Operation DEYIAB Status

After 2 weeks of going vegan, with 2 days allowance for cheating b/c of eating out/holiday plans, I've lost 4 lbs and seem to have wrangled my out of control the snacking on crap problem.  I've managed to eat only 1 creme egg, 1 Peep, and 1 mini chocolate egg for all of Easter - which is a MAJOR MIRACLE.  Usually I start snacking on the candy pre-Easter and then pilfering out of the kids baskets post-Easter.  Anyway, my anal retentive personality has kicked in and I'm completely micro-managing my intake and journaling my food and exercise online.  Annoying over time, but good for right now until I reach my goal.

I've decided to make some modifications as the pure vegan way is not going to work for an extended period of time.  I just can't cook the veggies fast enough.  I'm now shifting things a bit:

• Still no butter, milk, cream cheese, egg yolk, and extraneous cheese (Still need a sprinkle of parmesan here and there).  I tried Soy Milk and it's totally fine for my coffee.  Not crazy about it in my cereal, but that's okay.  This is taking a lot of fat out of my diet which should help the cholesterol.  Making a physical appt for June still.
• Small portions of meat for dinner only.  I've done about 3-4oz chicken and pork the last couple of nights.  At least it's a lower carb protein.  The beans are good protein, but more carbs. 
• Minimal starchy carbs.  Pasta is a serious downfall for me.  I could eat more than half a box in a sitting if I'm hungry enough or I eat it fast enough.  I actually measured out my pasta last night and was surprisingly satisfied.  I ended up with 3-4 oz lean pork chop, 1/2 cup+ pasta with pesto, steamed green beans, and about a 1/2 cup of leftover shaved asparagus.
• No sweets.  This is big.  Joe and I both would have a sweet after the kids were in bed - ice cream, cookies, etc.  I'm managing to sit next to him and ignore him eating the sweets and have not buckled.  Also, no stash at work.  I usually have 1 - 3 Trader Joe's chocolate sweets in my desk drawer.  But, like an alcoholic, I can't stop at 1 and it's a fast spiral downward.

My work is having a Summer Shape Up Challenge so I joined a team and am tracking my choices there too.  Having to document it all helps.  I'd like to lose about 5-9 more lbs, if possible.  Not sure it is b/c I don't see my exercise increasing more than the 2x/week I'm at now.  However, some friends from the pool are starting up with tennis so I'm going to try to do that.

Operation DEYIAB Week 1 Complete

All in all, I'm so pleased with Week 1 of the plan.  It looks like I lost 3 lbs, but who knows...I weighed myself at the kids Dr office a week or so before I started.  I weighed myself yesterday AM at home, but I don't know if I trust my scale so much.  I think I'll make my annual exam appointment for June to give my cholesterol time to improve and to put a goal in place to stick with it until then.

After 6 days of completely sticking to the plan - no meat, no dairy - day 7 was a "cheat" day.  I was feeling mixed about Sunday, but we had brunch plans with friends yesterday morning and we had my MIL's surprise 70th party at a restaurant that is known for their steak/meat that I had been wanting to try for awhile.  So, I decided to go off plan for the day but try to keep things in moderation.  On one hand, I could have totally stuck to plan if I didn't have plans but certainly I was excited for both events and didn't want to be picking away at a salad while everyone else was feasting.  I think I did a pretty good job overall. 

Breakfast: Oatmeal made with water and a bit of maple syrup (better made w/ milk, but water is tolerable)
Lunch: small Slice of fritatta w/ roasted red pepper, few oven roasted potatoes, small piece of baked salmon, fruit salad, 1 mimosa, few spears of asparagus, 1 mini Reses peanut butter cup (I couldn't resist, but was thrilled I stopped at 1!!)
Dinner: 2 crackers w/ crab dip, salad w/ balsamic dressing, few slices of duck breast w/ some kind of sweet sauce and braised endive, 2 sauteed sea scallops w/ parsnip puree, small bit of asparagus, few bites of Joe's sirloin, 1 small onion ring, 2 bites of chocolate cake, 2 bites of Rory's chocolate chip cookie, 1 bite of Kelly's vanilla ice cream, and 2 glasses of Chardonnay. 

A mix-match of lots of stuff, but just a small bit of each.  This will probably be more of what I do after the vegan trial period is over.  Moderation.  Something I don't know much about. 

Operation DEYIAB Day 5

Still hanging in there...Only problem was watching Joe eat fresh baked choc chip cookies and not picking off the kids Mac & Cheese!

Breakfast: 1/2 Eng Muffin w/ Apricot Jam
Lunch: Hummus, pita, 1/2 avocado, roasted orange peppers.
Dinner: Wheat angel hair, tomato sauce, roasted fennel, sauteed zucchini
Snacks: Rice crisps - found these yesterday - they were good!

Watched the kids eat pizza in front of me.  I did eat some crust, but not eating the cheese was really tough.

Operation DEYIAB Day 4

Definitely ate too much pasta the other night.   Funny after just a couple of days you feel your stomach shrink.  Anyhoo, ok day.  Probably too much chinese food rice too, but no cheating yet!

Breakfast: Eng Muffin w/ Jam, Tea
Lunch: big, big, big salad with lots of veggies, beans, and some honey mustard dressing, pita.
Dinner: Veg Fried Rice, sans egg; Some of Joe's broccoli from his Beef & Broccoli
Snacks: Dried Apricots, Hummus/Pita, Peanuts

Making it along ok so far...Thinking about my girls night out next week at a great chinese/sushi place and bummed I can't have salmon, but I'll load up on veggies and avocado rolls.

Operation DEYIAB Day 3

Okay, technically milk is the last ingredient in the wheat english muffins and some pasta has egg in it.  I'm sure there is some milk and/or egg in the pita and regular bread I will depend on for some bulk.  I also need to take a multi-vitamin I would think. 

Breakfast - whole wheat english muffin with jam, tea
Lunch - flax/oat pita, hummus, avocado, roasted peppers, cucumbers
Dinner - wheat angel hair pasta w/ tomato sauce, roasted veggies (torture watching the kids eat leftover spiral ham.  I LOVE HAM. well, pork products of any kind, really.  but, ham has always been my achilles heel - since i was a kid.  favorite meal if i got to choose?  ham, fettucini alfredo, and salad with ranch dressing.  seriously.)
Snacks - dried apricots

I need more variety in breakfast.  A friend at work just gave me oatmeal from Trader Joe's that only calls for water, not milk, that I will try tomorrow.  I am really particular about oatmeal...it needs to be thick and grainy like risotto...not packets for sure.  I will try it though.  My friend said it had nice texture...I'll go light with the water so it's thick at least and will add some maple syrup.

Operation DEYIAB - Part 2

Operation Don't Embarass Yourself in a Bathing Suit begain in a Gap fitting room.  Part 2 is me taking drastic measures to 1) Lose some lb's and 2) Drop my cholesterol from it's ridiculous number to something bordering on normal.  I'm taking a swing at going vegan for the next month and a half or so - Memorial Day weekend probably.  My friend just lost 8 lbs in 2 weeks doing this, so what the hell.  It's been 1 1/2 days.  It's hard.  I'm finding not having dairy being harder than not having meat.  I like tea, but I miss my coffee with milk (more like milk & sugar with a splash of coffee).  I spent mid-day today roasting a slew of veggies - carrots, parsnips, brussel sprouts, celery root, fennel.  Making a vat of brown rice now and cooking up some cabbage and zucchini as well.  Here's what I've eaten so far:

Monday
Breakfast - rye toast w/ jam, tea
Lunch - huge salad w/ tons of veggies and beans
Dinner - pizza w/out cheese - dough + pesto + mushrooms + broccoli
Snacks - breadsticks

Tuesday
Breakfast - english muffin w/ jam, tea
Lunch - Hummus, pita, avocado, cucumbers
Dinner - Rice, Veggies (add on chicken for kids & Joe)
Snacks - veggies while I was cooking them today

Still planning to do my Tues & Fri at the gym for 1 hour.  That's about all I can manage with my schedule and needed level of sleep.  Keeping track of everything on myfitnesspal.com.  We'll see how I do!