HOW I DO A MARY'S MINI: Part 2 (Days 1-5)
So here I am at the end of my first five days of my Mary’s Mini. I’m referring to it more as a cleanse than a diet. Weight loss for me would be an added bonus on this, but as I mentioned in my Part 1 video this is more about me confirming if weight I’m at is fine, or if I’ve settled a little higher than I should. My main goal here is to try and listen to my body more about when it’s hungry vs when it’s full. For more information check out the Part 1 article and video.
Here’s my main problem: I love to cook - so knowing what ingredients I’m allowed to use I set out to make them as tasty as humanly possible - but one of the core tenants of the MM is that food should be bland. The whole point is to eat only till you’re full and not eat extra simply because you like the taste. Personally I think I’ve struck a balance. I’m enjoying the food, but I’m also not stuffing myself silly. Could my food be a bit more bland? Sure, I guess. But I also feel like I’m following the rules… maybe I’m dancing on them a little bit. For those that are interested, here’s some of the recipes I’ve crafted from myself to get me through the mini so far (there will be more in Part 3):
How have I felt? Day 1 felt like a breeze. I felt appropriately satiated all day, no snacking really (okay - I had a spoonful of cold mashed potato here and there - sue me! And maybe I had a bit more soup mid-afternoon as I was packing the left-overs away - DOUBLE SUE ME). But I never felt like I was deprived. The second days felt pretty normal too. I didn’t really snack at all, I think as I started to make dinner both nights I would snack on whatever veggies I was prepping, so maybe that counts as snacking? I did try making some potato chips in the microwave once or twice, but that was more out of curiosity than hunger - which I admit isn’t a great choice if you’re on this thing to lose some weight. But I used a super small potato both times… because, you know… fun.
Starting on Day 3 I noticed that I definitely had a dip in energy - it was a little harder to get through my workout than usual, and by the afternoon I felt a little off. Like there was something weighing down my stomach - I was both hungry and full at the same time. It was… weird… I ended up eating a pickle and some carrots and somehow seemed to make me feel better. On Day 4 I felt slightly light headed after a work-out and a warm bath, but I’m chalking that up to a combo of a bunch of things - including it was probably a dumb-ass move to have a hot bath. I’ve been trying to keep the food simple and yet tasty. I definitely ate more potato on the first two days just out of the fact that I love potatoes, but starting yesterday about mid-day I noticed that I started eating a little less… and even this morning at breakfast I ate less than a pound of potatoes and it’s currently 11am and I’m not hungry (though I’m sure I will be by lunch). Day 5 my workout was fine and I had a shower instead. Totally good. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly - I resisted having a snack and instead made a big-ass plate of my crispy french fries and had them with malt vinegar and my cheese sauce.
I had a hard time gauging how many potatoes I was going to eat on this, and it made it even harder ‘cause the kids decided that they wanted to try everything I was having (especially the hash brown omelette - that’s a new family favourite right there) - So I ended up buying an ass-load more potatoes when I popped in for groceries, and now I probably have waaaay too many. Luckily those things store well… It looks like I’m averaging about 1lb of potatoes per meal.
How am I doing weight wise? Technically I’m down. I started at 186.2, and as of this morning I was 184.8. That said - this is normal for my typical weight fluctuation. The day before I started the mini I weighed in at 184 - so by that standards I actually haven’t lost anything… Again, my goal on this wasn’t to be a weight loss booster - but I did expect to have lost more than this in the first 5 days. Maybe I am enjoying and eating too much, but it doesn’t feel like it. This, really, is all about the long term benefits for me in terms of listening to my body, etc… but let’s strap in and see where I sit at the end of the full ten days!
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