3 weeks in!

As of today, I have been GF/LC/HF (gluten-free/low-carb/high-fat, for those who are acronym-challenged) for 3 weeks, and I am amazed.  I have lost about 8lbs, I have gone down a pants-size, and I must be losing more than the scale actually says because people are noticing a difference.  And at my size, 8lbs won't make a noticeable difference to anyone but me.  My face is thinner, my body feels better in terms of inflammation and muscle aches and pains, and my IBS-D is essentially gone.  I am rarely hungry, and if I am, it is an appropriate response to a lack of food (i.e. its been 5 or 6 hours since my last meal), it is not a random craving or low blood sugar that is making me want to eat.

I have been having a blast trying new foods, and working on re-wiring my brain to believe that fat isn't bad for me.  For my whole life, I have been reaching for the "light" or "low-fat" or whatnot, and now I have reversed that thinking entirely.  30+ years of indoctrination takes a bit to undo, but it is easier than you would think!  Right now, I am making coconut cinnamon fat bombs (coconut butter, full-fat coconut milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and coconut shreds), and they look divine!

Here is a typical day's worth of food for me:

Breakfast:
Bulletproof Coffee (coffee, blended with coconut oil, grassfed butter, and other flavors as wanted)
Eggs or yogurt, some sort of healthy fat/protein combo (eggs includes veggies, yogurt has fruit and hemp hearts)

Lunch:
two baked chicken legs with seasoning
4 celery stalks with natural peanut butter or some fruit

Dinner:
2 slices of my homemade wheat belly pizza
or
a flaxseed wrap with chicken, ranch, cheese, lettuce, and bacon
some veggies, sauteed in EVOO or coconut oil, with shredded cheese on top

Snack:
a few "fat bombs", mostly little snacks that are designed with negligible carbs and loads of fat

In the morning, I drink a whole glass of water, and when I get home that is all I drink until I go to bed (along with a glass of wine occassionally!).  That's pretty much it.  I don't count calories, I only eat when I'm hungry.  If I'm not hungry, I don't eat.  It is so liberating to actually not be hungry!  Love it!!

Two weeks on my new eating plan!

Well, it has been 2 weeks since I cut out wheat and drastically reduced carbs in my diet, and I am absolutely stunned.  I am not only stunned by how I feel, I am also stunned by how easy it was!  This is the first time in my entire life that I haven't been a slave to cravings and hunger all the time.   I never realized it until these things were gone, and I was free to eat when I was actually hungry!

The results so far:
I have lost 6lbs.
An old pair of jeans that hasn't fit right in a long time fits comfortably and almost needs a belt.
I have more energy than I have had in a very long time.
I sleep better and wake feeling more rested.
My body is much more relaxed and I can tell that my inflammation reaction is way down.  I had a massage and it was enjoyable instead of painful because my body wasn't tight at all!

And the most amazing part?  It hasn't been difficult at all.  I mean, I spent a day at the MN State Fair, home of all things fried, and I didn't even really want cheese curds or a Pronto Pup.  Sure, in my head I did. But when we passed the stands, I thought "eh, I'm not really hungry, those don't sound that good" and I moved on.  For all of you who have known me through the years, have I ever passed up those two foods?  NEVER!  And you also know that I have very little willpower when it comes to foods...hence the weight problem, I would imagine.  I tend to think "well, I only live once, so what is the harm is having just one          ".  Now I think "what is the point of having that when I don't really need it or want it?"  Talk about a change in mindset, huh?  My foods at the state fair were:  bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp on a stick, a big slab of maple-glazed bacon on a stick,  some cinnamon-sugared pecans, and a new thing called "Sno-Ribbons", which is like the child of ice cream and a sno-cone.  I tried a friend's french fry, and was less than impressed. That was my only carb of the day besides the sugar (I decided if I could avoid the gluten, then sugar was okay for the day...wasn't sure how to cut out both successfully!).

Anyway, I just committed to doing this long-term...I cleaned out my house of most of the foods I don't eat anymore (some more purging to go, but the first step is done!), and I just spent a bit of money to get almond flour, coconut flour, and erythritol shipped to me in bulk.  I am trying new recipes all the time, and finding fun ways to recreate the foods I love.  Today, I made some egg/sausage/broccoli "muffins" to heat up for breakfast this week, I made chips made entirely of cheese and then made some homemade pico de gallo to dip them in, and I made another of my favorite Wheat Belly pizzas for dinner last night and have leftovers galore.  I bought two heads of cauliflower and plan to make some mashed cauliflower coming up soon, and bought a bunch of chicken thighs and legs to bake for easy dinners on busy days.

I'm committed!  And happy to be!

Rethinking the word "Diet"

As you all know, my weight has been a struggle for me since puberty.  I was thin once. A long long time ago. Then hormones kicked in and I never looked back.  I have done many things in my life to try to lose the weight. Some have worked, some haven't, and some have been downright ridiculous.  I am at the point in my life now where I do not fall for "fad" diets.  They come and they go, never giving real results to anyone in the long-term.  I have PCOS, which really just means that, when it comes to weight loss, I'm screwed and "nothing will really work" - straight from a healthcare professional's mouth. I kid you not.

The more I learn about food and nutrition, the more I have been convinced in the past few years that we have all been duped by the government.  I am not a conspiracy theorist, I do not think this happened in order to purposely make us all sick.  But I do think that the Food Pyramid that we all know and love is a piece of crap.  "Whole grains are good for you, eat lots of them!"  "Healthy whole grains!" Pure crap, that is.  The government studied this for about .5 seconds before I was born and decided "yup, sounds good, lets get this country healthy". And since that proclamation, we have all become bigger and sicker than we ever have been in our entire history.  And I cannot tell you how tired I am at hearing the words "calories in vs calories out".  Just shut up already, clearly it isn't that easy, or we wouldn't have triathletes with a spare tire!  Give me a break!

Anyway, I ran across a book by Dr. William Davis called "Wheat Belly" that really made sense to me.  It isn't a fad, and it's based on solid science.  And best of all, it has reviews from real people like me who have become healthier following his way of eating.  My parents got me interested in this to begin with, specifically my dad.  My dad is not one to follow the crowd, or do something just because others are doing it.  And he researches everything to death before committing to it. I love that about him, because I know that if he has an opinion on something, it is likely based on hours of research and a sky-high IQ, and I can take it as truth.  As we talked, I got more interested and decided to start reading this book.  Halfway through, I decided to give it a shot for two weeks.  You can do anything for two weeks, right?

The basic premise is this:  wheat is killing us. Specifically gluten.  Wheat has been so insanely genetically altered since WWII that, genetically speaking, humans are closer to chimps than today's wheat is to "old wheat".  That's scary, isn't it?  All of this altering was done without any human testing. Looks like wheat, tastes like wheat, must be okay, right?  Wrong.  Very wrong.  The reasons are long and varied, if you are interested, I suggest you read the book or message me personally and I will tell you all about it.  His way of eating involves eliminating gluten (wheat) entirely, eating very low-carbohydrate, and loading up on proteins, veggies, and good fats. Yes, you heard me, FAT IS GOOD!  Stay away from the veggie oil, load up on grassfed organic butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, nuts, etc.

If you want to know more, personally message me or get the book, and check out his website at Wheat Belly Blog. You won't regret it. I am on day 7 of this way of eating and I feel great!  I have lost about 3lbs, I have not been hungry once, my IBS-D has all but cured itself, and I feel satisfied with everything I eat.  Will I keep it up?  I hope so.  I have never felt this good on any other "diet" in my life. I have always felt like I was missing something. I have always felt hungry, or deprived, or something.  To end this very long blog, I leave you with a picture of my supper tonight.  A wheat-free, low-carb homemade alfredo sauce pizza with chicken, bacon, and peppers, topped with mounds of mozzarella cheese. :)  Diet food people.  Rethink the word "diet".

Suffering the consequences of someone else's actions...

I am a planner.  I plan things.  I have the ability to swing by the seat of my pants, and I do on occasion. But generally, I plan.  I plan what I'm going to eat, what I'm going to do, and where my life is generally going to go.  However, "life", recently has had other plans.

My plan:  I was happily married with 3 step sons, had built a house, had a wonderful garden, had a career that was fulfilling that I enjoyed...the rest of my plan was to live happily ever after.  To live in this house until I retired with the love of my life.  This was the life I had always wanted.

Life:  I found out the "love of my life" cheated on me.  Again.  We went through this last summer, and we worked through it, or so I thought.  This summer, he did it again.  I had told him that if he ever did something like that again, we were done. So, we were done.  The beautiful custom-made house is on the market, and I am working on understanding what my life looks like as a single woman yet again.  Divorce is in the very near future.  I have lost my husband, my stepsons, my house, and my "happily every after" due to the actions of one individual.  Story of my married life:  suffering the consequences of someone else's actions.

I have moved past the sad, the angry, and I never got to the vindictive.  I stopped myself.  One day I said "Tracey, being angry at him is like being angry at a toddler who throws a temper tantrum.  It doesn't hurt the toddler, and it doesn't make the tantrum go away.  Might as well deal with the tantrum and learn from it."  So, I am happy, living my life how I want to live it, and not checking in with anyone.  I am more relaxed now than I was my entire married life, always worried about the next problem coming down the line...worried about the consequences of someone else's actions.  Now, my only worry is selling this beautiful house because I can't afford it on my own.  But that will happen in time.  The right buyer will come along.  Timing is everything.

I deserve happiness.  I deserve respect.  And I deserve a partner in life that I can trust without question.  God has a plan for me.  It may involve another long-term relationship, or it may not. It may involve staying in Rochester, or it may not.  But whatever it is, I am just going to hang on for the ride!