Transition, Week Two

July 1, 2009

Week One of transition (transitioning from fasting to eating) involved going from 5 shakes a day to 4 shakes a day, replacing one with 3 ounces of chicken at dinner. I was also allowed a very few select condiments and any spices. Tonight I entered Week Two which involves an expanded dinner plan and only 3 shakes a day (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack). The expanded dinner plan includes:

• 3 ounces of either chicken, fish, or turkey
• 1 small salad
• steamed vegetables
• 2/3 cup brown rice or one small potato

The vegetables are on the low calorie, low starch, low sugar end of the vegetable spectrum. Green beans, salad greens, cucumbers, mushrooms, bean sprouts and at least 40 other choices. I’m still not to use any added fats and so for the time being that means Pam Spray and a few non-fat items like non-fat sour cream, non-fat salad dressing can be used in moderate servings (about 2 T each).

It’s not much in terms of how I use to eat, especially when you consider that at 325 pounds I was eating Chinese Take-Out for 4 people in a single setting that included as much rice as would feed me now for a full week, let along the sweet and sour pork, fried shrimp, fried spring rolls and oh yeh, don’t forget the fortune cookies and the quart of ice cream for dessert.

Nope. Now, you could put everything I have for a meal side by side and it would probably fill up 1/3 of the average dinner size plate. But I’m not using your average dinner size plate because research studies have consistently shown that people who use big plates on an average eat bigger portions. And that’s why our regular plates are stored away in boxes in the garage and we’re using smaller plates and bowls we’ve been collecting throughout the fast. Many are from places like Cost Plus and are intended as side plates for appetizers and not as main course service ware. The wonderful thing is that these little plates are usually inexpensive and fun to go searching for here and there. We have a number of Bento boxes like the lacquered checked ones in the top right hand corner of our cupboard; and the tapas trays with multiple dishes on one bamboo plate like the ones in the lower image. Each of those little oval and squared bowls hold just under a cup of water each to give you some perspective on their size.

Over the past week I’ve been sending my Mom photos like this….

and every time she’d write back or call and say, “That has to be more than 3 ounces! That looks like a huge serving!” And that’s the idea. A little food on a little plate tells my brain that tells my body I’m getting plenty to eat. Imagine how different the message would be if the 3 ounces were dropped into the center of the average dinner size plate (10-12 inches in diameter). “Hmmmm, excuse me?! I have spaces between my teeth that are bigger than that tidbit of chicken! If you think that’s going to be enough to satisfy this stomach of yours then Honey, you don’t know who you’re dealing with!”

Between shrinking the capacity of my stomach with the fast and tricking my brain with the size of the plates, so far my stomach seems to be fooled. Shhhh….let this be our little secret so my stomach-a doesn’t figure out-a it’s being played-a.

Posted in Liquid Fast, Maintaining Weight, Weight Loss