A general overview of the program

The first week is always a large drop in weight - a lot of water released and some fat. It's a great motivation. 

 On average though, by following the diet with your preferred foods (and cut down the salt) you should lose 1 pound every 2 days. You are guaranteed 16-20 lbs per month by following the diet strictly. I average around 15 lbs per month, and that's having tried a few different approaches, but always staying strict. 

 I found in the first couple of weeks I was trying a bunch of the recipes and trying to get really creative. However, I found that I actually just prefer my meals simple and fast, so I don't do many of the recipes now. I don't need to, but you might want to. 

The nurses advise against changing your diet all the time though; stick with a pattern for a week to let the body start the ketosis/burning. Too many sudden changes of food can throw it out of whack. 

It's always a good idea if you're traveling or expecting to be delayed from a meal to bring some extra hard boiled eggs or a protein bar (Dr. Bernstein's) just in case. I've tried the sample bar that you get in the kit. They are good, but I just don't like those types of things. They are too rich for me. Plus when you look at the salt and fat content, your loss will crawl to a snails pace. I should pick up a few though, in case of an emergency. 

It's not always easy to have your chicken/eggs when you need them. If you've never had to measure and watch portions, start slowly and progress over a weekend to measure the food according to Dr. Bernstein, to see what it's like. Eat that as the base, but add extra vegetables to fill in the gaps. 

If you give yourself a running start up to Tues/Wed (if you start the program, Thursday will be your first 100% strict day) you'd have almost a week to get used to the portions and routine. Practice writing down what you're eating too, so you can see how you have to write down the daily portions for the nurse visits. 

After doing groceries and selecting the foods from the list, you'll also need to make a list of the foods you use so the nurses can refer to it to see what you're eating. 

As an example, a Monday meal plan and tracking report would be:

Breakfast: 3 egg white omelette (1/2 P) 125 gr applesauce (1 F) 2 oz tomato, onion, asparagus (1/4V) 1 caffeinated coffee 1 tbsp 2% milk (O) Splenda (O) Snack 1 apple (1 F) 

 Lunch 3.5 oz tandoori chicken strips (1P) 8 oz mixed veg (celery, radish, cucumber, cauliflower, broccoli) (1 V) 1 tbl Kraft Italian dressing low-fat (O) 5 PC Ancient Grain crackers (1 B) 

Supper 3 oz asparagus / 3 oz bok choy (3/4 V) 1.75 oz lean beef (1/2 P) with soya sauce (O) 8 Dare Breton Mini Original crackers (1 B) (add any 1 tablespoon of soya sauces, tandoori, etc.as an O) 

Evening Snack 1 Jello cup (F) 

Daily totals: 2 Protein; 2 Vegetable; 2 Bread; 2 Fruit + 1 jello cup; 5 O 

 * * * It feels good to review my progress and lessons learned so far, for my body and weight loss. Everyone's different, but I wanted to share my experience so far. For those not on the diet, check out the Canada Food Guide for portions. However, the diet is much more restrictive eliminating all sugars, starch and fats for the period you're on the diet. They can be reintroduced in the Maintenance phase once you've reached your goal weight.