We started the juice fast phase of our program on a weekend and I am glad we did. It was difficult to say the least. Surprisingly, it was much better on Monday and Tuesday. I have to admit we cheated a bit.
Because the fast was making us so weak, we were worried that we could not function at work. So for the morning juice, I added a banana, some rice protein and brewers yeast. This helped alot.
For the evening meal in Monday, I boiled some whole tomatoes long enough to skin them, then boiled a potato and garlic clove in the same water. I threw it all in the blender and added basil, salt, pepper and a splash of lemon juice. It was thicker than plan juice because of the pulp but it was still juice! It was so good, I did it again the next night but seasoned it with onion, cumin and chili powder.
I think my favorite juice was made with gala apples, ginger and some lemon. Harrys favorite had cucumbers, bell pepper, kiwi, apple, celery, spinach and a tangerine. We have really enjoyed the different juices and we don't feel as deprived as we did when we started. It IS a lot of work though and it is amazing how much produce we have to use to get 24 ounces of juice. (Each serving is 12 oz).
I read where "coming off" the program is a little harder than actually doing the program. Since the body does not have to work so hard to digest the food, it stops making the stomach acid to dissolve the food. Coming off the program too fast can result in gallstones and even surgery. (I wish I would have read that earlier).
We wish to be off this program by the weekend, so we will add a little solid fruit to our meals tomorrow. By the weekend, we should be able to eat all fruits and vegetables plus a little grain. It will be next Monday before we can add a little animal protein.
We intend to stay on a modified program until we lose the weight we want. I still hope to become prescription drug free, so it is an added incentive to stay on course. We will revert back to eating fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and certain grains on most days. We will allow ourselves to enjoy animal protein or fish maybe twice a week.
I have read where vegetarians really have a problem getting their B vitamins. Many of the B vitamins have yet to be researched. No B vitamin supplement can provide all of the B vitamins we need and some types such as PABA, are even banned by the FDA.Several vitamin B deficiencies can result in serious disease or even death. The only foods where they occur completely and naturally are brewers yeast, animal protein (especially liver) and eggs. Wheat germ has some of them but are not as complete as brewers yeast. It does not take very long to become deficient in the vitamins either.
The next phase of my program will be something I come up with from all of my various inputs. Should be interesting. I am so glad I have Harry along for the ride.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
First day of the juice fast
Yesterday was our first day of the juice fast. I am so glad we decided to wait until Saturday because it was somewhat difficult. We were hungry all day. We started our breakfast with a glass of mixed berry juice. For lunch, I made a juice of oranges, mango, celery, parsley, wheat grass (I am growing some), and carrots. I threw it in a blender with a banana and some ice to finish it off. It was refreshing but it is anything but filling.
Our grandson's 3rd birthday party was at the Stikes bowling center in Frisco. It was a fun place. We got to watch 12 young children bowl and that alone was a hoot. This place had bowling, pool, video games and a bar for those who were at the party without children. The smell of food make our hunger pangs feel more like the jaws of death on a five minute timer. I was fading pretty fast and Harry started getting a headache. Very rare for him. We left out of there around 4 and couldn't get away fast enough. I knew we left rather abruptly and I think my daughter wanted to come over and visit. But we had a few errands to do and I could not wait to get to our next juice meal so we might feel better. Sorry Chris!
As it turned out, we had a few stops to make. We stopped at Sprouts and bought some vegetables and fruits for our juicing. Then on to Calloways to pick up some Serrano pepper plants. After that, we stopped for pet food. It was 7Pm before we got home and by that time we both had a raging headache.
I juiced some broccoli, one potatoe and 1/4 onion and threw that and the pulp in a sauce pot with the intention to make some soup. I then added the juice of the brocolli stems, cabbage, celery, carrots and parsley. It was nothing like my usual 4 star broccoli soup, but it was warm. We had another mix of juice after that then a glass of pomegranate juice before bed. We were both still starving when went to bed.
This morning we started out a little different. I made a juice of oranges, mango, cantelope, carrots and a few strawberries. I then threw it in the blender and added a banana, some protein powder and brewers yeast and ice. While we were enjoying our breakfast, I flipped on the cooking channel. Harry declared it was a punishment akin to denying the last meal to a death row inmate so I had to turn it off. I drew a place setting on the chalk board in my kitchen and told Harry to fill in the plates with whatever foods he was missing the most. I will make that meal when we are off this. So far he has not written anything on the plates but it is not yet noon.
I think the protein helped today but it really is not part of the juice fast. Throwing in a banana once a day is also not on the fast, but you cannot juice a banana and we are allowed to have a few tablespoons of the pulp from the juicing so I think it is a wash.
We will see how today goes. If we can get through the day without having headaches and feeling week, we will continue until end of Wednesday or maybe Thursday. If not, then we will likely add a salad for lunch and maybe a vegetable soup for dinner.
Anyway it is one day down.
Our grandson's 3rd birthday party was at the Stikes bowling center in Frisco. It was a fun place. We got to watch 12 young children bowl and that alone was a hoot. This place had bowling, pool, video games and a bar for those who were at the party without children. The smell of food make our hunger pangs feel more like the jaws of death on a five minute timer. I was fading pretty fast and Harry started getting a headache. Very rare for him. We left out of there around 4 and couldn't get away fast enough. I knew we left rather abruptly and I think my daughter wanted to come over and visit. But we had a few errands to do and I could not wait to get to our next juice meal so we might feel better. Sorry Chris!
As it turned out, we had a few stops to make. We stopped at Sprouts and bought some vegetables and fruits for our juicing. Then on to Calloways to pick up some Serrano pepper plants. After that, we stopped for pet food. It was 7Pm before we got home and by that time we both had a raging headache.
I juiced some broccoli, one potatoe and 1/4 onion and threw that and the pulp in a sauce pot with the intention to make some soup. I then added the juice of the brocolli stems, cabbage, celery, carrots and parsley. It was nothing like my usual 4 star broccoli soup, but it was warm. We had another mix of juice after that then a glass of pomegranate juice before bed. We were both still starving when went to bed.
This morning we started out a little different. I made a juice of oranges, mango, cantelope, carrots and a few strawberries. I then threw it in the blender and added a banana, some protein powder and brewers yeast and ice. While we were enjoying our breakfast, I flipped on the cooking channel. Harry declared it was a punishment akin to denying the last meal to a death row inmate so I had to turn it off. I drew a place setting on the chalk board in my kitchen and told Harry to fill in the plates with whatever foods he was missing the most. I will make that meal when we are off this. So far he has not written anything on the plates but it is not yet noon.
I think the protein helped today but it really is not part of the juice fast. Throwing in a banana once a day is also not on the fast, but you cannot juice a banana and we are allowed to have a few tablespoons of the pulp from the juicing so I think it is a wash.
We will see how today goes. If we can get through the day without having headaches and feeling week, we will continue until end of Wednesday or maybe Thursday. If not, then we will likely add a salad for lunch and maybe a vegetable soup for dinner.
Anyway it is one day down.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Progress
It was Tuesday before we realized we really did get the days wrong. We should have started the juice fast on Monday and we would be done with the detox on Sunday.
Oh well. We really don't want to start a juice fast during a week day, a work week day at that. According to the book, we could get light headed, have headaches, maybe get weak and trembly. Harry is just afraid he is going to get hungry! He might. Anyway we will start the juice fast on Saturday and see how we feel after 5 days.
Up until now, we have been right on with the principals of the book Get Healthy Through Detox and Fasting by Dr Don Colbert, just in case you don't want to read my entire blog. I say principles because we ate like it said in the book but I made up my own recipes for the most part.
For a morning meal, the book aways had a recipe for a grain and a fruit and maybe some nuts. So nearly every day (because it was easy), we had a piece of Ezekial toast with a small smear of almond butter. Sometimes we had grapefruit as well, or we had a shot glass of pure pomegranate juice. If we didn't have the "Pomm" for a snack, we had a glass in the evening after our meal.
For lunch, we usually had a salad with at least five vegetables. Usually more. None of the vegetables were starchy. Usually two kinds of greens plus any combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, radishes, mushrooms, carrots, celery, peppers, sprouts, cabbage, broccoli - etc. The book always had some sort of grain and legumes, so I would add quinoa, israeli couscous, barley, brown rice or wild rice, then some kind of beans. We tried all kinds. On occasion I would put some orange, grapefruit or lemon segments, or sliced apple. Once in awhile, we would add avocado, olives, artichokes or beets, but not too often. Invariably I made a salad dressing with fresh lemon juice, Bragg vinegar or rice wine vinegar, olive or walnut oil plus Himalayan salt and pepper. Sometimes I added garlic or ginger plus some fresh herbs or mustard seed. Umeboshi plum wine and vinegar also made a tasty base for a salad dressing. It was one of our favorites.
This was every day, unless we had left overs from the previous night.
For a snack, we had fresh fruit or fruit juice with no sugar, plus my flax seed crackers. This was a deviation from the book for sure. Dr Colbert specified breakfast, then a snack, then lunch, then dinner.
Well both of us have to eat lunch at noon and it is 7 or 8 pm before we eat dinner. It makes more sense for us to have our snack in the afternoon.
For dinner, it's vegetables, beans, grains, spelt pasta - or a starchy vegetable - and maybe some nuts. The array of vegetables were either cooked in a tagine, lightly stir fried or roasted in the oven, or a nice soup. One of our favorite combinations was a meal of turnips, sweet potatoes and kale with some black eyed peas on the side. I could do an Asian stirfry, or a curried vegetable dish. Sometimes I would roast an array of Italian vegetables in the oven. We had the grilled vegetables with lunch the next day. I have always managed to have some sort of beans every night but sometimes we had some nuts instead of grains. I realized we felt better the next day when we had both beans and grains for dinner.
For beverages, we started with 12 ounces of water with breakfast, then another on the way to work. 24 ounces during the day at work, then another 12 on the way home. We also drank one before bed most of the time. It really was not enough according to the book. We also had one cup of coffee in the morning, and one or two cups of herbal tea during the day. I drank a detox tea every day. Last, we had a 12 ounce bottle of water with lemon, cayenne, and a bit of stevia.
We have been taking supplements every day. We take our "Trucker" vitamins, CQ10, NAC - Acetyl Cysteine, and milk Thistle. The "Trucker" vitamins are a complete multi-vitamin supplement bu the name of Turbo Power. I could write about that all by itself.
We have both lost weight, we feel better, sleep better and we are not sick anymore. Our blood pressure seems to be much better. We won't know about our cholesterol until we get tested again. Again, this program is not about losing weight, but giving the liver a break. Losing weight is just a natural side effect.
Starting Saturday, we start the juice fast. All vegetables and fruits that can be juiced, in any combination we want. Four times a day. We can still drink the coffee, lemon water and tea like we did before. We can also put a bit of the pulp back into the juice. We have to stop taking the supplements though as additives in supplements make the liver work hard.
Once the fast is over, I intend to continue on the program 95% of the time. However I want to step up my attempt to lower cholesterol without taking drugs. First, we bought Lecithin granules. (Capsules are useless). We also have some brewers east which is a natural complete source of B vitamins, Inositol and Choline which also aid in lowering cholesterol. I will resume taking my niacin, red yeast rice and CQ10. Something else I just read about is Plant Sterols and Stanols. Apparently this last supplement can only be obtained in trace amounts from vegetables. I guess if you eat a trcuk load of vegetables like we do, we have a better chance. However a supplement for these is recommended as well. I already have the other supplements. I just have not tried taking them all at once.
I recently acquired another copy of a book by Adelle Davis. She was a nutritionist from the late sixties that in my opinion was way ahead of her time. I read her books 38 years ago. (Yes 38). I adhered to them to a point and gave birth to a very healthy little girl. My pre-weight was 140 pounds and my post birth weight was 185 pounds. With little effort, I got down to 118 pounds in six months without dieting. I was just eating more nutritious food and taking the supplements I learned about. I am not sure just how I swayed away from what I learned. Taking supplements can be expensive. Marrying someone (my ex), who was a fast food junkie was another wrong turn in many ways. I wonder where I would be if I had stuck with it all these years.
Anyway, Adelle had interesting things to say about high cholesterol. That is Lecithin, Inositol and Choline and B vitamins were adequate in the body, that cholesterol would not be a problem. Now after scanning the internet, I found only one article that linked lecithin to cholesterol and they didn't mention any of the other supplements. Adelle gave her life to learn about nutrition. I am happy that I found one of her books. They are all old and yellowed and out of print, but they are a wealth of knowledge.
Well my daring husband gave up on me and starting cutting up vegetables for dinner. As much as I would like to stay and write, I need to help him so we can eat before 10:00 PM.
Oh well. We really don't want to start a juice fast during a week day, a work week day at that. According to the book, we could get light headed, have headaches, maybe get weak and trembly. Harry is just afraid he is going to get hungry! He might. Anyway we will start the juice fast on Saturday and see how we feel after 5 days.
Up until now, we have been right on with the principals of the book Get Healthy Through Detox and Fasting by Dr Don Colbert, just in case you don't want to read my entire blog. I say principles because we ate like it said in the book but I made up my own recipes for the most part.
For a morning meal, the book aways had a recipe for a grain and a fruit and maybe some nuts. So nearly every day (because it was easy), we had a piece of Ezekial toast with a small smear of almond butter. Sometimes we had grapefruit as well, or we had a shot glass of pure pomegranate juice. If we didn't have the "Pomm" for a snack, we had a glass in the evening after our meal.
For lunch, we usually had a salad with at least five vegetables. Usually more. None of the vegetables were starchy. Usually two kinds of greens plus any combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, radishes, mushrooms, carrots, celery, peppers, sprouts, cabbage, broccoli - etc. The book always had some sort of grain and legumes, so I would add quinoa, israeli couscous, barley, brown rice or wild rice, then some kind of beans. We tried all kinds. On occasion I would put some orange, grapefruit or lemon segments, or sliced apple. Once in awhile, we would add avocado, olives, artichokes or beets, but not too often. Invariably I made a salad dressing with fresh lemon juice, Bragg vinegar or rice wine vinegar, olive or walnut oil plus Himalayan salt and pepper. Sometimes I added garlic or ginger plus some fresh herbs or mustard seed. Umeboshi plum wine and vinegar also made a tasty base for a salad dressing. It was one of our favorites.
This was every day, unless we had left overs from the previous night.
For a snack, we had fresh fruit or fruit juice with no sugar, plus my flax seed crackers. This was a deviation from the book for sure. Dr Colbert specified breakfast, then a snack, then lunch, then dinner.
Well both of us have to eat lunch at noon and it is 7 or 8 pm before we eat dinner. It makes more sense for us to have our snack in the afternoon.
For dinner, it's vegetables, beans, grains, spelt pasta - or a starchy vegetable - and maybe some nuts. The array of vegetables were either cooked in a tagine, lightly stir fried or roasted in the oven, or a nice soup. One of our favorite combinations was a meal of turnips, sweet potatoes and kale with some black eyed peas on the side. I could do an Asian stirfry, or a curried vegetable dish. Sometimes I would roast an array of Italian vegetables in the oven. We had the grilled vegetables with lunch the next day. I have always managed to have some sort of beans every night but sometimes we had some nuts instead of grains. I realized we felt better the next day when we had both beans and grains for dinner.
For beverages, we started with 12 ounces of water with breakfast, then another on the way to work. 24 ounces during the day at work, then another 12 on the way home. We also drank one before bed most of the time. It really was not enough according to the book. We also had one cup of coffee in the morning, and one or two cups of herbal tea during the day. I drank a detox tea every day. Last, we had a 12 ounce bottle of water with lemon, cayenne, and a bit of stevia.
We have been taking supplements every day. We take our "Trucker" vitamins, CQ10, NAC - Acetyl Cysteine, and milk Thistle. The "Trucker" vitamins are a complete multi-vitamin supplement bu the name of Turbo Power. I could write about that all by itself.
We have both lost weight, we feel better, sleep better and we are not sick anymore. Our blood pressure seems to be much better. We won't know about our cholesterol until we get tested again. Again, this program is not about losing weight, but giving the liver a break. Losing weight is just a natural side effect.
Starting Saturday, we start the juice fast. All vegetables and fruits that can be juiced, in any combination we want. Four times a day. We can still drink the coffee, lemon water and tea like we did before. We can also put a bit of the pulp back into the juice. We have to stop taking the supplements though as additives in supplements make the liver work hard.
Once the fast is over, I intend to continue on the program 95% of the time. However I want to step up my attempt to lower cholesterol without taking drugs. First, we bought Lecithin granules. (Capsules are useless). We also have some brewers east which is a natural complete source of B vitamins, Inositol and Choline which also aid in lowering cholesterol. I will resume taking my niacin, red yeast rice and CQ10. Something else I just read about is Plant Sterols and Stanols. Apparently this last supplement can only be obtained in trace amounts from vegetables. I guess if you eat a trcuk load of vegetables like we do, we have a better chance. However a supplement for these is recommended as well. I already have the other supplements. I just have not tried taking them all at once.
I recently acquired another copy of a book by Adelle Davis. She was a nutritionist from the late sixties that in my opinion was way ahead of her time. I read her books 38 years ago. (Yes 38). I adhered to them to a point and gave birth to a very healthy little girl. My pre-weight was 140 pounds and my post birth weight was 185 pounds. With little effort, I got down to 118 pounds in six months without dieting. I was just eating more nutritious food and taking the supplements I learned about. I am not sure just how I swayed away from what I learned. Taking supplements can be expensive. Marrying someone (my ex), who was a fast food junkie was another wrong turn in many ways. I wonder where I would be if I had stuck with it all these years.
Anyway, Adelle had interesting things to say about high cholesterol. That is Lecithin, Inositol and Choline and B vitamins were adequate in the body, that cholesterol would not be a problem. Now after scanning the internet, I found only one article that linked lecithin to cholesterol and they didn't mention any of the other supplements. Adelle gave her life to learn about nutrition. I am happy that I found one of her books. They are all old and yellowed and out of print, but they are a wealth of knowledge.
Well my daring husband gave up on me and starting cutting up vegetables for dinner. As much as I would like to stay and write, I need to help him so we can eat before 10:00 PM.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Socializing on a diet
I was going to title this "Socializing on a Detox plan" but my friend Elaine said that conjured up some images that are far off the mark of what we are doing. To re-iterate, we are not druggies trying to kick a habit - well at least not in the illegal sense. We are trying to eliminate the toxins in our bodies so we can give our liver a break. If the liver is happy, then the rest of our body should be too.
In a way, we could be considered junkies. We are not the typical family that eats junk food often, but we did have our addictions. For example, if I was feeling a little under the weather and did not want to cook, I would send Harry after a KFC Chicken Pot pie. I actually formed an addiction that when I don't feel good, that pot pie represents comfort food. Now I read where that the pot pie has 770 calories of which 350 are fat grams. Still, when I want comfort and I don't feel like cooking, a KFC pot pie will do in a pinch.
I read a column in Reader's Digest recently that talks about memories and how they actually trigger food addictions. Many fast foods have additives that not only taste good but cause hormonal changes that make the person feel good. Accompany that with good company and you have a powerful trigger for a food addiction.
Last summer, I was diagnosed with diverticulitis. I was warned to stay away from red meat especially, as well as nuts and seeds (which take me down a different path than where I want to go here). Anyway, Harry took me to a very special place for my birthday that we wanted to try. My daughter and family joined us and we all had a very enjoyable evening. The food was delicious. I had to taste the sauce on Harry's beef dish as it smelled incredible. It WAS amazing and I thought about that sauce for months afterward. Well after four months we all went back and I was very disappointed that they no longer had that dish on the menu. We all selected something else, but I did not get "my fix". I wanted that beef dish that I had associated with the memories of that night.
Memory association to food is a big deal. Usually a social event is tied to that memory. How often do we all over eat at Thanksgiving because we associate the holiday with a particular item or two on the menu? I always go over the top at Thanksgiving. I have to make what I associate with my childhood Thanksgiving dinner, Harry throws in his special requests, Chris remembers something that I had forgotten but it is important to her. Before I know it, I fixed the Turkey with two kinds of stuffing, two kinds of gravy, three versions of cranberry sauce, two kinds of potatos, three vegetable dishes, two or three salads, several appetizers, an olive and pickle tray, plus about 3 pies. Yet I could not think of leaving a single thing out!
Harry and I are on a program that is long enough to help us make new habits and short enough that we have no problem doing it. In fact, we will likely continue the program during the weeks ahead and allow ourselves some animal protein on the weekends. We have experimented with a lot of foods and thoroughly enjoy some of the things we came up with. Things we never had before will now be staples in my kitchen. Foods like Flax seed, Umeboshi plum, sprouts, Nama Shoyu, pink himalayan salt, myer lemons, almonds butter, the seed crisps I learned to make, as well as various grains have all made their way into my pantry and will continue to be part of our meals for a long time to come.
We have missed the socializing though. When our friends, Elaine and Julian, called to make a dinner date, they suggested a place they thought we could do while on our program. They were right. We enjoyed a vegetable platter at a little Mediterranean place, got totally satisfied and had a wonderful time. It really helps to know we do not have to remain in isolation while on this plan.
It explains why diets fail. The dieter is usually isolated from her family and friends by the diet chosen. Deprivation is a natural feeling when on the sidelines. Eventually the diet is fallen by a chocolate birthday cake or game night pizza. Add in the maddening refusal of the bathroom scale to move downward and a diet is destined to fail.
A diet requires a life style change that still allows the dieter to have fun. Replacing some bad foods with better choices has to be a better plan than any that starts with deprivation. When we first started our changes in January, we cut back a little here and there. Then we eliminated certain foods like sugar and white flour but quickly replaced them with stevia and grains. We ate tacos on a regular basis and don't miss that night at all because we replaced the meat with a mixture of bulgar wheat and mushrooms. We still have taco night, it just included a little change to make it more healthy. Harry's big weakness is crackers and chips. I learned to make a "cracker" out of flax seed, nuts and grains and they are crunchy and delicious. Harry actually prefers them to crackers now.
Bottom line, we certainly do not feel deprived. We also understand the need to continue making memories around our new foods and integrate them seamlessly into our new lifestyle.
Oh, and that diverticulitis? Not a problem anymore. An added bonus of our improving health. I calculated our fiber intake over the last few days and realized we are taking in about 40 grams of fiber a day. A lot of that comes from the seeds and nuts I was not supposed to eat. I am really happy about that.
Happy socializing!
In a way, we could be considered junkies. We are not the typical family that eats junk food often, but we did have our addictions. For example, if I was feeling a little under the weather and did not want to cook, I would send Harry after a KFC Chicken Pot pie. I actually formed an addiction that when I don't feel good, that pot pie represents comfort food. Now I read where that the pot pie has 770 calories of which 350 are fat grams. Still, when I want comfort and I don't feel like cooking, a KFC pot pie will do in a pinch.
I read a column in Reader's Digest recently that talks about memories and how they actually trigger food addictions. Many fast foods have additives that not only taste good but cause hormonal changes that make the person feel good. Accompany that with good company and you have a powerful trigger for a food addiction.
Last summer, I was diagnosed with diverticulitis. I was warned to stay away from red meat especially, as well as nuts and seeds (which take me down a different path than where I want to go here). Anyway, Harry took me to a very special place for my birthday that we wanted to try. My daughter and family joined us and we all had a very enjoyable evening. The food was delicious. I had to taste the sauce on Harry's beef dish as it smelled incredible. It WAS amazing and I thought about that sauce for months afterward. Well after four months we all went back and I was very disappointed that they no longer had that dish on the menu. We all selected something else, but I did not get "my fix". I wanted that beef dish that I had associated with the memories of that night.
Memory association to food is a big deal. Usually a social event is tied to that memory. How often do we all over eat at Thanksgiving because we associate the holiday with a particular item or two on the menu? I always go over the top at Thanksgiving. I have to make what I associate with my childhood Thanksgiving dinner, Harry throws in his special requests, Chris remembers something that I had forgotten but it is important to her. Before I know it, I fixed the Turkey with two kinds of stuffing, two kinds of gravy, three versions of cranberry sauce, two kinds of potatos, three vegetable dishes, two or three salads, several appetizers, an olive and pickle tray, plus about 3 pies. Yet I could not think of leaving a single thing out!
Harry and I are on a program that is long enough to help us make new habits and short enough that we have no problem doing it. In fact, we will likely continue the program during the weeks ahead and allow ourselves some animal protein on the weekends. We have experimented with a lot of foods and thoroughly enjoy some of the things we came up with. Things we never had before will now be staples in my kitchen. Foods like Flax seed, Umeboshi plum, sprouts, Nama Shoyu, pink himalayan salt, myer lemons, almonds butter, the seed crisps I learned to make, as well as various grains have all made their way into my pantry and will continue to be part of our meals for a long time to come.
We have missed the socializing though. When our friends, Elaine and Julian, called to make a dinner date, they suggested a place they thought we could do while on our program. They were right. We enjoyed a vegetable platter at a little Mediterranean place, got totally satisfied and had a wonderful time. It really helps to know we do not have to remain in isolation while on this plan.
It explains why diets fail. The dieter is usually isolated from her family and friends by the diet chosen. Deprivation is a natural feeling when on the sidelines. Eventually the diet is fallen by a chocolate birthday cake or game night pizza. Add in the maddening refusal of the bathroom scale to move downward and a diet is destined to fail.
A diet requires a life style change that still allows the dieter to have fun. Replacing some bad foods with better choices has to be a better plan than any that starts with deprivation. When we first started our changes in January, we cut back a little here and there. Then we eliminated certain foods like sugar and white flour but quickly replaced them with stevia and grains. We ate tacos on a regular basis and don't miss that night at all because we replaced the meat with a mixture of bulgar wheat and mushrooms. We still have taco night, it just included a little change to make it more healthy. Harry's big weakness is crackers and chips. I learned to make a "cracker" out of flax seed, nuts and grains and they are crunchy and delicious. Harry actually prefers them to crackers now.
Bottom line, we certainly do not feel deprived. We also understand the need to continue making memories around our new foods and integrate them seamlessly into our new lifestyle.
Oh, and that diverticulitis? Not a problem anymore. An added bonus of our improving health. I calculated our fiber intake over the last few days and realized we are taking in about 40 grams of fiber a day. A lot of that comes from the seeds and nuts I was not supposed to eat. I am really happy about that.
Happy socializing!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
My husband and I were already gearing up for the juice fast part of our program when I realized we have another week to go before we do that. Here I thought this was easier than we thought and we have another week. Joke is on me.
What we are eating is not difficult. We are not usually hungry although we start getting that way before a meal is ready. It takes a lot of prep work to fix the dinner. We get home kind of late so it is often as late as 8:30 or 9 PM before we eat. In addition, I prepare salads for lunch the next day so I sometimes and in the kitchen for several hours. The book says that all food should be prepared fresh but I make enough dinner or lunch for two days then change them up a bit. It really is a lot easier to throw on a piece of chicken, throw potatoes in a microwave and open a can of vegetables - but we are not using the microwave and we are not eating animal protein.
Every meal requires a little complex carbohydrates to provide protein. Like beans and grains, or grains and nuts. It has to be a combination. Then coupled with virtually any vegetable combination I can think of, and spiced any way I want. I discovered a trick that a cauliflower or potatoe can be boiled, pureed then seasoned and used as a sauce. Lentils can as well. I suppose any vegetable can do that. The pureed vegetable with a little olive oil creates that satisfying mouth feel that comes with a cream sauce.
I have to say I have come up with some interesting combinations. I usually have a minimum of 5 vegetables in every meal. Sometimes as much as ten different vegetables. I have added curry, jerk, creole, mexican and chines seasonings plus probably a few I can't think of right now.
It has been an adventure so far.
As of this weekend, I have lost 14 pounds and Harry is down 20. We both feel great.
What we are eating is not difficult. We are not usually hungry although we start getting that way before a meal is ready. It takes a lot of prep work to fix the dinner. We get home kind of late so it is often as late as 8:30 or 9 PM before we eat. In addition, I prepare salads for lunch the next day so I sometimes and in the kitchen for several hours. The book says that all food should be prepared fresh but I make enough dinner or lunch for two days then change them up a bit. It really is a lot easier to throw on a piece of chicken, throw potatoes in a microwave and open a can of vegetables - but we are not using the microwave and we are not eating animal protein.
Every meal requires a little complex carbohydrates to provide protein. Like beans and grains, or grains and nuts. It has to be a combination. Then coupled with virtually any vegetable combination I can think of, and spiced any way I want. I discovered a trick that a cauliflower or potatoe can be boiled, pureed then seasoned and used as a sauce. Lentils can as well. I suppose any vegetable can do that. The pureed vegetable with a little olive oil creates that satisfying mouth feel that comes with a cream sauce.
I have to say I have come up with some interesting combinations. I usually have a minimum of 5 vegetables in every meal. Sometimes as much as ten different vegetables. I have added curry, jerk, creole, mexican and chines seasonings plus probably a few I can't think of right now.
It has been an adventure so far.
As of this weekend, I have lost 14 pounds and Harry is down 20. We both feel great.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Publishings I recommend
I thought it might be a good idea to write down the materials I am reading.
My Detox plan is right out of the book Get Healthy - Through Detox and Fasting by Dr Don Colbert.
I have taken it a step further as I have eliminated all sugar as well. Dr Colbert allows agave nectar in his detox plan.
These are some other books I have by Dr Don Colbert:
Seven Pillars of Health (highly recommended, this was the start of it all)
Eat and Live (a pretty book and more up to date than What Jesus Would Eat)
What would Jesus Eat (an older, more dated version of Eat and Live)
I would recommend What Jesus Would Eat over Eat and Live.
Other books include these listed below. These are in order of recommendation.
The Raw Truth 2nd Edition - Jeremy A Safron One of the better books I found for raw food recipes. It is not just about recipes, there is a lot to read about what the diet plan should be for optimum health. Even meat eaters would enjoy the vegetarian recipes in this book.
The Balanced plate - RenAe Loux - Good book and recipes about raw foodWild Fermentation - Sandor Ellix Katz An interesting and fun book
Salt Valerie Aikman-smith Interesting book about Salts and how to use them. Not many recipes though
The Raw Gourmet - Nomo Shannon Nice recipes but I could not imagine eating like this for life. Some of these recipes take days of prep.
Raw Food - Irmela Lilja, Erica palmcrantz Nice recipes but I could not imagine eating like this for life.
My Detox plan is right out of the book Get Healthy - Through Detox and Fasting by Dr Don Colbert.
I have taken it a step further as I have eliminated all sugar as well. Dr Colbert allows agave nectar in his detox plan.
These are some other books I have by Dr Don Colbert:
Seven Pillars of Health (highly recommended, this was the start of it all)
Eat and Live (a pretty book and more up to date than What Jesus Would Eat)
What would Jesus Eat (an older, more dated version of Eat and Live)
I would recommend What Jesus Would Eat over Eat and Live.
Other books include these listed below. These are in order of recommendation.
The Raw Truth 2nd Edition - Jeremy A Safron One of the better books I found for raw food recipes. It is not just about recipes, there is a lot to read about what the diet plan should be for optimum health. Even meat eaters would enjoy the vegetarian recipes in this book.
The Balanced plate - RenAe Loux - Good book and recipes about raw foodWild Fermentation - Sandor Ellix Katz An interesting and fun book
Salt Valerie Aikman-smith Interesting book about Salts and how to use them. Not many recipes though
The Raw Gourmet - Nomo Shannon Nice recipes but I could not imagine eating like this for life. Some of these recipes take days of prep.
Raw Food - Irmela Lilja, Erica palmcrantz Nice recipes but I could not imagine eating like this for life.
108/77 and 121/73
When we first started this program, my blood pressure was frightening. With my medication, it was often in the pre hypertension readings. 145/90 range. Without, I was logging as high as 200/110. Harry never worried about his blood pressure, but I had him take it so we could log our progress. At first his was a little into the pre-hypertension. Well this week we took our blood pressure and mine was 120/80. His was lower as well but we thought it was a fluke. You know how those grocery store blood pressure monitors are. Well we took them again last night and mine was 108/77. His was 121/73.
So what is different, I mean besides eating like a rabbit? Walking. I started walking at work during my lunch break. last week I walked 2 miles a day for four days. This week I walked 7 miles and I am not counting the weekend. Harry also started walking more. He has a pond out in front of his building and walks around that 3 times to log a mile.
My weight is also teetering toward the down side. I fluctuate five pounds a day but I always record the lowest reading. (Hey, human nature here). From one respect, it is difficult for me to see myself at the same poundage (within a few ounces) at my low point every day, but then when I ratchet down another notch, I start dancing around THAT number. I am firmly in the 180's now, high end but 180's none the less. How often I have been told that diet alone will not melt the pounds? So true Chris, so true.
Chris is my daughter. She has two boys, 3 and 5. She put on weight with the boys and struggled to lose the baby fat afterward. She got a little perturbed when her friends returned to their pre-baby bodies and she didn't. Well Chris hated running almost as much as I did, but she started getting out there and running. She ran in the ran, night, early morning, 20 degree weather and 100 degree weather but she ran. Then she signed up for a half marathon that required a $3500 commitment in sponsored donations. Well she did it and has now made that her obsession. She has since then run 7 half marathons and one full marathon. She has so many of these beautiful medals from these runs, that she sounds like a Mardi-gras parade when she carries them. (Hey, she could make a wind chime with them). Her husband Roy runs also and is thinking about doing the Iron man. You can see the change in her. She is shrinking and toning at the same time. So my little girl nags me to death about getting out there and running too.
She has a point, but I have one also. I have problems with my ankles and my feet. Jogging at 200 pounds is NOT good for the ankles. Jogging at 190 is not much better but at least I feel like walking.
A few years back, (ok - five years back), I was working out at the gym and started noticing that I had constant neck pain. The short of it, I ended up having major surgery on my neck but only after I endured a year of intense and constant nerve pain. I don't know about other people, but that pain changed me. It sucked all of the life, hopes and dreams right out of me. After the surgery, I felt better but I still hurt all the time. It was not nerve pain this time, but constant muscle pain. It seemed that everything I did made it worse.
I finally stopped taking my cholesterol medicine about 5 months ago now. I feel better than I have in years. The muscle pain is gone, although I do get a little tight in the neck and shoulders from time to time. Anyway, I have to say that feeling a little better helped my get to the point I wanted to feel even better. So even though my doctor would rather me take the medication, I probably would not be on this diet right now or trying to exercise - any of it - if I was still taking the medicine that made me feel so bad.
My point here, is that people can get where they cannot even fathom getting up an moving, much less walking or running. The intentions might be great, but the follow through is lacking.
I have to have the healthiest coffee table in America. On it, I have exercise dvd's for Yoga, Pilates, Power Vinyasa,Tai Chi, a 10 minute work out, Zumba dance and belly dancing. I almost feel good enough to put one of those on and go at it. Almost. Haven't got there quite yet, but my coffee table is in great shape.
I have something else wrong that has been a problem for over a decade now. It feels like the connective tissue around my bones is inflamed. All the time. I can feel my ribs and that tenderness is always there, like a bruise. Around 1998 I thought I was having a heart attack. I went to emergency and they ran all sorts of test. Then the Doc came in and asked if he could try something. He wanted to press my chest. When he did, I screamed from pain. He said I had Costocondrititis. Now leave it to me to get something I never heard of. "Costochondritis is an inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum. Repeated minor trauma to the chest wall or viral respiratory infections can commonly cause chest pain due to costochondritis. The reproducible tenderness you feel when you press on the rib joints (costochondral junctions) is a constant feature of costochondritis". (http://www.wedmd.com/).
Well the inflammation had gotten bad enough in the connective tissue around my heart that the pressure was similar to that of a heart attack. Well he put my on a prescription and I went on my way. The tissue has remained painful ever since but not bad enough to pressure on my heart anymore.
I now suspect I might have Tietze syndrome instead. Some doctors (incorrectly) use the terms Costochondritis and Tietze syndrome interchangeably, Tietze syndrome has a sudden onset without any preceding respiratory illness or any history of minor trauma. In Tietze syndrome, there is frequently radiation of pain to arms and shoulders as well as pain and tenderness associated with swelling at the spot that hurts. This seems more in line with how I feel all of the time since my arms, shoulders and neck are affected. I know longer think it was Costocondritis because that eventually goes away and this has not. The recommended treatment for the condition is to take anti-inflammatory drugs, or steroids until the pain goes away. I seldom take anything more than aspirin for pain, and my Doctor knows I will seldom fill a prescription for something that has a lot of side effects.
I may add cherry juice (a natural anti-inflammatory) to me daily diet and see if that helps.
I have to say I am anxious to see what this diet does for this odd condition.
So what is different, I mean besides eating like a rabbit? Walking. I started walking at work during my lunch break. last week I walked 2 miles a day for four days. This week I walked 7 miles and I am not counting the weekend. Harry also started walking more. He has a pond out in front of his building and walks around that 3 times to log a mile.
My weight is also teetering toward the down side. I fluctuate five pounds a day but I always record the lowest reading. (Hey, human nature here). From one respect, it is difficult for me to see myself at the same poundage (within a few ounces) at my low point every day, but then when I ratchet down another notch, I start dancing around THAT number. I am firmly in the 180's now, high end but 180's none the less. How often I have been told that diet alone will not melt the pounds? So true Chris, so true.
Chris is my daughter. She has two boys, 3 and 5. She put on weight with the boys and struggled to lose the baby fat afterward. She got a little perturbed when her friends returned to their pre-baby bodies and she didn't. Well Chris hated running almost as much as I did, but she started getting out there and running. She ran in the ran, night, early morning, 20 degree weather and 100 degree weather but she ran. Then she signed up for a half marathon that required a $3500 commitment in sponsored donations. Well she did it and has now made that her obsession. She has since then run 7 half marathons and one full marathon. She has so many of these beautiful medals from these runs, that she sounds like a Mardi-gras parade when she carries them. (Hey, she could make a wind chime with them). Her husband Roy runs also and is thinking about doing the Iron man. You can see the change in her. She is shrinking and toning at the same time. So my little girl nags me to death about getting out there and running too.
She has a point, but I have one also. I have problems with my ankles and my feet. Jogging at 200 pounds is NOT good for the ankles. Jogging at 190 is not much better but at least I feel like walking.
A few years back, (ok - five years back), I was working out at the gym and started noticing that I had constant neck pain. The short of it, I ended up having major surgery on my neck but only after I endured a year of intense and constant nerve pain. I don't know about other people, but that pain changed me. It sucked all of the life, hopes and dreams right out of me. After the surgery, I felt better but I still hurt all the time. It was not nerve pain this time, but constant muscle pain. It seemed that everything I did made it worse.
I finally stopped taking my cholesterol medicine about 5 months ago now. I feel better than I have in years. The muscle pain is gone, although I do get a little tight in the neck and shoulders from time to time. Anyway, I have to say that feeling a little better helped my get to the point I wanted to feel even better. So even though my doctor would rather me take the medication, I probably would not be on this diet right now or trying to exercise - any of it - if I was still taking the medicine that made me feel so bad.
My point here, is that people can get where they cannot even fathom getting up an moving, much less walking or running. The intentions might be great, but the follow through is lacking.
I have to have the healthiest coffee table in America. On it, I have exercise dvd's for Yoga, Pilates, Power Vinyasa,Tai Chi, a 10 minute work out, Zumba dance and belly dancing. I almost feel good enough to put one of those on and go at it. Almost. Haven't got there quite yet, but my coffee table is in great shape.
I have something else wrong that has been a problem for over a decade now. It feels like the connective tissue around my bones is inflamed. All the time. I can feel my ribs and that tenderness is always there, like a bruise. Around 1998 I thought I was having a heart attack. I went to emergency and they ran all sorts of test. Then the Doc came in and asked if he could try something. He wanted to press my chest. When he did, I screamed from pain. He said I had Costocondrititis. Now leave it to me to get something I never heard of. "Costochondritis is an inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum. Repeated minor trauma to the chest wall or viral respiratory infections can commonly cause chest pain due to costochondritis. The reproducible tenderness you feel when you press on the rib joints (costochondral junctions) is a constant feature of costochondritis". (http://www.wedmd.com/).
Well the inflammation had gotten bad enough in the connective tissue around my heart that the pressure was similar to that of a heart attack. Well he put my on a prescription and I went on my way. The tissue has remained painful ever since but not bad enough to pressure on my heart anymore.
I now suspect I might have Tietze syndrome instead. Some doctors (incorrectly) use the terms Costochondritis and Tietze syndrome interchangeably, Tietze syndrome has a sudden onset without any preceding respiratory illness or any history of minor trauma. In Tietze syndrome, there is frequently radiation of pain to arms and shoulders as well as pain and tenderness associated with swelling at the spot that hurts. This seems more in line with how I feel all of the time since my arms, shoulders and neck are affected. I know longer think it was Costocondritis because that eventually goes away and this has not. The recommended treatment for the condition is to take anti-inflammatory drugs, or steroids until the pain goes away. I seldom take anything more than aspirin for pain, and my Doctor knows I will seldom fill a prescription for something that has a lot of side effects.
I may add cherry juice (a natural anti-inflammatory) to me daily diet and see if that helps.
I have to say I am anxious to see what this diet does for this odd condition.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)