May 22: RFL Day 11 Check-In

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If you've been hanging in there for this entire little project, you may recall I began the  Rapid Fat Loss   plan in order to look a little better at my daughter's baptism, which is tomorrow.  So today, I did measurements, a weigh in and a before and after picture.

Unfortunately I just started my period, which had the world's longest build-up.  I'm positive it has skewed some of the results, like the weight and the waist measurement.  Here they are, for better or for worse.

Before                    After

Weight:       

185                 178     -7

Height:
5'8"                I didn't grow.


Bust:
41                  41


Waist:
32                  33      +1


Hips:
40                  38      -2 
 
 
 

The "before" picture is on the left.

So the results were great in a lot of ways. Who in the world loses 7 pounds in 11 days, especially when they have already been dieting. Also, I generally gain 3-4 pounds with my period, so I am very interested to see what happens when that is over.

I also became accustomed to the lower calorie and carb plan and I don't have issues with hunger any more.  Because everything is outlined for you, and it's very limited, the only room for error is measuring your food incorrectly or simply not following the instructions.

The cons: For a lot of people, a diet so restrictive would be very difficult.  If others in your house have tempting foods around, especially during the first few days, it would take incredible willpower to adhere to it. Constipation can be an issue. Fish oil, one of the recommended supplements, is gross and has an aftertaste, even the capsules.  It also makes you burp in a rather unladylike fashion.

None of the cons are sufficient to discourage me from this plan.  I want to lose weight badly enough that I don't care about the restrictions.  As long as it's not going to make me sick, I'll do what I need to do.  I'm also striving to be creative with the allowed ingredients.  I do the grocery shopping, so the stuff I buy for the kids for snacks or goodies are things that they like but I don't.  For constipation, I take an over-the-counter remedy.  Fish oil, well, yeah, it's nasty, but it isn't going to kill me.

So the million dollar question:  Am I going to stay on the plan now that I've met my self-imposed deadline?

RESOUNDINGLY, YES.

I still have 13 pounds to go  before arriving at my initial goal of 165.  At that point, I will see how I look, what size I wear, and whether or not I'm happy with the results, and go from there.  I plan to stay on RFL for 4 more weeks, at which point, wherever I am in weight, I'll take a diet break, as recommended in the book, and do some self-assessment.

If any of you have questions, I will attempt to answer them as well as possible, or at the very least, direct you to a link that contains the answer.  I said I wouldn't actually review the book until I have done the full plan, including maintenance, and I'm sticking to that.  But currently, I'm extremely impressed with the results I'm having, so, in a limited way, as far as I haven't completed the whole plan, I do recommend this book.

You can find more information about the plan, and whether or not it might be for you here.
Today's food:

For breakfast, I managed to choke down egg whites without the cheese. I filled the omelet with steamed broccoli and liberally used salt and pepper.  I wanted to keep my fat low because I was really craving beef today.

Lunch was less than exciting, just the last of the BBQ chicken I had made.

When you are really busy, the repetition doesn't matter as much, and we finished our Spring Cleaning today.  I didn't have the coleslaw with it today, but I forgot to take a picture, so pretend you can't see the coleslaw.

For supper I indulged my beef craving with a small serving of extra lean beef topped with mushrooms.  My daughter mooched nearly all of my cucumbers.

The serving of beef had to be fairly small because of the fat content.  That, of course, means my protein float had to be fairly large to get in all of the protein needed for the day.  I made it from diet root beer tonight.

Tomorrow is my first refeed, so I'll tell you all about it.  And what better day to have a refeed than the day of a party.  I may actually dream about DQ ice cream cake tonight!

Monday I'll post some low-carb recipes.

May 20: RFL Day 10

FINALLY............

I finally started my period.  I have been a miserable shrew for the past couple of weeks, thinking I was going to start any day.  At this rate, I'm only gonna have one good week a month, for crying out loud!

Tomorrow is the day before the baptism and reception.  So I will weigh in, measure and do a new photo so we can see what a week and a half of RFL has done for me.  Unfortunately I'm afraid my period will throw off the numbers. On the flip side of that, I found it interesting that my weight today stayed the same as yesterday.  Generally I am up 3-4 pounds. I'm very interested to see what happens to my weight once my period is over.

I had no appetite at all today. However, I got all the protein I needed, so that's the important part.

Breakfast was an egg white omelet with cheddar.  Note to self: thyme is not very good on omelets. Edible, but not quite good.

For lunch I thickened up yesterday's BBQ sauce with some more tomato paste.  I had chicken and my quickie coleslaw (directions below).

Supper was more chicken, and as I type this I'm having my usual yummy Orange Crush protein float.

I concocted a really quick easy way to make a side serving of coleslaw.

It's really good too - I will eat this when the diet is over.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coleslaw mix
1 tbsp cider vinegar
Mrs. Dash and salt to taste
1 packet of sweetener.

Put the vinegar, sweetener and spices into a Tupperware type container. Make sure the container is big enough that you'll be able to have room to shake all the ingredients to mix them.

Stir the dressing with a fork until well-mixed.
 
 
 

Add the coleslaw mix, put the lid on tightly and shake until it's well mixed.

And that's it - sort of a sweet and sour coleslaw.

How's that for easy?

May 20: RFL Day 9

Today was an experimental food day.  I had two hits and a very big miss.  It'll happen from time to time, I'm sure, even to Martha Stewart. 

I have a rant, but before my rant I want to share a little milestone:

I'M IN THE 170s NOW!!!

There is just something about dropping into another "decade" of weight that gives me a little rush.  It makes you feel like you are getting so much closer to your goal.  And let's not forget that I've been trying to get into the 170s since February.  Every month, I chased that elusive number, and finally I've caught it.

Warning:  Reader Discretion is strongly advised.  Profane language may offend sensitive readers.  The following content contains cranky attitude and bad words, but unfortunately, no adult situations are included.

Now for my rant, along the lines of "people suck".  This diet is not exactly "normal."  Because of how extreme it is, it's hard for people not to notice that I am eating in a particular way.  I don't even try to explain - I just say I'm cutting carbs for a little while and try to change the subject.  Some stubborn folks aren't willing to let it go however.   I am very very very tired of hearing the following comments, delivered singly by some and as a verbal collage by others.

1.)  You know, as soon as you start eating (***fill in the carbohydrate-loaded food the person is currently consuming***) again, all that weight will come right back.

2.)  Are you anorexic?

3.) When I want to lose weight I just push back from the table a little bit.

4.) Wouldn't you rather (***fill in the exercise***) so that you can eat anything you want?

5.)  I know a woman who followed a diet like that, lost a lot of weight, and then (***provide dire details of catastrophe that befell the unfortunate woman***).

6.) It's not healthy to be so obsessed with what you eat!

I have an entire plethora of sarcastic responses that I am too polite to voice to the naysayers.  But, just to get it off my chest, I'd like to share them here.

1.)   "Shut the f*** up and eat your donut."

2.)  *clutches stomach in convulsive uncontrollable laughter.  "Can you SEE?  I'm 179 pounds?  Do I LOOK anorexic to you?"

3.)  It's not very original, but "Bite me, b*tch" comes to mind.

4.) "Ummmmm....it takes more than a half hour of relaxed recumbent cycling to get rid of the load of fat I'm currently trying to dislodge.  Thanks for the great suggestion though.":

5.)  "Hmmmm.....well at least she died/ lost all four of her limbs/was abducted by aliens after she reached her goal weight."

6.)  "It's a lot more healthy than weighing over 200 pounds, jacka**."

In case you can't tell, I'm still PMSing, and perhaps will be  indefinitely, and I'm rather cranky.  Why do people think it's acceptable to make comments like this, if it's unacceptable for me to respond with whatever profanity pops into my head?  What if I clean it up and take out the swear words? No? 

Anyhow, moving on.....................................

Today's breakfast was NOT the breakfast of champions.  It was really difficult to choke down.  Egg whites with salsa and chili powder stirred in are really not good.  Not good at all.  This experiment was NOT a keeper.

Lunch was much better, thankfully.  I broiled a piece of chicken until it was deliciously browned.......I'd show you how beautifully it turned out but I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture.

Dinner was an RFL masterpiece.  I concocted a BBQ sauce and simmered chicken breasts in it all afternoon to create a version of pulled chicken.  I topped the chicken with jalapeno relish and mixed up a quick easy coleslaw as a side dish.

I have lots of leftovers for tomorrow.  I'm nearly done with the Spring Cleaning, thank goodness.  I hope to take the afternoon to sit on the porch swing and just read a book. (fingers crossed!)

May 19: RFL Day 8

I hereby proclaim cauliflower the new rice.

If you chop it finely and steam it lightly, leaving a little texture, it is somewhat reminiscent of rice in texture, and it absorbs the flavors of the seasonings well.  Instead of steaming it with water I splashed a tiny bit of chicken broth in the bowl. It got me through a big carb craving this afternoon.

Today was a big Spring Cleaning day, so I worked until I was just exhausted.  A friend was here helping so I served her a nice carby lunch, leftovers from my kid's dinner last night.  It smelled so darn good that I was dying for something carb-ish, so I tried this little cauliflower/rice trick for supper.  I managed to hold off the craving until then.

Breakfast was nothing unusual: an egg white omelet (shock!) with mushrooms and a sprinkle of cheddar.

For lunch I had a big bowl of steamed broccoli and some grilled chicken. I was pleased that I managed to eat that while I served a yummy soup with homemade tortilla strips to my guest and my little girl. I was a rock!

By supper time, the carb craving was getting to me.  I prepared the cauliflower as described above and mixed it with diced cooked chicken.  Dinner was on the run tonight, which is why it's featured in Tupperware.  I was babysitting for my friend's newborn and 18 month old. I got lots of cuddles.

And finally, when I got home around 11, I realized I was short on protein, so I am sipping a yummy Orange Crush protein float while I update my blog.

I'm not sure if I have posted instructions for this before.  If I'm repeating myself I'm sorry - half asleep!

Protein Float

1 can of diet soda of choice

(I've used red cream soda, Orange Crush, and root beer)

1 serving of vanilla protein powder

ice

Pour a third of the can of soda into a blender. 

Add the protein powder and blend well.

Add ice and process until crushed.

Add the rest of the can of soda and blend for 5 seconds.

Very refreshing low carb treat!  The nutritional info is only that of your scoop of protein powder.

May 18: Day 7 of RFL

five pounds.
six days.


oh, yeah!

The magic of RFL is kicking in.  This morning I got up to discover a total weight loss of five pounds.  I got off the scale and got back on.  Then I got off and made sure it was set correctly.  Yep.  It was true.  FIVE POUNDS!!!

This made me happy for more than the obvious reason.  It dropped me from Category 3 to Category 2, and it's always nice to drop down into a lower weight category.  It's like dropping a dress size.  The other cool thing is I actually get to eat more.  Because my body fat percentage is a bit lower now, I get more protein.  Chickens, beware.

So, what did I eat with my increased allowable intake?  Pretty much the same stuff in different formats.  I felt better today so I was a bit more creative.

For breakfast, big shock, an egg white omelet.  Today I flavored it with garlic, steamed asparagus, thyme and Parmesan cheese. Yummy!

Lunch, surprisingly enough, consisted of chicken breast.  However, I added a twist today.  I whipped up a dressing in the food processor from onion, spices, sweetener and cider vinegar.  I tossed it with some shredded cabbage mix and the thinly sliced chicken.  It was delicious, and I would eat this if I wasn't on this diet. (Of course, when not dieting this strictly, I would add some heart healthy olive oil.)

Supper was not very creative.  I had leftover roasted chicken breast and steamed cauliflower and broccoli sprinkled with my favorite stand-by, Mrs. Dash.

Remember how I've been scouring the city for diet Orange Crush?  Well, hallelujah, I found some and it made the yummiest protein float yet.  It does taste very much like Creamsicles.  I accidentally put too much ice in it so it was the consistency of sherbet.  I'm going to bed happy after downing this drink!

I won't lie to you.  A diet this restrictive is hard to stick to.  The results make it all worthwhile.  If you decide to try it out, take care to be creative with your food.  It will make all the difference in the world to your ability to stick with it and have superior results.  Your hunger will fade away after the first few days, but getting through those first few days, the hunger is intense.  Now I'm really not very hungry at all.  I'm mostly eating because it's time to eat.

I've gotten some feedback about losing weight this quickly being unhealthy and unlikely to stay off.  We'll look at these one issue at a time.

First of all, it is very restrictive.  It is stripped down to the essential nutrients.  Vitamin and mineral supplements are strongly recommended in the book and I religiously take every single one of them.  This is not a long term plan that is going to cause some type of malnutrition.  The longest I will be on it is six weeks, at which time I will take a full diet break, eating at maintenance calories.  I believe I've learned a lot about healthy eating habits and I'm confident that I will be able to return to those habits without a problem.  Further, being overweight takes a great toll on every system in the body.  The sooner I am at a healthy weight, the better the health I will enjoy.

Secondly, I don't expect to regain the weight.  I'm sure, once I am not this restricted, 4-5 pounds will come back on.  I'm not sweating that.  But again, I have spent the last 6 months developing the eating habits and exercise habits that I intend to stick with for the long term.  I have done a lot of work  to combat the emotional eating that made me heavy to start with.  As tough as it is to stick to this for 6 weeks, isn't it harder to stick with a more moderate diet for a year and a half?  I'm going to leave you with a link to an article regarding the pros and cons of rapid weight loss plans.  Check it out - it's very informative reading.

May 17: A Few RFL Tips

~  If you are a mom like me, making completely different meals for yourself and your family is probably not something you want to do.  It won't work for every meal, but for dinner, at least, I try to make something we can all enjoy and then just add a carby side dish for the other members of the family.  Tonight, we all had broiled chicken and steamed broccoli, but the kids had a baked potato and some ice cream for dessert.

~  Try to plan your free meals in a way that you can enjoy them with your family.  Make that the night you go out to dinner or make homemade pizza.

~  Make as much food ahead of time as possible.  Like any other diet, preparations is the key.  If you constantly have veggies prepped and ready to be steamed in the microwave, and there is always a cooked chicken breast or a carton of egg whites lurking in your fridge, you will never have to go through drive-thru in desperation.

~  Be creative with your food.  Make it taste good and this will go far easier. Make diet-friendly versions of familiar foods.

~ Avoid tempting situations when possible.  Obviously, you can't cloister yourself, but this diet is tough to stick to.  Don't accompany the family to a Chinese buffet and figure you are going to be happy with a chicken breast and some broccoli.  The sights and smells will do you in, if you're anything like me, anyway.

~  Get treats for your kids that you don't like.  For example, the only ice cream I don't like is mint chocolate and a particular brand of strawberry cheesecake ice cream.  Guess what is lurking in my freezer?  It sure isn't cookie dough ice cream!  I don't let my kids have chips or sweets very often, but on the occasion (like a sleepover) that they get to have that stuff in the house, those choices are also things I don't like - like the puffy cheesies instead of the crunchy ones.

I've lost almost as much in 6 days on this plan as I have since January 30.

So far, I'm very happy with it.  Before recommending it hands down, I want to finish the plan and go into the maintenance plan, but so far, I'd say it is definitely worth the money.

May 17: RFL Day 6

Chickens fear me.

If ever there was a book about serial killers of poultry, the first chapter - no - not just one chapter - the first half of the book - would be dedicated to me.

I even wreak carnage on the little help chicken eggs.

No fowl can stop me.

I am the Chicken Slayer.



As of yet, I'm not sick of chicken.  I've never really liked eggs, so those I will cheerfully leave behind when my RFL journey is complete.  But I will still eat chicken.

Remember my carbelicious free meal yesterday?

Well, later last night I experienced TEF.  The Thermogenic Effect of Food.  What that means, is that I was sweating like a pig  - I mean, perspiring in a most unladylike fashion.  I was beginning to think I had suddenly and immediately hit menopause at 41, but I asked a question on the RFL forum, and the sweating is a sign of TEF or in other words, burning calories like crazy.

So yippee for that.

When I got up this morning I honestly expected the scale to be up a few pounds - it warns you of that in the book.  I put on my bravest face, stepped on the scale, and was pleased to see my weight remained exactly where it had been the previous day.  This rocks.

I had been pretty concerned that it would be hard to get back on the plan after having some carbs.  I had some twinges of cravings last night - I was very hungry when I went to bed.  This morning I eyed my daughter's toast and cereal rather yearningly.  But it was nothing uncontrollable.  After I had my egg whites, I was fine.

This morning I returned to putting a sprinkle of cheese on my omelet and it was far tastier. I had a broccoli and cheese omelet this morning, nice and fluffy.

Lunch was on the run - I ate a half a peeled cucumber and some leftover Mexican chicken.

For supper I really mixed things up.  I had broiled chicken instead of Mexican chicken.  I also had a nice heaping serving of broccoli to round out the plate.

My daughter and I took a walk to two different corner stores to locate some diet root beer for a protein float.  It's so nice to have that bit of sweetness to end the day.  It really makes me feel as though I have nothing to crave.  I've been looking for some diet Orange Crush because I thing that protein float would be yummy - sort of like a Creamsicle.

I'm going to write a second RFL post tonight, with some tips to make it easier should any of you decide to try this diet out.

If you decide to try out the RFL plan please comment and let me know what you think of it.

May 16: RFL Day 5

I had a very happy surprise this morning. Despite raging PMS, I've lost 2 pounds since Wednesday! This makes me a very happy camper, and more determined to stick to the plan than ever.


Today has been testing, however. First of all, on a personal note, my dad, whom I've written about on here before, would have been 87 today. It was pretty emotional, since I was able to be with him last year on this day, in his hospital room in Memphis. However, I decided to do something to celebrate him as opposed to mourning him all day. I wrote 47 pages today and finished a writing project I've been working on for months. It was kind of a birthday present to him. He always told me I would be a writer so I know he would have been very proud of this.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

This morning I had the usual egg white omelet with mushrooms. However, I left off the cheese and could only choke down half of it. I will definitely not make that mistake again. I didn't take a picture, but it looked like this, minus the cheese.

When I got home from church I put a pot of Mexican chicken on the stove to simmer. This made for meals 2 and 3. This is the easiest, most delicious food ever, and can also be made in the crock pot.

And then all heck broke loose. My best friend, the one I have been babysitting for, called, crying and asking me to come over. Her sister's 44 year old husband had just collapsed from a heart attack with no warning at all. One minute he was alive and eating lunch, and the next minute he was gone.


Her husband's family was at her house visiting, so I hung out with the kids and his family while the two of them went to her sister's house. I was without my own food, and they had brought a feast. Luckily I hadn't had my off plan meal. They thought I was weird because I used a teaspoon to measure out what I ate. I had tiny servings of several things, but it would have been even more weird to pull out a camera and photograph it. So, I'll have to just give you a list, although that is far less fun than photos.

I had...................

1 tbsp coleslaw, 2 tbsp homemade mac and cheese, 1 tbsp corn, 1 strawberry, 1 Chips Ahoy cookie, and a thin sliver of cake with no icing.

(the meat was batter dipped chicken wings, so I skipped that and will have some more protein when I get home tonight)

TOTALS

cal: 352 carbs:47 fat: 15 protein: 8

My tummy hurts. I figure that will make it much easier to get right back on the plan tomorrow.

Day 5 was certainly eventful. Tomorrow I will be back with numerous and creative RFL foods.