Liver Cleanse and Detox

It has been over three weeks since my last check in.  I have barely given any of this a thought in this time, except for continuing to eat as well as possible, get a walk in when I can and do the liver detox.

Pharmacy school took over once again, but now there's a little extra time for getting back on track with the daily stint on the elliptical plus a walk in the evenings with my dear and patient hubby.  I haven't weighed in, although sometime during last week I had a strong urge to, thinking I could easily be under 200 lb now.... but I didn't, I guess because I didn't want to know and think about it anymore, in case I was still just at 200 or had gained any.  I had way too much more on my mind to accomplish and study and I didn't want to be distracted as I would have felt compelled to write about it.

I am going to wait until this coming Monday morning to weigh in, but I wanted to take some time and describe the liver detoxification I am doing.  It's pretty low-key compared to some I've done in the past.  I figured since my diet is quite non-toxic as it is, that I needn't let go of even more things and that I could let the medical food do its thing.  I have started with the UltraClear medical food that Metagenics produces, and added their product AdvaClear to help promote the detoxification process.  I mix the UltraClear (2 scoops) with a mixture of 1/2 to 1 cup organic apple juice and 2 cups filtered charged water.  I shake it in a cool shaker bottle I bought at Vitamin Cottage.  At this point I'm at two servings of this each day.  My routine looks like this:  

Wake Up

Meditate

Cruise Moves for core, belly-flattening (eventually!) work

Breakfast with Richard before he goes to work, very low sugar, little carb plus our supplements

Work out for 30 minutes on elliptical or walk around the "block" a couple of times, around 30 min.

Shower

Drink a full glass of filtered and charged water with 2.5 tablespoons of psyllium husks

About an hour after that I drink my first UltraClear drink of the day.  The other is in the middle of the afternoon.  

Lunch is light, usually hummus and almond thins, or a salad, or sometimes 2-3 ounces of grain-fed, hormone free beef.

Snacks are generally nuts, or a string cheese, , blue corn chips with salsa, or sometimes a nibble of organic dark chocolate.  It depends on what I'm studying or working on.

Another snack is a mix of unsweetened chocolate Almond Breeze mixed with a scoop of Jay Robb's chocolate protein drink. 

Dinner tends to be quite light with a protein, maybe a carb and lots of vegetables.

We try to walk before dinner, at least around the mile long block.  Some nights we have a yummy no/low fat, sugar-free treat made with non-fat Greek yogurt mixed with matcha green tea powder and Barlean's flavored sweetened fish oils, either lemon or orange creme.    I will post this recipe soon.

I honestly have not been very hungry lately, and/or my attitude about food has shifted a little, maybe a lot.  Last week we barely had any solid food in the house, it seemed, and I was mostly ok with that, maybe because I had far too many things to do and take care of and was happy for the convenience of my liquid drinks and meals.

Anyhow, the things I have noticed while doing the UltraClear detox system is feeling calm, feeling clean, sleeping well most nights.  I feel as though my liver and gall bladder are getting the attention they've needed.  One of the main goals for starting it was to help with my monthly cycle at the suggestion of the acupuncturist I visited in August.  I would have to say that *maybe* it has helped, there was less pain, a bit more regularity, but this is the topic of a different blog.  I am going to continue the liver cleanse in this manner for at least a few more weeks to see if it will help further in this regard, but I feel, in terms of dietary cleansing it has served its purpose and I feel pretty darned good!

It's kind of interesting that in my latest order of Metagenics products as a practitioner that yesterday I was offered a special to purchase several liver detox packages for patients/customers, a $110 value for $80 (including the UltraClear medical meal plus the AdvaClear and a bag and nifty shaker bottle, and information pamphlets).  I went back and forth wondering how popular this would be with my current clientele and declined for the time being, however if I hear that people are interested, I will jump in and get several sets to provide to those who are interested in detoxification.

Random Check In: Sept 12

I decided to weigh in this morning with the thought that maybe I'd be under 200 lb.  Alas, I was at 200.4!  I'm not sure that scale knows how to register under 200 lb.  Seriously!  Anyhow, it DID give me hope that with a bit of extra effort this week that I could actually see a "1" rather than a "2" at the beginning of the number. 


I've been feeling pretty good, walking, and working out on the elliptical, eating well, although a lot of last week was a "cheat" week now and then.


I went to the doctor last week for a physical, and all of my "numbers" (cholesterol, liver enzymes, glucose, C-reactive protein, and anything else I have been concerned about in the past) were well within the normal ranges.  I was VERY happy about this.  I told the doctor that the food I eat is very healthy and I am very aware of it, and I exercise, etc.    She wondered if my frustration with not being able to get below 200 pounds might be a portion control thing, and since I'm over 40 my metabolism may have slowed WAY down.  Then she asked me about pharmacy school and how it was going, and she said that it could also be that the stress of school could be pumping cortisol and making me hang onto the weight, and that it is good to relax now and then (which I think I'm pretty good at, actually).  *sigh*  Anyway, I am not too dismayed.  I'm actually encouraged, somehow... and only 10 more pounds to lose until I'm not considered "obese".  I can smell it, I can feeeeeel it... (This was the main thing listed on my medical report last week.  I'd like to make that not an issue.) The doctor said that even an additional 10% loss will make a difference, and that will take me to a BMI of 28.  Right now I'm at a 31.3.  Obese.  The 10% loss since last year has already made a difference. Less Obese!


I have started an Ultra Clear liver cleanse to assist with the other issues I'm contending with - which could also be contributing to my hanging onto weight- (My Experiment in Healing), so have additional motivation to keep my diet clean-ish.  Today I've done 40 minutes on the elliptical, walked an extra mile, done a set of Jorge Cruise's Cruise Moves for abdominal work, and did 9 reps of each of the Five Tibetans.  

Onward ho!  
I'll be checking in next week with great results!

Results of the One Week Challenge

Weigh in: 200.8lb; total pounds lost this week: 3.0
Waist measurement, the Jorge Cruise way: 41 inches, so minus one inch.

I did not quite get under 200 lb, but that will be soon.  At one point this week I was at 200.4lb, and was hoping....:-)  Alas, that is the pitfall of weighing more often than once each week, is seeing the natural weight fluctuations.


Despite the weight loss and inch lost, I cannot see the extreme of this diet being practical for brain usage and overall energy.  Not once this past week did I feel a huge energy burst, or a day where my muscles didn't feel fatigued.  Some days were better than others, but no day was super-charged.  Plus we were sleeping 9-10 hours each night.  Richard is ecstatic to be able to have carbs and "free" vegetables and Zevias.  In fact he just strutted in, with a big grin on his face, holding a Zevia, and announced, "Look what's FREE!"  Now he's sucking it down.  Happy boy!


We are planning to keep our sugar grams under 20, which will naturally reduce carbs for me, and our fat grams under 60 for me, and 85 for him.  We are also tracking our protein to make sure we get enough.  I have to keep it simple, as my time is going to be very limited for focus on this as classes begin this week.  We also decided, and I'm not sure if I mentioned this yesterday, that we are planning to have one meal each week where we don't have to track anything.  We are going to continue the "Cruise Moves" (the 8 minute workout each morning that is for toning and strength training), and continue our walking and my elliptical-ling. 


I fully expect to be under 200 pounds next Monday morning.  It's time, and on this plan, I'm sure it is more than possible. 

So, now,

Day 7, Most Importantly: LAST DAY of the One Week Challenge...

...also known as "Sugar Awareness Week".  

We are already stoked for shifting our eating plan tomorrow to include more natural sugars and carbs, especially Richard who dearly needs them.  My oldest son (a PhD student/candidate in neuroscience at Harvard) reminded me today, too, that the brain can only use glucose for energy, and if it's not there, that could cause a problem.   He thought it was crazy to count the sugars in vegetables, that cinched it for me.  With full time pharmacy school starting in three days, glucose is back in. 

We have a plan, that yes, involves counting total sugar grams (maximum 20 grams), but we are not going to count the sugar or carbs from vegetables (or psyllium!!!)  We are going to return to our healthy carb regimen we were on before, and with more awareness of how much we are eating.  I am going to be more aware of my serving sizes with the carbs, limiting to some extent, as I am still working to reduce poundage, and Richard will be free to eat what he feels is right for him.  We can breathe a sigh of relief.  Ahhhhhhhhh.


I developed a check list for each of us, because our dietary goals are different from each other, as are our diets (with my eating (grass-fed, hormone-free and lean) red meat, in fact now prescribed by the acupuncturist/nutritionist and Richard's (pesca)vegetarianism).  We can each check off 20 grams of sugar each day, up to 60 grams of fat for me, and 85 grams of fat for Richard, and AT LEAST 80 grams of protein for me, and 100 grams of protein for Richard.  


We ARE going to continue with the morning toning exercises for abdominal, upper body and lower body Monday through Friday, because we think that's a good thing to add in, and seems reasonable to put into our morning routine.  And we plan to continue walking (and I will do my elliptical), and meditation, and living peacefully.

Today's menu looked like this:
Breakfast:  Mediterranean Omelet (as in previous posts), no carbs
Snack: 
Lunch:  Roasted chili pepper bake (with egg beaters and mozzarella), I had a piece of gluten-free toast with olive oil
Snack:  Matcha green tea frapuccino (protein powder with stevia, matcha green tea, unsweetened Almond Breeze) and strawberries with nonfat plain yogurt with stevia.
Dinner:  Me: hormone free steak; Him:  Fish?  tofu?  and something to fulfill our remaining carb serving(s) of the week, some arugula salad with shaved Parmesan and homemade dressing (red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic) .  It looks like we will be splitting the remaining Almond Butter Cup (unless I make some more tonight - this was another good thing to come out of this experiment!)

Tomorrow is the official weigh-in for the One-week Challenge, and I'm sure I've lost weight; we will see about the inches.

Days Five and Six of Sugar Awareness Week

Yesterday went smoothly, although we did not do our four mile walk.  Neither of us has had abundant energy since beginning this One Week Challenge, and after all of the body and energy work I'd had the previous three days, it was time to take a break.  Today I moved my middle son into his dorm, which involved lifting and carrying on a day that is supposed to be a "break" day from the 8 minute exercise plan - oh well.


Yesterday's menus looked like this:
Breakfast: Chili Relleno Bake (essentially home-roasted Anaheim peppers sprinkled with a bit of low-fat Mexican-style cheese and a combo of whole eggs and egg whites whisked with some baking powder and salt and pepper).
Snack: Chocolate Protein Powder shake with unsweetened almond breeze
Lunch:  More Chili Relleno Bake
Snack: low-fat, hormone-free mozzarella cheese stick, and 2 Almond Butter Cups since I could spare the carb servings (Recipe for Almond Butter Cups)
Dinner: 4 ounces of delicious pan-fried steak (Richard had marinated tofu), spring greens with a bit of parmesan cheese and homemade red wine vinegar dressing, and some strawberries and blueberries with an ounce or two of nonfat plain yogurt sweetened with stevia.

Today:
Breakfast:  2 blue cornmeal pancakes with stevia-sweetened maple syrup
strawberries and blueberries with an ounce of non-fat plain yogurt with stevia
Snack: Chocolate whey protein powder shake with unsweetened chocolate Almond Breeze
Lunch: (out with son at Egg & I) veggie fritatta (no mushrooms, no green peppers, no toast, no English muffin, and no potatoes - this made it is "free" Sugar/Carb meal, and it was very satisfying this way.
Snack:  Matcha green tea frappuccino (Match green tea with stevia blended with unsweetened plain Almond Breeze and Vanilla protein powder shake (Jay Robb- sweetened with stevia).
Plus we cannot forget our daily Almond Butter Cup allotment!
Dinner:  looks like it's going to be some roasted Anaheim peppers, mixed with some combo of cheese and corn tortillas (enough to make our carbs count, but not over-count), and probably a salad, too.


I do have to say, that on this diet, we have increased our saturated fat intake (cheese, a little bit of cream in the first frapuccino (Day 1), which can be tough on cholesterol levels, so I/we are thinking when we come to modifying our intake in light of sugar content of foods, we will be searching for a happier intake of types of fats. 


Having said all of that, I did sneak a peak at the scale this morning, and am at 200.4 pounds, which means that I've lost 3.4 lb in the last five days following this eating plan and doing the 8 minute exercises each morning.  We'll see on Monday what the grand total is and the difference from last week's waist measurement, and maybe I'll actually be under 200 lb, probably for the first time in several years.  That would be pretty cool (as would seeing it decrease more and more!)

Day Four: One-Week Challenge aka "Sugar Awareness Week"

"Challenge" is a good word.  When four spears of asparagus (yes, that is FOUR SPEARS) count for two of your daily SIX allotted Carb servings, and 1 of your 15 Sugars, then that's a serious challenge.  

As Richard and I walked this morning, we agreed that after this "Challenge" week is over, that we needn't count any of our vegetables as Carb servings.  He is really feeling the lack of carbs, as he has always had a fast metabolism, and naturally needs more food.  I keep offering for him to increase his carbs, but he insists he's going to complete the challenge "as is".  I even just offered him my last Carb, and he rejected it.  

I made a visit to a new (to me) acupuncturist, who, after a thorough intake and constitutional assessment, highly suggested that I eat grass-fed, hormone-free red meat (which will work well with this Belly Fat Diet, thankfully), but she also recommended greatly restricting the gluten-free breads and processed foods (which we've also been doing anyway due to the carb and sugar content of all breads, we clearly have to make every carb count with this).  She suggests following more of a "paleo" type diet, restricting refined carbs and keeping fat intake moderate.   Obviously that is going to take a bit more research and planning.  She was very much "for" my becoming sugar-aware, and was in agreement with the craziness of the nitpicky details of the Belly Fat Cure.  

Having said all that, we trudge ahead, even with our lower energy levels.  We like the protein shakes and reducing our sugar intake, and will likely take those two aspects with us into our future plan.  The acupuncturist also encouraged strength training, which we have introduced into our daily life through the Belly Fat Cure, so will likely move that forward and increase it with our new plan as well.  She is very much for our starting up tai chi and/or yoga again to help with daily life balance and keeping our energy flowing.

We are past the half-way point, just days 5, 6, and 7 to go.  We will see what results come from this week.  As of today I'd lost 0.8 pounds, so I have a way to go to the 4-9 pounds in one week "promised" with the Belly Fat Cure.  Perhaps if my diet was completely horrible and I didn't move regularly, this 4-9 pound loss would be attainable in one week.  But a big part of me is thinking that rate of weight loss is simply unhealthy. 

Day Three of One Week Challenge

Today, since I knew I was going to to be out and about most of the day, I packed my lunch, drinks and snacks.  The day started out with a fairly big breakfast including another Mediterranean omelet with the usual "free" veggies, a slice of gluten-free toast with olive oil and my bowl of fruit and yogurt (getting the Sugar counts in early in the day, so I could use them to get through the day - I learned from yesterday's fatigue!)   I packed a couple of mozzarella cheese sticks, a small container of tuna, and lots of celery with a dab of almond butter on each one.   I also included about 1/4 cup of roasted pumpkin seeds and a Virgil's Diet Root Beer (sweetened with stevia).  This seemed to hold me through the day all right.  I was pretty hungry when I got home, and Richard had prepared a light dinner for us that included some hummus with endive, and guacamole and 15 blue corn chips and a chocolate protein drink mixed into some unsweetened Almond Breeze.  Of course we had to each have an Almond Butter Cup afterwards.  Yum. 

Richard's pretty tuckered out, as am I.  We are a bit challenged by the fact that we need to limit our servings of fish each week to help decrease the amount of mercury we ingest.  Richard is a vegetarian who eats fish, so it looks like we need to look into some tofu options to increase our protein intake, along with the protein shakes we drink every day.  Everything I've read about greatly decreasing sugar in the diet is that it is supposed to increase your energy... maybe we are going through a natural process of fatigue as our bodies realize that it doesn't have free access to sugar anymore.


We're still in it, I continue to give Richard an "out" if he's not feeling well, but he plugs away with me, meticulously accounting for those Sugar grams and Carb counts.  Also, I notice that we are not getting to the 15 grams of Sugar every day, even if we eat 6 servings of Carbs, so maybe if we made sure we get all 15 grams that would help energy-wise.   

We did just a short walk around the neighborhood, about a mile, and it felt good.  Not much else to report here, except I am looking forward to seeing what results show up on Monday after all of this accounting of sugar and carbs, plus those crazy "mini" toning workouts every morning.   Maybe I will sneak a peak at the scale tomorrow morning, maybe not.  :-)

Day Two of the One Week Challenge - ow!

Ok, I can barely move!  I felt great this morning, if a little hungry, and eagerly did my seemingly simple upper body exercises for the prescribed 8 minutes.  However, we just returned from our four mile walk, which was a challenge, because I not only felt the effects of yesterday's 8 minutes of abs work, but also today's arm workout, plus I think my body suddenly realized that it hasn't had any significant sugar in over 24 hours, and it may not (likely!) get significant sugar in the near future. 


Richard and I agreed (AND pinky swore) that psyllium husks are NOT going to count as a Carb serving for us on our plan. We have only 6 Carb servings each day to work with. It just seems so silly that something that provides so much extra beneficial fiber and is nasty to drink, has to count against our total carb count.  It is highly unlikely that I am going to get a severe craving for psyllium husks or even become a closet psyllium husk eater, so I think we are safe with this slight modification.  I did tell Richard that if we end up gaining weight and/or belly inches, that we will have to go right back to counting the psyllium husks as a Carb serving.


We also made our yummy green tea (matcha) frappuccino after our walk, but without the 1/2 cup per serving of heavy cream from yesterday's drink.  This is definitely preferable, I simply substituted some unsweetened Almond Breeze, and it was a much lighter drink than yesterday, so hopefully we won't have that sluggish feeling (if I'd even notice it with the recovering muscle aches) that I had last night.  I also planned ahead and pre-made and cooled the matcha green tea drink, which takes awhile to cool down before it can be blended successfully into a cold and refreshing beverage.  This way we could have it more immediately after our walk.


When I awakened this morning, I had a sensation of belly fat melting, my muscles, especially my abdominal muscles seemed to be heated up.  Let's hope so!


We both chose to not have a piece of toast with our breakfast this morning, to save the precious Carb serving for later in the day.  I also made an experimental recipe of almond butter cups (Recipe: Almond Butter Cups) that will count for 1 Carb serving, and no Sugar (I have a particular weakness for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (21 grams of sugar and 25 grams of carbs) so am hoping to create an alternative I can live with).

I am going to need to plan ahead for tomorrow since I'm going to be on the road for most of the day at various appointments. I plan to pack all of my food which will include snacks, drinks and lunch.  

Today's Menu looked like this:
Breakfast: Mediterranean omelet (spinach, kalamata olives, garlic sauteed in olive oil, served inside cooked eggs with feta cheese and fresh basil) no toast, hot green matcha tea, water


Snack:  Unsweeteened Almond Breeze with a scoop of chocolate whey protein (Jay Robb); two tablespoons of roasted pumpkin seeds


Lunch: tuna melts on Udi's whole grain gluten-free bread.  (Tuna mixed with mustard and mayonnaise, topped with part-skim mozzarella cheese and alfalfa sprouts and 1/4 sliced avocado)


Snack: Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino (Unsweetened Almond Breeze, 1 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder (Jay Robb), match green tea with stevia, ice cubes.
Fruit:  strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries with goat yogurt and a bit of stevia


Dinner:  Huevos Rancheros (Richard is foregoing his corn tortilla, which counts as a Carb serving (no sugar), since he had a Zevia earlier in the day) eggs, bit of cheese, a couple tablespoons of black beans, tomatillo salsa and a corn tortilla softly cooked in light oil, for me, and a salad on the side which this week we are making our way through arugula and spinach, tossed with a little shaved parmesan cheese - mmmmm, tasty!


After dinner snack:  1 Almond Butter Cup


Yum!  Hopefully I will be able to move easily tomorrow when I awaken!  Burn, Baby, Burn! (Says me to my belly fat!)

Stephanie's Low Carb Almond Butter Cups

Low Carb Almond Butter Cups

serves 12

Made in one mini-muffin pan (12 muffin cups)

Ingredients for chocolate shell:
8 ounce bag of Hershey's sugar-free chocolate chips (sweetened with maltilol, no sucralose)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Filling Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
1/4 cup protein powder (sweetened with stevia, not sucralose, i.e. Jay Robb Vanilla Whey Protein Powder)
dash of salt

Instructions:
1) Melt chocolate chips at very low heat, ensuring they do not burn, or separate.
 Stir in vanilla and salt.
2) While chocolate is melting, mix together the almond butter, almond meal/flour, vanilla protein powder, and dash of salt until dough easily forms into balls, add more protein powder if it is too sticky, add more almond butter if it is too dry.
3) Put heaping tablespoon of melty chocolate into the mini muffin tin.  If thick enough, push up the sides of each space.
4) Form almond butter dough into 12 equal balls.  Push each one into the center of the chocolate, and push the top of each ball so that it's flat.
5) Chill the entire mini muffin pan in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour.
6) Remove from refrigerator and run hot water over the bottom of the pan for a few seconds.
7) Using a thin knife to insert at the edge of one of the cups to see if the cup can be turned and easily popped out.  It may need another few seconds of heating the bottom of the pan under hot water.

In the entire recipe (all 12 servings), there is a total of 89 grams of carbohydrates, and 7 grams of sugar. 
Each serving contains: 7.42 grams of carbs, so one Carb serving in the Belly Fat Cure, and 0.58grams of Sugar.  (<0.5grams of sugar is not counted at a Sugar)  Most of the sugar comes from the almond butter, so that could be reduced, to some degree, to make each serving less than 0.5grams of sugar)  Of course if you have two, you have to count the Sugar.  :-)

Day One Update 8-8-11

Update on our plan, and foods discovered:


The day was successful.  It is quite eye-opening to discover just how much sugar is in our usual healthy foods.  For example, for 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, we had to count 2 Sugars.  Rice wine vinegar would have cost none, but I didn't have any on hand for the dressing I was making with the olive oil and garlic.  1/4 cup of brown rice has 38 grams of carbs, which count for 2 of the 6 Carb servings we are allowed each day.  It's only a 1/4 of a cup, which is not much, but good to remember when it comes to portions eating out.  


I tried the green tea frappuccino recipe in Jorge Cruise's Belly Fat Cure book, he calls it the "Energize Me Green Tea" with only 1 Sugar count and one Carb serving count, and I'm not sure where he's coming up with either.  It's meant to be a replacement for Starbucks "Belly Bad" Tazo Green Tea Frappuccino Blended Creme beverage (at 69 whopping grams of sugar for their "lightly sweetened" version.)  Yikes! This healthier recipe contains a total of 1/2 cup of heavy cream per serving, which is a LOT more saturated fat than we are accustomed to.  It definitely creamed up the drink, and the product was mighty tasty, but Richard and I agree that it was a bit too heavy, and it would probably be just as good with the unsweetened Almond Breeze instead.  The recipe calls for Jay Robb Vanilla Whey Protein Powder which would help thicken it up a bit even without the heavy cream.  It was a good experiment though.  I will definitely feel better about it without the thick cream.  Regardless, even with that thick rich drink we managed to stay within our 15 grams of Sugar and 6 Carb servings.  


We found a little challenge with getting Sugar counts without Carb serving counts, because everything we'd had in the day until that point had both.  We solved that by having berries (strawberries, blueberries and blackberries) with enough goat yogurt to count for Sugar but not Carb servings.  

On that note, we were a little dismayed to find out that our stevia-sweetened drinks (like Zero Vitamin Water and Sobe-life water) also contain maltilol, a sugar alcohol, so they each contain 1 Carb serving, even if they don't count in the sugar counts.  so, those will have to be incorporated carefully. We were, however, delighted to discover that the Virgil's Diet Root Beer and Diet Cola are sweetened only with stevia, so count for no sugar grams and NO carb servings.  Hooray!


Even our psyllium husks count for a Carb serving, if we take the full 2 1/2 tablespoons.  So, since I was out of Carb servings, I took only 1 Tablespoon, which kept the total grams of carbs at 4 grams, so zero servings, and I still got some beneficial additional fiber.


We walked our delightful route into and through town and around our local lake.  It was a gorgeous day, and I feel very good about our first day of the challenge.

One-week Challenge!

We started Jorge Cruise's One-Week Challenge today.  Richard is joining me in this, so he measured his waist (which is, of course within the right circumference for his height).  We measured according to Jorge's recommendation, at belly button level, parallel to the ground, and sucking in as much as possible.  This is in contrast to the way I've been measuring which is with relaxed belly, and no sucking in, but still at belly button level. 


My waist circumference measured this way is 42 inches (my goal circumference is 33.5 inches - which is half my height in inches - the general rule of thumb for women is <35 inches, and for men is <40 inches).  I weighed in the morning at 203.4lb (so have lost a lb this past week.)


The One-week Challenge of the Belly Fat Cure is to eat 15 or fewer grams of sugar per day, plus limit our servings of carbohydrates to 6 each day.  One serving is 5-20grams, Two is 21-40g, Three is 41-60g.


We started our morning with Jorge's 8 minute belly flattening exercises, which we are adding to the challenge.  He prescribes belly toning exercises on Mondays, Wednesday, and Friday, upper body exercises on Tuesdays, and lower body on Thursdays.


Then we ate our delicious breakfast of a Mediterranean omelet (we used Egg Beaters since that's all we had on hand because a couple of the college boys were home for the weekend).  I am now used to cooking our eggs in olive oil (I've done this for over a decade) so did not cook them in butter as Jorge suggested.  I used kalamata olives, spinach, green onion, and garlic as the veggies (all "free" of countable sugars and carbs), as well as feta cheese (also no counts for sugar or carbs) and a couple fresh basil leaves from my herb garden.  One slice of Udi's Whole Grain Gluten-Free toast (1 gram of sugar and 1 carb count), drizzled with a tsp of garlic olive oil accompanied our eggs.  Richard makes the best stevia matcha lattes using matcha powder, unsweetened plain Almond Breeze (also "free"), and stevia to sweeten, in our cappuccino maker.  It's a good start!


So far, it's not that much different than our usual breakfast, except where we might have had two slices of toast, we agreed we'd have only one, considering the sugar/carb content, even though it's pretty low for that particular bread.  Also instead of using red peppers, which do count in the sugar and carb total, I used the "free" veggies: spinach, garlic, green onion.

Snacks that are free of sugar and countable carbs that I am going to implement today:  celery stick with natural (no added sugar) almond butter, and a whey protein shake mixed in with unsweetened chocolate Almond Drink. For lunch we plan to have tuna sandwiches on low-carb gluten-free bread, and dinner is going to be tuna steaks with a salad and healthy carbs (brown rice, etc.) as we have any allotted left.

We will likely go on our usual four mile walk into town and around the lake today, and have done a lesson in A Course in Miracles.  I am attempting to keep EFT in mind as or if any sugar cravings arise, so I can tap them out and move on happily.


Looking forward to feeling even better and better, and am excited to see how much sugar has been an issue, even with our pretty healthy current diets. 

To Great Health and an Energized Day! 

Belly Fat

Awhile ago my husband told me about a show he watched where Wayne Dyer was talking about an eating plan where you could eat only 20 g of sugar each day, along with other nutritional foods like protein, vegetables, and complex carbs, with the result of quickly losing extra belly fat.  I have kept this in the back of my mind since he told me about it, always thinking that 20 grams of sugar is not very much, and it must be pretty hard to stick to something like that.

As it turns out, it is The Belly Fat Cure, which allows only 15 grams of sugar, including the natural sugars in fruits and vegetables, so doesn't allow much extra anything in terms of sweets, unless one uses products with my favorite sweetener, Stevia.  I am aware that most of the world is already aware of this eating plan before I am  (even with Richard's knowledge of it) due to my lack of interest in commercial television and ads of any kind.  Suddenly I am aware of all aspects of the Belly Fat Cure because it seems like a reasonable path on which to experiment since one of my recent decisions is to cut any extra and hidden sugars from my diet.  I ordered three of his books that describe the eating plan, and so far, have been very impressed with Jorge Cruise's presentation of the data, and his ability to make it sound "simple".  In his book, The Belly Fat Cure: Discover the New Carb Swap System, I have enjoyed his visuals for foods and items that are good for your belly (those that help reduce belly fat) "Belly Good", and those that increase belly fat, therefore "Belly Bad".  Examples below: 

Our beloved Zevia soda is on the Belly Good side, all other sodas on the Belly Bad

Belly Good items include most of the items we have already switched over to, including gluten-free bread items

Belly Bad: all added sugars and artificial, man-made sweeteners; Belly Good: Stevia products

Healthier chip and snack items on the Belly Good side, and traditional, even Baked Lay's! on the Belly Bad side

 One of the books I bought is Jorge Cruise's 8 Minute a Day exercises specific to reduce belly fat.  Since this is the key area where I store extra fat, this plan seems to make sense.  I will continue my aerobic and cardiovascular workouts, but will add these toning exercises in. I can accommodate my wheat-free status with this plan, and my desire to decrease saturated fats (even though he doesn't emphasize this in his plan), and really become aware of the hidden sugars in everything I eat.  Our plan is to begin full force Monday and give the plan a whirl, the One Week Challenge, and meanwhile through the weekend, continue to observe and investigate the sugar content of the foods we eat normally, and decide how we are going to modify them further.  I am excited that there are more and more stevia-based products on the market from which to choose, and that this plan looks doable.  I will check in Monday morning with the stats (the main measurement for this is the waist circumference, but I will also be tracking my weight), and more of our plan.  We have prepared by doing our grocery shopping for next week to have on hand the food and items we will need to be successful.  Two of my boys will be home from college this weekend, and we want to remain flexible, food-wise while they are around.

It is pretty exciting to think that stevia is getting this amazing promotion.  This is one of the most exciting aspects of this discovery for me.

Stevia Syrups Have Arrived!!

I have been waiting for stevia syrups to replace the Splenda-sweetened syrups I'd been using in my coffee and almond drink lattes.  I haven't had many latts this summer because we finished up the syrups on hand, and I didn't want to order more, even if they were yummy.  I was also getting Splenda in my Joint Juice for a few months last fall, and quit Joint Juice for that reason, and take my glucosamin and chondrointin in tablet form.    I've also found a stevia maple-flavored syrup, which is still in transit, so I haven't tried it yet, it's traveling with Richard's stevia cherry-flavoring for his "cola" products.

I am sipping on my first Stevia Chocolate Raspberry (Almond) Latte at the moment, and I have to say... not bad!  I am really hoping that Sweet leaf or Now or someone will come up with a Stevia pumpkin flavoring as fall and winter approach.  That will be Heavenly!

Monday Morning Check-In (Knee Braces and a New-ish Plan)

As I contemplate my next plan of action, I went ahead and weighed in this morning, and was 204.4 lb, and 45% body fat. This is about where I thought I was.  Still about 15 lb less than this time last summer, so this is better than the same, or even 15 lb more.  No reason to feel frustrated with how little it seems, even though that's an easy route for me to take.  Today (well, likely Friday since we are going out of town with friends for a couple days and I need enjoying and planning time) is a new day for a new plan and a great starting point.  I'll get back to the plan shortly.

I was measured later in the day for my new lateral unloader knee braces for both knees.  I am very excited about these since they are designed to separate the area of each of my knees so the bones do not rub on each other (where cartilage is missing and severe arthritis has taken its place) as I walk.  There's a dial I can adjust on each brace that modifies the distance the my bones are separated to accommodate for steepness of stairs and hikes.  So, potentially better workouts on my hikes, etc.  I'm ready to give them a try, as I am very frustrated with pain in my body with simple movements that restrict much of my activity for years and years, decades even.

My main question to the brace fitter was about losing weight (feeling optimistic!) and the braces still fitting, and she did say that I will likely need to replace them after each 20 pounds of weight lost since they are made specifically for my legs and knees and current weight.  She said that Kaiser would be likely to cover the 80% of the cost of a replacement set as long as they have documentation of my weight loss.  Some of that seems ironic to me as one of the recommendations from the orthopedist is to lose weight, along with trying the braces, and trying the hyaluronic gel injections, but it's possible they wouldn't cover the 80% if weight is lost and it's not documented?  Anyhow, I'm not concerned about the documentation as I seem to be at Kaiser pretty frequently now.  20% of the brace charge seems like a small price to pay every 20 pounds for the benefits of the braces and added benefit of weighing less and putting less weight on the joints.  I will obtain these little miracle workers in a couple of weeks.

 Meanwhile, in light of my goal or experiment with helping heal the underlying (and hopefully overlying) issues of uterine fibroids (story is here: An Experiment in Healing), and the success of my eliminating wheat and wheat products in late May, I am going to further modify my diet to eliminate sugar and most dairy.  This seems the simplest route to take as I need to keep it simple with pharmacy classes beginning in a few weeks. I will still eat fruits, especially those packed with nutrients like blueberries and strawberries, but anything that has added sugar of any kind will not be included.  Similar with the dairy products, pretty much the only dairy I'll be eating is the non-fat unsweetened yogurt I already consume.  Eliminating wheat has been challenging, but doable.  It is VERY difficult to control what wheat I consume when dining out, and I know the same is true for sugars (and salt!). So, one obvious solution is to eat out less often, as fun as it is, plus that will help relieve the "budget" to buy quality organic foods so that what I do put in my body is of the best quality I can find. By eliminating these three items, I pretty much eliminate whatever processed foods were left in my diet (there weren't many left), so this is extremely helpful for the immune system and preventing those kinds of toxins from getting in.  That one is in my control, vs. other environmental toxins that are less in my control.  A recent workshop presenter suggested diet-wise:  if it doesn't have a mother or come from the ground, don't eat it.... For some reason I feel highly motivated and excited about this, mainly, I think because I'm ready to feel good and better and better now that I have some answers about what has been causing my pain and things I can do about it. 

And it's not that I have a horrible diet, in fact, compared to he majority of Americans it's way on the healthy side of the continuum of healthy diets, however there are still foods that I consume that have deleterious effects on my health, so that's the part I'm looking at, and am hoping/planning to continue to lose weight. And perhaps there's a way to still have those foods that are so appealing, but on a limited basis, and to check in with their specific effects on my body.  The wheat elimination was significant to the point that I have successfully avoided it almost for the sole reason to not feel deep burning pain in my joints and discomfort all over my body from the swelling and inflammation. 

My ramble comes to a close.  I will be checking in more frequently than I have this summer, so as to keep myself going and going.  Life is short!  The time to feel good is NOW!

Update 7-31-2011

The nature of this blog is going to shift a bit in conjunction with a health issue I am working with, which is being addressed in this blog:  An Experiment in Healing. The short story is that the last few months, weight-wise, have been frustrating, not losing, even gaining a little (hovering around 205 lb), even though remaining active and watching most of what I eat, and even eliminating wheat from my diet these last two months.  Two things have been adding to the weight stabilization and/or gain, and those are the existence of growing fibroid tumors and taking progesterone (which I will be discontinuing with Dr. consent at the end of the week). 

With my new awareness of the fibroids, I plan to modify my diet even further, and I'll explain that soon, to aid with either helping with decreasing the size of the fibroids and the symptoms they are causing, and/or to aid in optimizing my health if surgery is still called for in mid-December, so that the procedure runs more smoothly and recovery is optimized.  Through the other blog I will be exploring the awareness on all levels I gain as I explore the different healing aspects specific to fibroid tumors and the healing modalities I choose to utilize during the next several months. 

I hope you will join me over there, too.
More details soon, but for now I must take my leave.

Parasite Cleanse Information

Here is the protocol for the program Dr. Mikio Sankey presented in Crestone, Colorado at one of his few public appearances.

More information can also be found in his book called Support the Mountain. 

 

PARASIDAL FORMULA CLEANSE

Phase 1 Take 2 capsules twice daily for 4-6 weeks, increase to 3 caps twice daily if needed in between meals.

Phase 2  Repeat Phase 1 again to really be thorough.

What to eliminate while cleansing:

Dairy, Meat, Sugars (organic fruit is ok, no processed sugar.  If you need sweet, use blackstrap molasses and manuka honey) and Alcohol

Caffeine (coffee, alcohol, sodas, black tea)

What to have during cleansing:

Eat as light as possible and as raw as possible to ease the stress of digestion on your body.

Lots of greens

Raw and unprocessed foods

Sprouted grains

Organic fruits and vegetables

Juicing of celery, cabbage, and more greens

Lots of pure water (use Flanaghan’s Crystals if you can)

This can be a huge change of diet and lifestyle.  Please be mindful and stick to the program as much as possible to really shake the parasites.  It is important to start with two capsules twice daily and then increase the dosage to three or four capsules twice daily (6-8 capsules) for maximum effect.  Parasites will replicate themselves very quickly and a new colony can emerge in a few weeks.  Please complete the bottle once you begin.  Some have reported that after taking rounds of antibiotics, the parasites became dormant but were not expelled with medication.  If left untreated, they will worsen your condition and the discomfort will intensify.

Enjoy:

·         Moving your body daily

·         Walking and enjoying the scenery

·         Drinking more water and less sweet and caffeinated drinks (do it for your kidneys!)

·         Feeling relaxed and less agitated

·         Having better quality sleep

·         Cleaning out the house, garage, closets, and getting rid of unwanted things

·         Becoming more clear in all of your relationships and having stronger boundaries

·         Eliminating unconscious actions and replacing them with intention filled actions

·         Having more compassion for yourself and others

·         Creating a GRATITUDE LIST to remind yourself daily of all the GOOD things in life

·         Feeling ready to proceed with the next stage of cleansing:  Support the Mountain Parasidal Formula

CRAMPS – If you experience cramps then reduce your dosage.  There are no known side effects from using the whole herb in this premium organic vegan herbal formula.  Positive signs reported are less bloating, increase of energy and weight loss.

SKIN – Rashes are common during this time as the body will try to eliminate toxins through the pores.  Do no to scratch or irritate the skin, simply take a warm Epson salt bath and use apple cider vinegar to help dry out the affected area.  Be kind to yourself and wear cotton and breathable material.  Drink plenty of water and remember to rest, sweat, and sauna as much as possible.

NO NOs –What not to have while you are cleansing:  dairy, meat, sugars, alcohol, caffeine (coffee, sodas, black tea).  You will want to eat as light as possible and as raw as possible to ease the stress of digestion on your body.

SLEEP and SILENCE – Sleep is vital at this time and if you feel the need to be silent or sleep, please honor that.  Ideally, we cleanse in the high mountains and walk in the forests and live on the earth, but for most of us, that is not the case, so create a little sanctuary where you feel safe and can retreat to.  Turn off the TV and outside media and really focus on what messages are coming to you.  Simply write them down and release them.  The point of cleansing is to release and to not be burdened or attached to the messages.  We are shaking your foundation which can be unnerving and uncomfortable, but you know that you are very much loved.

May you go through your cleanse with the optimism and innocence of a child.

2011 Healthy Body and EFT: Wheat-free Ponderings and Possible Cleanse

2011 Healthy Body and EFT: Wheat-free Ponderings and Possible Cleanse: "I am now back to 202.8lb, so down 5.4lb from that super swollen weigh-in two weeks ago. Ever since I reported the next day that the severe ..."

Wheat-free Ponderings and Possible Cleanse

I am now back to 202.8lb, so down 5.4lb from that super swollen weigh-in two weeks ago.  Ever since I reported the next day that the severe burning joint pain was gone, it has remained so, and I am grateful.  I have eaten no wheat for two weeks, and very little refined sugar.  I was exercising regularly until I caught a cold/strep at the family reunion last week, since then I've most been in bed with no appetite, so I'm sure that has helped a bit, although part of my recent diet has included Menchee's frozen non-fat yogurt and some delicious raw honey, all for throat soothing purposes.  Today I'm hoping to stroll a bit to get my lymph moving again; I will also do a focused colorpuncture treatment on myself to obtain lymph draining effects.

I toy with the idea of a cleanse and summer is a good time to do it.  It would probably be helpful to help clear out the remainder of this lingering illness (along with continued journaling and expressing).  I've done a few cleanses in the past.  The parasite cleanse with Dr. Mikio Sankey's parasite cleanse herbs and clean diet was exceptionally helpful for gaining clarity and insight, and removing both physical and emotional toxicities.  If I wanted to explore more of the diet-related allergy related toxicities, I might pursue the cleanse in The False Fat Diet, which is an elimination diet, for awhile, and then add foods back into the diet one by one while noting any reactions, such as congestion, or digestive issues, etc.  There is also the liver/gallbladder cleanse or the Ultra Clear liver cleanse.  I am leaning, at this moment, toward the parasite cleanse since I can still eat a healthy and clean diet, and I have the herbs on hand.  My brain and mind a slowly coming back on board from the illness knockout, so soon I'll be able to decide if this is appropriate for me, and then take action.

As for the wheat sensitivity, I am both excited and dismayed to have isolated one of the culprits of the severe joint pain I was experiencing.  Excited because the pain is virtually gone, and I know what caused it, and dismayed because wheat can be a difficult thing to eliminate from the diet and avoid in the general public.  When we were in the Tetons last week, eating out at one of the resort lodges, I was excited to obtain their gluten-free menu, and super excited when I saw that they had sandwiches available made with Udi's whole grain gluten-free bread.   Udi's is a bakery in Denver, and I often consume their ready-made fresh sandwiches and delicious salads purchased from local health food stores.  They now have a restaurant in Arvada (and other places around Colorado), which we are looking forward to trying.  Thankfully, companies like Udi's are making these products which saves me lots of bread-making experimental time that I can focus on other creative endeavors.  For more about Udi's check out: Udi's Food.  

At the reunion I worked around the wheat thing by making sure I had enough non-wheat foods to gnaw on.  My main intention for the trip was to stay within the DASH diet guidelines, and remain wheat-free.  I made lasagna for the reunion, with the whole kit-n-kaboodle of wheat noodles, eggs, cheese, sausage, etc., which is one of my favorite recipes, however it doesn't work for those of us who are wheat-free, or those of us who are meat-free, like Richard.  

My solution for lasagna night:  quinoa spiral noodles (I was on a big search for quinoa lasagna noodles - to no avail yet) mixed with Italian spiced tomato sauce, fat-free cottage cheese, a bit of grated parmesan cheese and mozzarella, and some Egg Beaters stirred and cooked in.  It was actually pretty tasty, and I didn't feel as though I was missing out on the lasagna at all.  I know my body was very, very happy to not have to contend with the extra calories and high saturated fat food.  I did consume several glasses of red wine that evening, which seemed to exacerbate my increasing sore throat and illness, so I refrained for the rest of the gathering, and since.

My plan is to continue on, possibly modifying the DASH diet to reflect the requirements of the parasite cleanse (no alcohol, no refined sugar/wheat, no caffeine, decreased dairy - and eating organic fruits and vegetables, and whole grains and clean proteins).  

I am glad to be feeling better, finally, and anticipating feeling even more energized as the days go by.  I am looking forward to when the scale decides that it can register under 200 lb for me.  :-)  I will post the details of the parasite cleanse soon.

Blessings and Great Joy in the meantime!

2.5 pounds of water: May 31, 2011

I know two weeks haven't yet gone by, however I wanted to report about yesterday before it drifted to the dark recesses of my mind.  Yesterday morning when I wrote, I was in a lot of overall body pain, could barely move my fingers or the rest of my body for that matter.  I was extremely swollen and uncomfortable. I felt like I weighed 1000 pounds with zero strength along with the searing burning pain.  Despite the pain and sluggishness I told Richard I still wanted to go on our 4 mile walk down the hill, into town, around the lake and back, because it seemed like a good idea to try to keep moving.  I also ate no wheat or refined sugar, and stayed within the guidelines of the DASH diet, just under 1600 calories, and no extra salt.   We did our walk in the early afternoon, and stopped along the way to have spring rolls at the Vietnamese place, and then after the lake loop stopped for a spinach salad at our favorite New Mexican restaurant downtown.  Then it was time to trudge up the hill.  By this time I was already feeling better, lighter, less fluid-filled.  I joked last night that I bet I was carrying at least 4 extra pounds of water, so I got on the scale this morning and, sure enough, I am down 2.5 pounds from yesterday.  The deep searing pain is gone, except for my usual arthritic places, and my strength is back to some degree.  I am slightly puffy this morning, so a bit more water retention, but I can at least move my fingers and open jars.


I am taking that as a confirmation that wheat and refined sugar needed to be removed.  I love bread so much, it is really hard to think that wheat may be gone for good.  But, I would definitely rather go without than live in the bloated, extremely painful condition I've been in for the last few days (that has been gradually worsening since I reintroduced wheat in March.)

Richard's working today, so I may get on the elliptical for 60 minutes, although it is finally gorgeous outside, so maybe it will be a hilly brisk walk. 


Today's a new day, and I am enthused about feeling great, and better and better each day.

May 30, 2011: A new start on the DASH diet

It has been awhile since the last check in, and awhile since I last even thought about it.  The inspiration to check in comes from the fact that I've been experiencing some severe pain throughout all of the joints of my body, and increased heel pain.  I've also been experiencing lots of water retention which may be an effect of a medication I recently started to help with the worsening dysmenorrhea/menorrhagia I've been experiencing, and will hopefully even out after awhile.  

I recalled that one of my main original ideas, last summer and at the beginning of the year, for decreasing my overall body weight was to decrease the pain I'm experiencing.  I suspected with the increased pain that my weight was also increasing.  My wonderful hubby, Richard, also, very sweetly, reminded me that I had experienced much less pain when I eliminated wheat and refined sugar from my diet in February.  He is right and I am thankful for the reminder, and those items have made their way back into my diet on a regular basis.  More so the wheat than the sugar, but I've not been monitoring either.  School pretty much took over my life, so I stopped weighing, stopped recording everything in MyFoodDiary.com, and decreased, to an extent, the exercise. 

Here are my current stats:

Weight: 208.2lb (up 6 lb from 2 months ago, but down 3lb from the beginning of the year - and still down 11.8 lb from last August)

Percent body fat: 45.5% (which is down 1% from the beginning of the year - so perhaps all of the exercise has paid off in that area.  We remeasured my body parts, and almost all of them are back to the original size they were in January.

I feel a bit discouraged, and had hoped to have lost lots more by now, and certainly hoped Ihadn't gained but I really need to start again, taking it easy on myself (especially since some of the gain is this swollen puffiness of water retention), and continuing in a reasonable maintainable way.  

I had a recent conversation with one of my aunts who followed the DASH diet, lost all of her extra weight and was able to side-step taking the blood pressure medication the doctor had prescribed for her.  She is my inspiration for the DASH diet, as is the information I learned in my OTC class this past term.  I strongly recommend this eating plan to anyone who is at risk for, or is suffering from, hypertension.  I am choosing it for myself, not because I currently have high blood pressure, but because, with the family history on both sides, and my tendency to pre-hypertension and white coat syndrome, this choice makes the most sense to me to start eating this way now.

So, The DASH diet it is, in addition to eliminating refined sugars and wheat (for allergy/joint reasons).  

Aside from limiting daily calories, ensuring ample vegetables and fruits, and dairy like low- or no fat yogurt, the DASH diet helps to gain awareness of sodium consumption.  For more on the concepts and details of the DASH diet, visit: DASH Diet.

I've modified the Diet log given on the DASH site to accommodate 1600 calories, which is my goal.  

The food log looks like this:

 

This is where I will check off the items I eat.  I may still use MyFoodDiary to also track the specifics, if it's not too time-consuming.  My goal is to make it as natural as possible, where it doesn't consume my life.  It seems summer is a good time to start in again, with the goal of having the new way of eating as much of my being as breathing.  That way, when school starts again, it will be more natural, and less-time consuming.

My exercise goal is to be active at least 60 minutes each day, whether it is walking, utilizing the elliptical machine, or a combination (or even bicycling when I get a new bicycle...)  We also plan to incorporate tai chi back into our daily routine.

We will be at a family reunion next week, which can make eating a bit challenging, however, with a bit of planning and determination, I know that I will persevere and take the greatest care of myself.

Also, over the summer, I ought to have more time to implement the EFT aspect of my goals, which will likely help immensely.  I will keep you posted.  I won't be weighing in next week since we will be out of town, but for sure the Monday after that, and I know I will have splendid things to report.

Until then!  (Or before if something significant comes up before the weigh-in.)  I am greatly looking forward to easing the body pains with a lighter me.

Blessings!