Deviant dining

What's for dinner?

Well round here it is going to be protein, morning, noon and night... and for snacks as well. A strip down diet is essentially a low carb diet and over the years there have been plenty of them; Atkins, The Air Force Diet, most of the shake meal replacement diets. They all use lots of protein to replace carbohydrates, though some allow more fats than others. Being as most people using a strip down diet are body builders, they want as little fat as possible as well as few carbs as possible... mind you towards the end there they are doing virtually nil by mouth... so one is more generous with skin and fat than they will ever be. We have kept a free day though body builders reduce that to one free meal a week and then no free meals at all. It takes about 26 weeks to get in shape for a competition... and honestly they are mentally tough to do what they do.

Like any trainer will tell you; eat three meals and three snacks about three hours apart. Three is the magic number... in Chinese medicine there is a belief that the body counts in threes. It is a strange thing in that there is no medical evidence to support the idea that eating small and often will reduce weight, but so far it has been the first time one is losing weight in years. And it has the added bonus that one is never hungry... not that one ever was before. Like a lot of people carrying too much body fat one tends to under eat :)

The secret of any low carb diet is to do some sort of a detox first. Not only does it clean out your sugar cravings, but it makes you waaay less of a fussy eater when food reappears... in fact you are almost pathetically grateful by the time the first lettuce leaf makes an appearance. So it doesn't matter if you use a detox prep (providing it isn't loaded up with assorted sugars) or if you just do three days of proteins. Either way by the second day you will crave cake, by the third you will kill for someone else's... literally.

So you are going to be having protein... lots of it. About 100 gms per meal and about 50 gms for a snack. Though to be honest, one has been known to shove a bit more on a plate, or break out an extra protein snack when hungry. Now protein round here includes things like beef, chicken, duck, eggs, fish, goat, kangaroo, lamb, pork, sea food, surimi, low fat cheese (including cheddar, but go easy on the stuff though) and nuts (though again you need to seriously limit those things 'cos they will slow down weight loss and try to use lower carb ones)). Aim for protein that is low in fat and as lean as possible... and tasty.

Then you add vegetables... lots of them in salads and steamed and stir fried and blanched and raw. You just need to stay the hell away from high carb vegetables like potato and concentrate on things likes asparagus, bamboo shoots, beetroot, broccoli (the champion of vegetables), brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, mushrooms, olives, onions, peppers, radish, spinach, sprouts, tomatoes, turnip, zucchini. As you can see with that list you have the making of all great foods from moussaka to cacciatore. Have them for breakfast lunch and dinner... just save things like peas, corn and carrot (all essential foods, but high in carbs) for garnishes or in things like coleslaw and quiches (the crustless kind needless to say... Mr Carb is not your friend... whatever he may tell you to get on your plate).

Add a small serve of carbs with your breakfast; a piece of toast (chose one with good nutrition in the form of whole grains and or seeds rather than whatever makes the biggest loaf), porridge, a small piece of fruit, a small serve of potatoes... you get the idea. Personally we aim for about 20 gms of carbs per serve.

You can have dressings and condiments in moderation, just make sure they are low carb and not low fat (they take out that fat they put in more sugar as a rule)

One day a week we have two free meals of whatever we fancy... pizza, sushi, some protein with fries, KFC, tacos, Indian... whatever the taste buds fancy... just try to not eat the whole pizza first time round... it will make you sick... you have been warned.

The next day we pay for our sins and have nothing but proteins... oh and lots of water. After the day before we are almost grateful to not be eating carbs for a while. And then we go back on the vegetables... one of us with a vengeance.

That water bit is essential... 2-3 litres a day, otherwise your body figures out you are starving it. You're body is not a stupid as you think... unfortunately... and you will be surprised what a difference it makes to its cooperation :D
It is also important because high protein diets are very acidic and it needs to offset with lots of fluids

So typical week looks like this...

Tuesday was a protein only day

Breakfast

Omelette with bacon (total of 100 gms)

Snack

There was some leftover roast duck 50 gms (and you bet one leaves the skin on... best part)

Lunch

Prawns (100 gms peeled)

Caesar salad dressing

Snack

Salami chips (50 gms)

Dinner

Roast chicken (100 gms)

Snack

Small can of tuna

Wednesday

Breakfast

Low fat pork sausages (1)

Scrambled egg (1)

A piece of toast

Coffee

Snack

Some leftover roast chicken (50 gms (yes with skin :P))

Lunch

Prawns (100 gms)

Large salad of lettuce (several types), coleslaw (made with two types of cabbage and grated carrot), bean sprouts (good for maintaining skin elasticity), cherry tomatoes, half an avocado (not really allowed on this, but one is partial to their rich essential oils and they are sooo tasty with prawns)

Caesar dressing

Snack

Smoked salmon (50 gms) smeared in cream cheese and rolled up

Some baby truss tomatoes

Dinner

Roast lamb (100 gms)

Steamed veg

Gravy

Snack

Some bacon while cooking His breakfast (50 gms)

Thursday

Breakfast

A one egg omelette with bacon, mushrooms and a slice of low fat cheese (total 100 gms of protein)

Piece of toast

Coffee

Snack

Hardboiled egg

Lunch

Cold roast chicken (100 gms)

Large salad of lettuce (several types), coleslaw, bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms

Snack

Small tin of tuna

Dinner

Pork medallions (100 gms)

Steamed veg

Snack

Nibbled some of the chorizo that was being gently pan fried for His breakfast omelette (50 gms)

Friday

Breakfast

Omelette made with one egg, ham and grated cheese (total of 100 gms)

Toast

Coffee

Snack

Hardboiled egg

Lunch

Ham (100 gms)

Salad of lettuce (several types), coleslaw (made with two types of cabbage and grated carrot), bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms

Snack

Cold pork sausage (1)

Dinner

Salmon steak in sweet chilli sauce (100 gms)

Steamed veg

Snack

Protein bar (loving the Swisse Recover ones at the moment)

Saturday

Breakfast

Omelette with chorizo and cheese (total of 100 gms)

Toast

Coffee

Snack

Hardboiled egg

Lunch

Surimi (100 gms) with mayonnaise and celery

Large salad of lettuce (several types), coleslaw, capsicum, bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes and half an avocado

Snack

Cold chicken (50 gms)

Dinner

Lamb chops (100 gms of meat not including bone) coated in Harissa (a Middle Eastern spice mix)

Steamed veg

Snack

Left over chorizo (25 gms)

Cheese (25 gms)

Small handful of blueberries (not on the diet, but low in carbs and eaten for their rich antioxidants)

Sunday

Breakfast

Bacon and eggs (100 gms)

Piece of toast

Coffee

Snack

Cold lamb chop

Lunch

Left over surimi (50 gms) salad

Large salad of lettuce (several types), coleslaw, bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes

Snack

Roast chicken (still hot) (50 gms)

Dinner

Roast Duck (100 gms)

Steamed veg

Snack

Nuts (30 gms)

Small handful of blueberries

Monday

Breakfast

Poached egg (1)

Smoked salmon (50 gms)

Hollandaise sauce

Snack

Roast chicken (50 gms)

Lunch

Pizza (2 slices)

Large salad of lettuce (several types), coleslaw, bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes,

Snack

Small tin of smoked oysters (drained)

Dinner

Steak (100 gms)

Oven fries

Large salad

Figs/ apple

Snack

Blue vein cheese (50 gms)

• Now His diet has a bit more protein for meals (with no skin), less cheese (lactose intolerant) and no cheats like avocados, blueberries and nuts. They are added to slow down the weight loss and because one believes that their rich good oils and antioxidants are essential for a woman... particularly one who is in the gym six hours a week. In fact one often eats them after a workout to replace some of the carbs lost. That is why, in part, He has lost twice as much weight in the same time.
• He also has a small sandwich for lunch (about 1 am) instead of having carbs at breakfast (about 9 pm) as it is easier to eat on the run
• We don't use salt in our food, but there is enough with the meats we eat and frankly when drinking about 1 litre of water per 25 kilos of body weight, you need them in a hot climate.
• He drinks the odd Pepsi Max, but otherwise doesn't drink tea or coffee
• Usually one has a coffee a day, but sometimes there will be a small skinny latte or the odd cup of tea in the evening
• Any oil that is used for spraying meat is olive... otherwise we don't add any fat to our diet
• At the moment one cooks a lot of omelettes for breakfast. They are fast and can be filled with all sorts of proteins and veg so they are a favourite. In winter there will be more porridge instead of toast.
• Food round here is quite simple, mainly due to the heat and working nearly 12 hour days and squishing in gym and the blog and, and, and... so meals are inclined to be quick cook things, but again in winter that will change to more stews and casseroles.

But you could go quite mad cooking with these foods if you had time :)

An update:
Two years later...

Well the diet still looks the same only one has added;

Two serves of fruit each day including avocado, dried figs, berries, cherries, small apples, the odd pear and a banana once a week

A few more nuts now and then including the odd bit of fresh peanut butter on the morning toast

The protein bars have been removed and replaced with real food often with an important dairy serve

A small serve of Greek yoghurt to bring the dairy up to three serves a day

The odd serve of homemade ice-cream (again part of the three serves a day)

The odd small new potato or sweet potato before going to the gym to do heavy leg work

And the bread is gluten free