My Dukan Diet... Beginning Week Four

This morning was my weekly weigh in.  Uggg, I was not looking forward to this!  The last couple of weeks were pretty stressful for me due to work issues, but I held steady during the week and ate very well according to the Dukan Diet rules.  Then came the weekend!

Friday night was a hot dog WITH THE BUN, Saturday was busy and I surrendered to concession food since I was working almost all day at Megan's schools annual  soccer tournament.  That meant walking tacos!  Yum, taco chips, salty taco meat, salsa, black olives, and lettuce. Hey, it was my veggie day after all!  I also made 227 cups of edible cookie dough to sell, and yes I did have a couple of cups.  People, I am a firm believer in taste testing!  Every good cook taste tests.

Don't even bring up the walking part.  I missed my walk on Thursday and Friday.  Saturday I did get up early and took our newly adopted doggie for a walk.  Yesterday it was raining so I resorted to the old reliable treadmill downstairs while I watched DVR'd episodes of House Hunters International (my favorite show).

Sunday I regained my composure and went back to the diet.  the usual eggs, cottage cheese, lean pork cutlets, fake crab, and yogurt.  It totally amazes me how this diet is number one in France!  How do they do it?  I don't know if I could do it if I lived there with all the temptation at every corner! I can't even watch TV!  I have it on right now and our local news station is doing a segment on making oatmeal raisin cookies!!  Oh Lord give me strength!

I know my age has not helped me in this battle.  That is why I have to work doubly hard at this.  Was I discouraged when I weighed myself this morning and had not lost this week?  Heck no, it has made me want to work harder.  I didn't see it as a defeat.  Being the optimist I am, I just say thank goodness I didn't gain!  Press on dieters, press on!!

Louvre vs Orsay

As a first time visitor to Paris I knew I was going to the Louvre for sure. I couldn't go to Paris and not see the famous Mona Lisa. She certainly was beautiful and luckily I got close enough to snap a picture (I did have to do some elbowing!). I was so very surprised at how small she really was. I also was shocked at my reaction. I had tears in my eyes when I saw her.


I loved going to the Louvre, but the sheer size of the place was overwhelming. Maybe that is why I didnt enjoy it as much as the Orsay. The one thing I did like about the Louvre was that you could take pictures without the flash, hence my Mona Lisa. Perhaps if I had taken parts of the Louvre and seen it a different times, but I just found it to be crowded and loud.

The Musee d'Orsay on the other hand is much more manageable. It covers a relatively short time period (1848-1914) and it is quiet. There are guards roaming around to keep things in line and to shush you if you are getting too loud. When I was there, there were school children quietly sitting on the floor sketching a Van Gogh. I really felt like I was in Paris and spent the time I was at the Orsay pinching myself.



I guess I am biased because I love the impressionist paintings. Monet and Renoir! I could have spent all day in the Monet room and at least an hour staring at Renoir's Bal du Moulin de la Galette.

You can easily see everything at the Orsay in a day taking your time. I did it in much less than that and I was very satisfied.

Of course seeing Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo is a must see when you visit Paris, and I was very glad I did. I just got much more out of the Orsay.

I am looking forward to a return trip when I can visit some more of the beautiful museums Paris has to offer.


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So....I Had A Piece Of Cake

Yesterday was the first time I had cheated on my Dukan Diet. It was just a little piece of cake that's all.

Now I went into this with the intention to stick it out for the long haul, but yesterday I knew I would have a hard time. It happened to be my cousins daughters first birthday party. I knew there would be plenty of food and oh no a (gasp!) birthday cake.

I did fine during the lunch having just my protien and veggies since it was veggie day. There was a great selection of fresh veggies. The problem came when all the presents were unwrapped and out came that cake! Well my mouth started to water so much that i could have used the birthday girls bib. My thoughts immediately started a wrestling match in my head do I or don't I. As the cake was being cut and served I still was trying to work up the courage to say no. It came to my turn and the "do it" won out. I had the smallest piece cut and gave my daughter the red balloon out of frosting on the top of my piece. I stuck my fork into that piece of cake and it was heaven when it hit my mouth. The inner layer of frosting was slightly lemony. I savored it, eating slowly. When it was gone I did feel a little guilt, but that went away.

Was it worth it? It sure was. Today I got right back on that horse and am back in full swing. I do have to say that I think my slight stomach ach this morning had something to do with having that piece of birthday cake yesterday. It's a good reminder that I'm serious about losing the weight this time and keeping it off!

Dukan Diet...Phase One Is Over, Now Onto Phase Two.

Whew, done with the attack phase of the Dukan Diet. I honestly never thought that I would be looking so forward to eating veggies. After all that protein consumption I only ended up losing 3 pounds during my 5 day attack phase. This disappointed me very much. I had gone for 5 days without cheating, unless you consider one popcorn kernel at the movie cheating. After consulting the Dukan Diet book again, I learned that as a female of a certain age because of hormone issues could only lose a couple of pounds during the attack phase. Oh goodness, it is gonna be a long road!

So on Thursday I had my first veggie day. I chose the 1/1 option for the cruise phase. This means that I have one day following the lean protein diet and the other day I can add as many veggies along with my protein. So for my first day I added cauliflower and zucchini. I liked having the veggies. I'm a veggie person anyway, so this was good for me. I will be on this phase until I hit my goal weight.

I am learning a few things on this diet. I have learned to listen to my body telling me it is hungry not the clock telling me I should be hungry. Or worse yet, not feeling hungry, but eating anyway. I am still amazed at how little I actually need to eat in order to fell satisfied. I can survive without sugar.

I have to say, that I feel great. I want to stick with this for the long haul. The number one thing to do on this diet is to always be prepared. Do not let yourself get too hungry.

Last night was the start of the football season. I watched the game against the Packers and the Saints without any big bowl of popcorn or a glass of wine. I survived.....for now!


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Dukan Diet Adventure Part 3

Day four of the Dukan Diet and I woke up this morning with an overwhelming craving for toast with lots of butter! Not a great start to the day. So I got up and made 2 scrambled eggs and the oat bran galette pancake. This satisfied my hunger, but not my craving for toast!

I have been doing the diet faithfully by the book for 3 full days and working on my 4th. I honestly have to say yesterday was hard. After a gain of 4 pounds after the first day, yesterday when I got on the scale I had lost that 4 pounds. So I was back to square one. The hardest part about yesterday was going to the county fair and avoiding all those really bad for you foods like pizza, teeny weeny donuts, pretzel wrapped brats and lots of other unmentionables! The real question was what COULD I eat. About 5:00 my stomach was really rumbling. The only thing I saw that was safe was a shaved turkey breast sandwich without the bun and cheese. That was what I went with. I ordered it and asked for a fork. It was good and had a smokey flavor, but I was pretty hungry so I think anything would have done. In the book Dr. Dukan clearly says to make sure you have all your allowed foods well stock and readily available during the first phase. I know why. When the hunger strikes it needs to be dealt with right away so you do not give in to say extreme toast cravings!

I did make it through day three even with hubby and daughter happily eating giant clouds of cotton candy in front of me last night. I just sat and guzzled water so I could get my required quantity for the day.


Now that I am into day 4 I now have officially lost 1 pound as of this morning. I originally was going to stay on phase one for four days, but with my meager wait loss at one pound, I will press on for one more day.

I can say this diet is not for the faint of heart. It is not easy. Then again is any weight loss? I am still determined to make a drastic change and didn't realize how much less I could eat to get by. That is my ultimate goal. Relearn how to eat properly by eating to live not living to eat. I want to enjoy food, but not rely on it to make me happy!


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Dukan Diet Day 1

I have almost come to the end of day one of my Dukan Diet adventure and I must say it went very well. The best part was that I passed up a piece of mouth watering cake at a party at work today. It has been forever since I passed up a piece of cake! So I would have to say that day one was a success.

As always my day started out when the alarm went off at 3:15 am. Got ready for work and didn't know if I would make it without my morning coffee with french vanilla creamer, instead I opted for a cup of tea instead with a little Splenda. After much planning I was gonna have 2 hard boiled eggs and an oat bran galette (a pancake made from oat bran, egg white and Greek yogurt) for breakfast at work. Mid morning I had fat free cottage cheese and lunch was a chicken breast without the skin. I wasn't hungry until dinner which was unusual cause I am famished most of the time in the mid afternoon. For dinner I had a chicken breast and a slice of lean pork loin roast. My nighttime snack consisted of some fat free yogurt. Not the most exciting menu, but that's okay. I only need to do the first attack phase which consists of lean proteins only for 4 days. This takes me through Sunday.

The hardest part for me was making sure I drink enough water. I do better with this during the week at work, but have to really work at it on the weekends.

I did my required 20 minutes of walking tonight too, I usually will do at least 30 minutes, but as the book said, I had little energy after this first day. Then again, by Thursday I am beat under normal circumstances after my crazy work schedule.

I have to say I feel very motivated and honestly by passing up that piece of cake today I passed a big hurdle.

Will this be easy? I know I will probably have moments when I have visions of caramel cashew sundaes dancing in my head, and I will have to find a way to deal with it. One day at a time.




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