Tuesday
B veggie frittata, coffee & coconut lightener
L salad, HB egg, cheddar, sunflower seeds, evoo, 0-cal dressing
S chicken salad sandwich
D chicken chile, broccoli
S figs, cheese

No calorie counting. Still consuming too many calories, but glad I had no sweets, in spite of feeling tempted.

Wednesday
B bacon/cheddar eg muffin, coffee/lightener
L BBQ soynuts, veggie pizza slice, Fuji apple
D chicken chili
S fig

Feeling energetic and relaxed about my choice to suspend dieting. Whew! It is easier right now to make better choices in the absence of most restrictions. Any weight loss will be slow and incremental. Pretty sure there will not be any gaining as long as I avoid processed easy-to-grab foods, esp. sweets. Some foods are triggers to want more--those are the food to avoid.

Thursday
B Frittata w vegs & cheddar, coffee/lightener
L salad, HB egg & cheese, avocado, sunflower seeds, no dressing
S pizza slice
D chicken stew, broccoli
S Bleu cheese, figs, apple, protein bar

Exhausting work day yesterday, craving sugary sweets all day long but stayed strong. Too much snacking, but this will pass soon as long as I stay away from sweets. The sweet craving is taking longer than usual, possibly due to dark mornings. I would like to have a day of eating my planned food and feeling satisfied.

Friday
B veggie frittata, coffee/lightener
L salad, HB egg, avo, cheddar ch., evoo, Italian 0-cal dsg
D chicken chile, broccoli
S pizza made with protein flour, cheddar, fresh tomato & basil; protein hot choc.
2 glasses white wine & some hors d'oeuvres

Still having thoughts of my particular bakery item that I crave, and again managed to talk myself down. I will have a one of my emotional trigger days on Sunday--that will test whether my current sugar-free WOE is working.

Saturday
B coffee/lightener, protein bread with melted cheddar, basil
L salad, Avo, HB egg, cheddar, evoo, 0-cal dressing
S Costco what was I thinking?
D never mind!

I am going to try Always Hungry WOE-- thanks to mention by a #FC poster. Wish I remembered the thread so I could thank you. It's similar to Magistra's plan, I think, except doesn't eliminate lectin foods. I might try that once I read Plant Paradox. For now, whole foods, full fat, avoiding high glycemic load/index foods. more or less. The hardest part will be getting the artificial sweeteners out of my diet & not fretting about all the money I spent on them!

This diet restricts artificial sweeteners--none allowed for 2 weeks. They have been a mainstay of my diet for several years. I have stockpile them recently in various forms. I also have been a low fat adherent. So this new plan will be a big change. I'm looking for a WOE that will stabilize my weight, as i tend to be either losing or gaining--tired o.f the roller coaster. In either mode, I am often hungry or obsessing about food.

Sunday, easing in to Always Hungry WOE

B coffee, remains of protein shake in coffee, omelet with avocado & parmesan cheese.
Plan for L: salad with HB egg, cheddar, evoo, 0-cal Italian dressing
Plan for D: crockpot chicken with walnut pesto, cabbage steak, full fat yogurt & canteloupe
Plan for S: apple, cheddar slice

Aww . . . Allow yourself some grieving time. It's not easy making life changes, especially when we are eliminating foods we've taken comfort in for such a long time. Once I made up my mind to start eating differently, I couldn't wait to throw out foods I was no longer going to be eating. But I have a family and they weren't ready to do that so I had to hang on to some things. It's taken me three months to get rid of some foods, and I did throw out brand new packages of things. I did my best not to feel guilty about that. After all this is for my health. This is good self care.

You are doing a great job. You are taking good care of yourself.

Magistra Thank-you! I'm coming to that mindset. It's much simpler for me as I am only responsible for feeding myself.

Ironically I had just ordered a bunch of Nashua Nutrition hot chocolate. I had been longing for it all summer and held off. On my plan, I can theoretically have it at some point. For now, I'll just stow everything in a closet, out of sight out of mind. I am trying out my plan for 2 weeks to see if it suits me. It will be easier to discard things once I am sure this will work. For the last month, I have felt like I wanted to stop eating processed food, but had planned to tough it out until Sept. Note to self: Listen to the body!

Meanwhile, I am preparing to start my plan on either Sat or Monday. According to the Always Hungry? book, there is some preparation ahead of time--getting a plan for stress reduction, movement, menus, shopping, cooking. It's labor intensive and a little overwhelming right now. Once I am used to it & establish some routines, it will be much easier.

For now, I am eating fairly close to the plan, just not the rec'd balance of macros. No calorie counting, No sweeteners of any kind, No fast-absorbing carbs--flour, sugars, starchy things, no grains, no tropical fruit. And adding in a lot of fat and some fruit. The first 2 weeks are higher fat than the ongoing WOE.

Yesterday was a little random & I feel overstuffed with fat. Today I will eat less. It was fun trying out all the new things I cooked. It was an adventure to have long-forbidden things like whole milk.

Magistra I love reading your updates. I'm vicariously enjoying your enjoyment And wishing you continued success in your busy time of year.

B coffee/milk, frittata leftover, power shake, fresh berries
L Salad/chick/gorgonzola/avo/kidney beans/vegs, homemade mustard vinaigrette
S raspberries, handful of nuts,
D chicken, homemade mayonnaise!

Still cooking and tasting. I haven't had any sweetener today and almost none yesterday, just the last of my Stevia-sweetened tea. I can't tell if my headache is from sweetener withdrawal or from the cold I caught this weekend. I feel very tired.

Still working out this diet. I listened again to the book & it said it's ok to customize. I get the underlying principles, so this flexibility will be a win for me. The high fat for the initial 2 weeks will be challenge--I'm feeling heavy & sluggish, mentally fogged. I've eaten way more dairy than normal, and it's full fat.
It's funny but I used to love coffee with 2% milk, no sweetener. Once I did a restrictive low carb diet in 2013, I became used to the sweetened protein shakes as coffee lightener. I know eventually I will revert to liking non sweetened but right now it seems odd. I'm thrilled about getting my taste buds used to non-sweetened WOE!

B Coffee/milk, shake made of whole milk, whey protein, avocado, coffee.

Weird combo--a creamy, coffee taste, the avo isn't noticeable. I used an
immersion blender that is a lot quieter than the big one & so easier on the
downstairs neighbors.

S HB egg, pear

L Tofu wraps filled with vegs,evoo,cashews; Blueberries.

Before lunch I spent the morning on a project that totally absorbed me. I
did not think about food even once.

S Handful of mixed nuts, black coffee

D Chicken with pesto, avocado slices, sauteed spinach

S Chocolate square

I still have a headache, not sure if it's the sinus cold or the diet. Also have been lax about water intake. I relied on that tiny bit of Stevia along with the bag of herbal tea to get in my 2 L. Unsweetened ginger tea or plain water require more discipline.

Thursday
Starting to get a grip on this WOE.
B Shake with whey powder, almond milk, avocado, coffee, TJs spicy Italian chicken sausage, blueberries
L Chicken/avo slices
D Coconut curry chicken over cauli rice
S Turkey bacon, cheese slice, strawberries

Feeling better today, maybe from cutting back milk. Did more food prep. My refrig is stocked with yummy made-from scratch sauces. I tasted a lot--glad I am not counting calories.

Friday will be:
B Coffee, shake with whey powder, culinary coconut milk, strawberries
L Chicken salad with cashews & grapes
D Coconut chicken curry, sauteed spinach
S Too many snacks today. apple, nuts, cauli soup, frozen strawberry shake.

Since doing this WOE I feel very relaxed, almost too relaxed. I feel like I am gaining weight. It's okay for now, a typical-for-me reaction to coming off more restrictive dieting. I'm not feeling badly, but also not feeling the energy boost I was hoping for. Going forward, I will need to rein in the snacking on the novel, delicious foods in my refrig, and tweak to a leaner version of this plan.

B omelet with homemade picante sauce and cheddar, black coffee
S humus, celery sticks
L ground turkey, marinara, parm. cheese
S frozen grapes
D salad, grilled chicken, mustard vinaigrette, grapes
S yogurt & peaches

Monday
B Omelet, picante sauce, cheddar. Coffee with milk, apple
L veggie quiche, tomato, cucumber, olives, grapes, in a friend's lovely backyard on the mountain. I did eat the crust, contrary to my WOE, and wonder if that is why I now have an upset stomach.
D stew of chicken thighs, olives, tomato, garbanzos
S apple, grapes, blts of things I prepared for the week. At least the nuts are out of the house. Now that I am off the sugar-craving roller coaster, I find there are non-sugar things that I tend to over eat: nuts.

Hi Sundove! Avocado in my coffee? Wow! I'm going to think about trying that.