Day 11 - apples and alcohol

When I woke up I found no change on the scales so I decided to take the apple day challenge. This consists of nothing at all till lunch time then for the next 24 hours only 6 large apples and very small amounts of water only.
It is done to shake up the system and the fibre in the apples must aid in drawing fluid out of the gut, anyway all will be revealed when I way myself the next day.

detox apple day

I went out and bought a couple of granny smith, gala and delicious and have managed to get through 4 of them but only just struggling through the last one on writing this article.

The hCG mimics pregnancy in that it is the hormone that the pregnancy tests test for. It's action is to draw out the abnormal fats that we hold on when they can't be used in the normal processes of the body. When you eat a severe caloric restricted diet it causes those fats to be mobilised and broken down. Now the energy produced by that action is why I am not particularly hungry, and that is the very over simplified explanation of what is going on in my body whilst I still take the drops. 

The other interesting thing is that I don't have the slightest feeling for anything alcoholic, which many of you will be scratching your heads over! Not one inkling for a cheeky sav, a sip of the French or a refreshing G & T. Nor cravings for those sweet gooey things that sometimes call out for us to buy and eat. Very cool phenomenon but not sure how long it lasts post the homoeopathic drops are completed.

Anyway that is the brief medico lesson today to enlighten those who care to know a little more about what I'm doing to my body.

Cheers. 

Day 10 and still eeking off the kilos.

Jumped on the scales as my morning ritual and just a smidge off, 1/4 kg which I thought is good to drop off that much each and every day. We will see eh?

Work is starting to pick up too which is a two edged sword, it is good because it keeps me busy but it also means I burn a lot more energy so run out by 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Being a remedial therapist and doing so much massage does take its toll but I am looking at ways to soften the hunger bursts. 

These include lots of herbal teas and spreading the 2 pieces of fruit allowed daily into an afternoon block and the after dinner block. This is a better option as often I forget to eat the 2nd piece of fruit because I am no longer hungry or preoccupied in front of the computer doing work.

I am really glad that I have roasted up that beef because it is so easy to have a cold meat and salad for lunch. That is exactly what I did today and added fresh, ripe, organic truss tomatoes that were so plump and full of flavour.  
This is such a lovely meal and if you slice the meat thinly it really does go a long way. 

When I roasted it I covered it over with alfoil and slow cooked it at 160c which is quite the norm now it appears. The meats whether be pork, chicken, beef etc will always turn out so much more juicy and with the volume that you eat on the detox, i.e. 100 grams of protein at any meal, you really need to add as much flavour to everything that you prepare.

Seafood and celery soup

Tonight I tried my own recipe of prawns, scallops, snapper and celery soup cooked in a vegetable stock with passata sauce to add some tomato richness to it. Only herb was parsley and a small amount of onion oh and the celery of course. Lovely, simple flavours and filling because soup seems to do that to me. 

This is a definite meal for another night well maybe two.

Cheers and happy reading.

Day 9 and a wonderful new weight - 1/2 kilo lighter.

Well I can stop complaining for a while, it was interesting again this morning when I got up early and jumped eagerly on the scales to see - no change. I was absolutely gutted, but it was early so I went back to sleep and got up an hour later, thought about it again and climbed back on. To my amazement I was down to 68.5 kgs so somewhere in an hour of sleep I managed to use up 1/2 kg of body weight. This is an incredible journey not only for my body but also for my mind which is continuously trying to unravel how it works in the first place.

Before cooking beef resting on cabbage

Making sure that I get enough sleep seems a big component and not ever going near those sugar-free chewing gum packets should keep me happy.

  Today I decided that I needed to have some easy access meat for that time when I am hungry with no time to prepare food.

So I bought a very lean blade roast and slow cooked it on a bed of purple cabbage and topped with Himalayan salt. pepper and thyme. Delicious!!

Served up today with crunchy cucumber but I can marry it up with truss tomatoes, green salad, sprouts or what ever takes my fancy.

This was really easy and the flavour of the seasoning, herb and cabbage makes a lovely change. Slow cooking at 160c for longer keeps the meat juicier and more delicate.

Dinner was a Lemon, ginger Chicken with bok choy, simple to prepare and wonderful zesty flavours of the lemon rind, lemon juice and the hint of ginger went through the meat as well as drizzling the pan juices through the vegetable to add more to the meal.

Time will tell tomorrow on the scales to see if I will drop more weight by morning. Wish me luck!!

Day 8 and a hard one today

So I woke up expecting the scales to show me good news and BAM - nothing - nada - still stuck on the same weight for 3 days.

I have re-thought all of what I'm eating and nothing seemed wrong, maybe the sugar-free chewing gum isn't actually completely sugar-free. So no more gum and let's see what happens. I think that my biorhythm must be slightly out too because I have been feeling a little ratty today and really hoping more than 7 hours sleep will cure that too.

Lunch today was made on the run, starving after being out on the golf course for 4 hours doesn't play well for thoughtful eating practice. Each morning I try to do my half hour of yoga and that certainly slows me down enough to savour the meal. It makes you settle in and eat slowly with more intent into what you are putting in your mouth. I will try to keep that lesson long after the detox.

Stir fried pork, cabbage, chilli and ginger

Stir fried lean pork with cabbage, ginger, chilli and garlic worked really well. I love the strong flavours of the ginger and chilli and topped with coriander made a lovely lunch.

Dinner was equally as tasty with a home made Meatball and silver beet soup, made with home made beef broth and a little vege stock to fill it out. The trick to silver beet is to add it and then once cooked turn the heat off and let it infuse for 15 minutes. This seems to allow for the slightly sharp notes of the vegetable to soften into the rest of the meal. The soup base had cuts of Thai basil, thyme and shallot to add to it and the whole lot was wonderful and hearty.

Hoping that I get better news for the morning, and using this as a learning tool to understanding my body better as well.

Day 7 and I can't believe it's already one week.

It only seems like yesterday when I was in the kitchen doing my measurements and weigh in, and now I'm 1/3 through the detox and de-fat!

Definitely less waist creases

Happy to report that I have lost a total of 15 cm in the 10 areas that they assess your unhealthy fat distribution. Still no movement on the waist but lots off the hips (thank God), arms, legs and buttock all slowly firming up which I am stoked about.

The ugly photos are saying it all, still quite a long way to go but the creases at my waist have gone and the legs are not as dimply. Phew it's all worth it in the end. 

The side view in my jeans is more forgiving too, tummy still hanging over a little but much better than a week ago. Given that it is ONLY a week ago I won't bemoan anything.

Side view is promising too with less on the belly

No weight change again today :-(
I looked up the information to find that it is indeed the bodies way to re-map the areas of tissue where the fat has gone and fill them with fluid until components within the connective tissue can be broken down and re-absorbed. I remember this from the other day and recall going to the bathroom much more frequently so hoping that this is a sign to come.

Today's menu included seafood again and this 
time I decided to go to the grill.

Fresh grilled Prawns combined with lemon, spring onions, tarragon, parsley, onion powder with a pinch of mustard powder. Allow time for absorbing the flavours then into the grill for 8 minutes and served with slices of Lebanese cucumber with those refreshing lifted tastes.
The combo really went well.

Deliciously light yet flavour busting seafood dish.

 Dinner I tried my hand at a Mighty Mini Meatloaf something that I have never done before and it's surprising how far 100 grams of mince will go. With added garlic, dried onion,mustard, allspice and sage all in the bowl adding the milled grissini stick to bind and then bake gave it wonderful simple flavours just like Mum used to make. Topped with a home made tomato sauce with a chilli zing and served with crunchy green beans.

Mighty Mini Meatloaf

I finished up the day feeling pretty happy with myself. I have been trying to walk for an hour each day or at least 30 minutes of Yoga when I can't get out there which has kept my hunger pangs very minimal and my happy hormones humming. 

Bring on the next weeks measurements and photos!  

Sunday comes and another 400 grams goes...

Can you believe it - 5 days and 2 1/2 kilos gone!

The side effects are becoming apparent, if you eat anything sweet you almost immediately get hungry. I know that the experts say that sugar is as much a drug as cocaine but I have to agree. My one vise is sugar free gum and that gets me through at that late afternoon slump that we all get, or late at night when I am finishing up my work, or blogging to you all. I may pop a piece in and chew for 10 minutes or so but my mind must see it as real sugar because it makes me feel a little displaced in my gut, taste buds and adds some jitteriness to my nervous system. mmmm - mental note when off the detox to keep sugars to the absolute minimum.

Today I jumped on the scales and was happily surprised, not because I had cheated from yesterday, in fact I hadn't quite put in the full amount of calories suggested. It is just that I am starting to feel my tummy less from the inside (if that makes sense). It's like the abdominal visceral fat is shifting which is what this whole process is all about in the first place. Abdominal fat = organ fat = unhealthy = leaving this planet a little earlier than optional.   

Monday night I will have been on the diet for 1 week and so it will be measurements and photos again (gulp), all will be revealed so look out for the ugly shots again.

Today I couldn't resist the Celery soup with Chicken and sage for lunch, it is so full of flavour and tasty and satisfying and ... well .. the list goes on!

Dinner I tried my hand at steak again, but decided to bake in the oven. Stacked steak with poached leeks and they worked out a treat. I used rump steak and rested it on slices of onion to help infuse that flavour through the meat, on top I put a mixture of fresh thyme, tarragon and marjoram then covered it all with a sheet of alfoil and baked for 30 minutes on 180C. Whilst that was doing its thing I sliced and poached the leek in a mixture of vegetable and beef stock. 

So Harry's dinner of roast chicken and rosemary potatoes was in the oven at the same time and we enjoyed our respective meals together.

Look out for the measurements, photos and hopefully further weight loss tomorrow anyone and everyone who may be reading my committment to my eventual personal goal. 

Woke up this morning to find another .5 kg off - total 2 kilos in 5 days!

Very happy to report that the weight is moving again, funnily I woke up around 6 am and jumped on the scales to see NO change - very disheartened. As it was still early, and being a Saturday, I decided to settle back and have an hour or so more.  I had stayed up late the night before and only had about 6 hours kip so I figured it was needed. I finally got up at 8:00 and thought ?? should I jump back on that beast, so glad I did because the extra down time was enough to make the change.

I am not sure how that worked but I do know that the program does stipulate good sleep and preferably at lease 8 hours of quality sleep each night. Guess there is method in that madness also a lesson well learnt, and I will listen to my body when it's sleepy and not push through with things my mind says "can't wait".

Today's meals were equally enjoyable and a few people have commented on getting recipes so I am trying to include quantities which you can increase volumes as you like.

Hearty Veal and tomato soup

Hearty Veal and Tomato Soup can also be made with chicken, mince, prawns or fish, it's just that I had veal handy. As you know the portions of meat are 100 grams, but add as you like. Add 1 cup of organic tomatoes (I chopped mine up in the blender with garlic), add a tub of tomato paste (for me I just put in a teaspoon), added some Braggs seasoning, pepper, chopped 1/2 onion and popped in some basil, parsley and thyme. Tossed the lot into the pot and added some beef stock and Himalayan infused salted water.
Let it boil and then simmer till it reduces to perfection. Served up with a herbal tea.

Chicken lettuce wraps

Chicken Salsa Wraps or Lettuce Wraps was a lovely cool dish to finish the day on. I marinated the bird in lemon juice and garlic then pan fried it on a non-stick pan, took the chook out and when the breast had cooled off I tore it into bite size pieces. Then added 1/2 cup of onion into the pan to soften and brown, you could easily add chopped chives here to add more flavour, but I added a touch of chili to lift it up. Once cooked it's time to assemble, tear up the lettuce leaves and pat dry, stack the chicken, onion, diced tomato and add coriander then wrap and eat. Really delectable. 

4th day and no change to the scales!

Yes that's right, I have lost 1.4 k's in two days so my body is taking a rest day to acclimatize to this on a cellular level. I am not worried a bit because I haven't cheated at all, patience is a virtue in this detox so I am still keen to see what happens Saturday morning when I jump back on those trusty scales in my bathroom.

One beautiful Mercedes

Today also saw me collect my Dad's Merc from the auto-mechanic's now completely road worthy, detailed, one less dint on the front left guard, a sign of early stages where he wasn't as sharp as I remembered.  It is spotless and now I will try to get it sold to someone who will look after it with as much love as dear old Daddio did. Driving down to Mum's for possibly the last time in mint condition, I made sure that I had taken some fabulous photos for Car Sales.Com. Walking back home to my place looking at the Brisbane River with its usual business allowed my mind to roam back to some of the many spectacular times on the water with him. It made me smile instead of cry which I think is a really positive step.

Back to the days fare and it was much more of a success I must admit.
Lunch was what the recipe book calls fried 'rice' with prawns, now the rice is actually cabbage finely minced which is blended with a combination of onion flakes, crushed fresh garlic and stir fried with 2 tablespoons of stock and 1/2 teaspoon of Bragg's All purpose seasoning. Once cooked set out on the plate and the prawns with a little more stock and more Bragg's seasoning in to flavour them up. Plop onto the cabbage and add Himalayan salt, coriander and chives.

Lunch filling and flavoursome 

Dinner was eaten at the movies, on the hop as you might say. So I had to think on my feet, which was partially happening when I walked back from Mum and Dad's.

Meatballs with garlic, grated onion, tomato paste and more the All purpose seasoning for added richness. Served with truss tomatoes and basil on the side. Now I know it doesn't look that spectacular but the shot was taken on my lap, in the car park of Portside in a take-away container.

Super easy to do and I cheated with the microwave of the convection setting whilst I was getting ready to hide in the dark on a Friday night to watch one of the many great movies out there currently.

Home to a crunchy green apple and ready for what's in store tomorrow.

Day 3 and more weight off the scales!

So I nervously climbed onto the scales this morning and found that I had dropped another 700 grams, wow that's 1.4 kilos in 2 days!! 

I woke up refreshed and went for a 50 minute walk, normally I would haul myself up and down the hills of Hamilton but I understand that I need to keep my organs happy so meandered along checking out the massive homes in the Clayfield and Ascot areas. Feeling really refreshed it made for a great start to the day!

Today I discovered that the biggest thing for a sustainable diet is to make the meals really tasty, that way the volume doesn't really matter because you satisfy your taste buds and mental state. Lunch was courtesy of my friend Tricia and her Celery Soup recipe and then I trialed a spicy steak dish which didn't go down so well. Back to the drawing board when it comes to food choices but I think that steak isn't probably the best option when there are so many other delectable proteins to choose from.

Mornings are easy, I nibble on a grissini stick and drink lemon infused soda water followed up by one or two herbal teas of different varieties. Morning tea I slice my fruit and nibble on it savoring the sweetness in every bite.

Lunch was this amazing Celery Chicken and Sage Soup - boiling the celery in chicken stock with cracked pepper and then blending once soft. Meanwhile I marinated the chicken breast in  a little lime juice and fresh Sage for 15 minutes. Cooked the meat with the marinade on a non stick pan till crispy and brown and served it up with the celery - verdict ABSOLUTELY delicious, in fact I would have it every other day if I could.

Over the last few days I have had very light headaches which is ultimately the toxins being released, the good news is that my head is feeling great again. I am wondering about the effects that people talk about regarding clarity of the mind without gluten, different carbs and all those additives and flavours? Is this going to be part of my outcomes too? The weight loss was my primary goal but this lifting of brain fog and health to my organs is a definite blessing. 

The dinner option was Rump steak that I dusted with Paprika, Cumin and Mexican chili powder, I thought it might give me a Tex-Mex flavour but alas not as good as anything else I've prepared. Still it was an interesting experiment and one that was good to do to see and feel how I have reacted... I did serve it up with plump, young brussel sprouts which I happen to think are a wonderful vegetable though I do understand that others think far less of the little green meanies.

Clever Harry passes his drivers learners test

The other terrific news was that my youngest son sat for his learner's driving license and passed first time! Now we have to broach the big issue of lessons (and something that I am not looking forward to).

Day 2 - started fine but this weather is killing me!

I was so excited when I woke up to find my weight had dropped from 70.4 k to 69.7 k, IN ONE DAY! That's just under 3/4 kilo in 24 hours...

Now I am very aware that it won't be that drastic every morning but it is a good motivator I do have to say. I know some of you will be saying that a large portion of this is fluid but I have to tell you that I drank over 3 liters of water, 1 liter of soda water and about 4 cups of herbal tea (as instructed in the manual). I am sure that is a large part of the fullness but the weather has been scorching the last week or so which makes it almost imperative to really fluid load.

I only treated 5 clients/patients today, this is much less than normal but I have to thank the school holidays for just 5 hours of hands on work. Mind you, there were some significantly hard treatments to apply and I am seriously thinking about renaming my work Bikram massage! It's almost impossible to get the required levels of fluid in when working hard but it makes me realise planning is a big step in this process.

So today I promised you photos of the menu and here they are -

This Thai Prawn Soup was what I prepared for lunch, it was quick, light, filling and super easy to do. 
Frozen prawns from Coles with a mix of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice and a touch of Stevia to balance the flavours. Oh and of course sprigs of coriander and Thai basil from my herb garden.
Along side I steamed up some bok choy which I dunked into the seafood broth for some slurpy tactile fun.

There are loads of really interesting recipes out there, the stipulation is at the end of the day I have eaten no more than 500 calories. Because of the app "My fitness Pal" I can calculate the big stuff and then work out how many grams I can have of the vegetables. Now I am by no means a math whizz as many of you know, but this is even easy for me to do. It's taken the guess work out of the process which is where I imagine many folk come "unstuck".

Dinner was a make up idea from my head - Stir fried lean pork fillet served with apple and a side dish of leeks poached in my home made beef stock.
Definitely tasted better than the image suggests but given I don't Photoshop then it still makes my taste buds sing.
It was really easy and quick and I could use some of the tarty Granny Smith applefrom this morning to add flavour varieties in this course.

Can't wait to see what the scales bring for me tomorrow, but you can bet you will be the first ones to know.

Day 1 - Excited and nervous, will I crave food today?

So here we are and I have just finished my first day on the very low calorie diet and I have to say it wasn't too bad.
It was also Tuesday which means the day I get some exercise in by playing a game of golf, so 4 hours of walking around did plague on my mind. How was I going to get through it?

Really important to have a food diary.

Breakfast is usually omitted in this regime, I think it's because a lot of people don't feel the need to put food in first thing in the morning. I however decided to have a small grissini bread stick which is part of the meal plan and sliced up a scrumptious Pink Lady apple into small bite size pieces which I nibbled on through-out the game. This was more than enough along with about 2 litres of water due to the heat today, and guess what - I actually won the competition with 41 points! Guess that is an omen - receiving an reward for my efforts to cleanse my body.

Another part of my life cycle right now is getting a really accurate food and exercise diary so last week I downloaded "My fitness Pal" which records my food intake and exercise and purchased a "Fitbit Flex" that you wear 24/7, which also records what you eat and do but also counts steps and sleep patterns. I have decided that these are necessary to keep me on the straight and narrow.

helping me through exercise and sleep

So what did I cook for myself today you ask? I didn't really have time to take photos but will definitely be doing that more often. Lunch was really delicious, I sauteed fresh onion and garlic and added slices of chicken breast a little home made chicken stock and some fresh sage and baby shallots from my garden and served it up with steamed green beans. Dinner was on the run (to the movies) so I chose something that I could sneak into the cinema and eat; I dusted veal slices with a mix of coriander, cumin, paprika, and a little cayenne powder then pan fried with onion and crushed a punnet of cherry tomatoes into the mix. Let it reduce and that was really nourishing. Desert was a navel orange and my tummy and taste buds are satisfied.

I can't wait for tomorrow to come so that I can see what has happened on the scales, like a small child waiting for her birthday to arrive and see what's going to enfold.    

Day 2 of the loading and it's been nuts, nuts, NUTS!!

Today has been an interesting experience as many of you may be familiar with my "eating is cheating" policy. This does not go down well when you are instructed to eat as much as you possibly can for 48 hours. The foods must be high in fats so that the body has prepared itself for the first couple of very low calorie days.

Cheese, macadamias, pecans, avocado, eggs, even as far as some pate and roasted rosemary potatoes, eat every couple of hours and now I feel completely overwhelmed with food!

I am now looking forward to the restrictions as I think my body may be more familiar with them. 

My current night and day routine

Now there are quite a few things that one must give up on this 23 day regime and probably the hardest for me will be my moisturizers. Yes I know it sounds odd but as the skin is one huge sponge it will take the oils in the creams and balms and use them in place of the fats that I am trying to clear from my body. It is the ritual of beauty that I have done for decades and one that makes me feel "special", face wash, cleanse, AHA's or Vit C then either day lotion or eye cream/night cream and the wonderful massage into the face that goes with it. I love to top it off with a really good hair brush and if you haven't spoilt yourself to a self-imposed scalp massage I urge you to try it - WONDERFUL! 

This is what will go onto my skin for the next 3 weeks!

Today has been prep day too, buying the meats and vegetables, looking at recipes and choosing ones that sound satisfying to the taste buds and the mind. Then weighing and packing individually into 100 gram packets to take out as required.

The other part of the 2 day load was one that had me walk down to my parents home in Hamilton and collect Dad's wonderful 2000 S class Mercedes. I have had it detailed and inspected for sale and today I drove it down to the mechanics to correct the odd bits and pieces to get it road worthy for sale. Walking back to home from the garage left me feeling as if part of this process was the clearing of the last major tangible part of my father, and it is at the very least a bitter pill to take. I guess everything happens for a reason and the cleansing reaches many aspects of ones spirit. 

I have to say part of me wants to buy it and sell my little Mini, where commonsense says let it go as it has been part of an era that is no longer with me....

Day one and two are the eat as much as you can days - Yipee!!!

As many of you will know, my father passed away in July last year and I have been struggling with my own loss in someone that I had grown so close to over the last few years. We got closer and closer as his health started to wane and by the end I felt nearer to him than anyone else in my life.

Loosing him I think was one of the reasons that I have slowly bulked on the weight and now that I have tipped over the 70 Kg mark it is time to do something serious about it. The signs of depression can be varied but poor sleep - tick, too much alcohol - tick, lack of focus - tick, and eating in a destructive nature - tick/tick! 

So I have heard and read about the hCG system which is a rapid very low caloric diet with almost no fats and the use of homoeopathic drops to stimulate our bodies ability to draw and utilize the fats that are the most difficult to move. When they are broken down their caloric use means that you don't feel hungry and when done properly the brain works out the new weight and you are more likely never to regain the fat and weight you had prior to the diet.

Why am I doing this blog you ask? 
Well it is really to help me by diarizing how I feel, the ups and downs, how much weight I've lost, cm changed but mainly to help keep me on tract. I mean if I tell you that I'm doing it I am less likely to want to cheat, I mean, you are only cheating you - right??
So the ugly photos, the horrid truth about how disgusting I feel is all landing on these blog spots...

Today and tomorrow are my fat and carb loading days and they encourage you to eat as much and as often as you can. Good fats and carbohydrates like nuts, oils, avocado, pasta, cream, full cream milk, pate, and the list goes on! These are the two easiest and fattiest days and one where I am tucking into the treats that I will be missing for the next 23 days. Yes 23 days of no alcohol, bread, starches, coffee, sweet fruits, and many types of vegetables. 
Wish me luck and comment as often as you like, it will help me get through it all (I'm hoping with flying colours)...