What we’re eating: Phase I

Last night we started the second week of Phase I, which is the “lose a lot of weight in a short period of time but thank goodness you don’t have to continue like this forever” phase (a win-win).

In this first phase, we must eat a highly restricted diet six times a day (to keep our blood sugar even) and we must eat only the foods the doctors recommend because those are most effective for burning fat and reigniting the metabolism.

Here are the Phase I rules:

1. You must eat a lean protein at every meal.
2. You must pair that protein with a recommended carb at every meal.
3. You can have "reignite carbs" (see below) no more than three times a day; you must eat a veggie carb at least three times a day.
4. You may have healthy fats at no more than two meals a day.
5. You can use as many low-cal or no-cal sweeteners, spices and herbs as you want.
6. You can eat as many vegetables as you want. 
7. Eat breakfast within an hour of waking up. 
8. Don't count calories -- measure portions.

Here is the exhaustive list of foods we’re allowed to eat (each in specific quantity):

Lean protein: chicken breast, turkey breast, extra lean ground beef, lean cuts of beef, egg whites, plain, non-fat Greek yogurt, tuna (fresh or packed in water), white fish, tilapia, cod, mahi mahi, snapper, salmon (also counts as a fat), fat-free cottage cheese and protein powder.

“Reignite carbs”: pumpkin, unsweetened almond milk, non-fat milk, steel cut oats or old fashioned rolled oats

Veggie carbs: asparagus, broccoli, carrots, baby carrots, Brussels sprouts, kale, artichoke, cauliflower, celery, cilantro, salad greens, mushrooms, cucumbers, green beans, onions, summer squash, tomatoes, zucchini, spinach, snow peas, radishes, scallions, green chilies, hot and sweet peppers

Healthy fats: olive oil, canola oil, almonds and walnuts  (these are the only four we’re allowed to ingest, for now)

(A warning on the top of our Phase I food guide tells us that if it’s not on this list, don’t even think about eating it – they’re not joking around.)

I don’t know about everybody else, but when I looked at that list, I grappled to find combinations that I would find satisfying. Where was the cheese? The whole grain bread? Egg yolks? The fruit? How would I ever build six meals a day from those few ingredients?

How were we going to cook tasty meals from this seemingly bland list and how would we keep food from getting boring (and how do we keep our kitchen stocked with lean protein when it goes so fast)?

In class tonight, some participants shared creative recipes for zucchini lasagna, zucchini spaghetti, meatloaf, and spiced almonds. Our guest speaker, who had also done the Colorado Diet, made delectable snacks for us: roasted cauliflower and rosemary blinis topped with eggplant caponata, seared, spice-rubbed tuna and baby kale. Yum.

That snack was easily the most delicious food I ate all week.

I had so been going about this in the wrong way. I am already sick of cottage cheese on spinach, tasteless Greek yogurt flavored with sugar-free jam, egg whites with mushrooms, protein shakes. I love to cook but didn’t know what to do without my familiar recipes and ingredients. In truth, I really haven’t given my new diet the chance to convince me that healthy food can be tasty without oil, butter, salt or fat.

Look at what the others were doing – they were totally making this diet work for them. Lesson learned. Real change means getting creative.