Thread: My Journey

Just getting a chance to jump on here... Thanks for the reply I appreciate your time and comments.

Tomorrow is the end of the 500 cal and I jump back into 2000-2500 calories per day..... Everything I read says for a male my age I should be taking in 2600 but that is for an active lifestyle which I do not have. I will be setting a goal of 2200 and will not stress or worry if I am over or below that. Within reason of course.

I have read a bunch of the posts and threads Leez has suggested and I think I have a good idea how I am going to do this...... I am currently searching for menu idea's for Phase 3, recipes, etc......

The next three weeks will let me know if I learned anything.

Congratulations on making it through P2!

I don't have recipes or menus for P3, but I can tell you how I eat. I don't count calories and don't have a calorie goal or limit. I eat until I am satisfied or full, but not stuffed. When I get hungry, I eat again. I think it is most typical not to be hungry the first few days of P3. I am always ravenous and am counting the seconds until I can start P3. I eat enormous amounts that first week and then the hunger subsides enough that I start eating a more normal amount of food after that. For me, I think fats and vegetables are my best friends in P3, but I make sure to get plenty of protein, too.

I eat non-starchy vegetables, meat, eggs, heavy cream, butter, olive oil, cheese and things like that. I don't eat fruit (fruit is not prohibited, but it has too much sugar for me) or make baked goods with almond or coconut flour. I don't eat protein shakes or bars. I don't eat cocoa crack, partially because I don't think it's a good idea for me to get in the habit of eating candy every day and partially because coconut products make me gain. I read all labels to ensure the food I eat doesn't have a lot of additives. It's difficult to find heavy cream or sour cream or even chicken that isn't filled with additives, but I read the labels until I find what I'm looking for.

There are three food items many people are sensitive to. They are eggs, dairy and nuts. Add them on separate days to see if they make you gain. I'm fine with dairy and eggs so I eat them together from day 1.

On day 1, I almost always make a crustless quiche for breakfast. It is made of eggs, heavy cream, gruyere cheese, onions, shallots, spinach and mushrooms. I have that with coffee with heavy cream and bacon. Once the quiche is gone, I usually just have scrambled eggs or omelets. I usually add vegetables to any eggs I'm making.

For lunch, I have a big salad. I make my own blue cheese dressing. I like cobb salad or if I don't want to go to that much trouble, I just throw together a bunch of greens, vegetables and some protein like tuna or chicken. Or I may have a tuna or turkey sandwich on an Oopsie Roll, also with a big salad.

Or I'll make soup. I just simmer a bunch of vegetables (carrot, celery, onion, broccoli, spinach, zucchini, cauliflower, etc) in some homemade broth with some chicken and some herbs.

For dinner, it's meat, a lot of vegetables and fat. I like spaghetti squash with puttanesca sauce, mashed cauliflower (good with butter and cheese in it), steamed broccoli. I usually have little bits of meat left over from P2. When I portion everything into 100 grams servings, there's always a few scraps left over (32 grams chicken, 42 grams veal, etc) that I freeze and cook in some butter for the first day of P3. I often eat grilled or baked salmon or other fish in P3. Pot roast is another favorite meat. Mostly, I'm not typically a big meat eater, but I try to eat some at every lunch and dinner in P3.

I do make Oopsie Rolls (https://yourlighterside.com/2009/05/...-oopsie-rolls/) in P3 and I've made cauliflower pizza (https://yourlighterside.com/2009/05/...pizza-dough-2/), but the pizza is for week 3 of P3 and it is so heavy it can make me gain. It's possible eating an entire cup of cheese is not my brightest idea and eating half or 1/4 of the pizza might work better.

Some favorite restaurant choices:
cobb salad
chicken fajitas with no tortillas but with guacamole, sour cream and salsa
salmon or steak with a salad (no croutons), double portion of vegetables, and no starchy side dish
True Food Kitchen spaghetti squash casserole

Originally Posted by shmeans

jmmr: Awesome GREAT post. I took screenshots as I usually feel a bit panicked moving into P3 although I’ve done it pretty successfully. Maybe a bit of fear, for me, is a good thing. (((appreciative)))

I still get nervous, too. I think most people eat a lot less at the start of P3 than I do so I'm always worried that "this time" I'll gain weight. But I never do. I actually think my Day 1 Quiche for breakfast and Cobb Salad for lunch is a bit of a superstition. I had that the first day of my very first P3 and it worked well so I've always had it the first day of every P3.

I think it is good to be a little panicked by it. It keeps us in control and makes us more careful. If we're too blasé about it, we might start sneaking in some sugar and starch thinking it won't matter much.

Last day of 500 calories......

I have my groceries list done up and on my way home from work I will be stopping. Tomorrow morning is bacon and eggs and cream in my coffee.....

Sounds like you're ready to go. Enjoy!

Just a word of caution, read the labels on the cream. I know Trader Joe's and Whole Foods each have one brand of cream that doesn't have added gums. It may be harder to find at other grocery stores. Carrageenan or gums can make people gain and then they think they have a problem with dairy. Really, they could probably eat dairy; they just can't have the additives. Also, these days there are lots of bacon brands marketed to Paleo dieters that don't have sugar added so it's quite easy to find. Just read the label.

Originally Posted by Jmmrr

Sounds like you're ready to go. Enjoy!

Just a word of caution, read the labels on the cream. I know Trader Joe's and Whole Foods each have one brand of cream that doesn't have added gums. It may be harder to find at other grocery stores. Carrageenan or gums can make people gain and then they think they have a problem with dairy. Really, they could probably eat dairy; they just can't have the additives. Also, these days there are lots of bacon brands marketed to Paleo dieters that don't have sugar added so it's quite easy to find. Just read the label.

My bad, I said cream but I am just used to people calling it that. I use Almond Milk in my coffee.

Someone else told me about sugar free bacon as well, I will be looking for that also

Today is day 1 of Phase 3.....

I have been doing a lot of reading the past week, both in this forum and also in Google searches.... I am very very tempted to do Keto for this round and see how I do. It seems hit and miss, people on here saying they gained 3-5 pounds, others saying it worked great, others saying they gained most of their weight back, others saying they lost more weight. it is so hit and miss I can't get a good idea on if it works or not. I think I need to just do it and see if it works for me and my body or not and depending on the results then decide if I continue or jump back.

10 days into maintenance (today is 11) and I am doing great. I have decided to do Keto for my maintenance and after 10 days I am at a difference of 0.8 which is well with-in the 2 pounds we are allowed.......