Monday, February 1, 2010

CLEAN: Elimination Diet Week (with recipes)

To prep for the CLEAN program, this week will be an elimination diet week. That basically means meats, green veggies, nuts and non-starchy fruits. What do you eliminate? Dairy, wheat (easy for me), caffeine select fruits (like bananas) and some veggies (like potatoes). Some people call this the "caveman diet" which I've followed before for a month and lost a few pounds of mostly fat. I'm continuing to try some of the CLEAN program recipes.

DAY: 1
LBS To GOAL: 3.2

BREAKFAST: Green Smoothie
1 1/2 cups of almond milk
1/2 cup of coconut water
2 leaves dark green kale, coarsely chopped
1/4 avocado
1/2 cup mango chunks
1/2 cup of ice

This smoothie is rather bitter due to the kale. I also omitted the coconut water since I don't really like coconut. You can't taste the avocado nor mango so I added some Agave syrup to sweeten it up a bit. I did not like this green smoothie.

I worked out before going to the office today. I realized that I was missing protein from the meal plan today so I did end up having a protein shake to fuel my muscles. I might start adding bovine protein to my morning shakes or juices. It's tasteless and a pure form of protein, but pretty expensive and really gross when just mixed with water - the bovine protein basically looks like mucus.

LUNCH: Quinoa Salad
(Recipe posted last Friday)

Still love love the Quinoa Salad. The currants add a little sweet to the mix!

It's now 4pm. I'm starting to feel like I have a headache. This is expected in the first 2-3 days since your body is re-adjusting to your new caloric intake and food composition. It's just a mild nuisance more than anything. I'm not actually hungry since I'm drinking so many liquids during the day... just a mild headache that makes me want a nap.

DINNER: Pineapple and Avocado Gazpacho
1 cup pineapple, diced small
1/2 avocado, diced small
1/2 jalapeno chili pepper, seeds removed and chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Juice of 1/2 lime
Sprouts or cilantro (garnish)

1. Combine all ingredients except garnish in a bowl
2. Put half the mixture in the blender and blend
3. Pour blended mixture into the bowl and fold into unblended diced avocado and pineapple.
4. Add 1/2 cup water if thinner texture is desired
5. Serve chilled garnished with sprouts or cilantro

The soup is surprisingly good - or maybe that's because my point of reference was the cucumber mint soup that didn't suit my fancy. I didn't have jalapeno to add and did decide on adding the water since the original soup was really thick. I could make this again, though I'm not sure it will keep me full all the way through class tonight!

10:39pm. I made it through class, phew. I'm hungry and tired but the light-headedness has somehow gone away. I ate one mini-cube of chicken that I made for my lunch tomorrow... Next week will start a 12 hour fast between the last meal of the day and the first meal of the following day. No doubt this will be difficult. The joints in my left leg ache, but I'm not sure if its from my workout this morning or from the food. The joint pain kinda feels like I ate some wheat, which for most of you isn't an accurate description of pain - but for those of you who have wheat allergies, you know exactly what I mean.

TIP: Carry hand moisturizer with you when you go on CLEAN. You have to drink a lot of water to flush your digestive system (water also keeps your tummy feeling full). For how many trips to the bathroom and all those times washing my hands, the knuckles are chapped and very dry!

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