Dukan Diet

Grady and I recently passed the one year anniversary mark! We are old pros at marriage now.... haha, definitely not, but we have learned a lot (which I will save for another post). Our first year of marriage was wonderful, but our marital bliss has led (or at least contributed) to one negative side effect - weight gain.

I hear it is pretty typical to gain weight during your first year of marriage, and I am no exception. Like any bride, I worked out to get in great shape before our wedding, but I wasn't fanatical about it and didn't feel like I was skinny as much as just healthy.

Well that has all changed. A year of cooking good food for G, traveling every week, eating in airports, hotels and drinking with co-workers has taken its toll. I'm not sure exactly what I weighed when we got married, but I think I have gained anywhere from 15-18 lbs. Being that I am less than 5'2" that is pretty significant. More importantly, I'm just not happy with the way I feel about my body anymore.
I have been a member of Weight Watchers for awhile and had success using their methods before. But lately I have found myself unable to attend meetings regularly (there isn't a meeting location near our house and my travel schedule keeps changing so it has been difficult to get into a rhythm) and not being truthful with myself when it comes to tracking what I'm eating. On numerous occasions I have actually thought to myself, "What can I eat that I WON'T track? Hmm... M&Ms sound like a good idea." Not such a good idea after all. Weight Watchers just isn't working for me anymore.

So, I began to look around for healthy alternatives. I need something that will help me lose weight, but that is also manageable since I'm on the road 4 days a week. And, I need something that will allow me to continue to cook meals Grady will enjoy. I love to cook, and trying new recipes and finding things that he enjoys is fun for me. After researching a few different options, I have decided to try the Dukan Diet. This diet consists of 4 phases. The first two are weight loss phases and the second two are maintenance phases. During the first phase (attack phase) I will only be eating protein. This phase will last three days. The second phase (cruise phase) adds some vegetables and will last about 2 months. The third and fourth phases are so far away I'm not going to tease myself and even think about them yet, haha.

There are several reasons I chose the Dukan Diet: 1) I am a meat eater. I like meat, I have been known to forgo the hamburger bun and just eat the patty. This is not the case for my sister who will eat the bun and not the burger. The Dukan Diet would probably not be a good choice for her. 2) The first and strictest phase will only last a few days. This means if I can get through a few days of just eating protein, I should see some quick results which will inspire me to keep going. 3) There is a specific timeline already mapped out for me. I am a goal-oriented person so I think having a timeline laid out will help.

I tried to start yesterday, unsuccessfully. I have already determined what will be the most difficult part of this diet for me - wine, or rather, a lack of wine. My sister and I went to the pool yesterday and I decided wine wouldn't kill me. Wrong. I did pretty well the rest of the day just eating protein, but when I weighed myself this morning I weighed exactly the same as yesterday. Not exactly the results I was hoping for, but I have no one to blame but myself.

So, I started over today. Today I ate scrambled eggs made with skim milk, salt and pepper for breakfast, along with reduced fat turkey bacon and a cup of coffee with splenda and skim milk. For lunch Grady and I decided to stop by Rudy's on our way home from church. I had half a pound of turkey. I resisted all sides but did have one small piece of G's sausange and two small pieces of briscuit. (Those are protein, right?) We had some friends come over for dinner, so I made steak with house rub, baked potatoes, corn and had bread, wine and watermelon. I only ate steak. The steak was yummy and I felt full and satisfied with my meal. Bread and corn would've been nice, as would've a piece of watermelon, but I did fine without. With the exception of after church (but that's nothing knew, I'm always hungry after church), I wasn't hungry at all today. I think I can handle a diet that doesn't make me feel like I'm starving myself, so that is a good sign.

The hardest part of the day was not having wine with our steak. Grady and I went to Napa Valley for our anniversary in March and have become big time winos. I don't think a glass of wine here or there will kill my weight loss attempts, but I've decided to give it up at least during this first attack phase. It's only three days, so it won't kill me. Plus, I drink more wine when I'm home with Grady and since I'm hitting the road again tomorrow that should help. Not to mention that the wine lists at the OKC hotels are absolutely pathetic, so I'm not missing much.

I'm a little concerned about being able to find a variety of protein to eat while in OKC this week. There are not many food options available to me, especially for lunch (I usually just eat sandwiches or salads with veggies and cheese - all things not allowed during the attack phase). I think I'll be fine at dinner and can just order chicken or steak at the hotel and have them hold the veggies, but lunch will be more difficult. I am going to have to get creative! I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for keeping me honest during this journey!