Liquid Diet: Questions Answered!

Hi again.  Here I am at day 6 of the dreaded liquid diet, and I'm happy to say it's SO MUCH BETTER!

For one, I am so proud of myself for only cheating twice - once to have some popcorn on Thanksgiving when H went with me to the movies since I couldn't eat, and then today when we were at a cafe writing.  The only veggie soup they had was sweet potato (which is technically a starch) but didn't have cream, so I justified it.

I am generally not a veggie fan.  Even on Weight Watchers, I would turn to something like fruit, if I needed a "free" snack.  So the idea that I'm making due on the few veggies that I like, is something short of a miracle.


For those playing along at home - here is my basic 2-week liquid diet plan from the doctor:

• Drink 3-5 protein shakes a day (200 calories or less, 14-20 grams of protein, less than 4 grams of sugar, first ingredient is whey protein isolate - not blend or concentrate - this means basically nothing found at your grocery store like Ensure, Slim Fast, etc.  They are full of sugar or don't have enough whey protein isolate)
• Sugar-free beverages and non-starchy vegetables only
• 800 calories or less per day

Reach for:

• Water
• Broth
• Sugar-Free Drinks (i.e. crystal light)
• Diluted Juices (1/2 water)
• Vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots)
• Salsa, fat-free/calorie-free salad dressing, butter/oil spray, teriyaki, soy sauce
• Vinegar

My go-to foods this week have been:

Snacks:  pickles (as long as they don't have sugar), tomato basil salad with balsamic vinegar and no oil, edamame, cucumbers with a tiny bit of light ranch (which basically turns to water after a while if I don't eat the cucumbers immediately)

Meals:  protein shakes for breakfast and lunch with something like carrots or cucumbers to snack on in the afternoon.  For dinner, stir fry with veggies only and teriyaki, balsalmic or some similar fat-free marinade/sauce.

Just this weekend I started experimented with soups - pulled out some of my Weight Watchers favorites like tomato red pepper soup which is basically red peppers, onions, crushed tomatoes and carrots with chicken or veggie stock, then pureed.  The recipe calls for fat-free half and half, which I didn't use.

Today I went to dinner at a friend's house and she made a similar soup for me - carrots, 1/2 sweet potato (technically a starch but 1/2 a sweet potato for an 8-10 serving pot of soup I don't think is going to blow the diet!), veggie broth and then curry powder for flavoring.  It was so creamy and really satisfying.