good, just a tablespoon.

So here's my dilemma.  I feel lean and anti-inflamed.  I got on the scale after day 4 and lost about 1 lb.  I got on the scale today it looked like I was up 2.  What gives?  I'm not much of a numbers watcher but I was hoping for some fat loss.  To be honest, I am slightly discouraged.  Additionally, I am feeling the carb drag.  I'm going great guns during class and about 1/2 way through the cardio, I'm on fumes the rest of the way.  I am looking forward to a little carb boost for breakfast.  In the meantime, carry on all.  This has been an interesting ride and I have learned a great deal about my nutrition and by G-d, Brian has NEVER eaten so many veggies in his life!

K

MON, TUES, and Breakfast WED

OK, here’s my catching up post the week of the convention.

 

I’m kind of burning the candle at both ends getting things ready for the show, so this is the Readers Digest version:

 

Monday: Followed day 7 to the letter.  Felt good, still not feeling the lag of low carbs but all due to the fact I bought some vitargo and am using that to fuel my workouts.  When it’s done, I’m done.  I’ve been craving that red meat.  I have no nutritional schooling to back this up, but I do feel like I recover faster when I eat red meat.  I’ve not had to supplement Glutamine into my diet this past week and a half.  Yet I still feel fine.  I’m also quicker on the racquetball court.  Now I just need to get better at knowing what to do with the ball when I get to it.

 

Tuesday: followed day 8 BUT, I failed to find a thai place on MI that has lettuce wraps.  As I planned poorly I went to qdoba and got a chicken burrito with no rice, no sour cream, but avocado, chicken, black beans, and salsa.  Followed by Halibut and a big salad for dinner.  The snacks in between didn’t happen as I was still full from the burrito.  The halibut I found at QFC was really good looking, and as I used to run a few of those shops I’m kinda picky.  Again, regular workout.  Felt good.  Not sleeping a lot, but that’s probably more about the show.

 

Wednesday: Started with the frittata for breakfast… I’ll be keeping this one as an option AFTER the diet ends.  And we will see how the rest of the day goes. 

 

Will post tonight.

 

JD Green

Personal Training Supervisor   |    Stroum Jewish Community Center    |    206-388-1989

Learn more at www.SJCC.org

 

 

catching up to day 10

I'm no longer "calling audibles" on the diet, as JD says, and I am getting compliments about looking good. That's a great motivator, in addition to feeling pretty good. Although I think I'm beginning to notice the carb drain in my workouts, I also feel a little lighter on my feet. This is an interesting experiment for me. I don't ever feel a carb drain on The Good Mood Diet, since it has about twice as much carb in it. My next step will probably be to add back a little at a time and see where I can reach a balance. Also depends on the intensity of my exercise each day. Just thinking out loud (on the computer).

I have been regular with my exercise, except for this morning, when I stood up JD because I didn't remember to put the out-of-sync training day on my calendar. I guess my memory isn't improving. And with a sick husband and daughter at home, my attention is not on myself these days. SO SORRY JD!

I love reading the posts, and they will be very helpful as I tweak the program to be more user friendly, if necessary. Things can always be improved. And the posts reinforce the learning from doing the diet. Logging is the most powerful tool to change old habits into new ones.

Susan

Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, FACN, CNS, FISSN

www.drskleiner.com

www.solixir.com

www.drskleiner.usana.com

High Performance Nutrition, LLC

7683 SE 27th Street, PMB 167

Mercer Island, WA 98040

p. 206.232.9138

f. 206.236.2188

susan@drskleiner.com

NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you have received this communication in error, please do not print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or otherwise use the information. Also, please indicate to the sender that you have received this communication in error, and delete the copy you received. Thank you.

Days 5,6,7,8

This past weekend I went to Portland to visit my Mom so I didn't follow the program exactly.... I did try to make equal substitutions. Instead of the chicken and steak, I ate salmon patties with onions, and a big salad with veggies. I splurged on matzo ball soup and air popped popcorn.

Day 6, Sat., we ate out and I had 2 eggs and cottage cheese, coffee and skim milk. Lunch and dinner were similar to the plan, with shrimp salad and salmon for dinner, no chicken.

Exercise was not as much as I would have liked, long walks with the dog and errands and moving stuff around for Mom.  I was a little tired in the late afternoon. I think it was because I didn't sleep well and didn't have the exercise snacks.

Day 8~ back at home. Followed the plan, went swimming, had smoothie snack, felt good all day.

Take care.... Sandra

great article on planning and visualization

Check this out. We've got the planning part down. Now, just see yourself doing it!

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/217624.php

Susan

Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, FACN, CNS, FISSN

www.drskleiner.com

www.solixir.com

www.drskleiner.usana.com

High Performance Nutrition, LLC

7683 SE 27th Street, PMB 167

Mercer Island, WA 98040

p. 206.232.9138

f. 206.236.2188

susan@drskleiner.com

NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you have received this communication in error, please do not print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or otherwise use the information. Also, please indicate to the sender that you have received this communication in error, and delete the copy you received. Thank you.

Days 4-6

This weekend has been rather enlightening for me. Friday I pretty much stuck to the diet, I ate breakfast then lunch and then dinner. I didn't get a traditional workout in so I didnt have any snacks during the day. Friday night I went to a country bar with a group of my girl friends,but I was determined not to cheat knowing that I was not going to keep the diet on Saturday so I simply drank diet coke. I had a wonderful night filled with dancing and around 3am I was starving as were my friends so we went to the Night Kitchen downtown. Most of the menu was fried but they did have organic yogurt and granola. Realizing I had not had my snack that day I opted for yogurt minus the granola. The restaurant didnt have a fruit cup but after a very strange look and a long explanation of why my order was so strange the waiter took an orange and a grapefruit from the bar a sectioned it for me. I had a wonderful snack of organic yogurt with a little honey and grapefruit and orange wedges. I!
t felt good to eat that, especially after seeing my friends eat greasy grilled cheeses and over sized omelets.
Saturday I knew I wasn't going to keep to the diet, I went down to Portland with a friend to celebrate her birthday. I started out right and had my omelet for breakfast, but I put a little spin on it adding some avocado, asparagus,salmon,and a tiny bit of crumbled blue cheese. I had a skinny caramel machiatto on the drive down and when we got there we walked around. We soon found a whole foods so for lunch I made my own salad with a little tuna and a small cup of vegan split pea soup to warm me up. For dinner we went to a fancy restaurant and split tapas. Most of our choices were good and involved fresh fish and veggies. I did have a drink and a piece of bread, I also enjoyed an empanada and a bite of chocolate cake (Splurge!) As delicious as our food was I had the worst stomach ache afterwords. We continued our night by dancing and I enjoyed one more drink.
Sunday morning we woke up and I had 2 eggs and 2 strips of bacon and some fresh fruit for breakfast, I broke the diet again by having a small slice of bread and a mimosa. Once again my stomach was in knots. After walking around for a bit I realized I really have not eaten mass amounts of processed carbs in about 6 months. I also dont eat fried food so the empanadas the night before may be the culprit for my ill feels. I noticed that changing diets and "splurging" really made me feel 10 times worse than the food tasted good. I felt bloated and lethargic most of the day, I found myself dehydrated and craving healthy food. Being that breakfast was more like brunch I didnt eat again until 7:30, I wanted to use up what was left in the house so we had chicken breast over chard, mushroom,onion, and garlic with a side of baked asparagus and cucumbers with olive tapanad. I have to say I'm ready to get back on track and although I feel the diet has made me a bit moody and irritable, my!
body has felt good. I look forward to my workout with JD in the morning and a good nights rest tonight!
Katie

Kale Chips...who knew?

I must admit both Brian and I were a little skeptical of the kale chips.  Well, we were pleasantly surprised.  Very tasty.  I was a little too liberal with the salt, but I know for next time.  Maybe a little truffle oil?  That ok Susan?

I have some questiosn:  if I don't get any real exercise for the day (I always walk the dog 20 minutes or more 1-2 times a day)  do I still get the snacks.  Also, after dinner settles I find I am getting hungry.  What should I do?  Finally,  is putting a little slice of meyer lemon in my water/tea ok?

On to day seven!