Alrighty....let's get right down to brass tacks today. Day 3 was awful. Veggies & fruit and soup. I was so over all of it by supper. I had a long busy day which didn't help. By the time I got home to make dinner, I threw some of every veggie I had in the food processor then dumped it all in the wok and threw in a Tbsp of soy sauce because ... flavor. I scarfed it down and went to bed.
I also randomly inhaled while chewing a grape and almost choked to death. We won't get into great detail but I'm fine, since I am here to tell the tale, and I have sworn off grapes for awhile. I was OVER all this vegetable business by day 3. I wanted chicken super bad.
But I carried on.
Day 4 was 6-8 bananas and all the skim milk you can drink and soup. I thought today would be the toughest day and it turned out to be the easiest and my favorite of days 1-4. I had many banana/skim milk smoothies and I was sick of chewing cabbage soup so I threw the rest of my batch into the blender which made a delicious change. Like chunky carrot soup. It was waaaayyyyyy better. I had to make another 1/2 batch of soup today because I completely finished my 1st batch yesterday. I had 3 bowls of soup yesterday. I'm totally loving the blended soup thing. When I made my 1/2 batch today I threw all my veggies into the food processor and chopped them up small. Also much better than cutting it into bite-sized chunks.
The last two days were annoying and busy for me, so it gave me little time to think about food, since my food was already planned out it actually made eating the only non-stressful thing about my two horrible days.
I have lost 3.5 lbs in 4 days. Onward and upward....on to day 5! CHICKEN BABY. I can't wait!
Until tomorrow.
~Sally
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Day 2 - CSDiet - Veggies & Soup
Today was veggies, all you can eat, and soup. I was also permitted a large baked potato with a tsp. of butter.
*SIGH*
I'm torn about day 2. I started the day with a gigantic baked sweet potato with nutmeg and butter. I ate about 3/4 of it and chucked the rest. Too much sweet potato first thing in the day. I will remember to do potato at supper next time I decide to do this.
I was busy at work in the morning and then had a late lunch of soup and carrot sticks. Meh. I wasn't feeling the carrot sticks. I then had to go out for the latter part of the evening and had carrot sticks to snack on. I also went to Starbucks and used my free reward to buy a bag of Kale Cucumber + Dill crisps.
Now....I have a guy that works at my Starbucks I frequent, I consider him 'my barista'. I ask him if he's tried the kale crisps and what he thought. He discouraged me against the cheese flavor, said they were nauseating. He also told me he absolutely abhors kale, but the cucumber + dill flavor is really good. I was on the fence, but used my free reward to buy them and went with it anyways. About 5 crisps in I was ready to throw up. Sorry Starbucks. Kale is just gross, and please stop selling these. Yuck. I took them home and decided I would throw them in a veggie stir-fry.
When I got home, I was so exhausted and hungry, I took every vegetable I had in the fridge out, and threw some of each into the food processor to slice. Then dumped it all in the wok and added 1 Tbsp of soy sauce (not allowed on Cabbage soup diet, but I was completely over the "veggie only" day at this point and needed something). It was by far the best veggie stir-fry I've ever eaten. Although I wished it had chicken in it.
Seeing as I've gone 2 complete days without any carbs or meat, I think I'm handling it well. I started day 3 this morning and was EXTREMELY glad to put fruit back into the mix. Day 3 is fruit, veggies and soup - a combination of days 1 and 2. I'm down 2.5lbs in 2 days. Not too shabby.
I feel much better today, more energized and I haven't had heartburn in 3 days, which if you know me, I eat antacids daily, sometimes hourly, because I eat like crap and my body is yelling at me. I stopped for my Americano coffee this morning and my barista asked about the kale chips. I told him I ate 5 pieces and then chucked them. He felt bad, and gave me a card for my next drink on them! Thanks barista! Definitely motivated today to continue. I have today and tomorrow all planned out.
Cross your fingers for me! hah!
~Sally
*SIGH*
I'm torn about day 2. I started the day with a gigantic baked sweet potato with nutmeg and butter. I ate about 3/4 of it and chucked the rest. Too much sweet potato first thing in the day. I will remember to do potato at supper next time I decide to do this.
I was busy at work in the morning and then had a late lunch of soup and carrot sticks. Meh. I wasn't feeling the carrot sticks. I then had to go out for the latter part of the evening and had carrot sticks to snack on. I also went to Starbucks and used my free reward to buy a bag of Kale Cucumber + Dill crisps.
Now....I have a guy that works at my Starbucks I frequent, I consider him 'my barista'. I ask him if he's tried the kale crisps and what he thought. He discouraged me against the cheese flavor, said they were nauseating. He also told me he absolutely abhors kale, but the cucumber + dill flavor is really good. I was on the fence, but used my free reward to buy them and went with it anyways. About 5 crisps in I was ready to throw up. Sorry Starbucks. Kale is just gross, and please stop selling these. Yuck. I took them home and decided I would throw them in a veggie stir-fry.
When I got home, I was so exhausted and hungry, I took every vegetable I had in the fridge out, and threw some of each into the food processor to slice. Then dumped it all in the wok and added 1 Tbsp of soy sauce (not allowed on Cabbage soup diet, but I was completely over the "veggie only" day at this point and needed something). It was by far the best veggie stir-fry I've ever eaten. Although I wished it had chicken in it.
Seeing as I've gone 2 complete days without any carbs or meat, I think I'm handling it well. I started day 3 this morning and was EXTREMELY glad to put fruit back into the mix. Day 3 is fruit, veggies and soup - a combination of days 1 and 2. I'm down 2.5lbs in 2 days. Not too shabby.
I feel much better today, more energized and I haven't had heartburn in 3 days, which if you know me, I eat antacids daily, sometimes hourly, because I eat like crap and my body is yelling at me. I stopped for my Americano coffee this morning and my barista asked about the kale chips. I told him I ate 5 pieces and then chucked them. He felt bad, and gave me a card for my next drink on them! Thanks barista! Definitely motivated today to continue. I have today and tomorrow all planned out.
Cross your fingers for me! hah!
~Sally
Monday, November 13, 2017
Cabbage Soup...Day 1 down...
Howdy!
Day 1 of the cabbage soup diet in the bag. I ate as I was hungry today. I had soup and a frozen fruit with water smoothie (so basically juice...) for breakfast. Then a hard boiled egg an hour later. This is definitely a day 1 cheat but this is not my first rodeo, and it wasn't peanut butter cups. Later in the day I had a coffee with a splash of skim milk from Starbucks and a pack of apple crisps. For dinner I had a double helping of soup and a big bowl of raspberries. More water. Later for a snack I made baked apple slices with cinnamon and had a bowl of grapes. More water.
By the time I went to bed I was already over the fact of running to pee every 12 minutes. I also was having some terrible dizzy spells when I was laying in bed. I got up and had 1.5 Tbsp of peanut butter (kraft - unsalted, unsweetened) That did the trick.
I wasn't hungry yesterday at all, despite only having eaten 1000 calories. This morning I was down 1 pound on the scale! Immediate progress makes me motivated to stay on track.
I have a sweet potato in the oven baking and it smells so good I can't wait to dive into it. I already have my day planned - soup for lunch with carrot sticks and veggie stirfry for supper with mushrooms, celery, onion, brocolli, zucchini, carrots and cauliflower rice - NOMZ! Also, a bowl of soup.
Oven just beeped! Time for delicious sweet potato with nutmeg and a tsp of butter.
Until tomorrow!
~Sally
Day 1 of the cabbage soup diet in the bag. I ate as I was hungry today. I had soup and a frozen fruit with water smoothie (so basically juice...) for breakfast. Then a hard boiled egg an hour later. This is definitely a day 1 cheat but this is not my first rodeo, and it wasn't peanut butter cups. Later in the day I had a coffee with a splash of skim milk from Starbucks and a pack of apple crisps. For dinner I had a double helping of soup and a big bowl of raspberries. More water. Later for a snack I made baked apple slices with cinnamon and had a bowl of grapes. More water.
By the time I went to bed I was already over the fact of running to pee every 12 minutes. I also was having some terrible dizzy spells when I was laying in bed. I got up and had 1.5 Tbsp of peanut butter (kraft - unsalted, unsweetened) That did the trick.
I wasn't hungry yesterday at all, despite only having eaten 1000 calories. This morning I was down 1 pound on the scale! Immediate progress makes me motivated to stay on track.
I have a sweet potato in the oven baking and it smells so good I can't wait to dive into it. I already have my day planned - soup for lunch with carrot sticks and veggie stirfry for supper with mushrooms, celery, onion, brocolli, zucchini, carrots and cauliflower rice - NOMZ! Also, a bowl of soup.
Oven just beeped! Time for delicious sweet potato with nutmeg and a tsp of butter.
Until tomorrow!
~Sally
Sunday, November 12, 2017
7 Day Cabbage Soup Diet
Good morning internet!
I'm legitimately one of the worst bloggers in existence since I take long lapses between posts. However, I am still here, healthy and kicking!
I have been given orders by my endocrinologist to drop some weight. By medical standards, I am a very healthy 35 year old (despite having no thyroid, dealing with those annoying problems, and asthma) but I am overweight. By "the book" standards - obese. Ya, ya, story of my life. My doctor told me that although I am very healthy at this point, my weight will do nothing but cause me further health problems as I age. He doesn't beat around the bush, this guy. We have a very positive, open, frank discussion about it. That was in July. I have been battling between getting serious and eating peppermint fudge crackle ice cream since then. I am finally ready.
In Sept 2014, my honey and I both got serious about our fat asses, and made a major lifestyle change. We stopped eating out, stopped eating processed foods and junk foods. We counted calories, exercised, and still had a cheat meal once a week (because let's face it - I would probably shrivel up and die without pizza once in a while). By April 2015 we had both dropped a whooping 45lbs each. I legit did not recognize my face in the mirror sometimes.
Okay so fast forward 2 years. We moved across the country, and all the lifestyle habits were replaced by the vast multitude of every kind of every cuisine we didn't have access too in our rural past dwellings. I have literally eaten so much shawarma, I should definitely own shares some where. But it's time to get serious.
So every fall, for several years, I have a craving for this incredibly effective (albeit not for everyone) cabbage soup diet. It is basically controlled clean eating for 7 days, with rules about what to eat on each day. You eat until you are stuffed. You do not walk around starving on this diet. But it is only for 7 days and not meant to be continued longer. It is like an amazing detox after holiday pigging your guts out, or an awesome kick starter for long term lifestyle changes. The premise is that you eat, following the instructions, and drop about 10lbs in a week.
Here is the rules:
Day 1 - eat only fruits (no bananas) and 2-3 bowls of soup
Day 2 - Start the day with a baked potato, eat only vegetables today (no peas, beans or corn) and soup
Day 3 - Eat fruits and veggies today (again no bananas or starchy veg) and soup
Day 4 - Eat 6-8 bananas and unlimited skim milk. Also soup
Day 5 - Eat only tomatoes (6-8) and 10-20oz of fish, chicken or turkey. Don't forget soup
Day 6 - Eat only beef (as much as you desire) and veggies (no starchy veg) and soup.
Day 7 - Eat only fruits, veggies and soup (repeat of day 3)
Eat as much soup as you'd like every day. Drink 8 glasses of water or more everyday. Tea, Coffee and unsweetened cranberry juice is permitted.
Here is the soup (**Spoiler alert - it's actually delicious and filling!!**)
Cabbage Soup Diet:
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 head of cabbage
1 cup celery
1 cup onion
1 cup carrots
1 bell pepper
2-3 cloves of garlic
4 cups chicken broth
14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
few shakes of black pepper
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
**Chop all veggies into bite size pieces**
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat
Add celery, onion, bell pepper and carrots.
Saute until slightly tender
Stir in garlic
Pour in chicken broth
Stir in tomatoes and cabbage
Bring to a boil and reduce heat
Cook until cabbage is tender
Stir in spices
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed
Serve and enjoy.
Side note - I let mine simmer for 30-60 mins. Then let cool on the counter before putting in an airtight container in the fridge. This amount will stay good in the fridge for 3-4 days. You will probably need to make this recipe again half way thru the week.
So today, it has begun. I'll blog later tonight about my progress today. For any further info, you can check out cabbagesoupdiet.com or there is another blog site by an awesome lady who calls it WonderSoup. Her website can be found by googling cabbage soup diet divascancook.
Ta for now!
Sally
I'm legitimately one of the worst bloggers in existence since I take long lapses between posts. However, I am still here, healthy and kicking!
I have been given orders by my endocrinologist to drop some weight. By medical standards, I am a very healthy 35 year old (despite having no thyroid, dealing with those annoying problems, and asthma) but I am overweight. By "the book" standards - obese. Ya, ya, story of my life. My doctor told me that although I am very healthy at this point, my weight will do nothing but cause me further health problems as I age. He doesn't beat around the bush, this guy. We have a very positive, open, frank discussion about it. That was in July. I have been battling between getting serious and eating peppermint fudge crackle ice cream since then. I am finally ready.
In Sept 2014, my honey and I both got serious about our fat asses, and made a major lifestyle change. We stopped eating out, stopped eating processed foods and junk foods. We counted calories, exercised, and still had a cheat meal once a week (because let's face it - I would probably shrivel up and die without pizza once in a while). By April 2015 we had both dropped a whooping 45lbs each. I legit did not recognize my face in the mirror sometimes.
Okay so fast forward 2 years. We moved across the country, and all the lifestyle habits were replaced by the vast multitude of every kind of every cuisine we didn't have access too in our rural past dwellings. I have literally eaten so much shawarma, I should definitely own shares some where. But it's time to get serious.
So every fall, for several years, I have a craving for this incredibly effective (albeit not for everyone) cabbage soup diet. It is basically controlled clean eating for 7 days, with rules about what to eat on each day. You eat until you are stuffed. You do not walk around starving on this diet. But it is only for 7 days and not meant to be continued longer. It is like an amazing detox after holiday pigging your guts out, or an awesome kick starter for long term lifestyle changes. The premise is that you eat, following the instructions, and drop about 10lbs in a week.
Here is the rules:
Day 1 - eat only fruits (no bananas) and 2-3 bowls of soup
Day 2 - Start the day with a baked potato, eat only vegetables today (no peas, beans or corn) and soup
Day 3 - Eat fruits and veggies today (again no bananas or starchy veg) and soup
Day 4 - Eat 6-8 bananas and unlimited skim milk. Also soup
Day 5 - Eat only tomatoes (6-8) and 10-20oz of fish, chicken or turkey. Don't forget soup
Day 6 - Eat only beef (as much as you desire) and veggies (no starchy veg) and soup.
Day 7 - Eat only fruits, veggies and soup (repeat of day 3)
Eat as much soup as you'd like every day. Drink 8 glasses of water or more everyday. Tea, Coffee and unsweetened cranberry juice is permitted.
Here is the soup (**Spoiler alert - it's actually delicious and filling!!**)
Cabbage Soup Diet:
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 head of cabbage
1 cup celery
1 cup onion
1 cup carrots
1 bell pepper
2-3 cloves of garlic
4 cups chicken broth
14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
few shakes of black pepper
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
**Chop all veggies into bite size pieces**
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat
Add celery, onion, bell pepper and carrots.
Saute until slightly tender
Stir in garlic
Pour in chicken broth
Stir in tomatoes and cabbage
Bring to a boil and reduce heat
Cook until cabbage is tender
Stir in spices
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed
Serve and enjoy.
Side note - I let mine simmer for 30-60 mins. Then let cool on the counter before putting in an airtight container in the fridge. This amount will stay good in the fridge for 3-4 days. You will probably need to make this recipe again half way thru the week.
So today, it has begun. I'll blog later tonight about my progress today. For any further info, you can check out cabbagesoupdiet.com or there is another blog site by an awesome lady who calls it WonderSoup. Her website can be found by googling cabbage soup diet divascancook.
Ta for now!
Sally
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Odd is Always Better
Yesterday, I turned 35 years old.
My first reaction is a terrified screech followed by denial and a lot of second guessing, "This can't be right?", "When did I age this much?", "Why wasn't I informed?". My second reaction is reality, that yeah I'm halfway to 40 and that totally freaks me out, but I had a mini meltdown when I turned 30 so I just refuse the number and age anyways. My darling honey got me a cake that said "Happy 29th".
Smart man.
So I turned 35. And over the course of the last week, absolutely crazy and amazing things have been happening to me! I have a theory that I've clung too since I was about 25 that all the best things in my life happen on years when my age is an Odd number. And some kind of crappy and horrible shit happens on the years I'm an Even numbered age. Sounds ridiculous but the facts don't lie. Check out these stats: 26-divorce, 28-bad breakup, 30-went a long period unemployed and broke, 34-got Thyroid Cancer. HORRIBLE BAD THINGS. Now look at the bright side: 27-went back to College, 29-worked abroad at a beach resort as a pastry chef, 31-adopted my beautiful loving dog, 33-moved to a major metropolitan city, 35-well...it just started yesterday didn't it?! But amazing things have been happening already!
Last weekend I attended a Medieval Renaissance Dinner Theatre free. Then I was given 2 free tickets to a musical. Then I went out for a girl's night with my BFF and got free drinks, a free t shirt and went axe throwing (for free! and now unofficially prepared for a zombie apocalypse) I also got free tickets to the home show (hah) and won a donut on roll-up-the-rim at Tim Horton's. That's a lot of great things in a span of like 4 days. I have big exciting plans in the works for 35, some are happening already, some are yet to happen. But 35 is going to be a really great year. I really believe the Odd aged years are better.
Alright, as I said before, yesterday I turned 35. And as my honey and my friends have been having a party month of excitement, I decided to have a calm day of relax and glutton yesterday. Honey and I did lunch at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. It was food-coma-inducing, and delicious. And we had ice cream cake, of course, as is our little birthday tradition.
Yesterday marked one year since my first surgery to have the first half of my thyroid removed. Yep, I spent my 34th birthday in the hospital for two days having a goiter and half my thyroid removed. Didn't I tell you Even numbered age sucks? I definitely started 34 on a craptacular note. It was kind of funny, looking back, because the nurses knew it was my birthday and when I woke up from my surgery they had written "Happy Birthday" on my whiteboard chart on the wall and the entire station of nurses came in and sang me happy birthday. They were really nice. It was a really scary thing, and everything went fine but they were so very attentive and kind.
I also got a wonderful non-exciting trip to my endocrinologist yesterday morning. I see him every three months for checkup, blood-work results and general thyroid related doctoring. As of late, my TSH levels are down from my last checkup - great news! My thyroglobulin is 0.09. They want to see it under 0.10 so I'm just under. Ideally they want it to be ZERO. So they upped my dosage again to 200mcg of Synthroid. This is okay because the side effects are that I'll feel more awake, alert, probably lose weight and generally feel good again. I had an ultrasound on my neck two weeks ago for this appointment and it showed "undetermined nodules", meaning they didn't know if they were just lymph-nodes floating around or remaining thyroid or something else. My Dr said he wasn't concerned, but is sending me for another ultrasound and blood-work in June before my July appointment. He said he is very pleased with my results and wished me to "Be Well." The increase dosage of Synthroid will cause my brain to look for thyroid hormone even less which will inadvertently drop my thyroglobulin levels. Win-win. They just have to keep increasing my dosage until my numbers come back perfect. So it will take some time.
It's a really weird thing to think about - considering that I spent all of last year sick with thyroid cancer, and now I am cancer-free and healthy. How long did I have it in me before it was discovered? It can totally take over your thoughts and life if you obsess over it too much. I think about it probably every other day or so. I plan on walking the 5K Thyroid Cancer Walk this year in September. I was going to do it last year but had to cancel since the walk was the day before my RAI treatment and I was pretty much a hypothyroid vegetable by that point. I am really looking forward to it this year, and my best friend was going to walk with me last year so hopefully she'll be on board this year too (I'm sure she will). I'm lucky I have so many who care for and support me. And I love all my weird and crazy family and friends. Being "Odd" is truly the best way to be. Looking forward to all the crazy things this Odd year will bring! Stay tuned.
~Sally
My first reaction is a terrified screech followed by denial and a lot of second guessing, "This can't be right?", "When did I age this much?", "Why wasn't I informed?". My second reaction is reality, that yeah I'm halfway to 40 and that totally freaks me out, but I had a mini meltdown when I turned 30 so I just refuse the number and age anyways. My darling honey got me a cake that said "Happy 29th".
Smart man.
So I turned 35. And over the course of the last week, absolutely crazy and amazing things have been happening to me! I have a theory that I've clung too since I was about 25 that all the best things in my life happen on years when my age is an Odd number. And some kind of crappy and horrible shit happens on the years I'm an Even numbered age. Sounds ridiculous but the facts don't lie. Check out these stats: 26-divorce, 28-bad breakup, 30-went a long period unemployed and broke, 34-got Thyroid Cancer. HORRIBLE BAD THINGS. Now look at the bright side: 27-went back to College, 29-worked abroad at a beach resort as a pastry chef, 31-adopted my beautiful loving dog, 33-moved to a major metropolitan city, 35-well...it just started yesterday didn't it?! But amazing things have been happening already!
Last weekend I attended a Medieval Renaissance Dinner Theatre free. Then I was given 2 free tickets to a musical. Then I went out for a girl's night with my BFF and got free drinks, a free t shirt and went axe throwing (for free! and now unofficially prepared for a zombie apocalypse) I also got free tickets to the home show (hah) and won a donut on roll-up-the-rim at Tim Horton's. That's a lot of great things in a span of like 4 days. I have big exciting plans in the works for 35, some are happening already, some are yet to happen. But 35 is going to be a really great year. I really believe the Odd aged years are better.
Alright, as I said before, yesterday I turned 35. And as my honey and my friends have been having a party month of excitement, I decided to have a calm day of relax and glutton yesterday. Honey and I did lunch at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. It was food-coma-inducing, and delicious. And we had ice cream cake, of course, as is our little birthday tradition.
Yesterday marked one year since my first surgery to have the first half of my thyroid removed. Yep, I spent my 34th birthday in the hospital for two days having a goiter and half my thyroid removed. Didn't I tell you Even numbered age sucks? I definitely started 34 on a craptacular note. It was kind of funny, looking back, because the nurses knew it was my birthday and when I woke up from my surgery they had written "Happy Birthday" on my whiteboard chart on the wall and the entire station of nurses came in and sang me happy birthday. They were really nice. It was a really scary thing, and everything went fine but they were so very attentive and kind.
I also got a wonderful non-exciting trip to my endocrinologist yesterday morning. I see him every three months for checkup, blood-work results and general thyroid related doctoring. As of late, my TSH levels are down from my last checkup - great news! My thyroglobulin is 0.09. They want to see it under 0.10 so I'm just under. Ideally they want it to be ZERO. So they upped my dosage again to 200mcg of Synthroid. This is okay because the side effects are that I'll feel more awake, alert, probably lose weight and generally feel good again. I had an ultrasound on my neck two weeks ago for this appointment and it showed "undetermined nodules", meaning they didn't know if they were just lymph-nodes floating around or remaining thyroid or something else. My Dr said he wasn't concerned, but is sending me for another ultrasound and blood-work in June before my July appointment. He said he is very pleased with my results and wished me to "Be Well." The increase dosage of Synthroid will cause my brain to look for thyroid hormone even less which will inadvertently drop my thyroglobulin levels. Win-win. They just have to keep increasing my dosage until my numbers come back perfect. So it will take some time.
It's a really weird thing to think about - considering that I spent all of last year sick with thyroid cancer, and now I am cancer-free and healthy. How long did I have it in me before it was discovered? It can totally take over your thoughts and life if you obsess over it too much. I think about it probably every other day or so. I plan on walking the 5K Thyroid Cancer Walk this year in September. I was going to do it last year but had to cancel since the walk was the day before my RAI treatment and I was pretty much a hypothyroid vegetable by that point. I am really looking forward to it this year, and my best friend was going to walk with me last year so hopefully she'll be on board this year too (I'm sure she will). I'm lucky I have so many who care for and support me. And I love all my weird and crazy family and friends. Being "Odd" is truly the best way to be. Looking forward to all the crazy things this Odd year will bring! Stay tuned.
~Sally
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