Fast Metabolism Diet - Days 4-7

Don't worry, I haven't disappeared! Just had a busy weekend. To recap the last few days:

Thursday (FMD Day 4)

Thursday was a long day. It started with a 6:45 am workout with my personal trainer, and ended with 5+ hours of travelling by buses to get to Bobcaygeon (where my mother lives). Good thing I've had so much energy lately!

It was my second day on Phase 2. I ate exactly the same things, more or less, that I ate on Wednesday. I also discovered that carrots are actually not allowed on Phase 2 (while eating some carrots). Oh well. You'll soon see that as the week continued, I became much less strict with the many, many, many rules of the diet...

Friday (FMD Day 5)

Friday marked my first day on Phase 3! Phase 3 is the most flexible phase. It requires you to eat lots of healthy fats with all of your meals and snacks. I had arrived in Bobcaygeon prepared: I emailed my mom a list of groceries I required in advance (aren't mothers the best?) and brought my cooler bag full of food to eat over the weekend. However, I didn't remember until I arrived that my mom doesn't have a microwave, making all my pre-made meals slightly less convenient.

Note my mom's adorable kettle.

For breakfast, I fried some veggies and two WHOLE eggs in olive oil, which I ate on sprouted grain bread with some blackberries. Now, the sprouted grain bread actually had a bit of sugar in it (which isn't allowed), and I had two slices instead of one and a half... but I'm not too concerned. When I went to use my mom's toaster, she told me it wasn't working and I had to broil my bread in the oven instead. No microwave, no toaster... I don't know how I survived. ;)

I skipped my morning snack... oops! For lunch, I had steamed cauliflower with some almond-coconutty chicken I had baked last weekend (and two plums). The chicken was a little bit dry, but that might be because it was frozen and then reheated in the oven. Overall, it was pretty good:

After lunch, it was time to hit the road. We were off to Orillia for a pretty exciting night. Of course, I brought lots of snacks, including some celery and almond butter:

We checked into our hotel, then took a shuttle bus to... Casino Rama! We met up with my sister and her boyfriend... and this is where things got a little rocky. We ate dinner at the buffet at the casino. I had every intention of eating something healthy for dinner, but I just could not summon the willpower necessary to avoid the temptation of the buffet! So, I decided to eat what I wanted and not beat myself up about it. And in the interest of celebrating every success, no matter how small, I actually ate a lot less than I usually would at a buffet. I didn't even have dessert! So I'll call that a win. ;)

After dinner, it was time for the main event: Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band! It was an amazing show. Best of all, Ringo totally picked me out of the crowd and waved at one point. I could just tell. He was always my favourite Beatle... we obviously have a special connection.

I partook in a little gambling afterwards, which is something I have very little experience with. I watched my sister play a few rounds of roulette, and it looked so fun, and she was actually winning money, so I joined in. I started with $20, and ended up with $107! I was SO tempted to keep playing, since it was really fun (and I clearly have a knack for it!), but it's probably for the best that I stopped when I did.

Saturday (FMD Day 6)

I had breakfast in the hotel on Saturday morning. I started out with the best of intentions, with some plain oatmeal and eggs, but then a toasted bagel with butter and some bacon and sausages just fell onto my plate. But I did not succumb to the greatest temptation of them all: coffee. Soooo let's call that another win.

Then we explored Orillia a bit with a visit to the Mariposa Market. It was FULL of incredible-looking baked goods, including giant donuts, delicious-looking cupcakes, and much more. It was basically torture. I am proud to say I ate nothing!

On the drive back to Bobcaygeon, I got myself firmly back on track with some of the snacks I'd brought with me: pistachios and cut-up red pepper.

Back at my mom's house, I reheated the sweet potato concoction I'd made earlier in the week. It was a recipe I got when I went to Meghan Telpner's Meal Prep Made Easy class: sweet potato mash with coconut oil.

It was really good, but very rich. I could only eat a little bit. Speaking of sweet potato, Julie asked me how I cook sweet potatoes in my slow cooker. I don't do anything special - I just chop them (sometimes; I've also cooked potatoes whole) and dump them in there on high. My slow cooker cooks fairly quickly, so I just check on them after a couple of hours and see if they're done.

I sat outside for awhile to do my meal planning for the coming week. My mom's house overlooks a river. It's so peaceful out there!

I suppose it's worth putting up with no microwave or toaster... and not being able to drink the tap water.

As soon as I started meal planning though, I was overcome with exhaustion. I took a long nap. When I woke up (maybe around 8 or so), it was time for some dinner.

I reheated another portion of my chicken, steamed more cauliflower, and broiled some bread. I'm really proud that after going off-plan, I was back on track so quickly! And hey - what happens in Orillia, stays in Orillia, right?!

Sunday (FMD Day 7)

This morning, I had to get up much earlier than I wanted to in order to catch a bus back home. I had some fried eggs on toast for breakfast...

... and packed a few things for the trip home:

I made a turkey sandwich with avocado and spinach, and brought some walnuts, red peppers, and raspberries for the road.

When I got home, I somehow gathered the energy to get some groceries. I threw together a Phase 3 appropriate dinner: some brown rice, broccoli, and salmon:

It was very satisfying!

Now I'm doing my meal prepping for this coming week. I made two new recipes for Phase 2 (my least favourite phase): I modified this ground beef, spinach, and egg casserole to fit the diet, and I also made a turkey meatloaf using a recipe in the Fast Metabolism Diet Cookbook (although I subbed chicken for the turkey). I'll let you know how they turned out when I eat them in a few days!

Overall, this week I'm going to be less concerned with things like meal/snack times and portion sizes. As long as I stay with the general spirit of the diet, I'll be satisfied. Tomorrow night, for example, I'm going out for dinner, so I definitely won't eat perfectly (although I will check the menu beforehand and try to plan ahead). I just know I'm miles ahead of where I was a week ago, so that's good enough for me!