Organization Tips for P1

[ClassyLadyWithin]

Alright, confession ahead...I had to prepare myself for joining the beach. The thought of going without sugar scared me more than I ever thought possible! But then again, I might be confessing to the choir! So, I did a few things in the weeks before I committed fully to the beach. Perhaps this will help others out?

First, I tried out a few recipes and new foods (like SF fudgsicles and SF creamsicles) to see if I would like them. I am indebted to the person on here who shared that SF creamsicles exist!!!!! I am also surprised that I like a semi-softened SF fudgsicle! Premaking the Jello in individual servings on Sunday night also helped me greatly this week.

Then I made a list of foods from the book and the cookbook that I might choose for breakfast, snacks, lunches and dinners. I also wrote down the page numbers next to any recipes so I could find it quickly. Time was important for me as I hadn't been committed to making time to create lunch or dinner in the past. It had become a default sort of thing...Ugg. This list gave me a menu board to pull my planning from for the upcoming week.

Finally, I created a shopping/choice list after looking at the P1 lists of foods in the book, cookbook and online. This gave me hard PROOF that I could SEE just how many familiar, and well-loved food choices I would have to support me while on the beach and cleansing sugar out of my system. I also wrote that fiber, good fat and acidic combinations help to decrease a rise in blood sugar across this list...to help me help myself out!

I am also weighing myself daily...which is a huge committment as I the scales and I do not have a friendly past! However, seeing a number each day has helped me focus on sticking with my planned menu for the day. It has also helped me the day after I fell off the beach and ate 3 chocolate chip cookies. The scale allowed me to keep the minor damage of the mishap in perspective and prevented my mind from making me give up and say it was all over.

Does anyone have any other tips they'd be willing to share? I'd be happy to post my food choices list and my recipe list if anyone would like to peek at it!

[lamariposablanca]

Thanks for sharing these tips! I'd like to see your lists.

[ClassyLadyWithin]

Here's my original list pulled from the cookbook and original book. BTW, CB= cookbook and B= book! I have many more to add from this forum...thanks folks!!!! Does anyone have any ideas for a quick and easy P1 breakfast? I tend to race out of here every morning...the sausage and cheese breakfast cups worked as I made them ahead on Sunday, but I can't imagine having them every day!

Breakfasts
Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Cups 49 CB)
Omelets
Cheese sticks
Vegetable Quiche Cups (134 B)

Snacks
cheese sticks
stuffed celery (70 CB)
veggie sticks dipped in dressings, peanut dip, black bean dip
peanuts
pistachios
peanut dip (74 CB)
Black Bean Dip (77 CB)

Lunches/Dinners
California Wrap (73 CB)
Muenster and Turkey Roll-Ups (74 CB)
Chilled Tomato Bisque (85 CB)
Hearty Minestrone (94 CB)
Vegetable Beef Soup(109 CB)
Chicken Salad (120 CB)
Chopped Salad with Tuna (140 B)
Chicken Pistachio Salad (141 B)
Cheesy Frittata (129 B)
Light Spinach Frittata (130 B)
Asparagus and Mushroom Omelet (132 B)
Western Egg White Omelete (133 B)
Glazed Bell Peppers and Snow Peas (143 CB)
Summer Squash with Asiago Cheese (152 CB)
Oven-roasted Vegetables (168 B)
Bombay Style Sole (183)
Chicken Mole (210)
Spice-Rubbed Chicken Fingers (212)
Chicken Capri (214)
Marinated Steak (241)
Thai Vegetable Stir Fry (270)
Chicken en Papillote (150 B)
Balsamic Chicken (151 B)
Savory Chicken Saute (153 B)
Fish Kabobs (166 B)

[ClassyLadyWithin]

Here's my personal list of food choices. Remember, the original P1 lists in the book, cookbook and online have been streamlined into this one that includes foods that I only like or want to try! There may be many more on the original lists that you would want to put on yours!!! This way just helped me see what choices were out there for me! All a matter of presentation!!!

Vegetables Meat Sources

spinach Chicken breast
romaine Turkey breast
iceberg All fish
asparagus All seafood
avocados Beef (sirloin, tenderloin, top round
black beans Top loin, round tip,
green beans Bottom round,
kidney beans Eye round are better choices)
wax beans Pork (chops, tenderlion)
peppers Boiled Ham
broccoli Canadian Bacon
cabbage Turkey Sausage
cauliflower Low-Fat Tofu
celery Veggie Burgers
cucumbers FF,LF, LS deli meat
eggplant
fennel Eggs
leeks Egg Substitutes
mushrooms
onions Cheeses (LF,FF)
scallions
snow peas American
snap peas Cheddar
tomatoes (1 whole or 10 cherry) Cottage Cheese (1-2%)
zucchini LF, Part-Skim Mozzarella
Parmesan
Nuts Provolone
Ricotta
PB, natural, 1 Tsp String Cheese
Peanuts, 20 small
Pistachios, 30
Oils
Sweets
SF jello Canola
SF popsicles Olive
SF fudgsicles
SF Creamsicles

[DeeCC]

My main thing was that I'm a habit eater and I was constantly grabbing bad foods since I was on the go (I'm a student in my last year of university and always running around doing something or other, I do lots of extracurricular stuff...). What saved me was doing pre-made ready to eat food when I had time, so I now had options when I was in a rush:

-premeasuring out portions of nuts to grab as a snack (otherwise I found I'd almost double my nut quota without realizing it until then...)

-precutting vegetables and putting them in containers in the fridge (most usually celery and broccoli), with a small container of hummus or natural peanut butter for dip

-always having prewashed lettuce in the fridge (typically tried to mix it up too, buying spring mix, romaine and leaf lettuce in different weeks), along with some grilled vegetables/meats from the night before (BBQ food just tastes fantastic chopped up on top of salad, and if you take small bites of those tasty grilled veggies with some lettuce - I've found i don't even use salad dressings at all anymore).

[itsallaboutme]

when i get home from the stroe i count out my nuts and bag them in baggies, then my husband hides them and he leaves me one each morning on my desk so i can have it for the day, and if he forgets then i have them to look forward to when he gets home from work.

[canadianbeacher]

I don't have the cookbook- could someone post the sausage and egg breakfast cups recipe for me? I need to find the cookbook on sale when I am in the states next- it is awfully expensive up here in canada!

Looking forward to seeing the recipe!!!!!!!!

[Deliria]

when i get home from the stroe i count out my nuts and bag them in baggies, then my husband hides them and he leaves me one each morning on my desk so i can have it for the day, and if he forgets then i have them to look forward to when he gets home from work.

I have to tell you, I laughed so hard when I read this! I mistakenly thought that your husband counted out the nuts & bagged & hid them, then he only put out one nut on your desk in the morning... LOL!! Once I re-read it, I understood that he put out one bag for you. Thank you for the laugh, that made my day!

ClassyLadyWithin- I 2nd that cutting up the veggies & putting them in containers as soon as I got home from the grocery helped me a lot. That way when I wanted a quick snack, they were ready for me.

I was also nervous about having no sugar, because the main reason I had put on my extra weight in the first place was because I was munching on sweets every time I got hungry. I was a sugar addict! I was absolutely shocked that once I started the SB diet, I didn't even crave sugar after the first day. Luckily for me, I have always enjoyed raw veggies, so the transition to them wasn't painful. Once I eliminated the sugar I noticed I had much more energy. When I want something I know is bad for me now, I think about how unhealthy it is for me. My attitude about cooking has completely changed, now I want healthy foods instead of always filling myself up with 'convenient' junk.

The most amazing thing that has happened is that my 20 year old, size 3 daughter has eaten my new, improved cooking; loves the taste of the healthier foods I've been making; and has begun cooking the SB way, not to lose weight, but because of the health benefits!

Good luck, you can do it!

[recipelover]

Just me "bumping" old 2004 links that are in my recipe summary so they don't get deleted.