Mayo Clinic Diet - Days 10, 11 and 12

Yeah, I know this is a backlog post. Sorry guys. And yes, I have finished the 12-day diet plan by Mayo clinic. For these last three days of the diet plan, I had been to Nando's twice and TGI Friday's once. I didn't know what I did wrong on my last three days. I seemed not to progress much.

So how much did I lose for this diet program? 2.5 kgs. Only. I was expecting more. So I was a bit disappointed. But to lose 2.5 kgs is not bad at all, is it?

My journey doesn't end here though. I am so intent on losing weight. But I have been on diet break for the last 5 days. And for these past 5 days, I have gained back a kg. I actually thought I was doing well as I did a portion-control. Maybe it wasn't enough. Or maybe it was the durian cendol? Or maybe it was the large french fries and large coke I had (with our Mennonite friends - thanks to you guys, LOL!) in the middle of the night in Melaka?

Well, whatever. We planned on doing a celebration anyway. So this was what we got.

The hubby, on the other hand, had lost almost 4 kgs and has maintained it. I don't know how he does it. He probably has a faster metabolism than I have.

For the sake of my friends who are keen on doing this diet, here's the Mayo Clinic Diet plan. Again, I must say this: This diet plan is not officially endorsed by Mayo Clinic based in Rochester, Minnesota.

12 days on – 2 days off

Breakfast
1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
2 Eggs (any style)
2 Slices Bacon

Lunch
1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
Meat (any style, any amount)
Salad (any kind of dressing)

Dinner
1/2 Grapefruit or 4 oz. Grapefruit Juice (unsweetened)
Meat (any style, any amount) (fish may be substituted for meat)
Vegetables (any green, yellow, or red vegetables cooked in butter or any seasoning)

Bed Time Snack

1 glass tomato juice or 1 glass Skim milk

Vegetables Allowed
Red onions, green onions, bell peppers, radishes, cucumbers, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, peas.

Vegetables to Avoid
White onions, potatoes, celery.

Instructions

1. At any meal you may eat until you are full – until you can’t eat any more.
2. Don’t eliminate anything from the diet, especially don’t skip bacon at breakfast or omit salads. It is the combination of foods that burn fat.
3. The grapefruit is important because it acts as a catalyst that starts the burning process.
4. Cut down on caffeine – it affects the insulin balance that hinders the burning process. Try to limit to 1 cup per meal at mealtime.
5. Don’t eat between meals. If you eat the combination of food suggested you will not be hungry.
6. Note that the diet completely eliminates sugar and starches, which are lipids and form fat. Fat doesn’t form fat; it helps burn it. You can fry food in butter and use butter generously on vegetables.
7. Do not eat desserts, bread, and white vegetables or sweet potatoes. You may double or triple helpings of meat, salad, or vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed. The more you eat of the proper combination of food, the more you lose.
8. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
   

Mayo Clinic Diet - Day 9

I learned that you can eat more than 2 bacons. 2 bacons is just the minimum. Sigh. So I ate more than 2 for my 9th day. We went to hubby's office so we had to eat out for lunch. Went to 9 Ten Cafe. Pretty good service they have. We are familiar there. So even if we only ordered water for our drinks, iced tea came also - for free. What do you do, if you're us... leave the tea alone or drink it?

LOL. We were in a tight situation. We thought if we didn't drink that tea, they would never give us free drinks again. So yes, we drank the sweet tea with our eyes closed and hoping the sugar will straight away go down the "tube." The hubby and the hungry me ordered caesar salad and chicken chop - which were still in the Mayo Clinic Diet menu list.

I think I appreciated the variation with our food. But when we came home for dinner, I didn't wanna eat anything. I didn't have appetite to eat. Did I just cheat? I only drank a glass of tomato juice and 4 oz. of grapefruit juice. Later, I drank a glass of skim milk for bedtime snack.

This is my 10th day while writing this and when I weighed myself this morning, I didn't see any notch moving.

So I'm stuck.

I think I'm not doing the right thing.

But then.. 2 kg loss for 9 days is not that bad. At least I could see the difference.

8 more meals to go.

Mayo Clinic Diet - Days 7-8

I blogged about loving all the food I ate on my 7th day of diet. I wrote it in the morning. Lunch and dinner came... then the decline started. I got so tired of the same food I was eating. Glad I wasn't alone coz when I read a friend's journal of Mayo Clinic Diet, her interest in the food she had been eating declined too. My other friend stopped on day 9 because she got sick.

Anyways, on my 8th day, that was yesterday, I started feeling giddy. But then again, in the morning I only drank tea. So again, I blamed it on caffeine-less morning. So I drank coffee later on that day.

Weighed myself again. I seemed to be stuck on my 2kgs loss. Hmmm... The hubby is down to 3.

But the hubby has been complaining of getting hungry easily. I probably didn't feed him enough. So I prepared more veggies in our meals. And to make our food more appealing, I cooked something different.... made beef balls out of beef meat. I presented it to the hubby and he said he loved it... And added... "More than I love it, I love you."

Hehehe. It's nice hearing those 3 magic words within the context... :D

On these two days, I kept wondering if I could even last until 9 days. I can truly relate to the dieters when they stop dieting. This is just too much self-deprivation. But I need to go on. One must go on.

But I'm starting to crave. I even crave for a new pair of shoes that I saw my friend wearing. No.. not craving to eat... just purely wanting to have. I wonder if others feel the same. Or is it just me.

Shame.

Mayo Clinic Diet - Days 4-6

This is the account of my 4th - 6th day of Mayo Clinic Diet... and I'm really getting used to it. I love bacon! I love roasters! I love garden salad! I like beef stew! What can I say? Oh, the best thing about this diet is... I can eat at Nando's. Hubby and I had Nando's yesterday for dinner. We both ordered half chicken meal with fresco salad and coleslaw as side dishes. And water. yes, only water. It's the first time we only had water in Nando's. We usually have either coke or iced tea and they're usually free refills (you can imagine how much sugar in them and we have them at least once a week!). I'm really getting used to this. LOL!

But I have read that too much of those (fats and protein) is not good for health - especially on the cholesterol department. It's because you are encouraged to eat as much as you can... which means, more fats + more protein = a good combination to burn fats.

Oh yeah, I have bought equal as my sugar substitute. My friend Lalaine gave me this tips. So I am having coffee with sugar in the morning without feeling the guilt.

This is my 7th day as I'm writing this. I'm already thinking of what diet plan to follow up after I finish the 12 day plan. So far, my best bet is Jerusalem diet. I just need to study more about it.

Now I finally understood that after 12 days of straight dieting, you go on break for 2 days and if you would like to continue, do again after your 2-day break. So no, I'm not having a break in-between.

6 days = 2 kgs down. Is that encouraging or is that encouraging? Hehehe!

However, I'm still 1 pound overweight. Sigh.

Mayo Clinic Diet - Day 3

Missed journaling my third day of Mayo Clinic Diet last night. Didn't have much to tell except that I felt a lot better. I had coffee with 2 teaspoons in the morning after I woke up, prepared our breakfast, put the chicken in the oven to roast for our lunch, prepared kids' snacks in school coz I only get to leave the school at around 1:oopm.

Our meals were basically the same as our first and second day of diet.

Weighed myself. 1 kg down. Is that cool or is that cool?

Mayo Clinic Diet - Day 2

My morning was a rush! I was supposed to wake up at 6:00 am. But at 4:00 am, I woke up, checked my watch, and went back to sleep. When I woke up again, it was already 7:00 am! I only had 30 minutes to prepare everything! I had to be in school by 7:45am!

I went down and prepared our breakfast... which was basically the same like yesterday. I put the chicken in the oven for our lunch (which I pre-cooked the other night) and put rice in the rice cooker for my kids' lunch. I think I swallowed my food instead of chewing them. But I didn't have time. Then I went up again and showered and ironed my clothes (yes, I know, I didn't prepare the other night because I was thinking of doing the ironing the next day). That's a lesson learned.

I was quite impressed though because I did all these in 30 minutes.

I walked to school because hubby was still sleeping when I left.

This morning in school, I started to have a headache. I walked home again after school because hubby wasn't around yet and the kids didn't go to school and I was wondering what happened to them... only to realize later that all of them went to Daddy's office because they all woke up late... like 9:45am.

Anyways, to make a long story short, I had a headache the whole day. My brain was screaming for caffeine, I guess. So I checked the menu list again and see if I could find some excuses. And yes, I found one: Limit the caffeine intake as it is a catalyst that would slow down the fat burning process. One cup a meal was the limit! Why haven't I read that before?

So I made myself coffee. I planned to make it black but couldn't push it down my throat so I added one teaspoon of sugar. Cheater! I wonder if one teaspoon of sugar would make a difference? Like I would gain back the weight I have lost? I read from the reviews that one of them used cheese in the salad and she gained back whatever she lost and gained 1 kg more!

Tonight, we basically had the same food for dinner as what we had last night. And 1 glass of tomato juice for bedtime drinks.

My excuse in taking coffee is that I can't be dieting and cutting off my coffee intake at the same time! I would go mad considering that I would be standing practically for half a day in school! So, yes, I'm back to coffee. Tomorrow, I will lighten it down a bit.

So there. My day 2 diet and a headache.

So far... so... good? Hmmm...

Mayo Clinic Diet - Day 1

Today was my... errrr.. "our" first day of Mayo Clinic Diet. I said "our" because when I told my husband about this diet, he was very interested to join me. We did our groceries last night and we were both so excited to start. So today was our first day. Since the kids weren't back from their weekend getaway with their grandparents in Banting, we slept in until 10:00 am.

For breakfast, I prepared two half-boiled eggs, two slices of bacon and 4 oz of grapefruit juice for each of me and hubby.

For lunch, I roasted one cut of beef and did a garden salad with Italian dressing. (Reminder: will do my own Italian dressing next time). My garden salad consists of one carrot, one cucumber, half a capsicum, half onion, a quarter of lettuce. It was quite filling actually. The diet plan says you eat until full and the more you eat of each combination, the faster your fats will burn. I served it with 4 oz. of grapefruit juice.

For dinner, I baked dory fish and sauteed vegetables that would include cabbage, carrot, broccoli, red onion, green capsicum. I used butter to cook it. And yes, another 4 oz of grapefruit juice.

I'm going to have tomato juice later before going to bed.

Looking at the menu, I think it's not that bad. Actually, the only not-so-good thing about it is the total elimination of carbohydrates and sugar and our brains still need a supply of sugar. But will do a break in between and have something sugary in my food.

So there goes my day 1. So far, so good.

Mayo Clinic Diet

When I posted on my FB about me considering my going for Mayo Clinic Diet, one of my friends asked whether it was officially endorsed by Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I didn't know anything about the diet so I got curious and checked it out. And I found that it's NOT officially endorsed by Mayo Clinic. What they endorse is healthier. I checked their menu and true enough, theirs is healthier.

So is Mayo Clinic Diet (the one I have now) is a fad diet? Maybe. But then, I read a lot of positive reviews about it. And it's only for 12 days. (hmmmm.... only).

Anyways, while browsing through Mayo Clinic Diet, I saw a link that lead me to Jerusalem Diet. If Mayo Clinic doesn't work for me (I'm not gonna be negative about it)... I would try Jerusalem Diet. Wait, let me rephrase it. After I do Mayo Clinic Diet, I will continue on with Jerusalem Diet. Now that sounds positive. :D

And oh, today is my first day of this Mayo Clinic 12-day Diet Program. Wish me best, friends!

Benefits of Essential Oils

After I found out about the benefits of green tea... I found another link (from the same website at healthmad.com) that talks about the benefits of using essential oils. Since I am an essential oil user, I thought of posting this as well:

1. Mix one part basil oil and cinnamon oil to four parts almond oil. Massage this oil on aching muscles. This also relieves arthritis pains.
2. Rub a drop of lavender oil onto the back of your neck to relieve backache and headache.
3. Are you feeling tired during long car trips? Inhale rosemary oil to give you refreshment. This also increases the memory power. So inhale this oil occasionally while reading.
4. Apply one drop of lemon oil directly to a wart daily. This works effectively to eliminate it.
5. Blend the essential oils of lavender, rosemary, fennel, lemon, juniper and grapefruit in equal amounts. Add 10 drops of this mixture to bathing water to relive from hangover.
6. Are you feeling restless due to lack of sleep? Here is a solution. Keep 3 drops of lavender oil or chamomile oil on your pillow. This causes restful sleep.
7. Are you feeling your stomach upset? Take ½ glass of water and add a drop of peppermint oil. Sip it slowly to relive from stomach upset and indigestion.
8. Mix five drops peppermint oil and eucalyptus oil and rub it on painful areas to get immediate relief.
9. Add 10 drops of eucalyptus oil to bathing water. It keeps your body cool in summer and moisturizes you skin in winter.
10. Add one drop geranium oil to your facial moisturizer to bring a natural glow in your skin.
11. Place two drops of rosemary oil on your hair brush before brushing to enhance the growth and thickness of hair.
12. Add one drop of peppermint, eucalyptus and lavender oil to cool water and sponge the body with it to bring the fever down.
13. Spray the essential oils of lavender and grapefruit in your room when you are in frustration and confusion. Lavender relaxes the nervous system and grapefruit refreshes it.
14. Add 10 drops of geranium and lavender to bathing water to relieve from anxiety and depression.
15. Add one or two drops Aloe Vera oil to a glass drinking water to relieve from constipation, ingestion, heartburn, hemorrhoids and ulcers.
16. Add 3 drops tea tree oil to your hair conditioner and rub onto your scalp to get relief from lice and dandruff.
17. Inhale two drops of Aloe Vera oil to relieve from insomnia and cold sores.
18. Massage Aloe Vera oil externally to relieve from burns, bruises, eczema, arthritis, acne and psoriasis.
19. Mix equal amounts of tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil. Massage 3 drops of this mixture to get relief from all skin disease. Inhale this oil to get refreshment.
20. Massage with 2-3 drops wintergreen oil to get instant relief from muscular and joint pains. It is also beneficial for arthritis.
21. Massage with 3 drops tea tree oil onto affected areas regularly to relieve from athlete’s foot, black heads, ringworm and nail fungus.
22. Mix two drops camphor oil in a vegetable oil and apply it on affected muscles and joints to get relief.
23. Olive oil prevents heart attacks and strokes. It also reduces vascular stress. So use olive oil regularly in recipes. Massage with this oil moisturizes skin and cleanses the wounds.
24. Massage 2-3 drops spearmint oil on your skin to get relief from all skin diseases. This oil acts as anti cancerous too.
25. Tea tree oil is very effective to treat head colds. It works wonderfully against chest and throat infections.