Ups and Downs

Well, I can't believe it's already the middle of the week. Two more days of work and then time to enjoy the weekend again! I just love my weekends. I think we should have five day weekends and two day weekdays. Anyone out there agree??? Of course, we wouldn't get as much done as we would need to, but really, I think the trade-off is worth it……well maybe :)

So, my maintenance is off to a rocky start. Don't know if anyone out there, who's done this before, can relate (if so, please share!), but my body just didn't know what to do with the food increase. I don't know if it's just water retention, or bloating, or what the deal is! I probably should have kept the food intake a little cleaner then I did, as I may have added in too many "fat's" too soon. Hard lesson to learn, but learn it I will and will now tread a little more carefully. Needless to say, today is a steak day! Already! I was very, VERY bummed this morning when I weighed in and realized this. Maybe I didn't eat enough yesterday? I don't know what it was, but that's a hard place to be when trying to get back to normal life.

I will admit, I was basing my food intake more on the premise of the original protocol which says that in P3 you can eat whatever you want in whatever amount, just no sugar and no starch. A friend gave me a read-up which said differently and what foods should be classed as "cautionary" and to slowly add. Well, I didn't want to wait to enjoy some dairy, peanut butter etc….and thus, that is probably why I experienced what I did today. I will, nevertheless, enjoy my steak and apple tonight with much fervour and go more slowly tomorrow. No caution foods if I can help it.

With that said, I would like to tell you about a couple things I've made in the past few days which have been quite delicious (although I won't be eating them for a little bit now :P). Starting with supper last night, I didn't know quite what to make, and we had some fish in the fridge, so fish it was. I wanted to try something new and yummy so that it wasn't the same old boring fish. I coated each piece with some coconut oil, sprinkled them with oregano and then covered them with ground cashews. I then baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. It was really great! I put in on a bed of lettuce, had half an avocado chopped up on it too and had a delicious salad. Hayden enjoyed it as well.

The other 2 items I have made are some protein bars and avocado bread! I take absolutely NO credit for these recipes at all, but found them on another blog that I follow called "Cotter Crunch". I highly recommend you check this blog out as there are many amazing recipes that are all gluten free. I took these recipes and modified them even further so that I was using no refined sugar or starch. The avocado bread is really scrumptious, but mine was quite heavy and crumbly. This is perhaps due to the fact that I used coconut flour instead of amaranth flour. I also used splenda instead of real sugar. The consistency of the dough was more reminiscent of cookie dough, but needless to say, it was still good.

I don't have a picture of the protein bars that I made, but I also modified the recipe and even added in some sunflower seeds and carob chips. I couldn't add the honey or agave nectar right now, but in time I will be able to do that and even throw in some dried fruit and other seeds. Then I'll have the full meal deal. But for now, these were just dandy. Hopefully I can stabilize and it won't be too long before I can enjoy them again :) For the recipes as they were intended and originally invented, please visit the "Cotter Crunch" blog!

Well, that's it for now. I'm just awaiting the arrival home of my husband as he has the honour of BBQing our steaks tonight :) Hopefully it's not too much longer as I am hungry!

till next time!