My Diet Consolidation Countdown

Friday 30th November 2012

This 11th week of my Dukan Diet has been harder for me than any other week, it's because I am so used to eating Proteins one day & Proteins & Vegetables the next, that it feels really odd being able to have PV every day bar one. It also feels really weird having any celebration meals when they feel wrong to me now. To make matters worse my OH is still on the Cruise Phase of the diet and so I am cooking for him each day and it's hard for me to think what to put with my meals on his P days that won't be, sort of, rubbing his nose in it.

So what have I done this week ... well Monday would have been a P day (and so it was for my OH) and to be honest I didn't change anything - I classed it as my one P day this week.
Tuesday, being PV day for both of us was fine but Wednesday I was struggling to think what to eat different. I had the same as my OH but for my main meal I added peppers, Spring onions, soy sauce to my Salmon. Although I didn't have a celebration meal, I did defrost & eat the eccles cake that has been sitting in my freezer for a few weeks trying to tempt me - it was delicious. Thursday was another PV day, so no problem, but today (Friday) I am struggling again. I really didn't fancy eggs for breakfast but decided on scrambled eggs rather than porridge so that I can have my oat bran later. Lunch was tough, I ended up making Simple Pancakes hoping they would be lovely, but I actually didn't like them much and ended up throwing them in the bin, maybe I made them a little to thick, they felt a bit heavy and stodgy. 

I did treat myself to 2 pieces of fudge after, to get rid of the taste in my mouth. I know fudge and Eccles Cakes aren't celebration meals but they are "naughties" that I've resisted for a long time.

I'm hoping after I do my food shopping at the weekend I will find this easier. It's weird because most people would be finding this easy but its just feels alien to me now to be eating "wrong" foods. Next Wednesday I'll be going for a meal with some friends so I shall be able to have a proper "celebration" meal then.

I have done some exercise this week, after my walk on Monday I also had a longer walk on Tuesday (in the pouring rain I might add) 1:09:54 covering 3.41 miles burning 239 calories. I should have gone out today, really, as the sky is blue and the sun is shining, very cold though, but, alas, I haven't. 

Hoping next week will get easier. :)

My Diet, Week 11 - Day 70 Reached my Dukan Goal Weight

************WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO************

 

It was all worth it. I really can't say how easy I have found this diet. I haven't been tempted by any wrong foods, other than birthday cake on my birthday. I feel better, I look better, I am happy. I do appreciate that I didn't have a massive amount to lose and anyone having more to lose than me may find it harder but please persevere, you will get there.

Monday 26th November 2012

Weight: 8st 12.75lbs

Weight Lost: 3lbs

Total Weight Lost: 1st 9.25lbs

Dukan Goal Weight: 8st 13lbs

Now although I have reached my Dukan Goal Weight, my own goal was to get to 8st 7lbs so I am still hoping to lose a little more. My OH has now lost 1st 6.75lbs and he looks much better for his weight loss too. He needs to lose another 2 stone and according to the Official Dukan Goal weight he should reach this by March 2013 (I shall keep you posted on his success).

I have managed a walk today it was for 40:32 minutes and covered 2.25 miles, burning roughly 159 calories.

Today's Planned Cruise (P) Menu (for my OH)

Breakfast: Vanilla Oat Bran Pancake with Goji Berries

Lunch: Crispy Ham (I didn't have this after all, really didn't fancy it)

Dinner: Roast Chicken Curry

Snack: Natural Yoghurt 

This menu may well stay the same for me today as well, we shall see.

The next phase of this diet is the Consolidation Phase and I do intend to start it but with a slight twist until I get to MY goal weight. I have lost 22lbs so (times 5) I need to be on this phase of the diet for 110 days. From now on I can eat anything that is allowed on the Attack & Cruise Phases, every day except one which has to be Protein Only. I can also have 2 celebration meals a week (which can be anything at all), so long as they have at least one day between them. Now this is where I am going to tweak it. I have decided to have only one celebration meal a week & possibly 2 Protein Only days a week until I get to the 8st 7lbs then I will follow it by the book. 

I am also still preparing the food for my OH, he would sway from the right foods if I didn't, so it shouldn't be hard for me to either add a bit extra to my meals or have exactly the same. My menu for this week, and the food I have in are for the Cruise Phase so I have no choice but to continue as I have been for at least this week, I'm not buying extra food just so I can add a "non Dukan friendly" food, but if someone offers me a piece of cake, a Bacardi & coke or a piece of chocolate I might, just might, say YES :)

Please keep reading my Blogs, go back and read earlier ones if you need a bit of inspiration or encouragement. I shall try to keep the "My Diet" blogs coming but they may be less often as I don't want to bore everyone when I'm trying to maintain my weight, however if I find it hard I will definitely Blog it.

My Diet - Day 67, 68 & 69

Well I finally got out for a walk today, the sun was shining and the wind had subsided - NO EXCUSES.

My walk was 2.55 miles burning 178 calories, I was out for 46:43 minutes, thought I'd better try to pick up a little of the time that I've missed this week.

Friday 23rd November 2012

Cruise Phase: Protein & Vegetable Day (PV)

Breakfast: Vanilla Oat Bran Porridge, Cup of green Tea

Lunch: Home Made Tomato Soup

Dinner: Beef Stir Fry

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Saturday 24th November 2012


Cruise Phase: Protein Only Day (P)

Breakfast: Oops didn't have any other than a cup of tea


Lunch: Thick Chicken Soup


Dinner: Mustard Salmon


Snack: Chocolate Mousse


As per usual lately, I have done no exercise today, I've been Christmas shopping instead, then when I got home I made the chicken soup,and in the afternoon I had my lovely sister over for a natter - always a good way to spend an afternoon.

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Sunday 25th November 2012


Cruise Phase: Protein & Vegetable Day (PV)

Breakfast: Dry Fried Egg, Chicken Slice, Cherry Tomatoes. Cup of Green Tea


Lunch/Snack: Chocolate Oat Bran Pancake with yoghurt

Dinner: Roast Chicken, Roasted Veg, Gravy



Although I post my weight loss every Monday, I actually weigh myself after every Protein only day and this morning was no exception. For the first time in years & years the scales showed 8 stone something. I am so happy and so close to my goal weight. Very very soon I shall be able to move onto the next phase of this Dukan Diet - the Consolidation Phase
& I shall be able to enjoy two celebration meals a week & will only need to have one Protein only day a week.


I am excited to be entering this phase of the diet very soon, however I still have to say I have had no difficulty keeping to this diet. I have not had any adverse effects at all.


I hope this blog, of how this diet is going, is helping some of you and inspired you to give it a go. TEN weeks ago I was wearing size 12 clothes (or size 10 but feeling a bit tight with tummy hanging over the waistband), I am now comfortably in size 10's and even they feel too big around my waist and thighs, so could well be into size 8 by now but I haven't bought anything in that size yet. I need to see if I'll definitely stay this size before I attempt to spend any money buying smaller clothes.

I know I'll not be taking "planned" exercise today - it's Sunday after all, but I'll probably get a little if I go shopping, or do housework etc. BUT football beckons this afternoon, so I shall be sitting glued to the box cheering my team on.

My Diet - Day 65 & 66

Wednesday 21st November 2012

Breakfast: Lemon Zest Oat Bran Pancake, natural yoghurt

Lunch: Left over Shepherds Pie

Dinner: Sticky Chicken Salad

Snack: Yoghurt

Horrible weather again today, so no walk. But I am very busy with work today so not sure I'll get time for any exercise.

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Thursday 22nd November 2012

Breakfast@ Scrambled Egg

Lunch: Chicken Tikka & Salad (was out for lunch and this was the best I could do)
             (my OH had Grilled Smoked Haddock)

Dinner: Asian Meatballs

It's hard to get a good picture when they're cooking in the pan, with all that steam coming off it. But they are yummy

Snack: Chocolate Oat Bran Muffins

I was out for lunch with my daughter today, we went to an Indian restaurant that was offering "Eat as much as you like for £5 " -we couldn't resist. I knew it would be hard as it's a Protein only day today, so I did my best and although I did have some vegetables it was shredded lettuce and tomatoes, chopped onion, cucumber & chilli. I also had a couple of thin onion rings which were in a thin coating of batter (my only real indulgence).

I didn't get out for a walk again today, I know ... I'm slacking with the exercise, but it's like a hurricane outside, I will try and do better tomorrow.

My Diet, Week 10 - Day 63, 64

Monday 19th November 2012

Well I'm pretty pleased this morning as the scales tell me I did lose weight last week in spite of my birthday cake indulgence, so the fight of the flab continues.

Weight: 9st 1.5lbs

Weight Lost: 1.25 lbs

Total Weight Loss: 1 stone 6.5lbs 


Breakfast: Soft Boiled Egg

Lunch: Creamy Tomato Soup

Dinner: Shepherds Pie

Snack: Chocolate Oat Bran Muffin

I had a walk with my son again this morning, I do wonder if I'd go out for a walk at all at the moment if it wasn't for him having to go to the railway station most days. The walk was 35:27 minutes covering 2.01 miles and burning 144 calorie.

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Tuesday 20th November 2012

Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Hard Boiled Eggs

Dinner: Roast Chicken Curry

Snack: Natural Yoghurt

Miserable weather today, so not sure I'll get a walk in, it's a shame as I have no work today so could have got in a long walk but I'm not getting soaked for it, may do Wii Fit instead.

****

Ok, so I didn't do any exercise with the Wii fit, I actually spent most of my day reading (James Herbert book I got for my birthday) - very rare I get to do that so I relished in it & I refuse to feel guilty about doing nothing more constructive. :)

Guest Blog - Concerning Onions

An interesting article I read concerning ...

ONIONS! 

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu...
Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser. She said that several years ago, many of her employees were coming down with the flu, and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:

Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmer's story...but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia, and, needless to say, I was very ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an empty jar, and place the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs...sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

This is the other note. Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu and is the very reason we shouldn't eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open.

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of mayonnaise. Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist.

Ed, who was our tour guide, is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe.

"It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the summer picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table, and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says that, when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the ONIONS, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.

He explained onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.. He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.

It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!). Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.

Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

My Diet - Day 61 & 62

Saturday 17th November 2012

Breakfast: Vanilla Oat Bran Porridge

Lunch: Roast Chicken & Vegetables, gravy

Dinner: Natural Yoghurt with added Vanilla Extract & Sweetener

Snack: Chocolate Mousse

I was going to make Shepherds Pie for dinner today, but I used all the mince up yesterday and haven't bought any more yet, so not sure what I'll have. (My OH also had a grilled turkey steak with dijon mustard before his roast chicken and later in the evening some scrambled Egg).

No walk today. I was working this morning and, sorry, I know I'm a football fanatic, but I had to watch the Arsenal/Spurs game on TV, then Liverpool were playing (won 3-0) so watched that on the internet and finally had to watch the Man Utd match in the hope of seeing them lose. Time has just run out today, so no walk :)

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Sunday 18th November 2012

Breakfast: Bacon (medallions) with scrambled Egg, Warm Drink

Lunch: Mustard Salmon

Dinner: Beef strips in gravy 

Snack: Chocolate Oat Bran Muffins

In the recipe for the Chocolate Oat Bran Muffins, it says to use Diet Mountain Dew, which is an American soda drink, I don't know what the equivilant is in the UK but I decided to use diet ginger-beer, and they tasted lovely.

No exercise as such today (nothing unusual there) just general walking around a garden centre & Tesco's.

Weigh-in day tomorrow, I am not expecting to have lost anything this week, as it was my birthday week and I did over-indulge on the birthday cake, but so long as I haven't put any weight back on I shall be happy.