Friday 2 April 2010

The Cabbage Soup Diet

Sometimes referred to as the "Mayo Clinic Diet", and the "Sacred Heart Hospital Diet" however apparently the diet has no connection with either, how or never it does offer you the opportunity to loose 10lbs in a week, ON BOARD!
The basic gist is to follow their 7 day meal plan, naturally it includes cabbage soup. Some benefits include healthy weight loss, stress relief, break sugar habits, inner balance, outhful skin, lifestyle change and boosts immunity.

RECIPE
1 head cabbage, shredded or chopped
2 large onions, chopped
16-28 ounces canned tomatoes, chopped
2 green peppers
4 stalks celery
1-2 packages Lipton onion soup mix, or any dry onion soup mix (optional)
black pepper
any fresh herb(s) of your choice, chopped
6 carrots, sliced
1/2 pound green beans, sliced on diagonal
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (optional)
Put all vegetables in a big pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, stir in the soup mix (if desired), and boil gently for 10 minutes. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all the vegetables are soft. Stir in the black pepper and chopped herbs (saving some for garnish).
Eat as much of the soup as you like, as often as you like. Drink as much water as you like and non-caloric drinks including coffee, tea, and herbal teas.

Week food plan - follow religiously...
Day One:
Fruit: Eat all of the fruit you want (except bananas). Eat only your soup and the fruit for the first day. For drinks- unsweetened teas, cranberry juice and water.

Day Two:
Vegetables: Eat until you are stuffed will all fresh, raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. Try to eat leafy green vegetables and stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. Eat all the vegetables you want along with your soup. At dinner, reward yourself with a big baked potato with butter. Do not eat fruit today.

Day Three:
Mix Days One and Two: Eat all the soup, fruits and vegetables you want. No Baked Potato.

Day Four:
Bananas and Skim Milk: Eat as many as eight bananas and drink as many glasses of skim milk as you would like on this day, along with your soup. This day is supposed to lessen your desire for sweets.

Day Five:
Beef And Tomatos: Ten to twenty ounces of beef and up to six fresh tomtoes. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water this day to wash the uric acid from your body. Eat your soup at least once this day. You may eat broiled or baked chicken instead of beef (but absolutely no skin-on chicken). If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef one one of the beef days (but not both).

Day Six:
Beef and Vegetables: Eat to your heart's content of beef and vegetables this day. You can even have 2 or 3 steaks if you like, with leafy green vegetables. No Baked Potato. Eat your soup at least once.

Day Seven:
Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and vegetables: Again stuff, stuff, stuff yourself. Be sure to eat your soup at least once this day.

Sunday 21 March 2010

The Magical Leek Soup!!!!

This weekend plan is from Mireille's Musings French Women don't get fat.
The book is a reminder of enjoying the food we eat and it certainly got my thinking not only about what I was eating but how I was eating it. A sandwich on the run, dinner in front of the T.V, my lifestyle had prevented me from enjoying the food and savoring the taste which often led to me going back for more as I simple wasn't listening to my body. Now a days I make an effort to sit down and taste the food I am eating, if I don't have time for that then I question if I am really hungry. It has also made me stop and look around me, I am now not only enjoying my food but also when I take a seat in the park or a bench in the city I take full notice of what is going on around me.
I have yet to try out this weekend plan but I will maybe in a few weeks depending on how my master cleanse goes.

Good luck for who ever tries it!

Recipe for Magical Leek Soup
Serves one for the weekend

2 lbs. leeks
Water to cover in a large pot

1. Clean leeks and rinse well to get rid of sand and soil. Cut end of green parts leaving all the white parts plus a suggestion of green. (Reserve the extra greens for soup stock.)
2. Put leeks in large pot and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer with no lid for 20-30 minutes. Pour off the liquid and reserve. Place the leeks in a bowl.

Instructions:
The juice is to be drunk (reheated or room temperature to taste) every 2-3 hours, a cup at a time.
For meals or whenever hungry, have some of the leeks themselves, ½ cup at a time. Drizzle with a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season sparingly with salt and pepper. Add chopped parsley if you wish.
This will be your nourishment for both days, until Sunday dinner, when you can have a small piece of meat or fish (4 - 6oz.–don’t lose that scale yet!), with two vegetables, steamed with a bit of butter or oil, and a piece of fruit.

What you need for your detox weekend -

2 lbs. leeks
1 or 2 fresh lemons
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
Olive oil

4 – 6 oz of meat or fish
2 types of fresh vegetables of your choice
1 serving fresh fruit
1 small pat (1/2 – 1 Tablespoon) of butter

Thursday 18 March 2010

Master Cleanse

This cleanse is pretty simple, drink 6 glasses of this concoction and eat NO food. The cleanse is a way to remove all the bad chemicals our modern world eating ways is piling into our system. Weight loss is one benefit of the cleanse however the mental and physical benefits are also meant to be extremely satisfactory. The system can be done from anything from 10 - 40 days however as this is the first time I have done a 'fast' I shall be aiming to complete the 10 day cycle.

I have made a bulk of it to last me the day, here is my ingredients -
6 oz filtered water
1 1/2 lemon juice from fresh lemons
12 tbsp maple syrup
cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp
If you enjoy the spice of the pepper you can alter it as it has got quite a strong taste to it.

Day 1 -
So far so good, I am not hungry, I am going about my daily duties but nothing too stressful. Head is a little sore but I think that is due to me not having caffeine. Starting weight is 176kg, CHRISTMAS WEIGHT ARRGGGGGHHH!!! My system is already beginning to clear itself out throughout the day which is pretty weird seeing as I haven't eaten anything all day. It is only day one but it is looking good so far, keep you posted!

Day 2 -
I was feeling the effects of the toxins coming out of my system today and found myself in bed early mainly because I was tired but also not to be tempted by food in my tired state. Sleep was disturbed but overall I woke up on day 3 feeling better. I am going to drink so much more water on day 3 as I think one of my problems on day 2 was dehydration. On a good note my skin has completely cleared up, this is one of the benefits of the cleanse I am just hoping that the expelling of toxins doesn't make my come out in spots later on in the cleanse!

Day 3 -
Boy was I glad to see the end of today, according to my research this is the hardest of the days and you are most likely to crave things, for me all I want is broccoli!!!! Dear god what is going on! Even though it wouldn't be the end of the world to eat a head of broccoli I am staying strong! Still waiting for my laxatee to arrive as I am constantly thirsty as it is on this fast so a sea salt flush is probably not what my body needs nor does it sound appealing! For the time being I am drinking hot water with lemon and some peppermint tea, as long as your herbal tea does not contain caffeine your good to go! Head was sore for most of the day and had a lay down, I have stopped my cardio workouts for the time being and am going for walks during the days. I am hoping to get back in the gym to give my metabolism a bit of a boost.

Day 4 -
Woke up this morning with lots of energy and a positive outlook for the week ahead! No disposals today... hopefully this will be helped along when my tea arrives. One thing I have learnt is that I need to keep busy especially in the evening, although the fact that I am almost half way there is motivation in itself.

Day 5 -
This is the first day that I felt 'normal' and full of energy during the day as if I were eating again, except I felt lighter and not weighed down by food. In the evening I took it easy and nearly killed my flatmate for eating loads of food in front me! Sleep was not disturbed which makes a huge difference to the next day, top tip is to try and not have any liquids at least 3 hours before you hit the hay otherwise you will be up needing the bathroom at ridiculous hours of the night. Any hew that's me half way YAY! I am definitely feeling the benefits my head is clear, my skin is clear. Loving it!

Day 7 -
Energy is low low low!!! So glad I only have 3 days left! Foods cravings are still not around which is a bonus, however I have been woken twice with leg cramps! This could be to do with the lack of salt in my diet or perhaps a little dehydrated. My laxotee has still not arrived which is a pain and I know this is a big part of the cleanse, hopefully I shall be back on track once it arrives, hoping tomorrow. Even though I miss my cardio my studies and work have taken the energy out of my as it is so I am planning on keep on walking and wait until I am finished the cleanse. Haven't weighed myself since I have started so cant wait to jump on day 11 and see the results.

Day 8/9/10 -
My head has continued to be painful over these few days and I am extremely glad to be nearly finished. However my skin is still clear, dry chapped lips are gone and for the first time in 3 months my period has come! I cannot guarantee this is down to the cleanse but my research had led my to believe it is connected with various people getting different benefits from this from back pain relief and pain from arthritis disappearing! MAGICAL! My craving for a meal has not disappeared however when I think about it I have not been hungry which is a huge relief and my OJ tomorrow morning shall be drank with delight! No more squeezing 5 lemons a day YAY. I shall post my weight loss once I weight myself hopefully on day 12 as I don't have scales in my house. Even though this was never about the weight loss I am still excited to see how much it has changed. It is a positive thought to think that I haven't eaten in 10 days....

After the master cleanse -
Day one only drink fresh OJ, the first cup will be the most amazing glass of orange juice you have ever tasted, enjoy it! Day two OJ all day and then start getting those pans ready, homemade vegetable soup - NO CANS! You may also have a rye cracker, go slow with this one, my stomach hurt so bad after this. Day three if stomach cramps permit have OJ for breakfast, soup and rye for lunch and then some fruit/veg for your dinner. From here you should not make healthy choices and break your body in slowly, it hasn't eaten properly for 10 days! Well done and good luck.