Potatoes not Prozac - Step 1

 

So, after last week's epiphany with Potatoes not Prozac, I've been consciously trying to eat more protein.  But since I am now almost back to being completely vegetarian, this presents more challenges, particularly as the protein I am consuming is of the high-fat variety.  That's fine if you are doing Atkins and going into ketosis but I am not.  So I need to be careful.  

One of the many key points of the programme (Potatoes not Prozac - which I am going to refer to as PnP) is to take a step at a time.  Because, even a seemingly easy step, can be challenging - purely from a logistics point of view.  And you don't want to set up failure before you've really started.

I was not going to list all the steps in a post but lovely commenters have expressed concern about one of the steps - 'have a potato before bed' and I was concerned that other readers may wonder what this programme may be prescribing!  But the potato question is a legitimate one.  Of course, I wondered - from a weight-loss perspective - how having white carbs at night was going to help me shed the pounds.  So, instead of me trying to worry ahead (which I usually do), I am going to try a different approach and trust the programme.

And the reason for this is that PnP is a step-based programme and the author encourages to walk before you can run, ie step-by-step, taken at your own pace.

Here are the steps:

1. Eat breakfast with protein.
2. Journal what and when you eat and how you feel.
   
3. Eat three meals a day with protein.
   
4. Take the recommended vitamins and have a potato before bed.
   
5. Shift from "white foods" to "brown foods".
   
6. Reduce or eliminate sugars.
   
7. Come alive.

Step 1 immediately presents a challenge; there is a recommended amount of protein to eat at each meal so breakfast - which is seen as the foundation of the programme and, therefore, your own programme - has to be eaten.  Regardless of whether you are hungry.  I used to find the more I ate breakfast, the hungrier I got before lunch.  But Dr DesMaisons talks you through the concerns in her book.

For the hardcore slimmer, there is always an urgency with wanting to lose weight.  I can't tell you much I want to shift the two stone (28 pounds) I have gained since April.  But, unless I address some core issues around my eating, I will end up losing and gaining the same weight, over and over again.  And what's more, if I had started PnP at the same time as doing a VLCD, chances are I would be less than I weigh now because I would not have been crippled by depression (when I eat and eat and eat).  My own bio-chemistry would have been more balanced by now.  But everything seems clearer with hindsight.

So, much as I want to find low-fat protein and maybe stint on what needs to be eaten, I recognise that I have to change habits.  And repetition is the only way.

I've been doing the Step 1 for a few days now - just getting into the habit of eating breakfast with protein (not solely protein) within an hour of getting up.  But I am not doing it 100% so there is still plenty of room for improvement and so I am in no rush to move on.  I was working all weekend and managed to have quite a few chocolate biscuits - 'just to keep me going'.  Hmmmm.

Do you know what the hardest part (of this simple step) is?  Getting organised to ensure I have the right things ready to eat!

Comments

[Peridot]

I am SO SO interested in this - please blog in minute detail if you can bear to! What are you eating for breakfast? I find that particularly tricky.

My reservations are:
1) that I don't usually eat breakfast until I get to my desk, around 2 hours after getting up. It's partly time and mostly because I find I'm hungry when I get in.
2) the no-mid-morning-snack thing - not sure I'd survive!
3) yep, the potato
4) does it mean you can never eat anything sweet again? I don't want a chocolate free life, just to be in control.

I bought some St John's Wort today to try and help lift me from the doldrums - but I've now discovered that I may not be allowed to take it because of my migraine medication, grrr.

Can't wait to read more!

love
Peridot x

[Kathleen]

What a great beginning!! WOW~~you have an open heart...
a) the issue about an hour is important so you don't put your body into a stress crisis.You haven't eaten since the night before.
b) you can have a mid morning snack :)
c)the potato is designed to raise serotonin in your brain. Serotonin is the JUST SAY NO chemical. It gives you impulse control. The myth that potatoes are bad for you is a myth. Read the book for a scientific explanation :)
d)No, it simply means that you are free from compulsion and you GET TO chose what you want. This is not about control. You can't control sugar addiction. This is healing. But the sugar thing is step SIX, not step one. By the time you get there, it is a non issue.

kathleen

[shauna]

Go you good thing!
I get a bit frazzled by protein too but if you think it doesn't have to be a slab of meat. Eggs are good and only take as long to scramble as your slice of bread does to toast... or Greek yogurt contains a decent amount of protein... 150g pot of 2% has 10g. my weekday brekkie is greek yogurt with unsweetned tinned apples or pears (me very lazy) and a sprinke of raw oats and sunflower seeds (good fats and some carbs) and cinnamon. almost tastes like apple crumble :P

[Lynn]

Why are you going vegetarian?

[Rental]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[Hotjobs]

With the new 2011. Year! Congratulations.

[Golf Tips]

I certainly enjoyed the way you explore your experience and
knowledge of the subject! Keep up on it. Thanks for sharing the info