More Updates

     So, this year I had a goal of losing 50 lbs by the time I turned 50...on July, 1st, 2012! I didn't actually hit it though, until July 24th, but I was happy anyway with the 44 that I lost by my birthday. (And the 3-4 sizes and the 7" I've lost off my waist!) My birthday is on the 1st, my dad's is on the 4th (and is born in the USA) and my oldest son Levi's is on the 5th so it's really a week of Birthday celebrations. I was really excited this year, not just because of my weight loss, but also because my family decided to step up and have a 50th Birthday party for me! My oldest daughter and husband were planning it, however a few weeks before, everything went to pot and it didn't happen...I was pretty disappointed but I decided to get over it and move on...with a husband and 7 kids, it's never really about you anymore! I had spent the month before working on my yard and so when the day came, I enjoyed my yard and made myself a Dukan Lemon-Lime Cheesecake along with a Gluten Free Angel Food Cake for everyone else...and all the other food. My mother-in-law...bless her heart, brought Popeye's chicken and I had already decided to have a couple of pieces to celebrate...the spicy type! It was really yummy! Was it worth it? I gained a lb and one half the next day...YES, it was! 

     That week, I made 2 more cakes to take to my dad's on his birthday as he was turning 83 and I figured he deserved a party of his own for that..albeit a small one (and some of the other grand kids and neighbours showed up) . So I whipped up another Angel Food and a Chocolate layer cake. On Levi's 18th Birthday the next day, I made a cake mix Spice cake with Brown sugar frosting. We went to the Keg with him and Jacob to celebrate Levi's Birthday and finishing well on their first ever year of school! Then on Saturday we had a barbeque to attend so I made a Carrot Cake and a pan of Key Lime Squares for a family reunion on Sunday! Whew! And I didn't eat any of it! 

     The next Tuesday we drove to the lake to spend the day with my sister-in-law from Calgary and her sister and my mother-in-law. That morning I woke up at 6:30 to the sound of my daughter, Chloe puking...that's the sound every parent wants to wake up to! Never!! But she was hyped and said she felt fine, so off we went. She threw up a couple of times in the car on the way up there...we also had my niece and her friend...oohhh...I felt for them, in the back of the van with the puking kid! So we spent the day at the beach and she ran and played and swam, then we all piled in the car and got home in time for me to make some Ghetto Spaghetti for dinner. When I make Ghetto Spaghetti, I add chopped onions and peppers to the ground beef, along with some spices, then use Tomato soup, a can of tomatoes and sometimes a can of tomato sauce for the sauce, then I add it to the cooked and drained Macaroni noodles in a large pan, shred cheese over it and bake it for 20 min. It's pretty much my family's fave spaghetti dish. I kept out some of the meat and sauce for myself to eat, Chloe seemed fine although she wasn't very active and we went to bed. 

     I wish I stayed there....that night I had the feeling that things weren't right and around 2 pm I started with violent diarrhea....gallons of it. In the morning, I was throwing up...you know the drill...you are basically a 'bowl' sandwich!  I had a horrible aching pain in my lower back...it felt pretty much like the worst day of my life. I couldn't keep anything in at either end! Through the day they kids brought me stuff and came up to check on me...I was a mess! My husband brought me home some diet Ginger Ale and in the evening, I finally was able to keep down a few crackers...I know...not on the diet. All night I tossed and turned and the next day I woke up with the same fierce ache in my back. I ate some more crackers and drank a little but still felt very weak and nauseous. I couldn't stand to go in the kitchen and smell the left-over Ghetto Spaghetti smell!

     The best thing was, the back pain had cleared up! Hooray! Around lunch time, I began to get the worst pain in my abdomen, like I was getting my period...great...I don't even get it anymore and it had already come back when I started the diet...like, wow, she's on protein...food is plenteous....she can make a baby! That was adding insult to injury while being sick...but then the pain reached a climax in which I've only experienced on one occasion...well maybe 5 or 6...while giving birth....it finally dawned on me...the aching back pain....NO, I was not having a baby...I was passing a kidney stone! I called a friend who is a nurse and asked her what she thought...I wanted to call an ambulance...there was no way I could drive myself to the hospital and my husband wasn't really interested in leaving work to came and take me. If only he hadn't taken all my drivers to work with him! But my dear friend drove all the way from London to pick me up and take me. The pain had been pretty fierce for about an hour and started to subside but by the time she got here and we set off it was hitting pretty hard again. Thankfully, when we got to the hospital, the waiting room was almost empty...joy of a small town! They got me into a room with another young man and his family. It was probably an hour before they got some pain meds into me...but not before I rolled around on the bed in agony while throwing up...yeah, I felt sorry for that poor guy and his family! Eventually, they got an IV in and I slept for a few hours. The next day I had an ultra-sound and it didn't show any stones-just a slightly enlarged kidney. An Asian doctor with a strong accent gave me some paper filters and told me to pee through them...that was a disaster! A day later, I realized he had given me the 'man directions'! New plan...pee into a container, then filter! I never found a single stone. I loved the drugs they gave me...oh the blessed relief from the pain...and the hours of sleep! It would always start with a throbbing in my lower back and I immediately had to take the Perocets or the pain would be unbearable in 20 minutes! And continue until I felt that it had lapsed...sometimes 6-8 hours.
     By now it was Saturday and on rising the pain hit so I took meds and spent the next 6 hours cleaning...they either take you up or knock you out! We were supposed to go to a family barbeque before my Sister-in-law left to go back to Calgary and I had said I would stay home. I got the kids to make the food I was supposed to take, and then at the last minute, decided...I've been feeling great! I think I'll go! As soon as we got in the car, the pain hit! My husband took back roads and every bump was excruciating! When we got there, I went straight to bed and spent an hour writhing around and begging God to make it stop before the drugs kicked in...what was up with that??? (so thankful for health care and drugs in our country!) I got up in time to leave at 9:30 and go home to bed. The stones continued every day for over 2 weeks. I managed to get somewhat back into a routine around the house and after a week, went back to the diet. When I wasn't feeling well, I ate dry crackers, toast and butter and some fruit. My weight went down to 1 lb away from 50 lbs! I saw my doctor a few days after they started and asked about the cause. We're pretty sure it was because I was so dehydrated from the virus I had, and possible other factors such as me taking Vit C and Vit D every day...not sure entirely, but he thought since I was doing so well on my diet and I had learned my lesson about drinking more water, that I should continue. Yeah! I did go to Union Burger with the family though and had a Bourbon Burger and some fries! And then went back on my diet!
     My clothes had been getting really loose and I was having trouble keeping my capris on so I went out and bought a couple of new pairs! Size 12-14!! Yeah...down from 18-20! A week after the stones started, they sent me for a CT scan...they really found nothing except a foreign object in my abdomen...now we are trying to figure out what that is? I swallowed a dime once when I was a kid...maybe it accumulated interest? Onward and upward...whoops, I mean downward!

The Birthday People!

It was Cake Week!

Great Grand Child Morgan

It just keeps getting better and better!

Nieces and Nephews with Auntie Michelle!

Can't believe how much happier I look! And feel!

Updates!

     Okay, so I'm going to continue to post on my progress, but let me tell you that it's now 3 months in and I have to post photos; especially for those who are following me. So I started on March 23, 2012 at 248.4 lbs. To date, at 3 months or June 24th, 2012 I've lost 42 lbs! So excited and you can tell in the photos how much of a happier person I am! NOTHING has ever worked this well for me and is so easy! My husband lost around 30 lbs and is now doing the Consolidation phase. He actually is still losing in spite of adding most foods back into his diet in limited quantity! I also know several others who started the diet after me and have lost, 10, 12, 20, 25, 30, 35 lbs in just a couple of months! This is so easy to do!
     I have to tell you though that I had to be in the place mentally and spiritually to do this and I totally get that it does take being in the right head space. Twenty-four years ago I became a Born-Again Christian and changed my life drastically from that of an alcoholic drug user to giving up all of those vices and living for the Lord. My boyfriend and I got married and gained custody of his daughter and together we had 2 girls. At that point in my life and for the first time ever, I began to gain weight. It was sad to me that such an exciting and happy turn around in my life was marked by this change. I struggled with depression and was very unhappy for many years and probably switched from self medicating to medicating with food. I also had someone in my life from this point that was very much in control of my life and my family. For twenty years I was under this person's influence and could not escape. I feel that my weight gain was a form of protection from him. Recently he was removed from my life permanently and I felt my body give a deep sigh of relief. This coincided with the same time I started this diet. I feel as if I have missed so much in being overweight for so many years and it definitely limited what I could do and affected my relationships. I also believe that I had to be in the right place spiritually to have the strength to do this. I also feel that it is an act of obedience and that I was a poor testimony as a Christian in my previous state.
     My weight loss journey has only really just begun but for the first time in my life I feel that I actually have control of it and I'm so excited for the changes that I'm going through! I really have no desire to cheat and now that my weight is down a bit, I want to step up my exercise and work on my fitness. I'm starting back into derby and have goals to accomplish in my skating skill level!
     Lord willing, I will continue in my journey-I'm 2/3 of the way there! Thanks for all your love and support-it feels great to have so many behind me and giving me support evey week!

Day Seven-Veggie Day!!!

     So I'm into the Cruise Phase of the Dukan diet. Protein one day, then protein and veggies the next. So excited! 240.8 lbs today so almost 8 lbs down on Attack. For breakfast I made my asparagus, mushroom, red pepper, onion and ham omelette. First I cut up the asparagus and steam slightly in a bit of water in a non-stick pan. When it's done I drain it and set aside on a plate. In the meantime I cut up the red pepper, onion and ham then cook that for a few minutes in a light spray of oil (I switched to home made Pam spray-cheaper and healthier!) then add to the plate. I beat 2-3 eggs for each person in a bowl with a Tbsp of water and spray the pan again. Pour the eggs into the pan and cook the omelette part. If you've never cooked omelettes, you need to swirl the egg around the pan, then as it starts to cook, gently push the cooked egg into the center of the pan and let the uncooked egg run out to the edge and cook. Just as it's almost set in the middle I sprinkle with salt and ground pepper, add the veggies and ham to one half, then slide the remaining half of the omlette over top of the filling. If I wanted cheese on it, I would sprinkle grated cheese over the meat and veggies before flipping the omlette half over. Then slide the whole thing out onto a plate and cut in half and serve. It was totally yummy but I could only eat half of my portion...Dolph was eyeing it but I saved it for my lunch!

     After breakfast I began to feel spacey, lethargic and cold. For lunch I made dip from non-fat sour cream and Epicure Guacamole dip mix and cut up some raw veggies to have with my omlette. I still felt very drained so I went to bed for an hour! Later I forced myself to do a half hour of Just Dance.
For supper I cooked T-bone steaks with mushrooms and asparagus....Yum! Then my husband and I went out to watch Hunger Games! lol

Day Six-Last Day of Attack!

     Today is the last day of attack!! Down a total of 7 lbs! I was hoping for 10 lbs on attack but I'm ready to have some veggies! Usual breakfast of eggs, galette, peameal bacon. Today I added ground flax seed to my galette...I'm hoping it will help the....ahem...diarrhea situation. I'm afraid to leave the house! For lunch I had turkey deli meat rolled up and dipped in mustard. Starting to feel good-have lots of energy. So far no negative side affects to my brain and actually, I'm feeling pretty clear up there...clearer than I have in months...who knew? Marshall Brain of How Stuff Works has a very funny blog post on what people say will happen to you when you eat a high protein diet. Like no culture has ever lived completely on protein....Eskimos? Yeah, they built igloo greenhouses so they can grow vegetables and grains!
     For supper, I make huge meatballs for Dolph and I.
                                       

                                                                Meatballs

1 lb of ground beef

1 Tbsp oat bran, 1 Tbsp horseradish, 1 tsp Sirachi (Asian hot pepper sauce), 1 tsp Tabasco sauce, 1 egg, 1 tsp sesame oil and onion powder. Mix all together, mold into 4 meatballs and cook in a non-stick frying pan, turning once. Use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature 150-160'. Serve with sauce made with dollops of Buffalo sauce, soy sauce, sugar twin and sesame oil.

     The kids got Shepherd's Pie...and it must last 2 days! We are off to Youth and Small Group. I take pickles, yogurt and turkey bites for snack....and a little heat for what I'm doing from some in my small group, one of whom tells me that carbs build muscle and that I'll lose muscle if I don't include them in my diet?? I have studied alternative medicine and nutrition for many years...I'll take my chances! American Idol! Bed! Veggies tomorrow!

Attack Day Five!

     Fourth day of attack and it's going to be a busy day! Down 1 lb today! Same breakfast as usual: 2 eggs, peameal bacon, galette, coffee, diarrhea! What? Yeah, my bowels have not been acting normally on this diet...which is to be expected if you are dramatically reducing your fiber consumption. Today I'm taking 4 of the kids to the orthodontist which means driving 20 minutes to pick up oldest son at school and then driving another 25 minutes to the University for their appointments. After the dentist, rushing the oldest back to school, grocery shopping, then picking the 2 oldest up at school....more shopping and then home at 4:30. Almost pooped my pants at the grocery store...so be prepared! Going to take some Benefiber and acidophilus tonight to try and firm things up a bit! Lol So glad to be home finally!
     Ever since my concussion, grocery shopping is a real chore. I shop with cash and usually shop at least 2 stores with a meal plan and list in hand. It now takes 2-3 hours and is very stressful so now I do it at the same time every week. Before, I found that I shopped at different times during the week and if the store was busy or we would be running out of some things because more than an exact week had passed then that was too much stress for me. I usually drive the boys to school at 8 am, then hit the store by 8:30-so quiet and empty!
     I took a cooked PC Turkey Burger for lunch and Dolph and I had a repeat of the Curry Chicken dish for supper. Kids got snack wraps with whole wheat wraps and chicken nuggets!
     Yesterday I took my measurements and I've lost 2" off my waist (plus another 1" today!), 1" off my hips, 2 1/2" off my left thigh and 1 1/2''s off my right thigh! Water, you say? WELL, I'M REALLY GLAD TO BE RID OF IT!!

Attack Day Four!

     Today is attack day 4 and Monday morning. Today I am down 5 lbs! My husband is finished his attack as he only has 20 lbs or so to lose...and you know how quickly men lose weight! Woke up wide awake at 5:30! Made scrambled eggs, galette, and peameal bacon for breakfast. Dolph usually gets up at 6:30. I'm having to get his lunch ready as soon as breakfast is done. I put in a hamburger patty, salad with Kraft Calorie Wise Balsamic Vinegrette, rolled up sliced roast beef with mustard, Pillers Turkey Bite and yogurt. So jealous that he can have veggies! Why does food have such control over me? Then minutes later I read in my Bible reading today: Job 23:12 "I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food." ESV Yikes! Okay, pull the knife from my heart!

     Okay, interject a funny story from years ago. My friend was staying over with her 2 young children and as they watched me pack my husband's lunch in the morning, Sarah, who was around 5 asked: "Mrs Van, why are you packing a picnic lunch?" My husband is a big guy and takes a cooler full of food. He calmly responded: "Sarah, that's my lunch and where I'm going it ain't no picnic!"

     I'm trying to get back into exercise after being off for so long with my concussion, so a few weeks ago I ordered Just Dance for Wii. Today I did 2 intervals-15 min in the morning and 30 min late afternoon. I'm not that great but I'm moving! Until recently exercise has given me a headache. One of my worries is that this diet will affect my recovery from the concussion. I still have some symptoms, usually pressure in my head from prolonged screen use or driving for more than an hour. Also, I tire easily and need to be free from stress and get minimum 7-8 hours of sleep! In 2011, I was told repeatedly by specialists that my brain needed carbs to function and recover properly, but in late November I saw an new neurologist who told me that carbs and specifically, sugar are my enemy and I need to eliminate them as much as possible. In the past year, consumption of sugar or carbs would give me immediate relief of some symptoms. Is it possible that my symptoms have been rebound symptoms similar to blood sugar highs and lows? Time will tell. If you haven't read about my concussion experience, you can read about it here.
For dinner I made Island Curry, which is authentic Jamaican Chicken curry served with rice. For Dolph and I, I made 2 chicken breasts with 2 Tbsp of the Mr Goudas Curry Powder and 1 tsp seasoning salt. I piled the spices on top of the chicken breasts and added a little (1/2 cup?) chicken broth to the pan. The spices filter down to the broth and give it a great flavour. We had the chicken breasts with Shiritaki noodles. Dolph got to have green beans with his! Let me tell you about those noodles. They have no carbs and are made from a type of yam I think. They come in a package with liquid-you rinse them and dip them briefly in hot water to warm. Do not boil! They are like eating elastics. They have no flavour but are filling.They also contain a type of Fiber which is great for weight loss! You can but them at most Indian/Asian food markets. I got mine at the Asian Food Market on Oxford St W in London.

So for the fish course...lol...we cooked up 6 pieces of Sole with onion powder and seasoning salt. I made a mustard sauce for the fish. 1/2 cup non-fat yogurt, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, a sprinkle of sweetener and maybe 1/2 tsp of Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs. I love these tubes of herbs, which I buy at Superstore. They keep them in the veggie section and they are a great way to have fresh herb flavour on hand without trying to keep fresh herbs from wilting in the fridge. The tube lasts for several weeks after opening. So after mixing up the sauce, I warmed it in the micro and spread out on the fish. I'm not a huge fish lover but it was pretty good.

Before bed I took a serving of Calm Magnesium Powder. You can read about the benefits of this mineral which we are all pretty much deficient in. It really helps with restless leg syndrome, muscle tightness, stress and insomnia to name a few. Had a great nights sleep! BTW-all the links are for your info. I'm not getting any reimbursement for them.

Chicken Breasts Island Curry Style

Attack Day Three!

     Today is day 3 of attack and also Sunday, so that means church-we attend Harvest Bible Chapel London and had to be up and have breakfast early and get the kids ready. I woke up feeling somewhat lethargic...probably still getting the carbs out of my system. Down .8 lbs today! Dolph and I made our 'trimmed and washed' peameal bacon, eggs, and gallette. The bacon was yummy!
     We had decided to invite the Chapmans over for lunch as they had been doing the diet and I didn't have my book yet. BTW, you can order it here. Wasn't sure what to make for lunch- I had leftover roast beef, but not enough for everyone (Chapmans have 6 kids-3 were coming) so we stopped and picked up extra ground beef, raced home and made burgers. The Chapmans came in as I was making my burgers and we all hung out at the end of the island by the fridge and talked 'condiments'. They would pull something out of my fridge, check the carb and fat listing on the label, then put it back and grab something else! Tim said, "That looks so gross!" Suddenly I began to laugh uncontrollably...here I was up to my elbows in a bowl of meat with my guests gathered around watching me and our Vegan friends, the Bunches, were at their house probably standing around a bowl of salad! Anyway, it was one of those moments in life that seemed a bit absurd! I'll post my recipe for homemade burgers, which have a quantity of jerk seasoning but are not hot-just spicy!
     So the kids got all the toppings with bun while we sat down to a plate with a lone burger, a pickle and PC brand Buffalo Chicken Sauce. I also smeared a bit of PC brand Sweet with Heat mustard which will change your life...if you let it! I tried to go for 2 pickles but Dee said, "No, Rose! One pickle is a condiment...two are a vegetable!" She's not going to let me get away with anything!
     After lunch the kids played Just Dance while Levi and Maddy sat around and did homework and the adults compared Dukan recipes and talked protein. After a bit we decided to go for a walk-Deanna walked circles around me in some kind of shoes with heels, while I huffed and puffed down the road. I felt like Big Dog/Little Dog! The guys strolled behind! It's 2 km to just past the corner and back-Dr Dukan recommends walking 20-30 min per day.
    When we got back, Adelaide gave me a bracelet that she had made me-I'm going to wear it to remind me of how much this family is supporting me! It was a great afternoon.
     Later after they left, we watched some TV and I had another burger patty for supper and some plain non-fat yogurt with vanilla added. My legs are very itchy again when trying to sleep!

Rosemary's Jerk Burgers

2 lbs lean ground beef

2 Tbsp extra hot horseradish sauce

2 Tbsp Jerk sauce-I use Mr Mr Gouda's or Grace

1 Tbsp dried parsely flakes

1 Tbsp onion powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup bread crumbs (for Dukan I substitute oat bran)

1 egg

Mix by hand and form into 6 oz patties

put on a plate and cover with saran wrap

and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

The flavours intensify and the burgers stay together better on the barbeque.

Don't be afraid of the seasonings in this. You really just get a very flavourful burger.

I like to barbeque until just med and use a meat thermometer to check.

The link for the Mr Gouda's says this seasoning is authentic and HOT!

I don't find it very hot at all. If you really like HOT, then use PC Montego Bay Fiery Jerk Sauce

tested by a Jamaican and certified authentic!

The kid's yummy burgers!

Our delightful Dukan dinner!

Tim made a friend with Colt!

Dee burning a few calories with the Pogo Stick!

Attack Day Two!

My morning weight is 245.2! 3 lbs down! Dolph and I made our eggs and galette again. I sliced up one of my Turkey bites and fried it up as well. Can't believe how on board my husband is with this diet-it's kind of nice having him do it with me rather that watching him eat anything he wants while I'm the only one dieting! For lunch I had part of a chicken breast and a chicken sausage. We went for a walk after lunch-2km.
I spent quite a bit of time Googling Dukan and looking up recipes. I found a lot of blogs and the US Dukan website with lots of recipes to try!I added a Dukan board to my Pinterest page so that I could keep track of everything. Then I entered Dukan into the search on Pinterest and found scores of recipes and articles on the diet. Lots of info to read up on!
In the afternoon we headed out to Walmart and Superstore to stock up on stuff we could eat and ended up buying a van load of protein. I walked past the take-out counter at Superstore and had to buy one of their Barbequed Chickens...the smell was killing me! We took it home and cut it in half, peeled most of the skin off (c'mon...we had to eat a bit of skin!) and devoured a half chicken each...I kind of felt like cavemen! I don't recomend this because it was 20% fat, although most of that was in the skin, but I still felt that it was too fatty after I ate it. The poor kids were drooling on us as they watched us devour it! Don't worry-we threw them some scraps! We also bought bags of frozen sole, Alaskan pollock and shrimp. I wasn't a fan of the pollock. I found it too oily for me. Peameal bacon was on sale so we bought a whole 2 lb chunk of it. I think it was 12 % fat. We washed the cornmeal off it and trimmed all the fat before cooking for breakfast in the morning. Can't believe how much I have to pee...guess that's the water weight coming off.

I had more of my homemade vanilla yogurt while Dolph ate half a 750 ml container of Low fat fruit yogurt. He said he felt so sleepy after (I think it was sweetened with sucrose) and passed out early. He slept all night and gained 1 lb....it was the yogurt! I couldn't fall asleep-my legs were so itchy inside I felt like my skin was crawling!
I found this photo on Marshall Brain's blog on howstuffworks. It's an xray of a 120 lb woman and a 250 lb woman. The difference is staggering. Check out the fat around her organs, the constricted lung space and even the lobes of fat in the brain! How healthy is that to have that pressure on your brain? Also her joints are compressed and her ankles are turned in. It was a great lesson for me to see what my fat is doing to the inside of my body!

You can read more about this photo, including the pronation of her ankles on Marshall's blog here

Attack Day One!

 So my first day on the diet was supposed to be March 22, 2012, but I felt really unprepared. I didn't  have the proper foods in the house and I was having my friends, Deanna and Christa for breakfast that morning. If you read the first post, Deanna is my cheerleader who got me to check out the diet. Soooo...I decided to wait until Friday and stock my fridge. We had a great breakfast-I made Deanna a piece of Salmon for her attack meal and Christa and I had Ham, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Bagels on Whole Wheat bagels-Yum! Deanna's little sad piece of salmon looked so lonely on her plate with no grilled asparagus! The night before I had made an Apple Crisp for our small group meeting and enjoyed 'The Last Supper' which was a recipe for Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese sandwiches from a Pinterest recipe. On Wednesday morning I weighed 246...after my final supper I weighed 248.4! After breakfast Deanna and I went shopping and picked up some essential ingredients; such as: low fat Greek yogurt, non fat plain yogurt and some Turkey Bites which are small turkey pepperettes. Deanna was really ready to eat again so she bought a package of sliced Turkey breast and ate it out of the wrapper holding the plastic like a bun...I dug into my bag of Turkey Bites! When we got to the self checkout the machine couldn't read the empty packages! I had lost 50 lbs in 2003-04 doing a healthy Atkins Diet and I knew that my O+ blood type loves protein so I figured this was something I could easily manage.

Friday morning: first day of Attack Phase and I woke up with a terrific toothache! Back molar-so painful that I could think of nothing else. I took Tylenol and it did nothing. Contemplated calling the dentist but decided to wait. I have suffered from TMJ in the past and thought I might need to see my chiropractor. So my husband Dolph, who has 20 lbs to lose, and I made breakfast together. We made the Oatbran Galette, which is the 1 1/2 TB of oatbran Dr Dukan recommends that you consume daily mixed with 1 1/2 TB of low fat Greek yogurt and 2 egg whites. It all fries up into this tasty little French  pancake called a Galette! Now if you try this diet, you will soon discover that on protein days, that little Galette is a LIFESAVER! There are all kinds of things that you can do with it which you can read about here. You can also use your daily requirement of oatbran as breading or to make little muffins...your choice! So we had our galettes with eggs and were quite satisfied.

My husband, Dolph is 6' 2" and large framed and works in construction, so he really needs to eat quite a bit. I packed him with a lunch pail full of sardines and fish. For lunch I had chicken breast cooked in my Lean Mean Fat Grilling machine which leaves them nice and juicy. I season most meat with Seasoning salt and Onion powder and add seasonings from there. We both had Turkey Bites as a snack. For supper I made a roast and we had just the beef with Au Jus while the kids cleaned up on corn, mashed potatoes and gravy! Dolph weighed himself before supper and had already lost 3 lbs! Men! We had Vanilla yogurt for dessert that I made by adding Sugar Twin and vanilla to plain yogurt. I'm not sure if it was in my head but I felt tired and lethargic all day, but it may have been the lack of sugar. My toothache slowly went away mid morning-thank God!

I must say here that this diet will mean quite a bit more time in the kitchen for me. We have 7 children-5 of whom are still at home. I homeschool and work with my husband in his construction business although to a lesser degree after my concussion and resulting post-concussive syndrome. I put my 2 oldest boys in high school last fall in order to reduce my stress levels. My schedule now is: I get up at 5:30-5:45, make coffee and try to get in 15-20 min of Bible reading and prayer. The oldest 2 boys get up at 6 and catch the bus at 6:45. I'm available to help them but they have their own little schedule worked out for having their showers, breakfast and packing their own lunches. Around 6:10 I start cooking breakfast for Dolph and I (before the diet, he made his own and I ate later). He gets up at 6:30 and we eat together. We get the rest of the kids up at 7:30 and I usually spend until 9 am in the kitchen cleaning up and getting them fed and onto their chores and schoolwork. Our family eats a fairly healthy diet. We have always made a point of having lots of fruit and veggies in the house, eat as much whole grains as we can and I cook from scratch 90% of the time. I make a meal plan and grocery shop accordingly. We have drug-free beef in the freezer and are planning on raising chickens this year. If I can do this diet and cook 2 separate meals for every meal and cook for seven...then anyone can do it! I was Googling and checking out some blogs of women who had done the diet..some single with just themselves to look after and when I read things like: "I'm craving a cupcake and trying to find away to make a Dukan Cupcake"... or "I didn't feel like going to the store so I stopped on the way home and picked up a cheese bun." How disheartening is that? If you are planning to fail...please don't blog about it! Marshall Brain, the Mastermind of Howstuffworks has some very interesting and entertaining posts on his blog about his Dukan Diet experience.

How did I do? When I woke up on Saturday, I had lost 3 lbs!! Yeah!

My Dukan Journey Begins

My friend, Deanna, who I call my biggest cheerleader sent me an email the other day which said:

www.dukandiet.com

check it out. find out your true weight.

this is for you! :)

more than just a diet--a lifetime cure for overweight.

She has been encouraging me in my fight to attain a healthy weight for years. Strangely, I was the one who introduced her to exercise in the early 90's...who knew she would turn into an exercise guru!
Later I'll do a post on my weight gain history...let's suffice it to say that 5 pregnancies in 7 years, stress, emotional issues and a lot of dieting had gotten me up to 248.4 lbs! There, I said it out loud! In 2010, I had gotten down 30 lbs by joining Deanna on the Lemonade diet and rollerskating aka: Roller Derby, but a concussion in December 2010 (which you can read about here) basically put me out of commission for over a year. I was not allowed to exercise, lift or even do excessive housework as any physical activity exacerbated my symptoms and gave me intense headaches and no ability to even think!

So here I was, basically very unfit, over 100 lbs overweight and turning 50 in a few months. I had started to walk 30 minutes a day in February and in spite of taking a popular meal replacement shake and watching what I ate, I had only dropped a few lbs only to immediately gain it back again! I knew I had to do something soon! I had just prayed about it with a friend and just as I got off the phone, I received the email, as well as a phone call from Deanna. She somewhat convinced me to try the Dukan Diet.The plan uses real food and is based on the premise that our body needs a certain period of time to 'forget' it's heaviest set point and therefore helps to maintain permanent weight loss. When you go to the website you are invited to find your 'true weight' and they send you a timeline in which you will lose the weight. They set mine at 156.6 lbs. I am 5' 4" and under all this weight I have a medium to small frame. My happiest weight was around 120 lbs. I felt great at 110 but usually weighed around 125 until my late 20's. I would like to get back down to around 123 lbs. That is over half my weight!

Basically, it's a high protein eating plan, started in France over 10 years ago. The premise is that you start with a 1-10 day 'Attack Phase' in which you eat only lean protein. I had lost 50 lbs eating a healthy Atkins diet in 2003-2004 so I figured I could do this. And I knew my body does not do well on carbs. The number of days on the attack phase is determined by the amount of weight you need to lose. My attack phase will be 6 days. After the Attack Phase, then you proceed to 'Cruise Phase' which may take over a year and involves eating only lean protein one day, then adding low glycemic veggies the next. In 'Consolidation Phase', you are allowed to add in some other higher carb foods but have one protein day a week, to help your body adjust. You stay at this phase over a period of months or even a year depending on the amount of weight to lose. The last phase: 'Stabilization Phase', is where you stay to ensure long term weight loss.

That night I pitched yet another diet plan to my husband. He was happy for me to start the diet and even thought he might as well, as he has 20 lbs to lose. The next day Deanna joined a friend and I for breakfast at my house. I made her a piece of salmon while we ate ham and egg breakfast bagels! We went shopping together to see what allowed foods were available at our local supermarket. The one motivating factor that really made me decide to do it, was that I've come to a place in my life spiritually and emotionally in which I feel that I can conquer this monster and that Deanna offered to pay for half of the fee to join Dr. Dukan's website and have day to day counselling. Her belief in me, more than the offered financial help convinced me that I really needed to do this, as how could I refuse when I had so much to lose (not in weight but life itself) and so much support! Even her 14 year old daughter offered to give me some money toward it! However, she only had a small amount of weight to lose, and when we found that my fee was $400 I decided for now not to join the website. With my 50th Birthday only months away and a party in the works, I was set to go! How could I not say yes to a new life with such a cheer leading team behind me? 





Not great quality photo...but you get the idea!



Does anyone smile in their 'before' photo?