My Perricone Promise Journal

2 Months Later

2005-03-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been almost 2 months, and I've put on all the weight I lost in January, PLUS another 10 lbs, and my face is a all wrinkley and covered with acne and reddish-colored blotches the size of quarters, especially on my cheeks and chin, and I have seem to have grown a 2nd chin which hangs down almost as low as the sagging skin that used to be my neck...

I'M JUST KIDDING!!!!

I've been sticking to the Perricone diet religiously, and while I haven't been doing the day-to-day meals exactly as they are laid out in the book, I have been eating as well or even better than I was during the first 28 days! I haven't lost any more weight, but my clothes are continuing to fit differently. I think the working out is contributing to that as well.
I'm drinking nearly an entire gallon of water a day now, and other than having to pee every 45 minutes, I feel great.

I'm getting seafood delivered to my door every other week from an online seafood company that Dr. Perricone recommends called Vital Choice, which is so convenient compared to going to the grocery store all the time and arguing about where their fish is raised or caught (they really don't seem to have a clue about farm raised vs wild salmon, and I don't believe them when they tell me it's wild! Vital Choice on the other hand seems to be honest!)

Well, I'm feeling great and you can do it too. Please post comments and let me know if I've helped you, as the idea that you all are watching me has sure helped me!!!

Love you all!
N

The End?

2005-01-28T23:15:00.000-08:00

Well that's it. First, I'll report on my final day, and then I'll report on the overall Perricone program.
Let's start with Friday, 28 days later I am still excited to be eating bacon for breakfast. I had pretty much cut regular bacon out of my diet before going on the Perricone diet, but turkey bacon tastes better than I remember regular bacon tasting!
Lunch, I ate out knowing that I could get a chicken caesar salad anywhere (but I ate my cantaloupe wedge before I went out).
I went for a long walk after lunch, then had my yogurt smoothie with strawberries and acai berry juice mixed in. Both my walk and my smoothie were cold but refreshing.
Dinner was the chicken walnut salad w/ white beans and artichokes, which was delicious. Instead of eating my pear separately, I dice one up and added it to the salad (That was a nice twist, thank you).
So, here I am, right before bedtime, snacking on about a slice and a half of turkey breast with 3 olives & 3 cherry tomatoes. I cut the turkey breast into about 3 half slices and roll them up, so that with the olives and tomatoes I feel like I'm having a small anti-pasto platter. I'm totally going to start serving this after dinner when I have guests and they will never know that I am eating part of a diet (except I'll tell them!). This combination would go great with a glass of shiraz, but I am off wine until after the diet (tomorrow is after the diet!).
Anyway, the last day was pretty much business as usual, with me feeling full and energetic (thanks, PEP!!!) all day.
I have not planned my meals out for tomorrow, but I am sure I will eat some variation of what I've been eating for the last four weeks. Why wouldn't I stick to this lifestyle? I've lost at least 14 lbs, I'm never hungry, and everybody tells me I look younger! It's true, I've been accused of getting Botox injections, having a facelift, going tanning, and having a lot of sex recently, all of which (unfortunately for the last) are untrue.
Well, I expect to stick to this program for a while, as I am addicted to how good I feel. It will be interesting to see how much effect it has on me now that I am actually taking the PEP food! I mean, I won't go day-by-day anymore, but I will amost always eat meals from the diet and stick to the superfoods. Exercise is not going away either - that's addicting, too! The only hard parts will eating out while on vacation, and at the club where they always have the tastiest rich foods. Maybe I'll cheat a little bit here and there - never say never, but I'll be good.
You be good too; just knowing that you might have been reading this has helped me tremendously, whoever you are. Knowing that I had to type what I ate each day and what I did really helped me stick to this. It would have been a totally guilty feeling if I had to write that I completely blew the diet one day or a few days. Thank God I was able to stick to it just to avoid the embarrassment.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT DURING MY 28 DAY DIET!!!!

And a special thank you to Dr. Perricone, without whom I wouldn't have anything to write about on my blog! Dr. Perricone, you made a tremendous difference in my life in less than one month and I can't say how much I appreciate that! Thank you!!!

Day 27 - Tomorrow I'm Done!

2005-01-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

Well, the 2nd to the last day of my journey was typical - I have to give myself a big pat on the back, and anyone who might be reading this a big Thank You! Just the thought that someone might be reading this has really helped me stay pretty much on track through the 4 weeks.
Of course - as I've said before - the great food I'm allowed to eat in this diet has made it pretty easy - Today for example, I had an omelet for breakfast again! How many diets have you ever been on that encourages a 4 egg omelet for breakfast?!?!? Well, Dr. PErricone always says - eat your protein first!, and "the days you don't eat your protein are the days you age the most". Not sure what that means exactly, but it's good if you like eggs (I do) and if you want to look younger (I do, and I do!).
Let me just tell you, if you don't need to look younger or live longer or lose weight, you might want to try the perricone diet anyway just because the food is soooooo good! Dinner tonight was the mediterranean stuffed peppers - they are to die for! Oh, I had the PEP this morning in my omelet and didn't even know I was eating it!!! I put it on top of the eggs and folded the eggs over the powder after the eggs were done cooking, as I was afraid of burning out the nutrients from the PEP (not sure if that could happen, but wanted to be careful because I LOVE THIS STUFF!). Anyway, that worked out well.

Now, for the last DAY!!!

Day 26

2005-01-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was good. Started the day knowing that when the day was done, I'd only have 2 more days to go and I would have successfully completed the 28 day Perricone Program. I already feel successful, as my skin really looks younger - it feels tighter (and soooo smooth!!!). Oh yeah, and I lost a bunch of weight as an added bonus. How great is that???

As promised, I mixed my PEP blend with my green tea today (added a little cold water to the tea first so it wasn't too hot). Much better than mixed with plain water as far as being able to drink it. And after the first month of taking PEP, you're supposed to cut the dosage in half ( to 1.5 teaspoons), which should make it even easier to swallow.

Does anyone have any suggestions for mixing PEP blend with something that tastes good in the morning? Let me know and I'll post them here or on that forum site I found for the book at perricone promise.com!

Lunch was the Turkey soup, and it's been so cold that I was very happy to have it. Skipped the walnuts and had almonds instead, and I didn't have any cantaloupe b/c my grocery store didn't either, so I had a couple of strawberries instead.
Rest of the day went as planned, and boy is this PEP still working!!! SO MUCH ENERGY (I was afraid I might crash today after the effect it had on me yesterday, but it is really consistent!)

On to the 2nd to last day!!!

Yuck, then YES!

2005-01-25T22:20:00.000-08:00

Day 25 arrived - it was a Tuesday. Started the day with a twist, because I was finally able to try the PEP functional food powder that you are supposed to take every day on the Perricone Program, but which wasn't available until last week.
So, I tried it with warm water as recommended on the label. One full tablespoon. The rep from Dr. Perricone's company warned me it was harsh tasting, so I prepared for the worst. I mixed it in about 12 oz of lukewarm water from the tap, and took a sip. My first thought was "yuck", but only because I was expecting it to suck. However, it really wasn't that bad. The only strange part was the consistancy - I had to keep stirring it as I drank it to keep the PEP food from settling on the bottom of my glass.
Now for the results. I haven't really had any coffee for weeks, and I've been getting plenty of exercise and sleep and eating according to plan for 24 days, so nothing was different today except for the introduction of the PEP to my diet. Let me tell you, I know why it is called "PEP" - because that's what I had ALL DAY after taking this PEP blend food or whatever it's called!
I swear - usually I start to drag around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and I don't usually feel like doing anything like going out or any chores after dinner. But not on this day - no sirree. ENERGY all day long!!! And not the jittery nervous energy I used to have with coffee (which also made me tired if I didn't keep having more coffee!), but a consistent energetic vibe that - oh well, maybe too much energy, LOL!
While the taste wasn't as bad as I had expected - it really didn't even have a taste at all - the consistancy is such that tomorrow I may try mixing it in my breakfast or tea.
Oh, BTW, I ate perfectly fine today except for my afternoon snack - I only had yogurt with berries - not a smoothy as prescribed by the Dr.
Oh well, on to tomorrow!!!

Day 24, Monday

2005-01-24T21:56:00.000-08:00

Monday was so exciting - finally getting my PEP blend was so cool, it inspired me to make up for any of the little cheats I had done throughout the first 23 days of the diet; there weren't many, but I figure I could be better for 5 more days! And, with 13 less pounds to worry about (yes, one more pound!!!), why wouldn't I be excited!?!
Started the day by nuking a piece of salmon I had grilled over the weekend, and it was delicious - you would be surprised how good it is to have good food for breakfast. You have to forget everything you were programmed to eat for breakfast - I am convinced that cereal is just a big marketing ploy to sell air in a box (I actually heard that at a business conference on advertising that I attended sometime last year and it stuck with me), and eggs and bacon are just a throwback to the days when everyone had their own chickens on their own farm.
I don't know, maybe I am buying into this stuff too much - but you should see my skin!!! And I can't even describe how great I feel from this program!
Anyway, on to Tuesday!

MY PEP BLEND ARRIVED!

2005-01-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

Half way through the 24th day of the program, and (having a good day so far), but I am excited to report that my PEP blend arrived today!!! Why is this such a big deal?
Well, if you read The Perricone Promise, which came out last fall (October or November I think), every morning of the 28 day diet I am following tells you to "start the day with 1 teaspoon peptide functional food powder...". Well, until last week, there WAS NO peptide functional food powder!!!! Not that everybody was out of stock - it simply didn't exist yet!!!
According to the rep I talked to from Dr. Perricone's office (Alexis - she was so sweet), Dr. Perricone had created this PEP blend long before he wrote his book - but it took longer than expected to package and produce it for the masses (us!) or his book came out sooner than he expected - either way, I am glad it's here! I feel like this diet could have been even better (and it's been AMAZING!) if I had had the PEP from the get-go. Oh well, tomorrow morning - on the 25th day of the 28 day diet (round 1, anyway), I'll start taking PEP blend (I'd try some now, but it looks like it gives you so much energy I'm afraid if I take it at lunch time I'll be up all night!!!).

Fri, Sat and Sun days 21-23

2005-01-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

Glad I don't live in Cape Cod or Boston. The cold weather and the little bit of snow we got here is nothing compared to the 3 feet they were buried in up north! Still, it was nice to stay inside all weekend with a warm fire.

Friday was a mirror of Thursday - I was good if I do say so myself!
I stuck pretty much to plan on Saturday, but allowed myself two glasses of merlot with dinner. I don't buy into the whole red wine for red meat, white wine for chicken and fish thing. I am an independent thinker :).
Anyway, I had skipped the cottage cheese and apple for my afternoon snack, hoping the calories would work themselves out.
Sunday, I followed the diet to a T, and spent most of the day cooking for the rest of the week. I am now in the final week of the Perricone Promise diet, and I feel fabulous!

Day 20

2005-01-21T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody,
Yesterday I had another good day, but best of all I have lost 12 lbs as of this morning (day 21 actually) - so, in less than 3 weeks, I've lost 12 lbs - how cool is that?
I'm glad that I decided to continue to be true to this diet again yesterday - it's totally one day at a time, btw. It was easy again yesterday, however, because the food was so amazing:
Bacon for breakfast (yummmm), and I chose the broiled salmon for lunch over the chicken as chicken was on the menu for dinner (grilled indian chicken -the recipe was delicious, and the kabobs were fun to make).
Yes, I ate my entire bedtime snack, and slept like a baby.

On to today!

Hey 19

2005-01-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry -I was feeling a little Steely Dan with the title - Anyway, yesterday I successfully completed the 19th day of the Perricone Promise diet, AND I ordered my PEP food (I'm expecting it by Monday!!!).

Coming of the tails of a great Tuesday, I continued sticking to the diet all day yesterday. I was feeling kind-of hungry all day until the afternoon snack - the hardboiled egg really hit the spot after what seemed like a lighter-than usual menu for the day.

Salmon Teriyaki was deeee-lish!!! Oh, I did skip the cottage cheese at bedtime-snack-time again. Whoops, don't kill me.

I'm off to the club; tata for now!

Day 18 - a very good day!

2005-01-18T21:34:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a great day for me on my Perricone Promise journey. I called Dr. Perricone's company to find out that they finally will have the PEP blend available this week, which is key, because it is an integral part of the 28 day diet -but was not available yet. The caffeine in my tea has been sufficient, and I've had more energy than ever now that I workout every single day, but the mental and physical energy that this PEP food is supposed to give you sounds amazing, at least according to the book. So they said I could call back tomorrow and order it, which I will do.

Anyway, I stuck to the diet precisely today - didn't miss a beat! Yea! Whoo-hooo! I had to force myself to eat the wedge of cantaloupe after eating 4 eggs (2 of which were eggwhites) for breakfast (oh, yeah, I skipped the dill weed in the omelet - used a little garlic instead -yum).
Lunch for me was Lobster Cocktail (again, YUM).
And for dinner, of course, I went with the chicken choice over the tofu - I love curried chicken, and the cucumber salad was AMAZING (did I say amazing already?).
Anyway, a very good day, and a perfect bedtime snack to boot (slicke of turkey breast, 4 cherries, 3 almonds - thrice- YUMMM!)

Going to bed happy and full but not fat!

Okeedokie, see ya soon.

Day 17

2005-01-17T19:45:00.000-08:00

Monday was a monday. I was moving a little slower than usual. Not feeling the breakfast today, I substituted two scrambled eggs (one was just an egg white), and a handful of blueberries. Also - major cheat here, I had a slice of toast - but I put it under my eggs like an openface sandwich and did not use any butter.
I feel better writing that, but I did divert. The rest of the day I will not stray.

And I did not. Why would I? Shrimp Coctail for lunch, Chicken Almond Ding for dinner - come on! This is great - no more diversions!!!

Sunday, Day 16

2005-01-16T22:15:00.000-08:00

Sunday was a nice day to stay inside and eat all day, and that's pretty much what I did. After my morning trip to the club - where, by the way, I am up to 40 minutes at 6mph on the treadmill - that's like 4 ten-minute miles! I never ran 4 miles before!!!
Breakfast was enough to fill me for the day! Only, not the tired-full you get from the way you eat when you put butter on toast and in the frying pan, and cream in your coffee. Food is now a delicious fuel to me - I eat like a machine, but savor every bite.
Anyway, it was a perfect day for smelling soup - I made the Lentil and Turkey Sausage Soup in the crockpot where it simmered for 6 hours - smelling it all day made it taste even better when it was finally time for dinner in front of the red carpet on the TV Guide channel with Joan Rivers and daughter Melissa. I mean the Golden Globes are not the same as the Oscars, but all the same stars show up - and they were all gogeous. I did flip to the Star Jones version a couple of times, but .... I'd rather watch football.

Broke one rule today. I had a second bowl of soup (it was soooo good), so I skipped the bedtime snack altogether (except for the water - I drink about 80 oz of water a day now).

Ok for now!

Day 15 - Week 3 Begins

2005-01-15T21:30:00.000-08:00

I'm on day 15 of the Perricone Promise diet program, which is the first day of week 3 of the diet. After 2 full weeks I've lost 10 lbs. Yes, ten pounds. I can't believe it - still- even though I am eating completely differently than I used to, I am totally never even a little hungry. In fact, I went to the movies tonight and didn't even crave popcorn and soda - even the smell of the butter - something that usually makes my mouth water - smelled like crap.
Just knowing what it does to your skin and your overall health and that it add years to the way you look and feel is probably a big part of it. The other part is that with all the fancy recipes and recommended snacks, I am spending a lot of time shopping, cooking or eating.
Not every day is so easy, but believe me, there are more good days than bad, and I am officially more than half-way through the diet - WooHoo!!!

Ok for now!

Day 14

2005-01-14T22:50:00.000-08:00

I was glad to have bacon & eggs for breakfast, even if they were soft-boiled (not the same as overeasy with toast, but not bad). Did I mention how much I like turkey bacon???? love it, and don't think I could go back to old fashioned stuff again. I enjoyed my morning workout, and will be walking with my friend after lunch. Knowing that I have a yogurt smoothie for an afternoon snack will be good incentive to walk hard!

I stuck to the perricone promise diet 100 percent today, and have no major plans for the weekend, so I hope to keep on it through Monday.

Ahh, to bed, still exhausted from New York on Thursday and my big bedtime snack. I'm sleeping in tomorrow.

Ta-ta.

Day 13

2005-01-14T05:15:00.000-08:00

The trip was a blast, and Dr. Perricone was a joy to meet at his booksigning. I didn't do bad at lunch - even though I was at a restaurant - I found a place that actually had salmon salad on their menu!
My flight was about 90 minutes late due to the intense fog, which I've never seen anything like!!! So, I had my dinner a little later than I like, but since I had a bag of pretzels and an apple instead of a hard boiled egg and an apple, I wasn't starving - and I had my dinner waiting to be warmed up at home. Yes, I felt guilty about eating those salty delicious goddamn good carbs in that little airplane bag of yummy pretzels, but I almost licked the salt off the inside of the bag. The only thing that made me feel better is what I didn't order on the plane or at the airport - my usual flying companion, vodka cranberry. Yum - I miss you, but I'm glad I missed you.

Ahhh, sleep was good last night, and the sound of the rain made it hard to get out of bed this morning, but the gym is waiting!!!

Ok for now...

Going to see Dr. Perricone in NYC!

2005-01-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

Day 13 - on the Perricone diet. 8 lbs lighter than I was just two weeks ago, and at DCA for a 9:20 flight up to Barnes and Noble at Rockefeller Center in NYC for a chance to meet Dr. Perricone in person. Even if I don't get a chance to talk to him while he's signing my copy of The Perricone Promise, I am looking forward to at least thanking him for inspiring me to change my life for the better. I'm a little nervous.

Breakfast this morning, by the way, was eaten very early, and I missed my 2nd day of exercise in a row. However, I think walking around the big apple should more than make up for it.

I may cheat a little for lunch, as I can't prepare my own foods while on my day trip, but I'm going to look for a meal at the restaurant that resembles a meal from the book. Some sort of salad I'm sure. The 6pm flight home gives me a little time to shop after the book signing, and puts me back at the airport a little after 7, so I'll be sure to have dinner at home (I prepared it last night and just have to heat it up ;) .)

Wish me luck!

Day 12 on my Perricone Promise Diet

2005-01-13T05:53:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was another normal day on the Perricone program. My exercise in the a.m. was replaced by an extra 45 minutes of sleep, which I really needed. For breakfast I had 2 hardboiled eggwhites instead of 2 softboiled eggs - I hate softboiled eggs.
It was a perfect day for soup, so lunch hit the spot, as did the Fish Stew recipe I made for dinner.

Skipped the egg part of the bedtime snack - I hope my messing up the bedtime snacks isn't the end of me. From the glow on my face, the lbs I've shed, and the compliments I'm getting, I think I'm doing okay.

Is anyone else going through this?

Day 11

2005-01-12T06:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my 11th full day on the Perricone Promise diet. It was Tuesday in the real world, but for those of you playing along at home day 11 is marked as Thursday in the book.

I can't believe I am shedding pounds on this diet - I mean, Tuesday's menu was a LOT of food, and I am totally never hungry. Comon, I've never eaten four eggs in an omelet before, even if 2 of them were only the whites - FOUR EGGS, and then a kiwi fruit AND a bowl of oatmeal.
Add in all the snacks and supplements and water that goes along with the diet plan, and I can't even think about the crap I used to eat (ice cream, chocolate milk, chips, chocolate, etc..).

I had a handful of almonds instead of the cottage cheese and berries snack before bedtime - is that bad?

Oh, and I made extra chili and froze it for another day - it was that good.

OK for now...off to the gym.

Day 10

2005-01-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

Monday was nice because the rain had stopped. I started my day on the treadmill for 25 minutes, and then proceded to heat up the salmon fillet that I baked the previous evening while I was baking the scrod I had made for dinner Sunday night.

I wish that darn pep-blend-food or whatever it is was available! It's in the book as if it exists, but for some reason you can't buy it anywhere yet. I called Dr. Perricone's distribution company again Monday and was told it might actually be available this month. I hope it lives up to the anticipation that I am building for it!!!

Oh, and by the way, did I mention I've lost SIX POUNDS?!?!?! That was after only 10 full days on the 28 day diet. I swear - I'm never hungry on this plan, so I don't know how it works.

7, 8, and 9

2005-01-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

The rest of Friday, and Sat and Sun went wonderfully on my Perricone Promise plan. I'm about to have my Sunday evening snack while I watch American Dreams. I'm not craving the ice cream I used to eat while I watch this show on Sunday nights, but I can't say I'm not thinking about it.

Anybody catch Dr. Perricone on QVC on Friday night? I think he was pre-recorded, but the women that were talking about his program really seemed to know their stuff.

Friday so far (day 7)

2005-01-07T13:55:00.000-08:00

I am so relieved to hear that someone is reading these posts and I'm not just talking to myself like a crazy person (not that there's anything wrong with that;)) Thanks to everyone that emailed me so far in support of my Perricone Promise program, and to jules for posting a comment to let me know I'm not alone..

I just finished lunch and thought I would chime in on my day so far. I was able to have a turkey burger (no, atkins freaks, I didn't eat a bun) for lunch - I LOVE turkey burgers ever since I was introduced to them last summer. I think they taste sooo much better than red meat burgers, and of course, then there's that whole mad cow thing. (Sorry about that link - I couldn't resist.)

Had raspberries, and to be honest, I ate little more than a half cup.... they are delicious, and hey, they are better than the 2 or 3 bite-size tootsie rolls I would be eating 8 days ago!!!

Ok for now...

I'm going to see Dr. Perricone!

2005-01-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

Nah nah nah, nah-nah-nah. I just heard that Dr. Perricone is going to be in person for a book signing next thurs the 13th at B&N in NYC! I'm totally going! yea!

ALSO, my girlfriend told me she heard his products are being featured on QVC tonight at 7. They usually sell stuff supercheap, and since some of his stuff is kinda pricey, I'm going to try to watch and see if I could steal a deal.

Yesterday - Day 6

2005-01-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

Thursday went very well. You know how I love bacon for breakfast. The best part is that I've been doing this thing for only 6 full days and I've really see a difference in the mirror. There is definitely a healthy glow to my skin already, and I haven't had a zit since I started! Considering that I am a day away from that time of the month where I usually breakout, I am impressed.
annnny way, the only thing on Thursday's menu (Saturday in the book) that bugged me out was the half cup of hummus. I like it as a spread, but never ate it with a spoon before. It actually wasn't as yuk as I thought it would be. In fact, I think I actually would have liked it if I wasn't being such a girlie about it when I was making it. Yes I'm making my mind up to enjoy it if it shows up on the menu again!
The Grilled Indian Chicken I made for dinner was to die for! (and I never say that... I mean it was good!).
Oh well - all this talk about what I ate yesterday is making me hungry, so it's on to day 7. Yes, I am going to eat salmon for breakfast, and it's okay, because I like salmon. Didn't used to, but it is becoming one of my favorite foods. Not just because I know how good it is for me, but it's more about how many different benefits Dr. Perricone describes from wild salmon. It's crazy.

Day 5

2005-01-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a very good day. I got to have bacon for breakfast - I love bacon. It's amazing what they do with turkey to make it taste like "real" bacon. For dinner, I went with the Salmon Teriyaki. Oh, and I switched the bedtime snack to a handful of almonds instead of the cottage cheese and pumpkin seeds. I really wasn't that hungry but wanted something crunchy to munch on while I was watching The West Wing (yes, I still watch it).

More importantly, the scale told me this morning that I am 3 lbs lighter than I was before I started this thing. yea-hoo!!!

Days 3 & 4

2005-01-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

Day 3 was a real bitch - I was tired. It was Monday. I waited until Wednesday to write this mostly out of embarrassment.

Started the day by NOT buying a donut at dunkin donuts, where I stopped for a small coffee - light and sweet. OMG it was heaven. Maybe the taste of the sugar inspired me, but I went back home and prepared and ate the breakfast laid out on day 3 (Wednesday in the book), sans the berries. Had water, not tea.

After eating a half avocado before lunch, I met a friend for lunch at the Capital Grille and had the shrimp cocktail - a nice item to have so early in the diet.

Dinner was AMAZING, and Day 4 (my Tuesday, the book's Thursday) went off without a hitch. Other than my Monday morning coffee breakdown, I haven't strayed from the diet at all (I know - it's only 4 days, but this is BIG for me).

I finally started the diet

2005-01-03T06:36:00.000-08:00

I finally got started on the Perricone Promise diet on Saturday. Sure, January 1st, I'm probably the only person who started a diet that day. I wasn't hungover like I've been on many another new years day, so that wasn't an issue. And it's a good think, too, because the only thing that I like to eat after a hangover is a cheeseburger from McDonalds, and that is NOT part of the Perricone Program!

Anyway, I had all the stuff I needed, and followed the breakfast menu to a tee, sans the green tea. I stuck to water instead (and a half cup of black coffee). I tried green tea once and it tasted like fish. I like fish, but not in my tea - wish I remembered what brand it was and I would try something else. I wasn't sure what flaxseed was, and I don't normally eat cottage cheese - but together they were pretty good - although a half cup was a lot, especially after eating an egg. I skipped the cinnamon on the oatmeal, too, as I like my oatmeal plain - probably won't screw me up too badly.

For lunch I went with the day-1 Ginger Chicken option, and as an afternoon snack I had a dannon yogurt (mostly because I didn't know what kefir was).

Dinner = Delicious. I'm a big fan of salmon. Wasn't always a fish-eater, but wild salmon is easy.

The hardest part of the first day was eating a hard-boiled AND an apple for an evening snack when I'm used to picking on small things like chips or having a big cup of hot chocolate.

Day 2 (Sunday for me/Tuesday in the book) went similarly well - I actually felt like I was OVER-eating trying to follow the diet. Oh, and the supplements are relatively easy to down. Started the day with a half-cup of black coffee again, but I am giving it up. I almost forgot to make it I was so busy cooking my omelet and getting everything together for my big breakfast, so I'm sure I can go without it... We'll see. Maybe I'll try a couple of different brands of green tea over the next couple of days and see if any don't horribly suck.

Preparing for the Program

2004-12-30T13:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm going to start the Perricone diet that I read about in The Perricone Promise written by Dr. (Who else?) Perricone. I am writing about it on the web in an effort to shame myself into keeping on the program, as I've failed a few diet plans in the past. Read more about me here.

Today is a combination of a "last supper" and preparing for the first week of the diet by shopping for all the food I'll need. I'm not going to buy everything, but I'm going to buy a few days worth of Wild Salmon online from Vital Choice Seafood and pick up some rainbow fruits (blueberries, rasberries, strawberries, etc) from the closest Stop & Shop to my house. There's a Big Y that is even closer, and they have less expensive groceries, but I am almost never happy with their fruits and vegetables. It's not like roach infested, but the produce just seems cleaner and fresher at S&S.

First, the last meal - comprised of things that I don't think I'll be eating over the next 28 days as I try to "live longer and look younger in three easy steps".

My last pre-diet meal is going to consist of the following: PASTA. Lotsa Pasta. And bread - I love bread, and while the Perricone plan is not an extreme no-carb diet, Dr. Perricone does recommend staying away from breads and pasta for the most part. That will be the hardest part. I'm ordering it from Bertucci's, because I know there won't be any leftovers to tempt me while I'm on the program.