Lurking where you would never guess to look...

I will not lie, week 2 was challenging. I found out that there was SUGAR in my salt for Pete's sake!  If you don't believe me...here's proof. (See right) This is a photo of my table salt box. Who knew!

There is sugar in bacon, there is sugar in sausage! It is everywhere. I begged Igor for mercy, but he urged me to do my best. So in order to cope with the increased load of food preparation to accommodate my sugar free, carbohydrate free diet, I detoxified and reorganised my grocery cupboard. If I am going to have to prepare EVERYTHING from scratch then my ingredients need to be organised and accessible. I have bought in some Chia seeds, Hemp Hearts, Buckwheat and Brussels Sprouts. Olive oil and Grape-seed oil are easily accessible together with the herbs and spices needed to make food tasty and interesting. Chia and Hemp and such are rich in nutrients and also happen to be gluten free. What are Chia seeds, Click here to find out. The above mentioned supplies are seeds and therefore I am allowed to eat them. I am still able to eat berries and tangerines. This week I rediscovered Brussel sprouts. They are in season now, best time to get them! Yes, and they ARE in fact named after the city in Belgium. I kid you not.

This is what I did with them:

I steamed them and then served them with a tangerine vinaigrette and almonds. They were delicious. Let me just qualify that the last time I tried to eat Brussels sprouts they were horrible...I think preparation has got a whole lot to do with how they taste. First thing to remember is not to overcook them or boil them to death. They are extremely high in Vitamin C. Vit C can be destroyed or lost by over cooking. So just steam them until they are cooked, but still firm and slightly crunchy. These little bundles are also high in Vit K (Potassium). Find out more about their nutritional content here.

(See below)

Dealing with Easter temptation

I had a little bit of "forbidden foods" on Easter Sunday and to be honest, I did not like the effects of sugar and carbs on my body. I felt ill. No longer am I avoiding sugar because, "Igor said so," - but I am avoiding sugar and high glycemic carbs because I want to. Having those things sapped the energy right out of me and I did not like that feeling at all.

Week 1 & 2 of my post Siberia program has been accomplished. It involved some heavy weights this week and I really worked hard to reach "failure" each time. I lost 2 pounds on the scale! Officially!

Here is what Igor had to say:

Progress Report from Igor Klibanov of Fitness Solutions Plus

On Saturday we did Melony's measurements, and a new exercise program was designed.

The purpose of the previous program was to build muscle to make the subsequent fat loss phases easier and speedier, and we did just that.

In just 2 weeks, we were able to build about 2-3 pounds of muscle.

Body fat had a slight reduction, which was a nice benefit, considering that wasn't  the purpose of this phase.

Over the next 6 weeks, Melony will be doing a very different exercise program which builds on the base we've built over the past little while.

Body fat hadn't dropped enough however to warrant including higher glycemic foods into her nutrition. There is a saying, "Carbohydrates must be earned." They are earned by getting leaner and leaner. If Melony's body fat measurements drop by our next measurement date, she will be allowed higher glycemic foods.