I am done with my Plateau Diet for now.  However, I will continue to be careful for a few days.  I lost almost two pounds and that is what I gained.

My advice on a diet:  To remember that it is not a diet, that it is a way of life.

If you want to remain skinny, you can’t just go back to your bad habits that made you heavy in the first place.

RULES TO STAYING SLIM or SKINNY:

Weigh yourself daily to keep apprised of your weight loss and how you are doing.  If you are following the low-carb plan that I have written about https://skinny-rules.com/2012/09/23/size-does-matter/ and you are not losing, then you are not following the rules.  Here are the rules!  Print this out for easy access.

Basically:

1.  6 small portions (about 4-6 ounces) of protein like meat, low-fat cheese, tofu, fish, poultry or an egg or two egg whites, half a cup of Greek Yogurt, measured nuts,  1 cup of milk, or a low-carb protein bar or drink, spread about to every 3-4 hours.

.–You can have nuts, but they have to be measured out.  You can’t have upteen nuts.  Basically 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup per portion.  You have to measure.  You can have a vegetarian burger, but only 1/3 a cup…they have more carbs.  (my downfall last week was that I was being lazy and wasn’t  measuring my nuts.

–Fish should be less than 4 ounces and should only be white fish.  Others have too much fat/carbs.

2.  2 cups of lettuce for lunch and 2 cups for dinner.  Use low carb dressing.

3.  You can also have 1 vegetable portion at lunch and 1 at dinner.  I usually have two veggies in my salad and split the difference between the two.

–Vegetable portions are about a cup, except if they are starches like carrots or jicama, then you use half a cup.  I gave up potatoes of all kinds when in weight loss mode because there are too many carbs and unless you are running a marathon, I am not sure how you would burn them off.  Things like celery, asparagus, collard greens–you can increase the amount to a cup.  Mushrooms–two cups.  A tomato should be one, small in size.

4.  Fruit should be 2, twice a day.  Many summer fruits and bananas are high in carbs, even cantaloupe (1/4 of one).  If you want to keep the carbs down, you should do berries or citrus fruits.  A normal-sized item like a nectarine (summer fruit), only half of it.  Citrus fruit like an orange, a whole one.  Berries like strawberries, etc.–a cup.  And those sizes are per serving.  There are two servings a day in fruit.

No mayo.  Use mustard or Margarine.

Use non dairy fat-free creamer in your coffee and watch the amount.  If you use milk, that is considered a protein and should be subtracted from your daily 6 proteins if it goes up to or more than a cup of milk.

5.  Hydrate often with sugar-free water products.

6.  You can replace a fruit with a bread product go once or twice a week.  So, one slice of bread (try to get lower carb bread) or about 3/4 cup of lower carb cereal (but remember, cereal is very high in carbs–regardless), or half a cup of oatmeal or cream of wheat.  I personally gave up on all of this during the weight loss phase and only returned a little to lower carb tortillas or bread about once a week.

7.  Exercise and take a multi vitamin and potassium supplements.  

8.  When hungry, remember that it is almost time for a protein again and you can try to hold on with getting more to drink, some great coffee or if you must, get a low carb protein drink and drink that to tide you over.  Don’t slip into finding something to munch on or nibble on….it will lead you off track.  Coffee became my friend during this period.

9.  Look up low carb recipes and try some new things with what you are allowed to have.

10.  You have to prepare the night before or the morning of and make sure you know what you are eating or bring things with you!  Always carry a protein bar or measured out nuts with you in case you can’t get to food and your 3-4 hour mark is hitting and you feel some hunger.  If you eat every 3-4 hours, you should not be suffering.  And if you are, drink something.  Sometimes when you are dehydrated, you actually feel hungry.