I've been away..... I've been far far away

Well…. What can I say? It’s been far too long since I’ve posted anything. Did you wonder where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing?  I've been away.  I've been far far away.  Actually.... Life…. I’ve Just been living life. Honestly, I’ve gotten a bit lazy (okay, maybe "a bit" is not even close) and I’m embarrassed about that. I’ve been rocking out my workouts and I’ve been doing a program called Strong Lift and it’s modified to fit me. I love the program and have done it religiously. I’ve gained a lot of muscle and strength and that makes me happy-giddy. I’ve temporarily had to cut out cardio though and that combined with my crappy diet and just being lazy and not tracking…. Well, my metabolism has gone to shit. I’ve gained a lot of weight back and I have been in denial about it. Sure, I’m working out. Sure, I’ve bulked and I’ve added muscle but I can’t hide behind the fluff any longer. I have to take some responsibility and I have to do something. I’m tired of excuses (you know, those excuses that I said I was done making). You can’t go around promoting a healthy lifestyle when you’re eating junk food.

Wait a minute…. Before anyone jumps down my throat…. I know that different things work for different people. I know that there are people that swear by flexible dieting, by eating clean, paleo, counting points and tracking calories, etc. I’ve done it all! I still believe in flexible dieting but I believe in keeping it clean as much as possible and somehow or another, I just wanted it to be easy and I have learned the hard way that there is no easy way…. Unfortunately.

Because of the on-again / off-again diet and meal plans and because I just outright quit tracking anything, I’ve decided that what I need to do is jumpstart my metabolism with the Fast Metabolism Diet. To be honest, I’m no longer a subscriber to “diets” or anything that is a quick fix. I know that it’s something that needs to just happen and it takes time, a change in my habits, etc but I also know that my metabolism is out of whack and I’m ready to get this party started! Is it gonna work? Well, I sure hope so. It’s a 28 day program and after that I can either continue or go back to eating clean, regardless, I have to do something right now! Also, in order to stay accountable, I’m going to track everything; My daily/weekly meals, my progress, etc. I work harder when I’m accountable….. so here it goes!

If you’re not familiar with the plan, each week is split up into 3 “phases”.
• Phase 1 is on Monday and Tuesday and focuses on high-glycemic, moderate-protein, low-fat foods
• Phase 2 is Wednesday and Thursday and focuses on high-protein, high-vegetable, low-carbohydrate, low-fat foods
• Phase 3 is Friday-Sunday and focuses on high healthy-fat, moderate-carbohydrate, moderate-protein, low-glycemic fruits and foods.

Oh….. did I mention that there is no wheat, corn, dairy, soy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, fruit juices, artificial sweeteners or anything that would be labeled a fat free or diet food? Yeah, that part sucks because, let’s face it….. those all taste good AND I love wine….. but it’s cycling different kinds of foods to fool and in turn, boost your metabolism.… it’s 28 days… I can do anything for 28 days!
No, I have not yet purchased the book but I will have it soon.

So…. Here is the basic plan I have come up with that works for ME (note: there is a whole lot of info out there and a lot of recipes and formulas but this is what fits the foods that I like) ….


 

	Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Monday & Tuesday (phase 1)	1 ½ cups quinoa or oatmeal with 1 ½ cup fruit/berry	Fruit, 1 ½ cup	1 ½ cup grain 6 oz meat  or 9 oz white fish 1 ½ cup fruit Unlimited veggie	Fruit, 1 ½ cup	1 ½ cup grain 6 oz meat or 9 oz fish Unlimited veggie	Protein: Lean meat or Fish: haddock, halibut Nitrate free deli meat Egg white only Carbs: quinoa, oatmeal, brown rice NO fats
Wednesday & Thursday (phase 2)	4 -5 egg whites, 6 oz meat or 9 oz fish Unlimited veggie	Protein: 6 oz meat or 4-6 thin slice deli meat or 9 oz fish	6 oz meat or 9 oz fish Unlimited veggie	Protein: 6 oz meat or 4-6 thin slice deli meat or 9 oz fish	6 oz meat or 9 oz fish Unlimited veggie	Fruit: lemon/lime ONLY Egg white only Sweetner: stevia No grain, No Fats No potatoes Fish: haddock, halibut Nitrate free jerky/meat No tomatoes
Friday – Sunday (phase 3)	1 ½ cup fruit 3/8 cup nuts or 3 tbsp nut butter ¾ cup grain or 1 piece Ezekiel bread Unlimited veggie	Veggie 3/8 cup nuts or 3 tbsp nut butter	6 oz meat or 9 oz fish Veggie 1 ½ cup fruit	Veggie 3/8 cup nuts or 3 tbsp nut butter	6 oz meat or 9 oz fish Veggie ¾ cup grain or 1 pc Ezekiel bread or 1 sprouted tortilla	Fruit can include coconut or coconut milk and berries Protein: salmon, sea bass, shrimp, scallops, whole eggs Grains: oatmeal, quinoa,  healthy fats are OK, stevia ok

Ok….. so, now I’ve got a plan. Now what? Well, It will be much easier, at least for me, to use the above chart as a tool to create my menu. My poor husband will be happy when the 28 days are up, I’m sure….. but it’s what I gotta do! :) If I have a plan to follow…. It makes my life easier. Is meal planning easy? NO ! It’s time consuming. Is meal prep easy? No, not always! I mean, the thought of all of those dirty dishes makes me uneasy especially when the cleaning fairy is on strike…. But I’ll prep what I can ahead of time and I’ll just deal with it!

There are a lot of really awesome resources out there…. Pinterest and Google are Ah-mazing!! But I have also learned that keeping it simple is easy. I tend to over think things and sometimes, that just makes things harder on myself.