Enjoying my Phase 1 Mango Strawberry Mint Smoothie with Brewer
I've mentioned a couple of times that I was going to be trying a "diet" called The Fast Metabolism Diet soon. Well today is Day 10 for me and it's been flying by! I've decided that each Monday I'll share a weekly diary for the entire 28 days (and beyond if I do in fact do 6 weeks instead of 4 like I'm planning) in the hopes that if someone else is considering it, they can see how easy it is.
A little background info: the "diet" was created by nutritionist Haylie Pomroy and the reason I call it a "diet" quote unquote is because it's unlike any other fad diet I've heard of before. There is no counting calories and as far as portions go, the more you want to lose, the more you have to eat. Every time I tell people what I'm eating on this diet they seem surprised.
I also hate the word diet. I've never dieted before in my life... but I've never really eaten healthy before either. So as much as I want to shed a few pounds of holiday weight before Coachella, the main reason FMD was interesting to me was the hope that it would jump start healthier eating habits. For instance: Cheez-Its, sugar-free Red Bull and gummy bears should not count as a meal.
Without further adieu, here's how I survived my first week of FMD... and the caffeine withdrawals.
Day 1 - Saturday Phase 1
I'm super excited to start. I spent this past Thursday night cooking Chicken and Barley Soup for my Phase 1 lunches and did a huge grocery shopping last night in preparation. Hit a snafu this morning when my new Hamilton Beach single-serve blender started smoking while making my oatmeal and pineapple smoothie. Was too nervous to continue blending so it was less than smooth when I drank it - oh well. The soup came out great for lunch. Snacked on apples and kiwis. Made the Chicken and Broccoli Bowl for dinner and tried to double the recipe - did not go so well. Came out bland but decent. Felt great all day, about my decision to start, my preparedness and my meals.
Day 2 - Sunday Phase 1
Holy Jesus God, my head. Caffeine withdrawal has hit and it hit hard. Let me paint you a picture of an average day in my pre-FMD life: At 7am, I drink a 12oz Red Bull on the drive to work. At 8am, I settle into my desk at work with a nice cup of Earl Grey. 8:30am, second cup. Around 9am and 11am I drink a Diet Coke each. 3pm, more black tea. After work, depending on what I'm doing, I drink an 8-12oz Red Bull before I go out. Diet Cokes with dinner often follow.
My point is, you're probably not nearly as bad as me... so don't let me scare you. But I can feel my head throb with every heartbeat and I am battling some severe narcoleptic tendencies and occasional nausea. That being said, my Fat-Burning Mango Smoothie this morning was DELICIOUS. I added some strawberries and blended it with my second new Hamilton Beach single-serve blender (I had bought two so I could bring one to the office). Lunch was more Chicken and Barley Soup and dinner was leftover Chicken and Broccoli Bowl - I added balsamic vinegar this time and it tasted great. Even though I was barely functional, I capped the day off with a 2 mile walk to and from the dog park. Felt a little burpy from all the fruit, but other than that and the withdrawals, I do feel great.
Day 3 - Monday Phase 2
My first work day and I'm nervous about how this diet will work in the real world. Woke up to my slow cooker warming my finished Beef, Kale and Leek soup for my Phase 2 lunches. Doled out portions for this week and froze portions for next. Then hurried to prep my Turkey Bacon and Celery with Lime Juice and Sea Salt for breakfast so I could eat within 30 minutes of waking up. It's starting to feel like all I do is cook and prep foods - hoping that my frozen meals will mean less of this in the coming weeks. No signs of caffeine withdrawal (yet) and I feel full of energy for the day.
Around noon, my caffeine withdrawal comes back with unparalleled rage. I just finished my soup for lunch (and am already feeling a little sick of and icked out by all the meat), when it hits. I try to pound ice cold water and do some right-nostril breathing (my desperate Googling told me this would work) and nothing helps. Everything is foggy and conversations with people at work are physically painful. Someone starts talking about brownies in the breakroom and I almost cry, desperate for any morsel of caffeine the chocolate might have. I would actually maybe kill someone for a Diet Coke.
Come dinnertime, I'm skeptical about the recipe for Cinnamon and Mustard Baked Chicken but it comes out amazing. Best meal yet and the house smelled so good. Switch the Lemon and Garlic Spinach with Asparagus and used crushed garlic instead of minced... delicious. I could eat this for dinner every night.
Day 4 - Tuesday Phase 2
Up at the sound of my alarm and in the kitchen for more Turkey Bacon and Celery with Lime Juice and Sea Salt. Was actually looking forward to it this morning. Had tons of energy and was wide awake getting ready for work - that's a first. Couldn't resist an early weigh-in and saw that I was down 6lbs! I'm skeptical but can't believe I could be down any weight with how much I've eaten and no exercise (minus the walk). Snacks today are Sweet and Spicy Buffalo Jerky from Trader Joe's and they taste so much better than the Teriyaki Turkey Jerky I had yesterday. Main meals are both dupes and leftovers from yesterday - it's nice to not have to worry about cooking for once. Mild headaches throughout the afternoon but nothing at all like yesterday. The withdrawal is finally subsiding.
At night, friends come over and I'm only mildly bummed that I'm not participating in the beers, Mexican food and Thin Mints. Luckily, I'm stuffed from dinner so it's not too tempting.
Day 5 - Wednesday Phase 3
Hooray! I'm ready for the "easy" phase of the week. It's a welcome reprieve after Phase 2. For breakfast I have the Berry Nutty Oatmeal Smoothie (after an emergency run to the gas station for sunflower seeds... definitely not as prepared for the foods in this phase) and half a cucumber. On my way to work I stop at Sprouts to remedy that and pick up some tomatoes and olives for lunch, hummus for snacks, some living basil and sprouted grain bread. Carrying two grocery bags into work feels ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as having living basil for an office plant. Cucumber and hummus for my first snack of the day - god, I am so glad to be eating snacks I would normally choose. For lunch I have the Olive and Tomato Salad with a couple of slices of turkey thrown in and it's super yummy. For my second snack of the day I have Celery Sticks with Almond Butter... my first time trying Almond Butter. I don't know what I expected when I heard the name, but I didn't realize it was like peanut butter... only better.
After work, I have to go back to the grocery store for chicken. Really? I think this is my 5th time in a grocery store this week. Part of this is my fault for not being more prepared and writing the foods out, but partly, it's because of all the perishable items. Whatever the case, I'm so excited about tonight's dinner, I don't even mind the extra trip. I cook up the Coconut Curry Chicken and it is AMAZING. Just as amazing as it sounds. Ryan isn't doing the diet, but he definitely enjoyed this one for dinner.
Day 6 - Thursday Phase 3
My alarm goes off at 6am each day and I hardly hit snooze anymore. Usually in the mornings, I'm so drowsy it hurts to open my eyes, but the past couple of days, I've slept soundly and woken up almost instantly when my alarm goes off. I had plans to try one of the other breakfasts on the Phase 3 list but most of them involve toast - and guess what we don't have? A toaster! I want to buy one off Amazon but all the highest rated ones are Hamilton Beach and after the blender experience...
I opt for another Oatmeal Berry Smoothie and pack up raw almonds, cucumbers and hummus for snacks. For lunch I make a spinach, tomato, olive and hummus salad with turkey and balsamic vinegar. When the hummus and vinegar mix, it turns into the best balsamic vinaigrette I've ever had. After work, I head to bikram for the first time in months. The exercise for Phase 3 is yoga.. though I'm not sure if this counts. Bikram feels a lot more like cardio than relaxation, though it's relaxing to me! Dinner is leftover Coconut Curry Chicken... not that I'm complaining.
Coconut Curry Chicken
Day 7 - Friday Phase 3
The last day of Week One! I can't believe how healthy I've eaten this week. The only thing I've drank this week is water and the only foods I've eaten were healthy, organic, home-cooked meals. I ate breakfast every day. These are life achievements! I've never, ever in my life had a week as healthy as this.
Another Oatmeal Berry Smoothie and more hummus related snacks. For lunch I make a turkey sandwich on sprouted grain bread with hummus, basil, tomatoes, and olives. A little stressed about it because it wasn't preplanned and I'm not sure if it counts - I am kind of freestyling today with whatever's left in the fridge and meets the list. At dinnertime, I cook another really tasty, SUPER easy meal and my second favorite so far: Chicken and Quinoa Risotto. Of course... it wasn't without it's own trip to the grocery store for yet more chicken. For this dish, I cooked the chicken in olive oil for a few minutes, tossed in red and yellow bell peppers and onion slices, then garlic and took it off heat. Then you mix in the hummus and basil, coating everything in this layer of flavor, then adding the quinoa (which was cooking in the rice cooker). It was so, so yummy.
Friday night was a lowkey one for us, so luckily there wasn't too much temptation alcohol-wise, but all in all my first week went great. I stuck to the diet flawlessly, didn't cheat once and beat my caffeine withdrawal. At the end of Week 1, I feel really optimistic that I'll be able to see this thing through... as long as I get better at planning my grocery store runs. And though I only exercised 1 of the 3 days, I saw great results! I'll try to get at least a couple more workouts in next week.
FMD Week 1 Weight Loss: 7 lbs
