Friday, March 16, 2012

Second week of maintenance


The second week of maintenance went well. Here's the run down

Feb 3, 2012- Started Transition

Feb 19th, 2012- decided to hold off on adding dairy and added 4-6 oz of extra protein, dropping my Medifast Meals to 3 packages a day.

March 3, 2012- Knew I wasn't going to add back in wheat or grain and decided it was day 1 of Maintenance. Decided to try a 90 day opt out as described in "Refuse to Regain" by Barbara Berkeley, MD. Follow the 12 tough rules as best as possible and eat Primal with a lot of Paleo Recipes.

Weight has been +/- about 2 pounds on either side of one certain weight ( about a pound and half down from Feb 3, 2012.

Week 1 of Maintenance = total struggle and experimenting time with food and snacks, 1 Medifast Meal a day

Week 2 of Maintenance = easier and have my "go to" snacks down pretty well. Still trying new combos. Medifast Meals every other day or so, sometimes every day.

I've been trying lots of new recipes and I'll post links to my favorite blogs and recipes. I'm feeling great and rarely have cravings. Occasional times where I'll over eat nuts or the snacks or meals are larger than I'd really want to have, but easy to dial it down and trouble shoot.

I credit the lack of grains and the structure of having the 90 day opt out of non-Primal foods and the willingness to cook, pack and experiment with my meals to see what works.  Totally keeps me on track.

Egg wrap with flap steak,tomatoes, peppers, and smoke seasoning


Since I'm eating more Primal/Paleo friendly meals I needed a some variety to my breakfasts. I was also looking for a way to use South African Smoke seasoning blend from Trader Joes. So I created an egg wrap with some yummy breakfast contents I had on hand.

2 oz- Flap (Flank) steak
1 tsp olive oil
South African Smoke seasoning blend (Trader Joe's)
1/2 yellow, red, or orange bell pepper
 1 egg 2 egg whites- beaten

3/4 cup of sliced Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes (Trader Joe's)
Cilantro,
Squeeze of lime or hot sauce (if desired)

Heat the olive oil in a pan, sear the flank steak in the oil and season with the Smoke seasoning. Cook until desired done-ness.  Set aside.  Saute the bell pepper, set aside.

In the same pan, pour the egg into a thin layer. As the egg cooks (mine looked like a yellow pancake), loosen the edges, when you feel brave, flip it over to the other side, until done.

Place it on a plate, add the steak, sliced tomatoes, cilantro, hot sauce or lime, and more seasoning, if needed.  Grab a hot cup of coffee and enjoy.  This breakfast is tasty and filling.