Phase 2

it feels like you have freedom once you can add some fruit and nuts into your diet. those first 2 weeks on phase 1 are worth it though when you can drop 10 pounds in 2 weeks!!!

Phase 2:

(again, all info from Wellness Pro website)

This stage is designed to help you maintain the maximum level of your fat-burning metabolism. During this stage of the program, you get to EASE UP on the restrictions!
And here's a simple formula:

Consume the maximum amount of the right types of foods necessary to feel great and stay in top physical form (this also means consuming a minimum amount of “bad carbs”).
You'll be amazed how good you feel, and - your weight will continue to drop… with a minimum of effort.
Your body is working all by itself as you've trained it to jump-start and keep moving!
recommendations
replace 2 meals with meal replacement shake
include only food recommended in phase 2 of your diet
drink 8 or more glasses of water each day
exercise. you will have more energy now - use it! if you're continuing your walking program - increase your distance to 2 miles a day.
pay attention to the size of your portions
measure your hips and waist once a week

As you work more food back into your regular daily plan remember to remember correct portion sizes
meat, fish = palm of your hands
fruit and Veggies = your fist
bread = audiocassette
butter = no more than one teaspoon

You can definately get more creative here, with using the foundation of phase 1. Here I'd add berries or peaches to my shakes and they definately got more tasty. I'd also add some Almond Butter to my chocolate shakes for a sweeter treat. (and at least felt like i was eating a reese's peanut butter cup!). I'd also add some orange juice concentrate (no sugar added) to a vanilla shake for a nice dreamsicle.

Snacks:

same snacks as in phase 1

Apples with almond butter

Fruit!! (finally)

Nuts

Edamame

Tips:

I eat a lot of low-carb tortillas (my favorite brand is called "Low-in-Carbs" by Tumaro's Gourmet Tortillas. They have 5 net carbs, and 8gm of fiber. You can roll up any beans/cheese, meat/cheese, chicken/lettuce/caesar dressing - and you have a tasty lunch.

Meal Ideas:

Homemade Chili

Turkey Barley Soup

Made over Spaghetti (Low Sugar spaghetti sauce with meatballs, over barley)

Beef Stew with Barley

Chicken Enchiladas (w/ low carb tortillas)

Texas Caviar

2 cans beans (pintos, navy, white, black, whatever you like)

1 can green chilis

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

Food is a good thing!

Eat to LIVE!!

Phase 1

Basics: There are 2 phases.

During phase 1 you will increase your metabolic rate and fat-burning ability, while detoxifying your body from addictive carbohydrates. For the first 14 days cut caffeine and “bad” carbs from your diet, such as: fruit, bread, pasta, potatoes, and sugar. etc. (which sounds like life is ending, i know!). This will change your body's metabolism from carbohydrate-burning to fat-burning. This is where you start really reading food labels! STAY AWAY from high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils. These are ingredients that are added when the fat is taken out.

Get started:
(information found on Wellness Pro website)
replace 2 meals a day with a meal replacement shake
include only food recommended in phase 1 in your diet.
eat 3 - 5 small meals a day. don't over eat!
feeling hungry…have a small snack or shake mixed with water or blended with water and ice.
drink 8 or more glasses of water a day.
exercise. if you don't have time for a gym, simply walk at least for 1 mile every day.
weigh yourself once a week to track your progress.

for me, i'd have a shake for breakfast, with either water or unsweetened Almond Milk, (found at most all grocery stores, Almond Breeze makes a delicious unsweetened Almond Milk, 2 gm carbs per serving).

Snacks Ideas:
carrots with ranch (1gm carb per serving)
cauliflower
hard boiled eggs
lunch meat (ham or turkey)
cottage cheese
tuna w/ mayo and pickles
chunked up grilled chicken
lots of cheese

i'd also make a lot of chicken salad (chopped chicken, green onions, celery, mayo, little mustard, garlic salt, and pepper) and rolled that into lettuce leaves. I'd also grill up some steaks, and cut them up and put them in portion bags in the fridge and I'd snack on that too. It was filling and LEAN. I'd also snack on beef meatballs, or i found gluten free chicken and garlic meatballs at Costco that were really good! Chopped up hot dogs with chili and mustard was another favorite.

i'd have another shake in the late afternoon, and then usually a salad for dinner.

You'll notice a lot of gluten free foods are also low in carbs, but make sure to read the label. I also buy everything with "no sugar added" or "sugar free" and that helps. You can get "low sugar" spaghetti sauce and spread that on the carb friendly tortillas with cheese and pepperoni and broil them and it's good. You'll find yourself getting creative with what you have on hand and what you can find at the store.

Take Out List:
Carls Jr - low carb $6 burger, no ketchup, extra pickles
McDonalds - Mighty Kids meal - 6 piece nuggets with apples, Chicken Club Sandwich (no bun, grilled)
Burger King - any burger you can order without the bun (which i normally got the one with cheese and bacon) or their grilled chicken burger (no bun)
Taco Bell - Pintos and cheese
Wendy's - All their salads are very low carb, except don't add any of the tortilla strips. Their chili is great, as well as their chicken nuggets. Their new salads are really really good too, i've had the chicken cobb salad a few times this week!
Chipotle/Bajio - Salads, no rice, no tortilla
Chick-Fil-A - Chicken Nuggets kids meal, and replace fries with cole slaw

If we went out to eat, I normally ordered anything grilled with fresh veggies. I also love fish, and would tend to order that first since I don't like to cook it at home (too smelly). I also noticed that a lot of mexican food is low carb if you don't do rice or tortillas.

I also google "low carb snacks" or "low carb recipes" a lot and use their ideas. There are so many resources on the internet, and you can look there also. Just stick to Phase 1 for the 2 weeks and you'll lose 10 pounds right away. It will literally fall off.

When buying a shake that isn't Wellness Pro, find something: 1. Low in sugar, 2. Low in carbs, 3. Low in calories. My shake is 130 calories, <1 gram sugar, 6 grams net carbs (9 carbs, but 3 grams fiber). Try and find something close to that. When I ran out, I got one by Dymatize Nutrition called Elite Whey Protein Isolate. It has 117 calories, 0 sugar, 2 carbs, 0 fiber, and 24 protein. It's not a total meal replacement with the vitamins and minerals, but I take a multivitamin to supplement.

Meal Ideas:
Chicken Noodle Soup (without the noodles)
Beanless Chili from scratch (lots of ground beef, tomatoes, chili seasoning) with sour cream and cheese on top.
Chef Salads are delish with lots of eggs, bacon, and veggies and ranch
Taco Salads with lots of veggies, taco meat, sour cream, salsa, and ranch.
Chicken Salad wrapped in Lettuce Leaves
Grilled Chicken breast with steamed veggies
Stir Fry Beef with Broccoli

Here's my cookie recipe:

Low Carb Apple Spice Cookies
1 c. splenda
1/2 c. butter (1 cube)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cup almond or oat flour
1/2 tsp each salt, soda, and baking powder
1/2 cup shredded apple
1 tsp pumpkin pie or apple pie spice
Mix first 4 ingredients together and whip. Add dry ingredients and drop onto greased pan and bake at 350 until done. They're no Oreo, but good for a sweet craving. I ate these even when I was in phase one...I was dying for something sweet.

how i got started

so far friends, this is my 3rd weightloss blog i've started, and hopefully this will be the last one i need. the other two have been deleted, since there was no progress.

i've been successfully losing weight since October 29th. i started out with a program called "Wellness Pro" and have been able to continue with it, but more my own style and budget. Wellness Pro was great to get me started, but at $170 a month, this unemployed, single mother of 2 couldn't afford it. but i've been able to take the tools and information i learned with it, and do it my own style. (if you're interested in ordering wellness pro, i can put you in touch with the girl i ordered mine from).

so here is what this blog is all about. how to do it cheap, tasty, and enjoy eating again.