Like the proverbial putting frogs into cold water then turning up the heat - they never notice that they are boiling! LOL That just came to mind as I was reflecting on Day 2 of the "21-day transformation challenge" from Mark Sisson's book (based on the Primal Solution). Day 1 was doing a purge of grains, fake foods, sugared items, etc. DONE! Day 2 (today) is a shopping spree to restock the kitchen: DONE! Etc. As I am reading all the food tasks I find that I am already there, and can concentrate on the other two essential parts of the program: exercise and relaxation techniques. Food is only part of the changes to be made.
This morning I did the recumbent bike for 10 minutes. I figured that even *I* could manage that. At the end of 10 minutes I would have been comfortable doing more (that is the point) but was already one foot out the door to get to work. I will do another 10 minutes tonight. Also, because I am at work today, I will do the four flights down and up. After the new year I would like to increase both activities. Also, yesterday, I parked at one place and walked to the other (Flo if you are reading this: I parked at Walgreen's and walked to Trader Joe's). I am also making an effort not to use handicap parking, and to park further away from my destination. There will be days that I just cannot do this (or if I do, I will have to use my cane or lean on a shopping cart) but on the good days I will go for it! It is nice to have the placard for bad days but I will try not to use it as a matter of regular parking. Baby steps... literally!
On the cooking front I tried several new recipes since last posting. I made a "pizza" frittata - OMG out of this world - I am making another one tonight. It starts with a homemade pizza sauce. That is added to a dozen eggs, along with a bit of Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Then split: Canadian bacon, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms and peppers - mix half of those in with the eggs and let it set in the pan, then move the pan to the oven. After 10 minutes top with the other half of the mixture and top with a touch of mozzarella and bake another 10 minutes. I got the Canadian bacon and pepperoni from Whole Foods, so it was all processed from healthy sources and with minimal ingredients.
Then last night I made a center-cut pork loin (my first time!) rubbed with garam masala and salt - browned in a cast iron pan, then pan and all put to roast in the oven. It was topped with an Asian pear chutney made with, of course, Asian pears (lol), onions, raisins, and a mixture of spices. Because it was my first time making a pork loin I didn't know that I either needed a meat thermometer or could have put it in the crock pot. It was fine for me but my husband thought it was a little dry. Oh - and after the pork comes out of the oven you let it "rest" 20 minutes while you put sliced carrots back in the pan in the oven to roast.
I have to say that it was the most expensive piece of meat I have ever bought (it was over $25) but when I look at what I am spending to buy top quality, I weigh that against the fact that I have not been buying ANY junk food (even "innocent" things like taco chips) or diet soda, and I have not done take-out in over two months. I think my savings is FAR more than my expenses of shopping the way I am. Or, at the very least, it evens out. But in terms of evening out, the pizza frittata even with the Whole Foods pepperoni and Canadian bacon and cage-free eggs, came to less than $2 per serving - and it was a main course! So if I spend $30 on one dinner and $10 on another, to feed the whole family (with PLENTY of leftovers) I say, not a bad deal.
In defense, also, of shopping at a place like Whole Foods: I have been shopping according to my shopping list. Plenty of times I go in and things are so deeply discounted (meats, poultry AND fish) that if I were shopping "on a whim" I probably would spend less than at a conventional grocery store. They have monthly "madness" sales (which just used to be "March Madness" but now they are year-round) along with circulars, so now that I shop there more often I will plan out according to sales. You also can't beat the bulk sales there, along with the very inexpensive local produce they carry in season. I suppose a lot of the discounted shopping depends upon when you hit the market, but now that I go there for my primary shopping, I can pay more attention to the sales.
Not that I have to defend shopping at Whole Foods, but I feel the need to explain myself! It doesn't HAVE to be "Whole Paycheck" as people joke about. Yes they have plenty of junk there (organic marshmallows are just as junky as conventional marshmallows) but if you are shopping the fresh foods there, I would name the store "Whole Health" more than I would name it "Whole Paycheck."
Anyway! Off to make sure I have what I need for some Christmas goodies (all Primal/Paleo) I am making!
Have a wonderful holiday, anyone celebrating the day!
Miriam
Monday, December 23, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Trying not to succumb to diet mentality
First of all, let me say, that there is nothing inherently wrong with diet mentality if it makes you aware of what you are eating and helps you to make smarter choices. The problem arises (as it does with me) when it becomes the overwhelming dictator of one's life. And one is either good or bad depending upon whether one has followed or not followed the diet du jour. My life has been painfully defined by my dieting attempts and I have nothing to show for it but a whacked-out metabolism and a somewhat faulty self-image. Oh, and I'm fatter than I ever have been.
So with that, I have been quite relieved to enter the world of no weighing/measuring/food journaling through the new way I have been eating. However, all of a sudden I got such a strong urge to fit my new eating into conventional dieting tools. I went to My Fitness Pal and logged my food for today - which - even including a treat in the evening - is still way below my calorie total for the day (I am sure that will be filled in, no problem!). I even put in two recipes that I am having today and tomorrow - one is for a cookie, which comes to about 100 calories even with all its deliciousness! - and the other is for a stew using 2 1/2 pounds of beef, which, that alone, is close to 2000 calories (but per serving is less than 300).
I guess this confirmed two things for me: I absolutely CAN trust myself to make good meal choices; and cutting out processed-type starches really does allow tons of other real food so there is no need to be hungry or worry that I will consume thousands and thousands of calories.
However, I did learn something interesting this weekend. As I mentioned in an earlier blog I worked very hard this Summer and Fall to break free from emotional eating and to break my addiction-like tendencies towards sugar and a myriad of processed foods (bread, potato chips, you all know what they are!). But yesterday I made the most YUMMY gluten-free banana bread. The entire recipe used just 3 TBS of honey and very little coconut and almond flour - just to hold it together. OH MY... I realized that my craziness extends not just to the ingredients that an item might have, but to the IDEA of a food. I had just one small piece of the banana bread and I wanted it ALL - immediately. Of course I didn't, but I did have more than the one initial piece. I realized that something doesn't need white flour and a ton of sugar to get me going... just the IDEA of a sweet is enough to get me going! So although calorie-wise, the banana bread really won't do much damage (well one piece of it anyway), I am not going to have any more while it is in the house.
I think that breaking free from emotional eating is not coming to a place where nothing will ever set you off again. I think that it is that you now have awareness of what will set you off, and you can plan accordingly. It is the mindfulness that sets you free, not that nothing will ever trigger you again.
Miriam
p.s. What about that cookie, you ask? More on that later! :)
So with that, I have been quite relieved to enter the world of no weighing/measuring/food journaling through the new way I have been eating. However, all of a sudden I got such a strong urge to fit my new eating into conventional dieting tools. I went to My Fitness Pal and logged my food for today - which - even including a treat in the evening - is still way below my calorie total for the day (I am sure that will be filled in, no problem!). I even put in two recipes that I am having today and tomorrow - one is for a cookie, which comes to about 100 calories even with all its deliciousness! - and the other is for a stew using 2 1/2 pounds of beef, which, that alone, is close to 2000 calories (but per serving is less than 300).
I guess this confirmed two things for me: I absolutely CAN trust myself to make good meal choices; and cutting out processed-type starches really does allow tons of other real food so there is no need to be hungry or worry that I will consume thousands and thousands of calories.
However, I did learn something interesting this weekend. As I mentioned in an earlier blog I worked very hard this Summer and Fall to break free from emotional eating and to break my addiction-like tendencies towards sugar and a myriad of processed foods (bread, potato chips, you all know what they are!). But yesterday I made the most YUMMY gluten-free banana bread. The entire recipe used just 3 TBS of honey and very little coconut and almond flour - just to hold it together. OH MY... I realized that my craziness extends not just to the ingredients that an item might have, but to the IDEA of a food. I had just one small piece of the banana bread and I wanted it ALL - immediately. Of course I didn't, but I did have more than the one initial piece. I realized that something doesn't need white flour and a ton of sugar to get me going... just the IDEA of a sweet is enough to get me going! So although calorie-wise, the banana bread really won't do much damage (well one piece of it anyway), I am not going to have any more while it is in the house.
I think that breaking free from emotional eating is not coming to a place where nothing will ever set you off again. I think that it is that you now have awareness of what will set you off, and you can plan accordingly. It is the mindfulness that sets you free, not that nothing will ever trigger you again.
Miriam
p.s. What about that cookie, you ask? More on that later! :)
Friday, December 13, 2013
Stevia hunt
Okay, so I decided if I am doing all these virtuous things like eating grass fed beef , locally grown pork products, free range chickens and eggs, organic dairy, etc., that it would behoove me to stop the other poison going into my body on a regular basis. Yes, she says (hanging her head in shame), I have gone back to diet soda, after having it out of my repertoire for so long. I can almost deal with that, as I drink sparkling waters to get my fizz on. The bigger problem is my coffee and tea, both of which I have tried without artificial sweetener (or sugar) and just feel like I am drinking boiled water and nothing else. To me the sweetener brings out the taste of the beverage much like salt brings out the natural flavor of a food. So yesterday I went on a hunt for Stevia.
Let me say, that, I am one of the people of the universe who has sensitive receptors toward Stevia. I knew this years ago even before the science, and gave up using it. For me Stevia leaves a licorice taste - which even though I happen to like licorice I don't like it in my coffee. But I thought that maybe it just takes getting used to like any other new flavor. So yesterday I went to Whole Foods... oh my goodness - there were maybe 8 different Stevia products. What I learned is that they ALL (but one, which I bought) have additives from maltose, dextrose and agave to "natural flavorings" and fiber supplement. I suppose these are all to either bulk up the product or take away some of the bitterness. At the amount used, it still all comes to zero calories, but I just didn't want anything else but the Stevia. I finally settled on Whole Foods Stevia powdered extract.
One little canister (the size of a spice bottle) was $8.99, but the dispensing spoon it comes with is about 1/32nd of a teaspoon, if that. (I am reminded of the tiny saccharin tablets that used to fizz up in hot drinks!) So the bottle should last much longer than any 100-package box of the other products. Of course, I could just learn to drink my beverages without sugar!
Anyway, last night I made some nice recipes. I made a sausage and egg casserole - in a pie plate with 8 slices. There were 3 slices left this morning, and I know my Vinnie didn't get into it! I also made some marvelous chicken - very simple - just using spice blends that I made up from Practical Paleo. I put a different blend on each piece of chicken and just baked. If I get home early enough today I am going to roast a chicken using an herb/citrus recipe from Against All Grain. I am just really loving my new cookbooks! Because we are expecting snow this weekend I did my weekly grocery shopping last night and so also picked up ingredients for a chili chuck stew for Saturday, and breakfast cookies - which I am hoping will be my go-to evening snack with tea (both also from Against All Grain).
The only other thing (well ONE of the only other things) that I have to tackle is exercise. I had my son bring my recumbent bike upstairs to in front of one of the televisions, and I swear, if I can use Stevia, I can use the bike. My goal is 1/2 hour moderate cycling every day.
Oh they are showing the weekend weather... So glad I have all my cooking ingredients and don't have to leave my house this weekend! Hope you are all safe and sound and enjoy your own weekends.
Miriam
Let me say, that, I am one of the people of the universe who has sensitive receptors toward Stevia. I knew this years ago even before the science, and gave up using it. For me Stevia leaves a licorice taste - which even though I happen to like licorice I don't like it in my coffee. But I thought that maybe it just takes getting used to like any other new flavor. So yesterday I went to Whole Foods... oh my goodness - there were maybe 8 different Stevia products. What I learned is that they ALL (but one, which I bought) have additives from maltose, dextrose and agave to "natural flavorings" and fiber supplement. I suppose these are all to either bulk up the product or take away some of the bitterness. At the amount used, it still all comes to zero calories, but I just didn't want anything else but the Stevia. I finally settled on Whole Foods Stevia powdered extract.
One little canister (the size of a spice bottle) was $8.99, but the dispensing spoon it comes with is about 1/32nd of a teaspoon, if that. (I am reminded of the tiny saccharin tablets that used to fizz up in hot drinks!) So the bottle should last much longer than any 100-package box of the other products. Of course, I could just learn to drink my beverages without sugar!
Anyway, last night I made some nice recipes. I made a sausage and egg casserole - in a pie plate with 8 slices. There were 3 slices left this morning, and I know my Vinnie didn't get into it! I also made some marvelous chicken - very simple - just using spice blends that I made up from Practical Paleo. I put a different blend on each piece of chicken and just baked. If I get home early enough today I am going to roast a chicken using an herb/citrus recipe from Against All Grain. I am just really loving my new cookbooks! Because we are expecting snow this weekend I did my weekly grocery shopping last night and so also picked up ingredients for a chili chuck stew for Saturday, and breakfast cookies - which I am hoping will be my go-to evening snack with tea (both also from Against All Grain).
The only other thing (well ONE of the only other things) that I have to tackle is exercise. I had my son bring my recumbent bike upstairs to in front of one of the televisions, and I swear, if I can use Stevia, I can use the bike. My goal is 1/2 hour moderate cycling every day.
Oh they are showing the weekend weather... So glad I have all my cooking ingredients and don't have to leave my house this weekend! Hope you are all safe and sound and enjoy your own weekends.
Miriam
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Having to find some variety
The only thing I am having some difficulty with is finding something to eat when I just want a "little something." Mostly I am not hungry at night (as the proteins and fats really fill me up from dinner) but I know that sometimes if I go to bed without eating I will get up during the night. Sometimes nuts or an egg just won't do it - I WANT TOAST! lol
I am spending this afternoon going through a couple of cookbooks to find snack-y things for when I need a really small meal but not a meal. I do make a really nice mixture of 1 TBS flaked coconut, 1 TBS pistachio nut "meats" and 1 TBS of Macadamia nuts and maybe 1 TBS of raisins. It is a tiny amount, but very filling. However, I would like a few other go-to choices for the evening.
In addition to giving my kitchen a work-over (it's really not a make-over because I am not doing anything to it structurally - at least not until I get my new counter) I also brought up my mother's china cabinet that I have had down the basement since my knee surgery in May 2011. It is so incredibly beautiful (and completes the dining set that I have of hers) and I put in my dishes, which I love to pieces.
So anyway, taking the dishes out of a storage cabinet allowed me now to move all my small appliances over to where the dishes were. Then, moving around some cans to a further-away cabinet, I was able to put my spices nearer to the stove:
So all in all, a productive few days!
Anyway - off to make my grocery list!
Miriam
I am spending this afternoon going through a couple of cookbooks to find snack-y things for when I need a really small meal but not a meal. I do make a really nice mixture of 1 TBS flaked coconut, 1 TBS pistachio nut "meats" and 1 TBS of Macadamia nuts and maybe 1 TBS of raisins. It is a tiny amount, but very filling. However, I would like a few other go-to choices for the evening.
In addition to giving my kitchen a work-over (it's really not a make-over because I am not doing anything to it structurally - at least not until I get my new counter) I also brought up my mother's china cabinet that I have had down the basement since my knee surgery in May 2011. It is so incredibly beautiful (and completes the dining set that I have of hers) and I put in my dishes, which I love to pieces.
So anyway, taking the dishes out of a storage cabinet allowed me now to move all my small appliances over to where the dishes were. Then, moving around some cans to a further-away cabinet, I was able to put my spices nearer to the stove:
So all in all, a productive few days!
Anyway - off to make my grocery list!
Miriam
Monday, December 9, 2013
Good Monday morning
Afternoon actually! I am enjoying my lasagna made with zucchini sliced very thin like lasagna noodles. No cheese in it either - don't miss either the noodles or the cheese! Of course, except for the fact that it is layered and almost looks like lasagna (but not, because of no cheese on top) I would have to call it a vegetable and meat casserole instead! No matter! The flavors are wonderful and a small portion is incredibly satisfying. I had to run out for fresh basil and it was well worth it. I have the rest of the bunch drying as I am out of dried basil anyway. It calls for a pound of beef and a pound of italian sausage, which I used - but I have a wonderful sausage spice blend and so next time I will use two pounds of the beef (I buy 90+% lean) and the seasoning.
Which is a perfect segue into something I am adjusting right now. Not all calories are created equal: 100 calories from a snack pack are not the same quality as 100 calories from an apple. HOWEVER, that being said, I will gain weight on 3000 calories and lose weight on 1500, so calories DO count! I also am in agreement with the fact that saturated fats are not the TOTAL villains they are made out to be. However, I think they are not healthy in excess, and not healthy if they are from unhealthy sources (such as nitrate and chemically laden bacon). Now keep in mind that this is my opinion and what I am most comfortable with. I feel that some of the recipes I have been making from my Paleo cookbooks don't need as much fat as called for, or that fat can be drained after cooking.
This thinking all ties into my feelings about not following any diet (or lifestyle) dogma, but to take the best of several things and meld it into something that is comfortable - and reasonable - for myself. Someone asked me why I am diving into so many Paleo cookbooks if I am not following Paleo dogma. The reason is that I looked at several gluten-free cookbooks and the majority of them either had GF substitutes for the real thing, or used other grains/legumes in abundance. Since I am not looking for substitutes, and am staying away from grains and legumes as part of an auto-immune protocol, the GF cookbooks are not for me.
In the Paleo cookbook camp, my family has absolutely LOVED every recipe that I have made so far. Last night I made apple shallot pork chops and a cabbage side dish made with onions, pancetta and raisins. I have also found that I am so incredibly comfortable with the recipes in these cookbooks because the food is whole and healthy, and the way I love to cook and eat anyway. I do not miss grains or legumes at all (and neither does my family)!
The only things I have had NO luck with have been my couple of tries at Paleo treats. One was a total failure (in my eyes, although my son liked it) and last night I made a chocolate coconut macaroon. My husband didn't think it was sweet enough (it was made with honey, not sugar) but my son did like them. Me - I didn't care for them and actually had the whole tray hovering over the trashcan this morning, but my son stopped me. I will hold onto them another couple of days then ditch them.
The interesting thing here is that I melted some chocolate chips to frost some of them (hoping that would add a little sweetness for my husband's liking) and of course I snitched a few chips. OMG - I couldn't have had more than 6 of them and not only was I nauseous, but during the night I woke up with a real hungry feeling - that used to come after a night of sugar/flour indulgence, which always wreaked havoc on my blood sugar. I think I keep looking to see if grain and sugar free is REALLY real for me... I don't know how much more convincing it will take!
My concern right now is that I do want to lose weight. I think that eating this way with reasonable portions will accomplish that, even if the weight loss is slow. In early January I will repeat all my blood tests - without the statins and with this new eating path, and that will be the test regardless of what the scale says.
Dinner tonight is the leftover pork chops - which my husband, the chef, had me put back in a slow oven for about two hours... he assured me it will soften the meat to be like short ribs and not toughen it into shoe leather. We shall see....
Miriam
Which is a perfect segue into something I am adjusting right now. Not all calories are created equal: 100 calories from a snack pack are not the same quality as 100 calories from an apple. HOWEVER, that being said, I will gain weight on 3000 calories and lose weight on 1500, so calories DO count! I also am in agreement with the fact that saturated fats are not the TOTAL villains they are made out to be. However, I think they are not healthy in excess, and not healthy if they are from unhealthy sources (such as nitrate and chemically laden bacon). Now keep in mind that this is my opinion and what I am most comfortable with. I feel that some of the recipes I have been making from my Paleo cookbooks don't need as much fat as called for, or that fat can be drained after cooking.
This thinking all ties into my feelings about not following any diet (or lifestyle) dogma, but to take the best of several things and meld it into something that is comfortable - and reasonable - for myself. Someone asked me why I am diving into so many Paleo cookbooks if I am not following Paleo dogma. The reason is that I looked at several gluten-free cookbooks and the majority of them either had GF substitutes for the real thing, or used other grains/legumes in abundance. Since I am not looking for substitutes, and am staying away from grains and legumes as part of an auto-immune protocol, the GF cookbooks are not for me.
In the Paleo cookbook camp, my family has absolutely LOVED every recipe that I have made so far. Last night I made apple shallot pork chops and a cabbage side dish made with onions, pancetta and raisins. I have also found that I am so incredibly comfortable with the recipes in these cookbooks because the food is whole and healthy, and the way I love to cook and eat anyway. I do not miss grains or legumes at all (and neither does my family)!
The only things I have had NO luck with have been my couple of tries at Paleo treats. One was a total failure (in my eyes, although my son liked it) and last night I made a chocolate coconut macaroon. My husband didn't think it was sweet enough (it was made with honey, not sugar) but my son did like them. Me - I didn't care for them and actually had the whole tray hovering over the trashcan this morning, but my son stopped me. I will hold onto them another couple of days then ditch them.
The interesting thing here is that I melted some chocolate chips to frost some of them (hoping that would add a little sweetness for my husband's liking) and of course I snitched a few chips. OMG - I couldn't have had more than 6 of them and not only was I nauseous, but during the night I woke up with a real hungry feeling - that used to come after a night of sugar/flour indulgence, which always wreaked havoc on my blood sugar. I think I keep looking to see if grain and sugar free is REALLY real for me... I don't know how much more convincing it will take!
My concern right now is that I do want to lose weight. I think that eating this way with reasonable portions will accomplish that, even if the weight loss is slow. In early January I will repeat all my blood tests - without the statins and with this new eating path, and that will be the test regardless of what the scale says.
Dinner tonight is the leftover pork chops - which my husband, the chef, had me put back in a slow oven for about two hours... he assured me it will soften the meat to be like short ribs and not toughen it into shoe leather. We shall see....
Miriam
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Overhauling cooking = overhauling kitchen
Now that I am trying all sorts of new recipes (and putting others to bed) I find that I need better access to my spices, herbs and small appliances. I also find that I have to clear out the old to welcome in the new. One of my dance troupe cohorts is a wonderful organizer and after our rehearsal yesterday she listened to my kitchen needs and started me on projects. My main feeling was that my kitchen is closing in on me - it has gotten to where there is so much out and out of place that I can't even clean it anymore. This spills over to my dining room - which I want so much more for than is there. I was showing her all my cabinets and she spotted an old decrepit crock pot and asked why did I have that after showing her the nice new one that I have ... I held my head in shame as I explained that there was even a third one behind the one she was seeing. (The minute she left I took the two old crock pots down and put them for Goodwill and made the trip immediately before I would change my mind.)
So my accomplishments yesterday were to get rid of not only the crock pots but tons of other old stuff in the back of the deep cabinets that I have not used in the 20+ years that I have lived here. Then I went through my broom closet and got rid of the hundreds of plastic bags that were stuffed into every nook and cranny (OMG I felt like someone from one of the hoarder shows) and brought those to bag recycling at the supermarket. Then once the bags were gone I was able to move the broom and Swifter mops that were in the corner of the diningroom and put them in the broom closet - Imagine that!
Then I took all the canned goods from the cabinet over my work area, and moved those to a farther (but easily accessible) cabinet, made a trip to get spice racks (the ones that are like steps) and filled that entire cabinet with all my herbs and spices instead of the cans. Then I have dozens of beautiful storage containers that are now empty (having gotten rid of all my assortment of grains) and moved those to the upper dead space of the cabinets, further clearing off my counter tops.
Today I am going to have my son and husband bring up the china closet that matches my dining room set (I have had it in my house for two years down the basement because I didn't see how it fit into the dining room - thank you Andrea for your wonderful visions!) - once I move my dishes to the china cabinet I will now have free space to put all my smaller appliances that were cluttering the counter tops or were stored in places that were very hard to reach. (As I glance over to where the china cabinet is going, I'm not sure I will like it... but I won't know until it is there.)
But the best part of all this is, once I told her my hopes and dreams for my kitchen (lol - well not THAT dramatic...) turns out that her partner is a carpenter and I have already heard back from her that he will come over this week and measure for the counter that I have always wanted instead of a kitchen table! Dreams into action... whatta concept! LOL
So anyway, it has been a productive weekend, all with an eye to a dietary lifestyle change. I really feel that the physical change in my kitchen is so necessary to meet the change in my cooking style.
Looking forward to changes!
Miriam
Friday, December 6, 2013
Trusting the process....
Hi Everyone - just spoke with a friend (KCalla from Dotties) and worked some things out in my head with regard to this blog. I have decided to start writing again. After going through my summer bucket list I had a hiatus - not from working, just from writing. I went through two very intense personal programs by Karly Randolph Pitman (Growing Human Kindness and Untangled) which helped me help myself get to the end of my sugar addiction and for the most part, to the end of my emotional eating. It was a long hard (and eye-opening) journey, but I've come out the tunnel and into the light and am ready to move on. Neither was easy (giving up sugar and ending emotional eating) and I acknowledge that I might only be a visitor with those two concepts, rather than a permanent resident, but I am comfortable enough where I am. If I stay long enough, I will put down new roots!
At the heels of giving up sugar (in May) I also gave up gluten in September. I know there is a lot of hype about gluten intolerance (and indeed, if you don't have celiac disease, the jury is still out on whether or not you are actually even sensitive to gluten) but anecdotal evidence was enough to get me to try it. Within days of no gluten, the stiffness in my hands disappeared, and I was able to get out of the car after an hour's commute and just walk... no stretching, no limping, no holding on to the car till I got my bearings. I still do have joint pain, so I am not saying IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!!!!, but the stiffness is pretty much gone and I am so grateful for that. Let's me hope that a reduction in my arthritis pain (at this point in many parts of my body) might be in my future.
I am also struggling with Hashimoto's disease (a thyroid autoimmune condition). My thyroid tests are absolutely within normal range, but I still have low thyroid symptoms (not the least of which is spotty alopecia areata another autoimmune issue - probably not noticeable to anyone but me, but I do notice the spots where you can see straight through to my scalp. If I do my hair just right, I almost don't notice! So anyway, I have all these thyroid symptoms but my tests are normal, which led me to the book: Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? Working through this book, one of the things the author says is the best thing for autoimmune conditions - and specifically Hashimoto's - is to eat in a Paleo way. (No links on that - by now EVERYONE knows what Paleo is!) I had already given up all gluten and sugar so I figured, I might as well take the next step.
For about 2-3 weeks now, I have had no grains or legumes, and that has been the biggest change for me. I can't say that I have been following the total "Paleo lifestyle" but I have modified a lot of what and how I have been eating, and feel MUCH better overall. The reason I am not going Paleo (or Primal) all the way is that, one of the reasons for my success with Pitman's programs was that I had to really work hard to forgive myself for all the time and money I spent on (at least) 50 different diets. I realize now that they were attempts to care for myself, and can let the anger go. Part of the problem was that I bought into the dogma hook-line-and-sinker of all these diets, which were proclaimed "life styles" and I refuse to do that ever again. Another thing Karly teaches is the mantra "I will no longer wage war against myself." That means being KIND to myself. Too much of the various dieting dogmas are just plain harsh and unkind. Being kind means eating foods and quantities that make my body hum. It also means being open to rejecting things that a diet-lifestyle dogma insists upon.
I don't (for now) eat grains or legumes. I do not eat processed foods.Yes, I define processed a little more liberally than a raw food down-home farmer would, such as I will used processed ghee rather than make my own; eat canned tomatoes; use bottled spices - and if you think of it... these are ALL processed! It's the degree to which they processed and whether there are additives in them. I DO have caffeine, I DO have diary - but for the most part limited to 1/2 cup of organic milk for my one cappuccino a day, and my 2 tablespoons of cream for my one regular coffee.
I have switched to a grass-fed beef and lamb, wild-caught fish, free range chicken, and any pork products without nitrates (can we say bacon? lol). I innocently asked the guy at the Whole Foods meat counter if he had any grass fed pork. When he stopped laughing he explained that pigs don't eat grass! LOL ... but that all the meat they carry is antibiotic free, and whatever other considerations there might be to top quality meats. I get omega-3 free range eggs, organic dairy (when I do buy it) and organic fruits and vegetables if they are warranted.
So in many ways I have shifted my diet and lifestyle, and I am feeling 100% better for it. I am thoroughly enjoying all my new Paleo cookbooks: Against All Grain, Practical Paleo - which was my first book, and ALL Sarah Fragoso's Every Day Paleo books - especially her very first in the Around the World Series, on Italian Cooking.
I am still working very hard on ditching the diet mentality. My clothes are looser and I feel terrific, but the scale isn't budging - which makes me (as recently as this morning) want to take all my new recipes, put them into some sort of recipe builder (either calories or WW Points) and start weighing and measuring everything that goes into my mouth. I had to take a step back and realize that I have to trust the process, and, more importantly, trust myself. I remember one of my blogs from AGES ago where I said that all I want to do is learn to trust myself and to listen to my body. I am still there. The difference is that I feel now that I have the tools to see it through.
I know - as Babs has said for herself - that blogging really keeps me grounded in the process. So here I am, back again - but with a REAL new me to go with that new knee!
Miriam
At the heels of giving up sugar (in May) I also gave up gluten in September. I know there is a lot of hype about gluten intolerance (and indeed, if you don't have celiac disease, the jury is still out on whether or not you are actually even sensitive to gluten) but anecdotal evidence was enough to get me to try it. Within days of no gluten, the stiffness in my hands disappeared, and I was able to get out of the car after an hour's commute and just walk... no stretching, no limping, no holding on to the car till I got my bearings. I still do have joint pain, so I am not saying IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!!!!, but the stiffness is pretty much gone and I am so grateful for that. Let's me hope that a reduction in my arthritis pain (at this point in many parts of my body) might be in my future.
I am also struggling with Hashimoto's disease (a thyroid autoimmune condition). My thyroid tests are absolutely within normal range, but I still have low thyroid symptoms (not the least of which is spotty alopecia areata another autoimmune issue - probably not noticeable to anyone but me, but I do notice the spots where you can see straight through to my scalp. If I do my hair just right, I almost don't notice! So anyway, I have all these thyroid symptoms but my tests are normal, which led me to the book: Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? Working through this book, one of the things the author says is the best thing for autoimmune conditions - and specifically Hashimoto's - is to eat in a Paleo way. (No links on that - by now EVERYONE knows what Paleo is!) I had already given up all gluten and sugar so I figured, I might as well take the next step.
For about 2-3 weeks now, I have had no grains or legumes, and that has been the biggest change for me. I can't say that I have been following the total "Paleo lifestyle" but I have modified a lot of what and how I have been eating, and feel MUCH better overall. The reason I am not going Paleo (or Primal) all the way is that, one of the reasons for my success with Pitman's programs was that I had to really work hard to forgive myself for all the time and money I spent on (at least) 50 different diets. I realize now that they were attempts to care for myself, and can let the anger go. Part of the problem was that I bought into the dogma hook-line-and-sinker of all these diets, which were proclaimed "life styles" and I refuse to do that ever again. Another thing Karly teaches is the mantra "I will no longer wage war against myself." That means being KIND to myself. Too much of the various dieting dogmas are just plain harsh and unkind. Being kind means eating foods and quantities that make my body hum. It also means being open to rejecting things that a diet-lifestyle dogma insists upon.
I don't (for now) eat grains or legumes. I do not eat processed foods.Yes, I define processed a little more liberally than a raw food down-home farmer would, such as I will used processed ghee rather than make my own; eat canned tomatoes; use bottled spices - and if you think of it... these are ALL processed! It's the degree to which they processed and whether there are additives in them. I DO have caffeine, I DO have diary - but for the most part limited to 1/2 cup of organic milk for my one cappuccino a day, and my 2 tablespoons of cream for my one regular coffee.
I have switched to a grass-fed beef and lamb, wild-caught fish, free range chicken, and any pork products without nitrates (can we say bacon? lol). I innocently asked the guy at the Whole Foods meat counter if he had any grass fed pork. When he stopped laughing he explained that pigs don't eat grass! LOL ... but that all the meat they carry is antibiotic free, and whatever other considerations there might be to top quality meats. I get omega-3 free range eggs, organic dairy (when I do buy it) and organic fruits and vegetables if they are warranted.
So in many ways I have shifted my diet and lifestyle, and I am feeling 100% better for it. I am thoroughly enjoying all my new Paleo cookbooks: Against All Grain, Practical Paleo - which was my first book, and ALL Sarah Fragoso's Every Day Paleo books - especially her very first in the Around the World Series, on Italian Cooking.
I am still working very hard on ditching the diet mentality. My clothes are looser and I feel terrific, but the scale isn't budging - which makes me (as recently as this morning) want to take all my new recipes, put them into some sort of recipe builder (either calories or WW Points) and start weighing and measuring everything that goes into my mouth. I had to take a step back and realize that I have to trust the process, and, more importantly, trust myself. I remember one of my blogs from AGES ago where I said that all I want to do is learn to trust myself and to listen to my body. I am still there. The difference is that I feel now that I have the tools to see it through.
I know - as Babs has said for herself - that blogging really keeps me grounded in the process. So here I am, back again - but with a REAL new me to go with that new knee!
Miriam
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)