The end of week One.

It's Friday. I have now been on my regime for a week. As I wrote in my post on Accountability, I am posting a picture of my scales to show how I have done for the week. Regardless of how badly it went, the picture will get posted. It's one way of keeping myself motivated to do well, exercise every day and not cheat, because I know that come Friday, I have to come clean and post my results.

This past week has been the part of the regime called 'The Attack Phase'. It is a pure protein phase, meaning, only proteins can be consumed. There is a list of 72 of these pure proteins which include: lean beef and veal, reduced fat ham and bacon, offal such as liver or kidney, lean poultry, any kind of fish, all shellfish, eggs, non-fat dairy products and tofu.
You also must consume 1 1/2 Tablespoons of oat bran per day, drink a minimum of 1.5 litres of water and exercise by walking a minimum of 20 minutes each day. Salt use must be kept to an absolute minimum. I use exclusively in my cooking the naturally moist and grey Sel de Mer de Guérande, anyway, which has a stronger taste so I use much less. Just a few grains is plenty to season a dish.

I think what has been hardest has been trying to get the water requirement satisfied. I have found that I can't stand coffee without single cream, non-fat milk doesn't cut it, so, I have given that up for plain tea with no milk or sweeteners. That's helping, as I can easily drink 10 cups of tea per day. And the tea counts towards the 1.5 litre requirement.

You are allowed to use onion and garlic, tomato paste, herbs, spices, pepper, pickles, lemon, mustard and soy sauce as seasoning, so the meals haven't been boring. The oat bran is used to make a kind of galette which I eat with ham and eggs in the morning.

I'm pleased to say it's going really well for me. Therefore, without further ado, my weekly results:

I have lost 3.25 kg / 0.5 stones / 7 pounds

I'm very happy with this as it's slow enough to be healthy and significant enough so that I don't lose heart. I'll stay on this 'Attack Phase' through Monday, then switch over to the next phase of the Dukan diet, 'Cruise Phase' where you alternate days of protein and vegetables with days of pure protein. I can tell you, I'm ready to have my veggies back! There are 28 vegetables that are allowed; potatoes, sweetcorn and other starchy vegetables don't make the list. So, all total there are 100 foods one can consume without restriction, as long as you keep to the rules: no cheating with anything not on the list, 1.5 litres of water/fluids per day, minimum 20 minute walk every day and the 1 1/2 Tablespoon of oat bran per day. I expect that my weight loss will slow when I begin eating the vegetables every other day because they are not as much a diuretic as pure protein alone. And my metabolism is like a hydrophilic sponge, if there's water around, I'll retain it!

So, I'll give myself a pat on the back for the week's results and smile!
Go Team Kitty!