I can't even wait a day before continuing, because looking back on all i've learned is so exciting and encouraging to me. Looking back is an excellent Mercury-retrograde activity.... ;-)
Since the beginning of the year, when i've been at home and doing the cooking i haven't failed to lose weight, and when i've been eating out a lot, i haven't failed to gain. It's that simple. Because i know what the pitfalls are, i haven't gained MUCH, and i haven't failed to lose it again, but it just goes to show you what happens when other people are in charge of the kitchen.
Other people's condiments are full of industrial-seed oil, sugar, texture- and flavor-enhancers (like carrageenan, guar gum, MSG, etc), preservatives (which may or may not be a problem), artificial colors (which sensitive people find problematic), and so on. Other people don't properly nixtamalize corn, ferment grains and legumes, soak nuts and seeds -- in other words, they take shortcuts that ruin potentially-nourishing substances. Other people believe advertising propaganda, and think grain-fiber is a good thing, and that metabolic poisons are "a good part of this balanced diet." Other people don't realize that anti-meat "information" is frequently from veg*an sources.
Yes, you can eat out. You can eat out a McDonald's, for heaven's sake, and not ruin your health. What you CAN'T do is make any assumptions about what you're getting. The "best" Italian restaurants are known to use artificial "olive oil." Almost any restaurant steak is going to be seasoned with things you really don't want to consume. The first thing i look for in an omelette is, whether the egg is homogenous or streaky with white and yolk -- if you have doubts, it's best to order the eggs fried rather than scrambled, because GOK what might be in there.
So, when i was in Texas in Jan/Feb and again in May/June, when i was in San Francisco a week in each the spring and summer, and when i had houseguests for a week in April, i did a LO-O-O-O-O-OT of eating out, and it totally screwed my weight goals. Most of the time, i tried to eat according to what i know is best for me, but on about a half-dozen occasions (single meals, that is) i completely FEASTED. The thing i've learned from feasting is, though, to FAST afterward, for a meal or a day. When i'd get home again each time, especially when my husband was still out-of-town, i'd get right back on my VLC diet and/or the Strong Medicine protocol, and i'd be back to normal within days. I've gained and lost the same five pounds, four or five times, but i'm about eight pounds down from the first of the year. Twelve to go.
And rather than thinking it a privation to go back on my "diet," i resume my eating pattern with RELIEF. I just don't feel good when i'm eating like other people do. When i eat my 100 grams each of animal protein and fat per day, i don't feel hungry and food-obsessed, and my brain works, and i hurt less, and i'm HAPPY. I don't like to snack anymore, even though the thought of cocktails and antipasti STILL has allure. I still enjoy some junkfood, but i know it comes with a price i don't like to pay.
I have a lot of sympathy for people who haven't found the "formula" that works to tame their appetites and control their intake for maximal comfort. Until i tweaked the Strong Medicine and my supplement list to "fit" me, i did a LOT more thinking about food with longing!* Now i tell myself, "You're perfectly satisfied, and you feel great on these foods -- you're losing weight with no hunger. Don't even think about luscious foods you're not allowing yourself RIGHT NOW -- you'll have them later. Meanwhile, make progress while there are no distractions!" And i AM! :-D
________
* I also did a lot more planning, shopping and cooking; a lot more SPENDING of money and time. I love the change.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
progress update time, part 1
More than half a year has flown by, since i started writing here. Whereas i haven't made much linear PROGRESS in losing weight, the scale hasn't been stuck anywhere ... and i feel i'm significantly wiser about the whole subject.
In January, i began the Personal Paleo Code program, which was an eye-opening experience. Whether a person wants to lose weight or not -- i firmly believe it's in EVERYBODY'S best interests to go through a strict elimination diet and slowly add back every other ordinarily-eaten food, just to see what causes problems that were never even SUSPECTED before. I understand the Whole 30 is pretty much the same thing, and there are others out there, too, which offer a description and how to go about it without spoiling the results ... but i really think people who care about their health need to check it out.
I discovered that i have issues with nightshades, which i never suspected before. Industrial seed oils seem to give me zits, especially when i'm not getting enough zinc. Milk products (even fermented) seem to contribute to tremors (like any overdose of carbs) -- could high insulin the be the cause? Cream SOMETIMES contributes to an unhappy gut, but butter, never -- could have something to do with carrageenan in the former....
Wheat doesn't give me overt gut symptoms, but it really brings on the knee pain ...AND hip, and shoulder. Oats (even soaked) do the same, to a lesser degree. An occasional (rare!) bowl of porridge will stay in my future, but it's gotta be the unsteamed kind, and it has to be soaked overnight with whey. I allowed myself so little of the true-sourdough ("salt rising") rye/rice bread, i don't know if it causes much trouble -- further tests are in order.
Home-cooked food (by me) is the highroad to health and weight control. I've eliminated dozens of products i used to use with confidence because SO many of the things we buy are adulterated -- you have to be careful even buying tuna in "water" because it ISN'T -- it's a soy-laced broth. "With olive oil" in the commercial world doesn't mean OF olive oil; i make my own mayo and dressings anymore. The caveat above, "by me" is important -- my husband is sympathetic but not thoroughly aware. And as for other people? Absolutely, completely, incomprehensibly BLIND. Obviously, most people think that if it doesn't kill you SOON, it doesn't have a negative impact on health (face-palm...). Think CIGARETTES, kids....
I've learned a bit about alcohol, too. The "cleanest" drink i can have is warm sake; a small amount satisfies and it's easy to stop there. Even cold (filtered) sake is more ... moreish! And other things also contribute to a low-grade headache while sake doesn't. My low-carb cocktails come next, then tepid wine -- which is to say, reds. White and/or chilled, and the "food reward" thing kicks in -- wonder if the "good doctor" can explain that one?
A very nice lady who went by the screenname "H" made the next big impact on my dietary adventures; she introduced me to "Strong Medicine," Dr. Blake Donaldson's retrospective on how he learned to treat allergy and weight loss, in the early part of the 20th century. This book, and my subsequent reading, have revolutionized my view of limiting carbs. H did her good deed, then kinda disappeared like The Shadow. OOOOhhhh. ;-)
This, as the title suggests, is going to have to be just the first report, because i realized after i started that the ground i've covered so far this year is going to take longer than i thought. ;-) I do hope this isn't just an exercise in self-absorption, but a useful record....
In January, i began the Personal Paleo Code program, which was an eye-opening experience. Whether a person wants to lose weight or not -- i firmly believe it's in EVERYBODY'S best interests to go through a strict elimination diet and slowly add back every other ordinarily-eaten food, just to see what causes problems that were never even SUSPECTED before. I understand the Whole 30 is pretty much the same thing, and there are others out there, too, which offer a description and how to go about it without spoiling the results ... but i really think people who care about their health need to check it out.
I discovered that i have issues with nightshades, which i never suspected before. Industrial seed oils seem to give me zits, especially when i'm not getting enough zinc. Milk products (even fermented) seem to contribute to tremors (like any overdose of carbs) -- could high insulin the be the cause? Cream SOMETIMES contributes to an unhappy gut, but butter, never -- could have something to do with carrageenan in the former....
Wheat doesn't give me overt gut symptoms, but it really brings on the knee pain ...AND hip, and shoulder. Oats (even soaked) do the same, to a lesser degree. An occasional (rare!) bowl of porridge will stay in my future, but it's gotta be the unsteamed kind, and it has to be soaked overnight with whey. I allowed myself so little of the true-sourdough ("salt rising") rye/rice bread, i don't know if it causes much trouble -- further tests are in order.
Home-cooked food (by me) is the highroad to health and weight control. I've eliminated dozens of products i used to use with confidence because SO many of the things we buy are adulterated -- you have to be careful even buying tuna in "water" because it ISN'T -- it's a soy-laced broth. "With olive oil" in the commercial world doesn't mean OF olive oil; i make my own mayo and dressings anymore. The caveat above, "by me" is important -- my husband is sympathetic but not thoroughly aware. And as for other people? Absolutely, completely, incomprehensibly BLIND. Obviously, most people think that if it doesn't kill you SOON, it doesn't have a negative impact on health (face-palm...). Think CIGARETTES, kids....
I've learned a bit about alcohol, too. The "cleanest" drink i can have is warm sake; a small amount satisfies and it's easy to stop there. Even cold (filtered) sake is more ... moreish! And other things also contribute to a low-grade headache while sake doesn't. My low-carb cocktails come next, then tepid wine -- which is to say, reds. White and/or chilled, and the "food reward" thing kicks in -- wonder if the "good doctor" can explain that one?
A very nice lady who went by the screenname "H" made the next big impact on my dietary adventures; she introduced me to "Strong Medicine," Dr. Blake Donaldson's retrospective on how he learned to treat allergy and weight loss, in the early part of the 20th century. This book, and my subsequent reading, have revolutionized my view of limiting carbs. H did her good deed, then kinda disappeared like The Shadow. OOOOhhhh. ;-)
This, as the title suggests, is going to have to be just the first report, because i realized after i started that the ground i've covered so far this year is going to take longer than i thought. ;-) I do hope this isn't just an exercise in self-absorption, but a useful record....
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
more wooo for Wooo
I've mentioned astrology in earlier posts -- how i think it's a valid art, though not in the sense of what most people are familiar with: "sun signs" for descriptions of personality and predictions of events. What astrology IS good for, is choosing the best time for any at-all-important activity.
My great-aunt (we called her Ant) had a spectacular garden, renowned in the family and the small town in which she lived. She and her husband planted acres of flowers and vegetables, had fruit trees and gooseberry bushes (probably had currants and grapes, too, though i don't remember them specifically), and they dried, canned and preserved vast quantities of food. Needed it, too -- not that the family they supported was large, but they were very hospitable, social people -- even railroad tramps wouldn't be turned away hungry, back in the old days.
Ant and Uncle Ranse cultivated, planted, weeded, harvested -- did everything one does in a garden and in dealing with its products, by the moon's sign.
The moon as well as the sun and all the other planets each have their own signs and aspects as they move about in relation to one other. Each moment has its own "natal chart," so that whatever happens (like a birth, for instance), it has an astrological signature all its own. That's why all Cancerians, as an example, don't fit the timid, mommy-dependent, home-worshiping stereotype. (I should know, being a Cancerian with my moon in Sagittarius, and my Mercury AND Venus in Gemini....)
But although interesting (and useful in dealing with one's children or a prospective partner), knowing these things about oneself is MOST valuable as a guide to action, in relation to the planets in the passing moment. "The value of utilizing astrology in your life is to increase your conscious awareness of valuable timing and trends to be aware of in order to optimize opportunities for growth" wrote Kristen Fontana (who has a good free weekly horoscope online).
Speaking of growth, astrology is not only valuable in gardening, but in hair care. Most of the beauticians i've asked about it heartily endorse the notion of cutting one's hair by the moon sign. There are days which are more auspicious for "cutting for thickness," "cutting for growth," and "cutting to grow slowly".... I used to have a great website to link to here, but it doesn't work anymore. :-(
When i was first delving into the deeper aspects of astrology, i wasn't entirely convinced that there was anything in it. I had borrowed a book which teaches how to draw up a chart, and i "did" myself, my husband and kids, my closest friends, and a few of the people i worked with, back then. I was even inclined to doubt MORE when i did Tammy's chart; it described her as being flighty and unreliable -- and she was the most dependable of my co-workers! ...Then one day, she didn't come in to work, because (we learned) she had just run away with her lover, from her husband and two little girls.
I'm a believer. ;-)
My great-aunt (we called her Ant) had a spectacular garden, renowned in the family and the small town in which she lived. She and her husband planted acres of flowers and vegetables, had fruit trees and gooseberry bushes (probably had currants and grapes, too, though i don't remember them specifically), and they dried, canned and preserved vast quantities of food. Needed it, too -- not that the family they supported was large, but they were very hospitable, social people -- even railroad tramps wouldn't be turned away hungry, back in the old days.
Ant and Uncle Ranse cultivated, planted, weeded, harvested -- did everything one does in a garden and in dealing with its products, by the moon's sign.
The moon as well as the sun and all the other planets each have their own signs and aspects as they move about in relation to one other. Each moment has its own "natal chart," so that whatever happens (like a birth, for instance), it has an astrological signature all its own. That's why all Cancerians, as an example, don't fit the timid, mommy-dependent, home-worshiping stereotype. (I should know, being a Cancerian with my moon in Sagittarius, and my Mercury AND Venus in Gemini....)
But although interesting (and useful in dealing with one's children or a prospective partner), knowing these things about oneself is MOST valuable as a guide to action, in relation to the planets in the passing moment. "The value of utilizing astrology in your life is to increase your conscious awareness of valuable timing and trends to be aware of in order to optimize opportunities for growth" wrote Kristen Fontana (who has a good free weekly horoscope online).
Speaking of growth, astrology is not only valuable in gardening, but in hair care. Most of the beauticians i've asked about it heartily endorse the notion of cutting one's hair by the moon sign. There are days which are more auspicious for "cutting for thickness," "cutting for growth," and "cutting to grow slowly".... I used to have a great website to link to here, but it doesn't work anymore. :-(
When i was first delving into the deeper aspects of astrology, i wasn't entirely convinced that there was anything in it. I had borrowed a book which teaches how to draw up a chart, and i "did" myself, my husband and kids, my closest friends, and a few of the people i worked with, back then. I was even inclined to doubt MORE when i did Tammy's chart; it described her as being flighty and unreliable -- and she was the most dependable of my co-workers! ...Then one day, she didn't come in to work, because (we learned) she had just run away with her lover, from her husband and two little girls.
I'm a believer. ;-)
Monday, July 16, 2012
thinking too much (by others) again
I don't know if this should be filed under "orthorexia" or "wasted youth"....
I no longer have a link to Mark's Daily Apple on my site, but i still strongly respect the guy. He's no Peter or JS ... but then he's no SG, either; i don't agree with all he writes, but i still consider him reasonably reliable and not devious at all. Of his readership, i don't think nearly so well.
The muscle-heads asked him some questions which he answered in his column today, and i have to be astonished that the former have nothing more important to occupy their thoughts. How much is too much coconut milk? How important is it to have cookies and/or juice after i give blood? Is it okay to drink distilled water? If i think i've depleted glycogen stores in my body, can i still deposit fat in my cells when i eat carbs? JEEEZ!
Do these people have jobs, relationships, LIVES? Some folks have REAL problems. Some are out there trying to make the world a better place.
Rant over -- thanks.
I no longer have a link to Mark's Daily Apple on my site, but i still strongly respect the guy. He's no Peter or JS ... but then he's no SG, either; i don't agree with all he writes, but i still consider him reasonably reliable and not devious at all. Of his readership, i don't think nearly so well.
The muscle-heads asked him some questions which he answered in his column today, and i have to be astonished that the former have nothing more important to occupy their thoughts. How much is too much coconut milk? How important is it to have cookies and/or juice after i give blood? Is it okay to drink distilled water? If i think i've depleted glycogen stores in my body, can i still deposit fat in my cells when i eat carbs? JEEEZ!
Do these people have jobs, relationships, LIVES? Some folks have REAL problems. Some are out there trying to make the world a better place.
Rant over -- thanks.
another Mercury Retrograde
Here we go again. The MR started over the weekend, and as i mentioned (repeatedly) in March, all kinds of frustrations are likely to occur for three weeks, involving travel, communications, electronics, buying/selling, learning/teaching.... So hold on to your hats ... er, patience!
The secret to "surviving" a MR is to check and double-check EVERYTHING. Leave early, mail it registered, take an extra battery for your cellphone -- you get it.
On the other hand, retrogrades are good for some things. Old projects which are unfinished may get a new lease on life. You may run into old friends, or regenerate a relationship which you thought was over. Watching old movies and listening to old music will be particularly appealing, and nostalgia will be in the air.
Me, i'm going to be working on the renovations of my living room, which have been in process for YEARS. I have every confidence that it will work out well.
The secret to "surviving" a MR is to check and double-check EVERYTHING. Leave early, mail it registered, take an extra battery for your cellphone -- you get it.
On the other hand, retrogrades are good for some things. Old projects which are unfinished may get a new lease on life. You may run into old friends, or regenerate a relationship which you thought was over. Watching old movies and listening to old music will be particularly appealing, and nostalgia will be in the air.
Me, i'm going to be working on the renovations of my living room, which have been in process for YEARS. I have every confidence that it will work out well.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
yet another new beginning
All my socializing and gadding about seems to be over for awhile, so i start being perfect again tomorrow. I know, i know -- i meant to do this exact thing last week, but it was easier said than done. It's awfully hard to eat simply when someone else's tastes and appetites are to be considered too. Also, my husband likes to cook, and it's darned difficult not to eat what he prepares -- you can imagine....
I started being more disciplined today (yesterday we were the guests of some friends, and i was pretty wicked). We had bacon, scrambled duck eggs*, buttered paleo toast and coffee for brunch, and after i returned from taking him to the airport, i had my beef and decaf for dinner, then had the last glass of red wine in the carafe -- waste not, want not! Tomorrow it's back on the Strong Medicine regimen, because it controls hunger better than any means i know -- and having been corrupted with too many carbs over the past day or two, i BADLY need to get hunger back under control. Right now, i've got a pretty bad case of the munchies ... which i will NOT yield to!
Tomorrow it's to be all meat and coffee, and i have a treat lined up -- a pastured pork roast that should last me at least four meals. YUMMMMM! I can see the scales readings going down already!
_____
* it surprises me that duck eggs haven't become the new magical food in the paleo world -- they're marvelous things, containing more nutrients than chicken eggs ounce for ounce, and more yummy fat, too!
I started being more disciplined today (yesterday we were the guests of some friends, and i was pretty wicked). We had bacon, scrambled duck eggs*, buttered paleo toast and coffee for brunch, and after i returned from taking him to the airport, i had my beef and decaf for dinner, then had the last glass of red wine in the carafe -- waste not, want not! Tomorrow it's back on the Strong Medicine regimen, because it controls hunger better than any means i know -- and having been corrupted with too many carbs over the past day or two, i BADLY need to get hunger back under control. Right now, i've got a pretty bad case of the munchies ... which i will NOT yield to!
Tomorrow it's to be all meat and coffee, and i have a treat lined up -- a pastured pork roast that should last me at least four meals. YUMMMMM! I can see the scales readings going down already!
_____
* it surprises me that duck eggs haven't become the new magical food in the paleo world -- they're marvelous things, containing more nutrients than chicken eggs ounce for ounce, and more yummy fat, too!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
drugs and their rationale
"...To check healthy people’s blood to find deviations from normal is the freeway to unnecessary medication." (Uffe Ravnskov, MD PhD)
Does anybody but me think that it's weird to be constantly visiting doctors and testing things, when there is no feeling of illness prompting it? At what point were we brainwashed into thinking the "annual checkup" was for OUR benefit rather than for doctors' financial well-being? Could it have been around the time that the rich-office-practitioner golf-playing paradigm took over from the hard-working house-calling-country-doctor stereotype?
And do all the obsessive crossfitters, constantly reporting their lab values of this, that and the other thing REALLY go in for that many blood tests?
Honestly, the constant testing does tend to puzzle me. Maybe it's one of the few things they CAN do to add that little razzle-dazzle to the office procedure. "Ordering tests" sounds so important.... Besides weighing one, taking the blood-pressure, making one sit around barely covered for quarters of hours reading the fine print on framed documents to pass time, poking various tender portions of anatomy -- hmm, what can we do that will seem significant and will be simultaneously painful and expensive? I KNOW! We'll install a very fat needle under your skin and wiggle it in/out/side-to-side occasionally. At least it's not as humiliating as lying there with one's feet in aerial stirrups....
And to what end? So that some BigPharm-educated pusher can write yet another scrip and earn his kickback. Prescribing statins for women. Viagra for 80-somethings. What a joke.
It's amazing -- since i took charge of my own health a few years ago, i've NEVER been healthier. I don't get colds or flu worth mentioning -- maybe once or twice lightly in the last half-dozen years (and then, only when i've been around sick grandchildren). Worst i've ever felt since i went low-carb is when i've fallen off the wagon.
Remember the reputed quote from a retired Merck CEO -- that it was his dream to sell drugs to healthy people so that he might expand his market.... I for one am not going to cooperate with this travesty of "health care." Not going to give the pill-pushers a MODICUM of respect, because they've forfeited any claim to our good opinion.
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