Eating on the DDP Plan - What to do if your confused

OK - You're signed up - you have your DVD's and your guide....and now you need to create some kind of eating outline to follow....

NOW WHAT???

*Please note - my caps are for emphasis only - not yelling - ;)

I didn't really know what to do at first either. I was confused by the eating plan because everyone had their own thing that they were doing, and I had to give myself time to find the things that were going to work for me.

A few things you should know about the DDP plan:
You're not going to stay eating healthy if your not eating things you LIKE
You're  not going to stay working out if your not have FUN
You're not going to stay working out if your not getting RESULTS
and....Your CERTAINLY not going to stay on ANY program without SUPPORT!

SOOO....LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES.....and don't just PRETEND you can only work out and fudge the eating and get results! It will ONLY delay where you're trying to go.

Here's my suggestions:
1.) Make a list of all the kinds of foods YOU ENJOY eating
2.) Get a marker
3.) Put a line through ANYTHING that -

• is not a plant or a meat (if you eat meat)
• is not gluten free, cow diary free or wheat free

4). Try not to cry - LOL!! (just kidding)
5.) BELIEVE and KNOW NOW....that there are PLENTY of YUMMY recipes that you can make that you will ACTUALLY LIKE. They are in my recipe section of my blog....and....
There are plenty of other members that have more!

EXCEPTIONS to the plant and meat rule - that you CAN eat!

• Agave sweetener
• Stevia sweetener
• Sea Salt
• any spice that does not contain REGULAR IODIZED SALT. I especially like Mrs. Dash spices
• Nuts - unsalted or sea salted only. Nothing smoked or roasted
• Canned or Jarred ORGANIC, GLUTEN FREE things like diced tomatoes and sauces
• Boxed GLUTEN FREE and DAIRY FREE mixes such as Organic pizza dough, Brownies, etc., This would be name brands like Namaste, Bobs Mill, & Pamela's
• Olive Oil Butter by Earth Balance
• Goats milk and sheeps milk, almond milk, coconut milk
• non diary yogurts and ice cream - again - all gluten and diary free - it should SAY this on the label or don't eat it!

 EXCEPTIONS to the plant and meat rule - that you should NOT eat!

• Corn - because its almost ALL GMO now (Genetically altered! You may as well eat RoundUp weed killer because that pesticide has been genitally placed inside the corn seed itself!)

When eating Bananas and watermelon and berries. Its best to eat them earlier in the daytime so that the natural sugars don't jack your sugar levels up in your body and you can have them all burnt up by bedtime. :)

6.) Things to look for in the produce section - that are better than not:
Try to eat all ORGANIC - If you can't afford it, or can't find it because it is not available to you -
All you can do is the best you can! Some ideas are - Find a local farmers market. You'd be surprised if you really look in the area - there usually is one that you never knew about. :)

7.) NOW!! Your probably saying to me - Christine!!!! What about CARBS!! Bread etc!!!
Well....I have GOOD news....and BAD news.....
The GOOD news is.....you can have carbs!!!
The BAD news is.....you can only have SOME carbs and they are in MODERATION.

I can only speak for my own body. YOU know YOUR body better than I do (or my husband would divorce me! LOL!) So....You have to ask yourself....
Do you gain weight if you eat carbs??
Most people DO - SO.....
What you need to know is....
If you are trying to lose ALOT of weight -You need to say GOODBYE to the carbs - FOR NOW
It is NOT a forever thing - it is only a FOR NOW thing....
Once you get to your goal....you will learn how to reintroduce the RIGHT carbs in moderation back into your eating.

MORE GOOD NEWS; If you are totally craving the carbs  - You may OCCASIONALLY have
a 1/2 CUP ONLY of:

Brown rice
Quinoa
Yams
Sweet Potato
Beans (any kind)
Farina (a kind of oatmeal)

8.) BEVERAGES - Say goodbye to Diet Cokes, and Regular Cokes, manufactured juices, and anything else that comes pre-canned or pre-bottled.

EXCEPTIONS to this rule - ZEVIA soda - HONEST Iced Teas - Natural Fizz sodas
if you find another one that you are not sure of - READ THE LABEL - No ASPERTAME or NUTRISWEET. Drink sodas only sweetened with Stevia.


Now....everything I have told you here - can be hard to build up to. - this is Phase 3 eating.

So what you need to do if you are a person who is used to eating a lot of other things
is you have to gradually work your way up to eating like this.

How do you do this you ask?

Well, first off, try to stop snacking on sweets.
If its a cookie, cracker or other thing that you KNOW is not good for you - Throw it out!
anything processed - made and preserved with chemicals.
You need to start weaning yourself from these things.

Switch from regular bread to the Gluten free bread in the freezer section. My suggestion is Rudi's bread. It is not as bad as some of the others. Gluten free bad can be pretty bad, but not if you know the kind to buy.

Switch from baked goods in the grocery section - to baked goods that are GLUTEN FREE in the freezer section.
Try to eat less and less of these kinds of things gradually.

If you are addicted to chips - Switch from regular chips - to POP Chips brand chips.
Again....train yourself to eat less and less of these as time goes by.

Switch from morning sugary cereal to Oatmeal or eggs.
Try the unsweetened oatmeal and sweeten it with Agave or Stevia instead

Switch from Cows milk to Goats milk or Almond or Coconut Milk. You want to stay away from Soy based products though. Please no soy milk as soybeans are very GMO processed!!
You'd be surprised how sweet even the unsweetened almond milk is! :)

Have a piece of fruit instead of candy or a cookie.
Smoothies are an AWESOME way of having a meal and keeping full for a long amount of time.
I have a Nutri Bullet and a Magic Bullet - or just use a blender! Try adding different fruits and veggies together to get a YUMMY mix of what you like. Trial and error on this for me!
I used Stevia on the mixes that don't come out as sweet as I'd like - YUM!!!
Again - try to eat any fruit earlier in the day so you can burn it off by bedtime.
Remember - a smoothie is a meal replacement, not a snack - unless it is the smallest smoothie on earth!

Juicing is also a great way to replace a meal and get healthy and TONS of energy REALLY FAST!
I dabbled in this - and LOVED IT!  There is a juicing group on the team ddp yoga website.

Switch from regular pasta to any pasta that is made COMPLETELY from RICE. You can find these in your healthfood section. Tikiyada is my favorite. DeBoles is OK but kinda sticky. you have to stir it ALOT while cooking so it won't stick together.
When you eat this pasta - limit your portion to only 1/2 cup!

Fill up instead on leafy greens or other veggies you like.
- or.....raw, unsalted almonds are a great snack to keep you from being hungry!

Switch regular peanut butter to Organic nut butter. Limit your intake on this! Nut butter
is VERY HIGH in calories!!

Again - moderation and portion control are the key here.

WICKED IMPORTANT NOTE!!!! - NEVER mix Carbs with a protein during phase 3 eating!!
This will slow down and stop your weight loss!!! (example - pasta and meat)

Remember! Phase 3 eating is NOT FOREVER - It is only during weight loss time.
Make sure you remind yourself that any time you want something that you shouldn't have right now.

How do I know my limit on what I can/can't eat a day you ask?

Well...what I did - I downloaded an app on my smartphone called "LOSE IT"
I chose to lose 2lb a week and the app automatically told me how many calories a day I could eat.
I used this as a successful guide to help me learn to NOT overeat!

Or - ask your doctor how many calories a day you should eat for safe and effective weight loss.

I started at 217lbs. So I went with 1300 calories a day. Worked like a charm for me! :)
If I ate too much, I would either maintain or gain. That's how I knew it would work.

A note about this - If I am having a smoothie for a meal, I don't usually worry about the calorie counting on these because it is only a couple of hundred calories and I count it as a meal.
I usually use a default 300 calories for a smoothie as a default for myself so I don't drive myself crazy trying to figure out how many calories I just blended and drank.

9). MOST IMPORTANT!!! Drink 64 oz or MORE a day of Water!!
Water is the thing that cleans you out and pushes the excess you don't want  - ie. fat....toxins OUT of your body!! The more water you drink - the more cleansing you will have -and...it will kick start your metabolism and ability to burn fat - FASTER!!!

10.) CHEESE!!!!!!!

I saved this for last, because if your anything like me - this was the hardest thing for me.
But I have GREAT NEWS!! You can still have cheese!!!! :)

Cheeses you can have are -

• any veggie based cheese like Daiya cheese
• Goat Cheese - They have Mozzarella, Regular white creamy goat cheese and Cheddar
• Manchago Cheese - (Sheep's cheese) - there is Parmesan and regular.
• Pecorino Cheese - Romano

Now....you may be gagging right now with the idea of eating cheese from a goat or a sheep - but let me tell you! These cheeses are GREAT!! If you find the taste hard to handle at first - try cooking with them - Combining them with things instead of eating them plain.

White goat cheese is my favorite so far - it is like cream cheese to me - LOVE IT!!!!!

A note about choosing MEAT:

Try to get the leanest cuts you can get.
I use 90% lean ground beef or bison/buffalo
Don't eat high fat meats. If you want sausage - eat Chicken sausage. It is DELICIOUS!!
Obviously, if your lucky enough to have a butcher shop nearby and can afford it - Eat the best kind of meat you can get - Hormone free!!!!
Chicken - Air chilled is best

OK so there you have it!!!
This is what TOTALLY WORKED for ME - and I hope it does for you too.
Every one is different and you may tweak this a bit to work better for you.
That is part of "OWNING IT" and "MAKING IT YOUR OWN"
I hope it clears up any questions you may have. If not - email me and if I don't know the answer, I will find someone who does. :)

HAPPY COOKING!!!