Hi Yogi,
Already we are halfway through the 40 days of Lent. I was hoping to feel better, sleep deeper and be lighter at this point. Isn't that funny? A lifetime of bad eating habits and nutrition misinformation should be wiped out in three weeks. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. But I'm determined to stick this out and MAKE IT WORK.
It's late Saturday and I'm tired. Heavenly Hands, our signing choir at Bethany Baptist, spent all day at the Robinson Mall Sign-A-Thon. We manned a table highlighting the services our church provides to the deaf community. We also signed several songs, made new friends and reconnected with some longtime old friends.
This was my first time participating in this annual event, but I knew it would be a long day. I prepared a proper Paleo breakfast of bacon, eggs, kimchi and sweet potatoes. Feeling well nourished,
I was off to a day of service and learning. Shared a snack of fruit and nuts with my BFF Lorraine and later we lunched at the dreaded food court.
Surely I thought, there will be "legal" eats there, but it was tough to find. One place had salads, but they were covered in cheese. So I tried Subway's chopped salad. All the veggies, turkey, no cheese or bread of any kind. Ain't I good? Yes, until the salad dressing dilemma. No industrial seed oils are permitted on this nutrition plan. I was told their salad oil is a combo of olive and canola!
Gang, I've decided to stay off the sugar, dairy, beans and grains. That's enough. Avoiding corn, canola, vegetable, soy and sesame oils is more than I can do. I'll limit them as much as possible, and won't have it in my pantry, but simply have to eat out on occasion. And the sources of cooking oils at most restaurants will always be dubious.
I finally finished Chris Kresser's book, "Your Personal Paleo Code" and am checking out the bonus chapters on line. There are several and they tend to be targeted to different physical problems, like GERD, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and so on. There's also a chapter on supplements that I'm very interested in. Richard and I both take a handful daily, a good solid multi-vitamin, ubiquinol, fish oil, vitamin C. I also take an iron pill to stave off borderline anemia.
Also, I'm gently suggesting to people with chronic inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis, to look into anti-inflammatory diets. We can do so much harm or good, with what we put in our mouths.
Yogi, thank God for the new week that's about to begin. May you all be blessed, and thank you for your support.
Peace, love and good eats...
myrna
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Cheating
Greetings Yogi
Time to 'fess up. If you were invited to be my accountability partners,I must tell you the whole truth. So here are some of the embarrassing confessions of cheating on my nutrition plan.
Chewing gum. Not just any gum, but Jolt gum. It has caffeine. I don't do energy drinks, but keep a pack of Jolt in my desk at work, one in the car and one in my purse. I buy it by the case on line. It truly helps in my case of chronic sleep deprivation. Jolt has the rather unique combination of 3 grams of sugar plus artificial sweeteners, both verboten. I don't use it daily anymore, but having given up the delicious diet Pepsi, it's still a crutch until my sleep patterns improve.
Dogs. Ok, meat and potatoes can make up 50% of the Paleo plate. While Rich and I were at the Home and Garden show last week when hunger struck. I did not prepare a bag lunch and found myself at the concession stand ordering an all beef dog and fries. Ditched the yucky white bun, munched the fries naked, because of course ketchup had sugar in it. Somehow I don't think this is the meal Chris Kresser had in mind.
And y'all know I'm the only one in the house using this nutrition plan, right. I'm doing my best to feed Rich as usual. I still make and serve him pasta, macaroni, cornbread, etc. Well whenever I visit Mom in Akron, he's come to expect a box of Church's Chicken. I got nearly halfway to Pittsburgh when I found my hand reaching for the still warm and crispy fried okra. Now that's comfort food.
So I'm back on track and recommitted to making this plan work. A dear friend brought a jar of her hubby's homemade lunching which is even more comforting, delicious, healthy and gut soothing than fried okra.
Peace, love and namaste,
Myrna
Time to 'fess up. If you were invited to be my accountability partners,I must tell you the whole truth. So here are some of the embarrassing confessions of cheating on my nutrition plan.
Chewing gum. Not just any gum, but Jolt gum. It has caffeine. I don't do energy drinks, but keep a pack of Jolt in my desk at work, one in the car and one in my purse. I buy it by the case on line. It truly helps in my case of chronic sleep deprivation. Jolt has the rather unique combination of 3 grams of sugar plus artificial sweeteners, both verboten. I don't use it daily anymore, but having given up the delicious diet Pepsi, it's still a crutch until my sleep patterns improve.
Dogs. Ok, meat and potatoes can make up 50% of the Paleo plate. While Rich and I were at the Home and Garden show last week when hunger struck. I did not prepare a bag lunch and found myself at the concession stand ordering an all beef dog and fries. Ditched the yucky white bun, munched the fries naked, because of course ketchup had sugar in it. Somehow I don't think this is the meal Chris Kresser had in mind.
And y'all know I'm the only one in the house using this nutrition plan, right. I'm doing my best to feed Rich as usual. I still make and serve him pasta, macaroni, cornbread, etc. Well whenever I visit Mom in Akron, he's come to expect a box of Church's Chicken. I got nearly halfway to Pittsburgh when I found my hand reaching for the still warm and crispy fried okra. Now that's comfort food.
So I'm back on track and recommitted to making this plan work. A dear friend brought a jar of her hubby's homemade lunching which is even more comforting, delicious, healthy and gut soothing than fried okra.
Peace, love and namaste,
Myrna
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Progress, or lack thereof....
Blessings Yogi,
Much appreciation to all of you that have viewed/followed this blog. Thank you for being my accountability and inspiration.
Last week, my office celebrated our annual St. Patrick's Day chili cook-off. (Don't even ask, this tradition started years ago and I've never gotten a straight answer). The 6-quart slow cookers were lined up like a dozen soldiers, ready to feed the masses. I made Cincinnati Chili this year, which is served up to 5 ways (2 ways is with pasta, 3 ways beans, 4 ways onions, 5 ways cheese). It's flavored with heady, aromatic sweet spices. I made sure it was paleo friendly, keeping the beans and spaghetti on the side. Speaking of sides, my coworkers brought corn muffins, wheat crackers, buffalo chicken dip, homemade cakes, 7 layer salads, cheese, chips, and more cheese.
This is where it got tough. Now I truly understand what the biblical term "flesh" means. My flesh was screaming for a slab of bread slathered with butter like a cranky 2 year old in the midst of a hot temper tantrum. Later I realized that I forgot to have any carbs at all that day. Now I keep roasted yams in the fridge.
My body seems to be rebelling, but I read recently about a phenomenon called the "Paleo flu". Newbies have been known to suffer aches and shakes as the detox process takes place. A dear friend/yogi told me "You'll feel worse before you feel better". She also told me to hang in there, better days are around the corner.
I had a weird thought earlier today, how I'll be glad when this is all over and things can get back to normal. Then I realized, but for a few tweaks in phase 2, this IS my new normal. I mean; bitter, unsweetened black coffee in the morning, no commercial salad dressings, no bagels, lentils, pretzels... Whew! That's going to be hard to swallow. Stop groaning. However, it's fascinating that I've lost 6 pounds on a diet that has no calorie restrictions!
There was one true flavor triumph this week. Check out this two ingredient dessert recipe.
1 ripe banana, 1 cup frozen strawberries. Blend with a little ice or a dribble of cold water, just enough to get the blender moving. Tastes like yummy sorbet, and at least momentarily made up for all the sacrifice.
The practice of fasting for lent builds spiritual muscle. I'm filled with gratitude to live in a place of abundance.
Peace
Myrna
Much appreciation to all of you that have viewed/followed this blog. Thank you for being my accountability and inspiration.
Last week, my office celebrated our annual St. Patrick's Day chili cook-off. (Don't even ask, this tradition started years ago and I've never gotten a straight answer). The 6-quart slow cookers were lined up like a dozen soldiers, ready to feed the masses. I made Cincinnati Chili this year, which is served up to 5 ways (2 ways is with pasta, 3 ways beans, 4 ways onions, 5 ways cheese). It's flavored with heady, aromatic sweet spices. I made sure it was paleo friendly, keeping the beans and spaghetti on the side. Speaking of sides, my coworkers brought corn muffins, wheat crackers, buffalo chicken dip, homemade cakes, 7 layer salads, cheese, chips, and more cheese.
This is where it got tough. Now I truly understand what the biblical term "flesh" means. My flesh was screaming for a slab of bread slathered with butter like a cranky 2 year old in the midst of a hot temper tantrum. Later I realized that I forgot to have any carbs at all that day. Now I keep roasted yams in the fridge.
My body seems to be rebelling, but I read recently about a phenomenon called the "Paleo flu". Newbies have been known to suffer aches and shakes as the detox process takes place. A dear friend/yogi told me "You'll feel worse before you feel better". She also told me to hang in there, better days are around the corner.
I had a weird thought earlier today, how I'll be glad when this is all over and things can get back to normal. Then I realized, but for a few tweaks in phase 2, this IS my new normal. I mean; bitter, unsweetened black coffee in the morning, no commercial salad dressings, no bagels, lentils, pretzels... Whew! That's going to be hard to swallow. Stop groaning. However, it's fascinating that I've lost 6 pounds on a diet that has no calorie restrictions!
There was one true flavor triumph this week. Check out this two ingredient dessert recipe.
1 ripe banana, 1 cup frozen strawberries. Blend with a little ice or a dribble of cold water, just enough to get the blender moving. Tastes like yummy sorbet, and at least momentarily made up for all the sacrifice.
The practice of fasting for lent builds spiritual muscle. I'm filled with gratitude to live in a place of abundance.
Peace
Myrna
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Hurdles
Greetings Yogi,
May you be wonderfully blessed today.
It's been 4 days since starting "Your Personal Paleo Code", the nutritional journey developed by Chris Kresser. During the 30 day reset phase, or in my case the 40 days of Lent, one is to refrain from eating any sugars (that includes anything made with sugars such as ketchup, hot sauce, salad dressings, wine), dairy, grains, beans/legumes or industrial seed oils such as soy/corn/canola/ vegetable/sesame, etc. In a word, DETOX. He recommends eating at home, because seriously, it's difficult to find a restaurant meal with those restrictions. And he was right.
That has been fully impractical in my life already! I'm proud of the fact that we do very little eating out, but with a busy lifestyle, working a full time office job, teaching yoga classes 2-3 times a week, active in 3 church ministries, sometimes you gotta grab a meal on the run. Even yesterday, Rich's friends invited us to join them for breakfast at a restaurant on Carson Street. Can I bring along a jar of coconut oil with which to ask the chef to prepare my paleo-friendly eggs?
So as you can see, it's been an imperfect few days. I ordered an egg over easy, which served as my dressing for the side salad. Later, after a morning full of running chores and meetings, I lunched out with a ministry leader, and had a splash of commercial salad dressing on the SECOND salad of the day, at a family-friendly restaurant which uses no olive oil. Some people can use just vinegar, I ain't on of 'em. Reminder, this is a plan, not a religion.
Even with those infractions, my diet has been completely overhauled. Even the occasional pretzel, tortilla chip, diet Pepsi or dollop of peanut butter, must have wreaked havoc because I'm feeling the burn baby. In fact, this fast has taken me right over into the spiritual realm, for real. Thoughts of pastors speaking and teaching about reasons to fast, using hunger pains as reminders to pray, remembering and honoring sacrifices of Christ.
On the other hand, at this stage, it's still difficult to distinguish between hunger and craving, but one or both is ever present. I'm still feeling joint pain, sleep issues, brain fog, cranky. On the other hand, I'm also experiencing feelings of strength, empowerment and determination.
All this in less than a week. The goal for this week is to obsess less about food, riiight! For a very nice explanation of Lent, check out this site, from Emmanuel Episcopal Church, the host of one of my yoga classes, http://www.emmanuelpgh.org/lent-2014/what-is-lent/
Thank you for checking out this post.
Peace, love a grace to y'all...
myrna
YogaNuvo
May you be wonderfully blessed today.
It's been 4 days since starting "Your Personal Paleo Code", the nutritional journey developed by Chris Kresser. During the 30 day reset phase, or in my case the 40 days of Lent, one is to refrain from eating any sugars (that includes anything made with sugars such as ketchup, hot sauce, salad dressings, wine), dairy, grains, beans/legumes or industrial seed oils such as soy/corn/canola/ vegetable/sesame, etc. In a word, DETOX. He recommends eating at home, because seriously, it's difficult to find a restaurant meal with those restrictions. And he was right.
That has been fully impractical in my life already! I'm proud of the fact that we do very little eating out, but with a busy lifestyle, working a full time office job, teaching yoga classes 2-3 times a week, active in 3 church ministries, sometimes you gotta grab a meal on the run. Even yesterday, Rich's friends invited us to join them for breakfast at a restaurant on Carson Street. Can I bring along a jar of coconut oil with which to ask the chef to prepare my paleo-friendly eggs?
So as you can see, it's been an imperfect few days. I ordered an egg over easy, which served as my dressing for the side salad. Later, after a morning full of running chores and meetings, I lunched out with a ministry leader, and had a splash of commercial salad dressing on the SECOND salad of the day, at a family-friendly restaurant which uses no olive oil. Some people can use just vinegar, I ain't on of 'em. Reminder, this is a plan, not a religion.
Even with those infractions, my diet has been completely overhauled. Even the occasional pretzel, tortilla chip, diet Pepsi or dollop of peanut butter, must have wreaked havoc because I'm feeling the burn baby. In fact, this fast has taken me right over into the spiritual realm, for real. Thoughts of pastors speaking and teaching about reasons to fast, using hunger pains as reminders to pray, remembering and honoring sacrifices of Christ.
On the other hand, at this stage, it's still difficult to distinguish between hunger and craving, but one or both is ever present. I'm still feeling joint pain, sleep issues, brain fog, cranky. On the other hand, I'm also experiencing feelings of strength, empowerment and determination.
All this in less than a week. The goal for this week is to obsess less about food, riiight! For a very nice explanation of Lent, check out this site, from Emmanuel Episcopal Church, the host of one of my yoga classes, http://www.emmanuelpgh.org/lent-2014/what-is-lent/
Thank you for checking out this post.
Peace, love a grace to y'all...
myrna
YogaNuvo
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Day 1, My Personal Paleo Code
Hello Yogi,
This idea of a totally new nutrition plan is exciting and frightening at the same time. I didn't sleep much last night, wondering if I'll be able to make these changes last. Of course, lack of sleep makes one hungry, doesn't it?
The day started with a cup of coffee, flavored with a bit of coconut milk. It wasn't great, but better than no coffee at all. Breakfast was a scrambled egg with red peppers and onions. Definitely feeling the lack of sugar by 11am, but had enough energy to remain determined.
One of my coworkers made the first of many trips to St. Mary Parish (Cecil Twp) Lenten fish fry. Today is Ash Wednesday and we'll be eating there pretty much every Friday up to Easter. There is nothing like an old fashioned church lady fish fry.
Screech! Back up! Industrial cooking oils are forbidden. No worries, St. Mary's always has baked options. They have a delicious baked salmon with lemon cream sauce. Should tell them to hold the sauce, (no dairy allowed either) 'cause if I see it, or smell it, I'm eating it. My temptation resistance muscles are in their very first day of training so I ordered the baked cod, believing it would be a safer option.
The generous portion of cod came sprinkled with, da-da-dahhhhh, buttered bread crumbs. Dang, another forbidden food and it's touching my fish! I carefully pushed all the bread crumbs to the side, gently blotted the cod on paper towels. That's gotta be close enough to kosher, right?
There aren't many beverage options on this nutrition plan, only 1 cup of coffee or tea are allowed, before lunch. But I was ready, armed with several unsweetened, fizzy mixers and wedges of fresh lime ready. Club soda, seltzer and tonic water. My drink was super refreshing, and I haven't had any sugar for a whole, well 1/2 a day. The lime almost tasted sweet, like an orange. I finished that cup and started sipping a second serving when I realized, hey this doesn't just taste sweet, it is sweet! Turns out tonic water is loaded with high fructose corn syrup! Gotta start reading those labels.
Today the new plan was full of fits and starts, wrong turns, mistakes. But I carried a slice of King cake home for Richard, without so much as a sniff. And I prepared a macaroni salad to have with his dinner, no tasting to correct the seasoning. Just trusted my cooking instincts.
The first day (and hopefully the toughest) is complete. I thank God for the new direction and the challenge.
I pray you all have a blessed week and abundant nutrition.
Peace, joy, love...
Myrna
This idea of a totally new nutrition plan is exciting and frightening at the same time. I didn't sleep much last night, wondering if I'll be able to make these changes last. Of course, lack of sleep makes one hungry, doesn't it?
The day started with a cup of coffee, flavored with a bit of coconut milk. It wasn't great, but better than no coffee at all. Breakfast was a scrambled egg with red peppers and onions. Definitely feeling the lack of sugar by 11am, but had enough energy to remain determined.
One of my coworkers made the first of many trips to St. Mary Parish (Cecil Twp) Lenten fish fry. Today is Ash Wednesday and we'll be eating there pretty much every Friday up to Easter. There is nothing like an old fashioned church lady fish fry.
Screech! Back up! Industrial cooking oils are forbidden. No worries, St. Mary's always has baked options. They have a delicious baked salmon with lemon cream sauce. Should tell them to hold the sauce, (no dairy allowed either) 'cause if I see it, or smell it, I'm eating it. My temptation resistance muscles are in their very first day of training so I ordered the baked cod, believing it would be a safer option.
The generous portion of cod came sprinkled with, da-da-dahhhhh, buttered bread crumbs. Dang, another forbidden food and it's touching my fish! I carefully pushed all the bread crumbs to the side, gently blotted the cod on paper towels. That's gotta be close enough to kosher, right?
There aren't many beverage options on this nutrition plan, only 1 cup of coffee or tea are allowed, before lunch. But I was ready, armed with several unsweetened, fizzy mixers and wedges of fresh lime ready. Club soda, seltzer and tonic water. My drink was super refreshing, and I haven't had any sugar for a whole, well 1/2 a day. The lime almost tasted sweet, like an orange. I finished that cup and started sipping a second serving when I realized, hey this doesn't just taste sweet, it is sweet! Turns out tonic water is loaded with high fructose corn syrup! Gotta start reading those labels.
Today the new plan was full of fits and starts, wrong turns, mistakes. But I carried a slice of King cake home for Richard, without so much as a sniff. And I prepared a macaroni salad to have with his dinner, no tasting to correct the seasoning. Just trusted my cooking instincts.
The first day (and hopefully the toughest) is complete. I thank God for the new direction and the challenge.
I pray you all have a blessed week and abundant nutrition.
Peace, joy, love...
Myrna
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Fat Tuesday, 2014
Hello Yogi, It's Fat Tuesday, and I'm having roast chicken and steamed brocolli for lunch. Quite a party, huh? Oh, but chicken is slathered with delicious barbeque sauce. Both of my parents are from the deep south, so that's practically a beverage in our house!
Speaking of beverages, i'm washing it all down with an ice-cold, frosty diet Pepsi. The sauce and the pepsi are forbidden starting tomorrow. No hot sauce either. It has sugar in it. My life will be changed without hot sauce. Do you think a couple of pureed jalapeno will be a suitable substitute? After all, it is a vegetable.
Of course the office is celebrating and there are enough doughnuts in here to sink a battleship, as my Mom used to say. I quit eating them years ago, unless someone comes in with Orem's doughnuts from Beaver County. They are the size of small hubcaps, cinnamon swirled and sugar coated. Just far enough away from our Washington County location to be considered a delicacy. But that's a rare occasion.
I chipped in for a King's Cake to share. I had a couple of bites, but it's way too sweet for me. My slice is heading home to Rich. He likes a little dessert after dinner. It's a good thing the sugar/dairy fast starts on Wednesday. I'll be five days into it before having to teach a yoga class next week. Wouldn't want to be a cranky Yoga teacher in the throws of withdrawal. "Down Dog right NOW"!!!
So I've decided not to post weight at this time. I'm trying to make this nutrition change about ample energy, cleansing sleep, clear skin, as well as weight. Not sure how those can be measured. Yogi, I feel honored to have you pulling for me through this journey. Please feel free to comment honestly. As of tomorrow, the "Your Personal Paleo Code" by Chris Kresser will be my nutrition guide. i'm only on page 100, but thought Lent would be a good time to start making these changes. May we all experience better health and vitality becuase of this experiment. Peace, love, blessings, laughter... Myrna
Speaking of beverages, i'm washing it all down with an ice-cold, frosty diet Pepsi. The sauce and the pepsi are forbidden starting tomorrow. No hot sauce either. It has sugar in it. My life will be changed without hot sauce. Do you think a couple of pureed jalapeno will be a suitable substitute? After all, it is a vegetable.
Of course the office is celebrating and there are enough doughnuts in here to sink a battleship, as my Mom used to say. I quit eating them years ago, unless someone comes in with Orem's doughnuts from Beaver County. They are the size of small hubcaps, cinnamon swirled and sugar coated. Just far enough away from our Washington County location to be considered a delicacy. But that's a rare occasion.
I chipped in for a King's Cake to share. I had a couple of bites, but it's way too sweet for me. My slice is heading home to Rich. He likes a little dessert after dinner. It's a good thing the sugar/dairy fast starts on Wednesday. I'll be five days into it before having to teach a yoga class next week. Wouldn't want to be a cranky Yoga teacher in the throws of withdrawal. "Down Dog right NOW"!!!
So I've decided not to post weight at this time. I'm trying to make this nutrition change about ample energy, cleansing sleep, clear skin, as well as weight. Not sure how those can be measured. Yogi, I feel honored to have you pulling for me through this journey. Please feel free to comment honestly. As of tomorrow, the "Your Personal Paleo Code" by Chris Kresser will be my nutrition guide. i'm only on page 100, but thought Lent would be a good time to start making these changes. May we all experience better health and vitality becuase of this experiment. Peace, love, blessings, laughter... Myrna
Monday, March 3, 2014
Here We Go
Hi Yogi,
Do you know how many diet books there are on the market? Me either, but there must be a TON of them. Only the short stack is on my bookshelf, but none of them ever really touched that place in my soul that could get a handle on this weight problem. Most of them had some common sense (portion control) and practical tools (calorie counters), but it all seemed to take a daunting amount of attention. The food diaries and calorie counts, well, who has time for that?
So a few years back, I joined a famed diet group, you know the one with the initials WW? There was a chapter at work and we met weekly during the lunch break. I thought the financial investment would spur me on to success. After six weeks of talking about food, examining food, measuring and weighing food, banning certain foods, I had gained a pound.
My sense was, there's got to be a something going on chemically in the body, but unsure what it could be. Why am I always hungry? Stress? Yes, I work a high stress, full-time job. But I always balance that with prayer, meditation, play, exercise (especially yoga). Lately, there's a lot of chatter about sleep patterns affecting the diet. I haven't been able to sleep more than six hours a night for a couple of years now. Could that be causing all the hunger? Certainly all the wonderful, tempting and entertaining cooking shows now on television couldn't contribute, or could it? I've heard it referred to as "food porn".
Being an Oza-holic, I faithfully DVR the Dr. Oz program. A couple of weeks ago, his guest was Dr. Chris Kresser, who wrote the book, "Your Personal Paleo Code". It's not a true weight-loss, diet book, but reportedly, some people who follow the plan have lost weight. Dr. Kresser spent years working on a personal health issue, so this book was the result of years of nutritional study.
Paleo, me? I was a vegetarian for years, and still a vegetarian at heart. The only reason I went back to eating meat was at the suggestion of a nutritionist as the easiest way to fight borderline anemia. But the idea of reducing all the processed grains and sugars had been on my mind anyway, so I bought the book. I'm only on page 100 (of 400+), but Dr. Kresser has already laid out some interesting guidelines to start a new way of life. I decided, for Lent, to give this nutrition program a try and to be accountable to all of you by blogging the results.
The first phase is the reset, or what I like to think of as detox. Meats, non-starchy vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds are a go. Root vegetables are permitted, well, with the exception of white potatoes, and some oils are OK too, including coconut oil (my favorite) and olive oil. No counting calories, no measuring or weighing.
What to avoid? Sugar. All of it. No honey, agave, maple syrup or artificial sweeteners of any kind. No dairy. (Oh, how I will miss Greek yogurt). No beans. What? I always thought they were extremely healthy, what with the fiber and phytonutrients. They were the staple of my vegetarian diet. No industrial seed oils. No peanuts or peanut butter, arghhhhh. You'll have to read the book to get all the science behind these rules, but needless to say, there's gonna be some weeping and gnashing of teeth around Bergman Street later this week, but hopefully not the whole 40 days.
Today, it's oatmeal with raisins for breakfast, pancetta pizza for lunch, and definitely some soon to be forbidden starchy carb for dinner. Of course, along with my five daily servings of veggies, as usual. Grapes with plain Greek yogurt, sprinkled with cinnamon and sunflower seeds will serve as a delectable dessert.
Stay tuned...
Do you know how many diet books there are on the market? Me either, but there must be a TON of them. Only the short stack is on my bookshelf, but none of them ever really touched that place in my soul that could get a handle on this weight problem. Most of them had some common sense (portion control) and practical tools (calorie counters), but it all seemed to take a daunting amount of attention. The food diaries and calorie counts, well, who has time for that?
So a few years back, I joined a famed diet group, you know the one with the initials WW? There was a chapter at work and we met weekly during the lunch break. I thought the financial investment would spur me on to success. After six weeks of talking about food, examining food, measuring and weighing food, banning certain foods, I had gained a pound.
My sense was, there's got to be a something going on chemically in the body, but unsure what it could be. Why am I always hungry? Stress? Yes, I work a high stress, full-time job. But I always balance that with prayer, meditation, play, exercise (especially yoga). Lately, there's a lot of chatter about sleep patterns affecting the diet. I haven't been able to sleep more than six hours a night for a couple of years now. Could that be causing all the hunger? Certainly all the wonderful, tempting and entertaining cooking shows now on television couldn't contribute, or could it? I've heard it referred to as "food porn".
Being an Oza-holic, I faithfully DVR the Dr. Oz program. A couple of weeks ago, his guest was Dr. Chris Kresser, who wrote the book, "Your Personal Paleo Code". It's not a true weight-loss, diet book, but reportedly, some people who follow the plan have lost weight. Dr. Kresser spent years working on a personal health issue, so this book was the result of years of nutritional study.
Paleo, me? I was a vegetarian for years, and still a vegetarian at heart. The only reason I went back to eating meat was at the suggestion of a nutritionist as the easiest way to fight borderline anemia. But the idea of reducing all the processed grains and sugars had been on my mind anyway, so I bought the book. I'm only on page 100 (of 400+), but Dr. Kresser has already laid out some interesting guidelines to start a new way of life. I decided, for Lent, to give this nutrition program a try and to be accountable to all of you by blogging the results.
The first phase is the reset, or what I like to think of as detox. Meats, non-starchy vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds are a go. Root vegetables are permitted, well, with the exception of white potatoes, and some oils are OK too, including coconut oil (my favorite) and olive oil. No counting calories, no measuring or weighing.
What to avoid? Sugar. All of it. No honey, agave, maple syrup or artificial sweeteners of any kind. No dairy. (Oh, how I will miss Greek yogurt). No beans. What? I always thought they were extremely healthy, what with the fiber and phytonutrients. They were the staple of my vegetarian diet. No industrial seed oils. No peanuts or peanut butter, arghhhhh. You'll have to read the book to get all the science behind these rules, but needless to say, there's gonna be some weeping and gnashing of teeth around Bergman Street later this week, but hopefully not the whole 40 days.
Today, it's oatmeal with raisins for breakfast, pancetta pizza for lunch, and definitely some soon to be forbidden starchy carb for dinner. Of course, along with my five daily servings of veggies, as usual. Grapes with plain Greek yogurt, sprinkled with cinnamon and sunflower seeds will serve as a delectable dessert.
Stay tuned...
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