The March of Progress

Alrighty then. Gosh I got so many great suggestions for plans!

I think I'm going to note all of these and from time to time, try this one or that one as a nice change from whatever I might have been doing before. I realized that since I got such great advice, I have plenty of future I can try things out in! You guys are great!

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For this month (3rd to 31st, 4 weeks), I chose one from Regina Wilshire of Weight of the Evidence (it was posted on my LC journal and on her own blog I think). Here are the bare bones basics of it:

For me and Ry both:

1. No counting detail nutrition. There are a few "broad" counts for minimums and maximums (in approx weight) but that's all.

2. Water as first drink. Other drinks only if the sweetener is liquid splenda instead of aspartame.

3. Liquid AS only; pref none or minimal for the kid.

For me:

1. Protein: About 22-24oz of animal-based protein a day. Plant proteins don't count. Meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, protein powder. Try to find free-range poultry, grass-fed beef, organic or at least omega-3 eggs-- eat what you have if something isn't workable; always use full-fat cheese.

2. Fat: Butter, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, macademia nut oil, meat drippings, sesame/walnut oil, mayo. Do try to make the butter organic, the coconut oil virgin, and the mayo homemade (or at least not junkie types), no bad-oil salad dressings. Every meal must have some added fats of some kind, totally about 1/4 cup a day.

3. Plants: 3 cups a day of non-starchy veggies. Up to 6 cups. Herbs/spices as desired. Options: up to 1 cup fruits (berries or tomatoes) but must be with some kind of protein/fat food. Up to 1/2 cup (4oz) nuts/seeds or butters (cashews/peanuts excluded, they aren't nuts). Up to 15 green/black olives a day; up to 1/2 avocado a day.

4. Dairy: no processed cheeses allowed. Preferably organic dairy. No more than 4oz per day which includes butter, cream, yogurt, cheese, etc.

5. Supplements: As noted. (Basic Multi 2x day. Vit D, Chromium Picolinate, Alpha Lipoic Acid, L-Carnitine, Omega Oils, Folic Acid (1 every other day), Co-Q10, Vit B.)

For Ry:

Same specs with these changes:

Protein is about 9oz; fruits same limit; nuts/butters 2oz max; veggies as many as she can eat; 2 multi, 2 Udo's daily, 1 Vit D every other day.


My tracking

Since it's requested I don't obsess on detail I won't, but I'll record what I eat daily and at the end of each week, post the week of menus.

My first day

My first day went ok I guess. I was kind of sick in the first part of the day so aside from sucking down half a gallon of water, I didn't eat. For dinner I had a rather big one, a stir fry using avocado oil that had chicken, veggies (broccoli, peppers, zucchini, with ginger and garlic), and my first attempt at a cauli-cheese-bake which did not come out very well frankly, but I ate some anyway. I ate too many veggies, though I still don't think I got 3 cups in. I mean sure it was way more than that when slicing/dicing, but by the time it cooked down, I probably only had about 2 cups and 1 cup of the cauli-stuff. I actually feel like I over-ate. All in all I've had nearly a gallon of water today; I had 1.5 cups of coffee with cream and SF DaVinci. No sodas since all my faves use aspartame and that's off limits. I'm certain I've exceeded the dairy allowance thanks to the cauli which was stuffed with butter and (apparently not enough) cheese, with sour cream on top. And I haven't yet done the supplements but will, we're winding down for bed here.

I spent like 3.5 hours in the kitchen all told tonight. Just cutting veggies takes a ton of time, but having to cook bacon (for the cauli-bake) and then all those veggies and then the chicken really took awhile. Every muscle in my body is tired (although this could be flu coming back again). I felt like an old woman "hobbling" by the time I was done!

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Thanks Regina! I can see already that getting enough veggies yet reducing dairy are going to be my biggest challenges. :-)

PJ