This time last week I was having a blast at my post baby photoshoot (I promise to post some pics as soon as I get them) and for the past 7 days I’ve quite enjoyed kicking back and indulgencing in some treats and keeping my body out of the gym for 5 of those 7 days.
But NOW it’s time to ditch the chocolate with my morning coffee, the wine with almost every meal and the cheese!! lol Honesty I think I ate four blocks of brie cheese and goat cheese over the past 7 days…love that creamy stuff with crackers, grapes and a glass of Malbec.
As much as I LOVE these treats and think it IS very important to enjoy your favorite foods in moderation, over the past two days my body has been feeling the impact of all that sugar, dairy and gluten, BIGTIME!!! My abs are gone, my stomach is bloated, I look like I’m 6mths pregnant again…lol I’m tired, crackly, irritable and struggling to find the energy to get through the day. It’s an awful feeling and I’m SO ready to get back to the gym and eating clean food again.
So today I started my 5 Day Slim Down Challenge!!!
It’s my sister’s bachelorette party on Saturday and Mike’s Birthday is on Sunday, so my goal is to feel great on these two very special days and give myself permission to enjoy some planned indulgences without the guilt.
Over the next 5 days my plan is to clean up my diet, to get rid of this tired and bloated feeling. I also plan to hit the gym everyday with a focus on high intensity interval based workouts.
So I decided to share my 5 Day Slim Down Diet Plan with you so you can follow along.
This is a quick, 5 day plan that is the perfect way to prepare for a special event, jump start your diet plan, slim down quickly or give your body a good old ‘detox’ if you’ve been slacking off. It is NOT a plan that I recommend you follow for more than 7-10 days.
Here are the diet guidelines:
RULE #1. Always start your day with 30oz of lemon water and commit to staying hydrated throughout the day by consuming at least 90oz of water (which includes the 30oz of lemon water). Make sure to measure it and write it down.
I stick a posted note on my kitchen counter at the start of the day and log my water throughout the day.
RULE #2. Eat 5 small meals per day consisting of mostly vegetables and raw food. Avoid red meat and limit poultry like chicken and turkey to once per day. Personally I will remove all meats from my diet for the next 5 days and opt for fish as my main protein source. I find that when I have too much meat in my diet I experience digestion issues, lots of bloated and gas.
Time your meals every 2-3 hours. Set your alarm if you have too. This habit is critical to maintaining your energy levels and keeping your body is a fat burning mode.
I set my food alarms every monring on my phone. As a busy, working Mom this has been the #1 MOST Successful trick I’ve used to get my body back.
RULE #3: Cut out ‘starchy’ carbs (breads, pasta, rice, quinoa, potatoes, crackers, oatmeal, etc.)
RULE #4: Limit your sugar intake to one piece of fruit only as your mid-morning snack – no additives in food or in drinks. Keep your sugar intake as low as possible. Berries, kiwi, grapefruit, apple and oranges are the best choices.
RULE #5: Temporarily cut out dairy products from your diet.
Here is what my Meal Plan for the next 5 Days!!!
Tuesday – August 21st
Meal 1 – One whole egg, scrambles with 2 egg whites, and ½ cup chopped veggies (omnions, bell peppers, mushroom and spinach
Meal 2 – Grapefruit
Meal 3 –Baked Tilapia w/ 1 cup green beans
Meal 4 – Slim Down Smoothie (1 scoop vanilla protein, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, ½ cup water, ½ cup ice, 1 tbsp. almond butter and 1 tsp. cinnamon)
Meal 5 – Baked Trout with grilled asparagus
Wednesday – August 22nd
Meal 1 – One whole egg, scrambled with 2 egg whites and ½ cup chopped veggies (onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and spinach)
Meal 2 – Grapefruit
Meal 3 –4oz Baked Cod w/ 1 cup sautéed green beans
Meal 4 – Slim Down Smoothie (1 scoop vanilla protein, 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, ½ cup water, ½ cup ice, 1 tbsp. almond butter and 1 tsp. cinnamon)
Meal 5 – 4oz Baked Trout with grilled asparagus
Thursday – August 23rd
Meal 1 – One whole egg, scrambled with 2 egg whites, and ½ cup chopped veggies (onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and spinach)
Meal 2 – Grapefruit
Meal 3 –4oz Baked Trout w/ 1 cup sautéed green beans
Meal 4 – Slim Down Smoothie (1 scoop vanilla protein, 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, ½ cup water, ½ cup ice, 1 tbsp. almond butter and 1 tsp. cinnamon)
Meal 5 – 4oz Baked Tilapia w/ sautéed sugar snap peas
Friday – August 24th
Meal 1 – One whole egg, scrambled w/ 2 egg whites, and ½ cup chopped veggies (onions, mushrooms and spinach – I cut out the bell peppers by the 4th day as sometimes they make me feel gassy and bloated)
Meal 2 – Grapefruit
Meal 3 –4oz Baked Cod w/ 1 cup sautéed green beans
Meal 4 – 1 cup chopped raw veggies (celery, and sliced cucumber), 10 walnut halves. Sometimes I find protein powder irritates my stomach too, so as I get closer to the ‘special day’ I will cut it out.
Meal 5 – 4oz Baked sole with sautéed spinach and a side mixed green salad tossed is lemon juice and olive oil.
Saturday – August 25th
Meal 1 – One whole egg, scrambled with 2 egg whites, and ½ cup chopped veggies (onions, mushrooms and spinach)
Meal 2 – Grapefruit
Meal 3 – 4oz baked Tilapia w/ 1 cup green beans
Meal 4 – 1 cup chopped raw veggies (celery, and sliced cucumber), 10 walnut halves
Meal 5 – 4oz Baked sole with sautéed spinach and side mixed green salad tossed is lemon juice and olive oil.
I will enjoy Meal 5 right before I head out to celebrate my sisters bachelorette!!
Note: For the last two days I also opt for white fish as I do find that oily fish like trout or salmon with irritate my stomach too. Remember this diet is focused on decreasing bloating and making you feel tighter and leaner in the waist, so you want to avoid foods that you know might make feel gassy and or bloated.
As for supplements I will take two ProGrade Krill Oil caps at night before bed and drink Post RX BCAA’s in my water during and after my workouts, and of course protein powder in my afternoon slim down smoothie for the first 3 days.
That’s it!!! My 5 Day Slim Down Challenge!
Give it a try!!! Post any questions you have below and be sure to share your success here on the blog.
Stay tuned as I’ll be sharing my workout plan with you tomorrow! 🙂
xo
HI Courtney!!
Thanks so much for the e-mail and it is the motivation I need. Will keep you posted can’t start until Monday but will commit to starting then for sure.
Yay Lisa!!! So happy to hear you’re gonna give this challenge a try. It’s pretty simple but delivers amazing results…so stay focused and committed especially on day 4, as that is when most people start to feel tempted to stray. Not you right? Dig in girl and get it done! Keep me posted! You CAN do this!! 🙂
Hi Courtney,
Thanks for the eating plan, I am going to start it as well on Monday. I eat clean & am maintaining but I need to loose the last 10lbs, it’s so hard. Hopefully this will give me a boost as I’m getting married on a cruise in Feb & want to meet my goal early enough to have alterations done on my dress.
One question, can I substitute grapefruit as I don’t really like it?
Cindy
Excellent Cindy! It will definitely give you a jump start, but remember I do not recommend you follow it for more than 10days. Also make sure to up the intensity of your training too. I’ll be posting my workout plan later today so you can use that as a guide. Congratulations on your wedding, exciting times!! You will look beautiful! 🙂 Please make sure to share your Slim Down success with me here on the blog. Stay focused and push hard…you can do it! 🙂
P.S. See Rule #4 in the guidelines. You can sub grapefruit for berries, kiwi, apples or oranges.
Hey Courtney, I am going to try this (yay) to see if it can get me back into the swing of things again. The only problem I have is that I don’t eat fish, so if u replace one of the meals with chicken, what can o eat for the other? Thanks 🙂
Awesome Amanada! You CAN do this!!! 🙂 If you don’t eat fish then opt for lean protein sources like chicken, turkey or eggs. Try and limit it to own serving of each per day and pay attention to how your body feels. If you find that eating chicken every day bothers you then opt for turkey and eggs. The key with this plan is to find out what protein sources causes the least amount of bloating and digestions issues. Good luck with the challenge and please make sure to share your success with me here on the blog…I’ll be watchiing for a post from you! 🙂
hey miss I am so needing to do this right away ,,, I have all the powerful tools and workouts all from the best of course just need by butt kicked ,,, signing at Global after work party time is over ….. 🙁
No more 🙁 ok? Everyday is a fresh new start to make better choices. We all struggle to stay motivated sometimes. Be kind to yourself, take the physical and mental break you need. Reach out and reconnect with your LYL sisters when you are ready to re-commit. We are here in support always! 🙂
Hi Courtney,
As promised I am starting tomorrow soooo need it wish you lived closer to attend your boot camp class. Unfortunately that’s not so!! I have a couple of questions so I can set myself up for success!! Can you drink tea ,coffee or diet pop? Can you switch up the green beans for something else as not a big fan? Thinking no oil at all? I do struggle with alot of bloating would chicken be a cause. Also is it possible to have a specific plan designed for me after the 5 day plan? So many questions. Thanks I’m sure I will have additional questions as we move forward!!
Hi Lisa! Sorry for the delay in my reply. On a mini vacation celebrating my baby sister’s wedding! 🙂 Happy to answer your questions…here goes…1) Yes you can drink tea and/or coffee. If you drink 8oz of caffeinated tea of coffee, count only 4oz of it towards to 900z of water required per day. 2) I do not recommend diet soda on this plan. Carbonated soda’s cause major bloating, in addition artificial sweeteners can trick the brain into craving more sugar, and research shows that when consumed on a regular bases it can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes and can completely sabotage your fat loss efforts. So if you are drinking it on a daily bases, I would absolutely recommend you cut it out. 3) Yes you can switch the green beans for any other green veggie like spinach, broccoli (however, be care with broccoli it too can use bloating), asparagus, mixed salad greens, green roman lettuce, brussel sprouts, green cabbage etc. 4) Yes you can use olive oil when cooking and in your salad dressings. I suggest using olive oil spray to cover your cooking pans.5) Yes, chicken can cause major bloating. So I recommend you remove it from your diet for a few days and see how you feel. 6) I’ll be posting some suggestions on how you can transition from this plan in a comment to Cindy, see below. Keep me posted and make sure to post your success here! 🙂
Hi Courtney,
I’ve been on the plan since Monday & have lost 3lbs already!! I’m so excited, the numbers on the scale are getting lower and lower by the day!! I am finding the plan easy to follow and can feel the difference in my body. I normally eat clean and can maintain weight, just a little scared that I will gain back some weight after I come off the plan on Friday. Can you make some suggestions so that this doesn’t happen? Wanna look great for that wedding in Feb!!
Thank you!
Thought I’d re-post my Facebook reply so others could benefit from my direction on how to transition from this 5 day challenge.
Here was my reply to Cindy on Facebook, Sept. 29th…
The key to remember with the 5 Day Slim Down is that it is a “DIET”, a quick-fix approach that is short term, if you do go back to your old eating habits you very well might put the weight back on. The reality is in just three short days you might have lost 5lbs on the scale, but only 1-2 pounds of that might have been fat. So to keep moving forward with a fat loss plan that is more realistic I would suggest you follow the follow suggestions 1) Opt for 1-1/2 cups starchy carbs (rice, yam, pasta etc) post workout 2) Keep all other meals protein and produce (veggie & fruits) based. 3) Add fruit to two of your meals and veggies with other meals 4) Add healthy fats to your breakfast and last meal of the day. For example, avocado on your egg scramble and cottgae cheese for your bedtime snack.
I completed the challenge yesterday & lost 7lbs in 5 days!!! I am so excited & feel fantastic, I will definitely keep this eating plan & do it again. Thanks so much Courtney for sharing this:) It wasn’t hard to stick to & the only time I felt a little hungry was in the evening, I drank a cup of herbal tea & went to bed! Definitely was the kick start I needed!
Wow!!! This is fantastic Cindy! So HAPPY for you!! Yes herbal tea will do the trick and of course getting LOTS of rest, so you don’t cave into those late night munchies. Congratulations!!! Great success! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Awesome Cindy! That is amazing success. Congratulations! So glad this plan worked so well for you. Thank you for taking the time to share your success. I appreciate it! ?
I have a tolerance to eggs, what can be substituted in place of them? Thanks
Have you tried silken tofu before? You can get in on the shelves in the organic section at most local grocery stores. It’s very easy to work with. All you have to do is sauté your veggies and crumble the tofu in the pan with the veggies. Give that try and let me know what you think! 🙂
Sorry Sonya! Just noticed this comment now. Have you tried Silken Tofu? It makes an excellent “egg-like” scramble. You can find it in most organic sections of the grocery store. Here is a recipe for you to try. Thanks for posting! 🙂
Spicy Tofu Scramble
INGREDIENTS
1 block of extra firm Silken Tofu, rinsed and dried
¼ cup red pepper, chopped
1 small green zucchini, sliced
¼ cup grated carrots
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and diced (keep seeds in for a spicer scramble) – Optional
Handful baby spinach
¼ tsp of tamari sauce
¼ cup onion, diced
½ tsp minced garlic
1tsp olive oil
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp soy sauce (tamari sauce)
½ tsp chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat olive oil in large skillet; add garlic and onions, and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until onions become soft. Add red pepper, zucchini and carrots; stir frequently for an additional 3 minutes. Then add spinach and sauté together until the spinach has wilted
Add soy sauce, turmeric, chili powder, salt & pepper and stir, cook for about 2minutes.
Drain tofu, rinse and pat dry with a paper towel, and then crumble into the skillet with your hands.
Sauté together until tofu is warmed throughout.
Makes: 2 servings
This looks like a great plan and I really would like to try it! I was wondering though if there are vegetarian options for the proteins. Can lentils, amaranth, or chickpeas be used in place of the animal proteins? And if so what would be the best way to covert them?
Thank you so much!
Hi Katie,
Yes you can substitute the meat proteins with various beans and lentils, however keep in mind these are excellent protein source for vegetarians but they are higher in carbs than lean animal products so limit your serving sizes to ½ cup. Also, the objective of this detox plan is to help reduce bloating and some people find beans like chicken peas (especially canned beans) very gasey, so eating them while on this plan might be counter-productive.
Great questions! Thansk for posting! 🙂