Diet

For the first time in my life, I'm trying a "diet" that restricts certain foods for a certain period of time rather than one that simply restricts calories. I started the Dukan diet Sunday. If everything goes well, I should reach my weight loss goal by late September. I'm not going to go into lots of detail about it (you can read up on it more if you're interested) and I don't plan on posting diet-related stuff all the time. But since I'm embarking on a new adventure and I'm going to be posting some before and after photos in the fall, I thought I'd mention it to my readers.

It's a four phase diet and on my last day of the first phase (my 6-day Attack Phase) I have lost 6 pounds. In this phase you eat only proteins found in lean meats, fat-free dairy, fish, tofu, eggs, etc. This may make it sound like Atkins, but I think the big difference is that you can't eat just any meat you want (so no sausage, bacon, fatty steaks, ribs, etc.) so you're not going to clog your arteries and invite a stroke or heart attack while you're trying to drop unwanted pounds. Also, it is far more strict as far as foods you can't eat (the first phase has essentially zero sugar beyond lactose found in skim milk), but it does not restrict the quantities of the allowed foods. There is no measuring, no counting carbs or calories. Which is great for me because I hate having to do that.

So for the past week I've been eating Greek yogurt, chicken, fish, shrimp, some tofu, eggs and egg beaters (have to keep an eye on cholesterol), lean ham, lean steak, etc. and drinking skim milk, diet pop, black coffee, and lots and lots of water. I've also eaten a certain amount of oat bran each day, which continues (and increases) throughout the diet. I won't lie. I'm glad the first phase is over. I like meat, eggs, fish, and skim milk, but a protein-only diet is boring. It's fairly monochromatic and even though spices make chicken and fish and steak more interesting, I miss condiments like steak sauce, barbecue sauce, and marinades with oil in them. And I really miss vegetables, so I'm happy I can add them back into my repertoire tomorrow.

The weekly weight loss will taper down as I go through the second phase (the Cruise Phase) where I add in non-startchy vegetables every other day, but if I keep on the program, I should lose a couple pounds a week. Once I reach my goal weight (scheduled for late September) I enter the Consolidation Phase where I start adding in portions of all the foods I've been avoiding. This third phase last 5 days for every pound lost, after which I'm in the Stabilization Phase where I should be able to maintain my weight while eating normally (with the good habits I've aquired during the previous three phases), but also continuing a few specific habits from the program, like a daily 20 minute walk, daily oat bran, and one day out of the week set aside as a pure protein day. Not sure if I'll keep it up for life like the diet requires (I mean, that will hopefully be a long time) but I will know how to get back on track quickly if I start to gain a little weight.

Okay, looking back over what I've written, this all sounds very boring (unless you are interested in losing weight as well, that is). So for those of you still with me at this point, I promise that the only further diet talk in this blog will be to update you on pounds lost once in a while and clothes that finally fit. :-)