Summin' Up the Digest Diet

I've made it to the end of the three week Reader's Digest Diet.  So, you may ask, with all of your belly aching 1) how much did you lose? and 2) are you going to keep doing it?

My husband and I have a teeny tiny master bathroom. (I promise, this story has a point.) So tiny, in fact, that before we redid it, there wasn't a spot for a scale to live and be able to lay down.  (In fact at the end of our bathroom redo my husband, our friend/contractor and I were all standing in the bathroom at once which was somewhat of an impressive feat, because our bathroom is so small.)

For years our bathroom scale lived on its side.  Each time we used it, we had to pull it out and set it on the floor.  Sometimes the kids would get it out.  It got dropped a lot.  We knew it wasn't super accurate, but, you know, it was something.

Once Wendell and I started doing the Reader's Digest Diet, the fact that our scale only kinda worked became problematic.  We could gain or lose as much as 4 lbs just getting on and off a couple of times.

With our bathroom redone and the new configuration being more conducive to a laying a scale flat, Wendell and I splurged and got a new scale.  There are serious down sides to getting a new scale just at the end of the three week diet.

Because I didn't trust out scale and also because I'd already paid for the month at Weight Watchers, I've been weighing in there as well.  The down side to that was that it didn't jive perfectly with when we started the program, but that's the data I'll use.

Weigh-in #1 (two days in) -1.8

Weigh-in #2 (week and two days) -3.6

Weigh-in #3 (2 weeks and two days later and after a fall break trip) -1.2

Total lost = 6.6 lbs.

Part of me is like: Uh huh! I'm good! This is awesome.  And the other part of me is like: This is awful!  People 50 lbs thinner than me lost more than that in this challenge!  I'm ashamed!

But here's the deal, I have still lost 6.6 pounds in just over 4 weeks.  It's not a record.  But it's progress.  I've also had some (clearing throat) serious hormonally driven carb cravings and still came out OK.  Every single weigh-in has been a loss.  And more importantly, I feel great.  Not good.  Not better--great!  And it's not because I've lost a ton of weight, because I haven't yet.  It's because I'm eating really, really healthy.  And I've cut waaaaay back on sweets.  

In answer to the question, will I keep doing it?  Heck, yes.  Would I recommend it?  Absolutely.  

I am continuing to overhaul my diet, seeking out sources of recipes that fit with this diet and improving my cooking.  But I plan on keeping on keeping on.  

Digest Diet Part 2

I'm going to admit that I was being a big baby last night.  I feel a ton better today.  Maybe it's because I got to eat a burger (a burger!) today.  It was sooooo yummy.  It's a Turkey Mushroom burger with garlic, broiled and topped with tomato paste.  YUM!!!  (I also learned that I like tomato paste as well as ketchup, and I only lose the salt, sugar and additives.)

I'm also going to fess up that I've cheated a little.  I ate some trail mix that included dried cranberries and dried blueberries and a couple of chocolate chips.  Like, 10 chocolate chips. (It also included peanuts and cashews which are phase three foods.)  At snack time, instead of eating my favorite Wasa crackers topped with natural peanut butter or laughing cow cheese (Wendell just found a laughing cow that has cinnamon!), I had a SOFT piece of white bread, my same natural PB and some honey.  It was divine.

Tonight we made Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls.  I don't actually like cinnamon rolls so I ate a couple bites of Wendell's that had frosting (I do like frosting) and I was OK.

I feel so much less deprived.  I remember when I started on this path (the Digest Diet way to healthy eating) I thought knew that it would be a hard plan for me.  So, my agreement to myself was that I would do a "modified" version--a term I got from a friend who's been super successful at Weight Watchers.

When this friend and I went out to lunch, I asked her what she was doing.  She'd dropped a lot of weight and looked fantastic and seemed like she felt really healthy.  "I'm doing a modified version of Weight Watchers," she told me.

I never did get out of her how she was modifying the program, but when I saw this plan, I felt pretty sure I'd need some modifications as well.

A few years ago, my kids' elementary school principal lost a shocking 100 lbs.  I don't know what plan he was doing, but he'd gotten a serious scare at the doctor's and was told that unless he did something, he wouldn't be around to enjoy his grandchildren, yet unborn.

His weight loss was so rapid and so impressive that you felt compelled to study what he ate.  I remember the end-of-year PTA luncheon.  He loaded up with fruits and veggies, but he also took a single Doritos chip.  One.  (This reminds me of the Lays commercials that said, "I bet you can't eat just one.")  I remember being impressed 1) that he could have a treat--or something bonafide bad for you and 2) that he did it with such moderation.

That, I guess, is the key to this whole thing.  It's not that I'll never get another treat again, but can I enjoy just a bite or two and stick with this healthier lifestyle.

I must admit that I feel physically better than I have in a while.  I feel more energetic, more limber, I've been able to cut down on my arthritis meds and I've become optimistic that I might actually be able to reduce my anti-depressant dose.

I'm definitely not sugar coating or gushing about this program.  It's hard to get off sugar and bleached flour.  But it seems worth it.

The Digest Diet

I'm a little late gettin' to the party and Reader's Digest didn't *actually* ask me to blog about it, but when I saw that they got a bunch of bloggers to try their diet, I decided to at least blog about it.

The essence of the Digest Diet is to get you to eat really healthy food.  Like, health-nut, skinny-person, obnoxiously healthy.  But I love that you have to buy and make your own food.  And you get this huge book that explains all the studies behind why certain foods are better for you than others.  Honestly hearing WHY it matters that I eat pumpkin seeds and sea salt and make my own vinaigrette makes a difference in sticking to the plan.

The plan--like a lot of plans--has multiple phases.

Phase 1:  Fast Release

You're dropped to a sick 1200 cals per day.  I thought I was going to die at times.  You get 2 smoothies a day made with things like coconut milk, almond butter, and flax seed meal.  Then you get a small meal with a big salad in the evening.  My first day, I had a headache I was so hungry.  But phase 1 only lasts 4 days, so it is doable.

Phase 2: Fade Away

You get food again!!!  YEA!!  This phase runs from day 5-14.  You still drink one smoothie a day for a meal--alternating between breakfast and lunch, two meals, and two snacks.

Let me preface this by saying that my mom's lost 30 lbs in three months on this diet, so I was expecting a lot.  I began with daily weigh-in's, but by the end of day 4, I was so bummed, I decided it's better for me to weigh weekly.

Day 8 I finally weighed in, I was down 6.1 lbs.  In a week.  Pretty cool.

Now, I'm a treat girl.  Sure, I overeat meals--especially dinner, but my biggest problem is treats.  I LOVE them!  So by the end of week one I was dying for a treat.  Dying.  So I went out to my freezer and got a peanut butter mini (3 Weight Watcher points) and enjoyed every last lick. My aforementioned weigh-in was the next day.

Part of this program is to get you off sugar and onto better things.  Using honey to sweeten things.  Seeking bitter veggies for their nutrients. And you do get a handful of red grapes every night after dinner.

I'm starting to fantasize about carbs: rice, pasta, even just a slice of bread.  Having read a big chunk of Intuitive Eating, I'm pretty sure that fantasizing about food is not a healthy place to be, mentally.  Carb (brown rice, couscous, whole grain pasta, etc) comes in phase 3 which is four days away.  But, tonight at least, it feels like a looooooong four days.