March Makeover Challenge

So the instructions are - read through and follow the rules.

Take the Shopping list with you, go buy what you need.

Prepare the meals as stated, keeping it simple.

Ask questions as you need to, as stated in rules.

Rules:

1. Read the Banting Beginners Guide and Join Banting 7 Day Meal Plans

2. Keep it as simple as possible

3. There are optional ingredients on the list - use these at your own discretion. There is nothing wrong with using them, but it is an added extra.

4. You can have dessert if you want it, but like point #3 above - its an added extra. Just make sure its a banting friendly dessert.

5. Use the Hashtag #MarchMakeover to ask your question in the post on the Banting 7 Day Meal Plans Group.

6. Try to invest in the Carb Wise App. It is the preferred method of measure. This way you can tweak the values on the meal plans given to go with the amount you're allowed to eat for your specific amount of weight loss.
7. Bookmark this page. If you are using your facebook browser to view - press the menu at the top right - then "Open with..." and choose your normal browser. Once there you can bookmark it - then if you need to go back it is easy to do.
8. This Challenge has a mindful aspect to it too. Part of that is writing down WHY you want to bant - why you are banting (if you have been doing it for a while) - think of everything you want from this, and if it is something you have been doing - everything you have accomplished already. Another part of this is forcing yourself to smile when you wake up in the morning. Smiling because you have another day - because of family and friends and perhaps good health, or just because you are happy to be alive.

Before looking through the shopping lists, find the important Banting info here:

Banting Lists


Net Carb List


How to Read Labels

How to deal with Carb Flu

Can I drink Alcohol?

Shopping List:

800g Cheese (Cheddar or Gouda)

5 packs bacon

14 Pieces Chicken (Thighs or similar, smaller pieces would be more)

60 eggs

12 Pork Rashers

4 pieces Fish

2 Pieces Steak

1kg Beef Mince

5 packs Mushroom

4 Onions

2 packs Carrots

5 packs Spinach

4 Gem Squash 
1 Whole Cabbage

1 and a 1/2 Pumpkin

4 whole Cauliflower

3 Broccoli
1 Large Punnet Baby Marrow
1 punnet baby corn (optional)
2 whole chillies

1 pack clean curry powder (ask on group)

1lt Coconut oil

500g Butter

500ml fresh Cream

1 Cream Cheese
300g Beef Goulash or Strips
4 Chicken Fillets
2 tins normal sized Coconut Cream
500g butter
1 Pack Heba***
1 smaller packet Baking Powder
Cinnamon Ground
Black Pepper
Pink (himalayan) salt or sea salt
Sweetener of choice (Xylitol, erythritol or stevia)

Carb Smart or similar mayonnaise - or make your own by following this recipe

Salt of choice (Himalayan or Sea Salt)

Pepper (preferably ground)

Lemons (for flavouring)

Sweetener (Xylitol, Erythritol or Stevia - optional)

***If you cannot get heba pap, there are a few variations in some of the meals and a slight amendment to the above shopping list. For the shopping list:
Remove Heba from above
Add Coconut Flour
Small Psyllium husk
an extra Tin Coconut Cream
6 Additional Eggs
On the mornings you would have heba Cinnamon Porridge, switch to Coconut Porridge
On the occasions the meal plan calls for heba bread in a mug, make this:
In a mug mix 1 tbs coconut flour with 1 egg, 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1 tbs butter.
Microwave on high for 90 seconds.

Week 1 Meal Plan:

Monday

Breakfast:

2 Rashers Fried Bacon,

2 Fried Eggs

1/4 pack fried mushrooms

2 blocks cheese

Dinner:

2 pieces Chicken,

creamed spinach,

1/4 fried cabbage or 1 whole gem squash with butter

Tuesday

Breakfast:

Heba Cinnamon Porridge
add: instead of cream, use 2 tbs coconut cream and 1 tbs butter, plus sweetener of choice to taste

Dinner:

Beef Stirfry served with caulirice.
For the stirfry:
150g beef goulash or beef strips,
2-3 baby marrow, sliced,
100g baby corn chunks,
1 carrot cut into chunks,
1/4 broccoli
All fried in Coconut oil, adding 6 tbs coconut cream at the ends

Wednesday

Breakfast:

Egg roll filled with

Cheese,

1/4 punnet mushrooms,

2 rashers bacon

fried in oil of choice,

Dinner:

Pork Rashers,

Pumpkin with butter,

Broccoli and Cheese

Thursday

Breakfast:

2 Fried Eggs
3 Rashers Bacon
80g Mushroom (about 1/3 punnet)
All fried in coconut oil

Dinner:

Chicken Curry served with Caulirice.
For the curry:
Fry 1/2 onion in 1 tbs coconut oil. Add 1 Chicken fillet, fry.
Add 2 tsp curry powder,
1 sliced chilli,
Add 2-3 baby marrow, sliced,
100g baby corn chunks,
1 carrot cut into chunks,

1/4 broccoli


Friday

Breakfast:

Heba Bread in a cup (Use recipe on back of pack),
Slice and butter the bread, add 3 fried eggs.

Dinner:

150g Mince, spiced and made into meatballs, fried in coconut oil,
with Mashed pumpkin and butter,

and Coleslaw

Saturday

Breakfast:

2 Egg Fritatta

including 2 rashers chopped bacon,

1/4 punnet chopped mushroom,

grated cheese,

fried in oil of choice

Dinner:

Fish fried in butter,

Caulimash,

Whole Gem Squash or 1/4 fried cabbage with butter

Sunday

Breakfast:

2 Egg Omelette

filled with

chopped bacon,

1/4 punnet fried chopped mushroom,

grated cheese,

onion

Dinner:

Steak,

Creamed Spinach

Cauliflower and Cheese

Week 1 Mindfulness:

Recognising Emotional Eating

Are you an emotional eater?
Do you eat more if you’re feeling stressed?
Do you eat if you’re not hungry or when you’re full?
Do you eat to "feel better" - whether you're sad, anxious, down etc?
Do you reward yourself with food?
Do you regularly eat until you’ve stuffed yourself?
Does eating food make you feel safe?
Do you feel powerless or out of control around food?

If you answered yes to any one of the above - you could be an emotional eater.

You need to recognize your triggers which include:

Stress
Stuffing emotions (eating to cover up sadness for instance)
Boredom
Feeling of emptiness
Childhood habits/memories
Social Influences

How do you overcome this?

You need to find the root cause of your problem and try to solve that.
If, for instance it is social influences - make better choices when you are out. If people "force" you to make bad decisions - change the people because they are not your people.
If its a memory - make new memories or where possible find healthier choices to substitute for the foods that trigger those memories.
If its Boredom - make a change in the way you do things.
Take a walk, play with your pet (if you have one), start a journal, read a book, go help some members on Banting 7 day meal plans, find new things to do in your area (google is a great tool for this)





Week 2 Meal Plan:

Monday

Breakfast:

Egg rolled fried in Coconut Oil filled with fried bacon (3 rashers, chopped)
 and fried mushrooms (1/3 punnet or 80g sliced)

Dinner:

Butter fried Fish of your choice, served with
Caulimash and
Steamed broccoli drizzled with butter.
For the Caulimash:

1/4 head cauliflower cooked, 2 tbs coconut cream and 1 tbs butter, mashed - seasoning to taste

Tuesday

Breakfast:

2 boiled eggs

2 slices bacon

1/4 punnet raw mushroom

2 blocks cheese

Dinner:

Mince fried with oil of choice,

with onion, 

mushrooms

on a bed of cauliflower rice

Wednesday

Breakfast:

Breakfast egg burger
Mug bread in a bigger dish, done in microwave, buttered.
100g beef mince made into a patty and fried
1 egg, fried

Dinner:

2 chicken thighs grilled (more if smaller pieces)
Pumpkin Chips and Coleslaw
For the pumpkin chips:
Peel and slice, then microwave on high for 5 minutes - then fry in pan with coconut oil.

season to taste.

Thursday

Breakfast:

Breakfast Pizza using two eggs

topping of

2 rashers fried chopped bacon

1/4 punnet fried mushroom

sliced onion

grated cheese on top

Dinner:

Pork Rashers

Gem Squash or 1/4 fr d cabbage with butter

Carrots with butter

Friday

Breakfast:

2 Fried Eggs
3 Rashers Bacon
80g Mushroom (about 1/3 punnet)
All fried in coconut oil

Dinner:

2 Pork Rashers
Baby marrow, sliced - fried in butter

Carrots steamed

Saturday

Breakfast:

2 Bacon and egg cups

topped with onion,

chopped mushrooms

cheese

Dinner:

2 Pieces Chicken,

Creamed Spinach,

Broccoli Mash

Sunday

Breakfast:

Egg rolled fried in Coconut Oil filled with fried bacon (3 rashers, chopped)
 and fried mushrooms (1/3 punnet or 80g sliced)

Dinner:

Chicken Stirfry served with cabbage rice
For the stirfry:
1 chicken fillet
2-3 baby marrow, sliced,
100g baby corn chunks,
1 carrot cut into chunks,
1/4 broccoli
All fried in coconut oil
All fried in Coconut oil, adding 6 tbs coconut cream at the end.

Week 2 Mindfulness:

This weeks idea isn't quite as intense as last weeks - but it is more about learning to listen to your body more - so practicing some mindful eating.
Start this by taking a bit longer and chewing your food better.
This assists digestion too.
Listen to your bodies own triggers to say whether you are hungry or not. Dish up smaller portions for yourself if this will help you to recognize when you are actually full.
Take time out to eat your meal - try not to multitask while doing this. 
Eat foods that are nutritionally healthy - that is not hard to do when you're banting - but do keep that in mind.

Week 3 Meal Plan:

Monday

Breakfast:

Breakfast egg burger
Mug bread in a bigger dish, done in microwave, buttered.
100g beef mince made into a patty and fried
1 egg, fried

Dinner:

Beef Curry served with Cabbage Rice
For the curry:
Fry 1/2 onion in 1 tbs coconut oil. Add 150g beef goulash or strips, fry.
Add 2 tsp curry powder,
1 sliced chilli,
Add 2-3 baby marrow, sliced,
100g baby corn chunks,
1 carrot cut into chunks,
1/4 broccoli

Tuesday

Breakfast:

2 Rashers Fried Bacon,

2 Fried Eggs

1/4 pack fried mushrooms

2 blocks cheese

Dinner:

Rashers,

Mashed Pumpkin with butter,

Carrots with butter

Wednesday

Breakfast:

Heba Cinnamon Porridge
add: instead of cream, use 2 tbs coconut cream and 1 tbs butter, plus sweetener of choice to taste

Dinner:

150g beef mince seasoned and rolled into meatballs, then fried.

Served with fried spinach

Steamed Broccoli drizzled with butter

Thursday

Breakfast:

Egg roll filled with

Cheese,

1/4 punnet mushrooms,

2 rashers bacon

fried in oil of choice,

Dinner:

Fish grilled with butter,

Broccoli Cheese,

Caramelized onion,

Carrots with butter

Friday

Breakfast:

Heba Bread in a cup (Use recipe on back of pack),
Slice and butter the bread, add 3 fried eggs.

Dinner:

Crumbed Fish served with
Pumpkin Chips,
Fried Spinach.
For the fish:
Add 1 egg to a bowl. Add 2-3 tbs heba pap to another.
Season heba pap.
Dip fish into egg, then into Heba pap, then fry in coconut oil or butter.
For the pumpkin chips:
Peel and slice, then microwave on high for 5 minutes - then fry in pan with coconut oil.
season to taste.

Saturday

Breakfast:

2 Egg Fritatta

including 2 rashers chopped bacon,

1/4 punnet chopped mushroom,

grated cheese,

fried in oil of choice

Dinner:

2 Chicken Pieces

Pumpkin pieces with butter

Cauliflower Cheese

Sunday

Breakfast:

2 eggs scrambled with 80g (1/3 punnet) and 3 rashers bacon, chopped - all fried in butter or coconut oil.

Dinner:

2 Pork Rashers

Fried Cabbage and cauliflower mix, adding 1 tsp curry

Week 3 Mindfulness:

Get enough sleep.
Believe it or not - those that sleep better at night have better weightloss results.
A study from the University of Chicago compared the weight-loss results from sleeping eight and a half hours per night versus only five and a half hours per night.
Although the weight loss plan they were on wasn't low carb - the results were that those that slept better had better weight loss results.
Sleep loss can cause a myriad of issues - such as Insulin Sensitivity - what this means is your body is more likely to store fat than burn fat - and Changes the composition of your gut flora - which seems to be related to obesity.


Week 4 Meal Plan:

Monday

Breakfast:

2 Egg Omelette

filled with

chopped bacon,

1/4 punnet fried chopped mushroom,

grated cheese,

onion

Dinner:

2 Pork Rashers,

Carrots with Butter,

Creamed Spinach

Tuesday

Breakfast:

Bacon "rolls"

Heba Bread in a mug as per instructions,

buttered - alongside 3 fried rashers of bacon.

Dinner:

2 grilled Chicken Thighs

Pumpkin Chips.

For the pumpkin chips:
Peel and slice, then microwave on high for 5 minutes - then fry in pan with coconut oil.
season to taste.

Wednesday

Breakfast:

2 boiled eggs

2 slices bacon

1/4 punnet raw mushroom

2 blocks cheese

Dinner:

2 chicken Pieces

Mashed Pumpkin with butter

Caulirice and onion fried in oil of choice

Thursday

Breakfast:

1/2 pack spinach, cleaned, chopped and fried in coconut oil.
Scramble 3 eggs and add to spinach. Fry until cooked through.

Dinner:

Chicken "pasta"
Add coconut oil to pan, then sliced chicken fillet, 80g (1/3 punnet) sliced mushroom,
1/4 cabbage shredded.

Fry until cooked - then add 6 tbs coconut cream.

Friday

Breakfast:

Breakfast Pizza using two eggs

topping of

2 rashers fried chopped bacon

1/4 punnet fried mushroom

sliced onion

grated cheese on top

Dinner:

Steak,

with mushroom sauce,

broccoli cheese.

creamed spinach

Saturday

Breakfast:

1 slice bacon, chopped and fried with 1/2 chopped onion, 50g beef mince fried in 1 tbs coconut oil
add 2 fried eggs on the side

Dinner:

2 chicken thighs
Coleslaw
Pumpkin Chips
For the pumpkin chips:
Peel and slice, then microwave on high for 5 minutes - then fry in pan with coconut oil.
season to taste.

Sunday

Breakfast:

2 Bacon and egg cups

topped with onion,

chopped mushrooms

cheese

Dinner:

Mince patties,

served with

caramelized onions,

gem squash or 1/4 fried cabbage with butter

pumpkin with butter

Week 4 Mindfulness:

Get some exercise
I am not talking about taking out a gym contract and getting buff (though if that's your thing - be my guest!).
I am talking about becoming more active in general.
If you live or work somewhere where there are steps, take the steps up at least one floor a day instead of the lift.
As weird as this sounds - you can increase your walking by shopping for good deals. Go to a mall with your shopping list (see above) - go to one supermarket, write down the prices - then walk to another supermarket and see the prices there. Don't forget to check Dischem and Clicks along your way too. Not only will you save money doing this - you will also increase your walking distance.
If its your thing - try to include some yoga exercises. There are a few available on youtube that you could follow. It can be quite gentle on you with still giving you a workout.

Thank you for putting your health first! Watch out for our April Challenge - coming soon!