Winning during the Weekend

I am so excited about last week's weight loss.  I actually drop about 4 or 5 pounds each week, but what is different about last week is that I kept it off during the weekend (July 16-17, 2016).  Normally it is just a yo-yo cycle. I drop the weight, then I put it right back.  I was sharing the experience with my oldest son, and he compared it to going to football practice and never winning a game.  I want to win!  So I decided that he is right.  Why take the time to do 2 days of eating healthy carbs, 3 days of eating no carbs, and then blow those 5 days because of 2 days of not really sticking to the healthy fat diet the way that I should.  I thought that I was sticking to it, but I had become more relaxed during that period. I did the bullet coffee that is really designed to work with fasting.  I stopped fasting so I probably was taking in too many calories.  I also, looked at the weekend as dessert splurged time.  However, the extra sugar plus the calories with healthy fat is probably too many calories.


So I had reviewed my possible errors, so how do I fix the problem?  I decided that I needed to look at Phase 2 like it was Phase 3, but with just a healthy fat. Amazing how changing my mindset, changed the results.  I am so proud of myself.  Winning has meant that I make it through Phase 2 without giving in to chocolate craving.  I have been infusing my water with cucumber to make it seem like I am actually enjoying something fruity.  I also have been treating Friday like Phase 2, with a few exceptions. Example, I do whole eggs for Friday's breakfast.



I actually made it through a second weekend (July 23-24, 2016), and I actually only gained 0.4 pounds.  That Saturday, I actually dropped a pound.  However, Sunday I traveled and did not follow the diet as well.  Not bad for a weekend, considering that I normally gain 2 to 3 pounds during that time period. 

Diet Inspiration

DIET INSPIRATION!

My arms :)

Well, it has been 2 years since I first started The Fast Metabolism Diet. You would think that I would be skinny by now! I did well on the diet for a while, but then started splurging too often. So I am back focused and determined to master it this time. My inspiration is a picture from my 30 year high school class reunion. I had no idea that my arms were that large! So, I am working my arms and dieting. Enjoy the before picture. Check back for the amazing after picture!

Banana Pudding

The best Banana Pudding ever!

BANANA PUDDING!!!!

Making banana pudding from scratch takes patience. I guest that I have developed that over the years! I actually made it. No whipped cream or instant pudding for this one - lol!  Since what I did worked well, I thought I better write it down. Also bananas must be safer cooked for me. I had no reaction - maybe some joint pain this morning but totally worth it.

Custard and Main Base Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
Dash salt
3 egg yolks
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 bananas sliced
Half fresh lime (optional to coat bananas)
45 vanilla wafers (an estimate)

Meringue Ingredients
3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
Dash of cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the custard, take the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, and salt), and place in a pot with a heavy bottom (prevents scorching). In a separate bowl separate the eggs to get 3 yolks (I just used the place raw egg in hand method over a bowl to let the egg white drain off). Place the 3 egg yolks into the dry ingredients mixture in the pot. Start stirring slowly until it is all wet yellow looking paste. Next, slowly start adding the milk until all mixed together and is a well mixed liquid. Now comes patience. Pull up a chair to the stove (optional!). On medium heat slowly stir the liquid with a large metal spoon until thick (should happen in 10 minutes or less). Take off the heat and add the vanilla extract. Slice the bananas and toss with the fresh lime juice. Now layer the remaining base ingredients into the baking dish. Start with custard, then a layer of vanilla wafers, and then the sliced bananas. Repeat until you run out of ingredients.

Now make the meringue to go on top. Combine egg whites and the cream of tartar first using a n electric mixer. Once a soft foam develops, slowly add the sugar. Beat until stiff. Spoon egg white mixture on top of the banana layered base. Bake in the oven until the meringue is brown - about 20 minutes (I did 10 minutes then rotated, and checked again about every 5 minutes).

Let dessert chill in the refrigerator before serving -if you can wait! 

Pecan Pie Muffins

How can just a few ingredients taste so amazing?  The recipe ingredients are flour, pecans, brown sugar, butter, and eggs. The texture is truly amazing and reminds you of a real pecan pie.

Recipe:

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped pecans

2/3 cups butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Pecan halves for decoration (optional) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Grease muffin pan(s) well and set aside.  Grab two bowls. One for dry ingredients (sugar, flour, pecans), and one for wet ingredients (butter and eggs).  Stir ingredients in each bowl, then slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir just enough to combine all the ingredients.  Fill each muffin pan about 2/3 full and bake until edges brown. (Top with pecan halves before baking - optional). 

Inspired by this Facebook post. 

Batter poured into the greased pan and topped with a pecan halves

Finished muffins - after I ate two!

The recipe made 6 muffins above and 2 mini loaf size

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

I can eat butter and cheese, but struggle with things like milk, yogurt, and heavy whipping cream. So to offset this issue, my recipe uses rice milk combined with butter. This creates a creamy texture that is similar to heavy whipping cream, and great for the texture of the ice cream. 

Ingredients:
1 cup pecans pieces
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups rice milk
1 cup butter
4 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Place the pecans and the 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet. Cook on medium heat for about 6 minutes on the stove top while stirring (Or place in the oven on 400 degrees for 6 minutes). Let cool while preparing other ingredients. 
2. Combine all the remaining ingredients into the blender (rice milk, 1 cup butter, eggs,  brown sugar, and vanilla extract). Blend until smooth.
3. Pour the mixture from the blender into a heavy saucepan and cook on low heat for about 7 minutes. (The goal is to cook the eggs in the mixture, and it still remain smooth and thicken just a little. If the eggs start to separate from the mixture and over cook, it may be saved by adding the mixture back to the blender until smooth again.)
4. Add the pecans from step 1 into the cooked mixture.
5. Next add the cooked mixture to ice cream machine. Follow machine directions and process until frozen.

UPDATE:

I made chocolate syrup from pecan oil, confectioners sugar and cocoa powder. A little of this and little that recipe! 

Phase 2 is So Challenging!

     Now that I am totally trying to focus and not give in to my bad cravings, Phase 2 of the diet is super hard!  I am craving something sweet or some chocolate. Phase 1 requires four servings of fruit a day, so going from the sweetness of fruits to nothing sweet is challenging.  However, I know that I can do it.  Starting tomorrow, I can have chocolate for breakfast!  So I just have to make it through a few more hours. 
     One of the things that has helped is sparkling water with fruit oils. I am taking it slow though, because I don't want to have a reaction.  I bought some lime, mango, and blueberry flavors (these are fruits that I can enjoy in moderation).  So far, I am doing good.  Also walking is helping.  I'm so excited that I may be able to make some progress with my weight. 


www.fanuppasoaps.com

Starting Over

Wild Diet-Coffee mixed with Butter and Dark Chocolate Candy

     Well it is hard to believe that it has been almost 2 years since the first time that I started The Fast Metabolism diet. I fell in love with the plan. I have the plan memorized by days, and for the most part have continued to rotate what I eat.  I lost almost 20 pounds the first round!  I went down two dress sizes, and for the most part the inches did not totally come back. It reshaped where the pounds accumulate!  However, the weight slowly came back since I was not focused.  For me, the diet worked best for Phases 1 and 2 of the plan. Phase 3, I normally would gain weight.  Phase 3 is the healthy fat portion of the diet.  So I could eat hummus, tuna, salmon, and healthy oils.  It also was the weekend portion of the diet, so it was easy to splurge. My goal soon became just don't gain weight during Phase 3 and everything will be good.

     During the past two years, I have found out what works and come up with some new food combinations for the week. It has challenged me to find out more about my food intolerances. I also became excited about two other diet plans, and decided to incorporate them into my current way of eating. The first is Joe Cross's juicing plan.  I watched his documentary about how he did just juice for 60 days, and it totally changed his life. I know my body can not survive that long on high concentrations of vegetables and fruits. I also want a plan that I can just do for life. So I made his Mean Green Juice recipe (with a few edits for my food intolerances) and enjoyed it.  I didn't really know how I was going to incorporate his juice, but kept it in the back of my mine. Then I was inspired by The Wild Diet from the ABC show, "My Diet is Better Than Yours" hosted by Shaun T. My hubby and I enjoyed watching the show this January, and the diet seem to target men. So for Valentine's Day, I bought the diet book for my husband. I bought him the hard copy, and got myself a paper copy.  I figured we could learn about all the rules together.  I enjoyed that the book focused on eating fresh healthy ingredients.  So it worked with my values and my food intolerances.  It also discussed intermittent fasting during the day, and having a feast at night.  I finally had a vision of how I could incorporate the 3 plans!

     Three plans would be combined as follows.  I would continue the Fast Metabolism plan for Phases 1 and 2.  However for Phase 3, I would do the Wild Diet intermittent fast and feast. During the fast, I would enjoy some Joe Cross juicing. During the feast portion, I would go back to a regular Phase 3 dinner, but add a dessert.  I also discovered that I could add chocolate to my breakfast during the fast.  This was a dream plan designed just for me!  The good news is that it is working. I have been on the revised plan for about 3 weeks, and I have lost 8 pounds.   

    

Mean Green Juice and Pecans - Wild Diet & Joe Cross juicing