Grilled Tuna Salad
Grilled Tuna Salad
Weekend cheat, is it OK?
Weekend cheat, are you serious? You know very well that cheating is a big NO on the HCG diet, even if there are ways available to help you get back on track. Cheating on the HCG diet, even on weekends, isn’t the end of everything. You can certainly recover from your weekend cheat, but if you want to lose the maximum amount of weight, DO NOT cheat.
Cheating on the HCG Diet
Cheating even for just one day while you are on the very low-calorie phase can end up causing a major weight loss stall. It prevents weight loss. Cheating is equals to weight gain, from just a couple of pounds to almost five pounds. If nothing happens or if you’ll only experience a weight-loss stall for a day or two, then your fortunate. But what if you will gain weight? Another issue is your mental mindset.
The problem here is when cheating gets out of control. What if your weekend cheat eventually leads you to quit your diet, or to cheat more often and gain more weight? Looking forward for some treat can help you stay on track with your weight loss goal, but too often, it’s a sign that you are not committed to your diet.
Weekend cheat is not good for your health
A weekend cheat will ruin not only your weight loss efforts but also your health.
- Weekend cheat can give cravings and sugar crash: Sugar can be very addictive and you can get a rush and drop from it. Eating a small amount of sugary food and you’ll be tempted to have more. Stick to it for a few days and you’ll end up craving for more all week.
- Weekend cheat is not good for your gut health: A weekend cheat of unnecessary foods like sugar, alcohol, and processed foods are enough to cause damages to your gut.
- Weekend cheat can cause inflammation: Bad choices of foods during your weekend cheat can lead to inflammation.
- Weekend cheat can affect your immune system: Drinking alcoholic beverages during your weekend cheat can impair your immunity. This decreases your body’s ability to fight off illnesses-causing bacteria and viruses.
- Weekend cheat can feed guilt and negative feeling: Cheating on weekends can ruin your diet and your Monday to Friday lose efforts, and this can make you feel guilty.
A cheat day once in a while will not compromise your weeks or months of consistent weight loss efforts. Weekend cheat can help you stay motivated long term as long as you cheat mindfully. However, this does not mean you should indulge in excess on weekend cheats. You need to always make sure you are in a healthy weight range, and it will help you keep a healthy weight. If you end up with a weekend cheat, you are required to do an apple day or Steak day as a stall breaker. As much as possible, do not cheat. No matter how hungry you are, do not resort to eating anything that isn’t HCG Diet approved.
Grilled Tuna Salad
Grilled Tuna Salad Ingredients:
nFor Dressing:nn1 cup extra-virgin olive oilnn¼ cup red-wine vinegarnn1 ½ finely chopped fresh basilnn1 ½ tsp. minced thymenn2 tsp. Dijon mustardnnRounded ½ tsp anchovy pastenn2 ½ tbsp minced shallotnn1 large garlic clove (minced and mashed to paste with ½ tsp salt)nn nnFor Salad:nn1 ½ pound tuna steaknn¾ green beans, trimmednnVegetable oil for brushingnn1 pt grape or cherry tomatonn1 ½ pound small potatonn4 hard-boiled eggs, quarterednn¾ pound lettucenn2/3 cup small brine-cured olivesnn¼ cup drained bottled capersnn3 tbsp of finely chopped fresh parsley or basilnn nnDirectionsnn nnDressing:nn n
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- Combine vinegar, garlic paste, shallot, and anchovy paste in a small bowl. Add the olive oil in a slow stream while whisking until emulsified. Add basil, thyme, salt and pepper then whisk.
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nSalad:n
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- Cook green beans in boiling water with salt until crisp and tender, around 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from water then transfer right away into a bowl of ice-cold water. In the same pot, add the potato and simmer uncovered until tender. Drain the potato and cut into halves and toss with 2 tbsp of dressings in a bowl.
- Prepare the grill. Brush the tuna steak with oil then season with salt and pepper. Grill on a lightly oiled rack, turning over once until browned on the outside but pink in the center. When done, let the tuna steak stand for 3 minutes then cut into 3 large pieces. Transfer the tuna into a separate platter then drizzle with dressings and top with capers.
- Transfer the potatoes to the tuna platter. Toss the green beans, lettuce, and tomatoes with dressing and season with salt and pepper then transfer it to the tuna platter.
- Arrange the eggs and olive on the platter then sprinkle the salad with chopped basil or parsley.
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Sweeteners on the HCG Diet
Aside from using the wrong spices, using the wrong sweeteners on the HCG Diet can stall your weight loss efforts. There are only two types of sweetener allowed on the HCG diet, they are:
- Pure Stevia
Stevia is all-natural and remains the best sweeteners on the HCG Diet. It’s a popular sugar substitute made from the leaves of Stevia plants. Stevia is 100 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar, yet has no calories, carbs, or artificial ingredients. It’s proven to have no undesirable effects on weight loss.
The sweet-tasting components in Stevia sweetener occur naturally, but it does not affect blood glucose. This allows people with diabetes to consume more foods while maintaining a healthy diet. This natural sweetener contains no sugar at all and very few calories. It is used as part of a well-balanced diet to help cut calories without sacrificing the taste.
However, not all Stevia is the same. Some stevia is mixed with other sweeteners like dextrose and erythritol, which can slow or stall your weight loss. Brands like Stevia in the Raw, PureVia, and Truvia are diluted with other sweeteners and sugar alcohols. You can use them during the maintenance phase, but not during the low-calorie diet phase. Use only pure stevia.
Other sweeteners not allowed on the HCG Diet aside from Truvia and Stevia in the Raw are:
- Splenda
- Purvia
- Equal
- Z-sweet
- Anything with ingredients that end in -tol, -ose, -dextrin
- Saccharin
Saccharin is a zero-calorie artificial sweetener, and it’s the only sweetener safe during the HCG diet. It is used to sweeten products like candies, medicine, drinks, and cookies. At higher concentrations, this acceptable sugar alternative has a bitter taste.
Saccharin is made in the laboratory and it looks like white, crystalline powder. People with diabetes, dental health problems, and people who want to lose weight may benefit from this artificial sweetener.
Saccharin is generally safe for human consumption according to health authorities like WHO and FDA. People believe that saccharin isn’t very good for health as it causes serious health problems like cancer when consumed in large quantities. For dieters doing the HCG diet, we feel the health risk is very minimal because the HCG diet only lasts for a relatively short time. Sugar and any other sweetener except for Stevia are not allowed only during the low-calorie phase. Once dieters reach the maintenance phase, they can switch to any zero-calorie sweetener they like. Popular brands of saccharin include Sweet ‘n’ Low.
Do away with these sweeteners:
- Erythritol: It is a type of sugar alcohol with an excellent taste. It is made from fermenting glucose from cornstarch, and it contains 70% sweetness of sugar and 5% of its calories. Erythritol is designed to replace sugar and calories to create a “diet-friendly” result.
- Vegetable glycerin: It is a clear, syrup-like liquid with a sweet taste made from vegetable fat. But this sweetener is not useful to any weight loss program as glycerin causes increased water retention which can lead to weight gain.
- Xylitol: It is a sugar alcohol, a type of carbohydrate that does not contain alcohol. Many commercial mints or chewing gum that are “sugar-free” contain xylitol.
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