I'll Take The 4Day Cleanse over this ANY DAY!

Blech, I have spent the last 36 hours with some kind of tummy bug. NOT a fun way to lose weight. I'll take the 4 day cleanse over this ANY DAY! I am not sure if this is a virus or just something bad I ate--like the Char I cooked Saturday night or the funny smelling Resveratrol pill I took Saturday night. I know, I know. I'm a doctor and should know better. I just thought Resveratrol was supposed to smell bad. Dr. Jack Kruse assured me that it should not. Okie Dokie, then. Anyway, I'm paying for whatever with a very upset stomach AND colon. I wish I could just vomit and get it out of my system, but NOOOOOooo. It's coming out the slooowwww way.

Friday night I had two glasses of wine and an on target O2 meal: some yummy salmon over some very lightly steamed broccoli slaw with some light tasty sauce and a salad with a tsp of vinaigrette. I have decided that 1-2 glasses of wine is not something I am going to trash myself over if I can keep my portions and indulgences under control otherwise. And so far I am doing really well with portions, empty carb avoidance and sugar avoidance. So far, I have had a few days when I enjoyed a half ounce of dark chocolate, and that is quite satisfying. I am beginning to see a future where this eating lifestyle truly is a lifestyle. I am actually moving beyond my need to snack unconsciously on untold quantities of nuts and granola after a full meal of uncontrolled portions. How cool!!

I think 64 oz of lemon water per day is too acidic for my stomach AND my teeth, so I am hydrating with more plain water, but I am still getting plenty of ORACs each day, since all of my favorite fruits and vegetables and nuts and spices seem to be the high ORAC ones anyway. I am a cinnamon FREAK! Love it in my coffee and certain herbal teas (not green tea though: YUCK), my almond butter toast, on many fruits and in yogurt. If I eat hot cereal in the future, it will go on that too. Gives a sweet taste without sugar. Whoo HOO!

This weekend I cooked up some Char, a relative of salmon and trout. Does anyone know the EFA value in Char? It sure is tasty and can be found in season and wild now, whereas salmon cannot. It has a milder flavor than salmon but can be prepared in the salmon way with the same sauces, sides, etc.

See, I can write about food now, so I must be feeling a little better!

Lower Still

Weigh in day, and I gotta say, I was dreading it after last weekend's fiasco of Unconscious Decadence. And yet, I lost another .5 lbs--down to 133.5! I really have been back in the saddle since Tuesday, and was not horribly indulgent on Monday (ok, yeah, I had TWO cookies, but I was very good otherwise) with my food.

And while I am pleased to see the numbers on the scale and happy with how my clothes fit, I know that this diet is more about a total approach to health, and I must now focus on getting more water in, sleeping a bit more (damn those 4 am hot flashes!) and taking some conscious relaxation time. Oh Yeah, and COUNTING THE ORAC point EVERY DAY!

Here was yesterday

6 oz lemon water
1/2 cup 2% organic milk
500 2 tsp almond butter
400 1 slice 7 grain bread
1 mug coffee
3500 1/2 tsp cinnamon

7100 1 granny smith apple
2500 10 pecan halves

800 butter leaf lettuce salad with
7000 artichoke hearts
800 red bell pepper
500 red cabbage
200 4 oz chicken with 1 T artichoke pesto
100 2 tsp balsalmic
100 2 tsp olive oil
1800 1/2 tsp oregano

500 1/2 c red bell pepper
2500 10 pecans
1/2 non fat milk
2700 chai tea
3500 1/2 tsp cinnamon

200 4 oz chicken w 1 T artichoke pesto
3800 1 cup broccoli steamed
800 1 c celery root cauliflower soup

16 oz water

2000 handful dried cranberries and wasabi peas

16 oz lemon water
2800 .5 oz 85%dark chocolate

36,000 ORACS plus!

This would be a pretty typical day except often I have fish and blueberries and I don't have chocolate daily.

I think I am pretty on target with my ORACs as I tend to stick with high value nuts, fruits and vegetables and herbs and spices!

Aaaaannnd--it's Friday! another weekend of challenges!

Big Explosion of Flavors and Textures

Here is a great little appetizer I adapted from a Thai cooking website to comply with O2 Lifestyle. Great to take to a party so you don't overindulge in the cheesy low ORAC stuff! Or eat 4 or 5 of them for a meal! Yummy! Big explosion of flavors and textures!

Miang Kum: Thai spinach wraps

Large spinach leaves (not baby leaves--bigger ones) or butter leaf lettuce leaves
chopped garlic
chopped pecans or pistachios or peanuts--or all 3
chopped ginger
baby shrimp or a little salmon--poached or smoked
toasted unsweetened coconut (I dry toast it in a skillet--super easy)
special sauce: fish sauce, powdered ginger, soy sauce, lime juice , coconut water, mixed to taste

assemble all of the ingredients in a lettuce or spinach leaf, top with some sauce and enjoy!

Back in the Saddle. Sorta

Well, the weekend of Unconscious Decadence is behind me and I have done well the last few days eating The O2 Way. I have figured out that the best way for me to avoid continued eating AFTER a meal is to have lots of vegetables with the meal, i.e. a generous salad (with 2 tsp oil MAX) AND steamed vegetables with a little citru juice and/or rind (ie broccoli with lemon and oregano or thyme; asparagus with orange--yumm and coriander) plus my 4 oz protein serving. Having a big glass of sparkling water with lemon before dinner helps too.

I really have not been getting enough water or green tea. I get two cups of Oolong daily, but for some reason, the green tea, which I have loved in the past, is just not doing it for me these days. It may be all the lemony water has changed my taste buds in a way that the astringency of green tea is not floating my boat. Anyway, I have been having Oolong tea with a splash of nonfat milk and sometimes some cinnamon. Then today I read a posting by nutrition conscious neurosurgeon, Dr. Jack Kruse, that dairy inhibits the anti-oxidant effects of tea where as acid (ie lemon) enhances those effects. SOOOoooo, I guess I need to start taking my tea with lemon instead of milk. I will miss the creamy goodness.....

I am still being terrible about logging my intake daily. It seems all I can do to get my food organized and schlepped around and eaten, my water and tea consumed, my 8 hrs of sleep (recently interrupted by the onset of 4 am hotflashes--Jees!) and personal pampering AND daily exercise accomplished in the midst of working and completing my honey-dos. (My husband is constantly thinking up honey-dos. Grrrr.) I don't know how SOME people do it: maintaining the diet, working mega hours, travelling all over the country doing media events, exercising AND caring for two young kids. Hmmmmmmm

Celery Root and Granny Smith Soup

This is such a wonderful soup and easy to make. It fits in perfectly with Phase II of the O2 Diet. I adapted it from a recipe I found on epicurious.com

1 celery root, peeled and chopped
1-2 granny smith apples, cored and chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 parsnip, sliced (optional)
1 head cauliflower, chopped
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth, low sodium
thyme, black pepper to taste

In large pot, cook celery root, cauliflower and parsnip in the vegetable or chicken broth until soft. Meanwhile, in nonstick skillet sprayed with canola oil, cook onion and apple until soft and slightly golden.

Transfer all to food processor with thyme and black pepper. Puree.

Garnish with:

Chive oil
turkey bacon bits

Chive oil:
1/2 c. chopped chives
1/2 c. olive oil
whirl in food processor until pretty smooth

Turkey bacon bits: lay turkey bacon slices on several paper towels on plate. cover with more paper towels. microwave for about 3 minutes or until desired doneness achieved. remove paper towels and blot any oil with more paper towels. crumble when cooled enough to handle

Garnish 1 cup soup with 1 tsp chive oil and 1 tsp bacon bits

Did I ever blow it: Unconscious Decadence on Valentine's Day.

Man, oh man, did I ever blow it this Valentine's/President's day weekend. Went to a party Saturday night where all my gourmand wine loving friends were in attendance. I probably had 2.5 glasses of wine. I did not do terrible damage on the food having brocolli and cabbage salad, spinach/shrimp wraps, a small cup of yummy roasted poblano chili and corn soup and some scallops with a coconut milk red thai chili sauce. Oh, and a bite of homemade baklava. I could have done worse. The real problem came on Valentine's day when my husband took me wine tasting in the incomparable Paso Robles region (like Napa only better). You know how that wine tasting is: they pour you little tiny amounts so you can't calculate how much you have had. At the first winery (Tobin James) I actually had one sip of a few varietals and dumped the rest. The next winery (Silver Horse) I had a few more sips of some yummy cabs. The THIRD winery I spied some chocolate covered strawberries that went a little too well with that syrah. Hmmm. 4 Chocolate covered strawberries. I was waayyy beyond "Conscious Indulgences" and deep into Unconsciouscious Decadence. Then we went to the fourth winery. The owner there was so enthusiastic that he poured me a full glass of Mouvedre (excellent: Cass Winery) and THEN a half glass of the most fantastic Grenache. I vaguely remember going into the men's room at the advice of the owner to check out a naked female mannequin. I have no idea why she was in there, but so was the other owner--using the urinal. Did I turn on my heels and leave? Nooooo. I started chatting with him about the mannequin and his fantastic Grenache. Lord! My husband yanked me out of that place as fast as he could, but not before I had purchased a case of said Grenache and joined the wine club.

All this took place before 6 p.m. and I had not yet had dinner. We went for Thai food. There was not a thing on that menu that fit within the O2 Diet. I had some kind of fish dish with a curry sauce and vegies and a green papaya salad. The good news is that I ate only half of each dish. The bad news is that I had already severely blown the diet with all that wine.

Well, I sure did pay for it today. My tummy was NOT happy with such a shock. So I had a handmade Scharffenbergers Chocolate chunk cookie at the Brown Butter Cookie Bakery in Cayucos after breakfast. Sound reasonable? Those chocolate chunks were still melty when I ate it. God.

When I got home tonight, I set to work cooking up some no-fail meals for the weak. I steamed up a bunch of broccoli, asparagus and fish, made a giant salad and some delicious cauliflower celery root soup. I am going back on Phase II where it is safe. I will have one Conscious Indulgence next weekend, and it will NOT be wine. Chocolate maybe. I think I'll stick with one of the recipes in the book.

What can I do but get back in the saddle and keep on moving forward?

Oh yeah, and today I read in the book that in Phase III we are only supposed to have one Conscious Indulgence PER WEEK---not PER DAY! I think I had enough for 2 months.....

Facing down the Phase III challenge

Made it through a night out last night pretty successfully. I enjoyed 1.5 glasses of red wine, some short rib braised in a honey wine reduction with braised chard and carrots and a small cup of tomato fennel soup. For dessert a had my first dried hibiscus flower which I got at Trader Joe's. I wonder what the ORAC value of THAT was?? Hibiscus is supposed to be good for lowering blood pressure. I imagine it does have an ORAC value. Anyway, while I did succomb to a little more than 1 glass of wine, I left a half glass on the bar and sipped very very slowly while we watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics at the Huntington Station bar in Morgan Hill after dinner. I had the primo seat right in front of the bartender, and I just kept ordering sparkling water--had about 3 of those!

This morning I made a super yummy scramble of 1 yolk/3 whites, purple kale, red bell pepper and artichoke heart seasoned with a little habanero hot sauce which I downed with 1 slice of 7 grain toast. Dang! I forgot the oregano. Oh well, I added a bunch of cinnamon to my French Roast with 1/2 c. organic 1% milk. Yummy breakfast. I know we are supposed to have 1 cup of nonfat milk at breakfast, but I save the other 1/2 c for some decaf coffee or tea later in the day: another opportunity for cinnamon!

I just filled out my first daily log last night! I have been such a bad girl by neglecting the logging and counting of ORACs, although I am pretty confident I am exceeding the 30,000 ORACS daily by focusing on very high ORAC foods: granny smiths, asparagus, artichoke hearts, kale, red cabbage, pecans, cinnamon, oregano, tea, blueberries, tomatoes, red bell peppers,spinach.

I am also forgetting to do daily pampering, although, honestly, my life is pretty relaxed. I have a long standing habit of getting 7-8 hours of sleep, exercising 5-6 days per week, and working only 35 hours per week.

But, while working to stabilize on phase III, I am going to start logging my intake daily. maybe not on this blog--too boring. But I'll try to continue with recipe ideas.

Tonight: an "International Food Olympic Party" at Kate's. There will be some amazing food and wine there, so I will be challenged ONCE AGAIN!

WOWEEE! Phase II complete with more success!

Whoo hoo! I weighed in this morning at 134: one pound lighter than last week. I really thought I might have gained a pound or maintained. As I write this I realize that I am getting really hungry and thirsty and as I glance at my clock I see it is DEFINITELY snack time: 10 am. So hold on while I count out my 10 nuts, slice my granny smith and sprinkle it with cinnamon......

How we focus on the numbers to measure our success. So shallow! Let's see what other victories I can acknowledge besides my flattish tummy and absent muffin tops:

Definitely learning portion control!

Definitely learning how to limit or eliminate my nighttime snack (last night my snack was herbal tea as I ate my fruit earlier in the day. never thought I could have gone without a cup of granola or a CUP of nuts before trying the O2 diet!!!)

Energy has been good, although it was good before. I have always exercised consistently, slept adequately and taken lots of antioxidants. But I didn't lose energy on few calories. YAY!

I am gaining TRUST and CONFIDENCE in myself to develop new habits and use self control. I have not had a lot of trust in my self control in the past, so this is perhaps my BIGGEST VICTORY!

So...I look forward to the challenge and reward of Phase III: allowing myself Conscious Indulgences but using portion control. Can I do it? Say yes, Lisa. You can do it. Most of the time......

Tonight is going out with friends night. Let's see how well I hold up.....

Salmon with Strawberry Balsamic Glaze

Salmon with Strawberry Balsalmic Glaze

I made another recipe from the brilliant O2 Diet by Keri Glassman. She has a fantastic recipe for Salmon with Raspberry Balsamic Glaze, but raspberries are really expensive right now, so I substituted frozen organic strawberries. It was delicious! This is how I did it:

I quadrupled the book's recipe so I had enough for 4 servings. Based on that, this is what I used:

1 package frozen organic strawberries, thawed
5 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed Orange juice squeezed from the orange from which I grated
1 tsp fresh orange peel
2 T red wine
1 1/2 tsp agave syrup (honey would be good too)

Dump all ingredients together in sauce pan, cook over medium low for about 15-20 minutes until reduced to your desired thickness, stirring and mashing strawberries from time to time. Whirl in blender til smooth.

Serve over salmon or, for a Conscious Indulgence, over plain nonfat yogurt with a few fresh strawberries and some crumbled toasted pecans!

super yummy! Thanks, Keri!

Last Day of Phase II--just when I am getting used to it!

Well, today is my last day of Phase II, just when I am getting used to it! In Phase III, we get to add a high ORAC value complex carb at dinner--such as a sweet potato--and a Conscious Indulgence--such as a glass of red wine or 1/2 oz dark chocolate if we want. Whoo hoo!

Uh...ah, I guess I better confess my bookclub night indulgence, although it was far better than a typical bookclub. I abstained from all the wine and what was described as an absolutely delicious chocolate mousse cake! For dinner I had a little poached salmon and 1/2 chicken breast, bell peppers and a spinach and tomato salad with vinegar and herbs. For dessert I had some nonfat plain yogurt with cinnamon, cardamom and about 1/2 c berries. Then came the cheat: raw unsalted pistachios which ARE a high ORAC nut, but I succombed to my non-stop munching so I had just a tad more than the 18 pistachio limit. I probably had 3 times that many! So the next morning at snack time I had blueberries but no nuts.

For the past two days I had the same fabulous Vietnamese Chicken Salad (shredded cabbage, carrots and onion topped with sliced chicken breast and about 1 tsp of chopped peantus and a rice vinegar dressing) and both days I felt so sated that I had NO CRAVING. I think it is because there is enough volume to the meal, mostly vegetable. I have also noticed that when I have enough vegetables at dinner, I don't crave more food. I think this is about getting my stomach just full enough to trigger my satiety center in my brain to send me the signal to stop eating. I am used to eating enough food that I am pretty full, HQ 2-3. So now I do best when I finish a meal at HQ 3-4 (satisfied to pretty satisfied). Finishing at 5 (neutral) just leaves me wanting MORE! Maybe I will move past this if I can get really used to finishing a meal at 3-4 consistently.

Overall, I can say that my cravings for sugar have declined dramatically, and I am really dialing into portion control on trailmix and nuts (my previous default snack of choice when I would eat about a CUP at a time!!)

My next challenge in Phase III will be to keep those Conscious Indulgences within limits--ie STOPPING the wine at 1 glass instead of 2 and keeping the dark chocolate to 1/2 oz instead of...oh...4 oz!!!!!!

Weigh in tomorrow! Wonder if I have gained! I'd be happy to hold even at the 135 I hit last week!

Stay tuned

Oh, do post if you notice you have trouble finishing a meal at the HQ of 5-6 (neutral or still slightly hungry) as Keri suggests we do! Have any tricks for me?

Three more days til Phase III. Can I make it??

Today I got through the afternoon with far fewer cravings. YAY! AND I had a fantastic lunch AT A RESTAURANT that was a perfect phase II meal. It was super yummy and I was completely satisfied afterward!

The restaurant, in Morgan Hill, CA, is called VietAsia. The "chicken salad" was made up of shredded red and green cabbage and very finely diced and evidently blanched (not completely raw) white onions and carrots, topped with sliced chicken breast and toasted crushed peanuts and fresh mint. The dressing is the real kicker: rice vinegar, fish sauce, pepper, garlic, and a little sprinkle of chili powder. I think I tasted a trace of sugar in it too, but very little. So this was an oil free dressing. I drank some yummy green tea with the meal, of course. Definitely gonna try to duplicate this recipe at home, and when I succeed, I will post it!

Tonight is my beloved book club meeting. Basically, the six of us women enjoy plenty of wine and yummy desserts over our book discussion. So I am faced with resisting those temptations AGAIN! Everyday has its challenges.

I CAN'T WAIT TIL PHASE III! Three more days.......

Fast Eatin'

Today Keri made some good suggestions dealing with a craving. She suggested waiting it out 10 minutes to see how I feel. If the craving persists, I could have a tsp of peanut butter or eat additional protein at lunch if I am just plain hungry. Today, I got through it with some coffee and waiting it out until my snack. After my snack of bells and almonds, the craving subsided.

I am realizing now that I often feel like eating MORE right after I finish a meal, and this has been a lifetime pattern. I probably eat too fast and my satiety center in my brain has not had time to kick in the signal that I am satisfied. OR It may be that I could use more protein at meals. I have a fairly high metabolism and an active job and lifestyle.

I have to be very careful about nut butter. I carefully dole out 2 tsp on my 7 grain toast in the morning, but I can really really go to town on that stuff if I am not super careful. I DARE NOT take it to work! I have those little .25 oz wrapped Scharffenberger chocolates in my desk drawer in case of dire emergency. Today I did not succomb. YAY! I think drinking lemon water may quell a craving. If it is tart enough, it ruins my "taste" for anything else. I will try that tomorrow along with a little more protein.

I think the most important thing about this diet (other than building ORAC value awareness) is controlling my portions and learning to eat consciously. When I know that I get a limited amount, I eat more slowly and really savor each bite. The other amazing feat is that I am starting to realize I have far more self discipline than I EVER thought I had! Now THAT is cool!


Anybody else eat so fast that after the meal, you still feel like eating, not knowing if you have had enough or not?

Constant Craving

Got through the awful post lunch craving with some coffee (1/2 decaf cuz too much caffeine makes me RAVENOUS about 90 minutes later. anyone else experience that?) Now it is 3:47--just 2 hours after lunch and 3 hours before dinner and I have plowed through my bell pepper and carrot snacks and am about to down 10 more pecans. OK, maybe some lemon water will help.......

lord!

I think I deserve some kinda medal for ignoring the big tray of dark chocolate heart shaped truffles sitting in my waiting room for our big Valentine's day promotion......But a medal is not what I want. I want a big decadent meal.....

Hmmm. Maybe I am premenstrual. These days I never know when that is coming (I'm 52. If you aren't there yet, trust me, it's a rollercoaster)

toughing it out

This Hoosier is a little disappointed at yesterday's game, but she gutted out it with only 10 almonds and some raw bell peppers and sparkling water as game snacks. For dinner I made Keri Glassman's lemon artichoke pesto stuffed chicken with some steamed veggies. It was pretty good! made enough for more dinners this week. I substitued pistachios for the walnuts as I didn't have any. Also used water packed artichoke hearts and some very good olive oil instead of oil packed artichokes.

So I just finished lunch and I am having a craving moment right now. I want more food!!!!! Carby chocolately goodness. warm comfort food. apple crisp.....mmmm. I am torturing myself. Green tea is NOT gonna cut it right now, that's for sure. So I am blogging instead. Maybe I will make some coffee......

Well, on 2o minutes I start up with patients again, and that ought to distract me from my food cravings. I hope. jeez.

Anybody out there? what do you do when you have a big ole craving and you are still in phase II?

Lisa

Slippage

Well, I finally caved. Had a 1/2 glass of some pretty yummy Burgundy and 1/2 blueberry martini tonight. I worry that my resolve is slipping and that it will be downhill from here, but I also know that choices are made in the moment, and I have lots of moments in my future to make other choices. Hopefully I will continue to make choices to stick closely to the Phase II plan until next Saturday night when I officially start Phase III and can have one conscious indulgence daily. Like one glass of really good wine or one piece of really good chocolate.

My food choices tonight (we went out with friends for drinks, dinner and movie) were pretty good: smoked salmon at the wine bar (skipped the baguette that was served alongside it), a salad with tomato, cukes, feta and avocado and an herbal vinaigrette, steamed asparagus and grilled eggplant. For "dessert" I had a decaf cappuccino.

The rest of the day I did quite well.

Superbowl Sunday should go just fine as I detest watching football and the obligatory wings and beer and chips. Besides, I haven't been invited to a party. I bet the gym will be deserted tomorrow!

Feeling Gooooood!

I am feeling reaallll gooood! My energy and mood are awesome and I sure am liking the absence of muffin tops right now! Last night I was pretty successful at resisting temptation at the bar and restaurant scene with friends. As my friend Kate will testify, I did have 3 very small sips--not gulps--of my husband's white wine. It gave me a headache! So I went home early and indulged in my nightly snack of 1 cup of blueberries. I have always craved a night time snack and before starting O2 I would snack unconsciously and uncontrollably on raw nuts (maybe a cup at a time), dried fruit and or granola--yep a cup at a time or more! So one cup of blueberries really fills that need for an evening snack and it does not trigger my appetite for nuts or granola or chocolate, etc. I don't have my afternoon fruit snack--then I have raw vegies and 10 nuts (easiest during work between patients) and I save that cup of fruit for evening. Certainly does not seem to have slowed down my weight loss as I have been having a cup of berries every night since the 4 day cleanse.

Tomorrow night I am going to try making some of the recipes in The O2 Diet. Perhaps I will do the salmon with raspberry balsalmic sauce and or the Chicken stuffed with Lemon Artichoke pesto. Then I will pack them up for work for Monday and Tuesday meals. Yummy

Here is another dish I invented for Phase II:

Seared Ahi with wasabi ginger lime sauce and vegies

Lightly spray skillet with canola oil
take slices of sushi grade ahi and sear over medium high heat for 2-3 min each side depending on thickness
Meanwhile, microwave or steam or blanch broccoli, red bell pepper and asparagus tips and bok choy. other good vegies are carrot slices, onions, green beans, mushroom slices

mix up the sauce:
1 tsp wasabi powder
2 tsp fresh grated ginger or 1 tsp powdered ginger
2 T toasted sesame oil
2 T lime juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic

spoon 3 tsp sauce over each 4 oz serving of ahi and some veggies

OMG OMG OMG!

Weigh in day! I honestly thought that I would have gained back a pound or two in the last week since my last weigh in was right after the 4 day cleanse. This week I progressed to phase II where more food is added at breakfast and snacks.

BUT I LOST 2 MORE POUNDS! I am already at my goal weight!!!!!! My tummy is flatter than it has EVER been in my adult life! This is totally unbelievable. I have one more week of Phase II, and I will continue it just to see what happens. I really don't need to lose any more weight, but if I do, I am sure that I will recalibrate at my current weight of 135 once I am into phase III.

So today is Friday which means tonight is Friday night, my major socializing night when all my friends go to a wine bar or restaurant for dinner and wine. I am hoping that my victory on the scales today will fuel my will power like it did last Friday night. I am doing pretty well with the food. It is the glass of red wine that I really miss. Well, let's be honest 2 glasses. That amount of wine lowers my ihibitions considerably and before ya know it, my portion sizes seem to enlarge and it makes much more sense to have some of that creme brulée......

stay tuned.......

Favorite O2 Tricks and Treats

Favorite tricks:
slice my granny smith apple and toss it in a little lemon juice and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp cinnamon. put in ziploc bag and take to work for snack time along with 9 PRECOUNTED pecans.

keep lots of cans of artichoke hearts packed in water at home and at work for snacks, salads, dinner! easy and tons of ORAC points

keep a bottle of olive oil and fig balsalmic vinegar at work so that when I bring my daily lunch and dinner, I don't have to pack salad dressing. I also keep a shaker of cinnamon and oregano at work for quick ORAC points. Great sprinkled on lots of stuff: cinnamon on apple and green tea and plain yogurt; oregano on salad, fish, chicken, etc.

every morning, fill two 24 oz water bottles and squeeze a lemon into each of them. take to work. finish one in the morning; one in the afternoon before returning home.

whisk 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 vanilla into my morning coffee. Got this from the The O2 Diet book! Yum! Who would ever need a mocha or a sweetener with this yummy combo that smells so delicious you are fooled into thinking it is sweet!

Got a bunch of glass containers with plastic locking lids in different sizes at Costco. I toss in a bunch of raw spinach, cut up raw brocolli and or red bells and some cooked salmon or chicken. Take to work. Remove lid and add a little splash of water. Microwave 2 minutes. The glass makes for SAFE MICROWAVING. splash with some fig balsalmic. PRESTO! Lunch done!

Pearls of Godiva

Uh Oh. At Peet's, my favorite coffee place, I discovered Godiva Pearls. Little tiny pearls of dark chocolate smaller than an Altoid but bigger than a Tictac, weighing in at only .025 oz per pearl, what harm could one little pearly bit of dark indulgence do? Or 8? Well, I did it. I had 8 of them. Amazingly that .2 oz of chocolately goodness did not fuel my nearly addictive love for dark chocolate, but it may have opened a little trap door in the back of my mind. We know where that trap door leads: to the chambers of rationalization. Now I know full well that .5 oz of dark chocolate awaits me each and every day when I get to Phase III, but that day does not arrive until February 12. So my little purse-sized tin of Godiva Pearls is going into the locking cabinet in the office where I will have to really think twice to access them.

One of my patients who goes to a weight loss clinic shared a good analogy for that "stinking thinking" pathway of "I messed up, so I might as well eat the whole thing". The weight loss counselor put it this way: If you have one flat tire, you aren't going to go slash the rest of the tires. You are going to fix the one and get on with it. So with that in mind, I am moving forward. Breakfast and morning snack: on target. Eagerly anticipating my lunch of a big salad with lots of high ORAC vegies with grilled chicken and 2 tsp olive oil and yummy fig balsamic.

Day 7 of Phase II and I have yet to fill out the O2 Journal. I managed to pamper myself as promised with a pretty manicure yesterday, but I only got 6 hours of sleep. Tonight: to bed at 9!!!!!

Staying the Course

Man, am I getting sick of listening to myself blog about this diet. So I skipped blogging yesterday. But I did get through the diet pretty well on Sunday and Monday.

What I am starting to figure out is that to sustain a healthy weight and a very healthy eating lifestyle that lowers my risk for disease and keeps the inevitable aging process more "graceful" is that I must make a few essential permanent changes:

1) PREMEASURE & PREPLAN: I must be very mindful about portions and mindless snacking. No more just grabbing a jar of raw pecans and nibbling for 30 minutes straight while reading or watching tv. Probably eaten 1 cup of nuts per night this way! PRECOUNT the nuts and lay them out in advance and put away the jar. PREMEASURE the milk I add to my teas and coffees; PREMEASURE the blueberries. PREPLAN the wine and drink only 5 oz. And as for dark chocolate, when I get to phase III when I am allowed to resume requiting my love affair with the silky substance, I must PREMEASURE my 1/2 oz and not just keep breaking squares off my Scharffenberger Dark bar. I am so GUILTY as charged with unconscious snacking.

2) FOCUS ON THE FOOD choices: The types and ratios of food that I have been eating for many years are very much in line with what Keri Glassman advocates in The O2 Diet. I have just been eating them in larger quantities and without full awareness of ORAC points. I am getting pretty dang good at memorizing the high ORAC value foods, so that it is very easy for me to hit the 30,000 ORAC points she recommends. If I eat a Granny Smith apple and a cup of berries every day and include 1 tsp of cinnamon sprinkled on my apple, coffee, berries and oat bran, nibble on pecans and walnuts for snacks and focus on artichokes, broccoli, red cabbage, asparagus, red bell peppers sprinkled with oregano and other herbs and spices as daily staple vegetables and the requisite 2 cups of green tea, I'm GOLDEN!

3) DRINK THE WATER with lemon juice as often as possible. At first it was really hard for me to get in those 8 glasses of lemon water in per day. I think I have discovered a system: I drink I glass of water with lemon with my vitamins and iron when I very first get up. I fill a 24 oz water bottle and squeeze 1 lemon into it (the most tart ratio I can tolerate) and drink that before lunch. I do it again after lunch and drink it before dinnertime. Then when I go to bed, I drink one last cup with my nighttime vitamins. This way, I am not saving it all for evening and disrupting my sleep with multiple trips to the potty.

4) Daily log of intake and self care. So far, I have failed miserably at this. Instead I have devoted that time to blogging, buying and prepping the food and developing routines that are easy to implement. But I can see that without logging my intake in the future I could veer way off course and return to my old ways. But I HATE BEING so anal and rule bound. I prefer taking a lighter albeit CONSCIOUS approach with these things.

Next time I'll chat about the easy routines and tricks I have devised for my new eating lifestyle. If anyone on the planet is reading this and living "The O2 Life", please feel free to comment and leave your tips for easy and delicious ways to stay on track!

PS in phase II I have noticed my HQ is more often at 5 (not hungry or full) than 6 (slightly hungry). MUCH better! I still hit that 6 point about an hour before each snack and meal, but at least I don't feel that way 90% of the time! My hopes are that in phase III I can stay close to 5 HQ most of the time.