BREAKFAST
Dairy-free yesterday felt clean and good. I'm going to try it again today. I am slightly addicted to cheese sticks and Fage yoghurt. My system could do with a break from the same old foods.
Amanda Brown from Fit Life has some great tips on flipping your training and eating upside-down. In her blog post entitled: 'Fitness Idiot. Some facts. How you can Jump on a faster highway to fat loss success', she suggests cutting dairy and sugar from your diet for 2 weeks, and eating only meat and green veggies. After 2 weeks you slowly add berried and dairy back into your diet. It's called Paleo Eating and is succinctly described by Charles Poliquin as this: "If it doesn’t fly in the air, swim in the sea, live in a field or is a green vegie then don’t eat it."
I'm intruigued. However, I have a fridge-full of 2% Fage Greek strained yoghurt, part-skim mozzarella string cheese, fresh organic berries, grapefruit and pink lady apples. I'm not one prone to waste food, so I'll get through my supplies and then possibly give Paleo Eating a whirl in Week 7.
Breakfast today was 4 boiled Organic Egg Whites with Coconut Aminos, Tabasco and Cayenne Pepper, (have I told you how much I love a bit of spice?).
That was the protein quotient. I then tried soaking some Steel Cut Oats overnight with Chia Seeds, Berries, Coconut and Unsweetened Almond Breeze. It turned out kind of watery without the strained Greek yoghurt I usually add. I wasn't sure whether to eat it hot or cold. I ended up microwaving the bowl for 3 minutes, wary of the nutrient-zapping potential of the old microwave. But a warm bowl of cereal on a minus-temps morning was just what the doctor ordered.
Speaking of the doctor, he is also ordering rest today. I feel exhausted. Today is supposed to be my Treat Meal day too. I'm a bit hesitant to rest on the exercise and eat extra calories and carbs all at once. Although Charles Poliquin at shredded.com.au suggests not training on your Cheat Meal day. We'll see what happens. It's experiment time. As scary as that is when I'm only just hovering slightly below my using minimum weight. I have 8 weeks to go though, so now is probably the best time experiment. There'll still be enough time to undo any damage done.
Amanda Brown from Fit Life has some great tips on flipping your training and eating upside-down. In her blog post entitled: 'Fitness Idiot. Some facts. How you can Jump on a faster highway to fat loss success', she suggests cutting dairy and sugar from your diet for 2 weeks, and eating only meat and green veggies. After 2 weeks you slowly add berried and dairy back into your diet. It's called Paleo Eating and is succinctly described by Charles Poliquin as this: "If it doesn’t fly in the air, swim in the sea, live in a field or is a green vegie then don’t eat it."
I'm intruigued. However, I have a fridge-full of 2% Fage Greek strained yoghurt, part-skim mozzarella string cheese, fresh organic berries, grapefruit and pink lady apples. I'm not one prone to waste food, so I'll get through my supplies and then possibly give Paleo Eating a whirl in Week 7.
Breakfast today was 4 boiled Organic Egg Whites with Coconut Aminos, Tabasco and Cayenne Pepper, (have I told you how much I love a bit of spice?).
That was the protein quotient. I then tried soaking some Steel Cut Oats overnight with Chia Seeds, Berries, Coconut and Unsweetened Almond Breeze. It turned out kind of watery without the strained Greek yoghurt I usually add. I wasn't sure whether to eat it hot or cold. I ended up microwaving the bowl for 3 minutes, wary of the nutrient-zapping potential of the old microwave. But a warm bowl of cereal on a minus-temps morning was just what the doctor ordered.
Speaking of the doctor, he is also ordering rest today. I feel exhausted. Today is supposed to be my Treat Meal day too. I'm a bit hesitant to rest on the exercise and eat extra calories and carbs all at once. Although Charles Poliquin at shredded.com.au suggests not training on your Cheat Meal day. We'll see what happens. It's experiment time. As scary as that is when I'm only just hovering slightly below my using minimum weight. I have 8 weeks to go though, so now is probably the best time experiment. There'll still be enough time to undo any damage done.
MORNING SNACK
2 Organic Vegan Choc-Coconut Cookies ....
Aaaah, sugar-free, gluten-free goodness.
I really need a chocolate boost today. I am done.
Aaaah, sugar-free, gluten-free goodness.
I really need a chocolate boost today. I am done.
.... and 1oz Boiled Chicken Breast with Mike Geary's Sugar-Free Chocolate Fudge ....
I make mine with a twist on Mike's recipe. I skip the stevia, dried fruit, protein powder and rice bran. I sweeten it with Peach Butter and a frozen Banana instead. I also double the oat bran quotient.
I may try making it next time with some gelatin for protein. I'm a total convert on this new secret protein source. And who doesn't love jelly?
I make mine with a twist on Mike's recipe. I skip the stevia, dried fruit, protein powder and rice bran. I sweeten it with Peach Butter and a frozen Banana instead. I also double the oat bran quotient.
I may try making it next time with some gelatin for protein. I'm a total convert on this new secret protein source. And who doesn't love jelly?
So tired. Seriously dragging my ass through today. I had a Green Tea to open my eyes ....
.... Then another half a cup right before the gym.
.... Then another half a cup right before the gym.
LUNCH
Organic Grass-Fed Beef Salad with Balsamic Dressing ....
.... and a piece of Coconut Lime Chia Slice.
AFTERNOON SNACK
Half a 2% Fage ....
(gotta get rid of all my dairy supplies now)
(gotta get rid of all my dairy supplies now)
.... half a Ruby Red Grapefruit ....
.... and 1/2 Tbs all natural Almond Butter.
I noticed something today. After missing a day and a half of dairy intake, when I ate my yoghurt I got a bit of a belly ache and it seemed to stimulate my appetite. It could be a coincidence, but I now can't wait to test out Paleo Eating in a week's time.
I noticed something today. After missing a day and a half of dairy intake, when I ate my yoghurt I got a bit of a belly ache and it seemed to stimulate my appetite. It could be a coincidence, but I now can't wait to test out Paleo Eating in a week's time.
AFTERNOON SNACK TWO:
At 5pm I ate 1oz Chicken Breast ....
.... and the other half of my Ruby Red Grapefruit.
.... plus 7 Raw Organic Almonds.
A WORD ON PLATE SIZES
Someone made a comment on my blog regarding my portion sizes being out of whack. What my photos probably don't illustrate properly is that I always serve my food on a small side plate, (the one shown in the top right), or a small bowl (left). The full-size dinner plate is shown below for size contrast.
I find if I use a smaller plate I can cram it full and feel as though I'm enjoying a huge meal whilst cutting my calories in half.
I find if I use a smaller plate I can cram it full and feel as though I'm enjoying a huge meal whilst cutting my calories in half.
TREAT MEAL
It's Treat Meal time. Woo-hoo!
As per Kat Eden's rules, I ate my protein first. It was 4oz of Italian Octopus Salad.
Yum.
As per Kat Eden's rules, I ate my protein first. It was 4oz of Italian Octopus Salad.
Yum.
Now for the treats. The Treat Meal rules state that I must serve everything I'm going to eat on a plate, sit at the table to eat, then once I leave the table the Treat Meal is over.
It's been a while since I ate a load of carbs, so I wasn't too sure how much to prepare. I tell you what though .... I learnt a few huge lessons tonight.
* My eyes are bigger than my stomach.
* I don't enjoy feeling full and carby.
* I miss the rainbow of colors in fruits and vegetables.
* I prefer toast to chocolate. (What!?!? This surprised me more than you can imagine).
* I should always use a small side plate to serve up Treat Meals. For some reason I decided to use a huge dinner plate this time. No idea why. (Well, perhaps refer to the first point above).
I served up a glass of 2% milk. I then cooked 2.5 slices of gluten-free 'Food For Life' China Black Rice toast and spread them with Coconut Butter and 100% Fruit Jam and Marmalade. I grabbed 24 gluten-free pretzels, 3 sugar-free Chocolate Fudge slices, 4 squares of high quality 75% Chocolate, and finally I baked some gluten-free sugar-free Pumpkin Sesame Cookies. (The recipe was adapted from ohsheglows.com). I left out the sugar, molasses and maple syrup, sweetening with 1 frozen banana and 1/4 cup of peach butter instead. I also replaced wheat flour with garbanzo flour and used 1 egg + 2 egg whites instead of a chia egg. I served up 3 of those on my treat platter.
It's been a while since I ate a load of carbs, so I wasn't too sure how much to prepare. I tell you what though .... I learnt a few huge lessons tonight.
* My eyes are bigger than my stomach.
* I don't enjoy feeling full and carby.
* I miss the rainbow of colors in fruits and vegetables.
* I prefer toast to chocolate. (What!?!? This surprised me more than you can imagine).
* I should always use a small side plate to serve up Treat Meals. For some reason I decided to use a huge dinner plate this time. No idea why. (Well, perhaps refer to the first point above).
I served up a glass of 2% milk. I then cooked 2.5 slices of gluten-free 'Food For Life' China Black Rice toast and spread them with Coconut Butter and 100% Fruit Jam and Marmalade. I grabbed 24 gluten-free pretzels, 3 sugar-free Chocolate Fudge slices, 4 squares of high quality 75% Chocolate, and finally I baked some gluten-free sugar-free Pumpkin Sesame Cookies. (The recipe was adapted from ohsheglows.com). I left out the sugar, molasses and maple syrup, sweetening with 1 frozen banana and 1/4 cup of peach butter instead. I also replaced wheat flour with garbanzo flour and used 1 egg + 2 egg whites instead of a chia egg. I served up 3 of those on my treat platter.
After only a few bites of everything I was full. I couldn't bear to leave that warm toast smeared with delicious toppings, so I polished those off, all the while conscious of overeating. I didn't overeat, but I definitely felt more full than I have in a long time. Next time I would only cook 1 piece of toast.
The cookies were so filling I could only manage 2. And the chocolate .... well, look what was left. I only had 1 Chocolate Fudge slice and 1 square of 75% Dark. Shock horror!
As for the pretzels .... meh. Not worth it. I ate about 10 and put them back in the pack.
There was a bit of tahini left in a jar, so I ate it with a spoon, (about 1 tsp). It tasted overly oily and wrong. Then I was done.
I ate all this at about 8pm. It's now 12:15pm and I am still full with a bit of indigestion. Man, how did I ever used to eat like this on a daily basis? Yuck.
Psychologically the Treat Meal worked a treat. I now can't wait to get back onto my healthy low-carb diet tomorrow. Let's hope it worked metabolically too. The scales will tell all on Sunday I'm sure.
P.S. I love the Treat Meal rules. Protein first forms a great filling base. Then having to stare at your whole plate of goodies while eating them is very confronting. If I'd simply followed traditional 'bingeing' habits and kept returning to the kitchen for a little more of this and a little more of that, I can see how the Treat Meal would transform into a Treat Evening with no end in sight. I would also have ingested far more than I did with these guidelines.
I'm a bit scared to add up my calories today. The Golden Rules were broken in order to treat myself, but I must remember this is all part of the speed-up-my-metabolism-and-burn-fat-plan.
The cookies were so filling I could only manage 2. And the chocolate .... well, look what was left. I only had 1 Chocolate Fudge slice and 1 square of 75% Dark. Shock horror!
As for the pretzels .... meh. Not worth it. I ate about 10 and put them back in the pack.
There was a bit of tahini left in a jar, so I ate it with a spoon, (about 1 tsp). It tasted overly oily and wrong. Then I was done.
I ate all this at about 8pm. It's now 12:15pm and I am still full with a bit of indigestion. Man, how did I ever used to eat like this on a daily basis? Yuck.
Psychologically the Treat Meal worked a treat. I now can't wait to get back onto my healthy low-carb diet tomorrow. Let's hope it worked metabolically too. The scales will tell all on Sunday I'm sure.
P.S. I love the Treat Meal rules. Protein first forms a great filling base. Then having to stare at your whole plate of goodies while eating them is very confronting. If I'd simply followed traditional 'bingeing' habits and kept returning to the kitchen for a little more of this and a little more of that, I can see how the Treat Meal would transform into a Treat Evening with no end in sight. I would also have ingested far more than I did with these guidelines.
I'm a bit scared to add up my calories today. The Golden Rules were broken in order to treat myself, but I must remember this is all part of the speed-up-my-metabolism-and-burn-fat-plan.
STATS
TOTAL CALORIES: 2144
CALORIE DEFICIT: 90
EXERCISE: Normal Pace Walk 35 mins + Elliptical 10 mins + Arm Weights 35 mins + Lunges 5 mins + Brisk Walk 80 mins.
CALORIE DEFICIT: 90
EXERCISE: Normal Pace Walk 35 mins + Elliptical 10 mins + Arm Weights 35 mins + Lunges 5 mins + Brisk Walk 80 mins.