Hi! I really wasn't expecting to write another blog so soon after the last one, but I wanted to tell you guys about the fantastic appointment I had today at Dr. Poon's Thornhill office.
If you've read my week 2 blog, you know how I felt after my appointment with Dr. Pat Poon. In a nutshell, I was not happy. This week, however, I had the opposite experience. I saw Dr. Weins and it was a perfect fit.
I've lost a total of 17 pounds in one month and nine days. The weight I gained on my Florida vacation is gone and I'm back in ketosis. I think that's a pretty good accomplishment, but the great thing was hearing it from Dr. Wiens. Even though it wasn't necessary, he took the time to congratulate me on a job well done so far. He also took a long time with me addressing my concerns, answering my questions and giving me general tips on how to stay on course. I didn't feel rushed at all. I was very candid about some of my concerns and he was very open by telling me that the changes I'm going through could very well be because of a radical change in my eating habits and food intake. His approach was diametrically opposed to the "not because of my plan" schpiel I got at my last appointment. It made all the difference in the world.
I'm going to try and stay with Dr. Wiens throughout the plan. Even though Dr. Barsoum was great and I have no complaints about her at all, I just clicked with Dr. Weins' approach. I would strongly suggest that you guys all take the time to determine what doctor's style works the best for you. Not every doctor you see is going to click with you and it is definitely worth finding one you feel comfortable with for the long haul.
I told some people at the Clinic about this blog. Dr. Wiens, if you're reading this, thank you so much for renewing my faith in my doctor's appointments.
Just had to share. Please let me know how your appointments are going. Bye for now!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Week 5 - Back to Life, Back to Reality...
Time on the Dr. Poon Metabolic Diet: 5 weeks (including vacation)
Weight lost this week: None (3 pounds gained, about 2 of those lost to date)
Total loss to date: 13 pounds
Weight lost this week: None (3 pounds gained, about 2 of those lost to date)
Total loss to date: 13 pounds
Hey all! I'm back in cold Toronto after having a fantastic vacation in Florida. My husband and I had an amazing time. I spent just about every day either by the pool or on the beach. I came back with a sunburn but it was pretty much worth it. We got back on Thursday and I got back into the swing of the diet on Sunday.
Forgive me friends, for I have sinned. I went against my own intentions and broke the diet while I was on vacation. I didn't go off plan for cheating's sake (promise!). I actually wanted to see how long it would take for the weight to start coming back on if I went back to my pre-Poon life. I didn't totally let myself go, but I allowed myself to eat what I wanted for one meal a day. Boy, did those carbs taste like sweet poison.
I gained three pounds while on vacation, which was depressing, but the good Doctor's book is right - the gain was mostly water. I've already dropped two of those three pounds and I'm safely back in ketosis. I had to be really strict on Sunday and Monday though. At the end of the day, I am now only 0.6 pounds away from being right where I was before I left for vacation. That ain't bad.
Last week I got an e-mail from a reader who told me that she let herself go back to regular eating after she met her goal of 55 pounds of loss, only to have gained back 35 of it in just a few months. First of all, to that reader, thanks for being so honest. We're only human, and you're strong enough to get back on track. Second, that e-mail and my vacation experience gave me a new pearl to share with you.
This week's pearl: We can't go back to eating the way we did before we started Dr. Poon's plan after we reach our goals. Sucks, but we can't. We'll gain the weight back. Our bodies obviously didn't like the way we were eating before, which is why we ended up with the weight problems. This is a complete lifestyle change, not a "diet". Look at it this way - our relationship to food was toxic before we started the plan, and nobody wants to go back to a toxic relationship, right?
One more thing - have you guys checked out the Low-Carb Grocery Store? There's one in Markham and you can also buy their products online. GREAT place and way more selection than at Dr. Poon's office. The prices really aren't that bad either. You can find it online at http://www.thelowcarbgrocery.com/. Let me know what you think of it!
That's it for this entry. I'll check in next week and hopefully I'll have broken the 15-pound mark. Good luck everyone, and keep the comments and e-mails coming! ;)
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Week 3 - Variety Needed (recipe for Steakhouse Beef included)
Time on the Dr. Poon Metabolic Diet: 3 weeks
Weight lost this week: 3.6 pounds
Total weight lost to date: 13.6 pounds
Hello again! It's Superbowl Sunday - Go Steelers! Actually I don't know much of anything about football but everybody I trust seems to think that the Steelers are going to take it so I'm jumping on the bandwagon.
It has been an interesting week on Dr. Poon's plan. Soon after my appointment with Dr. Poon last Sunday (check out my week 2 blog for more on that) I started to get really bored with my food choices to date. Sure, it's been great to see the weight almost falling off and it's great to be burning all kinds of fat, but if I eat like a glorified rabbit I won't be able to sustain this long-term. I'll probably be on this plan for over a year so I don't want to sabotage it on account of sheer boredom.
I have a demanding job out of the house with demanding clients and super long hours. I really admire the people who can come up with recipes and share them with others. As much as I'd like to develop interesting recipes and try something new all the time, the job I have doesn't allow me time for that. I usually get home between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. and I usually have a briefcase full of files with me. For that reason, I decided to commit myself to developing interesting marinades. Chicken tastes like - well, chicken - so the oomph is going to have to be in the flavours. So far I've come up with one awesome marinade and strategy for having great meat in a hurry.
Here it is - my first recipe (well, sort of)! It tastes and looks like a meal from The Keg.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEAKHOUSE BEEF with MUSHROOMS AND ASPARAGUS
You'll need:
- One large Ziploc freezer bag (you've probably already been freezing your meat in them anyway so use the one that your meat was frozen in)
- Beef cubes (the kind you find in the freezer section for beef stews)
- Walden Farms BBQ Sauce
- Low-sodium teriyaki marinade
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Garlic
- Mrs. Dash original seasoning blend
The night before you want to eat your beef:
1. Take your beef out of the freezer and defrost it (I do this in the microwave). Keep your Ziploc bag. Of course, you can also use this with fresh beef but you'll need a Ziploc bag anyway
2. When the beef is fully defrosted put the cubes back in the Ziploc bag. Throw in some of the BBQ sauce, soy sauce, teriyaki marinade. Use lots of garlic and Mrs. Dash. If you want it spicy, throw in some black pepper and paprika. Don't worry if you overdo it a bit on the sauces - most of it is going to get thrown away as extra marinade anyway. The amount of sauce/spice will depend on how much beef you cook - when in doubt, be generous because you want to have enough marinade to fully coat the beef.
3. Zip up the Ziploc bag tightly, leaving room for air. Shake the hell out of the bag and massage the marinade into the beef (over the bag so you don't get stinky hands).
4. Put the bag of beef in the fridge for the night.
This usually takes me about 5 minutes, not including defrosting time.
The next day:
1. Cut up some white button mushrooms into quarters. Trim down the stems first.
2. Heat some olive oil in a skillet on med-high (I put my stove on 7.5 out of 10)
3. When the oil is hot, take your beef out of the bag and put the cubes directly into your skillet. Some of the sauce will spill off into the skillet - that's fine. You can toss your messy Ziploc bag at this point or hold on to it for garbage while you're cooking. That's what I do.
4. When the beef has browned on both sides, throw some water into the skillet and let it reduce a bit.
5. Just when you see the water starting to reduce, add the mushrooms into the same skillet. Give the mushrooms enough time to absorb the flavours of the sauce.
6. Cook your beef to taste (Dr. Poon says the more well-done it is, the less fat it has). Plate the beef first and pour the mushroom sauce over the beef.
While you're cooking the beef, just have another skillet going with your asparagus. Easiest vegetable in the world to cook - trim the asparagus stems like flower stems (on an angle), put them in a skillet of boiling salted (Half Salt) water and let them cook for 3-5 minutes (depending on how you like them). I dust them with a few Molly McButter sprinkles when they're done for flavour.
Easy breezy, and so good! You can substitute chicken, lamb, pork, whatever. The marinade is fantastic and didn't affect my ketones or weight loss a bit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just bought a camera so I'll see if I can find out how to upload a pic of this meal so you guys can see it. Post a comment if you try this and tell me what you think!
I'm going to be vacationing in Florida this week and next week so it's going to be a major challenge to stay on course. Dr. Poon told me to go with Phase 3 while I'm gone but I'm going to see if I can actually stay with Phase 1 or worst case scenario, Phase 2. I'll check in when I'm back home (late next week). Good luck everyone!
Weight lost this week: 3.6 pounds
Total weight lost to date: 13.6 pounds
Hello again! It's Superbowl Sunday - Go Steelers! Actually I don't know much of anything about football but everybody I trust seems to think that the Steelers are going to take it so I'm jumping on the bandwagon.
It has been an interesting week on Dr. Poon's plan. Soon after my appointment with Dr. Poon last Sunday (check out my week 2 blog for more on that) I started to get really bored with my food choices to date. Sure, it's been great to see the weight almost falling off and it's great to be burning all kinds of fat, but if I eat like a glorified rabbit I won't be able to sustain this long-term. I'll probably be on this plan for over a year so I don't want to sabotage it on account of sheer boredom.
I have a demanding job out of the house with demanding clients and super long hours. I really admire the people who can come up with recipes and share them with others. As much as I'd like to develop interesting recipes and try something new all the time, the job I have doesn't allow me time for that. I usually get home between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. and I usually have a briefcase full of files with me. For that reason, I decided to commit myself to developing interesting marinades. Chicken tastes like - well, chicken - so the oomph is going to have to be in the flavours. So far I've come up with one awesome marinade and strategy for having great meat in a hurry.
Here it is - my first recipe (well, sort of)! It tastes and looks like a meal from The Keg.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEAKHOUSE BEEF with MUSHROOMS AND ASPARAGUS
You'll need:
- One large Ziploc freezer bag (you've probably already been freezing your meat in them anyway so use the one that your meat was frozen in)
- Beef cubes (the kind you find in the freezer section for beef stews)
- Walden Farms BBQ Sauce
- Low-sodium teriyaki marinade
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Garlic
- Mrs. Dash original seasoning blend
The night before you want to eat your beef:
1. Take your beef out of the freezer and defrost it (I do this in the microwave). Keep your Ziploc bag. Of course, you can also use this with fresh beef but you'll need a Ziploc bag anyway
2. When the beef is fully defrosted put the cubes back in the Ziploc bag. Throw in some of the BBQ sauce, soy sauce, teriyaki marinade. Use lots of garlic and Mrs. Dash. If you want it spicy, throw in some black pepper and paprika. Don't worry if you overdo it a bit on the sauces - most of it is going to get thrown away as extra marinade anyway. The amount of sauce/spice will depend on how much beef you cook - when in doubt, be generous because you want to have enough marinade to fully coat the beef.
3. Zip up the Ziploc bag tightly, leaving room for air. Shake the hell out of the bag and massage the marinade into the beef (over the bag so you don't get stinky hands).
4. Put the bag of beef in the fridge for the night.
This usually takes me about 5 minutes, not including defrosting time.
The next day:
1. Cut up some white button mushrooms into quarters. Trim down the stems first.
2. Heat some olive oil in a skillet on med-high (I put my stove on 7.5 out of 10)
3. When the oil is hot, take your beef out of the bag and put the cubes directly into your skillet. Some of the sauce will spill off into the skillet - that's fine. You can toss your messy Ziploc bag at this point or hold on to it for garbage while you're cooking. That's what I do.
4. When the beef has browned on both sides, throw some water into the skillet and let it reduce a bit.
5. Just when you see the water starting to reduce, add the mushrooms into the same skillet. Give the mushrooms enough time to absorb the flavours of the sauce.
6. Cook your beef to taste (Dr. Poon says the more well-done it is, the less fat it has). Plate the beef first and pour the mushroom sauce over the beef.
While you're cooking the beef, just have another skillet going with your asparagus. Easiest vegetable in the world to cook - trim the asparagus stems like flower stems (on an angle), put them in a skillet of boiling salted (Half Salt) water and let them cook for 3-5 minutes (depending on how you like them). I dust them with a few Molly McButter sprinkles when they're done for flavour.
Easy breezy, and so good! You can substitute chicken, lamb, pork, whatever. The marinade is fantastic and didn't affect my ketones or weight loss a bit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just bought a camera so I'll see if I can find out how to upload a pic of this meal so you guys can see it. Post a comment if you try this and tell me what you think!
I'm going to be vacationing in Florida this week and next week so it's going to be a major challenge to stay on course. Dr. Poon told me to go with Phase 3 while I'm gone but I'm going to see if I can actually stay with Phase 1 or worst case scenario, Phase 2. I'll check in when I'm back home (late next week). Good luck everyone!
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