About me:

I have been going to Hawaii in November for over 10 years now. It has become a really good system for my health (mentally and physically). I go right after Harvest dies down so it is a good rest that follows working 16 hour days, 6 days a week. Last year I did not go. I learned a great lesson by not going. I learned that I never ever want to not go to Hawaii in November again. The main, lingering issue is that I realized that I lose weight from October to November for the trip. This means that I go into the Holiday season at a minimal weight. I always come OUT of the season fat and happy but not out of control. This year I went into the Holiday season fatter than I wish to be and I came out of the Holiday season...well, let's just say fat but not happy. So instead of complaining I tried to start eating healthy beginning at the new year. This was not a rapid weight loss but rather a halt to weight gain. Which isn't terrible but not what I am looking for. What I needed was a motivation. What I needed was to go to Hawaii. So that is what I am doing. I understand a lot of people cant just go buy tickets to Hawaii in order to drop a few pounds but I am hoping that this little account of my attempts to lose my own weight will help others. I know that reading other people's weight loss blogs inspires me.

About the Diet:

My plan is to begin with a rapid weight loss regimen then transition into a very healthy diet that is devoid of processed sugars, is low in fat and high in fiber and protein. I think we all know what a healthy diet is by now. Fruits, Veggies, Fish, lean meats, Whole grains, milk blah blah blah. I would recommend to others to follow the diet as I say not as I do because my lifestyle is such that I spend a lot of weekends eating and drinking at dinner parties, restaurants and events. This makes it very difficult to follow a rapid weight loss program because when you indulge, the food immediately turns to fat as we all know. Oh well, I can't help my schedule and I am certainly not going to go to a party or event and only sip wine and munch on a lettuce leaf. I am going to go over board as is my nature.

The Super Soup:

I did a bunch of research about different kinds of foods and how they affect your body. I was doing the bulk of this research on my way home from a particularly indulgent trip to Tahoe where I drank too much and ate things like cheese fondue (a fave of mine). As such I decided to create a soup that not only provides "fat-melting" foods but also detoxifying and cleansing.

Fat Melting

There is really no such thing as a food that literally melts fat, although I like to dream that is what is happening. There are, however, foods that can boost your metabolism so you are burning the fat a little faster. There are also veggies that are packed with nutrients and vitamins or fiber so you don't have to eat as much to feel the benefits. Some examples of fat melting foods are:

Ginger

Hot peppers

Spinach

Any leafy greens

Garlic

Strawberries

Apples

Detoxifying and Cleansing

There are foods that are considered good for cleaning out your system of toxins and waste. Some keep your liver clean some wash out the colon. Some detoxifying and cleansing foods are:

Ginger

Lemon

Garlic

Parsley

Cilantro

Celery

Protein

You wont go far with out having a little protein. In a diet I suggest having the most protein in the morning so you are using it all day long. Foods with high protein are

Eggs

Soy milk

Tofu

Greek style yogurt

Tuna

Lean chicken or turkey breast

Other good stuffs

Some foods act as a diuretic. This does not decrease the fat in your body but helps release some water so you feel and weigh lighter. Examples of this are Parsley and Cucumber. Flax seed is packed with Omega-3 Fatty Acid which helps with the immune system. This can be very helpful when eating a low calorie diet. It also adds fiber to your diet to keep you full. Then there is always the idea of "eating the rainbow". Eating as many different colored vegetables as you can will offer you a complete range of vitamins needed to stay healthy as you go on a rapid weight loss diet.

Ok, all that said here is the "Super Soup" that I came up with:

2 inches ginger

1 Jalapeno, seeded

1 cup fresh cilantro

1 cup fresh parsley

3 tall celery ribs

5 cloves of garlic

1 cup spinach

1 small cucumber

1 cup mixed red, orange and yellow bell peppers (I use about 6 of the mini ones)

1 tbsp flax seed

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 cup greek style yogurt

1 cup chicken broth

Peel the ginger and chop up everything into chunks. Place everything into a blender, preferably a Vita-Mix. Blend until smooth. Heat up individual servings in the microwave.

This makes about 4 or 5 cups of soup. I split the soup into thirds so one serving is approximately 1.5 cups. I am no expert on this stuff so I went to www.calorieking.com and entered all the ingredients to find the nutritional information and this is what I got for the whole entire blender full:

Calories: 322

Fat: 29.7

Carbs: 44.5

Fiber: 13.5

Protein: 24.8

I plan on drinking two cups of this today for breakfast and lunch. If I am in total need of chewing on something I will have a green apple. I will also be drinking 2 Litres of weak green tea today. (I can't handle the caffeine)

Also, I plan on having a cleansing smoothie for dinner. I had this smoothie after my trip to Tahoe and I really felt better after being hungover from too much wine and too much cheese. Here is my recipe for a cleansing fruit smoothie:

5 frozen strawberries

1 lemon

1 orange, rind cut off

1 apple

1/4 cup Organic grade B Maple syrup

1/2 cup water

1 inch ginger, peeled

1 Tbsp Flax Seed

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Cut the rind off the ends of the lemon. Chop up lemon, apple and orange and place everything in the blender or Vita-Mix. Blend until relatively smooth.

Day 1

I didn't realize just HOW much garlic I put in the soup. This may not go well for me today. It certainly isn't going well for my coworkers. Next time I am putting 4 cloves in. I am also going to skip the soy milk and put in a whole cup of the yogurt because it provides less fat and more protein.