Dukan Do It: Week I-Stopped-Counting-Weeks-Ago

It’s been a while since I’ve done a real update on how the Dukan Diet has been going for me. Like, a long while.

Since I started this back in May (I can’t believe it was that long ago!), I’ve gone to Long Beach Island, Las Vegas, camping in Pennsylvania and Aruba. We’ve had Memorial Day, 4^th of July, my birthday and lots of other opportunities to go ‘off-plan’. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t! Though I’m still trying my best to maintain the Dukan Diet for about 85% of the time, I’ve decided to openly allow myself to go off-plan for the remaining 15% of the time.

Let’s start with the good stuff. I’ve really been thrilled with the amount of weight that I’ve lost on Dukan. I’m still about 5 pounds away from my goal, but I lost 10 pounds over the last few months and for me, that is nothing to take lightly. 10 pounds is a lot of weight. I now find myself seeing numbers on the scale that I haven’t seen in years (a lot of years). I’m fitting into clothes that make me feel good and confident. I’m happy to comfortably wear my dress pants (buttoned how they are meant to be buttoned) and not worry about my bulging belly in summer dresses. And though in an ideal world I’d lose those 5 pounds and beyond, I’m pretty happy with where I am right now.

During the week, I find that I can do well with this regimen. Shaun and I make sure to do big food shopping trips on the weekend and prep as much as we can for the week ahead. I just really don’t have the time nor the desire to cook a lot during the week since we are so pressed for time as it is. By the time dinner time rolls around (usually post 8PM), I just want something fast and easy and to call it a day. Though we live in an urban environment, we have access to grills and that has been gargantuan in keeping us on track. Shaun will often load up a baking sheet filled with burgers, chicken sausages, pork chops and chicken breasts and grill it all. With this, we are set for lunches and dinners for days. Is it as good as eating it right off the grill every night? Nope. But the sweet fulfillment of simply tossing a few already-cooked items onto a plate, heating them in the microwave in 60 seconds and sitting right down to dinner? Now that is good. Really, really good. And so easy.

Also on the good list: I can eat as much as I want (and I do!). Though I don’t always want more of the things I can eat, I do like that I don’t feel any guilt about the amount of food I consume. If I’m having a particularly hungry day, I don’t even bat an eye at slamming 3 cheese sticks, turkey pepperoni and a ½ c of cottage cheese in an afternoon (or one sitting…). That is a lifestyle that I enjoy.

Now for the not-so-good. To be honest, I’ve gotten a little bored on the diet. This week especially, I’m feeling very sick of eating meat. Last night, we had burgers and chicken sausages and I felt as though I was ‘choking’ them down for sustenance. I did not enjoy this dinner AT ALL. But I got through it.

The weekends in particular have been a struggle. We are constantly on the go, at parties and barbecues, or simply don’t have the wherewithal to cook on Friday and Saturday evenings. And sometimes I just really, really want a slice of pizza. Or some chips and dip. There is so much great summer food that I just don’t want to miss out on, ya know? (Jersey corn is especially awesome right now, and I plan to eat a LOT of it over the next few weeks!) I don’t want to stop living. Eating fun and delicious food is part of living for me. And so I find that I stray on the weekends. And I’m completely ok with that. I don’t believe in a lifestyle change of only limitations. I find that when I allow myself to indulge in these things (not all the time!), I can eat them and move on. I don’t feel deprived or tortured. I have my cupcake and move on with my life.

The other thing that has kept me losing weight while still incorporating some of the ‘naughty’ foods back into my diet is that if I do plan to indulge, I don’t give up the entire day to unhealthy habits. If I know that I’m going to a barbecue in the afternoon, I maintain my Dukan plan for breakfast and lunch, and then let myself have those things that I really, really want to eat at the party. And the next day? Right back in the saddle. It seems to be working for me, and I’m ok with it!

I'm not entirely sure how much longer I will be doing Dukan. I can see myself always coming back to it in order to reset my eating or to shed some weight quickly. But after a few months of doing this, I'm definitely longing for some more regular occurences of pasta and peanut butter in my life! I'll definitely keep you posted though! 

How have you been doing this summer with healthy {or not so healthy} eating?

Dukan Do It: Weeks 5 & 6…and a Dukantastic Giveaway!

My Dukan pledge has really been put to the test over the last couple of weeks. Between 4 days in Las Vegas and a weekend of camping, I found it really, really tough to stay on plan. I went into both situations planning to do the best I could, but to also not let my diet dictate either trip.

In Las Vegas, I started each day with an egg white omelet with just a little cheese, ham and spinach. This kept me full for most of the day. On the trade show floor, it's so busy and there's really no decent food options anyway, so I stuck with a big breakfast and a couple of Dukan snacks throughout the day. I did have a free full fat latte one day and a KIND bar. In the evenings, it was a little easier. I did have my fair share of wine, but found it pretty easy to eat steak or shellfish anywhere we went. On Tuesday, we were celebrating earning the top award at the show, and so our entire company and client went out for a celebratory dinner at Jaleo. So good.

 

The menu is tapas and since there was 16 of us, they just devised a tasting menu for us. Even with this, it was mostly meat and veggies...nothing carb-heavy or extra fatty. So delicious and it was such a great evening, so I didn't stress over it. I ate what I wanted (skipping dessert) and felt fine about it.

Camping was a bit harder. Lots of grilling which made things easier, but I did partake in too much dessert and a pancake for breakfast one morning. Oh well. Onward and upward!

I had a tough time getting back on the horse come Monday morning. I had gained 2 pounds, which I wasn't thrilled about but was ok with. This week I've been trying to do mostly protein days to get back on track!

Meanwhile, the nice people at Dukan found my story over here on TAA and reached out to me to review their new book, The Dukan Diet Made Easy (which they will also be generously giving away to one lucky reader!). I had the original book and cookbook and wondered how different Made Easy would really be.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this new version. I consider myself a smart person who loves to read and write so it's not as though the original book was too hard to get through, however, Made Easy is really just that. It's broken down into smaller snippets and chapters with tips on the insets and motivational testimonials woven throughout. While I could have sat down and read this cover to cover (and did for a few evenings), it's really designed to flip through, picking up tidbits and nuggets of information along the way.

I also think this book does a great job of breaking down the core principles of each phase. When I first started the Dukan diet, I felt a little confused as to what I could eat when and how much. Made Easy makes it more digestible from the get go. And one of my favorite features? The meal plans and new recipes! By week 6, I'm in a bit of a rut to be creative, so I'm excited to use this tool going forward. I think this is a great book for those of you thinking about starting this lifestyle change, or for those of you who are already doing it and need some extra motivation. I find that the more often I read and research about Dukan, the more engrained it is into my mind and the more likely I am to stick with it. This book will be a great tool to peruse each day for just the motivation I need.

I also got the chance to try some of the Dukan food products. I was skeptical about trying these, but when I knew I'd be on-the-go for over a week, I thought this was a brilliant idea to keep me on track.

These were a huge help while traveling. I made the chocolate oat bran muffins and packed them in a storage container in my carry on. Once at the hotel, I refrigerated them (which I highly recommend in order to preserve them...I stayed at the Vdara which has a kitchen in each room, but for other hotels, I recommend calling ahead and reserving a mini fridge). I found that I needed to add a little sweetener to these (about 1 Tbsp Splenda baking mix did the trick), but they were great to have for the week. I would also try making a batch and freezing them individually at home, so they can be grabbed and taken along for a day at the beach or in my lunchbox.

They also sent me some of the granola, which I'll admit, I was really unsure about. It looked a little unappealing and I was worried it would be a bit cardboardy...but this was my absolute favorite of the bunch. Apple and cinnamon flavored, this is great by the handful or mixed into yogurt. Super tasty! I found that I had to measure it out to keep myself from overeating it :\

The granola is especially great for those occasions when you can't make your pancake or if you (like Shaun) aren't really a huge fan of the pancake since one granola serving accounts for your daily oat bran intake. I, on the other hand, relish my pancake every single evening as dessert, so I see the granola being more of an on-the-go or travel snack...or for those days when I simply cannot get it up to make the pancake (which really does happen to me). All in all, I was really pleased with the Dukan snack foods and will be buying them again.

And now for the fun part....the giveaway!

A big thanks to the Dukan team for partnering with me on this. I really do believe in these products and so I'm really excited to share them with one lucky reader!

What: 1 lucky reader will receive a copy of The Dukan Diet Made Easy + 1 bag of Apple Cinnamon Dukan Oat Bran Granola (because I loved it so much!)

How: Just leave a comment telling me what foods you eat while traveling...do you bring with you? Indulge? How do you stay on track?

When: It starts...right now! And will end on Monday, June 30 @ 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time

Who: Everyone can join, but it's limited to those in the United States for shipping purposes. If you are already doing the Dukan diet, then please enter to win a free snack and a great book! And if you aren't doing it and are considering it, then this is a great chance to win some free research. And if you don't know what Dukan is and don't diet...well then I still hope you'll enter because you might just enjoy this book and you will also get free snacks ;)

And!: If you want to try out some snacks or other products, the Dukan team has also generously offered TAA readers an exclusive coupon code (TAPP15) to receive 15% off at Shopdukandiet.com! (not applicable on shipping nor taxes; valid until 7/31).

Good luck! 

Friday Randomness + Dukan Do It Week 4

We made it to Friday. This week has felt extra long and I can't remember the last time I was so happy to reach the end. I've had a very full week at work as we've been prepping for our annual trip to Las Vegas and so I've felt stressed, busy and downright overwhelmed by how much needed to get done. I still do, but crossing off 'showing up for work' and 'rushing out of the house at 7:30am with a toddler in tow and trying to look semi-human' feels like a weight lifted.

This weekend we'll be celebrating Father's Day with our families and I'll be rushing around like a lunatic to pack, ensure that laundry is done, the refrigerator is stocked and every possible situation is accounted for ;) that's possible, right?

On that note, I'm pretty nervous about sticking to Dukan next week while I'm away. I purchased a couple of Dukan snacks (bars and granola) and may make some muffins for the road. Otherwise, I plan to eat a nice big breakfast each day, try to stick to salads and approved snacks during the day, and allow myself a little indulgence in the evenings. Red wine will be happening. Just sayin'.

I didn't do a Dukan update this week, so I'll do a quick one now. This week felt really, really tough. I'm not sure if it's because I am starting to plateau after losing a lot very quickly, if I'm getting bored with the options at hand or if it's a combination of the two, but I've felt very hungry all week and feeling like nothing Dukan-approved is interesting to me. I also gained 1.5 lbs this week so that is also weighing on me. It could also all be stress related but it took every ounce of willpower to not order in dinner or stop for a breakfast bagel. I'm still just taking it day by day and really trying not to think of it like I never get to eat those foods again. In fact, I may suggest we do have a celebratory meal this weekend if only so I can get it out of my head. So I've been pretty frustrated this week and hoping it gets a little easier.

Otherwise, we found a new dish that we are really liking...taco bowls! We just make the taco meat with very lean ground beef and serve over steamed broccoli slaw. It's great with a little fat free cheese and plain Greek yogurt! And what I do love about this diet is that there is no restriction on how much you can eat. So fill up a taco bowl and enjoy!

In other news, Sunday marks the Game of Thrones season 4 finale. This show really tortures me and I suspect that many of you would agree. In fact this graphic via Buzzfeed pretty much says it all:

After staring blankly at the television screen following episode 8 (Viper vs. Mountain), I turned to Shaun and said, why would I ever watch this show again?

I'm not going to give anything away, but that last scene ranks as my #2 worst thing I've ever seen on TV. It falls just below the season 6 finale of Sons of Anarchy (nope still not over it and never will be), but beat out season 3 of Downton Abbey and a certain someone's mid-season demise. (What? Don't you rank horrific TV scenes and deaths?!) Ugh why GoT, why? I am, of course, going to tune in on Sunday to see if we get any answers on how everything will play out but methinks I may be giving up on you, Westeroos. I've said it before but I really mean it this time. I swear. I think. Maybe...

And if you too need a pick me up or just can't get enough, I couldn't even handle these 33 jokes that only GoT fans will understand.

I hope you all have a great weekend! Posting next week will be sparse, but I'll try to pop in with some Vegas updates!

Also, I leave you with this:

Flag Day at daycare today!

What are your weekend plans?