Mayo Clinic Diet: Part 2

First off, welcome new followers! So happy to have you ALL! If you are new, drop me a line to say hi! I loovvvve comments/emails! Now let's get down to business…

As I promised yesterday, I'm here today to go into the next part of the Mayo Diet (but remember, I hate the word "diet" so I'm calling it a wellness plan!)

I just finished day 3 of my 2-week "Lose It!" phase. This is the part that I really want to do well in, because 6-10 pounds are on the line if it is followed. Yes, please! We talked about 5 good habits to add in yesterday's post. The 5 habits are the easy part. The only thing I needed to add really was eating breakfast.

Now for the harder part...

Break 5 Habits

1. No TV while eating (or at the computer!), and only as much TV/computer time as time you spend exercising.
   Okay this is huge for me. HUUUGE. I am SO guilty of always snacking at the computer. I spend a lot of time at my computer with grad school. A lot. That's the root of all my evil, grrrarr! The past 3 days have been challenging. I have found that I snack at my computer out of pure habit. Not because I'm hungry. Der! I'm working at earning my screen time…but I cannot count screen time spent at work or towards school. My screen time spent Facebooking and blogging is what I now have to earn! Eeek! So if you see me drop off the face of Earth, it means I'm not exercising and haven't earned any screen time, yo!
   

   
   

2. No Sugar. Yes, you read that right.
   For these next 2 weeks, I can only eat sugars that are naturally found in fruit. That is tough for a chocolate addicted, junk-food-craving, PMSing girl to do! I cheated yesterday and had 2 Twizzlers at work. Today, I have had no sugar at all. It's not been easy. I just might give my right foot right now for anything related to chocolate…but I won't. Go me!
   

   
   

3. No Snacks, except vegetables and fruits. Um, major source of extra calories for me is at the hands of snacking. I'm a carb lover when it comes to snacks. Bad girl! I haven't snacked at all today, but it has definitely crossed my mind. I find I have to distract myself much like I have to distract my 2-year old daughter when she is doing something she shouldn't be. HA!
   

   
   

4. Moderate meat and low-fat dairy. This really isn't an issue for me. I don't remember a day I have drank anything but skim milk, and always buy low-fat yogurt, etc. The focus of this "wellness plan" is different than anything I have done before, in that it doesn't revolve around protein and it discourages a lot of dairy intake. I'm a sucker for cheese, ice cream, and all things yummy like that so the dairy in moderation will be a slight change over the next 2 weeks, but completely workable.
   

   
   

5. No eating at restaurants...unless the meal fits the program.
   Another biggie for me. Two weeks without restaurants is huge for me. I grab lunch at one of the restaurants near work at least twice a week. My family is guilty of going out to eat for dinner probably once/week, if not more. Well I already cheated on this part of the "wellness program" and ate at Subway yesterday…but I made sure my choice fit the plan, so I think I'm okay.
   

My thoughts so far...going well! I will not weigh myself until Monday, so I will get some sort of evidence then, but I feel good so far! I won't allow myself to weigh more often than once weekly because daily water fluctuation can make for some up and down numbers. I won't let myself go there. I really LOVE that there is no counting points or calories with this plan. I loved the Weight Watchers plan, but always hated the points counting and that is where I wronged myself. I felt burdened by it and sometimes it caused me a little stress. Of course, this plan doesn't allow you to eat like a crazy woman and then wonder why you aren't losing weight. I wish it were that easy! As I said, phase 2 of the diet, that I will begin after my 2-week kickstart, is probably different, but for now I am really loving the freedom from the points counter.

So now that we are talking all things fruity, I came across this recipe in our monthly "LiveWell" mailing. LiveWell is our employee health/wellness incentive program that is quite detailed. The LiveWell mailing is filled with health tidbits, program updates, tips, and recipes. I thought this recipe looked and sounded sooo good and I am going to be trying it once I am out of my 2-week Lose It! phase so that I can put a little frozen yogurt on top!

(The picture isn't the one that was in LiveWell, it's one I found online that looked similar).

Fruit Compote a la Mode

1 ¼ cups water
½ cup orange juice
1 (12oz) package mixed dried fruit (dice larger pieces of fruit)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground ginger4 cups fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt

Combine water, OJ, dried fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Gently stir and simmer for 10 minutes, covered. Remove the cover and continue to cook an additional 10 minutes or until the fruit is soft. Serve warm or cold in bowls with vanilla frozen yogurt. Serves 8.

Nutrition analysis per serving: Calories 200, Fat 0 g, Saturated fat 0 g, Trans fat 0 g, Carbohydrate 48 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 70 mg, Fiber 4 g.

Well folks, that's all I've got for you today! Tomorrow, I will be back to talk about the 3^rd and final part of the 2-week Lose It phase…"Adding 5 Bonus Habits". I will also be offering some words of wisdom taken right out of my hardcover book that I found helpful and/or interesting.

In the meantime, it's back to priming the walls in Emersyn's new room! I can't wait until it is done and I can show you pics of the big transformation.

Have a great Thursday!