17 Day Diet: C1D1 - AM

There are two foods in life that I love to no end and cannot live without:

• Potatoes
• Cheddar Cheese

Downside? I started the 17 Day Diet today and the first cycle omits potatoes and I can only have fat free cheddar cheese... which wouldn't be a bad thing if I could find some in Israel that didn't taste like plastic! Most cheddar here tastes like plastic but the good kind has a lot of fat in it.

Another downside? I just bought a container of Bulgarian cheese (think Feta but better) and it only contains 5% fat BUT since it's not fat free, I can't have it. Fat free doesn't really exist in this country but I think I can handle going relatively dairy free for 17 days, right?

You're probably balking at me right now and thinking "diets don't work" but this one has to. I'm not depriving myself of any food - please understand that. The first 17 days has you omitting pasta, bread, potatoes...etc. You know, grainy things that I don't really eat anyway. I haven't had "bread" since before Passover started so I'm not craving it. I don't like Matzah and since Passover is *almost* over, that's a non-issue but potatoes? OMG do I love potatoes!

But I can give it up for 17 days.

So, why am I doing this? I'm having a hard time losing weight. My family doctor thinks it's a build up of hormones due to 3 miscarriages in one year (don't worry, I'm OK mentally and physically). She gave me the green light to "try it" but warned me that if I feel ill to stop the diet immediately.

Here's what I like about the diet: I can eat as many "cleansing" veggies as I want. I LOVE vegetables and while they do contain carbs, fiber, sugar and other stuff - the point is not to over do it. While I can eat as many as I want, I won't go overboard because I know when I'm full. There's no point in eating if I'm full, right?

You can also eat liberal amounts of poultry and certain fish but, let's face it, I'm not a huge meat eater. I will have to bulk up on the protein though.

Here's what I'm afraid of: it won't work and I'll lose nothing. Part of me is doing this for my health because I've been sick waaaay too often and I'm not in a good place right now.

So far, this is my "meal plan" for the first day:

Breakfast (6am) Completed
2 eggs, scrambled
1 cup melon

Snack:
1 yogurt

Lunch (12 noon)
chicken slices
Romain lettuce
1 cucumber
1 carrot
sliced red pepper

Snack (1pm)
1 handful of grapes


Snack
½ kohlrabi
1 carrot

Dinner (6pm)
Chicken
Brussels Sprouts
Small Salad
Lettuce
Cucumber
Red Pepper
1tbsp olive oil
Roasted Carrots

Snack
Yogurt
½ kohlrabi

Doesn't sound too shabby, right? I'll putz with the recipes later and make sure there is starch for Craig because he doesn't need to be on this diet. As he pointed out yesterday, he weighs 52 kilo (114lbs)... time to fatten him up while I slim me down.

Every day, I'll be documenting this diet and I'll even include pictures. Wish me luck!