It became apparent over the weekend that I was, in fact, DONE with my juice reboot. I hit a wall and it wasn’t pretty (I had a houseful of possible future in-laws to witnesses this). It was like I became a baby again and I wanted food and I wanted it now and I didn’t care that I was acting crazy.

Everyone is different and I feel it’s important to listen to your body, especially after several days on a juice reboot because it will not lie. The juice was not keeping me full and I was getting increasingly moody with high anxiety. Gus will testify to this. By the way, Gus has not had any such issues with his juice reboot and he plans to continue for another 24 days. I’m happy for him. Yay! If you can find what works for you and you can stick with it, then that’s all we can hope for. Like Joe says “Good on you for tryin’!”. I will forever have his Australian accent in my head.

On to Phase 2, I shall call it, which is about eating satisfying meals and snacks so that I can still continue on my weight loss journey. I pulled out an old book The Flat Belly Diet! by Liz Vaccariello. When I purchased this book a few years ago I didn’t give it the attention I feel it now deserves. Vaccariello’s Flat Belly Diet includes chocolate…need I say more? The premise of the diet is to eat within your daily calorie allotment to lose weight but to also sneak in some MUFAs which are healthy fats that will keep you full longer. MUFAs come in five categories:
1. Oils
2. Olives
3. Nuts and Seeds
4. Avocados
5. Dark chocolate

MUFA stands for monounsaturated fatty acid. These plant-based fats will do wonders for slimming your waistline. Hence, the name of the book! They will also lower your risk of heart disease and stroke so do not fear these fats. Well, I don’t fear them because they are delicious. And don’t let the price of the book scare you off. I found it online for $1.99 (see link above in book title).

I’m feeling so happy about having a new “guide” to follow. Those who know me know that I’m at my best when I’m on some sort of path and following a plan with a goal.

I’m not giving up on juicing. Once a juicer, always a juicer! I’m in the club now for life. I will have a juice at least once per day even going forward with my new Flat Belly Diet plan.

Here are a few meals I’ve had so far on The Flat Belly Diet:

Breakfast: (Still gotta have my juice. The juice you see here was super yummy with 3 oranges, 1 lime, 3 small apples, 1-inch ginger and 1/2 inch turmeric)

Breakfast tacos: 4 6 inch corn tortillas, warmed (210) filled evenly with 4 scrambled egg whites (1/2 cup Organic Valley 100% Egg Whites makes about 1 cup scrambled eggs) (50), ½ cup fresh baby spinach leaves (3), ¼ cup salsa (20), and ¼ cup sliced Hass avocado (96)
(I cooked the eggs and then I used the same pan to cook the spinach just until it wilted)

Total calories = 379

Lunch: (OMG!! This salad was so delicious!)  

Ham & Blue Cheese Salad: 2 cups organic mixed baby greens (18) tossed with 1 Tbsp Annie’s Naturals Goddess Dressing (65) and topped with ½ fresh plum tomato, sliced (6), 4 oz Applegate Farms uncured Black Forest ham, chopped (100), 2 Tbsp. crumbled gorgonzola (50), and 2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds (148)
(This dressing is INCREDIBLE! How have I never had it before?)

Total calories = 387

Dinner: (I didn’t use the Lightlife vegan hotdog the book suggested but the Al Fresco Chicken Sausage was very delicious. Also, I couldn’t find the Ezekiel hot dog buns at Grocery Outlet so, for now, I’ll use Bimbo buns until I make a trip to Whole Foods.)

Chicago-Style Hot Dog: 1 Lightlife Jumbo Smart Dog (90), browned in skillet in 1 Tbsp peanut oil (119), on 1 Food For Life Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Hot Dog Bun (170) dressed with 1 Tbsp mustard (0), 2 Tbsp diced onions (6), 2 Tbsp sweet relish (30), ½ fresh tomato, diced (6), and a dash of celery seed

Total calories = 421

Snack Pack: (aka Dessert! oh yeah!)

Strawberry-Chocolate “Sundae”: 1 cup sliced strawberries (54) and ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips (207) mixed into 1 cup cottage cheese (162)

Total calories = 423