The Cruise Phase. It’s been good. No complaints besides the couple of times that I craved chips and cookies. But that was won over! I enjoyed eating veggies. It was hard to go back to eating protein the next day after eating veggies.
During my attack phase and my first week on the Cruise phase I have lost 9.6 lbs. I will continue on the cruise phase, but I am going to move to the 2/5 rhythm. If you recall from my earlier post about the Cruise Phase this is two protein days and five protein and veggie days. This is recommended to be followed until I reach my true weight.
I have 15 more lbs to go. Then it is the Consolidation Phase. A much more fun phase to be on then the Attack or Cruise phase! I’m excited to get there. That’s when I can start bringing other foods back into my healthy eating.
I had my first dinner invitation to a friends for supper on Wed night! Yikes. What was I going to do? I asked her if she didn’t mind me bringing my own meal. It was weird to do since I really wanted to try her lasagna since I heard such great things about it. I can say it was definitely different eating something else while everyone ate they delicious looking lasagna. Oh and did I mention garlic bread and caesar salad. I could have had the salad if there was no dressing, croutons, and it was fat free cheese. But that is ok! I learned that I can go out and still enjoy a meal together with friends and it is ok to take something with me. Most people are not going to mind. I had a turkey casserole – turkey, cottage cheese, and a variety of veggies. It was layered like a lasagna but named it a casserole since there was no pasta in it!
I wonder what next week will bring on this crazy diet!
If you are interested in learning more about the Dukan Diet and recipes that go along with it, visit my friend’s blog Life As a Suitcase
Do you have suggestions for when I end up getting an invitation to eat at a restaurant? Leave me a comment below.
[This is part of the Dukan Diet series. Check out the rest of the posts by clicking HERE.]
Jackman's Journey 
For a restaurant invitation, I heard this advice on the show The Doctors one day: Sometimes its a good idea just to call up the restaurant ahead of time to see not only what's on the menu, but how the food is prepared as well and what ingredients is used, that way you'll know what you're getting and there will be no surprises. And also to ask if substitutions can be made for certain foods and specifically asking for things like dressing on the side.
I find that requesting to eat at an Asian restaurant will mean there are more choices for you — fewer (or no!) preservatives, fresher food (unlike the chain restaurants where everything is flash-frozen at a factory and just re-heated at the restaurant) and therefore it's easier to have something altered to your taste/dietary needs. If you can have rice, go to a Vietnamese or Thai restaurant… there will be rice noodles, fresh vegetables, egg/chicken (good protein!) and many of the sauces are soy-based (soy sauce, Tamari, etc.) and much lighter than the cream or tomato sauces you'll find at a standard restaurant. When I was eating my very strict diet, the only restaurant I could eat at was a Thai place here in town, but the fact that I *could* eat out at ALL made all the difference and kept me from feeling discouraged. 🙂
I do hope Swiss Chalet is a safe option. 🙂
Thanks for the good advice Paula! I'll remember that for the future, especially to a place I haven't been to before.
Faith, I wish I could handle spicy! I do enjoy rice noodles but have to be sure my dishes aren't spicy and thankfully they aren't. I hear you on being able to eat out and it making a difference! I should look into some Thai or Asian places around here… I don't think there are many. I like getting the pad thai from the place on Victoria St – I think it is called something Pho Do.
I did eat at Swiss Chalet and it was fine. I had a Greek Salad with the dressing on the side, skipped the role and the sauce (I did sneak a taste of it on my chicken), and took the skin off the chicken (which I always do). It's good to know I can go there and I don't have to get the fries, even though I do enjoy them – A lot! 🙂
Keep bringing in the tips! I love hearing from you guys! I'm sure there is more of you wanting to comment! 🙂
No worries, it is a safe place to eat! I enjoyed it and the company too! 🙂