Phase 3 - Week #1 (R2)

P3 Week 1 Weigh Ins:

Day 1: 122.40

Day 2: 125.00

Day 3: 125.00

Day 4: 125.80 (cheated - DH b-day)

Day 5: 129.60 (steak day)

Day 6: 126.40 (detox bath)

Day 7: 124.00

I am going to try and keep better track of my menus from here on out but here is the last few days from this week:

P3 Week 2 Menus:

Day 5:

Breakfast and Lunch: Water

Dinner: 1.05 lb. ribeye steak

Day 6:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, protein shake

Lunch: Barbecue Pork loin and steamed spinach with butter and ACV

Snack: protein shake

Dinner: 2 eggs, 5 oz. ground beef with onions

Dessert: Mug cake with sugar free chocolate chips melted on top, sugar free ice cream

Snack: Diet Dr. Pepper

Day 7:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, protein shake

Snack: 1/3 apple

Snack: Diet Dr. Pepper

Lunch: Chicken Mango Salad with Ranch from Costa Vida (no rice/beans/tortilla)

Dinner: Protein Shake (huge) with Fage and fruit, Cinnamon Flax Bread with butter

Snack: Diet Dr. Pepper (BAD habit is forming!)

Overall, I am doing well. This week was kind of an off week because I had a big event on Saturday then I had Adam's (DH) b-day on Monday and DS's b-day on Wednesday. I was BAD on DH's b-day and ate lots of carbs, which DEFINITELY showed on my weight. Luckily, steak days work wonders for me and I don't really mind them. HOWEVER... I am going to try and avoid them from here on out because the whole point of this round is to stabilize at or below LIW. Currently, I am 1 lb. below my LIW and I am PRAYING I stay within range for tomorrow's weigh in. I am a little nervous about the salad today but I felt I did really well considering the tortilla, rice and beans were on the bottom of my salad and I didn't eat them. I just have to remember P3 won't last forever.

One thing though, I feel I might be a little less sensitive this round. I chewed SF gum all through P2 and I'm hoping that is helping with any sensitivities to sugar alcohols that I may have had last round. That means that I can enjoy my SF gum and diet soda once in a while. Not to mention desserts with sweeteners! :) That Cinnamon Flax Bread is the best. I am planning on trying some flax pancakes with SF (vermont brand) syrup tomorrow but I am also running 4.5 miles so I might see some scale fluctuation in the next couple days.

Well, sorry to post this novel after being MIA for the past couple weeks! Hope you all have a great night and a good weigh in tomorrow!

Phase 3 - Day #28

Current Weight (LIW): 129.0 lbs. (+0.0)

From LIW: 1.4 lbs.

Breakfast: 1 Fried Egg cooked in butter

Snack: Peaches and cream and a protein shake

Lunch: Tuna and cabbage

Snack: Couple tastes of fruit smoothie

Dinner: 8 oz. ribeye and steamed spinach

Snack: Apple

Total Calories: ~1300

Breakdown: 43.5% Fat/ 38.7% Protein/ 17.8% Carb

Too tired to chat but had a low calorie day for some reason... Probably all the shopping I did.

Phase 3 - Day #27

Current Weight (LIW): 129.0 lbs. (+1.4)

From LIW: 1.4 lbs.

Breakfast: 1 Fried Egg cooked in butter, Cinnamon Flax Bread (banana), 1/2 an apple

Snack: Raspberry (homemade) Chobani 0% (With cream and PP)

Lunch: Jimmy John's Unwich (Beach Club), Almond milk and agave mango ice cream

Snack: Peach Fage with Almonds, 2 pickles spears, cheese

Dinner: 6.5 oz. Hamburger with sauteed onions, tomatoe slice, SF ketchup and mayo on Romaine Leaf

Total Calories: ~2000

Breakdown: 50.2% Fat/ 32.5% Protein/ 17.3% Carb

Went much higher on the calories today, mostly due to the Unwich. It was SO good though! I am really hoping that my detox bath tonight gets rid of any potential water weight that may have happened from working out yesterday or from eating a little adventurously today!

Phase 3 - Day #26

Current Weight (LIW): 127.6 lbs. (-2.2)

From LIW: 0.0 lbs.

Breakfast: 1 Fried Egg cooked in butter, Chobani 0% (Cream, PP, 5 raspberries)

Snack: 8 Almonds, String Cheese, 3 baby carrots

Lunch: P3 Chili, Snall salad with bolthouse dressing

Snack: Chocobanana Protein Shake, Raspberry Chobani 0% (Chocolate Almond Milk, PP, cream, banana Capella Drops)

Dinner: 6 oz. Chicken grilled on BBQ, broccoli, and 1/2 apple

Total Calories: 1450

Breakdown: 34.3% Fat/ 51.3% Protein/ 14.4% Carb

So I couldn't believe my eyes this morning when I saw that 2.2 drop!! :) So happy to see the detox bath/protein day did it's work! I am really at least hoping for stabilization tomorrow but I'm not sure because I worked out today and added a few fruits so I guess we'll see!!

My carb percentage and calories are a bit higher today but my protein was at 192 caloric grams. Hopefully that's enough to stay the same weight overnight (at least). Well, I gotta get some rest for my first day of class tomorrow! Have a good one!

Phase 3 - Day #25

Current Weight (LIW): 129.8 lbs. (-3.4)

From LIW: +2.2 lbs.

Breakfast: Chobani Greek Yogurt (plain, nonfat w/ 2 tbsp Half n Half and scoop PP), chai with cream

Lunch: 6 oz. Grilled Chicken and small salad (green leaf, red pepper and sunflower seeds) with "honey" mustard

Snack: Eggnog Protein Shake (Almond Milk, PP, cream, egg, sweetener, eggnog Capella Drops)

Dinner: Curry Chicken with 6.5 oz. Chicken, cabbage (cooked with CO) and broccoli

Snack: A few bits of Chobani Greek Yogurt mixed with cocoa and sweetener (yuck)

Total Calories: 1110

Breakdown: 26.4% Fat/ 62.5% Protein/ 11.1% Carb

I have to admit, I was quite pleased with my steak day results. I lost a total of 3.4 lbs. which makes it my best steak day yet! I ended up doing high protein today (as you can see from above) and I am pretty pleased with how it went. I am just hoping that the scale sees things the same way I do! I keep thinking "there is no way I only ate 1110 calories today" but I guess its true! I keep going to my counter to make sure I didn't forget anything but I am pretty sure everything is accounted for! Pretty cool...

I am going to start working out tomorrow. I have basically completed P2 and P3 but I am going to try and continue P3 eating for a while. I want to eat bread and stuff but it is not that strong of an urge. Today, the family all had carrot cake which looked and smelled AMAZING! Luckily though, I was able to say no and keep going on my high protein day.

I also had a detox bath tonight. I was hesitant about this but I'm hoping it helps relieve me of some excess fluid my body may have encountered while traveling.

Well, I hope you all have a great night and thanks for reading! :)

Phase 3 - Day #24

Current Weight (LIW): 133.2 lbs. (?)

From LIW: +5.6 lbs.

Breakfast: Chai with Half and Half (throughout day)

Dinner: 15 oz. Ribeye and an Apple

Total Calories: ~969

Breakdown: 50.3% Fat/ 36.2% Protein/ 13.5% Carb

Steak day from my travel/TOM/fruit weight gain. A little frustrated all day today because of this massage jump. This is the furthest I've been away from my LIW (Even more than the CHEAT DAY!) I couldn't believe my eyes on the scale this morning. I honestly don't understand how I could weight more today than the day after my megacheat. I am hoping it is water weight from traveling and hoping that TOM makes his appearance. I've been more emotional than usual and I am just praying that he comes soon so I can drop this added water weight!

Well, I am hoping this steak day does the trick. It is extremely disappointing to be this high when I didn't have the delicious cheat food to go with it!

Phase 3 - Day #23

Current Weight (LIW): ? lbs. (?) No weigh day

From LIW: ?

Breakfast: 7 oz. Fage with Raspberries and protein powder

Snack: Apple, string cheese

Lunch: Grilled chicken salad (salad bar) from Jason's Deli with Blue Cheese Dressing, Pineapple, Cantelope

Snack: Apple, almonds, cashews, 2 slices cheese

Dinner: Grilled Chicken Breast, Broccoli, Red Pepper, and salad with ranch

Total Calories: ~2000

Breakdown: 52.4% Fat/ 24.5% Protein/ 23.1% Carb

Too much fruit!! I'm expecting a gain tomorrow.

Phase 3 - Day #22

Current Weight (LIW): 129.4 lbs. (+0.0)

From LIW: +1.8

Breakfast: 2 Fried Eggs, Cinnamon Flax Bread (banana) with butter, Mini pepperoni, 2 strawberries

Snack: Protein shake with Raspberries, 5 strawberries with Truvia

Lunch: Grilled chicken salad (salad bar) from Jason's Deli with Blue Cheese Dressing

Snack: French onion soup (jason's deli)

Dinner: No Break California Club sandwich (jason's deli)

Total Calories: ~2000

Breakdown: 55.0% Fat/ 30.2% Protein/ 13.8% Carb

Too much sodium. But I love Jason's Deli!

Phase 3 - Day #21

Current Weight (LIW): 129.4 lbs. (+0.8)

From LIW: +1.8

Breakfast: Fried Egg, 3 Slices of SF bacon, Cinnamon Flax Bread (banana) with butter

Snack: Protein Shake w/ Almond Milk

Lunch: 3.5 oz. Ground Beef, Homemade Marinara, and Shirataki Noodles

Snack: 7 oz. Fage Total, 6 raspberries, 1 packet truvia, 1 scoop protein powder

Dinner: Saladworks salad (blue cheese dressing, swiss, egg white, double chicken, tomatoes)

Total Calories: 1721

Breakdown: 55.4% Fat/ 39.2% Protein/ 11.9% Carb

Today has been a very busy day but I've tried my best to stay on protocol. I had a salad on the plane but was able to get a salad that I've had before and done okay on. I also didn't end up having a night snack and I wasn't really hungry at all anyway. It is really late and I don't know how much sleep I will get tonight but I didn't bring my scale and I'm considering not even weighing tomorrow (on SIL's scale) because there are so many factors. If it is high, it is most likely travel/water weight and the fact that it isn't my scale. I haven't decided what I'm going to do for weigh in yet. I guess you'll find out tomorrow! I just hate when a bad weigh-in ruins my whole day!

I'm glad to *almost* be home. We are the majority of the way there. We are in Phoenix and are leaving for SLC on Friday. It will be nice to be back in Utah and starting school on Tuesday. Busy but that is normal for us!

Have a good night and I hope the traveling won't hit me too hard tomorrow!

Phase 3 - Day #20

Current Weight (LIW): 128.6 lbs. (+0.2)

From LIW: +1.0

Breakfast: Fried Egg, 3 oz. Ground Sirloin with Mushrooms and Onions, Cinnamon Flax Bread (banana) with butter

Snack: 3 oz. Fage Total, 6 raspberries, 1 packet truvia, 1/3 scoop protein powder

Lunch: 2 - 3.5 oz. Cheeseburgers w/ SF ketchup, sliced tomato and Duke's Mayo on Romaine Leaf

Snack: 3 oz. Ground Beef with Mustard and Apple

Dinner: 4 oz. Salmon, 1 cup Cauliflower, 1 Roma Tomato, 1 oz. Mozzarella Cheese

Dessert: Chocolate Mug Cake with 1/2 almond 1/2 protein powder and whipped cream

Total Calories: ~2000

Breakdown: 57.6% Fat/ 33.1% Protein/ 15.2% Carb

Once again, I ate a lot today. I am keeping fairly consistent with my percentages but I am wanting to increase my protein a little and decrease my fat. As long as my carbs stay under 20% until I'm done with P3, I feel like I will have done well.

I had another mug cake tonight but I am a little worried about this one because I ate it at about 9:40 pm. The thing is I stay up until like 2 am so I am hoping that it won't make a difference.

Tomorrow is a big day for us. The kids and I are flying to AZ then to SLC on Friday. DH and FIL are driving across the country and we will finally be back in Utah! I am a little worried about the plane ride and traveling because technically I'm still in P3 until Thursday. I am going to extend P3 a little further because I just want to make sure I am stable. I am having a little bit of a tough time negotiating what I can and cannot eat and I just don't feel ready to take on P4 until I have totally stabilized in P3. I feel I should be able to eat more carbs (fruits) than I have been but it seems every time I venture over 1 a day, the scale kicks my butt in the morning. Well, I guess tomorrow it might be kicking me to the curb!

Phase 3 - Day #19

Current Weight (LIW): 128.4 lbs. (-1.4)

From LIW: +0.8

Breakfast: Fried Egg, 3 oz. Ground Sirloin with Mushrooms, Cinnamon Flax Bread (banana) with butter, 1/2 protein shake

Snack: 2 oz. Fage Total, 6 raspberries, 1 packet truvia, 1/3 scoop protein powder

Lunch: 6 oz. Ground Sirloin, SF ketchup, mustard, sliced tomato with Balsamic and EVOO

Snack: 3.5 oz. Fage Total, 1 packet truvia, 1/3 scoop protein powder

Dinner: 6 oz. Shrimp, Tofu Shirataki Noodles, 1.5 tbsp. Pesto

Dessert: Chocolate Mug Cake with 1/2 almond 1/2 protein powder and whipped cream

Total Calories: 1960

Breakdown: 56.9% Fat/ 36.1% Protein/ 13.7% Carb

Holy cow I ate a lot today but I didn't really feel overly full all day, so thats good. I am feeling a little dry mouth though so I am really worried about sodium intake. My daily amount is 2000 because I didn't know that shrimp had so much sodium! Oh well, all I can do is hope I don't go up tomorrow. I added Fage today and I am in LOVE with it. It tastes so yummy, I am just hoping that it loves me as much as I love it!

We went to the zoo today and walked around for about 2 hours. I tried to drink a lot of water today but I am still worried about water retention. I cut the water intake off around 9:00 though so I am hoping I don't see a gain from it.

Hope you all have a happy night and that the scales are good to you tomorrow! :)

Phase 3 - Day #18

Current Weight (LIW): 129.8 lbs. (+1.8)

From LIW: +2.2

Breakfast: Tea with Cream

Dinner: Big ol' steak and an apple

Dessert: Tea with Cream

Well, today was a steak day because of this mornings crazy gain. I don't know what made me jump up so high but I am hoping this steak day brings me back down again. I am really worried I might be sensitive to xylitol or walden farms products. I really enjoyed that mug cake last night!

I think that maybe I overdid it on calories or something? Or maybe the 2 fruits? I don't know, P3 is so hard. I have been loving pancakes in the morning once in a while and I will be really sad to see them go. Secretly, I keep waiting for TOM to start so I can blame the gain on that!

I'll keep you posted on my steak day tomorrow. I am really hoping for a big loss!

Phase 3 - Day #17

Current Weight (LIW): 128.0 lbs. (-0.4)

From LIW: +0.4

Breakfast: 1 egg in butter, 2 slices SF bacon, Flax Protein Pancakes w/ WF syrup

Snack: Chocolate Banana Protein Shake and a Peach with Cream (half n half)

Lunch: Saladworks Salad (amazing... yum!)

Snack: Peach Flavored Protein Shake & an Apple

Dinner: 9 oz. NY Strip, Caprese Salad, and Broccoli with Hollandaise

Dessert: Chocolate Mug Cake with Whipped Cream and WF chocolate sauce (wow)

Total Calories: ~1900

Calorie Breakdown: 50% Fat /39% Protein /12% Carb

I had another very nice day today. I feel stuffed to the brim all day long but I think I need to start eating earlier in the day. I have been getting up too late in the day and trying to fit all the necessary calories in very limited hours. I try not to eat very late but sometimes getting everything in before it gets late is very hard!

Tomorrow I have to get up early for church so I think I will make sure I have time to eat breakfast. I need to or I won't be eating until after 12. That is worse than today! Hopefully that will help my metabolism get a good start on the day.

I have been focusing a lot on getting the right amount of protein in. I am still thinking I might be a little high but I don't know. Many people say they get 2000+ calories in a day and that is where I am so I guess I am on the right track. My biggest fear tonight is that I had a peach early in the day and then an apple in the evening. I've haven't added peaches yet so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I also had a mug cake and even though I've already added all the main ingredients, its still scary to step on the scale tomorrow! (Just like every day.) I hope that I don't have to live the rest of my life in fear of that scale moving above the 2 lb. mark...

Well, I'm off to sleep. Hope the scale is nice tomorrow... :)

Phase 3 - Day #16

Current Weight (LIW): 128.4 lbs. (+0.8)

From LIW: +0.8

Breakfast: 1 egg in butter, 3 oz. ground beef, Cinnamon Flax Bread (banana)

Snack: Chocolate Banana Protein Shake

Lunch: Saladworks Salad (amazing... yum!)

Snack: 3.5 oz. Baked Salmon

Snack: Chocolate Banana Protein Shake & an Apple

Snack: Eggnog Protein Shake

Dinner: Chicken Parm with Homemade Marinara

Total Calories: ~1900

Calorie Breakdown: 55% Fat /37% Protein /9% Carb

Today was a very nice day except for the fact that I was so stuffed tonight, I couldn't finish my delicious meal. I finally got around to making my own sugar free marinara. It turned out very good! I put it on a chicken breast with some mozzarella and BAM - Chicken Parmesan. the Saladworks Salad was also to die for and I'm secretly hoping to gain so I don't go purchase another one tomorrow!

I'll keep you posted about my weigh ins. I'm getting close to p4 but I might take it even slower when I get to P4. craze! Have a good night!

Phase 3 - Day #15

Current Weight (LIW): 127.6 lbs. (+0.2)

From LIW: 0.0 !! :)

Breakfast: Flax Protein Pancakes, 1 fried egg, 3 oz. Ground Beef

Snack: 1/2 a Protein Shake with orange and almond milk, 2 raspberries

Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad (6 oz. Chicken, lettuce, tomato, red pepper, mushrooms, cucumber, 1 oz. cheddar cheese)

Snack: Cinnamon Flax Bread (Banana) & Protein Smoothie with almond milk, 1/4 avocado, peach flavoring

Dinner: 5 oz. Steak, Tomatoes with Balsamic and Steamed Asparagus with Hollandaise

Snack: 6 cherries

Total Calories: ~1900

Calorie Breakdown: 55% Fat /36% Protein /9% Carb

Still going strong under my 2 lb. limit! I woke up today with only a .2 lb gain after feeling like I was eating all day yesterday. Those protein shakes really fill me up and hopefully they are doing the trick!

I am adding a few more fruits in as I get closer and closer to P4. I am hoping and praying that they aren't causing me to gain weight because I love fruit!

Hope I have a happy weigh in tomorrow!

Cinnamon Flax Mug Bread

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. Flax Meal

2 tbsp. Almond Flour

1/2 tsp. Baking Powder Substitute

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 Egg

2 tsp. Butter (softened)

2 packets Truvia (ground to flour)

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. In the bottom of a mug, blend butter and egg until well mixed. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Put in microwave for about 2 minutes and then let cool.

ALTERATIONS:

I added 10 drops of Banana capella drops and it tasted like a delicious Banana Bread!! :)

Love this recipe!

PS. In this pic, I had already eaten 2 of the pieces.. :) It makes about 4 of those pieces.

P3 Week 2 Results - Pounds

Aug. 11th, 2011 (P3D8): 128.8 lbs. (+1.2 above LIW)

Aug. 12th, 2011 (P3D9): 132.2 lbs. (+4.6 above LIW)

Aug. 13th, 2011 (P3D10): 129.2 lbs. (+1.6 above LIW) Steak Day

Aug. 14th, 2011 (P3D11): 128.2 lbs. (+0.6 above LIW) High Protein

Aug. 15th, 2011 (P3D12): 128.2 lbs. (+0.6 above LIW) High Protein

Aug. 16th, 2011 (P3D13): 128.8 lbs. (+1.2 above LIW)

Aug. 17th, 2011 (P3D14): 127.4 lbs. (-0.2 below LIW)

P3 Week 2

Steak Days: 1

High Protein Days: 2 (unnecessary)

Phase 3 - Day #14

Current Weight (LIW): 127.4 lbs. (-1.4)

From LIW: -0.2 (altered LIW)

Breakfast: 2 eggs in butter, 3 thin slices of Low Sodium Bacon, Flax Cinnamon Mug Bread and Tea with Cream

Snack: 1/2 a Protein Shake with cream, spinach, blueberries, and almond milk

Lunch: P2 Chili

Snack: Protein Shake with almond milk and eggnog flavoring

Snack: Chocolate Delight

Dinner: Teriyaki marinated Salmon and Scallops and Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise

Snack: Protein Shake with Spinach, Avocado, Almond Milk and Vanilla capella drops

Total Calories: ~1900

Calorie Breakdown: 51% Fat /38% Protein /11% Carb

Today I tried my best to eat/drink as much protein as I could. I was told I wasn't getting near enough so today I got about 180 grams of it. I am hoping it was enough to help stabilize me a little better. I have been struggling with going up and I kept thinking I was eating more calories. But here I am at 1:00 after eating all those calories and I'm hungry! Crazy... maybe more protein will bode well for me on the scales tomorrow... Interesting...

I added in Almond milk today. I am really hoping I do well with it because I have some nice Almond chocolate milk (unsweetened) and some almond flour I want to do. I am feeling really good about today and I hope the scale is nice to me.

I changed my LIW from 126.8 to 127.6 since I have been seeing that number over and over on the scale. I just don't want to stress about stabilizing so much and to be honest, if I would have used this LIW, I would have only been outside my "safety zone" one time and that time was because of my cheat day. Very interesting... :) The more I think about it, the happier I am with the decision to raise my LIW. My reasoning is that I did the Atkins Fat Fast during the last week of P2 and that caused my body to lose about 1.6, which I gained back after a few days anyway. So my body was confused about my LIW and so I went back to my weight before the fat fast.

That is enough for tonight but hoping you all have wonderful dreams tonight and a good day tomorrow!

Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed

2 large egg yolks

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, plus more

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Fill a blender with hot water; set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Remove pan from heat. Drain blender and dry well. Put egg yolks and 2 Tbsp. lemon juice in blender; cover and blend to combine. Working quickly and with blender running, remove lid insert and slowly pour hot butter into blender in a thin stream of droplets, discarding the milk solids in bottom of the saucepan. Blend until creamy sauce forms. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and with more lemon juice. Serve immediately.

Cinnamon Maple Butter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 Tbsp. Walden Farms maple syrup

1/8 teaspoon vanilla (can use more)

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (or to taste)

Directions:

Mix, spread and enjoy!