Western 3-Egg White Skillet: C1

Serves: 2
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 Minutes


6 Egg Whites (I use Egg Beaters Egg Whites)
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup red or green bell pepper
1/4 of a jalapeno, diced (optional)
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Crushed black pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste


1. Lightly coat skillet with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place skillet over medium heat.
3. Add egg whites.
4. Once lightly browned on the bottom, add veggies and spices.
5. Stir frequently until eggs and veggies are cooked evenly.

C1: Day 7

Nothing exciting for today, as I have another long day at work. Today I realized I have lost seven pounds so far, and that was more than enough for motivation! The only challenge up until this point is finding the time to cook all the meals involved. As much as I enjoy the cooking aspect, it is very time consuming. And I am itching to start adding more fish to my diet, but I have found eating cold fish at work is not very enjoyable. And I find it not filling enough for lunch to get me through my work shift. Looks like fish will have to be my go-to for nights off work.

For the purpose of simplicity, today I am making another couple batches of the turkey egg muffins and the vegetable soup. I also have competed the grocery shopping for a couple new recipes I will be trying out.

One week in!

Breakfast

Caryl's Turkey Sausage Egg Muffins

Snack

8 Blackberries

Lunch

Spicy Chicken Vegetable Soup

1/2 cup cottage cheese

Snack:

Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt

Dinner:

Blackened Chicken Breast
Sauteed Kale


End of the day. Yes, the meals are getting monotonous, but my pants fitting significantly looser makes it all well worth it! As soon as I have the time to fix the new recipes, I believe that will give me even more motivation for the next 10 days of cycle 1.

C1: Day 6

For most bartenders, the phrase "Thank God It's Friday" does not ring true. On Fridays, I typically leave my house for work a little after 2PM, and find myself home close to 5AM. Because I work at a rooftop bar, on Saturdays we open earlier, meaning the hours can be 1PM-5AM. The hours are long, but the most difficult thing is finding a method to prevent reaching starvation mode by the end of a shift.

This past weekend, I found a couple effective tricks. First, bring a snack to eat while setting up the bar (which is typically yogurt, today was a Kaffir smoothie and brussel sprouts.) Second, have "dinner" while closing the bar. Sure, eating at 4 AM for most would be a poor choice for any diet, but with my weekend hours there aren't many options. Also, I am almost a week in to this diet, and have yet to find myself a "2" on the hunger meter, and I haven't even taken a sip of beer or wine!

Eating my dinner cold every night at work has been interesting. The meals all taste delicious hot, but so far the only great cold option is the chicken vegetable soup. I have a few more recipes to make tomorrow, I think the more vegetables the better they will taste cold.

Also, I realized I hadn't been necessarily consuming my 2 full fruit servings per day. I was counting the fruit yogurt as a serving, but I need to add a few more berries to meet the criteria.

Breakast:

3 Egg Whites, Scrambled (I use Egg Beaters, add some garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and black pepper)
Yoplait Greek Yogurt

Snack:

1/2 cup grapes

Lunch:

Blackened chicken over mixed Greens
Creamy non-fat Balsamic Dressing 
5 Strawberries


Snack:

1/2 cup Kaffir Yogurt Smoothie (I found this at my local Harris Teeter)
Brussel Sprouts


Dinner:

Grilled Tilapia with sauteed spinach

 I am watching my sugar intake a bit more due to the 2 servings of probiotics a day. Many low-calorie greek yogurts contain a very high amount of sugar, but so far I have found that Dannon Light & Fit greek yogurt is my best option (80 calories, 6g sugar). The 100 calorie Yoplait greek yogurt is also reasonable (100 calories, 9g sugar). I had inadvertently grabbed another brand yesterday, and realized it had over 20g sugar! Yikes. I feel like I'm cheating on my diet whenever I'm eating the greek yogurt. It really is quiet decadent, and certainly helps satiate this sweet tooth of mine!

C1: Day 5

Today involved a long day at work, so the fun new recipes will have to wait. I turned to my new go-to meals, and found no problems staying energetic through out my busy 12-hour shift (no breaks!). I did have a fleeting romantic thought involving a Publix Boar's Head Turkey Breast Sub on white bread (I know, I know..) but once that craving subsided, all was good. I now drink soda water with a squeeze of lemon and lime in addition to tap water to reach the 64 oz. goal. Only slip up today: no green tea. I think I can live with that!

Breakfast

Caryl's Turkey Egg Muffins

Snack:

Yoplait Greek Yogurt

Lunch:

Chicken and Spinach Casserole

Snack:

Lowfat Cottage Cheese

Dinner:

Eggplant Parmesan


I am looking forward to trying out new recipes (which I will be making another big grocery trip in the next day or two), but I am more than pleased with the meals I have prepared so far. It is now 5 AM after a long night at work, and for the first time in months, I am not weak with hunger and ready to eat anything in sight! While cleaning the bar, I ate my eggplant parmesan, and 2 hours later I am not the least bit hungry. And for me, that is a feat!

For My Fellow 17 Day Dieters

If you are following the 17 Day Diet, or have in the past, I want to hear from you! I have found that this diet has a very strong online support system, and it's great knowing I am not alone in this journey! Tomorrow I will be posting my favorite links to blogs, websites, and social networks that I have found useful in my preparation and execution of this diet.

Which brings me to my queries for those that have been (or are currently) in my shoes. What was your experience like? Any favorite recipes you would like to share? Before and after photos? Comment below, or shoot me an email by clicking here.

Can't wait to hear from you!

C1: Day 4

It is a popular opinion that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. There are many scientific studies to back this up, and the research makes sense. So it comes with a bit of surprise that only 4 days into my new diet, I feel like I have been following it forever- in a good way. I can't remember how I ate before, and I have to wonder why I hadn't changed my eating habits dramatically much sooner!

Many health experts say that knowledge is the best tool to eating healthy. Not so, in my case. I have long known what I should be eating, how much of it I need, and how often. It is simply due to a lack of commitment and willpower to follow through. I have steered away from the various fad diets through the years, opting for low-calorie, high protein food choices, paying attention to portion size and snacking regularly to prevent my hunger reaching a near-starvation point. The past few months I abandoned those principles, and I believe I have made the best choice possible to get back on track with this diet.

One of Dr. Moreno's best tips in his book is to follow the "hunger meter". It essentially advises that you do not allow yourself to reach a state of being "very hungry", which I have ignored the past several months. Very hungry, in his words, is a 2 out of a 1-2 scale (one being moderately hungry, 2 being very hungry) on his "hunger meter". For myself, working 12-14 hours behind a bar has led to some awful scenarios of extreme binge eating, as I had reached a level of hunger that led me to make very poor food choices. But I also made the same mistake during the daytime. I would skip breakfast, run errands for hours, then gorge myself at 4 PM to make up for the two missed meals.

I know myself. I have very little self control when it comes to food. Once I am a "2", all elements of reason go out the window. Yes, the principle of eating frequently to avoid being very hungry is a simple one, but much easier said than done. Having made the effort to take healthy snacks and meals with me at all times, going on four days, I have yet to come close to a "2". On the flip side, Dr. Moreno also has a "fullness meter", and it applies the same principle: stop eating before reaching a 2. This is easy to follow when you never reach a "2" in hunger, however on cheat days  in the past I have been extremely guilty of far exceeding that "2".

Besides feeling refreshed and healthy, I discovered another perk of this diet on my scale today. Down 5 pounds! My overall goal is to lose 15, so this is a great start. I also ordered this Victoria's Secret swimsuit as a reward for completing cycle 1 successfully (yes, premature, I know-but that's how confident I am!). And, how incredibly inspiring is her body? If I look at this picture every day, no chance I will go awry!

Here we go with today's meals...

Breakfast:

3 Egg White Omelet

Snack:

Yoplait 100 Calorie Greek Yogurt (Peach)

Lunch:

Spicy Chicken Vegetable Soup

Snack:

1/2 Cup Cottage Cheese

5 Strawberries

Dinner:

Chicken and Spinach Casserole

Day 4, done! Now it's time to find more recipes. At work I do not have a microwave, therefore all food I bring with me must be eaten cold. The chicken soup and eggplant parmesan taste fine, but not so much with chicken dishes. I think I will try to find a good C1 Cauliflower Soup. A gazpacho could be great as well! Stay tuned...

3 Egg White Omelet

*Eliminate cayenne pepper and jalapeno if you do not like heat.

3 Egg Whites (I use egg beaters)
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp black pepper
Diced onion, to taste
Diced green peppers, to taste
Diced jalapenos, to taste


1. Coat pan in non-fat, nonstick cooking spray. Place over medium heat.
2. Once hot, add Egg whites.
3. Cook for 30 seconds, then distribute the veggies and spices over egg whites.
4. Cook until it is lightly browned on the bottom, then fold in half.
5. Once golden brown on bottom, flip onto other side. Once the other side is also golden brown, remove from heat and serve.