Day 5,6 & 7 - 28th, 29th & 30th July 2010

The past few days I have been busy and distracted, however, I am happy to report that I have remained on track.. yay! So far so good.. it hasn't been too much of an effort and I have escaped unscathed from the 'Attack' phase.

DAY 5 was the last day of my attack phase. I debated as to whether I should continue for a full week, but decided to go for 5 as I feared becoming frustrated with too much protein which could result in me giving up and feeling like a failure. My menu for that day was relatively similar to the previous 4 days - Oat bran Galette made with cottage cheese (out of fruche still).. My home made custard recipe (sooo good).. Then knowing I was heading into the 'Cruise' phase the next day, I prepared a roast beef with vegetables so I could have it for lunch at work the following day.. Oooh I couldn't wait.

DAY 6 was the start of the 'Cruise' phase. PV (protein & veg day) I ate my home made Dukan style custard with oat bran for brekky (awesome custard style porridge). Lunch was of course my long awaited roast beef with veg (asparagus, roasted capsicum & zuchinni, carrots, beans, broccolini & baby beans).. yes, I indulged on the vegies lol. Dinner I made some beef kebabs, however I was disapointed with the quality of the beef as it was tough and chewy.. dammit. I enjoyed 6 bbq'd mushrooms & 2 grilled tomatoes. Oh.. and I will be honest.. I may have knicked a few slices of bbq'd potatoe slices off hubby's plate.. yes, potatoes are my weakness :( I doubt it'll do any damage so long as I don't make a habit of doing it each time lol.. I certainly am not about to beat myself up over it! For dessert (I am a glutton for punishment) I attempted the meringues again with stevia sugar powder.. FAILURE.. hmmm.. it wasn't until I googled the words 'stevia & meringue' and discovered that my efforts were going to always lead to failure as Stevia just won't cut it when making meringue.. bugger :( I may try Splenda.. I google that and people have been able to make that work! There is hope yet :)

DAY 7 PO (protein only day)

BREKKY:
Home made custard porridge (made with my own custard recipe & 2 tbs of oatbran)
Coffee x2

LUNCH:
Skipped lunch - well, I picked at about 5 pieces of kebab beef from last nights dinner.. I guess that counts!

DINNER:
The best one yet! So I worked out I can (well, I think I'm allowed lol) make a thai green curry using Nestle Carnation Light And Creamy Coconut Flavoured Milk - it has the same nutritional value in 100 mls as 250mls of skim milk basically, so that works out a'ok.
I made up a Thai Green Curry Chicken with Shallots (I think some onion is ok on PO days) and prawns. Turned out fantastic.

DESSERT:
YES. YES. YES!! I nailed it. Choc Meringue Kisses.. oh so sweet.. crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.. Pure bliss Dukaners.. PURE BLISS. Find the recipe here - http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/lc/recipe01.html Instead of Splenda I used what is called Hermesetas Granula Sweetner.. it has a particular fibre in it that I think helps hold the form of the meringue better. Found in Woolies in the sugar section.
Ok I will confess.. I ate the lot.. infact I ate half the mixture as a mousse before it went in to the oven.. then after the other half were cooked I topped them with half a tub of Yoplait Forme Cheesecake flavoured yogurt and devoured them a delirious frenzy... nummy num nums. I know, very piggish of me.. however, show me some pity.. there are certain 'times' (I'm sure every woman knows what I mean) where us women NEED a little moment of sweet binging.. it can be a matter of life and death.. it is safer for everyone living under the same roof for us to over indulge during those 'trying & emotional' times. And indulge I did.. from a velvety choc mousse.. to crispy soft centered meringues.. *sigh*
Geeze I hope the artificial sweetner doesn't have a laxative effect lol... wheeeeew!

So overall, the first week has been fantastic. I'm finding it quite easy and not in any way difficult to stick to. I think now that I can alternate with protein & protein and veg days it feels a lot less daunting than some of the other high protein 'diets' (disasters I'd prefer to say) on the market out there. No, I'm excited to say that I feel this is do-able.. especially knowing that at the end of the road you will be back to eat bread, pasta, potatoes (yes!) and desserts (already doing that.. us women always find a way). The only thing I haven't been following to the book is the exercise - 20 mins a day thing. Twice a week I'm on my feet for 8 hours - and I mean running around like a mad chook. I'm also actively snowboarding twice a week too.. so I don't think I'm missing out on exercise.. maybe substituting somewhat ;o) Tomorrow I plan to start introducing some strength training and get back on my elliptical to work on my cardio fitness. I plan to go back to muay thai kick boxing training at the end of winter (late sept or early oct).. I miss it so much :(
Another great finding at the end of my first week is the condition of my skin.. it's glowing and actually acne free.. don't get me wrong.. I don't suffer from chronic acne or anything, but after my high carb sugary 3 week binge my skin had become a little reminisant of an Arnotts Pizza Shape :o/