Changing It Up in My Diet/Exercise Plan

As most of you know, I've been working on getting in better shape fitness-wise since November of 2008, when I started Jenny Craig. I really like the JC eating plan, and they emphasize lean meat, whole grain carbs as well as low sodium foods. That plan has worked well for me, but I've been in a plateau the last 6 months and have been finding it harder and harder to stay "true blue" to the eating plan, because frankly the frozen foods that is the core of their program is getting really boring lately. Sometimes I feel if I eat one more frozen dinner, I'll scream.

Therefore, I went on the search for a similar eating plan that would let me eat regular foods and be less expensive. Since the budget is tight right now, I've been cutting back on everything. What I decided that there are two plans that most appealed to my lifestyle: 1) The Flat Belly Diet created by Prevention magazine; and 2) the Super-Charged South Beach Diet.


I picked up a Flat Belly Diet Pocket Guide for only $7.99 and it fits perfectly into my purse. What attracted me to it were several things: 1) simplicity; 2) the emphasis on low sodium and healthy carbs (both a part of my JC program that worked really well for me); 4) a heart-healthy emphasis on eating "healthy fats" called MUFAs (Monounsaturated fatty acids) rather than saturated fats; you eat a MUFA with every meal - things like unsalted sunflower seeds, almonds, olive oil, olives, avocados and dark chocolate; 5) 1200-1600 calories a day which is a pretty healthy calorie level, without starving etc. I will probably try to stay more towards the 1200 because that is the same as JC's plan; 6) inclusion of exercise into the program.

I started this eating plan on Thursday 2/25 and so far I've lost 3 lbs in the "Jumpstart" portion of the diet, which last 4 days. Believe me I am NOT after the fast weight loss, I realize that 2 lbs a week or even less is healthy weight loss. It's probably largely water weight etc. but what this tells me is that I can jump off this plateau by changing it up a bit. Ya know? So I'm probably going to continue this plan through the 28 days and see what happens.

Also, I LOVE their Sassy Water. Like nearly every diet plan, you are told to drink at least 8 oz of water per day (64 oz). But this book has a recipe for Sassy Water that would be refreshing for anyone.

I give you Sassy Water

2 liters (about 8 1/2 cups) of water
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
12 small spearmint leaves (you can get these year-round at a health food store)

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and let flavors blend overnight. Drink the entire contents of the pitcher each day.