Flat Belly Diet

mmnichol

Thanks for the interesting thread :bigsmile:

JPriceGA

Thanks for the interesting thread :bigsmile:

Wow, I'm impressed you read it all :-)

I hope it was helpful.

JPriceGA

Dinner was at Sweet Tomatoes - someone has put pretty much their menu into MFP... thank you to whomever did that! I didn't really know what they were going to have at the restaurant, but I got a general idea of what the calorie counts were for things before I left, which made it much easier to make choices. I wasn't sure how I did until I was able to plug it in tonight. I came out really well! I combined my "snack" and "dinner" - as much for times sake as anything else! My "snack" and "dinner" both came out just under 400 calories - and with my run this afternoon, I came in under my MFP number by 25 calories. Couldn't do much better than that!

One thing about paying attention to my hunger number is that even when I'm out now, I can pay attention to my hunger level, and that helps confirm how my selections went for the meal... I started at 0 and still ended at 5 - so I felt really good about the whole dinner experience from the diet perspective. Oh, and I had fun with my friends too!. Another day in the books!

JPriceGA

Day 7 of 28

Ok, this morning hasn't started of as well as I'd liked. To add to it, I wrote about it and lost the post! So, take two...

I woke up with my face feeling swollen this morning. It appears that I got into enough sodium at dinner last night to trigger a nice round of water retention! The scale and measurements confirmed it - up 1.8 on the scale. My net measurement difference was up .25 . So, I started off the day mildly disappointed. It's not enough to rock my world - and it is offset by the fact that I'm wearing a pair of jeans I haven't been able to wear in a long time. They fit well except they are a touch snug around.... my belly!

So today starts off with a mood that's not quite as happy as my normal morning, but not too bad either. I know if I drink the water I'm supposed to and pay more attention to avoiding sodium, it will come off quickly again.

Hunger is my usual 0 before, after 5.

I had cream of wheat made with milk this time. Tasted a bit better - the consistency was better. I'm open to seasoning suggestions...

I also had unsweetend applesauce, sunflower seeds and prunes.

gennyvieve

i have to say my favorite is the granola and also the lemon cupcakes!!! i make them without the icing so they are a little less calories, but really that was only because i didn't have the ingredients! in fact i like the lemon cupcakes so much that i'm making them for my son's 1st bday!

i started the 4day jumpstart today and i have to say, i love the sassy water!!!! but i'm a little confused----they want the meals to be around 300 calories, but the sunflower seeds are so caloric-ly heavy?? according to MFP the 1/4c seed in the AM is 320 cal---is that right?

other than that it's going ok.....i'm having some MAJOR caffeine-withdrawal headaches top that with my poor 3mo old puppy getting scratched in the eye by the cat and now he's in surgery and may lose his left eye and i am a hot mess today---so keeping on this plan for the day and not doing any emotional eating is something i'm pretty proud of right now!

JPriceGA

gennyvieve - how fun, there will be two of us! I took some excedrin migraine either the first or second day - took care of the caffiene withdrawal headache really fast. I haven't had any more. I'm so sorry to hear about your puppy! I hope the surgury goes well.

320 is too high. I think the book says 2T is 90 calories, which puts a quarter-cup at 180. I used the MFP entry, seeds - sunflower kernels toasted no salt, which gave me 207 calories per quarter cup. It's a double MUFA for breakfast those first four days. I didn't ever see why they did it that way.

JPriceGA

Another successful day in the books! I added a new twist to lunch - I wrapped my 4oz of turkey in a big romaine lettuce leaf, and spread 1/4 cup of avacado and 1/2 laughing cow lite herb chese in the middle. That was tasty!!

Tonight I broke into the chocolate and split the quantity with natural peanut butter. I've aquired a taste for really dark chocolate - 85% cocoa.

I drank all my sassy water for the day, and worked out at the gym - so I'm ending the day in a much better mood than I started!

JPriceGA

Day 8 of 28

Seems that 2lb water weight gain went away - I was down again this morning when I stepped on the scale.

I find I'm repeating meal patterns to keep things easy. I still haven't really had the chance to pick new meals from the ones in the book. Mostly because I don't want to waste any food that I have on hand. By next weekend I want to have a few more meals into the rotation! Plus, I don't want to have turkey for lunch every day for the next few weeks!

I haven't had much variation in my hunger levels - seems pointless to keep writing "hunger before 0, hunger after 5." So you can just assume that. Although I've been a little more emotional than usual lately, I haven't succumb to emotional eating since I've started this plan.

I'm getting more used to the four meal a day schedule. The thing I've been the worst about so far is not getting out after each meal for a 5 minute walk. I'm working out, so the total exercise isn't an issue, just taking that 5 minutes to get out for some fresh air. It really is nice when I do it. Just gotta do it more often! Off to get my "snack", finish my work day & hit the gym!

jyt2573

I also am reading all your posts, Jan. You write so well, it is as if we're sharing a cup of tea together as you tell me about your day...

JPriceGA

I also am reading all your posts, Jan. You write so well, it is as if we're sharing a cup of tea together as you tell me about your day...

jyt2573 - Thanks! My favorite is peppermint. What's yours? Lately though, I've pretty much had hot sassy water!

JPriceGA

Day 9 of 28

Last night I finally sat down with the book and put a check mark by the meals that looked the most interesting to me. I read through them all. Most have 4 or 5 ingredients. I think I found one meal where I had all of the ingredients. So, I wrote down the things I didn't have. A lot of the brands/products have been a challenge for me to find. It sure takes longer at the store when I don't know if they even have what I'm looking for! Take unsweetened cornflakes. How hard should that be to find? There is this huge selection of cereals, and finding one with no sweetener is really difficult! I found one at Whole Foods on the first big shopping trip, but haven't located any in the groceries by my house yet.

Today I found olive tapenade - whatever that is. I'm the only person in my family who doesn't like olives. I'll eat them cooked in most things, but I've never stuck them on my fingers to eat them like a treat. But some meals looked interesting that had the olive tapenade as an ingredient. I also picked up roasted red peppers. I've never had them from a jar... I got a different brand of rye crackers - I hope they are basically equivalent. I still haven't located Thomas' whole wheat Sahara wrap. I wasn't sure if that was more like a whole wheat tortilla or pita bread. I went for the pita. Oscar Meyer had the only turkey bacon I could find. This is not a grocery list for the faint of heart! Or for those who must watch every dime.

For example all summer, I had plenty of mint, basil and other herbs growing on my deck and hardly used them. Now, it's winter, and I'm paying two bucks for fresh herbs!

Starting tomorrow, I'll finally have some "official" flat belly meals!

JPriceGA

Day 10 of 28

Well today was a "perfect" Flat Belly Diet day, and a perfect MFP day. Double win!

Breakfast - Bananna-nut Oatmeal
Lunch - Waldorf Pita
Snack - Blueberry Smoothie
Dinner - Salmon Steak Almondine

My exercise today was sufficent to cover the 1600 calories - bingo! Perfect day!

maryann73

Jan,
Thank you for the interesting posts. How is your husband doing with this?

firedragon064

What does sassy water do?

JPriceGA

Well, for various reasons, I've ended up following it more closely.

JPriceGA

What does sassy water do?

The ginger is supposed to calm the digestive system. I think the rest is just for taste. It helps me drink more water.

JPriceGA

Day 11 of 28

Today could have been a "bad food day" in that my morning at work was stressful, and I went in search of something to munch on. So I decided to split my afternoon snack and eat half. I took a look at the "snack" menu in the book and found one that had popcorn and Parmesan cheese. I've never had that as a combination before, but okay. That satisfied my desire to snack. I was a little concerned that I'd feel hungry later in the day and set myself up for trouble. But all turned out alright.

Breakfast was a repeat from yesterday - Oatmeal with pecans & bananas. I've never eaten it like that before then.

I wasn't even really hungry when I got the urge for the mid-morning snack. It's the first clearly emotional eating challenge I've had since I started this.

For lunch, I tried a one outside of anything I would have thought of - Salmon Sandwich. Instead of using canned salmon, I took 2 oz of Salmon I'd cooked for dinner the night before. I'd eaten Ezekiel sprouted grain bread before, but it had been a really long time and I couldn't remember if I liked it or not. I put on the olive tapenade, tomato & lettuce. Considering I'm not a big olive fan, it was pretty tasty. I'd repeat it, but probably not often. There are lots of turkey meals in this plan, and I wanted something different. So it served its purpose.

It's listed as 400 calories, but it didn't seem quite as filling as usual. I went back to the book to see if I'd missed a "side" to go with the sandwich. Nope. That was it. I'd have to say my hunger ratings were -2 before lunch and probably 2 immediately after lunch. Perhaps that was still a hold over from the morning's stress snack!

I had the remainder of my snack before going to the gym. By then I pretty much felt back on track.

I picked up some groceries on the way home and made the California Turkey Salad for dinner. I just realized I used the ginger sesame dressing instead of the balsamic vinaigrette. I thought that was an odd paring with walnuts and gorgonzola cheese! Well, I liked it anyway.

Tomorrow I'm going to an all day community service type meeting. It's my first time where I don't know what food will be around - so I'm going to pack some turkey wraps, nuts and such to make sure I have essentials to get me through the day.

When I started this thread - I really thought there would be others on this plan that would join in... It's turned out to be a blog!

JPriceGA

There is a Domino's Pizza banner ad at the top of the page... just seems cruel...

jyt2573

I have been drinking a lot of Trader Joe's organic Green tea lately...it makes me all warm and yummy!

JPriceGA

I have been drinking a lot of Trader Joe's organic Green tea lately...it makes me all warm and yummy!

Wow! All that from tea!

JPriceGA

Day 12 of 28

Today I had an all day meeting with a group of volunteers from a non-profit organization I support. It was a fun day - but posed food challenges.

I fixed a peanut butter & banana english muffin for breakfast, and packed a lunch and snack to take with me. There was a ton of food there. The only thing I had that was off my plan was a small (5 oz) cup of coffee with creamer. It would have been really easy to just forget I brought anyting and have a splurge day. But I really want to see if this plan works - so that helped keep me on track. I was pretty proud of myself for packing lunch and taking care of myself.

Only one person asked me about it.

The hardest part was not partaking in fresh baked cookies.

I got home in time to fix dinner - I ended up replecating last night's dinner.

I didn't have a chance to get in much exercise today, so I went over my MFP calories for the day. That's a bit hard for me - I always prefer to be just under my MFP daily calories.

ltlhmom

WOW! I have enjoyed reading you post and following your journey! What is the exact measurement for the sassy water?

parvati

Ok, well your journals sucked me right in!!
I very curious about the program you are doing!
Thanks for sharing, I look forward to reading more!
Good luck with the rest if the month!

parvati

Yes, I would like the recipe for sassy water too! I have troubles getting my 8 glasses in!!

clothestoburn

Hi, great job! I got this book the other day from my mom (who never used it for more than a couple days). I have been using the MFP plan for almost a year now with great results. But the belly fat, now is my primary issue and of course the last thing to go.

I have read all of your threads, very interesting by the way. As I sit here with my grocery list for the next first four days,
I think am I ready for this? should I do it? will I do it after four days? What will I feed the family?

Do you have any answers or advice?

JPriceGA

Yes, I would like the recipe for sassy water too! I have troubles getting my 8 glasses in!!

I use 8 cups of water, 1 lemon, 1/2 large cucumber (or one small one), and a half tablespoon freshly grated garlic. I then crush and add about a dozen mint leaves. Let it sit over night. You can strain it or not when you pour it.

JPriceGA

Hi, great job! I got this book the other day from my mom (who never used it for more than a couple days). I have been using the MFP plan for almost a year now with great results. But the belly fat, now is my primary issue and of course the last thing to go.

I have read all of your threads, very interesting by the way. As I sit here with my grocery list for the next first four days,
I think am I ready for this? should I do it? will I do it after four days? What will I feed the family?

Do you have any answers or advice?

Yeah, I'd skip the cream of wheat! :-)

I don't have to worry about cooking for more than two, so I'm not sure about that part - but if I were doing it all over again - I'd not have doubled the dry goods for two when I shopped at the beginning. I'd also have picked and made a shopping list for the first couple of days after the jumpstart. Get mor ginger than you think you'll need.

JPriceGA

Day 13 of 28

I broke one of the three rules today. I didn't mean to or plan to. I had breakfast, went to the gym, came home fixed lunch and went to see Avatar. We drove an extra distance to go to an IMAX theatre to see it in 3D. Well worth the outrageous admission price and extra drive. We went with friends and had a good time. Waht I messed up was I thought I'd be back home in four hours in time for my snack. But no. By hour 5 I was cranky - by the time I got to fix food it was dinner time. Arrgh.

I decided before the movie - no popcorn & such, and no one even offered, so that worked out just fine.

This morning for breakfast I had the breakfast tacos. I used the processed egg whites from a container like they suggest - but next time, I'm just using fresh egg whites. That's one I'll probably do again. Next time I'll also wilt the spinich a tad in the microwave and drain the salsa a bit - that will help the corn torillas not fall apart so fast.

Tonight was a black bean burger - I'm not sure I actually followed a recipie, but it came out around 400 calories - whole wheat english muffin, morning star spicy black bean burger, slice of tomato, bit of romaine, deli mustard and a laughing cow swiss spread on the inside top of the muffin. I had red pepper and cashews on the side.

As of today, I've lost exactly six pounds. My measurements haven't changed much recently, but I look thinner and have less "muffin top" over my jeans. The main thing that is clear is that I haven't gained wt by eating 1600 calories a day.

clothestoburn

Thanks so much, Jan. I gonna give it a try. Just made my sassy water for tomorrow. Cream of Wheat I will try. It's the Talipia I can't do, I'm gonna replace with chicken. Everything else I can do for 4 days. I will spend the next days seeing if I can plan the 28 days that follow. Thanks again.

PhotographerOfNature

Yes, I would like the recipe for sassy water too! I have troubles getting my 8 glasses in!!

I use 8 cups of water, 1 lemon, 1/2 large cucumber (or one small one), and a half tablespoon freshly grated garlic. I then crush and add about a dozen mint leaves. Let it sit over night. You can strain it or not when you pour it.

Jan: Above you mentioned garlic. Do you really use garlic or did you mean ginger? I love your blog! It has been interesting to read your new adventure. Stick with it you are doing great!