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MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 280 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story
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If you’ve been following along, you know that we recently embarked on a 10-day starch-based diet called “Mary’s Mini.” If you aren’t sure what that is, check out our previous blog posts about it or watch our Mary’s Mini Playlist on YouTube!
We originally set out to complete 10 days of this “challenge,” but decided to extend it an extra 8 days (through August 8th). Brian’s birthday is on August 9th, so it seemed like a good stopping point! Check out this video and read on below for a recap of what we’ve been eating, how we’ve been feeling and how much weight we’ve lost.
NOTE: We are not nutrition experts. We do not give out medical advice.
Contact your doctor if you have any concerns involving this diet. (Read More)
What Have We Been Eating on Mary’s Mini?
HASH BROWNS
We’ve been eating a TON of hash browns during our Mary’s Mini. We use the frozen ones by a brand called Mr. Dell’s because they only have ONE ingredient – POTATOES! They make a quick & easy breakfast using our Griddler. If you haven’t seen our Oil-Free Hash Brown Throwdown, be sure to watch that for more hash brown fun.
Check out our Favorite Products for Mary’s Mini below for more information on our Griddler!
Brian also started experimenting with hash brown casserole this weekend. He has so many potato recipes that he needs to work on for you guys!
BAKED POTATOES
For lunches at work, we’ve been taking baked potatoes, steamed veggies and salsa. This has gotten a bit boring for me and is probably my least favorite… but you have to remember that part of the “point” of Mary’s Mini IS for the food to be boring.
MASHED POTATOES
We’ve made these so many times in the past two weeks, we just had to share our recipe! Check it out here and let us know your favorite way to serve up mashed potatoes.
POTATO PUFFS
Who knew that you could take cold mashed potatoes and air fry or bake them into little balls of goodness! Brian has been playing around with a TON of variations, so definitely expect a recipe for these soon.
CHEESE SAUCE
Last weekend, we decided to whip up a batch of Brand New Vegan’s “Amazing Vegan Cheese Sauce” and oh my is it good! Even though all of the ingredients in this potato and carrot-based “cheese” sauce are technically “compliant” with Mary’s Mini – it still feels wrong to me LOL! It’s that good. Either way, it has helped us stay on this challenge, so I’ll call that a win. Thanks Chuck!
VEGGIES
Although the starch you pick is the MAIN part of your Mary’s Mini, you also get to add in a ton of other veggies. Our favorites have been broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, summer squash and green beans.
How Have We Been Doing?
Be sure to watch the video for our daily “check-ins” to see how we’ve done for the past week!
We are both ready to get back to our “normal” diet. We want our giant salads, fruit, hummus… all of it! I can definitely say both of us will have a renewed appreciation for all of the whole food, plant-based things we consume on a daily basis.
Brian wasn’t super pumped to extend this the additional 8 days, but he’s a good husband and always supports me. I am stubborn and wanted to continue for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons is actually just being lazy and not wanting to meal prep/plan for the next week LOL. This has been super easy to prep and plan for since we are using a very limited list of ingredients in everything we eat.
I have noticed that in the past 4-5 days, I no longer get hungry for breakfast. People ask a lot about portion control or how much we eat. A lot of it is just based on intuition – eat when you are hungry, don’t eat when you aren’t hungry. The problem is, sometimes your head tells you that you are hungry we you really aren’t.
One important (and extremely embarrassing) thing to note – just because you are eating a ton of fiber, that does NOT mean everything will keep “moving” – if you know what I mean! LOL! Brian has been pretty “regular” when it comes to that. I am not completely constipated – but these potatoes are definitely taking their sweet time getting through my system. It has made me feel sick at times, but I’ve been managing. 😬
How Much Weight Have We Lost?
Over the course of the 10 “official” days of the Mary’s Mini, I lost a total of 3.6 pounds. As of yesterday’s weigh-in on Day 13, I have lost 4 pounds. I am pretty happy with this, as it is on par with (or better than) what I would normally lose in that amount of time. I also think I’ll drop a few extra pounds pretty quickly once we switch back to our “normal” diet and I go back to being a bit more… “regular” – if you know what I mean. 😁
Brian has lost 10.2 pounds since we started the Mary’s Mini (8.2 of those being from the first 10 days). This has certainly given both of us a nice little kick start, as we’ve been hovering around the same weights for a month or so.
Brian also reached a HUGE milestone – he is now under 350 pounds for the first time in at least two decades. We also noticed that our combined weights are now 512.2 – and if you remember, Brian started out at 514 pounds. So we now weight less that his starting weight… combined! Crazy.
Overall, I think Mary’s Mini has been great. We have learned a lot and it has allowed Brian to get really creative in the kitchen, which is something he loves! We’ve also lost a few pounds and learned a new appreciation for both potatoes and our normal whole food, plant-based diet.
Let us know in the comments below if you’ve tried
Mary’s Mini and how it went for you!
Favorite Products for Mary’s Mini:
PLEASE NOTE: If you choose to purchase through these links, we receive a small commission from each sale at NO extra cost to you. All proceeds go back into making more content!
Cuisinart 5-in-1 GriddlerNuWave Brio Air Fryer
OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Potato Masher
AmazonBasics Silicone Baking Mat Sheet, Set of 2
Pyrex Storage Plus 7-cup Round Glass Food Storage
Spud Dude Potato Vegetable Scrub Cleaner Brush
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Started today on Mary’s Mini. I have got to try the Boulangere potato recipe from Forks over Knives. I love creamy and I love gravy (probably as much as you love cheez, lol). I have so enjoyed ya’lls channel. Thanks for stepping out publicly. I couldn’t do it but I’m so glad ya’ll could!
We will have to try that! Brian loves gravy! 🙂
Absolutely love watching your journey! You help me keep going. I’m not doing Mary’s Mini. Just eating what is allowed. My husband won’t do this with me. He needs to lose about 20 pounds only but just needs to eat healthy. I fix him meat to go serve with what I can have and that seems to satisfy him.
Thanks for watching Shirley! It definitely helps having a partner… but this way of eating also isn’t for everyone. Hopefully he can find what works for him! It sounds like you are making a good compromise so far!
I was a few days into a Mary’s Mini (with potatoes) when I found these videos on YouTube and I gotta say I really love all your content: inspiring, informative, and all with a great sense of humor. Thank you!
So the Mary’s Mini was a success for me, I dropped 7.5 lbs over 10 days and although I’ve eaten a WFPB diet for almost 7 years now, I have periods where I keep the base (no animal products) but resort to bad habits. (Like eating a bag of chips after work instead of starting dinner)– anyway, the Mary’s Mini really succeeded in resetting my appetite and mindset and putting me back on the path to get back to my ideal weight.
BUT
I’m in the same boat as Jessica found herself in that I’m not totally constipated — but it’s certainly been more days than I’d like since I’ve taken the epic dumps that WFPD diet usually provides. Physically I feel fine…just making me a tad anxious. Jessica, I know it makes you uncomfortable, but I do appreciate you mentioning it as a side effect, it makes me feel less worried. Did anything help relive it? I finished the Mini on Sunday (Wednesday now) so I’m back to eating oatmeal in the mornings and more variety so I’m hoping that’ll help, but anything that helped I’m open to ideas.
Thanks!
I don’t know if it was posting a public comment like this or the cup of green tea I drank right before it but…ahem, the Eagle has landed shortly after posting my previous comment.
I guess it makes sense that things might change by focusing on one food for 10 days, so anyone who is dealing with this in the future, I would say as long as you’re not physically uncomfortable, stay the course and be patient, your body will catch up. And a hot cup of green tea.
LOL! Amazing!
Hello! I am normally pretty “regular” on our whole food plant-based diet, but these potatoes got me all messed up LOL. I did notice after we posted the video – the for the remaining days, I ate more mashed potatoes vs. regular baked ones and things seemed to move along a bit better… ha!
I really enjoy your videos and recipes. I am waiting for my Vitamix to arrive so I can make your smokey hummus. Thanks for sharing and please share any other favorites as you come across them. 🙂
Thank you! Getting a Vitamix was such a great investment for us 😀 It makes a big difference!
I’m enjoying your videos and content on website. I, too, am a Nutritarian.
I’m curious to know if you’re at present on the weight/loss phase of Dr. Fuhrman’s lifestyle eating plan. If not, how long were you on most restrictive meal plan?
Also, how do you keep a lid on portion control?
Thanks. Would appreciate your feedback! You guys rock!
We been loosely following the 6 week plan guidelines from Eat To Live since we started. We are both still losing weight. For portion control, over time we just intuitively know how much we can eat and feel satisfied, but still lose weight. It is different for each of us, but we don’t worry about it too much as long as we are keeping a closer eye on the limited and restricted categories. Hope this helps!