New Years Resolution Diet! Easier Than You Think!

Earlier this fall I have started this all protein, carb-less, self discipline, crying in front of the refrigerator diet that my boss recommended. It's actually not that bad once you get past the first five days but still it's a diet. It is extremely hard for me because I have a sugar loving boyfriend that has a metabolism of a tape worm! He eats whatever foods he wants right in from of me; my favorites too brownies, rice crispies, peanut butter cups, and anything you can think of your sugar tooth craves when you are on a diet. so far I have only slipped up a few times but I just keep reminding myself the long term goal that I want to achieve and I know that I will.

So how this diet was explained to me is you need to get your body in ketosis which is the state of expelling Ketones. "What are ketones?" I thought, "how many do I need to get rid of?" He went on to explain that Ketones are a by-product or waste product when your body burns stored fat for energy. Ketones can be measured in the urine with a visually read strip, and in the blood by using the Precision Xtra® meter. Before I describe the rest of the diet, let me provide a simple review of how the body works:
• The foods you eat break down into glucose (sugar). Glucose travels in the blood and into your cells. Insulin is a hormone (or "key") that "unlocks the doors of your cells" to allow glucose to enter your cells where it can be turned into energy. So without insulin, glucose wouldn't be able to get into the cells.
• Your brain (and the rest of your body) requires glucose to function. When you haven't eaten for a while, or during the night when you're asleep, your liver releases stored glucose to keep you supplied with energy.
• If you don't eat for several days, the stored glucose in the liver is depleted, and your body is in a starvation state. In this situation, the body will break down stored fat to get energy, (and ketones can show in the urine, indicating that fat was burned) and also the body will create sugar out of other substances in the body in order to supply the brain with glucose.

So if you keep in mind that fat burns when there isn't available glucose (that is, when the body is starving) and ketones indicate that fat was burned. In this diet the key to losing weight quickly is to trick your body in thinking it's starving all the time.

Also just for some extra information Ketones are also used to help diabetics monitor their blood-sugar. A non-diabetic can show ketones if he/she hasn't eaten for several days, or is on a severe weight reduction diet. In this situation the body is starving, and there isn't enough available glucose, so fat will burn for energy and the by-product, ketones, may show in the urine or blood.

Now that you have the run down of what state you are trying to get your body in I thought I would tell you my routines and eating habits I had to develop.
first off No Carbs, No Sugar. Those will have to be the rules until you achieve your desired weight then eat in moderation.
Secondly for the first five days you must eat only 600-800 calories of all protein. This is were a healthy diet pill will come in handy. After many disappointing pills I have found that SoloSlim was both helpful and affordable. Again SoloSlim worked for my body type it may not for you but it's always worth a shot to try.
Thirdly after the five protein packed days you are able to add green leafy veggies. But you must still stay away from carrots, corn, any kind of potatoes of course, and anything that you think might ruin it. When in doubt just put it down.
Lastly, and this is the point of plateau or continual weight loss if you are strong enough. By this point you will be consistently expelling Ketones and seeing results. After the 10th day you are able to add fruit in your diet but you will have to make a sacrifice to eat a single serving. One serving of fruit equals two servings of vegetables along with all your protein. At this time I was eating 1,000 calories and added in a light exercise and in that short amount of time I have already lost 12lbs. My plan is to stay in this stage of Ketosis until I reach my goal of 130lbs. Since the holidays this winter are upon us it is getting tougher and tougher but I just think about how I'm going to look in the summer.

I kept myself on a three day grocery list trying to alternate meals when I can but when your diet is so limited it's very hard. I will just give you a list of items that I ate at assigned times of the day. Try to keep each meal at 200-300 calories.

Breakfast Meals:
2 Hard boiled eggs were big for me but i would only eat one yoke and toss the other (70 calories per egg)
Sugar-free yogurt (100 calories)
Half Large Grapefruit - once you can have fruit (45 calories)
A Slice of Ham (60 calories)
Glass of Non-fat milk (80 calories)

Snacks:
Lunch meat - Turkey, Ham, or Beef I would buy the single serving lunch meat pouches so it was easy to count and keep track of (90 calories)
Cheese Sticks - Any kind of cheese my fav was Pepper Jack and again the stick was an easy no brainer way to count the calories (70 calories)
Tofu - I like the squares found at whole foods salad bar to snack on (100 calories)
Edemadme - steamed soy beans with sea salt yum! (80 calories)
Sugar-Free Jello (10 calories) This saved my sweet tooth because you can have enough to get rid of the sugar craving and it will not hinder your diet.

Meals:
Tuna - Again they make single serving pouches (90 calories)
Salmon Loxs - So good wrapped around a cheese stick (100 calories)
Imitation crab - I would finely chop and mix with a little olive oil and then roll it in a piece of nori to make hand rolls (100 calories)
broccoli steamed
Celery
Cheese Sticks
Pastrami with mozza cheese equals Amazing! (250 calories)
Ahi Poke - Hawaiian dish I find a Whole foods
Reduced Fat Turkey Hot Dog (60 calories)
Cucumbers (5 calories)
Pickles (5 calories)


Again there is not set menu these are just tips I found cheap and easy in my busy day! Just remember to have 5 small feeding times a day; Breakfast, snack, meal, snack, and meal. A rule that I tried to follow was not eating after 8pm. But once you get into the habit eventually you will not even feel hungry after your last meal.

Now if I have any kind of sugary carbs my tummy gets slightly irritated plus it has shrunk due to the small meals through out the day. So I keep losing weight and it's not even a problem to stay away from food that make me feel sick. Keep in mind that I take vitamins regularly. I take Cranberry, Dandelion root, Kidney/bladder aid, Fiber, B12, Vitamin c, Fish oil, and a hair/skin/nails supplement. These help in keeping your whole body balanced and take anything else you feel necessary! Hope this helps let me know if you have any other great foods to eat that fit in this diet!