The Plan

Linking up with MamaKat today: 5.) Let’s get healthy…share a guilt free meal you enjoy.

About a month again, when I decided that I couldn’t take another day of feeling like crap emotionally, I happened upon an episode of Dr. Oz while flipping channels. I never watch Dr. Oz. But there was this woman on there talking about eating healthy and saying how some of the most healthy foods might be making you fat. That sounded like me. I ate super healthy, exercised a ton and couldn’t make the scale budge. In fact, it’s been going up over the last few years no matter what I do. And, on top of that, I felt like crap emotionally. Something had to be done. So I listened to her explain The Plan and went directly to Amazon to buy it. (Tip: if you decide to try it, buy the hardcover. It’s too hard to flip back and forth on the kindle version.)

Basically, on The Plan, you do a 3-day cleanse where you eat mostly vegetables and then you start testing foods. It’s kind of like taking your body back to square one and then adding food in one at a time. You use your weight to determine if you react negatively to a food. If you lose between 0 and .5 lbs, you had a mild reaction. Any weight gain means you had a reaction. This means you should avoid this food. If you lose more than .5 lbs, you’re good to go and can now enjoy that friendly food. Pretty cool, huh? You also might have other reactions to a negative food like stomach pain, bloating, gas and irritability. For example, when I tried a rye cracker, not only did I gain weight, I felt like a megabitch right after.

The other interesting component is exercise. I’ve been working out for hours and hours, 6 days a week for almost 25 years. Yikes. According to The Plan, this kind of exercise is not good for you. She recommends 4 days a week of light exercise. That’s it. This was the hardest part for me to get used to. But now that I know that’s what’s best for my body, it’s what I do.

I’ve been telling my doctors for years that I have a thyroid issue. I have every single symptom to the max. But all of my tests come back OK. On The Plan, she has you take your basal body temperature every morning if you think you have a thyroid issue. If it’s less than 97 degrees, chances are you do. Guess what my temp was? 93. Even after 20 days of following The Plan, and eating from the thyroid menu, the highest I’ve been able to get my temp is 96. Crazy, huh?

This whole process has been beyond fascinating to me. Not only has it allowed me to learn more about my body, but it’s allowed me to break up with my scale. I no longer avoid it or fear it or let it determine my mood for the day because all it does is provide me data. It lets me know if my body liked a food or not. That’s it. It’s given me permission to listen to my body, to take care of my body and to do what’s best for me. I feel very healed.

There are actually quite a few really delicious recipes in the cookbook that goes with The Plan. She also updates her cookbooks online for the seasons. The online support is wonderful. This is my favorite recipe so far. The rest of my family eats it right up too. Today is freezing here in Ohio, a perfect day to enjoy some broccoli soup!

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 medium to large onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 can full-fat coco milk
• 4 cups broccoli, chopped (about 2
heads of broccoli)
• 4 cups zucchini, chopped (about 2
medium zucchini)
• 1 small potato
• 1 tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce (sub
Sriracha if you don’t have this on hand)
• ground black pepper to taste
• ADD SEASONINGS TO TASTE –
cumin, turmeric, cayenne etc.

Sautee onion, celery and spices in 3 tbsp of butter. Add in coco milk, water and chicken broth along with the potato, broccoli and zucchini and cook until vegetables are
tender.

Blend and enjoy!

***If you have any questions about The Plan, feel free to ask!!***