I've lost seven pounds

Life became crazy busy after my initial entry. April was the end of the school year and we had graduation ceremonies to attend. It was move-out time here at the dormitory where we live. Students moved home or left to go on tour across Canada and the northern US or took part in a missions trip to Thailand. At the beginning of May my mother had a stroke and I was fortunate enough to be able to take time off to go to Manitoba for a month and be with her and help her settle back in at home after a long hospital stay. When I got back there was a lot of catching up to do.

All this time I have been experimenting with my new dietary restrictions. My doctor told me to cut out high carb foods including rice, bread, potatoes and pasta, all of which are rapidly converted to sugar in our bodies. I started out trying to follow this prescription and drastically reduced my carbohydrate intake. I managed to limit myself to the one slice of sprouted grain bread a day (which my doctor allowed). I cut out pasta and potatoes and rice, but I made a few modifications as time progressed.

During the first few weeks I noticed that my hunger cravings were not subsiding. I came across an article that said this was an indication that I needed to increase my carb intake. I experimented with this and when I did so I began to feel better.

When I started this diet I had in mind the Zone diet, which is a ratio of 30% fat, 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein. It is focused on high fibre carbs and these carbs are mostly vegetable carbs. Although I modified this diet a little, I tried to keep close to the balance, particularly focusing on having protein every time I ate carbs. After awhile, I began to think maybe I was getting too much protein. I also thought I had cut out too many fruits. Again, I made a change.

In addition to meat, cheese and tofu, adding whey (unsweetened and unflavored - 2g carb and 24g protein) helped to add protein to my diet. At first I made a smoothie with it, mixing a scoop with fruit and milk, and sometimes adding almond butter or peanut butter. After a few weeks I cut back on these "smoothies" because I wasn't losing weight. My husband Sheldon, who did the same diet with me was losing weight, so his body was working differently. I didn't lose a pound for the first month, and was surprised because I had cut out so many things I liked, especially pizza, baked goods, ice cream, and chocolate.

You're probably wondering if I found it difficult to give up these things, and believe me I did! I have cheated a few times. Once I had a slice of my mom's homemade apple pie with ice cream. It was worth it! And I actually felt fine later. Another time I shared a rich chocolate mousse cake with Sheldon after dinner in our favorite Greek restaurant. That was worth it for another reason, because I did not feel good afterward and learned a lesson. Now and then I allow myself to sample a dessert, and I am becoming convinced that sampling can be very satisfying, with chocolate being the exception. My sister-in-law brought a plate of brownies to my mom's house while she was in the hospital. For a couple of days I resisted this temptation but one day I took a bite. At that moment I identified with people who join AA and wondered if I should call for support because I seriously thought I would eat the contents of the entire plate.

Recently I found a "no sugar added" chocolate pudding by Kozy Shack. I have half a snack cup on top of frozen berries and unsweetened yogurt. This is my new favorite dessert. I especially enjoy fruit with cheese, as the French do, but one thing I have found difficult to give up is watermelon. It has a very high carb count and glycemic index. When I grew up a traditional summer treat was watermelon with a deep-fried bread called Roll Kuchen. Whereas I used to have three or four large wedges of watermelon, I now have to be content with savoring half a wedge only.

This diet is still in the experimental stages, but I must say that I was excited when I returned from Manitoba and stepped on the scale to see that I had lost seven pounds. I was 140 when I left and had not been able to shake even one pound. A month later I am still between 132 and 133. I don't know what triggered that drop but I'm glad I'm not gaining back the weight.

I've started doing more walking, but I am not regular with my walking the way I want to be. My theory is to start gradually, not to push myself too hard, because I am still adjusting to huge changes. Once a week I go for a one hour walk and two or three times a week I go for shorter walks. I try to do this consistently.

In addition to needing to keep my blood sugar level under control (I have not yet bought a blood sugar monitor but am thinking of getting one) I am also dealing with hormonal changes that come with age and I have very low blood pressure. This means I experience a lot of fatigue. The diet has helped to level out my sugar highs and lows, I can tell, but I still have dips and sometimes don't know what to do about this. What has helped is to have meals that include a lot of variety. Adding berries for desserts is a good idea. I think berries are better than other fruits because of their lower glycemic index.

A whey drink helps to balance me too. Initially I mixed my whey with milk, half a scoop of whey to a cup of milk, but now I've increased the whey to almost a scoop and mix it with water. It's not the greatest taste but it's tolerable. Adding fats like nuts is also a way to keep blood sugar balanced. For instance, I like to eat half a banana with almond butter or peanut butter. I might add a whey drink with it to balance the carbohydrates. I don't have a whole banana at a time anymore. In fact, I have reduced my intake of high carb fruits and increased the amount of lower carb berries I eat.

Sometimes when I feel out of balance, I admit I eat several handfuls of almonds and this makes me feel better, but I'm not sure that it's the best thing to do. Sheldon thinks that this is what is keeping me from losing more weight. Tofu also helps me to regain balance. I've tried cheese, but for some reason it does not do the trick.

Right now I know I need to focus on getting more cruciferous vegetables into my diet, like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts and other vegetables with a lot of fibre. Keeping the crisper in the refrigerator filled is helpful. Carrots are high carb, so I've had to reduce my intake of these - another big change.

The high protein diet, combined with the stress of all the change appears not to have done anything to relieve my issue with constipation, something I've always had to deal with. My doctor recommended increasing my body acid by taking 1 mg of vitamin C every half hour until I had a movement. She said that would indicate how much vitamin C I needed, but I haven't tried it yet. Instead I bought a package of over-ripe tomatoes and cut them in half and baked them. I did that yesterday and today. I thought that would get my acidity up and it did. I expected this diet to do more for my bowel health than it has, but it may take time. My doctor told me it takes six months for red blood cells to replace themselves, in other words for my body to get rid of my sugar saturated blood cells. I'll be curious to see if I notice a change in six months.

What do my meals look like now? For breakfast I may have sausages and eggs, grilled tomato slices and one slice of toast. Occasionally I have a few bites of hash browns. I have cut out fruit juices altogether. I did enjoy my orange juice, but that had to go. Fairly regularly for breakfast I cook two rounded tablespoons of oatmeal in the microwave with about a cup of water and sprinkle of salt for 30 seconds and then whisk in an egg and cook it for another 30 seconds. I might add vanilla and cinnamon and nutmeg. If I have fruit, I'll add that as well and some yogurt or milk. I follow this with a whey drink. If I have leftovers from the day before in the refrigerator I might have those for breakfast. Who is to say that what we've always called breakfast food is actually best for us? I have long thought that instant breakfast cereals were really not the greatest way to start the day.

My way of cooking used to be to plan a meat and decide whether I would have it with potatoes, pasta, rice, or bread. All of that has changed. Now I plan a meat/protein and the mixture of vegetables or salad that will go with it. If I am cooking potatoes, Sheldon and I share one potato. Bread is reserved for breakfast.

It took me about a month to figure out that I felt better if I included some potatoes in my diet. The zone diet is not very potato or bean friendly because of their high carb content, but I realized that both make me feel more stable, and think this may have to do with their potassium content. I have also added beans and whole grains. I've discovered "Ancient Grains" - a mixture of whole oats, barley, rye, red long grain rice and quinoa. I cook it with chicken broth and sometimes add onions and garlic and store it in the fridge. I serve it as a side dish or as a condiment with salad.

One thing I have not touched since starting this diet is pasta. As far as rice goes, I am learning I can live fairly well without it. Chinese restaurants offer such a wide selection of vegetable dishes that rice is hardly missed after the first few times. We used to eat a lot of rice, something we became accustomed to when we lived in the Philippines, but our staple, growing up, was potatoes. Sheldon said he had meat and potatoes virtually every day and homemade bread was served at every meal. When I go to my favorite Greek restaurant nowadays, I have a couple of bites of fresh, warm pita bread, take a few bites of potato and leave the rice while I enjoy my Greek salad and roast lamb. Not having sandwiches and pizza is a big change, but salads are available almost everywhere and they are generally very good. I order chicken or salmon with my salad.

As far as drinks go, I find I am very limited, but for years I have been drinking mostly water so it's not such a big change for me. Lately I've started to add a cafe latte to my day. I'm experimenting with this, as I'm not a coffee drinker. Of course, no sugar. I've bought some stevia, name brand Krisda. I stay away from sorbitol and saccharin. I don't feel right when I eat something with those sweeteners, but stevia and succrolose or Splenda are alright in small quantities. If I add too much it seems to add a chemical taste to the food. I've tried stevia (Krisda) in whipped cream and it is pretty good.

I'm working on creating a high protein bar. So far I don't have anything I'm happy with. I also think I can find a way to have fruit crumble and pie because they have a minimal amount of flour and I can control the sugar content.

Has this been easy? It's actually been fairly complicated and challenging, but I'm beginning to feel much more adjusted. I still walk by the baked good section of the grocery store and imagine the flavors of all the things I can no longer buy if I want to enjoy a healthy life. I think about the money I'm saving. I have to think long term. Being healthy as I age is a very high priority for me. Having organs shutting down, losing eyesight, having limbs amputated, these are not desirable outcomes. If it is possible to do something to prevent this from happening I want to do it.

I don't plan to ever go back to eating as I did before. At the same time I realize I will need to make a few more adjustments to be comfortable with this diet. I hope I will have more helpful insights next time I write.

New Diet

I returned from my doctor with my test results this weekend. Wise woman that she is, she told me that I am pre-diabetic and I need to make some lifestyle adjustments. So, I want to monitor my progress on this blog. This will be time consuming but it will be easier than trying to explain to someone, after the fact, what I have done if it turns out that it works! If it doesn't, then people will know what not to do!