Almost 3 month maintenance check-in 4/30/2012

Almost month 3, but not quite.

Weight: Exactly at maintenance- 72.4 pounds down

Holding steady. Feeling great.

I had excellent success cooking and eating on a short vacation. Things that helped me stay on track were:

1. Bringing my own food
2. Finding a Farmer's Market and buying farm fresh eggs, heirloom tomatoes
3. Staying in an affordable hotel, with kitchenette, to make my own breakfasts and snacks
4. Taking time off for myself.
5. Hiking and walking for exercise (that was my time off)

It's all good. And much easier to hike in the heat with 72+ pounds off. Still eating mainly Primal/Paleo with a few Medifast Meals thrown in for my 10% of my diet that isn't Primal/Paleo.

My 90 days of Opting out, as described in Barbara Berkeley's "Refuse to Regain" book will be over May 25. I have to say, things are going so well, I don't see any reason not to continue. The Primal template seems sustainable. Excellent!!

Crust-Less Breakfast Quiche- Customizable!

Crust less Breakfast Quiche- Customizable!

Base:
1/2 cup full fat or light coconut milk (choose a brand with only coconut milk)
6 eggs

Customizable
4 asparagus spears, slightly sauteed, with stalks trimmed, then cut into small pieces
1/2 cup white onion, sauteed
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 slices of bacon or some sausage
sea salt , garlic sea salt and/or pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add the coconut milk and eggs to a medium bowl and mix well.

Now comes the fun part- add in what you have on hand or your favorite egg friendly add-ins, chopped up in pieces. I used asparagus, red onion, garlic, and bacon. Add sea salt or garlic sea salt to taste. Pepper if you like it.

Mix all ingredients in the bowl. Spray or grease the pie pan ( I used coconut oil spray from Trader Joes) and pour in the egg/vegetable mixture. Bake for 35-40 mins or longer, until the center is set.

Refrigerate left overs. Re-heat over 2-3 days max. Freezing didn't really work on this one

Weight Maintenance 2.5 months

This is week 10 for my weight maintenance, post Take Shape for Life and eating a Primal/ Paleo style diet.

Weight:
Holding steady at 73.4 pounds lost and maintained
Variation is +/- about 3 pounds or so during a week
I did have 5 days at my highest weight maintenance zone this last week, but have dropped down.

Plan:
90 day Opt out from the book Refuse to Regain by Barbara Berkley, MD.

Basically, I eat 90% Primal/Paleo diet template, sticking on the leaner side of things, except I use healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, macadamia nuts, and occasionally almonds. Lots of protein, veggies, 2 fruits a day, and limited healthy fats and oils.

 My customization of the template of Primal/Paleo:
I also added in some whey protein for an occasional smoothie.  For sweeter items- dried fruit- dates, golden raisins, some 85-90% chocolate- a very small amount, and finally a Medifast Meal here and there.

Upsides of life: I feel great and like I can maintain long term, added in light weight training over the last few weeks, trying new recipes like a Crustless Breakfast Quiche (recipe to follow)


Downsides of life: some work and life stress, but nothing that I can't face. Lots of time cooking and meal prep, and washing that mountain of dishes that results. ;) And, nothing that I haven't chosen to deal with by overeating. Total choice, just a lot easier by having had opted out by not introducing non-primarian foods. I'll finish my 90 day opt out period May 25, 2012 and go from there.

Life is good. Totally committed to my new normal and way of life. Just happy I'm finding the new way sustainable.