Dukan Do It, Week 3: Short Business Trip Survival

We're in the midst of week 3 on the Dukan diet and still going strong. Though it doesn't come without some struggles (especially when I let myself get ravenously hungry) I have actually grown to find that this way of living truly isn't that hard. For me, getting creative in the kitchen has been a key factor to sticking with it. I especially find the creativity piece to be important to keep it interesting for Shaun's sake so that he doesn't feel deprived or like he is being starved.

Some of the things we've eaten this week include smoked salmon, a rotisserie chicken, barbecued chicken in the crockpot (recipe forthcoming), turkey meatloaf (recipe also forthcoming), Brussels sprouts with turkey bacon and Dukan muffins. All of these were a nice change from the last couple of weeks and they felt like special, yummy meals...certainly not like diet food, which I also think is a really important part of sticking with this.

By Monday, I had lost 6.5 pounds...and saw numbers on the scale that I hadn't seen in years. And so while I was faced with the challenge of a business road trip to New Hampshire for an all day client meeting earlier this week, I really wanted to try and stick to it the best I could, while also leaving a little wiggle room to not put so much pressure on myself.

 My game plan was as follows:

Pack a thermal lunchbag with transportable food for both the car and the next day with ice that could be changed when I arrived at the hotel, and again in the morning.

Include a variety of easy snacks that can withstand not complete refrigeration like string cheese, turkey pepperoni, Jell-O cups, turkey slices and Dukan muffins.

Do the best I could and not stress too much...make the best choices out of the options presented.

In prep for the trip, I tested out the Dukan muffins from the Dukan Diet Cookbook. The biggest bone I have to pick with this diet is that there are few to practically no shelf stable options to eat. This means that tossing a snack in my bag, or packing for a business trip, becomes exponentially more difficult. In order to have some options on the road this week, I thought the muffins would be a versatile and filling option to keep in my bag in a storage container. To be totally forthcoming, I truly do not miss bread or carbs on this diet. I am completely ok with bypassing sandwiches and pasta, and so if it wasn't for my trip I'm not sure I would have bothered with the muffins. I'm glad I did, though.

 

I brought 4 muffins with me for two days time. I would never normally eat more than one in a day, but I wanted to have back up. I was most concerned about lunchtime, since it was sandwiches ordered in. I ended up putting turkey slices from the sandwich onto two muffins that I cut in half like a sandwich. Not the greatest, but it worked out fine and was filling enough. I also snuck a couple of string cheeses while I made a trip to the bathroom. I did end up having two cups of yogurt on the trip...zero fat, lemon and vanilla-flavored. I know these had sugar, but I figured they were still the best of the options at hand.

By the time we were on our way home, it was about dinner time so that was really, really tough. My snacks had just about dwindled or weren't looking quite edible by this point. We stopped at a bodega where I loaded up with a couple of reduced fat string cheese and a KIND bar. I ate it all. So I did cheat a bit, but tried to find something that wasn't too bad generally and would keep me full for the 5 hour ride. This goes back to doing the best I could...I did what I could with what I had at hand and I ended it there. It didn't mean that I could go all out eating candy bars or something like that.

Admittedly, I was nervous to weigh myself after the trip because I really did not want to have gained after I prepped so much and worked so hard. And even with the yogurt, KIND bar and 2 glasses of wine on Monday evening (didn't I mention that one?), I still managed to lose 1.5 lbs this week. So I guess the takeaway is, do the best you can in the circumstances at hand.

Overall, I'm feeling great. My clothes are fitting really nicely, and I'm fitting into clothes that haven't fit well in a long time. I really couldn't be happier! Oh and we found a great, simple dinner that we made last night...boneless pork chops seasoned and skillet-cooked with roasted string beans that I just sprayed with cooking spray and salted. I served this with some homemade barbecue sauce that my mom made, but it wasn't even necessary...so good on its own! Definitely going in the permanent collection!

In short:

Weight change: -7.8 lbs

Clothes fitting: lots

Inches lost: not sure? feels like a lot

Hunger: reasonable and pretty controlled

Favorite breakfast: overeasy eggs with turkey bacon, though Shaun has been making a turkey bacon & cheese omelet that I'm digging also

Favorite snacks: cottage cheese with cinnamon, vanilla and sweetener. Tastes just like rice pudding!

One thing I haven't given up: cream in my coffee. I don't foresee any diet that could convince me to do that.

So that's how week 3 has been rolling 'round these parts.

Do you do any business travel, or travel for pleasure?

If so, how do you keep healthy on the road?

For you Dukan-ers out there, how's it going?

Dukan Do It: Week 2

Shaun and I are 10 days in and still going strong on the Dukan diet. When I left you last week, we had made it through the Attack Phase and into the Cruise Phase, which felt like such a relief! In the Cruise Phase, vegetables are added to your meal plans and it makes such a refreshing difference.

Once in the Cruise Phase, we are to alternate days between Pure Protein (PP) and Protein Vegetable (PV). Somehow now going back to those Pure Protein days doesn't seem so terrible and the vegetable days feel like a treat. #whowouldhavethoughtit

One thing that has become apparent and pretty frustrating is that I feel as though I am ALWAYS cooking. There is always something to prep, chop, shop for or clean up. By last night, I have to admit, I was pretty tired of doing it all. After just a week of this, I'm questioning how I'm going to find the time to squeeze all of this in. On Monday afternoon, amongst other prep, I processed two heads of cauliflower and froze them to be used as pizza crust, fried rice or as a taco bowl base throughout the week, thinking that it would make such a difference in prep time on the weeknights. Well, it still required defrosting, heating, draining, mixing, shaping and baking, negating a quick dinner. Instead we sat down to eat at 9:00 last night. It wasn't great. But on the upside, the cauliflower pizza was!

I made two personal pizzas using half a head of finely chopped cauliflower. These came out great! And we were stuffed afterwards. I topped mine with turkey pepperoni, while Shaun added some sautéed mushrooms to his.

Updated to note: I made the crust by following this recipe/tutorial. I used half of a large head of cauliflower for 2 hearty personal pizzas, which fed 2 people generously, and froze the rest in a plastic bag for another night. I made a few adaptations to the crust: I used only fat free mozzarella, I did not use parmesean cheese. I also added oregano and a pinch of garlic powder to the crust. On top, I used plain tomato sauce that I seasoned with oregano and basil (fresh basil would be awesome on this!), fat free shredded mozzarella, and turkey pepperoni. Yum!

It was a great dinner, but was for sure a lot of work.

On the grocery side, I've found that we are certainly spending a significant amount more over the last week+. I hope it's due to ramping up, buying the diet staples and finding our footing, but I'll be interested to track it over the next few weeks.

Also - the dishes. They are never ending honestly. Our dishwasher is full to the brim every night, and there's more piling up.

But...all complaining aside, overall I'm feeling pretty good. My clothes are fitting better than they have in a long time and I've lost 5 pounds in just over a week. I wish I had taken my measurements before I started since I'm pretty positive I'm losing a lot in inches as well. And lastly, I sat and flagged a ton of recipes from the Dukan Diet Cookbook last night and can't wait to dive into some of those in the coming weeks and will be sure to share as I try them out.

Meanwhile, here's some samples of what we've been eating:

Breakfast: mushroom & FF feta frittata, hard boiled eggs, turkey bacon, smoked salmon scrambed eggs, smoked salmon galette

Lunch: turkey burgers, deli turkey slices & FF cheese roll-ups, smoked salmon & FF cream cheese roll-ups, taco bowls over broccoli slaw or as lettuce wraps, grilled chicken breast

Dinner: cauliflower-crusted pizza, steak, chicken, fish, chicken sausages, roasted vegetables on the side

Snacks: FF cottage cheese w/cinnamon & vanilla, sugar-free Jell-O, string cheese, turkey pepperoni, veggies & yogurt dip

So that's my wrap up as we embark on week 2!

Any other Dukan-ers out there? What have you been eating lately?

It's Friiiiiday! And Some Dukan Questions Answered

Happy Friday! Woo to the hoo, we made it to the holiday weekend. What are your plans for the upcoming three days? We have some gatherings with friends and family and I'm excited to simply relax a little. That's something we typically never do on the weekend and I swear I'm going to make it happen this time. This is a random post, but those are usually my favorite so I hope you enjoy and share some randomness with me in the comments!

 

Today is red white and blue day at Penelope's daycare/school. I shuffled her out onto the terrace this morning for a little photo shoot. This kid kills me.

 

I finally got a long-awaited mani/pedi last week.

I'm definitely slipping in my old age as I can't remember the name of the color. It's Essie with gold glitter polish on top. Neon mustache scarf from a beach shop last year, scored for $5.

In TV news, we are on the hunt for some new shows. We still have a season of Justified and Downton Abbey, but always looking for new suggestions if you're willing to pass them my way! We watched the season finale of Modern Family last night and I loved it! That show has its ups and downs for me, but that ep made me laugh and cry and that's just good TV in my book. We also finished the Jeopardy Tournament of the Decades...we oddly enjoyed that a little too much I think ;)

It's day #5 on Dukan and I'm feeling pretty good. I made the above cauliflower crusted pizza last night with plain (read: no sugar) tomato sauce (seasoned with oregano and basil), fat free mozzarella and turkey pepperoni. It was pretty awesome, actually!

Today is an all-protein day which is something that I do not relish but it is what it is. I plan to hit the grocery store early this afternoon and stock up on approved goodies for the weekend ahead. I've received a bunch of questions about logistics and how it's going so far and so I thought it would be a good time to address them in case any of you are thinking of starting it next week.

How do you feel?
Days 1-3 were the worst. Shaun was, what I can only describe as, hangry. I think that actually made me feel a bit more positive about it since I was trying to stay optimistic for both of us. It wasn't easy, but by day 4, it was as though a light switch went on and I felt so much less hungry overall. I'm just taking it day by day.

Did you sign up for the online coaching?
No. I don't see a need for it at this time, but I would consider it if I needed it down the road. I used the website to calculate my true weight and goal timelines only. I did get the book though, which I recommend. My mom also graciously ordered me the cookbook which I can't wait to get my hands on. Hopefully that will arrive today or tomorrow!

Did you buy any of the Dukan supplements or branded foods?
No. I started pretty ad hoc on this and don't see the need for them at this time.

Where can I buy oat bran?
I found it in the cereal aisle in the grocery store near the oatmeal. I did not buy the Dukan-branded oat bran, though I'm sure it's great too.

What about snacks?

I've learned to love cottage cheese with a little vanilla, cinnamon and sweetener. This has really gotten me through. I just can't get down with the plain Greek yogurt with sweetener, though I know my sister Kimberly has found that to be really helpful. This weekend, I plan to brainstorm and get a little creative and make a cinnamon tart from the Dukan cookbook for my father-in-law's birthday on Sunday...I'll keep you posted on that one!

Do you bring your food to work?

Yes. This is nothing new for me though. I'm used to packing my lunch and I come armed with more food than I could possibly eat. I now bring so many containers and use a shiny new lunch bag which I'll spotlight soon. I do look like a bag lady on the Path though...

How much weight have you lost?

I'm down 3 pounds and Shaun is down about 7. I know it's extreme, but my hope is that we can lose weight quickly and then work to keep it off in a healthy way!

I'll keep you posted next week on how we fair over the weekend...I'm a little nervous with some barbecues and parties in the mix! I hope you have an awesome weekend!!

What are your plans for the long weekend?

What randomness can you share with me today?!