You're the one that I want, ooh ooh ooh

You have no idea how much self-control it's taking me not to watch the TV reality show where you get to vote for a new cast for the musical Grease. It does help that the only working TV we have is in the dog/exercise room, which smells like wet dog all winter. Not exactly a comfy place to sit and watch TV, though TJ does it. (Our couch is wedged in there sideways while we work on our real living room so if you want to watch TV together you have to sit on the couch like you're in a bobsled.)

I'm much happier today then when I wrote my last post. Yay mood swings! But part of that is due to the unexplained 3.5 lbs I've lost in the last week - I'm hoping that's the obsessive water drinking finally catching up, and part of it is that I *think* (fingers crossed!) that I actually found an eating plan that I can live with for the rest of my life. Seriously. I read a lot of diet/nutrition books and magazines. I've tried a lot of different things (South Beach and the Pro Club 20/20 being tied for my least favorites). But I kept looking for that elusive "diet" that wouldn't feel like a diet, where I wouldn't be thinking about the time that I could stop "dieting" and just eat whatever the hell I wanted.

I picked up Dr. Ian Smith's "Fat Smash Diet" book on Sunday. (After walking 30 min to the bookstore to get it!) Because it's the diet they use on Celebrity Fit Club (awful show) it was placed front and center on the New Diet Books table. But if you look beyond the cheesiness of the title and its background, it's an amazingly sane way to eat. And it fits exactly with the stuff I like to eat/usually eat.

The first 9 days is a "Detox" phase, which is a concept I don't believe in, but it's sort of a jumpstart to the rest of the program. For a "Phase 1" it's surprisingly easy to follow. I lasted about 2 days on South Beach, so this is high praise coming from me. I can eat as much fruit, veggies and beans as I want (even corn and peas and sweet potatoes), and can have 2c nf milk, a couple of yogurts, 4 eggwhites, 2c brown rice, and a cup of oatmeal each day. That's a lot of food. And all of those are things I eat anyway. I imagine for people who are meat eaters, this phase is difficult. Or those who eat a lot of sweets or drink a lot of coffee or soda.

The only things that I'm not "allowed" to eat, that will be hard for me, are cheese and bread/crackers/pretzels/cereal. But for 9 days? I can do that. Day 1 was a stunning success, and I didn't even eat all of those things I was "allowed" to have. I had dinner plans with Jasmine, and luckily we picked an amazing Thai restaurant that serves brown rice. Woo hoo. I think I actually like brown rice better than white rice. It rocks my world.

The dinner didn't quite follow the letter of the diet since I'm not supposed to have the amt of oil used in the stirfry, but I didn't want to cancel my plans with her. So no more eating out for the rest of the 9 days.

I went to the grocery store and stocked up on fruit, yogurt, and veggies for the next 8 days. I'm excited about this diet because it meets my requirements:

1. No counting (points, calories, etc.)
2. No restrictions I can't live with (ie complete elimination of carbs)
3. Lets me have my morning breakfast of banana and oatmeal
4. Is something I can see myself doing long term. Seriously.

The next three phases involve adding things back like whole grain bread, cereal, cheese, and occasional (daily!) treats. The idea is to slowly change your habits over 90 days so that you can maintain this as a lifestyle change and not just a short term fix.

I know, it all sounds good, and like a great first date this might turn out to be a stalker or just plain annoying in the end, but right now I'm very happy with my new plan. Ask me again after the 9 days are up.