Week 17 and Some information on the "Maintenance Plan"

Well It's been a pretty great week so far! I am down 2+ lbs since Monday, I am now wearing a size "Small" in most shirts and am pretty much a size 10 now in pants.  I'm loving every minute of this dramatic change!!!  My confidence level has increased dramatically! 

I must admit that although I'm happy with the changes I'm making in my life at the moment, I am also still trying to battle some other issues I deal with, i.e. clinical depression, constant worrying about the past, present and future, indecisiveness, etc., at the same time which are some main symptoms of PCOS.  Although I am managing the symptoms of PCOS much better now with the dramatic weight loss, I still have bouts of depression which really affect me.  It is my hope that once I reach my goal weight of 130 lbs that these symptoms will lessen even more and will eventually go away for good!  However, at the moment, I'm trying to deal with these bouts without any anti-depressants/anti-anxiety drugs b/c my goal is to be prescription free for the rest of my life and to find other ways to combat these symptoms!!! Some ways I'm trying to deal with these symptoms are by keeping myself and my mind busy (i.e. taking better care of my house, being a better wife to my husband, walking, getting outside more, reading, focusing on other people besides myself).   I also plan on starting to go back to my hardcore exercise routine when I'm done this diet and focusing on getting myself back into shape.  It is my short-term future goal to be able to run a marathon and to enter a fitness competition. My husband has also recently taken an interest in my goals and would like to be able to run a marathon as well! This is something we are both going to work towards once my diet is over!

This whole experience is a life changing experience for me --not only does it affect the way I see myself but it also affects the way I view life in general, my relationships with friends and family, and how I manage difficulties in life.  Even though I will hopefully reach my weight goal by the end of June, this life changing process will be ongoing for me!


The Maintenance Plan - Week 1


I am following another person's success story and she has posted some information on the maintenance plan that I thought I would share here as quite a few people have been asking me how I'm going to maintain my weight after I reach my goal.

Here is an idea of what happens on week 1 of maintenance.

1) Proteins: You jump from 7 oz total allowed on the strict diet to 8-10 oz total, and can now reintroduce other forms of beef such as extra lean ground beef.  I'm looking forward to adding on to my protein list as I'm getting really burned out on chicken breast, tuna and egg whites! If I like venison, veal, other fish, etc it wouldn't be too bad but I don't.  Along with egg whites, you can now have up to 4 whole eggs (yes, yolks included) per week, any style. However, I actually quite enjoy my egg white omelettes for breakfast so I do not think I will go back to eating whole eggs after the strict diet is over!


2) Dairy: On the strict diet, you are allowed 1 tablespoon milk per day which I never have as I'm not a milk person.  On maintenance, you are only allowed 2 teaspoons/day, given the increase in fats from other sources. In week 1 of maintenance, you can also add in 2 oz of fat-free hard cheese and 4 oz of fat-free plain yogurt.

3) Vegetables: You can start adding in other vegetables such as water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, snow pea pods, okra, eggplant and turnips, etc..  At this stage you still cannot have carrots, peas, corn, or potatoes (have to wait a month for those.)

4) Breads: No deviation from the 1 slice of bread allowed/day or crackers/melba toast.

5) Fruits: There is a drop to 1 fruit/day (instead of 2/day allowed on the strict diet) or 6 oz of unsweetened fruit juice. You can now add on to the fruit selection list as well (except for mangos) but I am not sure yet which fruits you can add in.
6) Other items include: oil & vinegar dressing or low cal Roquefort/Caesar dressings. Still cannot have jam, sugar, syrup or starch for quite awhile!