Happy Hello everyone and welcome to my journal for Step Two of the ITG Diet Plan! I will document my four weeks of Transitioning HERE. I hope you enjoy!

Transitioning Journal 

Week 1 - 5oz-8oz of lean meats added in to lunch

Day #1 - Nothing too exciting happens in the first week of transitioning. I am only adding 6oz-8oz of lean meats to my lunch! This is very helpful though since it give me more options for meals that I can eat throughout the day

Day #2 -Had a great day! Energy was up and I felt good. I somehow missed my vitamin pack for night time. I chose not to take them before bed since I did not have much in my stomach to buffer the vitamins. 

Day #3 - I had a great day for workouts. My body felt good and I had tons of natural energy! I was able to play volleyball for about 3 hours since they put the nets back up in the parks and I ran the bridge afterwards! I drank more water than usual for me since I was sweating so much from volleyball.

Day #4 - VERY BAD DAY. I went home at 8:20a in the morning from work with a splitting migraine. It came out of nowhere and I know that this means I have to sleep it off before it effects my vision. I went straight home and slept for over 9 hours! This threw off my whole eating pattern for the day. I was not hungry whatsoever. I was able to recover and have a nice dinner and drinks some water.

Days like this will happen. Days that just cannot be controlled. I tended to myself and recovered and told myself tomorrow I would do better.

Day #5 -Much better day. My headache was long gone ( thank goodness ). I did much better with my water since I know that dehydration can cause headaches! I was able to get a little exercise in also.

Day #6 - Easy day. Could have done better with my water but I was not very active today because of the weather :(  I also had an apple a day early since I was REALLY craving something sweet.

Day # 7 - Decided to sleep in ( I deserved it, lol ). I woke up late today but I made sure the first thing I did eat was and ITG food so ensure I start my day off my day properly. I was craving chocolate so, I had my morning shake around noon and my lunch around 3 for the day. My calorie count was very low for the day so I decided to have an apple for a small dose of sugar. 

Week 2 - Adding Fruit serving in each day 

Day # 8 - Adding in fruit this week! I was very excited to have an apple! Best tasting apple I've EVER had :) I like to use the fruit as almost a "pre workout" before I go running!

Day #9 - Good day. My energy levels felt good!

Day #10 - Very easy week. I am very happy with being able to have fruit. It really keeps my sugar cravings in line!

Day #11 - MY BIRTHDAY!!! I luckily was able to find a cuke roll at the sushi restaurant we went to! It's basically a normal sushi roll but it is inside of cucumber instead of rice! Super yummy! No deviations! Yay!

Day #12 - MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY! This day was a little bit harder but I was able to have two hot dogs with no buns and I found vegetables that I could eat when my grandmother ordered from Outback! I am very happy to say that I did not cheat and I swam for about 2 hours so I got a little extra exercise

Day #13 - A SURPRISE PARTY FOR ME! Today was a hard day. My friends through a small birthday party for me so this threw off my day a little. I started off really good with my brunch and then later with dinner but I did not eat enough food this day because my cravings hit HARD around 4pm and I ended up having a small piece of cake and a hamburger with one side of the bun. I knew by having a small "cheat" that this is satisfy my cravings and it did!!

Day #14 - This was a recovery day for me since I slept in so late. I was able to get back on track after my deviations yesterday but I was very hungry. I knew this usually means that I am out of ketosis so I sucked it up and made myself eat correctly anyways! It was VERY difficult but I just keep reminding myself that "this is a temporary situation and I will be back to all real foods again in a few weeks!

Week 3 - Adding dairy in each day 

Day #15 - I was SO excited to have CHEESE! I usually always stick with low fat shredded mozzarella! I sprinkled a small amount on my salad for lunch!

Day #16 - Great day! I had a very time where I craved sugar so I had small portions of fruit to satisfy my craving and it worked perfectly! I am also LOVING the Zevia soda replacement drinks since they make me feel like I am having a sweet soda but there's no sugar, or guilt! :)

Day #17 - Great day again! I played a few hours of volleyball and enjoy my omelet with some shredded cheese! Yum!

I did feel some bloating from the dairy but my stomach is very sensitive so I am going to eat dairy every other day starting now to alleviate this

 Day #18 - Very bloated today from adding in the dairy. I will continue to limit this as much as possible to prevent any stomach issues. But it sure was tasty! I also forgot how DELICIOUS grapes are. I limit myself to less than a 1/2 cup that is recommended because they contain more sugar!

Day #19 - I tried a different type of dairy to. The 2 Good Greek yogurt but my stomach was not too happy with it. I took some digestive enzymes to help. I was very bloated and gassy for the later part of the day. The best part of the day was my yummy turkey dog that I got a Publix! I added some raw onion with it and it was GREAT!!

Day #20 - Today was my first day at the beach since late February! It was beautiful out and of course we maintained our distance :) I brought some grapes and my pretzels to the beach for some back up snacks too! The beach ALWAYS makes you feel hungry and thirsty so be sure to be prepared if your hunger strikes!

Got some fun exercise in by riding waves and swimming for about 4 hours total! My arms were killing me but I was so happy to be in the ocean again!

Day #21 - Today was another great day because it was CLEANING DAY! I use Sunday mornings as my cleaning time and time to prepare for the week. Lot's of house chores are involved, laundry, meal prepping for the week and my boyfriend and I try to prepare a grocery list for the week also! Since being on this diet and getting so much support at home, my boyfriend's even participating in some parts of the healthy eating, we have been able to actually save money! There aren't as many snacks in the house and we plan on keeping it this way!

Week 4 - Adding a whole grains or starch serving each day

I am super excited for this week! :) I have MISSED eating half a sweet potato and multigrain bread!

Day #22 - I ended up not having whole grains or starches this day. I actually didn't want anything since I felt so good! I chose to have a handful of almonds instead. There were 8 of them and it was the perfect amount of "crunch" :) *You can refer to the Nuts Nutritional Chart on our ITG Website!

Day #23 - Great day! I am going through a garlic kick in case you haven't noticed! I cant seem to get enough of it. I learned how to mince it myself ( not a hard process, whatsoever!) and I am using it almost every day!

Day #24 - I decided today to start do more toning exercise. I love yoga but have not been doing nay class or videos because of my knee giving me some issues but I found some great modifications and I am going to shoot to complete them 2-3 times each week! I also had my first "grain" product today. I found organic gluten free sunflower bread that is packed with fiber, whole  grains AND it's LOW CARBS!

Day #25 -  Great day! I did have a spike in sugar cravings right before dinner so I decided to eat my meal first with two bottles of water and, if I was still craving sweets, I would have a bar. Instead of a bar, i chose to have 1 small Hawaiian roll. I knew if I had this, I would be less tempted to dive in to the Triple Chocolate Chunk ice cream my boyfriend has in the freezer and guess what? IT WORKED!

Day #26 - Today was a great day all in all until about 5:45 when I went for my nightly run. Remember how I sometimes mention that I can trip over thin air? Well that's exactly what happened immediately after starting my run on the incline of the bridge. I could not stop laughing and I picked myself up ( my pride too ) and finished my run. I will take a few days off from running since it immediately bruised and swelled up. Going to be a few days of ice for sure! 

Day #27 - Great day with my foods. I am having a hard time getting myself to eat in the mornings so I have been using my ITG Complete chocolate shakes and it makes me full and it's always a great start to my morning! Who can go wrong with a healthy version of chocolate milk for breakfast? :) 

Also, my leg is very swollen still so I will hold off on running until Monday!

Day #28 - Today is my last day of Transitioning and I start Maintenance tomorrow! I am very excited with my progress and I will continue to work on my goals of maintaining and then I will be going for another 10 lbs! 

My final pictures, weight and measurements are found under "Brittney's Journal" under "Starting Info / Ending Info". I hope you all enjoyed!