Time on the Dr. Poon Metabolic Diet: 6 weeks
Weight lost this week: 3.6 lbs
Weight lost to date: 20.2 lbs
Hello all! Hope everyone has been healthy and happy this past week. I'm going through a crazy time at work - I have a Trial this Thursday and a bunch of pre-trials and stuff this month. Sometimes I love my job, sometimes I want to throw it out the window. At least I have an amazing husband. I swear, he's been so encouraging through this journey that I feel like I should buy him a set of pom-poms and a cheerleading outfit. He'd look kinda hot in it....LOL!
I did it! I broke the 20 pound mark! My clothes are starting to fit better and I'm seeing the difference (mostly in my face). I put my suit on for court this week and wonder of wonders - I didn't feel any tightness in the waist. Life's small victories!
The only thing I've started to get much more of is stomach pain. When I was eating whatever I wanted my stomach didn't rebel. Now that I'm really controlling what's going in, my stomach has decided to be bratty. Just yesterday I had 2 eggs with some egg whites and a piece of flexseed bread with cream cheese. The way my tummy tightened up and hurt, you would think I fed myself peroxide. I had to take 2 doses of Alka-Seltzer throughout the day (total of 3600 mg of sodium bicarbonate!) just to feel like I could manage.
I'll have to take this up with Dr. Weins when I see him. It's pretty discouraging but I'm sure it's just a bump in the road. Like any child, when you take away the things that it likes it throws a tantrum. Eventually it'll settle down (I hope!). In the meantime, no eggs for me!
Other than that, everything is going well. I've found out that I'm really quite sensitive to sodium because my weight has not really changed over the past three days, which is when I started to take in a bit more sodium. Good thing is that most of the weight I'm losing is fat. Yay!
That's it for now. I'm making stuffed chicken (chicken breast stuffed with small pieces of broccoli and herb & garlic light cream cheese - yum) and it's time to take them out of the oven. Keep me posted on how you guys are doing and if anyone has an answer for my rebellious stomach please let me know! Good luck!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Visit 3 to Doctor's office - That's more like it!
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!
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!
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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Week 2 - The medium isn't always the message
Time on the Dr. Poon Metabolic Diet: 2 weeks
Total weight lost this week: 3 pounds
Total weight lost to date: 10 pounds
Total weight lost this week: 3 pounds
Total weight lost to date: 10 pounds
Hey everyone! It's cold, it's miserable, but at least I'm losing weight! I think that's going to be my new thing. (insert bad thing here)...but at least I'm losing weight!
Week 2 was more challenging for me than the first. The loss slowed down and I actually had indigestion on a few days. That was pretty disheartening, until I realized that I'm not dieting - I'm changing my whole life. I'm sure there will be some more growing pains but to be honest, I'm glad the weight loss is slowing down a bit. If it continued at the pace it did last week I would have been worried about the sustainability of this plan.
I'm finding that my biggest challenges are pre-planning meals and actually taking time out of my day to eat. I've never been a big eater and I can easily go all day without realizing I'm hungry until I end up with a big headache and a bad attitude. This plan requires me to actually think about food, which is something I don't always do.
I went out to a party on Saturday night, which was my first big challenge. I ended up with a plate of meat and salad - I felt like the poster child for Atkins. The way I look at it, I can't control what the meat is cooked with so I just had to roll with the punches. I just scraped as much of the sauce off the meat as I could.
Today I had my first appointment at the doctor's office since I started the plan. Dr. Barsoum wasn't there, so I had my appointment with Dr. Pat Poon himself. This was the first time we met. And here's where the title of this week's blog becomes relevant.
Let me just say first off: I think Dr. Poon has developed a great way to help people who are struggling with weight and its associated complications. I give him all due respect for that. I also know that everyone is different and some peple must love his approach with his patients. But honestly, HONESTLY...I don't like his bedside manner. I found him to be abrupt, quite dismissive and far, far too defensive of his plan.
When I go to my other doctors, I expect (and usually get) a frank, open conversation about my issues and struggles, lightly seasoned with some empathy and understanding. What I got today was an "all or nothing" approach with someone who refuses to accept even the slightest insinuation that his plan is not automatically God's gift to perfect health.
Case in point - I told him about the indigestion, and his immediate, snippy answer was "not because of my plan". I then mentioned that I had vomited once last week and again, "not because of my plan". I haven't thrown up in the past 7 years until last week, so the lowest common denominator here was the plan. With that being said, there was a chance that I was doing something wrong so I wanted to discuss it with him. But he was completely unwilling to even listen to any critique of "his plan" that I just let it go.
I then mentioned that I was going away on vacation next week and he said that I'll switch over to Phase 3 for that period of time. I asked him to explain it to me and he said, "Did you buy my book? It's in there". Are you kidding?!? But I just decided to choose my battles and I left, fuming with anger.
After meeting the goal of 10 pounds of loss (4 pounds water, 6 pounds fat) over the past two weeks, my appointment with Dr. Poon left me upset and resentful. I refuse to have another appointment with him as I think his beside manner will be counterproductive to my success. Once again though, this is not a commentary on the plan itself. It works - I know it works because it's working for me - and you don't have to love the man to love the message.
Please don't let this discourage any of you. If you are thinking of giving this plan a try, do it. If your body responds to it, it will change your life. I am committed to this for the long haul because I've seen the results. But here's my pearl for the week:
Pearl #1: If you don't like any doctor that you saw for an appointment, don't book another appointment with that doctor. Everybody's different and there are enough doctors in the office for you to find a personality that works for you. Remember - your OHIP is paying for your plan and you have the right to be comfortable and supported by your physicians...all of them.
That's it for now. My chicken stir-fry is still sitting on my tummy so I'm going to watch some Seinfeld and hopefully laugh it into digestion. As always, I love your comments and can't wait for more of them. See you next week!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Week 1 - Liftoff!
Time on the Dr. Poon Metabolic Diet: 5 days
Weight lost to date: 7 pounds
Weight lost to date: 7 pounds
What up, y'all? I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a great New Year. I definitely did - I ate my Christmas dinner like I was on death row. I deprived myself of absolutely nothing. Let me tell you, stuffing and pumpkin pie never - I repeat, NEVER - tasted so good. It's because I knew it would be my last time tasting them for a long, long time. Kinda like kissing a guy you're breaking up with for the last time. I remember all of my "last kisses", and I certainly remember that meal.
I promised that I would infuse these blogs with tips that work for me, and I'm making good on that promise. You'll see my little pearls of wisdom throughout. They might work for you - they are definitely working for me.
Right after the New Year I picked up a really nasty flu and ended up on antibiotics for 10 days. The doctor and I agreed that it wouldn't be the right time to start the plan while I was so sick so my official start date was Saturday, January 15, 2011.
Pearl #1: If you are just starting this plan (or something like it), I highly recommend starting it on a weekend (preferably a Saturday). If you're a Monday-Friday office person like me, it will get to be too much if you have to start something like this while focussing on work. I took my time on the weekend making and planning meals, which was really helpful. I also found Saturday and Sunday to be enough to get my body pretty much used to the new stuff.
I'm not going to lie - Saturday was rough. My body rebelled (probably wanted to know where Mr. McDonald and His Highness the Burger King went) and I got a whopping headache in the afternoon. I was also wicked tired all weekend. I was warned about the fatigue and headaches and was told to just make sure I took a daily multivitamin, ate adequate protein, drank adequate water and got enough rest. Good, good advice. Ergo...
Pearl #2: Especially during the first few days, take your daily multivitamin, eat as much protein as you need to not be hungry, drink plenty of water and don't ignore your body if you just want to chill. Think of it like a detox - your body needs time to adjust.
To be honest, I really didn't miss the complex carbs after the weekend (which was only three days ago, I might add). I still don't miss them. I found that the key was to just completely take them out of my equation. They don't even factor into my nutritional decision-making anymore. My husband is not doing this diet (damn him and his normal bodily functions) and he's got Triscuits and rice and cookies and stuff all over the house. Once I made the conscious decision not to factor those things into your diet anymore, my mind cancelled them.
Pearl #3: Do not negotiate with yourself on food. High-carb stuff is not good for you, and that's that. Don't make deals like "just one cracker" or "just a 1/4 cup of chocolate milk" or whatever. You have to let it go. If you can't, this isn't the diet for you and I would suggest Weight Watchers or something, where just about everything is allowed. Trust me, ride it out - it won't take long for your body to level out.
Now for the good news. Guys, I dropped 7 pounds in 5 days! That's wild! Now, I know that rate of weight loss is not healthy long-term, and I know that it will slow down as I stay on the plan, and I know that it's mostly water weight, but I dropped 7 pounds in 5 days! It is so encouraging to step on the scale every day and see movement. Even if it's only a loss of 0.2 pounds, it makes a difference.
Pearl #4: Weigh yourself at the same time every day naked. I weigh myself first thing in the morning after I go the bathroom (hey, that stuff weighs something too!). It gives me a good benchmark and keeps the other variables to a minimum. And who wants to be penalized for the weight of their jeans or the change in their pocket or the food they just ate or whatever? Keep it as real as possible.
The hardest thing is going to be staying creative during Phase 1. After all, a breakfast of liquid egg product with one slice of flexseed bread and a tablespoon of cream cheese along with a coffee (cream and Splenda) is only going to be exciting for so long. I'm loving my stirfrys and my plethora of grilled meat but if anyone has any quick and easy Phase 1 recipe ideas, please pass them along in a comment. I'll do the same.
See you in a bit - good luck to everyone!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Ready, set...not until January!
So I had my first appointment at the Dr. Poon Metabolic Diet centre (Thornhill location) on November 30. The first thing I found funny was that the doctor's office is located in the basement of a building and able-bodied patients were taking the elevator (and not the stairs) down for their appointments. Ummm...this is a weight-loss thing, right? So shouldn't you take every little bit of exercise you can? Maybe that's just me.
When I got downstairs (elevator or stairs - I'll never tell) I filled out my three-page intake form. I really like that they make you fill out a consent form which states, among other things, that if you don't stick with the program you'll get booted. There's just something about signing a contract that makes the whole process real.
(By the way, the contract also says that I can't disclose the specifics of the program but I will tell you guys how it works out for me. )
After I sat around for 20 minutes I was taken into the secondary waiting room (typical doctor's office) and told to take my socks and shoes off. Hold on - nobody told me I'd have to do that! If I knew I'd be showing my bare tootsies to all and sundry I would have kept up with my summer/fall pedicures! Oh well, I know for next time. Anyway, I stood on this metal scale and I closed my pretty eyes. The machine displays your weight, fat composition, Body Mass Index and other wholly depressing numbers. I didn't want to know, nor will I tell you what those numbers are. Too damn sad.
So you get a printout with your "before" numbers and you're handed a leaflet with the guidelines of Phase I of the program. I can't tell you exactly what they are, but it's really not bad! I thought I'd be starving and would be chewing off my own arm for nourishment, but it's nothing like that. You can pretty much eat as much as you want of certain things, some of other things, and none of other things. (Clear as mud, right?) There's no calorie counting - you just eat from the "allowed" list until you're satisfied. I will tell you this - coffee is allowed. With cream! You have no idea how happy that made me.
Phase I is definitely the most restrictive part of the program, but it's also the most effective. Just think of it like detoxing from any addiction - you have to clear the crap out of the body and start from scratch. Apparently I should be dropping 7 to 10 pounds in the first two weeks of the program. I know it sounds like too much to be safe, but a good amount of it is going to be water. They're really up front with you about that, unlike some other programs that hail you to high heaven in the first couple of weeks when they know that you're just losing water weight.
After I read over my handy little brochure, I met Dr. Barsoum. What a beautiful lady - amazing eyes! She was really nice and sympathetic to all the health drama I'd been going through. We talked about the program and she answered some questions for me (some questions were stupid, I'll admit). She said that she has high hopes for me because I'm young, relatively healthy, able to exercise and committed. When somebody believes in you, you don't want to let them down.
After having a candid discussion with Dr. Barsoum, I told her that I really didn't think that I could go balls-out on the plan until after the Christmas season because I didn't want to yo-yo. She agreed with me that yo-yo dieting is worse than not dieting at all. So we agreed that I wouldn't let myself go over December, but I'd start full-out in January 2011. Boy, is Christmas dinner going to taste good this year.
After I met with the good doctor, I was shown the "low-carb grocery store". Don't let it fool you - it's not a bunch of Dr. Poon brand stuff - the stuff is from different companies. They are low-carb choices that help you get through the restrictiveness of Phase I. I bought some protein bars (you eat a lot of protein on this plan), some low-carb bread, low-carb mayo, carrot muffin mix, chocolate meringue cookies and hot cereal. I tried some of the stuff at home and surprise - everything tastes pretty good! The high-fibre content is going to play with my bowels - I'm just saying.
All in all, it was a great first experience. I have at least 75 pounds to lose and for the first time in my life I think it's possible. I'm pretty sure my next blog entry (sometime in early January 2011 when I start the plan) is going to sound absolutely bitchy because I'll be suffering from carb withdrawal. Don't let that discourage anyone - everybody suffers from withdrawal at the beginning.
If anybody else is on this plan, send a comment! We'll go through this together. See you in January!
When I got downstairs (elevator or stairs - I'll never tell) I filled out my three-page intake form. I really like that they make you fill out a consent form which states, among other things, that if you don't stick with the program you'll get booted. There's just something about signing a contract that makes the whole process real.
(By the way, the contract also says that I can't disclose the specifics of the program but I will tell you guys how it works out for me. )
After I sat around for 20 minutes I was taken into the secondary waiting room (typical doctor's office) and told to take my socks and shoes off. Hold on - nobody told me I'd have to do that! If I knew I'd be showing my bare tootsies to all and sundry I would have kept up with my summer/fall pedicures! Oh well, I know for next time. Anyway, I stood on this metal scale and I closed my pretty eyes. The machine displays your weight, fat composition, Body Mass Index and other wholly depressing numbers. I didn't want to know, nor will I tell you what those numbers are. Too damn sad.
So you get a printout with your "before" numbers and you're handed a leaflet with the guidelines of Phase I of the program. I can't tell you exactly what they are, but it's really not bad! I thought I'd be starving and would be chewing off my own arm for nourishment, but it's nothing like that. You can pretty much eat as much as you want of certain things, some of other things, and none of other things. (Clear as mud, right?) There's no calorie counting - you just eat from the "allowed" list until you're satisfied. I will tell you this - coffee is allowed. With cream! You have no idea how happy that made me.
Phase I is definitely the most restrictive part of the program, but it's also the most effective. Just think of it like detoxing from any addiction - you have to clear the crap out of the body and start from scratch. Apparently I should be dropping 7 to 10 pounds in the first two weeks of the program. I know it sounds like too much to be safe, but a good amount of it is going to be water. They're really up front with you about that, unlike some other programs that hail you to high heaven in the first couple of weeks when they know that you're just losing water weight.
After I read over my handy little brochure, I met Dr. Barsoum. What a beautiful lady - amazing eyes! She was really nice and sympathetic to all the health drama I'd been going through. We talked about the program and she answered some questions for me (some questions were stupid, I'll admit). She said that she has high hopes for me because I'm young, relatively healthy, able to exercise and committed. When somebody believes in you, you don't want to let them down.
After having a candid discussion with Dr. Barsoum, I told her that I really didn't think that I could go balls-out on the plan until after the Christmas season because I didn't want to yo-yo. She agreed with me that yo-yo dieting is worse than not dieting at all. So we agreed that I wouldn't let myself go over December, but I'd start full-out in January 2011. Boy, is Christmas dinner going to taste good this year.
After I met with the good doctor, I was shown the "low-carb grocery store". Don't let it fool you - it's not a bunch of Dr. Poon brand stuff - the stuff is from different companies. They are low-carb choices that help you get through the restrictiveness of Phase I. I bought some protein bars (you eat a lot of protein on this plan), some low-carb bread, low-carb mayo, carrot muffin mix, chocolate meringue cookies and hot cereal. I tried some of the stuff at home and surprise - everything tastes pretty good! The high-fibre content is going to play with my bowels - I'm just saying.
All in all, it was a great first experience. I have at least 75 pounds to lose and for the first time in my life I think it's possible. I'm pretty sure my next blog entry (sometime in early January 2011 when I start the plan) is going to sound absolutely bitchy because I'll be suffering from carb withdrawal. Don't let that discourage anyone - everybody suffers from withdrawal at the beginning.
If anybody else is on this plan, send a comment! We'll go through this together. See you in January!
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