Oh how I miss you, bread, cheese, etc. For now.




Delicious twisty-bread Dawn made this summer.

Stuff I can't eat on the Dukan Diet, presented in the form of a short, wistful limerick:

I used to eat cookies and bread,
Paired with bacon and creamy cheese-spreads,
But I'm missing you less
Every time I get dressed
So I eat fat-free yogurt instead.

Being on any diet means changing your eating habits, but it doesn't just mean eating less.  You need a certain amount of calorie content to keep your motor going and give you energy, after all.  If you try to diet by just starving yourself, it doesn't take long for your body to go, "Red alert! Save yourselves! Men, keep everything we've got, we're gonna wait this out."

Here's a quick list of the prime enemies of a Dukan Dieter:

Fats, Sugars, Salt, Carbs, Oils, Starches.

That means the "No" list for Dukan Dieting includes a ban on:

• Cheese
• Bread
• Butter
• Fruit
• Cooking oils - except in very, very tiny amounts
• Salad Dressings (except vinaigrette, etc)
• Sauces for meat dishes (Pre-made, that is. you can make great ones at home)
• Pasta and pre-made pasta sauces
• Hamburgers + Hot dogs unless non/very low fat (4% for burger meat)
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Corn
• Fresh or dried peas
• Beans (except french/green beans)
• Lentils
• Avocado (A fruit, and fatty!)
• Barley, Quinoa, wheat berries, and other grains.

I took a long look at that list before starting this diet and said, "Oh, shit." Then I thought about it and said, "I have to, for just a little while... make food into fuel only, and not a hobby."

The best advice I have seen from people?

Focus on what you CAN have, not on what you can't.

Once I took that to heart, I was OK.  Because I can have so many other, healthier things during my diet. Fish, lean beef, chicken, pork, zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, carrots, asparagus, shrimp, lobster, crab, salads, etc, etc, etc.  And I have learned how to make great home-made replacements for taco seasoning, sauces, etc with Dawn's help and great advice from the diet book and online forums.

Most importantly, after doing this for a month now.. it's an automatic habit to look at ingredients labels on food we buy. Turns out, with minimal effort, you can steer clear of a lot of bad stuff easily.

Food Yesterday:

Breakfast: Fat-free vanilla Ciobani Greek yogurt w/2 tbsp oat bran.
Lunch: 4 slices of QFC deli-counter spiral ham, fat trimmed.
Dinner: Grilled tilapia with lemon, pepper and dill.  A big tilapia fillet is only about $2.50 at the butcher counter.