2 more lbs till my mini goal of 148! I'm excited but nervous at the same time, because I'm going away on Sunday. We're going to stay at All-inclusive hotel. I don't worry about food, portion control always helps. Drinks are my problem. Gosh, I sound like alcoholic! I enjoy pina coladas when I'm on vacation, and these are calorie bombs, tons of sugar and carbs! I also like beer, also not very diet friendly.
So my plan is not to gain weight. I'll update when I come back.

picture time (and I can't believe I'm doing this)

To keep myself motivated I think it's time to show the world what difference 15 lbs make. At my heaviest in May of 2011-around 168 lbs.
And now (taken this Saturday). Not exactly "after" picture, let's call it "in between" :) Approximately 153 lbs

quick update

I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I just took a break.
I signed up for Weight Watchers at work and 2 or 3 weeks later dropped out. I think it's a great program but I just couldn't concentrate and get my mind on track. Since then I gained a little weight, went back to 159 then went back to Dukan.
And I'm happy to report that I weigh 153 lbs! It took me awfully long to get to this weight, but nevertheless I'm happy.
My new goal is 148.
I will update periodically.

no dieting today

I'm not dieting today (actually I'm going to have a cookie!) because I just donated blood for blood drive at work for cancer patients. I was afraid of fainting so I had lots of sugar and carbs for breakfast. One day won't hurt right?Plus I did a good deed today.
Thank you ladies for all of your support! I really appreciate it, your kind words keep me going!

still here

and still 156
this is actually amazing how I can't get my scales to move towards 155

Day 3

Today's weight : 156.5.
it seems that 156 is a magic number, I've been trying to get past it for a month now!

Breakfast: chicken patty and 2 slices of salami, tea
Snack: WW string cheese
Lunch: about 1/3 of whole rotisserie chicken
Snack # 2: sugar free jello
I'm snacking a lot today:(
Dinner:

day 2 of attack

Breakfast: 2 egg omelette with lox + tea
Iced coffee with skim milk at work
Lunch: chicken shish kebab
Dinner: chicken liver pate + cappuccino with 2% milk

Attack...again

I can be proud of myself: today I had perfect protein day, and no cheating!
Breakfast: 3 thin slices of veal roulet (courtesy of deli), coffee with 2% milk
Lunch: jerk chicken breast
Dinner: 1 piece of lox and coffee
Lots of water, but I'm always good with my water intake.
20 min of walking

No weigh-in

No weigh-in this Friday because I'm embarrassed. Here I said it.
My friend just told me that she is reading my blog and I felt embarrassed that I haven't posted all week. This week went downhill since Tuesday when my boss invited me for sushi and I couldn't say no. Then on Wednesday I was PMSing and eating whatever was in my sight. So as you can see I have plenty of excuses:)
I'm bloated and miserable, I don't want to upset myself and damage my fragile psyche by looking at scary numbers at my scales. So please forgive me:)
I will behave next week, pinky swear!

Friday weigh-in

Still 156. I'm not upset or disappointed, I'm feeling good. I'm just 1lb away from my mini goal of 155. And my pants are not that tight anymore. I've been pretty good for the past few days, so I have no doubts that very soon I will reach my goal.
Have a good weekend everyone!

For you, carnivores

I made this roast beef yesterday and absolutely loved it. I actually had 3 slices for breakfast today. And the recipe can not get simpler than this:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1827,156164-227198,00.html
Of course I didn't use flour and it came out great!

Question

I'm experimenting again (why I just can't stick to the diet as others do?). So here is my question:
If I eat only proteins Monday-Friday, then Saturday is a cheat day so I can go crazy with my cheese and wine. And Sunday is proteins + vegetables. Will it work, will I lose weight by eating like this?Is it too unbalanced?
It seems much easier to stick to the diet on weekdays, because work days have more structure and order, I eat basically the same foods at the same time, so I thought maybe this would work. Any thoughts?

as promised

for some reason I can't post picture of my weekly stats
Anyway, for 2 weeks I didn't lose any weight, I've been gaining and losing the same 2 pounds, back and forth. Finally this week I got myself together and lost 2 pounds! This is what protein foods and tiny dinners do for you:)

Today's weight: 156

still here

I'm still here and continue dieting, this week had its ups and downs, as usual.
I will post my results tomorrow, I promise.
P.S. Hopefully there will be results:)

I did it

so yesterday I didn't post because I was feeling down, and the reason was that I gained another 0,5 lbs. I weighed 159,5 and was upset with myself, I really don't want to go back to 160s. It's funny how vulnerable we get when dieting, every small weight fluctuation can get us either ecstatic or depressed. Or it's only me?
Anyway, I didn't eat a lot yesterday and moved a lot, and it paid off!I'm 158 today and continue my PP.

It's a war!

I gained 1 pound!
I knew I can't eat candies and lose weight. So it's time for heavy weapons: pure protein! Yes, I'm back on mini-attack phase, just to give myself a push and get things moving in the right direction. I don't know how long will it last, hopefully I will have enough of willpower to do 3 days of PP.
Breakfast: coffee with 1% milk, 3 slices of turkey
Snack: diet red bull
Lunch

pretty big piece of jerk chicken breast

Dinner:

Plateau and binging

still 158 and not doing good food wise:( I had 4 chocolate candies today and I can't stop, I'm binging:(
I know I'm heading in the wrong direction. I was doing so good for the past month so if I don't want to waste all of my hard work I need to get myself together and regain control ASAP! I know I can do it.
Update: had another candy

no news

I didn't post for 2 days because I have no news, everything is still the same. My weight fluctuates between 158 and 157,5. I'm counting points, drinking lots of water, trying to move as much as possible.
I'm staying within my points, but I'm being slick, maybe too slick and that's why I'm not losing any weight. For example, yesterday for breakfast I had a blueberry scone and coffee with 1% milk, that's 13 points. For lunch I had sauteed spinach with cream cheese-3 points. Dinner: broiled sea bass and salad = another 5 points.
And then I had watermelon and ice cream (Haagen Dazs!)-7 points. So I stayed well within my limits (29 points per day), but ate stuff that I shouldn't eat if I really want to lose weight. What do you think?
Also I ordered couple of pants in size 8 and now I don't know if I should have done it. They were on sale and I decided that maybe in a month or 2 I will be able to wear them. Not sure if it was a good decision. I can squeeze into size 10, but with a mild case of camel toe:)
Overall, I'm feeling a little tired and unmotivated. Thank God it's Friday!

I hate TTOM

158,5- I'm gaining weight and praying it's TTOM. I was aiming for 156 this Friday, now I'll be happy if I get my 157 back.
Yesterday night I got my scales that I ordered from Amazon, so this morning like a true food and diet obsessed maniac I weighed my breakfast: 2 oz of bacon, 1 oz of danish blue cheese, 10 grams of chocolate, plus coffee with 1% milk=11 points. I have 18 points left for the rest of the day.
Oh and yesterday I got one of my first compliments (kind of)! My co-worker said that she can see it in my face that I already lost some weight. I excitedly and proudly replied: yes, 10 pounds! And then she said: "or maybe that's because you are wearing makeup today your face looks thinner... " The look on my face was priceless LOL
Snack; fruit salad-0 points
Lunch: salad with feta and olives -5 points, 13 points left
Another snack: 1/3 of keebler club crackers -2 points
Dinner: fried shrimps, not sure how many points but I think I did good today and didn't go overboard.

Monday

My weight today is 158, even though yesterday it was 157. Maybe it's my upcoming TTOM, or just bagel, peach pie and wine that I had yesterday.
I didn't count points over the weekend. On Saturday I did very good and ate in moderation, walked for 2 hours and had lots of water. Sunday wasn't so good, didn't move much and ate diet unfriendly foods. So as always, Monday is the time when I concentrate, get myself together and continue my journey to being skinny.

One month anniversary

Today is exactly one month since I started dieting and I'm happy to report that since June 8 I lost 10 lbs! But..there is always a but, right? not even one person (I'm talking about my friends and family) commented on my weight, I was expecting to hear: oh, Masha did you lose some weight?
I know it's difficult to see changes when you see someone everyday, but some people didn't see me in a month or two. No one noticed:( Also I'm still the same size, yes clothes fit me better, but I'm still wearing size 12 pants. Just had to complain.
I'm dreading this weekend, I'm not doing good with weekends, I tend to lose control. Hopefully lots of walking will compensate for my slip-ups.
Have a good weekend everyone!

Experiment

Back to 158,5 - phew, what a relief, I was thinking it will take me a week to get rid of the weight that I gained during 4th of July weekend, I guess it was just water.
Yesterday I slipped up again, had fish broth and some fish from the broth for dinner. And then I had big piece of my favorite chocolate: Lindt orange, plus 3 strawberries. I'm upset at myself for the lack of willpower. My plan was to do at least 3 days of attack and I couldn't do even 1 day! Clearly this is not working for me. Don't get me wrong, the diet itself does work, when you stick to it:) I think I'm just tired and need to switch things up. Today I'm starting my experiment with Weight Watchers. According to their website I can have 29 points per day. For breakfast I used 8 points (I finally had piece of cheese that I was dreaming about!).
Snack: WW string cheese-1 more point
Just came back from lunch. Since now I have more flexibility and freedom with my food, I was thinking to have something extravagant, less protein, something like fruit smoothie and some peaches, or nice big salad, or even pizza! but I went to the store and got salmon tartar, which is totally dukan friendly, and pure protein.

I'm back

long weekend left a souvenir for me: 3 pounds. I kind of expected it, so I'm not feeling down. I had a good time and now it's time to face consequences. I'm back on mini-attack phase. I feel energetic and optimistic.

Breakfast: cold cuts, coffee with 1% milk.
Snack: 1 piece of WW string cheese
Lunch: jerk chicken breast, with skin
Water: 2 L

Happy Friday to everyone!

Here are my stats:

sorry it's tiny, as you can see I'm not a techie
Long weekend is coming up and again it's a challenge, today I'm meeting my girlfriends at a bar for girls night out. On Sunday it's my brother's birthday so we will bbq, then next day it's 4th of July. Hopefully I will be strong and eat in moderation.

day 23

158,5

I lost 1 lb, not sure how it happened because yesterday night I again failed to stick to the diet, and had 2 figs and 2 slices of watermelon.
Breakfast: cold cuts, usual coffee
Snack: 1 fig (I know but all of sudden I became a fig lover)
Lunch: some shrimps, grilled chicken and 1/2 of egg. Oh and see these small crumbs?it's bacon:) My portions are much smaller now, and I love that I can feel full without stuffing myself with a pound of food. And it costs me less too! I paid $2 for my lunch today, instead of usual 6-7!

Not sure what I will have for dinner.
Didn't walk today, instead I went to do my nails 2 block from where I work.
Water: 2L
I've been thinking, does my diet look like Atkins?Because it's definitely not Dukan anymore.

day 22

159,5

I had 2 chocolate candies yesterday :( And 100ml of white wine with seltzer.  Not good.
Also for dinner I had seafood stew that I made (it's called cioppino, absolutely delicious) it was Dukan friendly, but my PP day turned into PV, because it had tomatoes, fennel and onions. Here is the pciture

I'm a little frustrated, it's getting difficult to stick to the diet. I'm a mess with my PP and PV days, and my cravings for alcohol and sweets get in the way.
For this reason, I'm considering to switch to weight watchers, it seems like it will give more flexibility and freedom when it comes to food selection.
I don't want to give up, and actually that's not what I'm doing, just trying to find a way of losing weight that will not make me miserable. I don't know if I will switch to WW. Today I will try to stick to proteins only, and then we'll see how it goes.
Breakfast: cured sausage and cold cuts, coffee with 1% milk
Lunch: 150 g of pot roast (it was store bought)
Water: 2L
Exercise: 30 minutes of walking

3 weeks on dukan

still 160
breakfast: 2 fried eggs. I tried small piece of turkey bacon...I doubt I will be eating it again, regular bacon is so much better taste wise. Why all the low-calorie stuff tastes disgusting?

day 20-PP

So I have to confess I've been bad on Friday, like 4 beers-steak-and-fries bad.
Weekends and Fridays are really tough for me, I can't resist temptations. I miss fruits, even though I 've never been into fruits. I didn't pig out on Saturday and Sunday, all my meals were low-calorie, but not Dukan friendly (had some cheese and watermelon).
To compensate for my bad food behavior I walked a lot, and today my weight is 160.
Yes, my weight loss is not fast (hmm, I wonder if my cheating plays any role in this...just kidding) but it's still a loss, I weigh 7,5 lbs lighter than 3 weeks ago,and I'm excited.

this morning I had steak for breakfast,  I know it's weird.I'm doing PP day. It seems that I'm on 4PP/3 eat-low cal-schedule. We'll see if it works.
Snack: Greek yogurt, 0% + 2 sugar free jellos
Didn't have lunch, for dinner I had 1/2 of ribeye steak +100 ml of white wine
Exercise: 45 minutes of walking
Water: 2L

Day 17-PV

161
Very disappointed:(
I knew I shouldn't have had the whole fish yesterday for dinner, but  I couldn't resist.

Breakfast: 2 slices of mortadella with 2 tbs of fat free cheese, this time I bought Philadelphia brand and it tasted a little better. Coffee with 1% milk.

For lunch I got this

Grilled squid, broccoli and spinach. I was never so excited about piece of broccoli in my life.

The only problem it had some olive oil.
Update: I didn't eat spinach(will take it home), just squid and broccoli.
Dinner will be interesting since I'm meeting with a friend at a bar.
Water: 2L
Exercise: 30 minutes

Day 16 -PP

I couldn't believe my eyes this morning, so I stepped on the scale twice just to make sure: 160,5!
I'm very excited that tomorrow I have a chance to reach my first mini-goal of 160.  I need to be really good today. By the way, yesterday instead of dinner I had 1% milk with 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa. I wish I had such willpower to skip dinner everyday.
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs with 2 slices of mortadella, usual cofffee
350 ml of redbull (sugarfree,15 calories)
Lunch: miso soup + 3 small skewers of chicken in Japanese restaurant, green tea
Snack: string cheese (weight watchers)
Dinner: whole  fish  (branzino) broiled with parsley and lemon
Water: 2L
Exercise: none:( it was raining all day

day 15 -PP

162
I'm getting tired of this number. I did very good yesterday, but forgot to eat myoatbran. By the way, I didn't have lunch yestrday, just dinner + 100 ml of white wine with lots of seltzer.
I'm aiming for 160 by Friday, I'm meeting with my old co-worker on Friday and hoping that she will notice my weight loss.
Breakfast:3 slices of veal tongue (you should try it if you never had it and feeling adventurous) and 4 thin slices of mortadella, my usual coffee.
Snack: large iced coffee with skim milk
Lunch: quarter of lemon chicken



Exercise: 30 minutes of walking
Water: 1,5 L

14 days on dukan

yes, today is officially 2 weeks of my dieting
today's weight is 162.5, I gained 0.5 lbs, lost so far - 5 pounds
If I didn't cheated over the weekend I would have better results, but I sabotaged myself and have no one to blame except for myself.  What I need to do is focus.
Breakfast: about 5 pieces of dry sausage, coffee with 1% milk
Snack1: sugarfree redbull, it has 10 calories, I hope that's OK
Snack2: Greek yogurt 0% fat
Not sure what I will have for lunch, I didn't bring anything to work, will order take out, maybe sashimi?
Dinner: tilapia in Moroccan chermoulah marinade (should be delicious, I marinated it yesterday and left it in a fridge)
Water: 2 L, I'm good with my water intake
Excercise: 30 minutes of walking

have no idea what day this is, all I know it's Monday

for the past 3 days (Friday-Sunday) I had lots of unallowed stuff: alcohol, sweets, carbs, you name it -I had it. I tried to be moderate, so it wasn't like careless binging.
The only good thing is that on Saturday I walked for almost 2 hours.  Also I had lots of water and my oat bran every day. So today I weigh ...(drum roll, please)
162! I didn't gain! I'm very relieved, hopefully my sins will not catch up with me tomorrow when I weigh myself again.
I will do 3 days of protein, since the past 3 days were ...don't know how to put it...indulging?
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, coffee with 1% milk
Snack: lowfat  string cheese
Lunch: pork shish kabob
Dinner:
Water: 2L
Exerciese: 30 min of walking (I may do some yoga-pilates later)

Day 10 -should be PP but we'll see

162 lbs


I didn't lose any weight, but I'm happy because sometimes not gaining weight is a win by itself
and what did I do celebrate this?I ate 1 one chocolate candy, bad bad me.
Tonight is a challenge, I'll report tomorow how I did
.
If you had to choose lesser of 2 evils, what would you choose:  vodka or wine?

Day 9 - my first PV

162!total weight loss 5,5 lbs

Today will be my 1st day of PV, even though originally I planned it to be PP.  I made stuffed peppers yesterday evening so I plan to have 1/2 of pepper today for lunch. It's stuffed with ground pork and beef, sauteed onions and carrots and...rice:(  Hopefully a little bit of rice will not harm me.
I'm dreading next few days, I need to be REALLY careful.  Tomorrow we are going our for a birthday party, I know I will drink, I'll try hard to stick to proteins tomorrow.  Then on Sunday our friends are coming over for dinner, again drinking and food will be involved.  I know I will cheat, actually I plan to cheat, but as long as I'm not losing control over what I'm eating, I think I'll be Okay.  I really don't want to ruin results that I have achieved for the past 8 days.
Water: 1,5 L
Exercise: I had brilliant idea of walking up the stairs at work, and my office is on 11th floor, people! I'll spare you details of my sweating, cursing , and heavy breathing, I made it:)
Plan for tonight is to find zumba video in youtube and dance like crazy hippo for 15 minutes.

Day 8 -continuing attack

I decided to continue attack phase since I didn't lose 6 lbs as was suggested (5.7 lbs to be exact). I'm still 163.
I'm feeling a little down, but trying really hard to think positively.

Yesterday for dinner I had 1/4 of roasted chicken and2 slices of turkey with fat free cream cheese. By the way fat free cream cheese is disgusting, people.  I bought it to eat with my smoked salmon for breakfast, but I don't think I will eat it again, unless I'm really desperate, or starving.
To compensate for my big dinner I mopped the floors (my husband was ecstatic, because cleaning is not my forte) and also I did 15 minutes of slimdown pilates-yoga mix.  I know 15 minutes is not a lot, but it was my first real exercise in in a long-long-long time.
Breakfast: 2 eggs with 1 small piece of smoked salmon, 1 teaspoon of honey -I was craving something sweet again, I know I need to stop if I want to lose this weight. Coffee with 1% milk.
Morning snack: tea with skim milk and sweetener,low fat sting cheese
Lunch: 3 small chicken skewers from Japanese restaurant (chicken was delicious). For later I saved miso soup with ground chicken.
Water: 2 liters
Walked for 30 minutes during lunch

Day 7

This morning I was 163,  it means 4,5lbs  lost.
I guess it's not bad, but still I need to reach Dukan's webiste goal of 5,7 lbs. So I have one day-today, to lose one more lb before weigh in tomorrow that will conclude my attack phase.
Breakfast: 2 egg omelette, coffee with 1% milk
Lunch: chicken and beef kabob
Snack: lowfat string cheese
Water: 2 litres
Exercise: none:( I think I will have to clean the house to get my share of exercise today

Attack phase -day 6

So it's my day 6 of dukan's attack phase. For some reason, I was thinking today is day 5, but from looking at my notes I realized that I'm wrong, don't know how it happened, can't say that it was so easy that I didn't notice how days passed by. Anyway, here is my weight stats:
on June 8 I started with 167.5 lbs (almost 76 kg-ouch!)
next day I had significant drop -3,5 lbs.  You can imagine how excited I was.
 Then it became rocky: June 10-165 lbs, June 11-166, June 12 -164,  and today I'm 163.5!
So far, I lost 4lbs or 1.8kg. To be honest, I was expecting better results, since my starting weight is so high.  But at this point I'll take whatever I can get. According to Dukan website after 7 days on attack phase I should lose 5.7 lbs. My mini-goal was 160 by this Friday, June 17. I don't see this happening, I should make more realistic goals, and be more patient.


For breakfast I had grilled chicken and coffee with 1% milk.
Snack: lowfat Weight Watchers string cheese (I'm not supposed to have it, so next time whenI complain that I didn't lose weight, please remind about this cheese)
Lunch: my lunch was small today since I will probably eat more at dinner (going to my mom's house today): tuna tataki and 2 pieces of salmon sashimi, 2 packets of soy sauce.
Snack: fat free yogurt
Dinner: lamb, liver pate, cold cuts, 2 spoons of dessert made of fresh strawberries (no sugar) and then to satisfy my sweeth tooth I mixed 2 table spoons of oat bran with 1/2 spoon of honey.  And it felt like heaven's food! 
Even though I ate stuff that I wasn't supposed to, I feel good and don't feel like I fell of the wagon.  I didn't go overboard and had small portions.
Water: 2 litres
Walking: 30 minutes of walking during lunch