Day 24 - Weight 120.2

A perfect California day. Walk Salt Creek with hubby. Laguna Beach Farmers' Market with hubby. Plant some herb starts in pots on the patio. Nice long nap with Daphne and Zoe. A perfect day. And, yes, I feel very lucky.

LIQUIDS

• 2 cups coffee
• 2 liters water

SNACK / LUNCH COMBO (recipe below)

• Strawberries
• Shrimp
• Baby Heirloom Tomatoes
• Purple Onions - 50 grams (CHEAT)

SNACK

• Apple

DINNER

• Halibut - 150 grams (CHEAT)
• Fresh Tomatoes
• Onions - 50 grams (CHEAT)

Rub Halibut on both sides with Fresh & Easy spice rub. Bring 1 C hot water, 5 TBSP Bragg's, Garlic Powder, and chopped onions to a boil. Add Halibut. Reduce heat to simmer with lid on for about 5 minutes.

This recipe was too salty and strong. I would reduce the Bragg's to 2 TBSP and omit the garlic powder completely.


SHRIMP CEVICHE

• Shrimp, pre-cooked, diced in small pieces
  
• Baby Heirloom Tomatoes
• Purple Onions - 50 grams
• Lemon Juice - 3 TBSP
• Garlic Powder
• Sea Salt
• Pepper, fresh ground
• Cholula, to taste
  

Slice tomatoes in half. Chop onions fine in Cuisinart. Add tomatoes and pulse until blended. Mixture will be slightly chunky. Do not completely liquify tomatoes. Place tomato/onion mixture in bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well with a spoon, cover and place in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes to blend flavors. Yum, yum, yum!

Day 15 - Weight 122.4 - Measurement Day

Weight: 122.4 (- 2 lbs.)
Bust: 34" (no change)
Waist: 26" (- 1")
Abdomen (read: GUT): 35" (- 1 3/4")
Saddlebags: 40 3/4" (- 3/4")
Left Thigh: 22" (- 1/2")
Right Thigh: 22" (-1")
Left Knee: 14 1/2" (-1/2")
Right Knee: 14 1/8" (-5/8")

TOTAL LOSSES for this week: 2 lbs., 6 1/8"

TOTAL LOSSES TO DATE: 6.6 lbs., 12 3/8"

I really can't believe how many inches I lost this last week. My weight did not reflect it and I thought the inches would look something like the weight lost. I'm so excited. Frankly, I don't care if I weigh 200 pounds if my measurements are what they should be for my body type! LOL! By the way, I don't think I ever published my height and I probably should have. I'm only 5'2" tall and wear a size 7 or 7 1/2 shoe. I'm pretty small boned - always have to have links taken out of bracelets or watches to have them fit my wrists, that kind of thing. When my son was about 4 years old, we could wear the same belt size. No kidding. I was on the largest hole and he was on one of the smaller ones, but still, most people could not share a belt with their 4-year-old. I'm not super skinny like Nicole Ritchie but I'm a fairly petite woman who isn't genetically supposed to be a size 8 or 10. Size 10 or 12 for a larger woman may be fit and fabulous. Size 6 for my frame and height is definitely too big, out of proportion, and not healthy for me going into the next half of my life.

Last night before I went to bed I took two Alka-Seltzer Night-Time Cold tabs, my over-the-counter med of choice for colds or flu. Beats Nyquil by miles! This infection has seemed to be moving into my head now and I really needed a good night's sleep. I slept great but when I woke up I felt both exhausted and disoriented. My husband had to get up and take Daphne out. Then I somehow thought it was Saturday (In reality, today is actually Thursday, the blog is a couple of days behind...) and wondered why dear hubby was up and taking a shower so early before I dropped back into a blissful deep sleep. At 7:00 a.m. when he walked over fully dressed in suit and tie, delivered Daphne to the bed and kissed me goodbye, I asked him where he was going. Only after he said he was going to work ("On Saturday?") did I realize that I was totally out of it. It was pretty funny and he laughed.

By about 7:30 I could tell that Daphne needed to get up and I got up and went about my day feeling much better and not tired at all. In fact, I really got quite a bit of serious work done around the house today re-organizing and transferring furniture between the office and the guest room and even doing a little bit of laundry. It felt so good to be accomplishing something.

By the late afternoon, though, I was getting pretty tired. I had overdone it. This is a commonly recurring theme for me in my life in general and particularly after I've been sick. (You just want to DO SOMETHING after you've been laying in bed for days!) Call me the "Queen of the Energy Burst."

LIQUID

• 2 liters water
• 1 C coffee
• 1 C black chai tea
• 1 C chamomile tea

SNACK

• 1/2 grapefruit

LUNCH

• Steak (recipe below)
• Tomato
• Melba toast

SNACK

• Apple
  

DINNER

• Steak Salad w/ Pre-cooked steak strips (for Hubby)
• Chicken Salad w/ pre-baked chicken (for me)
• WASA/Melba toast
  

I used the warm chicken "broth" as my salad dressing. Yum!



"INDIAN" STEAK & TOMATOES

• Steak
• Tomatoes, diced bite-size
• Garam masala, salt

Rub the steak with the garam masala. Place steak and tomatoes on tin foil and salt to taste. Wrap foil tightly into a sealed pocket. Cook over grill pan at high heat for about 3 minutes. unwrap immediately and serve.

Garam masala is actually a blend of spices. The name is derived from the the Hindi garam, meaning "hot" and masala, "paste." There is no one blend that makes up garam masala because it varies regionally throughout India. However, commercially produced garam masala often contains: pepper (black & white), bay leaf, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, coriander, and turmeric. The spice mixture is ground but not roasted and the flavors only truly come alive with heat. Indian food is known for slow cooking and the true fabulousness of the spice will not come alive in a three-minute dish. Still, I enjoyed the difference from a traditional grill salt or BBQ flavoring on the steak and the spice combination worked well with the tomato.

(This photo was taken from the Wikipedia site).

Day 14 - Weight ??? - Tea

Obviously, I'm still sick and today is the second day of my Z-pack. I had a horrible night. I coughed continually until I basically had to sleep partially sitting up. Then Daphne woke up at 5:50 a.m. needing to go out and then again at 6:17 a.m. Today would be the day that she doesn't sleep until 7 a.m.? Urgh! Although I'm tired, the rest of the day went OK, and I was able to take a nap for about an hour this afternoon.

I did weigh myself this morning but got sidetracked and didn't tally it. Weight for today? Who knows.... Tomorrow is measurement day, so I know I won't forget that! I'm worried that I haven't done well this week; cheating, being sick, etc. Tomorrow we'll know. Let's not ruin today.

LIQUIDS

• 2 liters water
• 1 C coffee
• 1 C Yerba Mate tea
• 1 C black chai tea
  

I ruined my first cup of coffee this morning trying the Stevia again. I'm sticking with black for the rest of my life, I guess. I just can't seem to get the amount of Stevia right, or I just don't like the taste, or....? I don't know. My husband really likes it and won't need to go back to sugar when he's done with the diet. He is going to stick with the Stevia. He definitely still misses a little milk, though, and he's planning to add that back in when this is all over.

The last couple of days, while I've been sick, I haven't been drinking all the liquids that I'm supposed to. I know that's affecting my weight loss and I'm trying to get back on track. I also haven't been keeping a tally and that's why I haven't listed the data in my last posts. I have been drinking alot of Traditional Medicinals Teas over the last couple of days.


These teas are a staple at our house and I highly recommend them for both their quality and efficacy.

SNACK

• Strawberries
• Melba toast
• Yerba Mate tea

Yerba Mate is one of the recommended teas on the diet. It's both a bit bland and a bit bitter for my taste. Drunk while eating the strawberries, though, it was actually quite nice. The natural sweetness really complimented the tea.

LUNCH

• Chicken (recipe below)
• Spinach

DINNER

• Hamburger (ground sirloin)
• Spinach (wilted gently)

CHICKEN & SPINACH "SAUTE"

• Chicken, cut in small bite-size pieces
  
• Spinach
• 1/2 C water
• Lemon pepper, cinnamon, garlic powder

Add chicken, spices and water in non-stick pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Add spinach and toss until wilted, about 1 minute. Serve. This dish really needed a pick-me-up! I splashed a bit of Bragg's & a bit of lemon juice over the finished product which made it a little too salty but still tasty. Next time I will eliminate the Bragg's and just use about a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Cooking in such small increments and with such limited ingredients has created some unique problems in the kitchen. The most obvious is time. When such small amounts are used, your time is decreased. Baking and cooking times are slashed drastically when only 100 grams of protein has to be cooked through, both in the oven and on the stovetop. The capacity to overcook is a real threat. :-)

More importantly from a taste perspective is the elimination of "slow cooking" techniques completely. For example, when you only use 1 cup of liquid because your amount of protein will only flavor one cup of liquid you are limited in what you can do with your flavors. When making a soup, you can't afford to lose any of your liquid to evaporation so everything must be done quickly. You never end up with robust and deep flavors because your spicing has not had time to seep into the liquid and the protein and blend together to create a new flavor palette. It doesn't mean that the food can't be very tasty, but it can't compete with a slow cooked meal.

When this diet is over and the weighing is done, I'll be able to modify these recipes and continue to cook fat free in many instances with flavors much superior to, and more subtle than, the ones achieved during the diet. I'm looking forward to it.

Day 11: Weight 123.4 - Lots of Recipes

.4 That's my weight gain for yesterday. I'll take it because I was really hungry and that's how things go. But today I'm worse than hungry. I'm sick. Sore throat, heavy head, achy body. Urgh! I really don't think that this has anything to do with the diet. My husband had this same illness a couple of weeks ago. And my sister-in-law ended up having it really bad, too. I guess it's my turn... I have no idea what effect the illness will have on the diet, though. I've sent hubby and son on to church without me. But there's a big planning meeting after church that I need to be at. I'm going to rest up today and see if I can kick it in the pants before it really gets a headstart. Then I'll head to the meeting and sit in the back so I don't give anyone else the "gift" of my illness. :-)

COMBO LUNCH/SNACK

• Apple
• WASA
• I had leftover chicken and broth from yesterday with steamed spinach (recipe below)
• Hubby had a Bison green salad (recipe below)

COMBO SNACK/DINNER

• Apple (oops! same as lunch)
• Hubby had Steak & Asparagus soup (recipe below)
• I had Shrimp & Tomato soup (recipe below)

I took our lunches with me to the meeting, so they needed to be something that would travel well and still be yummy when I arrived. It worked. Both dishes turned out great.

BISON GREEN SALAD

• Bison, ground and browned
• Organic spring greens salad mix
• Vinaigrette Blend: Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, cinnamon

Brown the bison lightly. Like beef, bison doesn't have to be cooked to death. Leave the chunks in the pan larger rather than smaller. In a separate bowl toss the greens with the vinaigrette blend. Add warm bison and toss gently.


CHICKEN & SPINACH

• Baked Chicken with broth (see Day 10 post)
  
• Asparagus

I made extras of the baked chicken yesterday so they would be ready portions for lunches, etc. Place the chicken and broth in the bottom of a large glass bowl. Add the whole spinach leaves on top. Cover with a paper towel and then cover that lightly with Saran Wrap. Microwave on high for 1 minute 20 second. The spinach is lightly wilted with the broth and tastes delicious. This is one of my favorite things I've made so far.


STEAK & ASPARAGUS SOUP

• Steak, cut in bite-size pieces
  
• Asparagus, cut in 1/4" lengths
• 2 Cups water
  
• Grill Salt, salt, lemon pepper, pinch of mint (dried), sprinkle of herbs de provence, turmeric, dash of Bragg's Aminos, garlic powder

Brown steak with dried seasonings in hot pan, about 1 minute. De-glaze with Bragg's. Add water and bring to boil. Simmer and add asparagus. Cook until asparagus is very soft. Using a potato masher, mash the asparagus to release the fibers and thicken the soup a bit. Pieces will still be whole, not completely macerated.


SHRIMP & TOMATO SOUP

• Shrimp, cut into thirds
  
• Tomatoes diced
• 1 C hot water
• Lemon juice
  
• 1 C water
• Bragg's Aminos, garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. sea rock salt, chili pepper
  
• Cholula
  

Marinate the shrimp in lemon juice and hot water in a glass bowl. In seperate pan over medium heat, add seasonings, tomatoes, and additional cup of water. Simmer very gently for about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and marinade mixture to pan. Simmer on low until shrimp is heated through. Serve and add Cholula to taste. (This dish was a little blah. The precooked shrimp is easy and fast but it had hardly any flavor. I'll finish the bag but won't buy it again. I'm used to fresh shrimp and I didn't realize the difference. Still, you have to mix it up and this dish was OK and very edible. Just not very "wow!")

Day 10 - Weight 123 - To Cheat or Not to Cheat - Bison & Cabbage Soup

I didn't sleep well last night and this morning I woke up with a sore throat and a general feeling of being "under the weather," tired, and more than a little cranky. Read: witchy with a "b." Oh, and an overwhelming feeling of "I AM STARVING!!!!" It's the first day that I've actually woken up already hungry. I think for the people that I know that eat breakfast within minutes of waking, they would be hungry every morning of this diet. I don't eat breakfast anyway and I think it's really helped me with the whole "not eating until noon" thing. But why isn't it getting easier? 10 days? It seems like the body would be adjusting.

So, the truth is... I cheated today. My definition of cheating is different than my husband's. (But then what's new there? Isn't men and women's definition of cheating always different? lol!) First of all, I made a decision to cheat. I knew what I was doing. Second, I didn't go "off protocol" as far as foods go. I didn't eat anything that was forbidden: sugar, starch, fat. Instead I decided that I simply didn't want to feel this hungry today. Frankly, I haven't felt this hungry any other day on the diet. It felt weird. Almost like something was wrong. Not scary wrong. But "off" somehow. OK, so how did I cheat? You can see it on the menu...

SNACK - Eaten at 10am, not 11:30 like I usually do.

• Grapefruit
  
• WASA bread

LUNCH

• 110 grams of Chicken
• Asparagus, steamed in salted water

I marinated the chicken for 30 mins. in 3 TBSP lemon juice, spray of Bragg's Aminos, Thai Spice, about 1/8th of a cup of hot water. Then I baked it in a 375 degrees oven in a covered baking dish for 20 mins. While I was waiting for my oversized chicken portion to cook, I took my second cheat: I ate two bites of steak out of the fridge. Yesterday, I had pre-grilled a steak so that it would be ready for my husband to take it to work for his lunch. I don't know what I was thinking because today is Saturday and he doesn't need to take a lunch anywhere. (All the days are just blending together, I guess). So, today that steak, all sliced up and ready to put on top of a salad, is sitting in the refrigerator staring at me. Now I'm staring back. Now I'm reaching for it and... BOOM! In one day, or wait, in one hour, I've upped my planned protein portion, I've "snacked" on other food, and I've mixed my proteins. Know what? I don't feel bad about it. I'm too hungry to care.

SNACK

• Apple
  

DINNER - Bison Cabbage Soup

• Bison, ground
• 110 grams of Cabbage
• WASA bread
  

I made a soup by simply browning the bison in the pan with pepper, garlic powder and Sambal Ulek. For my husband's I substituted Thai Spice for the too spicy Sambal Ulek. I deglazed the pan with a shot of Bragg's Aminos and then added 3 C of water. Bring to a gentle simmer and hold for about 6-8 mins. Add the chopped cabbage and continue to simmer until the cabbage is soft.

The soup was delicious mostly because the bison can hold it's own. (Remember when I made the Asian flavors fish soup and the fish wasn't really powerful enough to give the broth much flavor?) Hubby and I both learned the value of adding water to our meal - it's alot more filling. I'll definitely be having more soup for the remainder of the diet. Before I started cooking dinner, I ate another bite of steak out of the fridge. I figured that I already cheated today and I might as well make it count.

Oh yeah, I said that my husband doesn't really think I cheated. Why is that? Well, he thinks that only going "off"the diet with banned foods would really be cheating. While I agree that it would definitely be worse, breaking the rules is still breaking the rules. I know I may have to pay for it. At AmaraMedSpa they said that if you cheat, it takes about three days, staying on the strict protocol of course, to get back on track. Basically, three days wasted. I realize that this is mostly for people who go out and have a "real" meal. Still, I will have to see what happens to me because of my "indiscretions."

Tonight I found a disturbing blog. It's called Fat Loss Chronicles . It documents one woman's journey on the HCG diet and it didn't go well for her. It's the first really negative story I've heard about HCG. There are some things, though, about the diet protocol that she was on that are totally different than Dr. Simeon's Protocol or the diet program that I was prescribed at Amara. Some really big differences that I noticed were:

1. Amara requires that you take a daily multivitamin supplement AND a presciption potassium supplement. Near the end of the diet, she mentions taking magnesium and potassium supplements but I don't know if she took them throughout and she makes no mention of a daily multi-vitamin.
   
2. You must be mixing up your food intake, eating different proteins and vegetables at each meal every day as well as choosing broadly from the choices given on the protocol. This woman ate chicken as her protein of choice for nearly every meal, never ate beef or fish, and most commonly ate the same vegetable for fruits and vegetables for both snacks and both lunches/dinners. (The only times she didn't eat chicken she substituted with off-protocol items like cottage cheese or egg whites).
   
3. She regularly ate fruits and vegetables that are strictly NOT on the protocol. Oranges and broccoli are big no-no's and she ate them alot. Lots of sugar...
4. She ate breakfast.
   
5. Sadly, she was coming down with a cold before she even started the diet and fought that illness throughout most of the diet.
6. She really counted calories. I haven't counted calories at all. I've weighed my food religiously and, OTHER THAN TODAY, eaten exactly what I was prescribed on the protocol. Nothing more. Nothing less.
   

Overall, it seems that the diet did not work for her. That's concerning to me and I feel bad for her, too. If I went through all of this and didn't have better results than she had, I would be really upset. I've already lost almost as many inches as she did in her entire first cycle. So, clearly we're doing something very different. We better be.

Day 7 - Weight 124.4 - Cabbage Rolls

OK, here's the scoop. It's been one week. I've lost a total of 4.6 pounds and 6.25 inches. Here's how the measurements went:

Weight: 124.4 lbs. (-4.6 lbs.)
Bust: 34" (-1")
Waist: 27" (-1.75")
Abdomen (read: GUT): 36.75" (-2.25")
Saddlebags: 41.5" (-.5")
Left Thigh: 22.5" (-.5")
Right Thigh" 23" (no change)
Left Knee: 15" (no change)
Right Knee: 15" (-.25")

Yes, you read that correctly. I LOST 2.25" OF GUT FAT! (It sounds gross because it is gross). But losing it feels fabulous, fabulous, F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! It is definitely motivation to continue.

LIQUIDS

• 2 C coffee, 2 liters water, 1 C Chai tea (Not the yummy kind you get at Starbucks with the milk in it. Just the Indian tea with spices added).

COMBO SNACK/LUNCH

• Grapefruit & WASA Crispbread
  
• Dover Sole
• Beet Greens/Asparagus

I didn't have a full 100 grams of either veggie, so I combined the two. This is a no-no and definitely against the diet rules. I cooked the sole in 1 C water with pinch of Thai Spice*, Salt, Pepper, and 2 TBSP lemon juice. Sole is very thin so it cooks very quickly. Then I added the greens and asparagus and cooked the "soup" on medium heat just until the veggies were tender, about 2-3 minutes.

My husband had the Crab Salad w/ Strawberries for lunch and he really liked it. He called me from work to tell me he had eaten his appetizer and to ask me when his entree was arriving... lol!

SNACK

• Grapefruit (I ate this right before dinner)

DINNER

• Cabbage Rolls (recipe below)
  
• WASA Crispbread
  

This dinner would make a really yummy appetizer. I've never done stuffed cabbage before and I struggled with getting the leaves off in one piece. If you were cooking for a "real" meal, you could steam the entire head, halves, or quarters. For the diet, because you have to weigh the cabbage uncooked before cooking, you have to try to separate the leaves to get an accurate reading. So, I didn't have very large & lovely cabbage leaves to stuff and roll with the filling. Still, it was delicious. As always, not enough bites.... sigh....

CABBAGE ROLLS

• Cabbage, whole leaves as possible, 100 grams
• Laura's Lean Beef ground beef (91% lean)
• Salt & Pepper
• Bragg's Amino Acids
• Garlic Powder
• Sambal Ulek

Steam the cabbage with water and a generous splash of Bragg's until just soft & pliable, not mushy. Brown the ground beef with the spices. (I added the Sambal Ulek to mine but not to Michael's. He's not as crazy about the spicy food as I am). Lay out the soft leaves on the plate and put about 1 teaspon of ground beef "filling" into center. If your leaves are too small, you may need to lay two or three together, just overlapping the edges so they stay together as you roll. Then fold in the ends over the filling and roll into a little "burrito" shape. For me, it was just like making dolmathes (a common Greek dish using grape leaves as the shell and filled with flavored rice and sometimes meat). You can eye your leaves and filling to spread the filling out equally. Some of my rolls came out beautifully and some didn't. I ended up with about 4 small rolls per person. I have to admit that while the cabbage rolls tasted delicious, it was a pretty sad looking plate.

One thing I fast realized about doing this diet with someone else - it's not really easier to cook for two instead of one like it is in real life. With the HCG Diet, it's actually twice the work. Each portion has to be weighed separately, cooked separately, and served separately. That's something I hadn't really considered. Also, when my husband leaves for work he needs to take his lunch with him. So, that means I'm getting up earlier in the morning to cook & prep his lunch even though I won't be eating for several hours. I've got to figure out a better way to plan this. Maybe I'll pre-cook some meat portions and have them in the refrigerator so he can mix them with salad greens. I'm not sure exactly what I'll do but there's a better way to do this and I'll figure it out.

Day 6 - Weight 124.6: Crab Salad w/ Strawberries

I'm a few days into the diet now and it's time to get back into the swing of real life. I had lots of errands and things to do today. I don't usually think about food very often. When your diet is both severely limited and on a time schedule, you almost have to think about your food ALL the time. You have to eat on time. Your snacks have to be a minimum of 6 hours apart. You have to eat THIS food now and THIS food later. I can see where the diet would be really challenging for people who are on the road, keep a challenging social calendar, meet with clients over meals, etc. Most of the time I can set my own schedule so it should be easier for me than most. Today was a bit of a logistical challenge but, as far as how my body was feeling, I actually felt very satisfied all day from a hunger standpoint. And today's food was really yummy and satisfying.

The hardest thing about being out all day was the liquid intake. If you are drinking the amount of water you are supposed to be drinking on this diet, then you are peeing all the time! Sometimes every 5-10 minutes. That sounds extreme but sometimes it's the reality. If you aren't going to be near an acceptable facility, you don't drink as much water. It's hard for me to get in that much water as it is. But today I didn't meet the quota and I know that's not a good thing.

LIQUIDS

• 1 1/2 C coffee, 1 1/2 L water (Hopefully, I'll pick it back up tomorrow!)

COMBINED SNACK/LUNCH

• Crab salad w/ Strawberries & Spring Greens (recipe below)
  
• Melba Toast

COMBINED SNACK/DINNER

• Hamburger (Laura's Lean Beef) w/ salt, pepper, Sambal Ulek*
• Steamed asparagus (pour 1 TBSP lemon juice over when served)
  
• Melba Toast
• 1 Apple

Laura's super lean ground beef doesn't even leave a fat trace on the pan. It's leaner than your butcher's ground sirloin, and Laura's Lean Beef cattle are raised on family farms, on all natural grains and grasses with no animal by-products, and without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones. I believe strongly in eating foods that are "clean" whenever possible even though I'm not a fanatic about it. At AmaraMedSpa they, too, stressed the importance of choosing organic produce and meats. Laura's fits the bill perfectly and she's been doing it since 1985. Kudos to Laura Freeman. Some people just make the world a better place.

I find Laura's at my local Albertson's. I wish they carried it at Henry's but no luck there. They were out of the sirloin when I was shopping so I picked up the 91% lean. One thing I notice about Laura's that's really important, the full flavor of the beef is there even though the fat is absent. You can't beat that. You can learn more about them or where to purchase in your area here ( http://www.laurasleanbeef.com/ )

The crab "salad" I ate yesterday was really just crab with minced onions and some spice. Today, I actually made a delicious entree, even though by it's size you'd probably have to call it an appetizer. I'd order it from a menu as my appetizer any day.

CRAB & STRAWBERRY SALAD

• Crab (fresh, not frozen, lump crab meat) - 100 grams
  
• Strawberries (fresh, de-stemmed, chopped in 8ths) - 100 grams
• Leafy, organic spring green mix
• Vinaigrette Dressing (3 TBSP Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 dash Cholula, Salt, Pepper)

Toss greens with Vinaigrette. Add crab and strawberries and toss lightly with fork. The sweetness of the strawberries takes on the apple cider vinegar perfectly. Yum.

*Sambal Ulek is one of those wonder-spice blends that I fall back on time and time again. Sambal Ulek is a fiery blend used in the cuisines of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. You can probably tell by now that I like spicy food. That's true but I've noticed even more on this diet how important it is that the food is really flavorful. You can't make it up in quantity. You need to taste the strong flavors of the food in order to feel as if you've had something. The Sambal Ulek is made from Chili pepper, Cayenne, Paprika and Garlic. There's no sugar and no salt. I buy mine from a little organic spice company here in California called Spicely ( http://www.spicely.com/ ).


They sell spices in tiny little boxes, usually no more than .6 ounces. They are certified organic and gluten free. They're protecting the environment by cutting out the unnecessary packaging (plastic and glass) that are usually used in the modern "spice trade" and their boxes are made from 100% recycled paper. Also, because you are buying smaller quantities your spices are always fresh and potent. And they are very reasonably priced. They've a number of blends that are very good, as well, like the Thai Spice. We'll save that for another day.

Day 4 - Weight 127.2: Asian Flavors Soup

I'm up really early this morning because I'm headed back home to California today. Alarm goes off at 4:30am and I am up and running. I like to leave early because I get home before mid-day and it's easy to get back into the swing of things. Today, I have an added excuse because I want to get home before I need to eat my lunch. We usually stop to eat in Primm or Barstow because that's where we fill up on gas and take "the girls," our dogs, out for a little rest-stop experience. For seven years, we've only had Zoe, our cockapoo, but now we've also got Daphne, our little red toy poodle. I won't be able to eat anything at a restaurant or fast food place during that stop, so I'll take my apple and melba toast with me to snack on in case I really feel like I can't make it for the whole 6-hour drive.

I gained 2/10ths of a pound since yesterday and I don't know why. Maybe the water is balancing out? I'm not worried, though. Just keep on keepin' on.

A funny thing happened on the way home during our stop at the California "Border" Agricultural Inspection. I say "border" because it's not at the border or even close to it. It's quite a ways past Baker. Well, we get stopped and the inspector asks if we are only bringing the one dog in the front seat into California and I say, "No, we actually have two," and I point to our new puppy in the back seat on my son's lap. She says "Oh, OK," and asks if we are bringing any produce. I tell her that I am and that I have apples, spinach, and lettuce from Costco. Then she asks, "Where are the apples from?" I look quizzical and say, "Ummm, they're just from Costco." She says, "But where are they actually FROM?" And I say, "I have no idea where they were grown." She says, "But you're sure you bought them at Costco?" I assure her that I am quite sure that I bought them at Costco and she tells me that there are some fruit bugs going around right now but she is sure my apples are fine. I thank her and she waves me through. And I wonder about how she didn't learn any additional information about my apples but suddenly she is sure that they are fine. Oh, well...

We're home by 10:30am (you gain an hour heading back to Cali) and it feels good to be home. But C-O-L-D! How can we be having such cold weather in June? We always have June-Gloom but this is ridiculous. I'll have to put an extra blanket on the bed!

Michael got his B-12 shot today, so he'll have his first HCG injection tomorrow and start his two loading days. As for me, as soon as the car is unpacked and the dogs are settled in (this house is a whole new environment for Daphne, who we've had now for only 6 days) - I NEED to have my snack. Today's diet looked like this:

LIQUIDS
2 C coffee, 2 liters water, 1 C Yerba Mate tea

SNACK
Strawberries & Melba Toast

LUNCH
Steak in tin-foil w/ 1 TBSP lemon juice, salt, pepper
Asparagus, steamed with water (Pour liquid from cooked steak over asparagus on plate to serve)

SNACK
Apple & Melba Toast

DINNER
Asian Flavors Soup (Recipe below)

Every recipe I am including here is made up by me, mostly on the fly. Which literally means I am making it up as I am making my meal . It may turn out great, fine, or not-so-great. Later, I am planning to take pictures of the meals but I need to get my camera together for that. Hopefully, soon.

ASIAN FLAVORS SOUP

• Shrimp, cooked (I buy them pre-cooked, frozen. Cut the tails off shrimp while frozen and before weighing. Why weigh what you aren't going to eat? After thawing, slip off the little bit of shell that is left at the tip. This way none of the shrimp meat is wasted)
  
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• Pinch Red Pepper, ground
• Spray Bragg Aminos
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 C Water
• Lettuce, Romaine
  

Warm first six ingredients over medium-high heat. Add lettuce and turn heat to low. Cook for 2-3 minutes until lettuce is soft. (It's quicker to use pre-cooked shrimp but you could easily cook the shrimp in the first step. It would only take a few more minutes).

Rating: Not great and not bad. It was so-so. Very edible. It made me feel like I was preparing for my main course at Thai Juan On in San Juan Capistrano. Sadly for me, this was the main course. LOL!

Today was a hard day. Much harder than yesterday. 6 hours of travel may have had something to do with it. I wasn't actually hungry but I am really missing "eating." The verb of eating. Action word. There's not much actual "eating" going on when you have such a limited food intake. Tomorrow I may eat my snacks with my meals instead of separately just so that I can have the action of eating more at one sitting. As long as you eat the snacks at least 6 hours apart from each other, you are supposed to be fine.

One thing I'm noticing on this diet is how true all of the flavors are and I think that's definitely a positive. I'm really tasting my food. My taste buds really seem to be appreciating each subtle flavor; the sweetness of a strawberry or the saltiness of the Bragg's. The food feels so clean and healthy and I am loving that. Like going on a cleanse. I'm also savoring every single bite. I've noticed that I am cutting my food into almost tiny pieces so that I can have more bites. In our family we are always sharing a bite with each other with a "Here, taste this, it's fabulous." On this diet, every bite is my own. Not one morsel can be dropped, shared, or wasted. Only two VLCD's and I am already feeling this way... It's actually kind of interesting to watch yourself and how you react to such a strange diet. It better work!

Day 3 - Weight 127

Today begins the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) as detailed in the last post. My weight is 127. So, even though I ate what seemed like a ton of very high fat-content food over the past two days, I've actually LOST 3 pounds since I started the injections. I'm thinking it is most likely water weight, but I definitely don't mind.

I tried to have Stevia in my coffee this morning. Yikes! I bought a bottle of the powder and it doesn't say how much to use as a sweetener. I used the tip of a teeny-tiny tea spoon. Don't do that! It was sickeningly sweet and I was bummed that I wasted a cup of coffee. I decided to drink the next cup black with no sweetener. There's no creamer or dairy of any kind on this diet. I used to drink my coffee this way and so it didn't really bother me at all.

OK, let the games begin...

LIQUID
2 cups coffee, 2 liters water, 1 cup chai tea

SNACK
1 apple, 1 Melba toast

LUNCH

• Thin steak w/ lemon pepper seared on flat grill, about 1-2 minutes each side
  
• Beet greens steamed with water & a splash of Bragg's Aminos (spray the aminos right over the greens before they start steaming)
  

SNACK
Strawberries & 1 Melba Toast

DINNER

• Steak in tin foil with chopped tomato, garlic salt, pepper. Cooked over grill pan about 6 minutes. (Everything is in the tin foil package. It came out with a nice broth from the moisture of the tomatoes).

Today wasn't too much of a challenge. Even though I knew the portions were going to be small, I was still taken aback at the amount of food on my plate. :-) There just aren't that many BITES to your meal which feels really weird. I tried something new to help me drink the required amount of water. I put 2 liters of water in a pitcher and left it on the kitchen bar with a 6 oz. glass. Every time I pass the pitcher, I fill the glass with water and drink it. It doesn't feel like "too much" and I finished the 2 liters without a struggle.

I was invited to go to a dinner tonight but thought better of going and watching everyone else eat. :-) I'm not really hungry at all. Let's see how tomorrow goes.