Phase I, Day 2

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FOOD EATEN:

Breakfast: Asian breakfast scramble (see my recipe here); can of V-8

Midmorning snack: stalk of celery and half a green bell pepper with 3 T hummus

Lunch: a truly humungous salad, complete with olives and pistachios, and amounting to almost 800 calories

Early-Mid-Afternoon Snack: a sugar free grape popsicle. Tasted nothing like grapes. Or food, for that matter.

Late-Mid-Afternoon Snack: a (modified) mug of Mexican hot chocolate. Tasted like heaven. For my recipe, go here.

Dinner: 1 c leftover chili from yesterday, 1 stalk celery

Dessert: 1 oz macadamia nuts, 1 T almond butter

Exercise: 3.5 mile run

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It occurs to me that this diet entails three profound differences in the way I usually eat. First, I eat far more frequently. Normally, I'd eat twice a day; a small lunch and a really, really, really big dinner. Second, I eat no grains. On a typical day, I'd usually eat several servings of whole grains in one form or another (bagel, bread, pasta), and those calories add up FAST, without filling you up as much as you'd expect, given their physical volume. Third, I don't eat fruit. Fruit smoothies are usually a pretty large portion of my diet.

This makes me wonder, though, if I'm going to see results any time soon. Probably the largest effect of this diet in normal circumstances is on people who normally eat few vegetables and all refined-flour grains (white breads, white pasta, etc.) As a vegan, I already eat lots of vegetables and low-GI carbs. So I don't really have "cravings" to kill, nor do I need to improve my triglicerides or cholesterol count. On the other hand, cutting out grains and fruit does cut out a large source of my calories. Yesterday, I ate far fewer than 1,000 calories. Today, I'll probably eat fewer than 1,500. I ran for about 3.5 miles this afternoon, and while I didn't feel fantastic, I felt a lot peppier than I had any right to, given how few calories I ate yesterday.

In other words, for vegans, this is really just a low-calorie diet, but with the considerable bonus of not *feeling* low-calorie. But at this rate, eating about 500 fewer calories than I usually do in a day, I still should not lose more than a pound a week... 8-to-13-pounds-in-Phase-I promise notwithstanding.

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End of day overview: I wasn't ever hungry; indeed, I occasionally had to force myself to eat all the required items (like dinner). I ran slowly about 3.5 miles and had enough energy to do so comfortably. I took my vitamins/calcium, and tried to drink a lot of water, though admittedly a lot of it was in the form of Diet Dr. Pepper. Unlike my prediction of earlier today, I didn't stay below 1500 calories, but I didn't exceed it by much. I certainly don't feel any thinner (or any better) yet, but of course today is only Day 2.