Well, this blog has fast forwarded to Day 6 because, between Days 2-5, the stomach bug made a horrifying appearance in my house. I, myself, was personally, uh, occupied, with the bug from Days 4-5. Day 4, I didn’t manage to keep anything down, even water. I went off the diet temporarily on Day 5, because all I could keep down was diluted G2 gatorade (about 10 carbs from that beverage for the day) and about 15-18 triscuits. I also skipped the vitamins and supplements on Day 5 because I could not imagine trying to swallow anything as large as my fish oil pill or co-enzyme Q10 pill. I’m still a little skeeved out about it, so today, on Day 6, I’m going to take my vitamins and supplements this evening when I feel more settled. Breaking the Habit of Daily Weighing I am really into weighing myself daily – and the diet book says not to do it. I need to break the habit, because although it has been encouraging (as of Day 4 a.m., I was down 5.5 pounds), if the scale goes the other way, it might lead to discouragement and maybe some poor behavior on my part. Sidebar The interesting thing I learned, though, is that I didn’t lose a drop of weight after being sick and literally not consuming anything that "stuck with me" on Day 4. I weighed myself on Day 5 in the morning and was down to 223 pounds, but when I weighed myself this morning, back up to 226, which I attribute to thoroughly rehydrating myself on Day 5. Gross sickness aside, does this mean that by sticking to the diet I lose more weight than I would if I didn’t eat at all? Not that the latter is an option (I’m not the kind of girl that can go without), but just goes to show how effective the diet is and how terrible an idea it is to starve yourself. In any event, I am feeling much better today. I am not going to give myself heck about my carb intake yesterday – I was sick, it was minor, I needed electrolytes desperately, and there was no way I would keep down dairy or protein if I tried. My Resolve / Head Games I told my husband, last night, that I felt really good about this diet, and I thought I could lose a lot of weight on it. I really mean it. It worked immediately, and seems to still be working. I feel like I am in control right now, and that feels even better than my initial weight loss, because I’ve always said about myself and diets that "I have no willpower". I am realizing now that "willpower" may not be the issue, because… as India and Neris observed in their book (and I am very loosely paraphrasing), the first and most important issue is your perspective, i.e., you have to keep firm in your mind that you are not "suffering" on this diet, that you are not "denying" yourself, and focus on enjoying the delicious, fresh food in front of you and not bemoaning what you can’t have and would really enjoy. You’ve got to be firmly positive inside your own head. When dieting in the past, I’ve always obsessed about what I can’t have, and I’ve gotten overwhelmed and cheated, then completely fallen off the wagon and never looked back. Now, I am positive about what I’m doing and what I’m eating. I made some kick ass pork chops in a brandy-mushroom cream gravy the other night, with spicy sautéed spinach on the side, and as I ate it, I was like, "heck ya, I am not denying myself" and I really meant it. My daughter’s mac and cheese was appealing, and so was my husband’s side dish of plain white rice (see Cravings section, below), but I didn’t feel the desire to cheat, and it didn’t take much "willpower". It was an easy decision on my part, and by making it, I felt that I was doing something good for myself. Cravings I don’t have major cravings yet, although I have been lusting after… plain boiled white rice with butter and salt on it. Crazy, no? Maybe its because my stomach’s been off and that is about as bland as you can get. I foresee some difficulty in the future with bread, pasta, chocolate, etc., but I’m going to cross that bridge when I come to it. Number 2 1 cup of sautéed spinach is nature’s broom. It was some scary…stuff. I’m not sure what the deal is, but somehow, lightly sautéed spinach seems to work better for me than raw spinach. Maybe it is because sautéed spinach is more dense and compact than fresh, so you get more in 1 cup of sautéed than you do in even 2 cups of fresh (and I have a limit to how much of the fresh stuff I can eat in say, a salad). Also, I really enjoyed the sautéed spinach a lot more than the raw stuff (even dressed up). Recipes Porkchops with mushroom cream gravy: 4 1 inch thick, boneless pork chops Quick Brine (4 tbsp salt, 1tsp honey, 1 cup water, shake well and put in tupperware) Butter 8 oz mushrooms Splash of brandy or cognac 2/3 cup cream 1/3 cup chicken stock (gluten free) Brine porkchops for 2-4 hours, dry thoroughly. Brown porkchops in butter in frying pan over medium high heat. When browned on both sides, remove chops to plate and keep warm (don’t worry about cooking through). Add mushrooms to pan (don’t add salt) and brown thoroughly. Add splash of brandy and deglaze pan. Add cream and chicken stock. When mixture bubbles, turn heat down to medium, add pork chops, put lid on pan, and cook for about 5 minutes more or until chops are cooked through. Take off heat and allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes before consuming. Note: you probably won’t have to add salt because your pork chops will add plenty of salt to the party. Also, I’m not worried about the honey in the brine… not much actually gets in to the chops.) Sauteed spinach Butter 1 garlic clove, smashed ½ cup cream 1/8 tsp Crushed red pepper flake Fresh nutmeg, grated, to taste Salt and pepper to taste 3 cups raw baby spinach Cook garlic in butter medium saucepan over medium heat until it softens but does not turn brown. Add everything but the spinach to the pan, infusing the cream with the other flavors, heat to simmer slowly over medium low heat. Add spinach in 2 batches, waiting until first batch wilts before adding second batch. Fold cream over spinach mixture to help spinach wilt. When greens are vibrant green but softened, remove from heat and serve.
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