Work Your Plan

In the last couple of days I've made some changes in my plan of attack. I can't do South Beach anymore. I was cheating every day, but I wasn't really "cheating". I didn't cheat nutritionally: I had pita chips, a peach smoothie, and some light vanilla soy milk, and 2 glasses of wine. However, that is cheating when you are on South Beach P1. Imagine the confusion!

At first I was beating myself up for not being able to stick with it for 2 weeks. But I need to stop being so hard on myself and focus on the bigger picture: leading a healthier lifestyle. So I decided to go back to Weight Watchers which I know works I just have to be diligent enough to record everything.

I am also going to incorporate some of the principles of The Ab Diet. Before you balk at the title let me assure you that this book is full of valuable information for losing weight the right way. It communicates universal weight loss / nutrition principles in a very accessible, convincing, even inspiring way. Some of the principles include:

1. Eating 6 meals a day to keep your metabolism going
2. High protein, low fat, low carb - emphasizing on nutritional foods such as oatmeal, nuts, spinach, low fat dairy
3. Strength training

Here is an interesting snippet about how certain habits can promote or deter obesity:

"Almost as important as what you eat is when you eat. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts analyzed the eating habits of 100 men and women and found connections between the way people eat and the risk of becoming overweight

• Eating at least one midday snack (-39%)
• Eating dinner as your biggest meal (+6%)
• Waiting more than three hours after waking up to eat breakfast (+43%)
• Eating more than a third of your meals in restaurants (+69%)
• Going to bed hungry (3 or more hours after your last snack or meal (+101%)
• Eating breakfast away from home (+137%)
• Not eating breakfast (+450 %)"

I always knew eating breakfast was important but wow! Those on the journey with me take another look at your eating habits and see if you can make a small change this week and let me know how you feel!

You may also have noticed that I haven't weighed in yet...I decided to skip this week's weigh in because I was sick so look forwards to the new numbers on Monday.

This week I will leave you with some fabulous smoothie recipes:

Blueberry Vanilla: 1/2 c unsweetened frozen blue berries, 1/2 scoop vanilla soy protein powder, 1 cup light vanilla soy milk, dash of vanilla extract, packet of equal sweetener.

Carrot Mango: 1/2 cup all natural carrot juice (expensive but worth it), 1 cup frozen unsweetened mangoes, 1 cup vanilla soy milk

I found the Carrot Mango recipe in an issue of Natural Health Magazine. The recipe is supposed to give you energy in the morning and I can attest to that! I drank it for about 2 weeks straight and it was tasty, filling, and better than a red bull. The flavors of mango and carrot blend together perfectly. The soy milk can be substituted with any low fat milk of your choice and the key to any healthy smoothie is to use unsweetened fruit.