Week 2. Let's do this.

I was not really prepared, but still I had a good day! This shit is pretty easy!

I really wanted to go to Whole Foods for lunch, but it's far and crowded. Instead, I remembered that Sultan's Market has a great salad bar that costs half as much and is way closer. It totally did the trick!

--frittata leftovers from yesterday
--blood orange
--salad from Sultan's: lettuce, brussel sprouts, green beans, artichoke hearts, chicken, shrimp, capers, eggplant, parlsey, mushrooms. AWESOME!
--a nectarine
--ginger/miso marinated tofu with snow peas and about 3/4 c brown rice (This was actually also pretty awesome and took all of 15 minutes to make.)
--2 strawberries, a few spoons of tofu pudding, to taste, while I was making it.

I can't live without treats. Tonight I made a tofu mousse/pudding thing with tofu, agave, peanut butter, and cocoa. I tasted plenty of it while I was making it, so I didn't have a formal serving. I am excited to eat it tomorrow!

My partner (and non-blogger) in crime seems to have destroyed her liver, so she might be out.

Day 7. Week one: accomplished!

--frittata: a slightly new one, with zucchini, chard, and a hint (1 T) of cheese. This one isn't burnt, so it's way better.
--grapes
--tea with milk
--chinese chicken
--nonfat cottage cheese (1/2 c)
--cheddar cheese stick (not a large quantity)
--handful of almonds
--spoonful of hummus

I was babysitting and I turned down some yummy snack options and brought my own dinner. That said, I had about 3 butternut squash gnocchi since the baby was really enjoying it and I was jealous.

Other than the fact that I really miss chocolate, I don't feel all that deprived. All of this protein is keeping me pretty sated. I even read a long NYT article about modern medicine's "oopsie" of recommending low fat (and high carb) diets. Now everyone's fat and diabetic.

Day 6.

--tofu scramble with swiss chard, tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil. yummy. (legit)
--grapes (legit)
--pork tenderloin with tomatillo sauce (very legit)
--lemonade (verboten!)
--2 Tablespoons of corn (verboten!)
--1 cup brown rice (technically okay, but probably not as high fiber as it could have been)
--"cookies" with peanut butter, egg, 2 squirts of agave nectar and cocoa powder. (legit, but weird)

Not the most successful day, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

Day 5.

--Frittata (the usual)
--1 small blood orange
--salad from Chipotle, with lettuce, peppers, black beans, chicken, spicy salsa, tomato salsa, a tiny sprinkling of cheese (tiny!) and a little bit of guac. No dressing. Pretty good!
--a few slices of sopresata
--Thai food! Chicken with string beans, kind of spicy, with 1 cup of brown rice.
--grapes!

Going out to dinner with the boyfriend was concerning me. Where would we go? But luckily, he found me a Thai place that serves brown rice, and I was all set. I was served about 2 cups cooked, but I limited myself to about half that, keeping me well within my carb allotment for the day.

No more headache!

Day 4.

Day 4 was a true test of will. I'd finally bring myself and my diet to mingle with the public. How would it go?

The day started out normally with my standard breakfast fare. But to throw a wrench in my plans, I had a lunch meeting! Luckily a sugarbusters-friendly place was chosen and I was able to eat a pretty healthy salad with no offending ingredients. It also meant that I passed on any number of amazing sandwiches on delicious bread and that I turned down a pastry case full of some of my favorite items. Tough, but doable.

--piece of frittata (kale, zucchini, eggs)
--salad with greens, walnuts, and olive oil-based tuna salad
--1.5 kiwis
--a few pieces of sopressata
--turkey chili

I also went to the gym and did 15 (very hard) minutes on the stairmaster and 15 minutes on the treadmill of constant acceleration. I was wiped. But then, I had book club. I ate some turkey chili ahead of time so I wouldn't be desperate. Book club was full of delicious foods that I could not eat, but I stayed (relatively) strong. I was not even really hungry and I ate the following things:

--2 (generous) glasses of red wine (legit)
--a handful of sweet potato chips (legit, but slightly questionable)
--1 triscuit (technically legit, but I would personally like to avoid wheat)
--2 carrots sticks and a spoonful or two of hummus (totally kosher)
--1 slice of cheese (legit enough)
--salad with lettuce, kale, chickpeas, and artichoke hearts (green light, all the way)
--1 very, very small square of very dark swiss chocolate! (a slippery slope, but I amazingly limited it to one and I think it was dark enough that it was okay).

What a tough day, but I made it through!

What I did not eat:
--more chocolate
--pretzels
--snickers pie (!)
--delicious looking homemade pizza (!)

Also, the scale at the gym had no good news for me. But I swear my pants feel looser! What gives? Oh, and I did noticed one body area of mine that was getting smaller when I wish it wouldn't. Doh!

I also had more headaches, on and off during the day. They always seem to get worse at night.

Day 3.

Apparently fruit is to be eaten alone on this diet, which really burns my (low carb) toast. I often enjoy a piece of fruit with a meal (any meal! most meals!) and apparently I am going to have to temporarily quit this habit.

--piece of frittata (same one as yesterday)
--mineola orange
--more chinese chicken (including ~1/2c brown rice), salad (lettuce, radish, celery), kale chips (!)
--apple
--more celery and radishes with homemade hummus
--turkey chili with yogurt and cilantro

I also treated myself to a cup of black tea with skim milk. My headache is feeling a bit better today and I'm hoping my withdrawal symptoms should be behind me tomorrow.

Finally, in a moment of (restrained) weakness, I consumed approximately two big-ish spoonfuls of peanut butter and a small quantity (8 oz or less) of 1% milk. I pretended I was eating a cookie.

Day 2. I didn't go hungry!

Today was pretty easy. I had a decent breakfast and lunch, and even managed to go running after work! After running, I stretched a bit, and then started feeling really dizzy. I assumed it had to do with low blood sugar (see, that's how good I am at sugarbusters) so I quickly shoved a bunch of grapes in my mouth and that seemed to do the trick. Currently I feel pretty full.

This is what I ate:

--piece of frittata (eggs, kale, zucchini), nectarine
--more chinese chicken hot pot thing (about 1.5c, probably 1/2c of it was brown rice) --salad with peppers, radishes, carrots, celery
--two handfuls of grapes
--white turkey chili (about 2 cups), with a little yogurt (1/4 c) on top, sliced radishes, celery sticks
--a few spoonfuls of hummus, which I made myself!

In my first test of will, I turned down a spread of delicious looking pastries this morning. There is nothing I like more than a pastry first thing, but I stayed strong. It is only day 2, afterall.

I've had a moderately annoying headache for the past two days. I think it's too soon for sugar withdrawal, but who knows. Nothing else weird so far but I'll keep you posted.

I also read a lot about low carb tips and tricks this afternoon, (including making cauliflower "rice" and turning pecans into flour) but all I can think about is chocolate. And maybe cookies.

Day 1. It begins.

Today, I was not as prepared as I would have liked to be. Still, I endured.

--bell pepper strips, apple, peanut butter
--salad with mixed greens, walnuts, blue cheese, sundried tomatoes
--1 kiwi
--chinese chicken dish with brown rice, mushrooms, green beans (probably ate between 1/2 - 1 c brown rice)
--snack of sopressata, almonds

Had a minor headache, but that could be anything. Also forgot to weigh in, but I'll do that, in private, tomorrow.

I cooked and prepped a ton tonight, so I'm feeling optimistic for the week.

New Year, New Diet!

Okay, okay, I'm back. And this time, I have a new plan up my sleeve. It's February in Chicago so it's too cold for raw food, but I've been sleeping like crap and my pants are a bit too tight. To remedy, or experiment anyway, I've recruited mrmacbri to help me give SugarBusters a whirl. For those not familiar, here are the rules we'll be working with:

-No refined sugar (this includes honey, maple syrup, etc)
-No refined carbs (white flour, white rice)
-No corn, beets, white potatoes, parsnips
-Basically nothing with more than 3g of sugar in it, unless the sugar is from fruit
-Red wine is allowed, but no other beer/alcohol
-3 servings of fruit are allowed, but I'm going to try to keep it to 2
-3 (1/2 cup) servings of whole grains are allowed (again I'm trying to keep it to 2)

Also:

The question of dairy has been very confusing (most dairy products have more than 3g of sugar, due to lactose), but I'm going to eat it minimally, as I see fit.

Though whole wheat is allowed, I'm planning on going without, just because.

Co-conspirators always welcome. Otherwise, please keep me away from baked goods and send me some sugar free chocolate.

Onward!