Dukan – Day 214 – Cruisin’ Towards the End

Tuesday was a PV day ๐Ÿ™‚

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.2 kg
Total weight loss: 79.4 lb/36.11 kg

Tuesday was cold and dark, definitely ushered out winter in a harsh way! Started my day out by a nice 1 mile walk to work. I also did something I don’t do very often…
Breakfast… wait for it… Yogurt! ๐Ÿ™‚ with Splenda and bran
Morning Snack: Tea egg
Lunch: 1/2 can tuna and 2 tea eggs

I then took a public bus (I know, shocking!) towards town and walked the remaining 2 miles to The Vineyard, which is run by a guy named Reuben from Boston. He cooks me Dukan friendly meals ๐Ÿ™‚ How cool is that? I had naked chicken wings with hot sauce and a Philly cheese steak w/o the bread, with extra onions and low fat mozzarella, just a tiny bit.

I then walked 1.4 miles to a friend’s flat for a 2 hour visit and then I started walking home. I had my jeans on, my back pack and in my back pack I had stuffed a yoga ball… after 5 or 6 minutes of walking, I decided to run… I did a warm up of a 3 min run/90 sec walk/4 min run/90 sec walk… then I ran for 36 minutes… I really focused on pacing myself and breathing. Just when I thought I wouldn’t be able to keep going I’d get a burst of energy and just keep going… I ended my run by going up and over a bridge (just a little one, lol, but an incline none the less). I then walked the remaining way home, about 5 minutes. The total trip is 3.6 miles, I have no idea how far I ran in that 36 minutes… what I do know is that oddly, I wasn’t out of breath… my legs were definitely fatigued after all was said and done, but not too bad. I woke up this morning expecting to be sore, nada… I definitely felt some twinges, but really no pain… tonight is a “night off” from C25K… I’m going to make myself rest my legs ๐Ÿ™‚

Ciao!

Dukan – Day 213 – Dukan Recipe – Chicken with Olives

Monday was a PV day ๐Ÿ™‚

Today marks the 7th month since I started this life changing journey on August 20th.
Here are the stats: (you have to read all the way to the bottom to get the final stat) ๐Ÿ˜€

Aug 20, 2011 / March 20, 2012
Chest: 42 / 36
Waist: 45 / 33
Hips: 56 / 42 (LOL, my HIPS are smaller than what my WAIST was!)

Daily weight Gain: 0.4 lb/0.2 kg
Total weight Loss: 79.0 lb/35.91 kg

๐Ÿ˜€ I knew that would happen… LOL… 2 steps forward 1/2 a step back… Hakuna Matata, I had a pretty good day. Worked 1/2 a day to make up for working all day on Sunday.

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs
Lunch: Citrus Pork and Onions (recipe posted yesterday)
Dinner: Chicken with Olives – recipe posted below

Water: 2 liters
Exercise: Walk to and from work 2 miles roundtrip
C25K run: 2.13 miles

RECIPE: DUKAN CHICKEN WITH OLIVES
This recipe comes from my favorite Dukan recipe blog Hapa Couple. I changed it up a little bit to make it Dukan Cruise friendly and because some of the items on their list are not necessarily available here in China. Additionally, I don’t have an oven, so mine was cooked on the gas burner. Also, their recipe is for 4 Servings.

Servings: 2
Ingredients:
1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts – cut into strips or cubes
1/2 large Red onion – I cut mine chunky
5 cloves of garlic – minced
1 green pepper – I cut mine chunky
1 14oz can of whole tomatoes – chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth (mixed 1/2 c hot water with 1 cube and stirred)
2 Tbs of Skim milk mixed with 1 tsp corn starch
8 – 10 whole green olives (stuffed) *couldn’t get these, so I sliced mine off the pit

Place 1/2 Tbs Olive oil in pan on med/high heat and add chicken. Brown on both sides, remove to a bowl.

Place 1/2 Tbs Olive oil in pan on medium heat and add onion, garlic and pepper, cook for 3 minutes.

Add tomatoes to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

Pour in chicken broth, stir and cover for 2 minutes.

Add cooked chicken into mix and reduce temperature to low. Simmer 7 minutes.


Pour in the cornstarch mix stir, Add Olives, stir. Simmer 2 minutes.
Enjoy!

You could put this over zucchini pasta it’s zucchini cut to resemble pasta and parboiled… OR you could put this over shiritaki noodles.
We ate it as is, kind of like a stew and it was delish! I also prepared a fresh, organic green salad that had the yummiest combination of greens in it… and a splash of olive oil… Yum

Delish dinner!

And the final stat that I promised at the top. I haven’t mentioned on my blog my starting weight OR my current weight at any point. Few people knew (up til now) how much I weighed when I started on Dukan.

WEIGHT:
AUGUST 20, 2012 = 255
MARCH 20, 2012 = 176

I still have 11 pounds to reach Dukan’s True Weight of 165 lbs and 21 pounds to MY goal of 155.

I can’t say it enough times… the support I get from all of you; my family, friends and new blogger friends has been the key to my success. I am humbled by your kind words and cheering!

Blessings and Ciao!
Sandi

Repost from Hapa Couple – Chicken with Olives

Hapa Couple is one of my favorite sites and she had this recipe on their blog today. Please visit their site for more amazing Dukan meal ideas AND the gorgeous pictures that they take of their recipes!
This recipe is NOT Attack or Cruise friendly… but definitely ideal for Consolidation or Stabilization.
To MAKE this Cruise friendly you can make this zucchini “pasta”… Which I have made and it is YUMMY!!! And substitute the white wine for low-sodium chicken broth… going to TOTALLY make this on the weekend!!!

Dukan Chicken with Olives

Chicken with Olives
We loved this recipe. It reminded us of a southwestern inspired pasta. (BTW, we love Flamidwyfe’s blog and noticed she like a lot of other food bloggers post pics of their dishes during various cooking stages…so when possible, we will try to do the same!)

It was another busy weekend, but we were able to try two new recipes from two of our new food blog finds! Our uncle is coming to town and he’s staying with us so we spent a good part of Sunday prepping his room and doing some spring cleaning.

We chose these recipes because a storm system which brought chilly weather, amazing lightning displays, a lot of rain (as in some areas were flooded and received over 30 inches of rain within a matter of a few days) and even marble sized hail…we wanted something warm and “comfort foodish”.

This first recipe by the Pioneer Woman went well with whole wheat linguine but would also go well with brown rice, quinoa or by itself! We definitely had to Dukan this recipe as the Pioneer Woman cooks with a butter, etc.

Onions, bell peppers and garlic cooking
RECIPE:
Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 15 minutes (or more if you’re removing a lot of fat from your chicken)
Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours (most of the time is baking time)

1-2 T. olive oil or non-stick spray
6 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, fat removed (if you’re feeding big eaters, 8 pieces would be better)
1 medium red onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced (recipe calls for large pieces, but the male half doesn’t like them in large pieces)
1 – 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, juices squeezed out and minced (recipe says chopped, but again, the male half won’t eat tomatoes like that)
1 c. dry white wine (or low sodium chicken broth)
kosher salt and pepper
1/4 c. non-fat half and half with up to 1 T. cornstarch mixed in (depending on how thick you like your sauce – we used 1 t. since we didn’t want it too thick)
1 c. whole green olives (stuffed)
12 oz. cooked whole wheat linguine, cooked al dente

Tossing chicken with pasta
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. We don’t own an oven proof skillet, so we made ours in our non-stick pan, then transfered the food to a square pan for baking. Heat 1 T. oil in pan over medium high heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides. Transfer chicken to your baking pan. Add more olive oil to the pan if needed, reduce heat to medium and add bell peppers, onions and garlic. Cook for a couple minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for a minute or two. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour in wine and stir. Pour sauce over chicken, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove pan from oven, remove foil, add olives and half-and-half mix. Shake pan gently to mix, cover and bake for another 15 minutes. In the meantime, cook your pasta. We tossed the chicken sauce with the pasta before serving.

This could be adjusted to fit into Cruise if you use the chicken broth and no pasta.

Enjoy…we sure did!

Dukan – Day 208

Wednesday was a PV day.

Daily weight loss: Stay the same
Total weight loss: 76.1 lb/34.61 kg

Hmmmmm, tap foot… I guess no gain is better than nothing, LOL. Two nights dining out might be the reason and the fact I still haven’t, well you know ๐Ÿ™‚

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs
Lunch: 2 tea eggs and 3 slices of ham
Dinner: Steak fajita w/onions and pepper and a TBS of guacamole & beef soup with carrots and zucchini in clear broth

Water: 2.3 liters
Additional fluids: 2 cups of coffee
Exercise:
Morning- 1 mile/1.5 km walk to work
Evening- 2.1 mile/3.2 km to dinner at Panchos
After dinner- 1.2 mile/1.7 km walk home
And then- 2.31 mile/3.7 km run in the neighborhood

I think I’m getting enough exercise ๐Ÿ˜€

I floated a napkin across the top to try to sop up some of the fat... it was still yummy!

Dukan – Day 207 – Scales up!

Tuesday was a PV day.

Daily weight GAIN: 0.9 lb/0.40 kg
Total weight LOSS: 76.1 lb/34.61 kg

Well, after 4 days of a half pound weight loss each day, I’m up nearly a pound today. Not worried, it happens, but I did begin to question my own caloric intake and went to fatsecret.com and put in my food intake for Monday and it was quite low (less than 900 Kcal)… so I think I need to take my own advise and eat a little bit more!

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs, coffee, 500mL water
Lunch: 2 tea eggs, 700mL water
Snack: 1 tea egg, 500mL water
Dinner: Chinese restaurant… steamed fish w/ garlic and ginger, broccoli and a salad, that had yummy sesame oil dressing on it (and probably shouldn’t have had!) And a Coke Zero, my first in weeks!

No yogurt or bran in on Tuesday, although I probably could have used it, given I haven’t had a good poo in a few days ๐Ÿ™‚ Not feeling constipated, at all, but a little “full” feeling.

Had a great walk/run, 3.21 miles, average 14:33 pace per mile, found out that I’m probably running a little too fast and need to learn to pace myself… as this may be the reason I’m getting winded so easily… will try that tonight.

I got a lot done at work today, created a comprehensive audit of the entire hospital system that will be done twice monthly and still waiting on 2 little babies to come earthside… Here babies, babies!!!

Ciao!

Dukan – Another milestone Bites the Dust

Wednesday was a PV day…

Daily Weight Loss: 0.9 lb/0.44 kg
Total Weight Loss: 75.3 POUNDS! 34.21 KG

OH MY GOD! I screamed out loud on the scale… I got on, I got off, I got back on, I got off, I got BACK on and it said the same thing… I rushed out to my trusty weight loss spreadsheet created by Charlotte and put it in and there it was 75 pounds… GONE ๐Ÿ˜€

I am also under 180 pounds for the first time since 1988 AND I put on a pair of Size 12 pants that I have been holding off trying on… and they SLID RIGHT ON! I’m so happy I have no other words… glad I told you guys what I ate by posting recipes ๐Ÿ™‚ I will say that it has washed the raining for a month blues away… I hope that lasts! So happy, I’m going to run extra tonight!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Fall seven times, stand up eight. ~Japanese Proverb I’m standing up for good!

Vivien took some shots of me and my happiness today ๐Ÿ™‚

Dukan Dinner – Asparagus Pork

I’ve had a very creative and busy day… this makes 2 recipes in one day for me ๐Ÿ™‚ I got the idea for this meal from A Hapa Couples Dukan Recipes specifically their Dukan Asparagus Chicken. But I had a big piece of pork in the fridge that needed to be cooked so I used that instead… I followed their recipe to the letter… Oh My was it GOOD!

Pork marinating and cut veggies.

Marinated meat simmering

Veggies cooking.

Instead of just asparagus, I added in 3/4 of a large onion and some garlic stems.

It was a fabulous dinner… it’s for PV (Protein/Veggie) days, Consolidation and Stabilization

I also had a nice long run in the 41F rain! And even after my C25K was done, I did 4 more reps of running/walking… just because… I’m really, really enjoying running.

Ciao!

Dukan Tuna Patty

I’m always on the look out for EASY meals to make. I’m off work today and decided to do a little experimentation with a can of tuna for lunch… Yum!

This recipe is good for Pure Protein days, as well as PV days, consolidation and stabilization.

Dukan Tuna Patties

1 can of tuna in water
2 Tbs FF greek yogurt or quark or fromage frais
A dollop of dijon mustard
2 Tbs chopped onion
1 Tbs Oat bran meal
Salt & Pepper to taste

*Turn on stove to Medium
*Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray
*Drain can of tuna and place in bowl
*Add yogurt, mustard, chopped onion, oat bran and salt & pepper
and mix well. Mixture should be moist, but not too moist.
*Form into 2 patties

Cook on medium 3 minutes on each side.

Enjoy!

Dukan Tuna Patties

Dukan – Day 195 – Cruisin’ Along

Today was a PV day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total Weight Loss: 73.3 lbs/33.31 kgs

Just cruising along here. Little tiny bits at a time. When I’m out running I imagine it all flying off of me and getting fitter and healthier.

It’s been a rough week, but I’ve hung in there. Usually when I hit a rough patch I eat things that aren’t good for me. That was the old Sandi… the pre-August 20th Sandi… I am so proud that I haven’t back slid into the bottomless pit of feeding my rough patches. To be honest, it feels good not to do it!

Overheard, by me, while running last night… “You’ve got this girl”… “Woo Hoo, that’s 5 minutes!”… “You WILL be fit and healthy”… “Yes, Yes, Yes… I think this is the last patch of run for the night”… “oh wait, nope… this one is… ugh”… “Put on your big girl panties and get on with it”… and finally, “Yes… I DID IT!” When the C25K lady tells me “1 minute to go” I rejoice and last night shed a few tears, during the cool down… last night I was pounding it out in the pouring rain in my waterproof jacket and a crocheted hat that Sandy O’Connor Huntley made me and loved that I was soaking wet. Running in the rain is cathartic… as I passed the gym in my complex for the 3rd time and the people were in the heated room on treadmills I thought, “girl, they ain’t got nothin’ on you”… LOL A bit cheeky I am these days.
So awesome workout… I preceded my run last night with a 20 minute yoga routine on the wii and 20 minutes of balance exercise, then a kick ass game of wii bowling… I scored a 172 ๐Ÿ™‚

Breakfast: 2 Tea Eggs (what else would I have??)
Lunch: 3 ham slices and a tea egg
Dinner: Pollo Saltado… damn was THAT good… I’ll do a recipe blog while on the train tomorrow night… don’t ask… part of my rough week b.s.
Snack: Didn’t get my yogurt in… it was too late when I realized it and I wasn’t hungry
Water: 2.6 liters… woot!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: “Put on your big girl panties” ~ First heard by me years ago by my midwife friend Deb Wage of Nashville.

Dukan – Day 180 – Lovin’ the Whoosh

Wednesday was a PV (Protein/Vegetable) Day.

Daily Weight Loss: 1.5 lb/0.70 kg
Total Weight Loss: 68.7 lb/31.21 kg

NICE ๐Ÿ™‚ My first post-vacation whoosh (not counting the one from last weekend, since I was flying for 2 days on a plane and that truly was water loss). I knew the morning weight in was going to be good, because I snuck a peek on the scale last night and I weight 0.10 kg less than the morning, and that was after a fantastic dinner ๐Ÿ™‚

Early in the mornin’: 4 oz cup of yogurt with splenda and bran
Breakfast: 2 tea eggs
Lunch: 2 slices of ham + 2 tea eggs
Dinner: Beef sirloin burger with bacon and a small amount of mozzarella cheese (without the bun) + a salad with tomatoes and cukes with a splash of olive oil and sea salt… yum.

Had dinner at The Vineyard with Kitty, Chiara and Joe. Feels “normal” there because it’s an Americanย restaurant, and I feel a bit at home. I looked at their appetizer of fried onion rings, fried calamari, fried mozzarella and chicken wings and thought how awful that food would make me feel. I did pick up one onion ring and smell it… LOL

In regard to my blog… I am reaching between 150 – 200 readers per day, which is awesome! I am humbled that people would spend time reading my words and commenting. My blog has reached nearly 16,000 views. Makes me happy. ๐Ÿ˜€

Well… off to get ready for work. I hope you all are having a fabulous week… mine is looking up!

Ciao!

Quote of the day:ย โ€œFor what itโ€™s worth: itโ€™s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life youโ€™re proud of, and if you find that youโ€™re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.โ€ย โ€” F. Scott Fitzgerald

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