MID DIET THOUGHTS

I have been struggling with the weight loss for the last month and seem to go up and then down but can not get any lower. Oh no it is not this diet! This diet works.....but I am fooling around with it and that is not acceptable. Monday to Friday I am right on it but weekends it seems a light goes on and says  "Eat like there is no tomorrow" "Eat all those things that are non Dukan"  I must dispose of this stinking thinking and get back to the real world that I live in.  It is so reflective of an alcoholic , who falls off the wagon and then can not stop drinking again. 
On a better thought, I have been riding a bike a bit this last weekend.... Now that is great exercise but the thing is that I have not rode a bike for more than 50 years at the least and maybe something someone my age should not be doing .......
This past week I just had to go and buy some new clothes and I bought 2 sets of clothes in a much smaller size and was blown away by the costs.  When I wore a size 22 or 2x or 3x  this same amount of clothes would have cost me 4 times as much.....what a rip off for large size people......they really take advantage of the plus size to over charge them......

5 Easy Ways To Add Taste To Your Menu

Adding taste and flavour to your recipes, is a very important part of losing weight. It is not just that the same old boring food can sap your motivation and may lead to you giving up the Dukan diet. The sensation of taste helps you to feel full and satisfied quicker. Tasty food with strong flavour sensations is more satisfying than bland food which can become a chore simply to eat. In this post, I’m going to be looking at five quick and easy ways of adding taste and flavour while still sticking to all the allowed foods.

1. Use herbs and spices freely when putting together a recipe

It is easy to be too strict with yourself when starting a new diet. The Attack Phase of the Dukan diet is supposed to be tough, it is not called an ‘attack’ for nothing, but it doesn’t have to be taste-free, bland, experience! When you are preparing your food don’t forget to add things like chillies, parsley, thyme, garlic, cinnamon, onion, spring onion, chives, mint and so on. When I when on my Attack Phase, I was way too strict not even allowing myself onion – this made things much harder than they had to be!

2. Replace sugar with sweetener, vanilla, cinnamon, etc.

You are not allowed to add sugar when you are on the Dukan diet. However, you are allowed to add sweetener. Now some people are worried about using sweeteners, having heard that there are risks to using these artificial flavourings. The belief that there is a link between sweeteners and conditions like cancer, diabetes, lupus, etc. is widespread due to a very effective internet hoax. The hoax has been debunked by such organizations as the FDA, The American Council on Science and Health, Reports in The Lancet, and the affair has been written up in Time Magazine. You can add more deliciousness to your sweet Dukan diet recipes by adding vanilla (essence and pods), cinnamon and nutmeg.

3. Dill pickles and pickled onions

Chopped up and sprinkled onto Dukan diet friendly food, dill and onion pickles to add some tangy deliciousness to your food. Caution: While you can add a small amount of these to food during the Attack Phase, you can not munch your way through loads of gherkins or onions – if you do they count as vegetables. A bit diced, is my guide to using them as a condiment – any more than that and you are eating them as a vegetable.

4. Vinegar

As far as I am concerned, vinegar is an essential Dukan diet condiment. All vinegars are allowed, for a real treat, use balsamic vinegar – it’s delicious. You can simply add the vinegar directly to your food or you can make delicious sauces with it. A simple, delicious dressing can be made from:

• Vinegar
• low-fat yogurt
• A small amount of French mustard

Mix them up and enjoy!

5. Mustard

Mustard can be used to add flavour to your meats. You can enjoy French or English mustard. Although it isn’t mustard, it’s like a mustard in that it comes in pot and is hot, you can also use horseradish to add some heat and taste to your food. Like Japanese food? You can flavour your food with wasabi and ginger – both allowed on the Dukan diet.
http://dukan-diet.info/

JUNE IS NATIONAL STROKE MONTH

We all need to look into the mirror and see if we are candidates for a stroke.....
Get off the extra weight, get your body moving, lower your blood pressure, GET YEARLY Checkups, quit smoking and excessive drinking, eat healthier foods, lower your stress levels, because I can tell you, no one ever completely recovers from a stroke, but you can avoid it.....
A stroke does not just take your freedom, it changes the life style of everyone in your family......and that is not a gift you want to give them.
Our niece Kathy is in her 5th month of a locked in syndrome due to her massive brain cell stroke. If you could spend 1 hour with her you would understand why it is so important to get onto all the warning signs early so that you are not robbed of the life you have now......

DR DUKAN TALKING TO ME???

Oh dear, I think Dr. Dukan was talking right to me this morning......and yes I had better start listening.......

If your body's tightly controlled existence involves going from your bed to the chair, then from the lift to your car seat, from your office chair to a chair in the restaurant or canteen, with a drive back in a car with its power steering, electrically operated windows and automatic windscreen wipers... then in the evening back to the dining room table, sofa with a TV tray and remote control, electric toothbrush...
If this classic scenario is at all familiar to you, then you are a truly sedentary person!
And don't tell yourself "I'm normal as all my friends, neighbours and colleagues live like me".
No, you are a completely sedentary person who is living below the minimum threshhold of human corporality.

And for physical, metabolic and psychological reasons, being so sedentary is toxic and as dangerous and harmful for your health as smoking 10 cigarettes a day. To get out of this state and its risks and cross the threshhold, all you have to do is stand up for one hour per day or walk for 20 minutes or run for 10 minutes.

Follow my advice and become human again!

A FEW THOUGHTS

We can reverse years of damage to our bodies by deciding to raise our standards for ourselves, then living differently. Old wounds heal, injuries repair, and the whole system improves with just a few changes in what we put into our bodies and how we move them.

Anything is possible, It's your choice whether or not you choose to make IT happen.

If you want what you do not have, you must do what you have not done.
Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Strengthen Your Desire! Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.

STABALIZE

I have spent the last 3 weeks just maintaining my weight with no losses until today. Actually I was content to maintain during the summer months and then in the fall start the losses again but I guess if more weight comes off that is a bonus. I have also been trying to figure out how to change my blog so that I can move all the recipes off the blog and onto the Recipe section on the right hand side of this blog. It should have been easier to do but I am stuck on linking and labeling so I will continue to try........I also want to update some of the recipes that were put on some time ago and that I have made minor changes to make them better...
Yesterday, on "Favorite Blogs" I removed some that have now left the Dukan diet and are trying other things and added a new one with great recipes....
I will try to update a bit more often but if the rain ever stops and we get some sun and summer like weather, I will be out side more as well, walking and gardening. Hopefully that will shake up the darn little fat pockets to get them moving on and out a bit better.
This diet does work if you stick to it and is something one can adjust to as a life long eating plan.

STRUGGLE

I had a bad fall on the weekend, not a physical fall, but a diet fall. I was away from home and ate in fast foods and then a real dessert explosion on Mother's Day. I have no idea, why my ability to say NO to forbidden foods seemed to melt away and cause the fall.  The next day I was up 6 pounds. Now in no way I consummed enough food to gain 6 pounds in body fat......It has come off some but I am still 2 pounds to get back to my lowest weight....
For some reason ,spring and summer seemd to be harder, but I think it will work it self out. I have not lost my determination to lose the rest of the weigh to get to my goal, even though some people are already telling me I have lost enough. Only my body can determine that time.
One of the hardest things to get use to is that my clothes are loose. After spending a lifetime of wearing tight clothes, both for the reason that I was always gaining and also that I felt tight clothes held in the fat better.
I really would like to buy a tight pair of jeans for comfort reasons but I do not want to waste the money as I WILL lose more.

MISSED IT

I was hoping to hit the 50 pound loss today, but went straight to 51 pounds off. Usually when I hit a new low target number I jump off the scale and give aloud "WHOOPIE", but as it took place at 2 am as I rose to watch the Royal Wedding of William and Kate, I had to do a silent "whoop". That means I am now 19 pounds from  my goal.  I don't have any qualms that it will not come off with spring finally arriving and getting out walking to boost the effort.... A winter of sitting on my butt at the computer or my craft table probably made this loss a bit slower but as the diet is so simple to follow and appetite satisfying, I really have no hurry to lose the weight. I know I must follow this eating pattern to some extent for the rest of my life......  A life time of dieting has taught me one thing, once you stop the diet, you will gain the weight again....I have lost and gained hundreds of pounds. I must be diligent in abstaining from certain deadly foods if I want to get to my goal and stay there.

STILL AT IT

I can not believe I have not posted for 9 days....For some reason with no weight loss, I tend to not post.....I could be putting on recipes etc but with spring, I have been busy with plants and outside more....
I have not been eating wrong, but neglecting my water and still fighting off the water retention from Easter Ham and ham leftovers, leftovers, left overs....
I also have started walking everyday and that tends to retain at first, but I hope tomorrow am I can post that I finally have a new weight loss.... but like the weather these days, it can change unexpectedly..

WEEKEND REPORT

I think I handled my weekend retreat very well. For brunch I ate the scrambled eggs with cheese,some bacon, a sausage, and 2 poached eggs. I did not touch the crepes, breakfast pizza, muffins, potatoes, desserts, and dozens of other carb laden delights. I did not feel good after the brunch as there was just too much grease in my proteins but ate what I felt was the less of the evils. For supper I ate chicken breasts, roast beef and a few dry ribs with lots of salad with no dressing and carrot medley vegetables. No other carbs or fruits or desserts. While others were munching during the day on chips, cookies, cakes and candies, I took a large container of raw veggies and a bought dip.  I ate lots of the veggies but did have a bit of the dip....I brought home a lot of it so I don't think many others ate much of the healthy stuff.
For late night in my room I had my yogurt and goji muffin and diet soda.
Now even though I thought I did excellent with what I had to work with, I was up 4 pounds but it is coming off fast.... I did read that eating all that raw veggies does retain fluid somewhat so hopefully in a few days it will be gone..

ANOTHER CHALLENGE

I have now lost what I had put on a week ago and now down to my lowest weight in a long time. I have lost 49 pounds and really excited about hitting the big 50.  Now if that was just my age it would be even more exciting but hey I am old, but I am healthy,happy and a lot more fit than I was when I was 50.
I am off to a weekend retreat of crafting where meals are made for us and everyone brings munchies for during the day....I will not eat the snacks , I will choose the best I can for meals, I will drink lots, I will eat the veggie tray I am taking and also the goji muffins, turkey bites, and FF cheese I will have in my cooler.
There I have made the commitment, now to put it in action. I want that 50 pound loss so much that I think I can do it. I may even diarize every thing that goes into my mouth all weekend and report here as another incentive to keep on track.

SLIP AND FALL - GET UP AND SHAKE IT OFF

I have been away for a few days and I always find that I do not stay as strict on my eating plan as when I am at home. Oh it is possible but stinking thinking takes over and I can convince myself that it is ok to eat things that are not good for me. The result was a 4 pound gain of which I am sure some is just fluid as I did not drink my water limit at all while away. I had one really bad slip and it was not in my mouth for more than 15 seconds and really not worth the slip. I will not confess what it was as it is over and done, but I can tell you it was thought out and planned and could have been stopped if I had worked harder at it.
Another part of my gain was due to just over eating on "as tolerated foods."
Because the Dukan bread and muffins are Dukan, I some how convinced myself that it was ok to eat them morning noon and night  in excess as "well they are DUKAN".
NO, we are allowed 2 Tbls of oat bran a day, not 20 Tbls in the form of muffins or bread.
So I am back on my eating plan for 24 hours and doing fine. I am down nearly one pound today and I know I will soon get back to my lowest weight and keep on....I have no fear that I can not do it......
I feel so much healthier by eating right and the mental freedom is great too.
Confession over!

IMAGINE

Recall the things that have held you back. And imagine how you now can get beyond them.

Think of the problems that have frustrated you so. And imagine how you can now rise above them.

Look at how far you've come. And imagine how far you can now go.

Think of all that you've learned. And imagine what you can now do with that knowledge.

Consider all you've done in the past year.
And imagine what you'll now be able to do.

You're now in a better position than ever to imagine the very best. And what you can imagine will lead to what you can be.
-- Ralph Marston

ATTEMPT AT HOMEMADE KETCHUP

Yesterday I attempted to make homemade Dukan friendly Ketchup..... It still needs some work but is not too bad...I did make some mistakes so will work on those and post the recipe when I think it is better. I am sure I can never match Heinz but if I can get a bit closer I will be happy.......stay tuned

LAZY EXERCISES FROM DR DUKAN

The B.A.T. secret

How do you burn up calories in any place or situation and especially if you work sitting down....

B.A.T this is: Buttock Muscles, Abdominals, Triceps. Buttock muscles: whilst seated on your office chair, squeeze your buttock muscles for 6 seconds in a row and repeat this 10 times without a break.

Half an hour later, repeat the exercise so that your buttocks don't get crushed on your seat for too long. Remaining immobile and compressed very quickly weakens this large muscle which is responsible for your buttocks' posture. Abdominals: whilst seated, in your mind concentrate on your abdominal muscles and contract them without moving your trunk.

Keep this position for 6 seconds and start the operation again 10 times in a row. As with the previous exercise you can repeat this every half hour. Triceps: whilst seated, with your arms bent and your palms pressing on the arm rests of your chair, push down on your palms so that you stretch your arms until your body is raised from your chair and then lower yourself down slowly.

Try to repeat this movement 10 times and repeat the same thing every half hour. All in all, 30 movements which only take one minute but which use up a lot of energy.

CELEBRATIONS

I always like to celebrate the loss of another pound when it is a ten number like 20, 30, 40 etc. But today I hit the minus 45 pound mark and maybe it is time to celebrate the 1/2 ten marks...  As the losses are much slower it will be nice to recognize these points in my recovery.
Ok you ask.."How will you celebrate"
I will not celebrate with food as that is what got me into all of this in the first place. I have celebrated every day with food for the last 50 + years. Food was meant to sustain us and to give our body energy to work hard..  Somewhere along the time line we changed the role of food and decided to use it when we were happy, when we were sad, when we worried, when we were angry, and for every type of family holiday, food played the biggest role of all.
Why do we feel we need to serve food or even drink when company arrives, if it is not meal time. I know I need to change my thinking about the role of Food in my life and remember it really is only for sustenance. Good healthy quality food when my body requires it, not something gooey, sweet, or salty that I can not control the amounts I will consume.
 It is not my stomach that tells me what to eat, it is my mind that says" Oh you can eat just one, just this time" My stomach would be happy with just nourishing pablum....lol.

Ok back to the question.."How will you celebrate your 45 pound loss today Cheryl"
I plan to finish reading a  book that is calling my name, I plan to read something motivational as brain food, and I plan on staying in this present moment and enjoying today for what it is, a celebration and not dwell on the past or the future as I can not change the past and there is no future to think about as it has not happened yet. One day at a time and enjoy each one for the progress I have made.

MISTAKES HAPPEN

I had written the following on a fellow Dukanier's blog comment who was having trouble with chocolate Easter eggs and thought I would share as I imagine others are having same type cravings.

Mistakes happen….they are not right or not even acceptable but shake it off and do not let yourself even be close to such things as chocolate if you can not say NO.
An alcoholic would not put a glass of vodka in front of themselves and expect to be able to say NO……He would stay as far away as he could while he is trying to heal his addiction,, We need to do the same and realize that you may never in your life be able to eat chocolate eggs etc….if you want to stay slim and be healthy….Accept the real facts of addictive personalities..I know this is true of myself

SLOW LOSSES

My losses are very slow these days and I know that it is caused by just too much "as tolerated foods".
I have been trying new recipes and using a fair amount of corn flour/starch to thicken sauces, too much soya sauce to make things taste better as well as extra skim milk powder and cream cheese. Yes these are all tolerated foods but the word I keep missing is "AS".  I guess I am not tolerating them very well and will cut back a bit and use these only for maybe one meal a week or celebration or having company....
I will continue to post the recipes I have tried and that we like, but use with discretion...Limit them and do not let them become every day eating..

TODAY'S HINT

 Those of you who have dieted many times before, it is common to think that the less you eat, the more you will lose. On the Dukan diet it is important to eat and eat until you are full as long as you are eating only what is acceptable food for the particular day PP/PV. You never want to be hungry and if you stick to this plan , you will get to the time where you are never hungry and eat only because it is necessary for your energy and life.

On the Dukan chat yesterday this is the comment.....

"You really have to eat enough and especially proteins as it takes more energy for your body to digest them and it takes this energy from its fat stocks."

THOUGHTS FOR SATURDAY

The only time it's too late to change yourself is when you're dead.
Until then, you're simply making excuses or lying to yourself.

"If we defend our habits, we have no intentions of quitting them."

Start doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you'll be doing the impossible!

CORN FLOUR vs CORN STARCH

Dukans "as tolerated"  list says we can have 20g of corn flour a day which is about 3 Tbls.
I did read sometime ago that corn starch is the same as corn flour so I googled and it seems that they are interchangeable.
In the USA, they call in cornstarch.

In the UK and Europe, cornstarch is referred to as cornflour.

Corn flour can  refer to flour made from corn, or corn meal (as opposed to cornstarch, which is only part of the corn flour). While they will both thicken a broth or juice, the corn flour will leave a strong taste. The cornstarch will not leave an aftertaste, which is why it is used as a thickener.


BUT for losing weight I would in no way eat 3T of cornstarch in a day.
I use a tiny bit to thicken chicken broth a bit in some recipes....

DON'T QUIT

When you've eaten too much and you can't write it down,

And you feel like the biggest failure in town.

When you want to give up just because you gave in,

and forget all about being healthy and thin.

So What! You went off the edge a bit,

It's your next move that counts...So don't you quit!

It's a moment of truth, it's an attitude change.

It's learning the skills to get back in your range.

It's telling yourself, "You've done great up till now.

You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow."

It's part of your journey toward reaching your goal.

You're still gonna make it, just stay in control.

To stumble and fall is not a disgrace,

If you summon the will to get back in the race.

But, often the struggler's, when loosing their grip,

Just throw in the towel and continue to slip.

And learn too late when the damage is done,

that the race wasn't over...they still could have won.

Lifestyle change can be awkward and slow,

but facing each challenge will help you grow.

Success is failure turned inside out,

the silver tint in a cloud of doubt.

When you're pushing to the brink, just refuse to submit,

If you bite it, you write it....But don't you quit!

- Author Unknown

GO BALSAMIC - SLIMMING VINEGAR

FROM-Dukan site
Vinegar is in fashion, vinegars range from white vinegar to rice vinegar, not forgetting raspberry, sherry and balsamic vinegar...

Cider vinegar is virtually a medicinal potion and many studies and experiments have proved its lysis action on proteins and its detergent effect on fats. But balsamic vinegar has another quite exclusive advantage for weight control. It enables you to make sauces almost without any oil at all. Why? Because it is slightly caramelized and a little more viscous and thick than other vinegars. Did you know that as far as weight is concerned oil is the most dangerous food? It is by far, even by very far, the richest food in creation:
9 calories for just one single gram. One tablespoon of oil, of any oil, contains 135 calories. And as a really nice salad needs two of them this amounts to 270 calories, so you end up injecting almost as much as a a slice of cake with this innocent salad without even realizing it.
With balsamic vinegar, there's no such problem. I make up my vinaigrette with 5 tablespoons of this precious vinegar, 1 tablespoon of mild mustard, one tablespoonful of water and one teaspoon of olive oil. I add 8 basil leaves and a clove of garlic; the result is fit for a king and nearly 20 times less rich than a traditional vinaigrette. What's more, balsamic vinegar is tasty and you can include it in your cooking. Just for once try it when you de-glaze for example with chicken livers...you won't be able to do without it any more.

If you only use 1 Tbls spoon or less on your salad  you are only getting a couple of drops of oil. Do not use if you are stagnating.
I love really good Italian Balsamic which can prove quite expensive, but if you have cheap Balsamic that is quite thin, you can boil some with brown sugar Splenda and it will thicken and almost taste like 5 year old Balsamic....

MOTIVATION 4 TODAY

We can reverse years of damage to our bodies by deciding to raise our standards for ourselves,
                        then living differently.
Old wounds heal, injuries repair, and the whole system improves with just a few changes in what
                      we put into our bodies and how we move them..

RECIPES ALL TESTED

Any recipes that I put on this blog,have been tried by myself before posting. I will not add any recipes that we do not like or are not Dukan friendly. I love to look for recipes and see if I can change them to be sure they are legal in every way for those doing the DUKAN diet. I have many new recipes that I have not tried yet as I need to purchase ingredients that I may not have in my cupboard.

I expect to be eating this way for the rest of my life. This is no longer a diet for us but a way of life to help us to feel better and eat well. Losing weight has become just a side effect of eating this way and nice when it happens but I am in no hurry to be at my goal as I know I can never go back to eating certain foods again if I want to remain healthy.

I am never hungry eating this way and do not crave any type of foods but I also see that now that Harvey has reached his goal and is eating his 2 slices of whole grain bread that is allowed in his Consolidation stage of the diet, that he is hungry more often and craves again. We need to assess this to see if it is worth it or if he will eat the Dukan type bread that has no flour.

Recipes will be put on the blog and then 2 weeks later I will move  to the Recipe File on the right hand side.

REMEMBER

Your body is the baggage you must carry through life.

The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip.

                                                          ~ Arnold H. Glasgow

PLATEAU TRUTHS

When you get to a plateau, think of it as a landing on the stairway to your goal.

And maintenance is a lifelong plateau, so a bit of "rehearsal" for maintenance isn't the worst thing in the world.

WELLNESS IS A STATE OF MIND

There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating food, in fact we need it to sustain us. The problem with over indulging in food is weight gain which will cause physical and mental problems if you do not stay ahead of it. Case in point, eat enough fried food over the course of your life and you will likely become diabetic.

Our body is truly our temple, honor your temple and you will extend your life. Dishonor your temple and you will pay for it through hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and a short life span.

The best medicine is prevention, but you also need to heed the warnings your body gives you. In other words, a doctor will not call you to say, “You just had a heart attack, come in for an appointment.” Only you know what is wrong with you, and YOU need to tell your doctor these signs.

The number one cause of health problems for people today is poor decisions. Poor decisions about what to eat, drink and how to manage a healthy lifestyle is by far the key to problems in health care today. Why not get back to the simple life, moderation is the word of the day.

It is time for us all to get back to the basics.

FACTS ON GOJI BERRIES

Since I read on Dr Dukans site that we can have goji berries during this diet, (on cruise - two TB spoons on PV and one on PP.), I decided I needed to do some research on this illusive fruit.
They have been used for more than 6000 years by many herbalists in China, Tibet and India. The best ones are found in the Himalayan mountains of Tibet
If the following facts are true, no wonder we are allowed to have some each day....

1.      It adds  strength and stamina in an individual

2.      It is good for maintaining blood pressure and takes care of cholesterol levels

3.      It fends off infections and cleanses the internal body parts.

4.      It has certain hormones which have been held responsible for working anti-ageing agents and have led to the longer life span.

5.      Improves body immunity.

6.      Has so many healing properties which helps in curing various serious ailments like cancer and heart disease

7.      Has no side effects

8.      Goji berries will control your blood sugar levels and flush out the all the toxins from your body.  

9.      It has many nutrients including carotenoids, vitamin A, Zeaxanthin, B-complex and Vitamin C.  A rich source of antioxidants.

10.  It comprises of 18 varieties of amino acids of which, 8 amino acids are essentially required by our human body.

11.   Prevents vision loss in aged people.

12.   It improves fertility

13.   Helps improve memory

14.   Reduces body fat

15.   It helps with depression or mental disorders.

16.   Protects the skin form sun damage

Some thought that those taking Warfarin should not consume

I bought a bag and we get our 1 -2 T a day by adding to our yogurt, adding to our oat bran before cooking ( they get soft) or just eating a few in the evening like raisins.

DINNER FOR FAMILY

We have travelled to spend the weekend with family in another city and to visit with their daughter who is described in my DEDICATION on the right hand side of this blog. They are all doing the Dukan diet as well as us and with hospital visiting all day it is hard to make the right things, so I decided to bring the supper to them.This allowed me to experiment with recipes to Dukanize them....

This is what I made and the recipes will follow soon, as everything turned out well

Sauteed Chicken Breasts in Creamy Chive Sauce
Sweet Nutmeg Acorn Squash
CauliRice
Pumpkin IceBox Dessert
Chips and Dip (late night snack)

CAULIFLOWER SUBSTITUTES

I have added two recipes to the RECIPE file on the right hand side under Pages.
One is for simulated mashed potatoes and the other for substitute rice. I make the mash often but have not tried the rice yet. Will let you know on that one.
NO they are not potatoes or rice but when you have not had either for months they sure taste good with Molly McButter and salt and pepper or soya sauce on the rice...All it takes is your imagination.

LOVE FOR THE ZEROS

Why are the numbers with a zero so much nicer than other numbers?
Today I hit the 40 pound loss and feel so much better than when I had lost 39 pounds.  Maybe they are like birthdays, a time to celebrate good things.
My friend Brianna is just a couple of pounds from losing 100 pounds and I think I am more excited for her....Long Live Dukan!!

MORE "AS TOLERATED" FOODS

Remember that these tolerated foods are just there for if you need them to make different recipes and must never have more than two a day of the complete list. Also if you are not losing cut ALL TOLERATED.

I will add these to the other "tolerated" and put on a page on the right hand side of this blog

1. You are allowed 2 Tbls of skim milk powder a day . Great for baking.

2. You are allowed to have a PINCH of Parmesan starting from your cruise phase.

3. For special occasions, in order to avoid lapses, you can indeed swap a PP day to a PV day - but do not do that too often. After having done two consequent days of PV please do 2 days PP as well, so that you get back to the rhythm.

4. Yes you can have goji berries during all your diet. On cruise you can have two TB spoons on PV and one on PP.

5. 1.5 tsp of flax meal a day if tolerated.

WHAT A NEAT KITCHEN IDEA

http://www.thermomixcanada.ca/demonstration-video.htm

I just found this demo video on a fellow Dukaneer's blog. It looks like it is very well known in Europe but only just hitting Canada..It is a combination, blender, food processor, mixer, and steamer/cooker.
Neat idea, but who has room for another kitchen counter appliance. It will be interesting to see if it becomes well known in Canada

DR. DUKAN'S SLIMMING SECRET Monday Feb 21/11

Green tea to break through a plateau

You are following our diet "apparently" normally, you feel as if you are not having any lapses and yet your weight is stagnating.

You are stagnating? Oh Don't worry, this always happens to "dieting" men and woman. I don't know of anyone who has lost 20 pounds without having experienced at least once a plateau lasting over 6 days. Beyond that we call it a "pause".

In this situation there are lots of things you can do. Do make extra sure that you haven't made a mistake, that it's not to do with water retention because of the pre-menopause or because a period is due ... But among the panoply of ideas to suggest there is one that I particularly like and this is green tea. For three days, don't drink any more water only drink green tea in the morning, throughout the morning, at lunch, at tea-time, in the evening and even during the night if you are getting up to go to the toilet. Cold, hot, with ice, as a sorbet, however you like it just as long as its NON-STOP GREEN TEA and if you keep up with the diet(as well as minimum physical exercise) you stand every chance of breaking through this plateau.

RECIPES

I have taken my recipes off the posting pages and moved to the Right hand side below PAGES and then RECIPES.
Just click on recipes and you will find them there
I have not figured yet how to put them in alpha order but I may one day....

WHY DO WE FEEL WE CAN NOT LIVE WITHOUT CARBS?

Why do we feel like we are entitled to carbs?

Imagine that you are talking to a person who is obese (for example, me last year). It doesn’t seem to matter if the person is 50 pounds overweight or 250 pounds overweight. The person proclaims that he or she would like to lose weight. So you say to the person, “well, if you would cut way back on carbs, chances are you would lose weight. You might even try eliminating carbs completely and see what happens.” Depending on where the person is on the dieting spectrum, the next question might be, “what are carbs?” And the answer is, anything with sugar, flour or starch in it: Cookies, cakes, ice cream, soda, breakfast cereal, pizza, pasta, rice, potatoes, milk, fruit juice, etc.

The reaction almost inevitably is, “Are you kidding? I can’t live without ___.” Pizza might fill the blank, or Oreo cookies, or whatever. You might even hear, “I would commit suicide if I had to give up ____. There would be no reason to go on living…” or something similarly hyperbolic.
So you say, “But look at yourself. You are 80 pounds overweight. You are a heart attack waiting to happen. You are probably pre-diabetic, and diabetes is a nasty disease. The carbs are addictive, and they are killing you.” That doesn’t seem to matter. Carbs are more important than health, even if the lack of health is obvious to everyone in the form of blubber.
I still lust for carbs when I see them (although I can now completely control the lust, and if I don’t see the food I no longer lust for it). However, I doubt I will ever be able to eat carbs again – I now know exactly how addictive they can be and how dangerous they are to my health and well-being. If I start to eat them again, I fear, it might be like a reformed alcoholic drinking a beer.
What is different about carb addiction? For example, the vast majority of people can drink alcohol without becoming alcoholics. But I think carbs are somehow different – more like nicotine – based on the fact that more than half of the country is now overweight. I have had people say to me, “It’s not carbs – it’s just the fact that Americans eat way too much.” But I really think it is the carbs. Now that I am not eating carbs, I no longer eat too much. I no longer pig out, or binge. I simply do not eat bowl after bowl of cottage cheese in the same way I would eat bowl after bowl of frosted flakes. There is definitely something about carbs that is different. I think I am “normal” in that, rather than “abnormal”, based on current statistics.
And the idea of entitlement and necessity that goes with carbs is quite bizarre. Why do people feel like they can’t live without carbs? This idea that we “deserve” the treat or reward of an ice cream cone or a piece of cake is weird. So is the idea that we would “die” without pizza (or whatever) in our lives. Is it purely psychological, jammed into our brains at the youngest age by birthday parties, Halloween, Christmas candy, lollipops at the doctor’s office and a Twinkie after every soccer game – Along with a million commercials for carb-containing foods? If so, how would we as a society go about deprogramming all or that in order to improve the nation’s health?
from Marshal Brain blog

SAT WEIGH IN DAY

We actually weigh in every day, but Saturday is our day to record it with cash. We have a jar on the cupboard where we put in $1 for every pound we lose, and when we are finished, we will give each of our grandchildren that amount. It is not really about the money but a way of saying, we are getting healthier so we can be around to enjoy them all for a long time.

Well, today the can did not grow, as we have not lost over the last week. Oh we have, but also gained it back. We have not been doing our pure protein days and we have eaten out a bit too much. We were in Medicine Hat for a couple of days and we did stick pretty good as far as having protein and vegetables but no guarantee that they were not cooked in oil etc. We did stay away from anything that converts into sugar in our systems but we ate a lot of salty things too.
We had a free voucher for the buffet breakfast and I had scrambled eggs, a couple of sausage and 4 slices of bacon. I chose these as everything else was fruit, bread, or potatoes. About half way through , I felt really sick, the grease was just not something I was used to so I left half of it.
Then yesterday, while babysitting the twins, we ate buns, pretzels (easy bake oven treats of Mya's) and one cookie. We did not have to falter, as I had brought cottage cheese and low fat ham but I think winter weakness just set in and we did not bother to eat properly..... Needless to say, these were not large deviations but enough to not have any losses. We certainly could have done much worse by eating chocolate, or other things that cause us to crave more.
We will wipe the slate clean and today, back to eating what we are allowed and I will do 2 days of Pure Protein to kick start my system. Better days ahead.
Did I blame the snow, cold and long winter on our missteps, well it deserves it....Spring can not be far now....can it?

DUKAN'S SLIMMING SECRET TODAY!!

Dr Dukan has a new slimming secret each week on his website and this was today's article.....What in the heck is Purslane???

Slimming secret of Dr Pierre Dukan

Purslane - a great secret

Considered as a weed for a long time, purslane is packed with goodness.

You've finished your attack phase so here you are in the cruising phase where you are allowed vegetables and AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE. So now the moment has come for you to discover purslane.

As far as I am concerned and I'll say this quite openly purslane is a phenomenal food. Not only do I suggest that you eat it but that you grow it too. Buy a few seeds from a local nursery and off you go. Very soon you'll have enough to make a salad. You just have to keep cutting it and it'll grow back as quickly as couchgrass.

You'll find that in salads its like lambs' lettuce but thicker and more naturally rich and juicy, so an exceptional salad ingredient. You can also try it in soups like watercress. Purslane contains solubles fibres just like oat bran and apple pectin and can therefore help you lose calories.

What's more it's very rich in omega 3, excellent for fighting stress and encouraging sleep and because of this it cuts down on the need to comfort eat due to stress. If from today you get into the habit of eating it regularly, you can expect to reach a slimmer figure and a riper old age.

Ok I googled it and it is of the Portulaca family and a well known Canadian weed or also called "pig weed"


So I guess, we stop putting weed and feed on our lawn and start  making salads from the little devil weeds.

A NEW SCALE

This is our new scale and what an improvement it is to our mental weight loss. The old one only showed pounds and so we could weight for days and never lose. Now at least, it will show if we are down 3 oz, or 10 oz etc. So knowing we are down helps us to stay motivated for that day. If we are up 5 oz , we know that is not much, but on the old scale it would jump to the next whole number and defeat us a bit.
We can imput each of our goal weights and that will always show and as well it will show how much we have gained or lost from our last weigh in.

By the way, that is not either of our weights shown in the picture. I stole the picture from some web site.

DUKAN WEB SITE

My Facebook friend Brianna, made it onto the front page of the British Dukan web site.
She has done tremendous in her weight losses and motivates me so often. She has lost 95.5 pounds and is looking and feeling so good.  I am so proud of her and I have never even met her and though we are mega years apart in age, so many things about us are the same....


If you want to read her story, here is the linkhttp://www.dukandiet.co.uk/en/346-the-community/vid-of-the-week.html

Protein Day 2/13/11 (Sunday)

Breakfast
Oatbran porridge with vanilla, sweetener and skim milk
Large cup of Bavarian Chocolate coffee with sweetener

Lunch
2 hard boiled eggs mashed with Dukan mayo, green onion, fresh dill, s & p
1 glass of Crystal Light iced tea

Supper
4 meat balls
Sliced pork tenderloin ( no it is not allowed on diet but it is as low fat as chicken breast)
1 slice of FF cheese
cottage cheese with fresh dill, gr onion, garlic salt
Pumpkin pudding

HARVEY UPDATE

Harvey has lost 33 pounds and is now moving on to the next stage (Consolidation).
He will start tomorrow and add 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 1 fruit and 1.5 oz of cheese each day and as well once a week he will have a potato or pasta etc as well as one celebration meal of what ever he wants to eat....( yes even his apple pie)  He will watch his weight and if he starts to gain we will see what to remove.

He also must buy some new pants, it is very funny looking at him from the rear.....

Tomorrow we also go for our blood tests so we will see if this diet has improved the blood sugars, cholesterol etc or harmed it.  Will keep you posted here

BAD THINGS ABOUT LOSING NEARLY 40 #'s

1. You need to use more water to fill the tub when bathing. ( and we are on a septic tank)
2. You have more energy and almost feel like going out and shoveling snow ( I did say..almost)
3. Your pants get baggy and you look like a baby with a full hanging diaper
4. You need to buy new clothes and mentally can not yet look at lower sizes.
5. You start looking in full length mirrors again.
6. Your grandchildren play more with your "Bingo Wings". (For the younger ones, that is the hanging fat and skin from old ladies upper arms.
7. You keep crossing your legs, just because you can.

TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE

This what I put on my Facebook status today and it is so appropriate for those of us that are trying to change our lifestyle to something healthier...

When you let go of life as you know it, you are making room for an even more miraculous life...........

Your imagination is a preview of life's coming attractions. So take some time today to relax and visualize yourself achieving your goals. Feel and experience it as your clear reality!

MY PV DAY 2/12/11

Total Loss        - 38 lbs
Body Wt Lost  - 16.96%
Dist from Goal  - 33 lbs

Breakfast
Large coffee
Oat Bran porridge with skim milk
Multi Vitamin

Lunch
Chicken, Hard boiled egg, lettuce, gr onion, celery, red pepper, cuke, Dukan Mayo (salad)
Diet Cream Soda

Supper
Stir fry - chicken breasts, mushrooms, red peppers, celery, broccoli, onion,  Dipping sauce (last post) and a tsp of corn starch. I did not have the stirfry sauce made up and thickening the dipping sauce worked well
Evening

Decaf Hazelnut coffee with sweetener and skim milk

As you see I do not often eat between meals or at night any more. I did for the first couple of months as I snacked often but I no longer require anything.

CANCER QUESTION

The French journalist Jean Pierre Elkabbach had the excellent idea of inviting me to the Senate (the upper house of the French parliament) to take part in a television programme about food and dieting. This very important programme also featured Professor Khayat, France's leading cancer specialist campaigning for a way of eating to prevent and cure cancer.
There before me was a leading international cancer expert and someone who knows all there is to know about the links between this dreadful disease and how we eat. So I took the opportunity of his being there and of his authority to get him to say exactly what he thinks about some of the pernicious rumours that have been circulating for years, confusing anyone concerned by their weight and health.

"Mister Khayat, can you answer as clearly as possible whether proteins in general and meat in particular play any role whatsoever in the onset of cancer, are they in any way responsible?"
His reply was: "NO! Just avoid any overcooking on the barbecue and over direct heat as this is carcinogenic."

As for myself, I have built my method for fighting against weight problems on the fact that men were hunters of meat and women gatherers of vegetables for the first 50,000 years that our species was on earth and that we are still programmed physically and mentally to eat these foods. All nutritionists know this full well however, some either because they have a particular belief or some personal interest, pretend to forget about it as they cleverly cast aspersions on proteins.

The French are by bugged by another question to do with aspartame. So I again asked Professor Khayat about this:

"Is aspartame carcinogenic or not?" His reply to this was just as categorical as it was to the first question: NO and NO!

However, it has been clearly proven that BEING OVERWEIGHT is carcinogenic. Many international studies show that both breast cancer for women and prostate cancer for men are both directly related to being overweight, as adipocytes secrete male and female hormones that play a role in the onset of cancer.

WHO REALLY KNOWS WHAT WE SHOULD BE EATING

See yourself as a hunter gatherer

Did you know that the first modern men, the Homo Sapiens from the Dordogne who lived around 40,000 years BC had the same genetic programming as us?

So, it is that a cro-magnon baby adopted today by a Western family would become a perfect Westerner. When the Homo Sapiens lived, the men hunted and the women gathered. In groups, the men hunted animals for their protein. Women gathered whatever they could find, green vegetation, some fruit and any wild seeds that the birds had overlooked.

Proteins and vegetables which are the components in the Dukan slimming programme are therefore not a nutritional or emotional punishment. They are the very foods that we are most attuned to, both as far as our metabolism is concerned (proteins being the only vital nutrient) as well as emotionally.

It should also be noted that all the vitamins present in fruit are also found in vegetables. But the real similarity is to be found in the statement accompanying the foods you allowed to eat: AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE.

Primitive man was only restricted by external necessity or satiety, but never put any limit on what he ate. Therefore each day you diet, when you are swallowing down some fish, meat or poultry ... see yourself as a hunter who has caught his prey and especially if you are a woman as a gatherer exchanging her vegetables for this meat.               ~Dr.Dukan

ONE DUKANER'S STORY

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1355019/Womans-Hours-Jenni-Murray-lost-3-stone-3-months.html

1 stone = 4 pounds

Success stories of others always add to our motivation

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) #1

·         Pickles are allowed starting from cruise phase but be careful of the composition: they mustn't contain added sugar.  They contain a lot of salt so you may need to limit them. Gherkins as we know them in Canada are not allowed. The Dukan book says they are but in Europe they are small and salty with out sugar.

·         All dairies should not exceed 2% fat and have no added sugars.

·         Your dairies can not exceed 1 Kgs a day, that is 2.2 pounds

·         It best is to have your oat bran in the morning and to avoid it in the evening, but as long as you eat the correct amount of oat bran per day you can have some in the morning and the other one in the afternoon if you wish. (I have on occasion had to have mine at bed time as I had missed it.)

·         Yes you can have Miso soup as this is suitable for your diet.

·         Ketosis symptoms like dry mouth, bad breathe, head aches, dark urine, often happens during the attack phase, because you are only on PP days. After that, in the cruise phase, you alternate 1 PP with 1 PV so your body accustoms to the ketosis phenomena. In fact, it is the resultant of the protein degradation and its transformation into glucose which leads to headaches and to the feeling of a dry mouth. Don't worry about it, be sure to drink 1,5 L of water per day and eat until you have been satisfied.

·         You may want to support your system with an Omega 3 supplement. If your body is too depleted of good fat, it won't process the food as well and it can slow down your weight loss. You do get quite a bit of fat from fish and some meats but I also only buy eggs with Omega 3. They are more expensive but worth it to us. We do not eat as many eggs any more as we did the first weeks. We do not take Omega 3 supplement but a Multi Vitamin daily.

·         Cooking wine is tolerated during the cruise phase, up to 3 tablespoonfuls per day if you cook with the lid off to evaporate the alcohol in stews and sauces. This is as tolerated, some may not lose as well so limit it

·         You have to eat when you feel hungry but there is no limitation about how often you have to eat per day. The best is to take three main meals and then to have three or four snacks per day and to not eat too much late in the evening. You have to eat when you feel hungry but there is no limitation about how often you have to eat per day. The best is to take three main meals and then to have three or four snacks per day and to not eat too much late in the evening.

·         For your constipation, you can increase your oat bran intake by 2 more Tbls, and try to do some abdominal sit ups in series of 10? You also have to drink really cold water and you can try 200gr  of stewed rhubarb. If you are still constipated the next day take a mild laxative.  Do not worry if you do not go everyday when you are just on PP days as your body uses up the protein.

·         Carrots can be eaten on PV days only, in the amount of 200gms per week maximum (because the amount of carbs is a little bit higher than in the other vegetables). Once again as tolerated….. We chose not to have carrots unless forced to have them by a situation
.

·         Baking powder can be used but only 2 pinches if needed in a recipe.

• To make your soups, use lowfat chicken or beef broth. I buy the big boxes as  I use it  in different recipes as well.

WALKING - so that you lose weight and don't put it back on!

In order to lose weight, the best exercise is that which you find easy to do and that you are likely to stick to in the long term....

Walking is unquestionably the simplest, the most natural, the least tiring, the least dangerous and the least expensive.

We walk just like we breathe, by putting one foot in front of the other and repeating this without any effort or frustration. Walking has the advantage that it requires you to use a great many muscular groups and among them those muscles that use up most calories (quadriceps, buttock muscles).

Walk for half an hour a day and I can guarantee you that this will help you to lose weight. But above all else these 30 minutes are one of the foundations for stabilizing your weight permanently.
                                                                                              
You'll never imagine all the positive changes that walking can offer you. If you walk immediately after your meal(lunchtime and evening), you increase your calorie consumption by 20 to 30%.

If you don't have time, try the treadmill, you don't even have to go out or get dressed in your walking gear. Finally, walking is as healthy as eating properly. It keeps your heart healthy, and your mood cheerful, it helps your mind and memory function, it encourages your imagination and reinforces what you've learnt.
                                                                                               ~Dr. Dukan
            

ADDITIONAL HELPS

• http://www.dukandiet.co.uk/  this is the official Dukan website where you can sign up for daily coaching. It is very costly ..over $500, but you get personal attention. I do not use this.
• http://dukan-diet.info/dukan-forum/index.php  a forum to read what others say and to find recipes. Mostly British dieters and the recipes may have to be converted somewhat...
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dukan-Diet-Pierre/dp/144471032X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280932686&sr=8-1 The Dukan book which we used to be able to purchase but not available now  A new version is coming out soon.
•  http://www.amazon.ca/ ....will not be available until April.but hopefully it will be a bit more Canadianized.....
• http://www.facebook.com/DukanDiet  If you are a Facebook follower, you can access the site there where I find discussions  and recipes.

THINGS TO HELP

Up to now I have not listed the tolerated foods etc. These are a few small things you can add in the Cruise Phase if you can tolerate them once in awhile. I would stay away from them for about the 1st two weeks and just keep your eating simple. But then you will start to bore and need a bit more zip to some of your meals and I can give you some suggestions on how to do that with recipes and what works for us. I am sure you will make up new recipes to suit your own tastes and life style and please share for those that follow us.

You are allowed two items per day and only if you can tolerate with out gaining

Plain soya yogurt 1
Corn Flour 20g
1 coffee spoon of sugar free low fat cocoa powder (no more than 20% fat)
Wine (red/white) for cooking 3 tbs
Soya milk (glass) 15cl
7% fat cheese 30g
Rhubarb (cooked) 100g
Oil 3 drops (3g)
Soy sauce 1 tsp
Extra light Philidelphia 30g
Light cheese like laughing cow 30g
Custard Powder as "Birds" 1 table spoon per day with sweetener and skimmed milk

CRUISE PHASE

Ok, you have now finished your set number of days of the Attack phase where you have only had proteins, and you are ready for you start of the cruise phase which allows you Protein and vegetables. You can keep this as simple as you want or experiment with stir fries, stews, casseroles etc. a couple of just PV days to get you into thinking how to combine these two and then start your real cruise of 1 day PP (pure Protein) and then 1 day PV (Protein/Veggies)
I will start to add on here some hints and recipes as time goes on and please ask any questions via comment section, email, phone or message on Facebook etc...if you are interested in trying this diet.
I do guarantee if you can get past the first week or two, it is really clear sailing from there on as all your cravings leave with the removal of the sugars from your system. You will find that you really are not ever hungry and eat only because you know your body needs it.
AGAIN...BE PREPARED.
Think ahead and plan for times that you know will be a problem
1. Invited out for a meal....Do a PV day and choose wisely. Eat protein, veggies, salad and stay away from all forms of pasta, breads, desserts,potatoes, gravies, fats, alcohol.  And if you can't do that say you are ill, and don't go . You are what is important right now!
2. Travelling or out doing shopping etc and can not get home.....go to a deli and pick up cooked chicken, sliced No Fat ham, or even a container of FF cottage cheese and eat in the car if you have to....You are what is important right now!
3.If you have to eat in a restaurant, have a 3 egg omelet with ham and cheese and a salad on the side ,,,say you DO NOT want toast, hash browns, pancakes etc.The ham and cheese will not be legal so do not do this very often. And no dressing on the salad, salt and pepper it well. Or have a salad and their daily vegetable dish and a steak grilled. Do not eat any of the fat on the steak and ask if they can cook it with out any oil.You are what is important right now
4. Working...take lots of things you can eat in a small cooler, yogurt, cooked meats, hard boiled eggs, veggies if you are on PV day. You are what is important right now.
5. You will find lots of ways to be creative with this diet as you progress and you will find what works for you. You are the only thing that is important right now...You have to come first.