Reset Day

I lost .4lbs.  That's a total of 7.6 in five days. The gas and bloating are gone, however, my lips are swollen and burning.  I went off radar for lunch yesterday so I don't know if the problem was rye or something else I ate.  I am going to hold of doing Day Six, do a reset day, redo Day Five (I explain why below) and then do Day Six in two days.

I didn't have Manchego cheese in the house so I went to Whole Foods in Walnut Creek and walked into a "Raw Food Festival"s.  I walked around and view everything and realized that most items were made from ingredients I had already tested, raw almonds, raw seeds, kelp, coconut milk products, dark chocolate, beets and carrots.  The book says you can stop The Plan at any point and start up again so I took a chance to see what would happen.

The Festival was great for such a tiny store.  They had over ten vendors and I was able to taste something from almost every vendor except two because their products contained ingredients I haven't tested yet.  There were three things I tasted that I shouldn't have.  It was my fault because I didn't read the ingredients first.  The portion size of everything was so tiny and I really enjoyed the event so I decided to not worry about it and just expect to do a reset day tomorrow.

The coolest part of the event was what happened after I tried a kelp chip.   The "alive&radiant foods" vendor had six products for you to try.  Three of them made with kelp, The Kale Krunch, and all of them with safe ingredients, except sodium.  The other three were safe vegetables  however, they were made with seasame seeds so I didn't try them.  The portions were tiny, two teaspoons at most.  The ingredients for the Kale Krunch are Organic Kale, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Lemon Juice, Organic Chia Seeds, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Himalayan Crystal Salt.  The Nutritional Facts I cared about were Calories 110, Sodium 200mg, and Protien 5g.  It was delicious so I bought a bag.   There were four other items I had tried earlier that I shouldn't have.  Two of them contained cabbage, one of them vinegar, and another had banana.  I was feeling fine when I left the store.  When I got home I popped open the bag of kale, measured out a serving size (half a bag) and started eating.  Near the end of my snack I noticed my lip started to feel like they were burning and getting swollen.  I took another bite and as the food touched my lips it hurt.  It was amazing, I realized something I ate was making me have this reaction.  I'm not sure what it was so I'm going to do tests on each individual item and then narrow it down to one of their ingredients.  I suspect its the sodium, but it could also be one of the other items I ate or that the Kale Krunch is made in a facility that processes tree nuts and soy.

After all that the scale did go down, however, I really want to retest the rye so I will take a day to get the inflamation down and the redo Day Five.

As for yesterdays foods, I loved the almond butter.  Instead of eating it with apple I opted for pear because mine are super ripe and I don't want them going bad.   It was delicious.  The apricot glaze on the chicken is amazing and it was super nice to end the day with a piece of chocolate.

I'm not sure what a reset day consists of.  I'll have to read the book to figure that out.  I'll update at the end of the day.

Day Five on The Plan - Rye Test

I lost 2.2 lbs.  I'm now down 7.4 lbs in four days.  I had more energy yesterday.  I loved my cheese.  I chose a goat cheese from Span called "Cana de cabra Mitica" and enjoyed every bite. For chocolate I ate "Newman's Own Organics"  dark chocolate with 54% cacao.

Since Tuesday, I've been taking probiotics to offset the antibiotics in an attempt to avoid yeast overgrowth.  Yesterday  I opted to have chocolate over wine, however, when I woke up this morning my tongue looked white.  Today I completed my antibiotics so hopefully I'll recover by next week.

Today's Plan

After I wake up:

• Weigh myself
• Drink 16oz of water with lemon
• Take my liver supplement

Breakfast - The book recommends 1 cup of flax granola with ½ cup blueberries, ½ an apple or ½ a pear, however, as I mentioned in my posts I ran out of granola so I am replacing it with the compote.  

• 1 cup of the Berry Pear Compote

Lunch

• Arugula with carrots and 1 ounce of goat cheese
• Spicy vegetarian soup

Dinner

• Chicken with spicy apricot glaze (page 4)
• Sauteed zucchini with onion and basil, orange oil (page 5) and 2 tablespoons grated manchego
• Beet and carrot salad with sunflower seeds 

Snack

• 1 rye cracker with 2 tablespoons of raw almond butter and ½ an apple

Dessert

• 1 ounce dark chocolate or cinnamon poached fruit (page 50) with whipped cream

Day Four on The Plan - Cheese Test

I lost 1.4 lbs.  Total weight loss 5.2 lbs.  I had no energy yesterday and I was incredibly emotional. I wasn't hungry and I'm very pleased with the results.

Yesterday, I enjoyed breakfast, the chia seeds gave it a tapioca pudding consistency.  I wasn't in the mood for the soup  so I stuck to the salad and added the chick peas to make sure I got enough protein 

I'm not a big fan of chicken, especially white meat, but I enjoyed it even without any salt.  I let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes in the orange zest and Italian herbs.  I've noticed palette is more sensitive to flavors and that I can go with out any salt.

Whole foods, Trader Joes, and Safeway didn't have arugula so I'm going to use baby romaine lettuce instead.

Today is my first day of testing and I am going to drink all my water!

Today's Plan
As of today I can also start having a cup of coffee and a glass of red wine.

After I wake up:

• Weigh myself
• Drink 16oz of water with lemon
• Take my liver supplement

Breakfast - The book recommends 1 cup of flax granola with ½ cup blueberries, ½ an apple or ½ a pear, however, as I mentioned in my posts I ran out of granola so I am replacing it with the compote.

• 1 cup of the Berry Pear Compote

Lunch

• 1 cup roasted italian winter vegetables (page 33) on a bed of spinach with pumpkin seeds and 1 ounce of goat cheese

Dinner

• 4 ounces chicken with mango cucumber salsa (page 9)
• Arugula with carrots and ¼ avacado
• Steamed broccoli with orange oil (see citrus zest oil on page 5)

Snack

• Carrots with 6 tablespoons of homemade hummus or 2 tablespoons of raw almond butter.

Dessert

• 1 ounce dark chocolate or cinnamon poached fruit (page 50) with whipped cream

After each day's menu the book, "The Plan" by Lyn-Genet Recitas, gives you more information on some of the foods you are eating for that day.  These sections are referred to as "The Inside Scoop on Day ..." and have lots of additional information you should read. Day four coverts coffee, wine, cheese, chocolate, and yeast.  I've covered the highlights here.

Coffee

• Only drink it in the morning
• Choose a dark roast
• No decaf
• Sweeten with sugar, agave or honey.
• No artificial sweeter
• Don't use milk until its been tested.  Instead use half and half, coconut milk or rice milk

Wine

Don't drink white because it is more acidic. If its something you really like you can test it later on.  If the only reason you aren't drinking the wine is because you want to lose more weight then don't.  The book suggests that if you love wine then you will lose more with the wine than with out.  Portion size is confusing to me.  The only reference to it was the first sentence that says "A glass of wine is a wonderful way to ....".  No where does it say to only drink one glass of wine.  

Chocolate

• Eat dark chocolate less than 65% cacao
• If you want nuts stick to already tested nuts (as of day four that would be almonds)

Yeast

Test your tongue in the morning and if it looks white start a probiotic along with MSM.  Avoid wine and vinegar OR chocolate, not both.

Day Three on the Plan

I lost 2lbs.  :)  I'm now down a total of 3.8 lbs.  I was fatigued, achy gassy, bloating and miserable yesterday.  The bloating felt more pronounced after i ate lunch.  I'm not sure if this is a reaction to the food, my body cleansing its self, I'm sick or a combination of both.  I think the broccoli is making me gassy and I'll test it in the testing phase.

There are two items I didn't eat yesterday. I didn't add the avocado to my salad and I didn't eat the pear for a snack.  I did eat the almonds because I wanted to make sure I didn't skip that food test.  For a second day I couldn't drink all the water before 7:30.

I have to change up my breakfast for today.  Two weeks ago, I ordered the Fruit & Berry Flax Granola from Columbia Country Bread , however, they are slammed with orders and I wont have it till next week.  Since I didn't think it would take so long I only made two days worth from scratch last weekend.  I thought I was going to have to make a batch yesterday, however, I found a substitute that I had all the ingredients for on Lyn Genet's website under "Tips for Book Readers".  The tips page says that if you want to switch out breakfast to try the Blueberry Pear Compete.   I'm not sure you are suppose to do it during the cleanse phase, however,  I'm too sick to go shopping for whole flax seeds and then come home and cook it.  This recipe was very easy to make, chop up two fruits, add spice, boil in coconut milk, stir in chia seed let chill for 4 hours.  Its easier than pudding from a box.

I really like how each day, or every other day, on The Plan introduces a new food.  The last time I dieted was in 2011.  During that diet I would frequently think about the foods i would eat in the future.  The way "The Plan" is laid out I now look forward to the following day.  On Day One I looked forward to eating rice and on Day Two I found myself excited that there is chicken on Day Three. On Day four there is cheese - nom nom nom.  I love me some cheese.

Today's Plan

After I wake up:

• Weigh myself
• Drink 16oz of water with lemon
• Take my liver supplement

Breakfast

• I cup of the Berry Pear Compote

Lunch

• Baby romaine lettuce with 1/4 avocado, pumpkin seeds and carrots
• Spicy Vegetarian Soup and a half a cup of low salt chick peas

Dinner

• 2-3oz of Chicken with Italian Herbs and Orange Zest
• 1 cup Roasted Italian Winter Vegetables

Snack

• 10-12 raw almonds

Chicken with Italian Herbs and Orange Zest Recipe

Sprinkle chicken breast with dried italian herbs and 1 Tablespoon of grated orange zest and bake in a 350 oven for 20-30 min, depending on the size of the breast (less for 2-3oz portion size).

This recipe wasn't in the online cookbook so I added it here.  The portion sizes are 4-6 for a woman and 6-8 for a man.

Day Two on The Plan

I lost 1.8lbs.  It's nice to see the scale go down.  I hurt all over yesterday.  I ended up getting sick all over myself and my car on the way to work yesterday.  My doctor is amazing.  He squeezed me in between other appointments  diagnosed me with bronchitis, prescribed antibiotics, and told me to stay in bed and away from other people for a week.

I'm glad I followed the plan's advice and did my shopping and cooking  in advanced.  All this water and healthy food will heal me!   While I'm on the subject of water I couldn't drink it all.  There just weren't enough hours in the day.  I'll try again.

Today's food is the same as yesterday except for minor details which I highlighted in green.

After I wake up:

• Weigh myself
• Drink 16oz of water with lemon
• Take my liver supplement

Breakfast:

• 1 cup Flax Granola with ½ cup blueberries and Rice Milk

Lunch:

• Carrot Ginger Soup with sunflower seeds (or chia seeds)
• Steamed Broccoli with orange oil and lemon juice
• Mixed Greens with ½ diced apple and ¼ an avocado

Dinner:

• Shredded carrots & beet and Sunflower Seeds
• Sautéed baby kale with Shitake and Spicy Coco Sauce and 1 cup of brown rice and Pumpkin Seeds

Snack

• ½ pear and a small handful of almonds

Day One of The Plan

After I weighed myself I drank 16oz of water with lemon and took the liver cleanse capsules.  Then I figured out how much water I had to drink.  According to "The Plan", for every two lbs you weigh you drink an ounce of water (there's an example at the end of this post).   Along with that you are not suppose to drink 45 min before or after you eat AND you are suppose to finish all your water by 7:30PM.   

Day One Plan

After I woke up:

• I weighed myself
• Drank 16oz of water with lemon
• Took my liver supplement

Breakfast:

• 1 cup Flax Granola with 1/2 cup blueberries and Rice Milk

Lunch:

• Carrot Ginger Soup with sunflower seeds
• Steamed Broccoli with orange oil (organic orange rind soaked in olive oil) and lemon juice

You're allowed mixed greens with 1/2 a pear and pumpkin seeds, however, I was full so I skipped it.

Dinner:

• Shredded carrots & beet (2 carrots and a third of a small beet)
• 3 cups Sautéed baby kale with Shitake and Spicy Coco Sauce
• Pumpkin Seeds

I added Cayenne pepper, cumin  ginger and cinnamon to the carrots and beets.  I wanted to add lemon juice, honey and golden raisins too, however, since this was the cleanse I didn't stray from the recipe in the book. 

The market didn't have fresh Shitake so i bought dried, soaked them in hot water, drained them and used the water to stir fry the kale.  It came out delicious.  Yes, it could be because the Spicy Coco Sauce is amazing, however, drizzling it with garlic infused oil and lemon juice would also be yummy.

Snack:

• Small Apple

Doubled everything you make for today because tomorrow is the same menu except for some minor changes.  The hardest part of the day was drinking water.  By the time i went to bed I still had 4 glasses of water I hadn't drunk and I drank my last glass at 10:30 pm.   I am not sure if I will see any weight loss.

How Much Water Should You Drink?
For every two lbs you weigh you drink an ounce of water

Weight = 192 lbs
Divided in half = 96 ounces (there are 8 ounces in a cup of water)
Divide by 8 = 12  (12 cups of water)
Total = 12 cups of water a day.

Spicy Coco Sauce (I'm writing this from memory so it might be off)
Combine a chopped onion, 3 cloves of chopped garlic and a can of full fat coconut milk in a sauce pan and bring it to a simmer.  Cook it for 5 minutes and then add a heaping Tablespoon of brown sugar, ½ teaspoon of sea salt and cumin, a ¼ teaspoon of turmeric, cinnamon, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.  Simmer this for 20 minutes.  Serving size is an ⅛ cup.  Be careful it's addictive.

Prepping for The Plan

A friend of mine told me about a Dr. Oz episode featuring a women who talked about how its the food we eat that is making us fat not the calories. After some googling I found out that it's called "The Lyn-Genet Plan" .

There is a lot of material on the Lyn-Genet Plan website, however, I couldn't figure out where to start so I decided to read the book first.  I bought  "The Plan: Eliminate the Surprising "Healthy" Foods That Are Making You Fat--and Lose Weight Fast" by Lyn-Genet Recitas and I was excited to start, however, I quickly realized that I was going to have to do some tests on myself along with some prep work.

There are two tests you need to do on yourself, Thyroid and Yeast.  The Thyroid test takes a few days while the yeast test you can do in two.

To test your Thyroid you take your temperature under the arm every morning for three days.  If your temperature is consistently 97 degrees or lower then, according to The Plan, your thyroid is under-active.  To test for yeast you eat three specific foods in one day and then when you wake the next morning you can tell if yeast is an issue for you.  The foods are chocolate, balsamic vinegar and a yeasty beer/wine.

I tested positive for an under-active thyroid and yeast. My temperature was 96.5.  The book mentions that for some people this temperature wont inhibit weight loss so I decided to stay on the regular menu, but with a  Kelp supplement.

List Thyroid Recommendations:

• Kelp - specifically Norwegian kelp. 
• Main Coast Sea Seasoing - I didn't find this in either Safeway/Whole Foods by me.
• B12 supplements
• Avoid specific foods
• Keep warm 

I recommend reading  more on the Thyroid on the Lyn-Genet site.

Since I woke up with a white tongue, which was cool to see, I bought a probiotic at Whole Foods. The recommended dosage is between 30-50 billion, taken for 7 days before you start the Plan

There are two pieces of equipment you should get if you don't already have them.  A digital scale to weight yourself and a basal body temp thermometer. Lyn-Genet recommends two scales on the website under Product Recommendations, however, I already have one I LOVE - HealthOMeter 349KLX Digital Medical Scale.  I bought it in 2011 after researching them online and its great. The ones recommended by Lyn-Genet are less expensive and probably work just as well.

There are very few supplement recommendations in the book.  Other than the ones listed above its also recommended that you take a Liver detoxifer/dandelion tea and MSM.  I decided to take both.

So before I started The Plan I had to do seven days of probiotics, buy groceries and cook some items in advanced.  You can find shopping list and food prep on the Lyn-Genet website (look under tips for book readers) and on the links on the side of this blog.

If you don't want to make your own flax granola then you can buy  Fruit & Berry Flax Granola at Columbia Country Bread.  While I am writing about Columbia Country Bread I want to mention that my profile image was inspired by an image they have on their website.