Day 2

Some of the things I really like about this Nutrimost program (remember my hubby is the one going through this and I'm following along on the food part only)......

• You look at the strict portion sizes versus how you used to eat.

Think about it....you go out for dinner and you want steak.  When you look at the menu it's typical offered as 8oz, 10oz, 16oz. and only rarely is the 4oz or 6oz size available.  If you go to the grocery store it's the same story. On this program for the first 44 days the portion size is 3.5 ounces.  Everywhere I look and pulling out the books from our classes with the diabetes dietician years ago the correct portion size is 4-5 ounces depending on the protein.

Have we really become a society that bigger the better in all areas?  Yes, the fast food chains have started to do away with the behemoth sizes they once offered however I still sometimes hear people complain at non-fast food places that the portions are too small....or so big that the customer walks out with their doggie bag of food saying that it's two more meals for them.

• You learn new ways of cooking

I always, always, always used oil and butter to fry and flavor along with my herbs (both fresh from outside my door to dried store bought).  One of the items I invested right before the program was a George Foreman Grill.  There are a couple of other brands out there however I've known a couple of people who have the G.F. Grills and have loved theirs so I had already made up my mind on the brand.   With the different models of grills offered I picked the one I thought would work for us.  So easy to clean up and cooks faster than on the stove top, oven or standard bbq grill. How did I ever live without one of these??

• You are getting more variety than before

With the list of best foods (protein, veg, fruit) that are specific to you and those that you do not want to eat more than once a week if at all it will keep us out of the "same old" grind for dinner.  For lunch and dinner every day it's different and the following day is not a repeat of the previous.  I'm trying new recipes every day and modifying them to meet the requirements of the program with some pretty fabulous results.

For lunch today I made for my hubby Blackened Shrimp (using the approved blackened spice mix and the new love of my life George Foreman Grill) and Roasted Onion

with a side of strawberries.  When I first asked if he wanted onion for his lunch his response was "What? Raw?"  I laughed because I knew that would be his response and could just see him eating a raw onion like an apple.  What I made for him last night was Roasted Onion with a Bragg's Organic Cider Vinegar Reduction (literally bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vinegar darkens in color and thickens slightly...don't go too far though or it will burn easily at the end) with a little pink salt and fresh ground pepper.  I never do anything the easy way so I sliced the whole onion into petals not cut all the way to the bottom, put it on some foil, drizzled the reduction sauce, salt and pepper, sealed it up and baked it for about 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I did sample one petal after it had cooled a little and it was phenomenal.

So after the first load up day hubby is down 4.0 pounds and I am down 1.3 pounds at the beginning of day #2.  Yes it stinks that women do not lose weight as easily as men however due to the fact that women's bodies are designed to give birth our bodies don't want to release that storage of fat quite so quickly.  That built in protection system for carrying our children for 9 months just means we have to work a little harder to get there.....