the longest post ever. it’s about fud.
Posted on | April 12, 2011 | 93 Comments
so i’m here today to share with you guys the new eating plan Scot and i have been following. i warned you that it’s boring and i wasn’t lying – the first week i had actual anger. actual anger towards the food i was eating, people. let us not open up the can of worms that that says about my issues with food and move on…
let me start by telling you a few things about how i was eating before we started this a few weeks ago. now, i love food. i mean, i love it. i love looking at it, smelling it (with the exception of the first trimester of my pregnancy with Harper), eating it, basking in the food coma brought on by it. i love watching the food network and seeing recipes on blogs and and and…you get it, right? i love food.
for the past 2 years i’ve been stuck in a strange eating circle that basically rendered my metabolism useless. being a stay at home did no favors for me in regards to eating – basically i was so into keeping house, playing with H and feeding her that i completely forgot about myself. in turn, i’d drink coffee first thing in the morning and most days not eat a bite of food until after Scot got home from work. i’d forget to drink liquids, too. so – i’d sleep for about 8 hours during the night, wake up and drink a cup or two of coffee, and nothing else until 3 or 4 in the afternoon and then eat a huge dinner, snack until bed and repeat. i was tired, sluggish, irritable and the worst part, knew and acknowledged i was doing it but did nothing to change it.
i think this is an easy trap to get stuck in as a mom. maybe i’m just telling myself that, but i don’t think i’m alone. you get busy taking care of others and flat out forget you. i did gain about 10 pounds since i initially lost the baby weight, but what was really effecting me was the lack of energy and crankiness. i wasn’t being fair to myself or my family by pushing my needs aside.
Scot’s boss starting this eating plan and immediately started dropping pounds. after 6 weeks he had lost 35 pounds and that is when Scot decided we should hop on board. i will tell you the plan is called the 6 week body makeover and there is a website and books and all that, but i don’t really want to link because i’m not associated in any way, and i will be telling you the way WE are doing it and don’t really need anyone from there coming and telling me i’m doing it wrong or giving bad advice. google it if you’d like 
if you’re still reading, kudos.
ok! so the biggest main points of the changes we have made are:
- we cut out dairy
- we cut out sugar (unnatural sugar, we eat fruit)
- we cut out salt (SHOOT ME NOW)
- we cut out butter and oils
- we eat every 2-3 hours – with a protein each time
- we drink water like it’s going out of style
you’ll notice there is no “working out” in that list. we’ve lost our weight so far with no change whatsoever in our physical activity. which is awesome for me because i loathe working out. as the weather gets nicer, i am going to start walking daily with my mom but for now, i’ve changed nothing in that regard.
so what do we eat?
proteins – turkey breast, chicken, egg whites, tuna (in water), white fish, red meat sometimes.
veggies – these are pretty much a “free” food. lots of broccoli, green beans, asparagus, snap peas, brussel sprouts, spinach. we don’t do corn and limit carrots.
carbs – rice (white or brown), potatoes. plain oatmeal. no pasta or bread (i know).
fruit – grapefruit, pears, bananas, apples, peaches, berries.
for cooking – since we cut oils and butter, we cook with low sodium chicken broth and fresh garlic. we have every kind of mrs. dash invented, but to be honest i don’t like it.
if you’re still here (bless your heart), i’ll share a typical day of my meals with you. Scot’s body type is different than mine, so his is a bit different as far as amounts and when he gets to eat carbs (my body type is basically an apple – i gain in my mid section first while my legs stay skinny, he is muscular but has just gained fat over the muscle). for me, a typical day looks like this:
breakfast: 2 egg whites (2oz of protein), half a large grapefruit and a cup of coffee.
mid-morning snack: 2oz of turkey breast and a pear
lunch: 2 oz chicken breast, half cup of rice, a cup of veggies
afternoon snack: 2 oz tuna, cup of snap peas
dinner: 2 oz chicken, one medium potato, 1-2 cups of veggies
evening snack: 1/2 cup of berries.
right now you’re either thinking, wow that’s a lot of food, or wow that’s not a lot of food. honestly, i’ve never felt so much of the both of those at the same time. you’re eating so often (i literally have to set a phone alarm to remind me), but the amounts are really quite small. have you seen 2 oz of meat? it’s little. the first week i had to force myself to eat those first 2-3 meals, because i was so used to not eating until the afternoon. i’ve never been a real breakfast eater so food first thing in the morning has been hard to get used to. but after just 2 weeks, i wake up hungry so it’s a lot easier now.
a few tricks we’ve added to help (because if you love salt like i do, this stuff is going to taste bland as all get out – trust me) is salsa – make your own pico de gallo or find a low sodium version – on top of your rice or potato. imitation vanilla, splenda and cinnamon is all good, so put those on plain oatmeal to make it yummy. add lemon juice and black pepper to fish and canned tuna. and like i said earlier, low sodium chicken broth and garlic (even garlic powder is ok) for cooking meats. i’m a rebel, and a coffee with cream ADDICT, so i use sugar free creamer in my coffee. i don’t care, i love and need my coffee.
drink as much water as you can possibly without exploding. seriously, i have to pee all the time, but water is so good for you. this isn’t news. i try to get in 80-100 ounces a day and i use my favorite starbucks hard plastic iced cup to keep track. i also drink a lot of tea now, especially in the evenings when i’m craving something.
other tips! buy a food scale. 2 oz is smaller than it seems and you’ll need to know. also, planning ahead is huge. we do all of our shopping sunday and cook up a ton of food that night for the week – hard boil eggs, grill pounds of chicken, put turkey breast into individual ziplock bags so we can just grab, cook a bunch of rice and oatmeal so we can just scoop and reheat. if you had to cook or prepare each snack or meal as you went, you’ll give up – trust me. i am also a big believer in giving into your cravings every once in a while. one night i went out with some ladies and had wine and a meal completely not following this plan. the awesome part about following this plan is your metabolism is being sped up so if you slip, accidentally or with purpose, your body is already in calorie burning mode. i gained a few ounces back and was back on track the next day losing. if you don’t give in every so often, you’re more likely to quit. obviously it will work quicker if you don’t waver, but don’t freak out if you do – just hop back on board.
both of us have noticed a huge change in our energy levels. i wake up refreshed instead of groggy and i stay energized all day. i’m sleeping better, getting less headaches and aches and pains, and my ability to deal with things that before made me irritated (like bad drivers and toddler tantrums to name a few) is so much better. the weight loss doesn’t hurt either!
saturday nights are our cheat nights. i love food and i love eating food with my hunny. we aren’t going to deprive or torture ourselves. when the 6 weeks are up we will start adding some things back into our diet, but for the most part i want to stick to the main habits of eating often and eating whole foods that are good for us. we’ve always made sure Harper gets fresh good food but weren’t giving ourselves the same treatment!
ok! so if you have additional questions, please leave them here in the comments and i will be sure to reply. obviously this isn’t for everyone and i’m not handing out any sort of medical advice or anything like that, simply sharing what is working for me. check with your doctor before starting any eating plan and all that jazz. and if you made it this far:
just about the best thing i’ve ever seen. found here.
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http://ashleyeveryday.wordpress.com
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http://twitter.com/Nanette
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http://mydearcarter.blogspot.com/
Great stuff, Mandy! Those bad eating habits you were describing are totally mine right now! Keep it up and hopefully I’ll get on a similar diet soon.
PS: I enjoyed all of your checkpoints. “If you’re still here” haha.
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http://www.babymoohoo.blogspot.com
thanks for sharing this! i’m always saying that my husband and i are SO careful about what we feed natalie, but we are not at all so considered in our own food choices. it’s kind of crazy, actually. reading this really hit home, thanks!
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Great job Mandy! After a few weeks on the plan, do you feel yourself getting hungry around those certain times ofthe day where you eat your “snacks” or do you still find that you have to force yourself to eat them?
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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1319910018
I am just not a big meat fan (not vegetarian or anything, i just prefer carbs lol) so I can’t see myself eating protein that often! However, I know my hubby would love this lol.
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Are you really not consuming any fats? That’s not healthy at all (especially for a child although I’m assuming you’re not restricting Harper’s food the same way).
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http://amagnoliaheart.tumblr.com/
This seems quite interesting, and I think we might be giving it a try! One question I’ve got for you though, have y’all noticed a change in your grocery bill since changing your eating habits to this?
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Mandy Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 3:14 pmi was going to talk about this in the post but i had already written a novel so thank you for asking!
the first week we were clueless and had no idea how much food we’d need. we ended up having to go again on wednesday and that week, yes, we spent a lot more than we usually do. but the second week, we scoped out deals and ended up going to 3 places sunday morning and we got our total bill back to what it was before. costco has been the best place for chicken, rice, potatoes, grapefruit and broccoli. we found a store that always has a great price on turkey breast and it’s worth it to stop a few places for us. until i figure out how to be the coupon queen, we just have to (just kidding, i will never be a coupon queen).
the other thing that made it more expensive i think, is the fact that we are both doing the plan AND that scot gets double what i do almost each meal. it’s a lot of food! if just me were doing it, i think it’d be a lotttt cheaper. the key to this really is buying in bulk because you’re eating so much. the food doesn’t have a chance to go bad, trust me.
hope this helps! xo!
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http://www.kimlovesjus.com
I love food posts. I make a conscious effort to cut out most/all heavily processed foods and I can definitely feel the difference when I have one too many cheat meals. I have lost over 50 pounds by exercise/watching my eats over the last few years and now just by reading the ingredients list on what I eat is definitely helping me lose my last ten or so. (but uhh, this last ten seems to a never-ending cycle… but whatev) so excited for you!
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Mandy Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 3:04 pmi always knew cutting out some of the stuff we were eating (the processed stuff) would make us feel better, but i can’t believe the difference it has made. i’m definitely not going to deprive myself, but i’m most certainly not going back to the amount of processed foods we were eating. everything in moderation, right?
congrats on the 50 pounds, that is AWESOME! and i hear you about those last ten, they like to hang out. thanks kim![Reply]
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http://profiles.google.com/meganislove
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Wow! 35 lbs in 6 weeks is amazing! I’m doing a Biggest Loser contest with my bff and am looking for a good whole food diet plan to follow. My boyfriend does the Paleo diet? have you ever heard of it? I tried to do it with him but just couldn’t stick with it.
This diet looks similar but with more fruits and rice!! Yummy! Question, though: I am an avid coffee with CREAM drinker like yourself… what kind of sugar free creamer do you use? I’ve tried using sugar-free before but ultimately quit because it just doesn’t taste the same and leaves my mouth feeling nasty.. sorry, that’s gross, I know. Anyways, have you found one that compares and tastes good? My favorite is the Macadamia Nut.. OMG! deelish:) OKay, sorry for the huuge ace comment/question. Sounds like you are doing awesome with your food plan and good luck in the future!!! [Reply]
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http://www.pyjammy.com
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Awesome. We are looking for a healthy eating plan, too. My question is do you also cook a different meal for Harper? We have kids too and I do not want to cook 2 meals every night.
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Mandy Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 2:57 pmi hear you. right now we usually mix it up. for instance if scot and i are eating chicken, rice and veggies, Harper will get a bit of chicken, the veggie PLUS say cottage cheese and toast or pears. we try to work in what we’re eating but then add to her plate. of course she is 2, so some nights hers is way different (pb&j and a banana or whatever else she will actually eat!). the plan just shouldn’t be used on kids of course, so do be sure to add lots of other goodies to their plates!
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ever since you sent me this email we have been trying it! so far so good…except the WHOLE bag of m&m’s i cheated on it with. so, have you tried spike seasoning? same idea as mrs. dash but good! we found it in the health section at fred meyer. and why watching the carrots? that has been my go to snack…are they not as good?
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You were right – super boring – NO SALT! My husband will die. But, we have been contemplating a month long “fast” of sorts that is very similar to this – cut out all the bad stuff and load up on small amounts of lean proteins and veg. I am starting in May…I have a few visitors this month and will be eating/drinking a lot when they are here
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Mandy Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 3:52 pmgirl, i LOVE salt. the lack of it was what made me angry the first week! i was so desperate i bought a thing of fake salt. FAKE SALT. it was the most WRETCHED thing i’d ever tasted, like floor cleaner. i’m getting more used to eating without it but i’m not gonna lie – it’s HARD! i’m an addict, full on.
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It sounds a lot like the diet program I am doing, actually! Good for you!! Trust me, I know how hard it is.
As soon as I hit my goal weight I’ll be transitioning into something even more like this, basically, eating clean. Always.
Keep it up, dear! You can’t have much more to lose, you’re smokin’ hott and teeny tiny.
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This sounds a lot like the food plan that’s part of the new “diet” I’m starting on Monday – The Game On Diet. Though…it also includes exercise and new habits. I’m excited for you and hope I feel as good as you after a week on the plan!
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http://lifestails.blogspot.com/
Mandy – you’re killing me! No salt and no bread or pasta?! What is a girl to do?! The thing that makes this do-able, is Saturday fun day with wine. Anyone who does this diet is a rockstar – props to you sister.
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http://letterstohannah.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing! I tried something similar before and after two days I went crazy and ate nothing but bread and sugar for the next two days. I’m thinking I had some kind of crazy withdrawal from being addicted to junk. I think I might try it again because 35 lbs in 6 weeks is amazing!
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Great Post. I have been doing something similar, except I cut out all meat except fish. I’ve been eating lots of shrimp, fake crab, tuna, etc. etc.
I KNOW that I need to cut the salt but am having the hardest time with that. My whole family are salt fanatics!
I finally gave in and made the switch to sugar free creamer too, I curse my coffee every morning. If you can find it, try the Vanilla Caramel. It’s the best one.
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Mandy,
I’ve been (loosely) following a similar plan, but you are amazing for keeping up with yours so well!Three things that have become absolute STAPLES to my diet are edamame (great on salads or for snacks), almonds (unsalted, but still tasty), and mushrooms! Great idea to garnish with salsa!
Thanks so much for posting. It wasn’t boring as you insisted… I’ve been waiting all week for deets on your new eating plan!!
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http://youngmammatales.blogspot.com
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http://arms-wide-open.squarespace.com
this is intense! but good for you guys! can’t believe you’ve lost so quickly without working out! this winter it took me six weeks to lose 7 lbs!
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Mandy Reply:
April 14th, 2011 at 12:09 ami think it’s a big combo of things – first with cutting out salt and adding so much water, it’s a bunch of water weight at first. then since the metabolism has sped up it actually starts burning fat. i was really surprised! we will see how things go in the next couple of weeks, but i’d be stoked on one pound a week!
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http://www.paperdollvintage.blogspot.com
This was such a quick and easy read! Boring shmoring! We eat really similar to your plan and my kids have never even tried anything processed but it never occured to me to eat smaller meals thoughout the day for myself…ie:lazy mom syndrome. This is definately something I am going to give a try. It makes complete sense. Any vegans I know constantly eat all day and never gain weight. Thanks for sharing lady
p.s and seriously I say this all the time but 2 pre-teens and a grazing toddler I swear I spend 80% of my time in the kitchen..pre cook = the most brilliant idea I have ever heard LOL
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http://notsuperjustmom.blogspot.com
I’m totally getting into the swing of eating at more regular intervals now that I’ve found some new perspective on this whole weight loss thing I’m trying to accomplish. I just wish I could get my husband on board. :/
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Mandy Reply:
April 14th, 2011 at 12:00 amit’s so important, isn’t it? the eating regularly really has made me feel better, too. as opposed to before i was stuffing myself at dinner. i never have that uncomfortably full feeling which is nice.
i can see this being really hard is Scot weren’t doing it with me. i’ve tried other things when he wasn’t doing the same and it was frustrating and so easy to fall off. i hope your hubby comes around!
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http://profiles.google.com/lizmheron
Such a great post! (& yes, I read the whole thing!)
I’ve been doing P90X but not real happy with it. I know my food intake is to blame and this sounds like a MUCH more do-able plan than the one I’ve been on.
Like you, I’m tired of waking up cranky and letharigic every morning (& that’s even with a workout).
Thanks for sharing!!
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http://twitter.com/DizzyMsLizzi
Such a great post! (& yes, I read the whole thing!)
I’ve been doing P90X but not real happy with it. I know my food intake is to blame and this sounds like a MUCH more do-able plan than the one I’ve been on.
Like you, I’m tired of waking up cranky and letharigic every morning (& that’s even with a workout).
Thanks for sharing!!
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Yay! You totally inspired me! I don’t want to trick you into giving Six Week Body Makeover free propaganda, but are you using the book (Six day body makeover) or the actual program from the website?
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Thanks for sharing! This comes at the perfect time for me. My husband and I have been wanting to lose our “pigging out after our wedding” weight. One question, what does a typical day of meals for your husband consist of? Does he eat 4oz of protein rather than the 2oz you eat?
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http://twitter.com/TheNextMartha
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go you, thats awesome.
now, i know you’re not a doctor, however. I can’t eat man-made things, such as splenda or real garlic (I have crohns disease) what would you suggest in relace of those. the normal stuff, and less of it.. or?
Stacey @ Maple Bacon & Beavertails[Reply]
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wow this sounds something I would try My hubs is interested would you mind putting up what Scot’s food day looks like?
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Mandy Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 11:53 pmhis day is really similar but he gets more food since he’s male. so where i get 2oz of protein, he gets 4. where i get half a cup of carbs, he gets a full cup. he also eats a carb at his mid morning snack instead of fruit. those are the only real differences! hope that helps
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i am for reals considering doing this. last fall i gained 20lbs by trying to win mcdonald’s monopoly.
I KNOW.[Reply]
Wyngrrrl13 Reply:
April 19th, 2011 at 4:13 amMickella you rock for admitting this. I just gained 12 lbs (over 2 months) becuase I was unemployed and couldn’t stop baking. or eating.
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http://www.misselaineouslife.com/
First off, you look great and kudos to you for admitting that some part of this is hard. I mean, that’s a BIG change. I know because I did the same thing when I started South Beach, (which is pretty similar to your plan). You’ll be amazed at how your body can change if you add exercise too.
Good luck with keeping it up. I’ve definitely changed my way of eating for good although I definitely “cheat” at times too. That’s certainly part of sticking to it though, I think! Thanks for sharing with us! [Reply]
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Pingback: facing the facts. « three.small.words
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Fine. I’ll do it. Pfft.
Need to get back in shape. [Reply]
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http://www.babygeisler.blogspot.com
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http://twitter.com/helenelea
Ok, so, I am, as I type, preparing food for our first week of this torture… I mean… diet… I mean… lifestyle change. yeah. that. Anyway, just wanted to let you know I’m with ya! Oh, and I think something that will be my lifesaver is our George Foreman grill… I got it when we got married thinking I’d never use it and I do all the time! Plus, it gets chicken nice and brown without any added oil or anything
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Mandy Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 6:14 am
yes! it feels great to cut out all the processed things. it’s a lot harder but worth it. and thanks lady! you’re looking mighty good yourself! xo!
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