I wish I’d taken a picture of tonight’s dinner … it was so pretty, but alas, I did not. For me it’s all about eating my food not photographing it. But, I’ll try to do better.
Do I have an excuse for being 25 pounds overweight? Sure, I’ve got a million of ’em … but that’s not what I want to talk about. I will say, I eat well … plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, grass-fed meats … my problem is I love the food way tooooooo much. I love everything there is about food – from planning the meals and making a shopping list to cleaning up after it’s all over. I also love bad food – chips, cookies, chocolate, etc. I have not managed food well since I became an adult and independent and in the past, my metabolism has kept up with my lack of portion control. I’ll admit it. I’ve tried diets, changing my lifestyle, choosing this or that and just as Dr. Phil is known to ask … ‘how’s it working for you?’ I’ve had to face that it is not and has not. Will this work? According to his book, it’s up to me. I will admit that’s one thing I’ve never really took the time to face my own self.
Now, perhaps you don’t like Dr. Phil or believe anything he says or does, but his book makes sense to me. Answering the little questions throughout the book has made me face some questions I’ve avoided even asking – let alone answering – my whole adult life. I began this new journey on Tuesday – the book arrived on Monday though I’d already downloaded the app and reviewed the meal plan. Honestly, I found it rather lacking in foods I love – but I was ready to give it a shot. I liked that the app didn’t want me to count my calories, fat, carbs, etc. but I had to prepare myself to look long and hard at some of the foods. Like where’s the cheese??? And, grains??? And pasta??? And potatoes??? OK, Doc … I’m all yours and I’m listening. Let’s do this.
So, here I am on the last day of phase one … I won’t pretend it was easy, it was not and I haven’t exercised … yeah, remember me? the one with the sore feet (see previous posts about plantar fasciitis!) so exercise is something I need to do and I will find a way that doesn’t use my feet …
But, I’d like to get my portion sizes under control and folks … I’m here. After nearly five days on phase one I have lost four pounds and four inches. Already my pants that fit ‘a little too soon’ are comfortable for a whole day. That’s new and I like it.
Back to the recommended food … I already eat the majority of the food on phase one plus other foods so it wasn’t a big deal for me. Where I struggle is not eating between meals and after dinner … the first couple of days were rough as I’m used to grabbing whatever whenever … I always think about food and that’s changed. Drinking green tea may be helping, too, because when I get a craving when I have no business being hungry, drinking a cup of tea keeps my hands busy and before I know it an hour or two has passed. In the book I read that if I do get hungry to just eat something from the phase I’m in … I had to do that a couple of times when I wasn’t able to ignore my gurgling stomach noises. A quarter cup of raw almonds and quarter cup of raisins did the trick.
If you’re waiting for my opinion on the suggested menu here it is:
Breakfast:
Re: Apple Walnut Parfait … awesome! Need I say more? Oh, I should mention I eat plain Greek yogurt and with some homemade vanilla – the store-bought stuff is too sweet for me, so I added a little matcha green tea powder.
Re: Spinach Scramble … the picture shows a tomato … the recipe does not, but I added some anyway. I miss cheese in this, but it was edible.
Re: Smoothies … whey powder is not available in my local stores so I ordered some from Amazon … it’ll be here Tuesday.
Re: Breakfast Salad … OK, I’m a little leery to try this one … it doesn’t even sound good to me. I may suck it up and try it … stay tuned.
Lunch/Dinner:
First, I noticed tofu on phase two … I hate tofu and question the quality of the currently available genetically modified tofu … personally it’s not worth to me … but I’m thinking chicken would be a good substitution.
Re: Greens Over Almond Cod … cooked spinach – something I have never like – at least not alone and unless it has bacon in it. I added a wee bit of freshly grated nutmeg on the spinach with some salt and pepper – worked well for me. This was yummy though I prefer my fish lightly sauteed and I did try it Dr. Phil’s way but I didn’t enjoy it. The next time I made it, I baked it his way, but crisped it up a bit in a hot cast iron pan sprayed with cooking spray. Now it’s one of my favorites.
Re: the egg salad on Rye Crisp … way better than I expected however I couldn’t find any rye crisp or any rye cracker and ended up buying some on Amazon – good thing I like RyeKrisp because I had to buy a case. While I love mayo, I didn’t really miss it.
Re: Cod Cakes … not a big fan … they didn’t hold together well at all and when I flipped them, as directed, I ended up with cod cake hash. It wasn’t good and it wasn’t pretty. Flavor wasn’t absolutely awful, but I didn’t make it again.
Re: Chilled Cod Salad … I enjoyed this, but I like the egg salad, so I wasn’t surprised.
Re: Lentil Walnut Salad … having this tonight … stay tuned
Tomorrow, Sunday, is the first day of Phase Two and I’m looking forward to adding more foods and continued weight loss … I’m in control now … so if I’m ever asked, “How’s it workin’ for you?” I can say … it’s working just fine, thank you very much.
Things I don’t like would include …
- Having to sign into the app on my phone every time … everything logs me in automatically … no option for that.
- Pictures that look different – like they have additional ingredients – than the recipe – for example the Lentil Walnut Salad looks like white beans and not lentils … big taste/texture difference – maybe it’s no biggie in the nutrient department … who knows?
- It irritates me when after I log in the recipe database cannot be found. Not sure if it is me or them. Closing the app and reopening has worked fine so far, but I have to log in again … 😦
So, there you have it … my thoughts on the whole ‘new me’ thing. Oh, I should mention and my husband and I went out for dinner and while I couldn’t do exactly what I needed to, I did manage to order grilled salmon and broccoli, no butter. I even brought some salmon home and that NEVER happens. So, no indigestion. No regrets. I did it!
SimplyWyse 