17 Day Diet Update-Round 2 Cycle 2

It’s been 86 days since starting the 17 Day Diet and I just completed the second round of cycle 2. I’m still plugging away and finding that this really has become a way of life for me. I look forward to the short daily workouts and my body responds very well to eating this way. I did go off the plan for a quick trip to Vegas over this past weekend and that also included a family birthday celebration – but other than that, I pretty much stuck to cycle 2 for 13 of the 17 days. On the exercise front, I worked out doing treadmill intervals (35-45 minute sessions) 12 of the 17 days and I walked a lot in Vegas for the additional 3 days.

I am officially down another 3.1 lbs. and very happy with that result. (Especially after 3 days of vacation) – It’s easy to get caught up in how fast it was coming off in the beginning, but I am nearing the end and getting close to my goal weight. It’s understandable that the numbers aren’t as big and have slowed down.

17 Day Diet Stats
Cycle 1: -15.2 lbs.
Cycle 2: -5.3 lbs.
Cycle 3: – 4.7 lbs.
Cycle 1 Round 2: -4.4 lbs.
Cycle 2 Round 2: -3.1 lbs.

Total Weight Loss: -32.7 lbs. 

Enough diet talk – seems like these updates are more frequent than every 17 days, but they aren’t.  One highlight from this last cycle was making some delicious homemade chicken and veggie soup.

Foo’s Homemade Chicken and Vegetable Soup

I was craving soup and I had a lot of veggies that needed to be used up before my Vegas trip.

 The Ingredients:
2 Organic Chicken Breasts
2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
Organic Fat Free Chicken Broth (32 ounces)
2 Carrots – roughly chopped
1 Small Yellow Onion – roughly chopped
1 Cup Frozen Spinach
1/2 Cup Frozen Yellow Corn
1 Bunch Broccolini – chopped, some stem included
1 Can S&W Ready Cut Tomatoes (Diced with Roasted Garlic)
1 Tablespoon Bon Appetite Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Note: I added cooked brown rice on Cycle 2 days

Directions:
I pounded my chicken breasts – I don’t like super thick chicken in my soups, but didn’t feel like shredding it – so I pounded it and then cut it into small pieces.

I seasoned the chicken with the bon appetite seasoning and salt and pepper and then browned/cooked it with a teaspoon of olive oil over medium/high heat. I then transferred the cooked chicken to a bowl while I prepped the veggies.

I used another teaspoon of olive oil to brown the roughly chopped onion in my dutch oven. The oil also works for the fat requirement of the diet.

I used my super fast microwave method to pre-cook my carrots and broccolini.

Just fill a small glass bowl half way with water, cook on full heat for 2-3 minutes and then flip bowl over to drain. Yes, I’m too lazy to get out a colander. I did the same thing with the broccolini and then added the carrots to the onion over medium heat.

Then add the broccolini and corn – stirring frequently.

Next up – add the chicken broth and the canned tomatoes. I drained 1/2 the liquid from the tomatoes. I let the soup simmer on medium/low for about 20 minutes.

I decided to add brown rice to it the next day since it was a cycle 2 day.

Just a couple of spoonfuls of already cooked brown rice and I was good to go. The soup made 6 servings and I froze a couple of containers for future meals.

I’ve now moved on to round 2 of cycle 3 – going to keep my workouts pretty much the same, might add some more elevation on the treadmill – but other than that, I’m just going to continue on this path until I reach my goal. BTW, still can’t get my dang wedding ring off… I refuse to get it cut off, I’ll keep going until it slides off – hopefully that will be soon.