Gorgeous view leaving the Point Loma Nazarene University Track after a Week 2 workout
I get a lot of emails and comments on my post "Everything You Need to Know Before Doing the Fast Metabolism Diet" that lead me to believe people have not read the actual book. If I write a revised guide for this meal plan, I think that's the first and maybe the most important thing you need to know: read the book. And not because I don't like answering those questions... in fact I'm happy to help. But because the book explains the science behind the Fast Metabolism Diet better than I ever could!
I spend so much time trying to explain the point of this meal plan to people who get stuck at the word "Diet" and don't hear me say anything else. Important things like how this "diet" is not about calorie counting or deprivation. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Which reminds me of one of the greatest takeaways from the early chapters of the book: Pomroy's acronym for D.I.E.T is Did I Eat Today?
FMD reframes the word "diet" into a question about whether or not you ate with intention or purpose to fuel your body that day. Which is an even higher purpose for starting this "diet" than weight loss. It also happens to be the mentality that propelled me through my second week of this new round of FMD meals.
Day 8 - Saturday Phase 1
After making myself a Pineapple Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie for breakfast, I get started on making a crockpot full of Turkey Chili, following the book's recipe. This chili will provide lunches for the new few weeks of Phase 1 on the diet and I can't wait to have my first sample for lunch. In the meantime, I slice up 2 kiwis for a snack. Later, while eating lunch, I mentally prepare myself for an afternoon full of tempting deviations from the plan: Taco Fest, which I'm attending as media and therefore passing up on unlimited free cervezas, and my friend Shanna's birthday party at Petco Stadium... where tons of tasty food and good craft beer abound! Unfortunately, I didn't plan it right and ended up skipping dinner altogether, but ultimately I make it through the evening without caving into my alcohol cravings. I do however indulge in one off-diet corn flour tortilla chicken taco, because come on... it was Taco Fest after all.
Day 9 - Sunday Phase 1
A week into FMD is when you start to reap the benefits of all the extra food you make on this meal plan. Sunday was an easy day, with not a single minute of cooking involved: Pineapple Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie for breakfast, 2 Kiwis for a snack, Turkey Chili for lunch, an Apple for a snack, and leftover frozen Chicken Sausage, Broccoli and Brown Rice Fusilli for dinner.
Day 10 - Monday Phase 2
Ugh. Here we go again. You know in the book, Pomroy talks about how much of your metabolism is affected by your mental state as you eat. I believe that, which is why I try to make a real mental effort to not openly hate Phase 2 days as much as I do, but I don't think my body buys it. Anyway, I start the day off by attempting to make the Spanish Egg White Scramble better this time. I even use a little Phase 3 Olive Oil to cook it in for some flavor. But nope... still makes the house smell like shit, still makes me want to barf. Oh well. I tried. For my snacks today, I eat a bag of Krave's Chili Lime Beef Jerky, which is made with soy. I still haven't been able to find a soy-free jerky. Then at lunch time, I go way off the path... we were taking a new hire on my team out for lunch and the only semi Phase 2-friendly thing on the menu that I can order without being that asshole who asks the server to make a hundred substitutions is Chicken Picatta with fried Zucchini. I know that sounds suspicious that the ONLY thing happened to be one of my favorite oiled, breaded and fried chicken dishes, but it's true! I swear! For dinner, I baked some Cinnamon Mustard Chicken with Lemon Garlic Asparagus... a welcome reprieve from most Phase 2 disasters.
Day 11 - Tuesday Phase 2
I've given up on trying to make a tastier breakfast on Phase 2... back to Turkey Bacon and Celery with Lime Juice and Sea Salt. For my Turkey Bacon, I like to sprinkle some (a lot) of dry mustard and oregano on them while they're cooking for some extra flavor. Snacks today are a bag of Buffalo Jerky, lunch is leftover Cinnamon Mustard Chicken and asparagus, and dinner is a Lettuce Wrapped Hamburger with a side salad. Oh and a few delicious tomatoes snuck in there. No idea how.
Day 12 - Wednesday Phase 3
My joy at reaching Phase 3 each week can not be understated. The foods on these days are just so much more aligned with what I normally eat that it feels like a relief to get to Phase 3. To kick things off, I started the day with a Raspberry Oatmeal Smoothie. Pomroy says you're supposed to have a side of veggies with a breakfast like this, which I almost never do, but today I cut up some cucumber slices to eat with it. Snacks were Cucumbers and Hummus from my favorite local hummus supplier, Baba Foods, and Almond Butter and Celery. I made a Tomato, Olive, Onion and Basil salad for lunch and ate some frozen leftover Coconut Chicken Curry... a lifesaver since the last thing I wanted to do after working out and work was cook dinner.
Day 13 - Thursday Phase 3
Another Raspberry Oatmeal Smoothie, but no cucumbers this time. I barely have time to pack my cucumbers and hummus for snacks before I head to work, let alone eat extra veggies. I'm running a huge training session today and need to finish preparing, so my morning flies by. Before I realize it, it's been about 5 hours since I had breakfast. The training is a Lunch and Learn, so I eat my Cucumbers and Hummus quickly before class while everyone else chows down on the delicious specialty pizzas I ordered from the health food market. Jealous. I end up skipping lunch altogether, come home and eat the last of my frozen Coconut Chicken Curry leftovers and pass out before 8pm.
Day 14 - Friday Phase 3
After an exhausting day like Thursday, I am thankful that I can work from home on Friday, if only to not have the added stress of rushing through breakfast to leave for work on time. The 20 minutes I would normally spend on commuting go towards lazily toasting up some Sprouted Grain Bread for Toast with Hummus and Tomatoes. It also means not having to pack up all the items necessary to make my Tomato and Olive Salad and lug them to work... I can just spend 15 minutes making it in my own kitchen at lunch time. I only remember to have one snack today, Carrots and Hummus. At night, Ryan and I meet our friends Ernesto and Megan for dinner at Centifonti's in La Mesa. I try to stick to FMD as much as I can, ordering a Greek Salad with Chicken and a side of Sweet Potato Fries. Meanwhile the three of them drink delicious boots of beer. That's right, boots, as in glass boots that hold up to 11 beers. Can't say I wasn't bummed that I didn't partake (I was really, really bummed), but to make it up to myself, I treated myself to the smallest size of the restaurant's Saigon Cinnamon Gelato. It was so worth it.
