It's been a while since my last "Vegetarian 17DD" blog!  (Actually, to remind everyone, I'm semi-veg.  I eat eggs and salmon, but no chicken or beef, and I eat lots and lots of veggies, of course!)

All of Cycle 2 passed by, and I didn't quite stick to it like the book says.  My excuse is I didn't have the book on me anymore (I had to turn it into the library, then get on a waiting list to get it again, which took a couple weeks), and I didn't stock my kitchen very well, so I ended up going to my "go-to" foods, which are my husband's foods, mainly fries, potato chips, and coconut ice cream bars.  I know now that potatoes are allowed for Cycle 2, but I went overboard, having the above items every day, and after 2 p.m.! 

I was considering repeating Cycle 1 again, but on C2 Day 17, which was this weekend , I weighed myself and I was 1 pound lighter!  I guess I didn't stray so much that I gained weight.  I actually lost a pound!  I hadn't weighed myself during all of Cycle 2 because I KNEW I wasn't following the diet, so I didn't want to depress myself.  Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised that I lost a pound.  I only worked out on 4 of the 17 days, and I DID keep track of my calories, and kept it no higher than 1800 daily.  I also drank water religiously, 8-10 cups per day. 

So because I did lose weight, I feel confident enough to move on to Cycle 3.  I'm on Day 2 and I love it.  There are more choices.  I don't feel the need to cheat.  I can enjoy a slice of gluten free bread.  I'm really going to get serious about exercise too.  I excercised for 60 mins yesterday!  Let's hope I can keep this up.  I don't do anything strenuous because of my tarsal tunnel syndrome, plus my upper back spasm, so I do light dancing to music, including squats, etc., lots of various yoga stretches,  plus I do the Five Tibetans yoga-type moves.  I still have to work up to doing 21 reps of them...I'm weak!

I also experimented yesterday with a shake I saw on Dr. Oz.  Last week Paula Abdul was on the show talking about her extreme nerve pain condition.  She said that she recently discovered alkaline foods, which are anti-inflammatory foods.  These foods decrease pain and inflammation, which I have a lot of.  I have written blogs about alkaline foods because they have helped me.  So getting back to Paula, she gave her alkaline shake recipe, and so yesterday I gave it a try.  All the foods are on the Cycle 3 food list, except coconut water, which I drink every day anyways, because it has a high amount of electrolytes, which makes it alkalizing to your body.  Here's the recipe just from my memory, I'm sure you can go to Dr. Oz's website to find the official recipe. 

Put the following in a blender:

A handful or two of kale

1/3 (or 1/4) of a banana

1/3 (or 1/4) of an apple, cubed, skin and all (I love organic fuji apples)

1/4 of an avocado (more, if you love avocados, like I do!  Make sure to count 1/4 avocado as 1 friendly fat svg, if you are following the 17DD!)

A teaspoon of stevia

1 cup of coconut water (I love VitaCoco, it's very sweet.  Other coconut waters like Zico can taste a little weird/not sweet).  If you don't want to use coconut water, regular water should be okay.

Blend.  The shake may not be fully smooth.  My first try yesterday had some pieces of kale that I had to chew, but it was very tasty overall.  I loved it!  I could feel myself gaining energy as I drank it ;)

Oh, I had tried kale for the first time about 5 months ago, because of all the health benefits people were saying that it has, also it is an alkalizing green veggie.  Well, I tried it, and I didn't like it!  So I stopped getting it.   I had sauteed it and ate it by itself.  It was very bitter.  Here I am, trying it again in this shake.  It is MUCH better when you eat kale mixed with the above sweet items.  It actually tastes good now.  I got a bag of already-cut-for-you kale from Trader Joes.  I'm going to have one again this afternoon for a pick-me-up!