Good Results for the First 11 Days

OK. I am surprised. I've been trying out the McDougall/Calorie Density ideas that I shared about in my last post and they seem to be working. No one is more surprised than I am based on the fact that it kind of goes against all the "low carbohydrate" ideas that I've been attempting to live by for the past few years. Unsuccessfully, I might add. That's why I tried out the new programs, I wanted something that worked and that I could stick to.

"So, what have you been eating?" I've been eating potatoes, rice, oat meal, vegetables and some fruit. I've been eating on the top side of the below chart (where the big red star is) and leaving out the things on the bottom (where the big red X is):

I've also been eating beans but the gas is monstrous and unwelcome so I'm not eating them as much as the other things.

"How do you know it is working?" I've been randomly checking my blood sugars and they are much lower than they were. In fact I've even had one fasting blood sugar reading of 86 -- which is smack dab in the middle of normal!! I've never had a  normal blood sugar reading before in my life!! This morning's reading was 96 after having eaten a whole cup of dry brown rice cooked up a couple of hours before going to bed. I had two small sweet potatoes before that, too.

"Are you losing weight?" Yep. For the first six days I did not lose any weight. I also did not gain any. I stayed at the weight I had been at a couple of weeks before.  Then on Wednesday I checked and suddenly, in one day, I had gone down 2.75 pounds. I weighed myself again this morning (three days later) and I've lost another 2.25 pounds for a total of 5 pounds in 11 days.

That is why I am posting today. It is so nice to finally have good news to share.

"What has the process been like?" If I compared what I am doing now to what I believed I should be doing before I heard about this method, I would have to say I fell off the deep end. It has been even a little scary to try out, because it goes so far against the low-carb directives.

Here is how my eating day goes: I now eat within an hour or two of rising because I am hungry. I used to wait as long as six to eight hours until I actually ate anything.

I eat whatever I feel like eating. I might choose to put some frozen hash brown potatoes (with no oil and as few additives as possible) into my steamer pan. On top of that I like to cut up an onion, because I like the mixture of flavors and the onion makes it easier to eat the potato with no butter or other oil or dairy toppings. On top of that I put on a layer of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans), and fill up the rest of the steamer pan with shredded cabbage, right up to the rim. I salt and pepper the layers as I add them, and dump on some curry powder which is my favorite spice. I steam them for about 10-15 minutes and then fill up my deep cereal bowl with food. I eat that bowl and usually have another. I still seem to be attached to the "clean your plate club" and I eat whatever is in the pot, even though I often think I am over eating.

Another meal I like is to cook some Bob's Red Mill whole rolled oats. I like my oatmeal stiff and thick so I use slightly less water than is called for in the recipe on the bag. Sometimes I just eat the oatmeal. I do not put any sugar in it and I'm not doing dairy so I just eat it plain, right out of the pot. It is salted and is one of my favorite things. I often feel like I'm cheating when I have my oatmeal because I love it so much! If I eat any fruit in the day, this may be one place I add it. I just put some frozen blueberries, or strawberries right out of the freezer, right on top of my bowl. I stir them in and the hot oatmeal thaws them and they cool down the oatmeal to eating temperature. Mmmmm. Good.

I also love brown rice. I cook it in the bottom of my stove top steamer pan and near the end of the rice cooking time, before the water is no longer visible, I put some veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) in the steamer pot above the rice. Every thing gets cooked at the same time. I salt the rice and add some curry powder to the water. I salt and pepper the veggies and put some curry powder on them, too. When the rice is done, I ladle them into my deep cereal bowl in layers with the rice on the bottom and enjoy! I usually have two bowls of this, too. I do sometimes just eat plain brown rice.

I like my rice sticky so I use three cups of water for every cup of brown rice. It takes longer to cook, but I don't like the rice to be like soft rocks, so that is how I adjust it to my tastes.

I have been worried that I am eating too much. Turns out, I'm losing weight, so, I guess it is not a problem. I suppose a little lesser on the eating would put a little more in the weight loss camp, but I am so enjoying the eating. That may come along a little later as things progress. We'll see.

"So how is the plumbing department?" I'd like to cover this delicately so let me say that things are moving along nicely. Even surprisingly well. When I first started I was going up to four or five times in the day, but now it seems more like two or three.

I made the mistake of making my first meal on the program a pot of split peas with veggies and the plumbing really had a bit to deal with on that one. The gas and the go was almost overwhelming, but since I knew what caused it (my stupidity and the beans) I just weathered the storm and learned my lesson.

I did make another pot of beans (13 bean soup) which again caused gas, but I did not eat them alone, that time. I ate them with rice so the experience, while not perfect, was somewhat better than the split peas had been. I had used some Herdez salsa for flavor in my bowl and really liked the addition.

When I have plain potatoes (with onion) I sometimes put some Kroger Simple organic ketchup on it (lo sugar, no oil) and like the punch of sweet flavor.

I don't know if this had anything to do with not losing any weight in the first six days but I had originally purchased a bag of mixed unsweetened fruit (peaches, mango, grapes, blue berries, etc.) and was trying to stick to two servings of fruit per day. It made me feel guilty to be eating so much fruit so when the bag was empty I did not replace it. I'm thinking that was from the old mind set still holding on, so I might try another bag in the future, to see if the weight loss stops or continues.

One thing I've noticed is that I really gravitate towards the starches in the program and have to remember to include the veggies which are nutritious and low cal, and also add good flavor to the starches.

I've not been eating any bread (processed food) and am still leary of including it, because I can really get carried away with bread. It is less tempting, though, because of the lack of butter (high calorie density). For now, I am sticking to the whole grains (brown rice, whole rolled oats) which I am cooking myself, and white and sweet potatoes. Mostly white, some frozen, some fresh, always with onion.

"Did you notice anything that was not positive about this program?" Well, the first thing I noticed, after the split pea incident, was that I had gotten some very dark circles under my eyes. I've seen this before, and simply watched to see what happened there. They are no longer as dark, now, but are still there, just not as bad.

Also: the skin on my hands seems to be a bit dryer. In the past I chalked that up to the carbs stealing water from my tissues, which I suppose could be happening again. But I've also noticed I have to really pay attention to drink my water or I just drop it out.

The really odd thing is that I "feel" like I'm binge eating. I think I'm kind of "over eating" on quantity. But the blood sugar readings and the weight loss are evidence that I must be fine. I guess I'll have to just keep my eye on things and see how it goes.

So far, I am excited at the results, enjoying eating again, and hoping to leave my fears behind.

So. I'm off to have some oatmeal.

Have a good one!!

Be back soon,

Marcia

Calorie Density Trial Run

Hi,

In the last two weeks I've been doing a lot of reading and searching as I have investigated the Calorie Density approach to weight loss. In my last post I was not at the place yet where I had given myself over to this approach but I am now at the stage where I have begun to try it out.

I am incorporating the ideas of Jeff Novick, a nutritionist, and Doctor McDougall and his wife, Mary, with some input from the 20-potato-a-day guy, Chris Voight who is the executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission. I've also found a lot of other useful information as I searched around the web following my questions on this subject.

As I read and studied I have become convinced that I should try this approach once again, but carefully. For three days now I have been eating in this style and checking my blood sugars which, surprisingly, seem to be very good. Better in fact, than I expected.

I am eating on the upper "starred" portion of this calorie density chart that I found on the net:

Jeff says that eating in the less than 800 calories per pound category, the upper part of the chart with the star on it, will give you a lot of low calorie food to eat. The foods that should be reduced or eliminated are in the 1000 calories section on the lower portion of the chart with the big X on it. Those foods are high in calorie density and if you eat them and remain within your desired calorie range your body will not be satisfied with the small portions. It is hard to eat low calorie with high calorie foods. You simply get to eat less in volume and have to hard knuckle it to continue doing it. I have always hated the hard knuckle approach to eating, so this is a blessing to me.

I was worried that my blood sugars would go sky high but they are well within normal ranges and are often lower than I was expecting. So I am relieved about that. My ankles still seem to be swelling up, but that may be from sitting at the computer for long periods of time. The county pools that I usually exercise in three times a week were closed today for spring spruce up, so I won't have the opportunity to exercise in that way for the next week. I should probably find some alternative that my knee will allow me to do.

I had not planned on starting on Wednesday but I was on my way home from the pool and wanted something to eat. As I cast about in my head figuring out what I could do it dawned on me that I could stop at Panda Express and get a large side of vegetables and a large side of brown rice and I could try out the new program. I was worried that the bland brown rice would be unpalatable to me for my first meal so I also stopped at Popeye's Chicken and got a side of red beans and rice. I knew this side was not fat free but I remembered that in the past I had liked it and decided I could dilute it with the sides from Panda. Jeff talks about diluting your high density calories with low density calories so that was what I was doing.

I brought it all home and mixed some of the brown rice with a portion of the red beans and rice in a bowl and put some of the veggies on top. Wow, it was delicious! It turned out to make three meals for me that I really enjoyed. I checked my blood sugar an hour after I ate and it was 142. This was a little higher than I would have liked but it was not too extreme so I accepted it as OK.

I had enjoyed the meal so much I decided to go ahead and try out the program for at least 10 days and see how it goes. The next day I made up my shopping list using the guidelines of the program and purchased everything I would need to immerse myself in this style of eating.

The first home made meal I made was split pea soup with an onion, two cloves of garlic, a cup or so of frozen corn (ignoring the GMO issue), spices and a pound of split peas. The pot I had originally chosen ended up being too small to accommodate so I got out my big pressure cooker pot and used it as a regular pot. As it cooked it began to smell good. I kept testing to see if the beans were done but it took 30 minutes or more for them to become soft cooked and edible. Finally when it was done I ladled out enough of the soupy broth and soft beans to fill a deep cereal bowl and enjoyed it. It was very good and I wanted more.

Knowing there was no fat and nothing in it of a high calorie nature, and also knowing the instructions are to eat until you are full, I ate another bowl. I was still not satisfied so had a third one, after which I was completely satisfied -- and maybe a little overfull. I left the pot on the stove for later knowing that as split pea soup cools down it thickens into a kind of paste, which I also enjoy eating. Later that night I finished off the last remaining paste-like bowl and was completely full with the one serving.

Of course, I had gone overboard and with gas-causing beans! My goodness, the next morning and well into the afternoon I had so much gas I think I could have blown up a bouncy house!! Ha ha! But it was unique in one way. It did not have a detectible odor to it. This was new. Gas explosions with no bad odor!! 

When I checked my blood sugar an hour after the first three bowls it read 123. Well within an acceptable range, especially for something that was a carbohydrate. I was really pleased with that. I checked it again an hour or so later and it was 95. Wow! That was great! I think I'm going to like this way of eating.

Today I started the day with a large pile of hash brown potatoes and onion that I tried to brown in my cast iron skillet but I did not want to add a lot of fat to the pan so I put in about a tablespoon and when that dried up I used water to continue cooking them. I also seasoned them with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and curry powder. They ended up sticking to the bottom of the pan but they were not burned or anything. They were not browned the way I usually like them but I am willing to let things be different this time around. I had purchased some low sugar no fat ketchup and squirted the top layer with that. My gosh they were good! I ate the whole bowl full and did not want anything more for the next eight hours, at least! My blood sugars were also good after this meal but I don't remember the actual numbers to share.

Later in the evening I cooked up some oatmeal and put in some frozen blue berries. It was so good, I had another one. Blood sugars, still good! This is amazing to me, as I had believed if I ate this way it would sky rocket my sugars. I think the difference may be the whole food versus refined food, thing, and also the resistant starch which does not feed me but feeds the good bacteria in my gut.

I got the idea to try this from "Mary's Mini-McDougall Diet" which is potatoes for every meal with a little fruit and veg on the side. After doing some research on the potato thing I was willing to try it out for myself and see.

The potato meal was the most filling, and stayed full the longest of anything I've so far tried so I shall not be reluctant to try them out further.

If you'd like to see where I'm getting my ideas, here are some links to the stuff I used to guide me:

20 Potatoes a Day interview

Mary's Mini-McDougall Diet

Jeff Novick on Calorie Density to Lose Weight

So that's where I am right now.

Be back soon,

Marcia

More Food, Less Calories... Naturally

Hi,

I have not posted here for a long time. I got off track and did not want to continually share with you about my "always" doing the wrong thing. I have put back on more than half of the weight I had taken off and that is so discouraging to live with and have to admit.

I recently stumbled across a guy named Jeff Novick who is a humorous nutritionist. Listening to his video on Youtube was easy because he has such a logical and simple approach. He is a vegan who endorses the McDougall Program. I've had a problem with the McDougall Program ever since I did it in the mid '90s. It was while I was on that program that my feet started to daily swell up. I concluded that it was from his "starch based" approach.

After I discovered that I am a carbohydrate addict, it began to make sense. I know that if I sit for too long at the computer in conjunction with eating junk food, or even healthy food that has starchy carbs in it, my feet will become the size of posts. In listening to Jeff Novick I became tempted to try out some of what he says without actually going vegan, again. I think I need some animal protein in my diet. It helps to keep my blood sugar stable.

I am feeling motivated to try out his calorie density theories. He talks about the volume of a food in relation to the number of calories for that food. It is a way of reducing your calorie intake without limiting or reducing your actual volume of food.  On one of his charts he shows the different calorie counts of a pound of certain foods. On the left he has broccoli and on the right he has olive oil with fruits, meats and unrefined carbs in between the two extremes.  Even though it would be ridiculous to actually try to consume a pound of olive oil, the numbers on the chart let you know whether a food has a low or high caloric density which is useful information.

Some food, like the broccoli, has a much lower calorie count for one pound than others. He points out that vegetables whether cooked or raw continue to have the same calorie density. Meaning that if you were to eat a pound of broccoli you would end up being very full because it has a lot of volume, but it would not put fat on your body because the calorie count would still be low.

His presentation reminded me about the volume of vegetables and how you can eat more and suffer no conscience or remorse because it has lots of nutrients and will not make you fat. He also lists fruit which has more calories than most vegetables but way less than, say, olive oil or oreo cookies. The foods that are calorie dense and therefore to be avoided are processed foods (i.e.: oreos) and meats or animal proteins.

I found his DVD called "Calorie Density, How to eat more, weigh less and live longer" and ordered it. He has no qualms about cooking his veggies, which I like. I know I used to be married to the idea that my veggies needed to be raw to be of benefit but have since found that my blood sugars don't go up when I eat cooked veggies and I like the fact that I can buy them frozen and they don't go bad so fast as raw does.

I was also tempted to try to eat grains again, because he says that "whole grains" while being more dense than veggies are not as dense as oil.  But this time, I went back in my blog to my previous "grain experiments" and after re-reading them, decided to not go through that again, so I am back to the tried and true: veg and meat approach. I'm going to do a lot less protein, this time, though. I don't need to eat half a pound of hamburger in one sitting. This will reduce the number of calories per meal and allow for more vegetables, meaning larger meals with fewer calories which should, hopefully, allow for a loss of actual weight.

I guess I'll try it out and then let you know how it goes. 

Be back soon,

Marcia