Weight drop of 1.2 today. I feel relieved. I'm am conscientiously not eating after dinner. I made my own baking powder this week (no cornstarch!) so I can eat my flax-seed muffins again. I stopped eating Quest bars and I'm looking at recipes to make my own power bars. I might just use my brownie bites recipe, triple it and make bars with it. That's one idea I hope to try out.
To make baking powder:
1/4 cup bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/2 cup cream of tartar
1/4 cup tapioca starch (tapioca flour)
Mix ingredients together with a wire whisk. Store in glass jar.
I dumped out and cleaned my old baking powder can to store my new baking powder.
Last edited by magistra17; 01-27-2018 at 11:05 AM.
Down another pound today. I'm lower than my ticker now, but I won't change it until next week. I want to make sure this pound holds.
The only two things I changed were to stop eating Quest bars, and to use my own baking powder with no cornstarch and "voila!" My weight started moving in the right direction again.
I read a couple articles this week about honey. Apparently the bees need to be local in order for the honey--which is full of natural antihistamine--to fight off our local allergies. Raw local honey is better than Benadryl!
Honey that's sold in stores can legally have fillers, such as high fructose corn syrup and rice oil. These items do not have to be listed on the ingredients list.
Yesterday was my anniversary, 33 years. Dh and I celebrated by eating out at outback steakhouse. Unfortunately I have swelling this morning from eating off plan. There may have been grains in that meal. The fish may have been farm raised, thus the grains. I also ate blue cheese on my salad and I'm pretty sure none of the veggies that I ate or the wine that I drank were organic. There may have been msg in the meal too. This morning my ears are plugged, my hands are swollen, and I have a headache. And my weight is up 2.5 pounds. Ack! I wonder how long it will take to drop down again?
I've been so good at eating on plan these last few weeks, it's hard to believe one little cheat meal would change everything. But there it is. ha, ha! How I wish restaurants would get educated and feed us better food. Perhaps in the future . . .
Last edited by magistra17; 02-17-2018 at 12:40 PM.
Happy Anniversary, Magistra! What a lovely milestone to celebrate.
It's remarkable to read how your body gives such clear and timely feedback, and validation that we are what we eat. I so agree re restaurants. It seems like we must pack our own food in order to eat well. I'm sure your weight will drop fast. I find much restaurant food to be heavily salted. I think they are afraid that if they don't do that, people will find their food bland. So many people's taste buds are conditioned to highly salted food. Hope you're feeling back to your wonderful baseline asap.
Sundove! You are such a blessing! Thank you for the congrats! My weight did drop back down just as you predicted I had a busy stressful week last week and was struggling with my emotions. But that has passed and I'm back to normal! Whew! I hope things are going well for you too.
Last edited by magistra17; 03-03-2018 at 10:41 AM.
I joined a Plant Paradox support group on Facebook a couple weeks ago. That has been very enlightening. I am learning so much. Dr. Gundry wrote that book, but new information about food and what to eat is constantly changing, so he keeps us updated. It's nice to be in a support group where all of the people are doing your same diet. I didn't think I needed that, but it turns out to be a pretty great resource for me.
One of the things I learned is that honey is not a "natural" replacement for cane sugar. It is "actual" sugar. lol! It's definitely a better alternative for cane sugar, but it's still sugar. I've backed off of using it quite so much. I was having coffee twice a day with honey in it. Honey and cream in my coffee, yum! That was helping me get through my stressful days.
Cream was giving me a stomach ache though, so I have switched to grassfed butter in my coffee. I make the coffee and then pour two cups of coffee and about a tablespoon of butter into a blender. Then I "frappe" it for a minute. It blends the butter with the coffee and creates a creamy foam on top. It's so delicious! No more stomach ache!
I switched to grassfed butter since that is a more natural form of butter with low lectin count. I think it's making a difference in how I feel. I am buying Vital Farms brand, but I have been told that Presidents brand is also good.
Yesterday, I made a fantastic soup. It was so easy. We are having some pipes replaced for the kitchen. Having workmen in the kitchen makes it hard to cook, but I managed it. My husband said, "just go out to dinner," but I'm finding that I would rather eat my own cooking. My cooking has now become better than restaurant food. lol! I never thought I'd see that day!
Here's how I made the soup.
3 cloves garlic diced
1 shallot diced
2 c. carrots sliced up
2 rutabagas peeled and chopped up
1 portabello mushroom chopped up
1 bunch of collard greens torn into pieces
6 cups pastured organic chicken broth
1/2 t. thyme
3 T. evoo
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
In a soup pot, saute the garlic and shallot in the olive oil for about a minute. Add in the carrots and rutabaga and saute for 3 to 5 minutes. Add mushroom and collard and cook for another minute. Add chicken broth, and seasonings. Simmer for 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Last edited by magistra17; 03-03-2018 at 11:03 AM.
I've been having so much fun this week. I went to the movies twice and to Disneyland. It's amazing to me that none of these places have real food (unprocessed without sugar, corn, wheat or soy) that I can actually eat. It's hard to go to the movie theater and smell everybody's popcorn. I put hazel nuts and dark chocolate in my purse and took that to both the movies and Disneyland. It was so much better than junk food! Even so, I had to eat lunch in Disneyland and I experienced some heart palpitations after eating that food. I'm not sure what what caused that. I was very careful to only eat foods that are on my diet, but something was off.
Today's menu:
B: two eggs scrambled, one whole avocado, coffee with MCT oil (coconut) and Italian butter blended in blender.
S: roasted hazelnuts, 3 Brazil nuts
L: roasted Japanese sweet potato tossed with evoo and salt
D: pierogies - cassava, tapioca, coconut flour for the dough; grated turnips, buffalo mozzarella, egg for the stuffing; two glasses of Cabernet (feeling a little stressed so I indulged)
B: coffee with MCT oil, and Italian butter, 3 slices humanely raised organic bacon, one whole avocado with sea salt
L: brussel sprouts cooked in butter and evoo; smoothie - 1 banana, ice, 2 T. tahini, 2 T date syrup, 1 T. organic cocao powder, 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
S: three Brazil nuts, a few hazelnuts, one square 85% dark chocolate, several olives
D: almond flour, tapioca flour, ground flaxseed pizza with tomato sauce made from organic strained tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, grated parmesan reggiano (from sheep's milk), sliced black olives
Today I ate . . .
B: two pastured eggs scrambled and cooked in evoo, coffee, blended with MCT oil and butter from Italy.
L: 1oz grilled grass fed steak, two cups of broccoli and brussel sprouts cooked in butter and evoo
S: sweet potato fries dipped into sour cream
D: wild caught grilled mahi, roasted veggies, whipped sweet potato, one glass of merlo
Last edited by magistra17; 03-09-2018 at 12:06 AM.
Down .4 this week! Yay! Losing slowly but steadily.
It was absolutely gorgeous here yesterday so I went to the beach with a friend. We took our shoes off and took a long walk across the sand. It was so much fun! We dipped our toes in the water and watched the sandpipers run in and out. The waves weren't really big, but there were a lot of surfers anyway. The sun was glorious and the company was fantastic!
We ate breakfast at 26 Beach Restaurant in Marina Del Rey. I had a Waldorf salad with greens, avocado, carrots, curried apples, blueberries, and walnuts. I had them remove the chicken and tomatoes. They served it with a blueberry vinaigrette, which was divinely delicious. The salad itself was so well seasoned with curry and other things that it tasted fantastic without the dressing, so I didn't use much of the dressing. Not sure if any of the food was organic, but it didn't bother me yesterday or the next day. I'm happy to have found another restaurant that I can eat at.
I didn't really have lunch. Breakfast filled me up. The only other meal I ate yesterday was dinner and I had Cappello's almond flour fettuccine with my own homemade pesto and a cup of coffee with butter and honey.
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Hi Majistra. Just stopped in to see how you're doing. Looks good!! You mentioned your DH wanted to go out to eat the day the workmen were in your kitchen. I'm wondering, does he eat the same food you eat?
I seem to notice a bit of a change from what you were eating a while back. No more green bananas for one. I'm glad this plan is helping you feel better.
wannabehealthy Nice to hear from you! I am eating fewer green bananas at the moment for two reasons. 1) I buy them green, but sometimes they ripen too quickly. 2) I think I've been overdoing the resistant starch and I am trying to cut back. In answer to your question about my husband, he has totally managed to resist eating my way. He eats the dinners I cook, but that's about it for him. He is still eating processed bread, hot dogs, and other microwave foods from the grocery store. He buys these himself, and while the rest of the family has lost weight, he has gained weight and he looks stressed and tired. I'm hoping that through the example of the rest of my family, he will eventually come around. I don't talk to him about food, or criticize what he's eating or mention any of the health benefits of my diet. He can see for himself that I am way, way more cheerful, have lost a considerable amount of weight, and have more energy. He can also see that our three adult children, who have embraced my diet at different levels, have lost weight, are happier, and also have more energy. One can only just keep setting the example, and keep hoping.
My weight is up a couple pounds again today. And although that is annoying to me, I've decided to be happy about it. When I look at my charted graph for the last 10 months, I can see that although I have these fluctuations, my overall weight continues to steadily drop. Whew!
Also, I'm happier than I've ever been with my weight during the winter. In the past I've never had successful weight loss during the winter. This is the first winter that I've actually lost weight. Yay!!
I now know that the reason for my lack of weight loss during the winter is because when the days get shorter and colder, I am inclined to eat comfort foods which include starchy foods, carbs, and sugar. These are the culprits of my weight gain and I usually gain anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds during the winter and only shed about half of that during the summer. So, this winter is remarkably different in that I've actually lost weight and not gained.
This week I've been eating lots of scrambled eggs and avocado for breakfast, roasted sweet potato and other veggies for lunch, and chicken, steak, and vegetable soup for dinner. My kids learned that the almond flour and tapioca crackers are super easy to make and they've been making them often. Unfortunately, I'm also eating them a little too often. I need to back off.
Life has been full and very busy and I've had some fatigue this week. The fatigue came from working at my desk in front of the computer for way too long. Eating brownies and dates right before bedtime a couple of times this week caused a problem with my blood sugar the following morning. Also, I didn't eat enough green food this week.
My overall mood is fantastic, and I don't think I've ever felt this happy in my life. It's really amazing.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
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I can see how much you have improved your diet since back when and it's obviously been beneficial to you. I can understand your husband not being ready to switch just yet, but in time he might. My husband grew up eating tons of sugar and still does to this day. I have stopped because of my blood sugar issues, but I don't see him doing it any time soon. Since he has never had a weight problem he assumes it's not harmful to him. As long as he doesn't fight me on the way I'm eating, I will also not fight him on his. We are both adults and have the right to choose for ourselves. I'm glad that you kids have followed in your footsteps.
Life has been super busy these last two months. I'm coming up for air now! lol! My diet's been going wonderfully well. I'm hoping to start up posting here again soon. Classes end this week and I'll be off of work for the summer soon.
Today I tried out an old comfort food in my new style of eating. My mother used to serve in tiny bowls a little warm white rice with sugar, cinnamon, and cream as an after dinner dessert when I was a little girl. I've always loved it.
For breakfast this morning, I used warm Basmati white rice cooked in the pressure cooker, sprinkled with cinnamon, a drizzle of date syrup (made from Medjool dates), sliced green bananas, and unsweetened coconut milk. This was divinely satisfying. It fulfilled my need to have a hot cereal type breakfast. I'll be eating this on occasion. Loved it!
I've managed to maintain my weight all through the winter and spring, which is a huge accomplishment for me. Now that summer is looming and I will have more time to focus on my health, I really hope to get my metabolism moving again and lose another 10 or 15 pounds this summer. That's the goal anyway and I'm really excited about it.
I'm trying to fast for at least 12 hours between my last meal of the evening and first meal of the next day. So, far this week, I have accomplished a daily 13 hour fast. My goal is to work up to 16 hours. If I eat dinner at 6pm, then breakfast the next day would be at 10am. Whenever I fast like this, I find that my brain function is greatly improved. Mainly I'm aiming for lessening my nerve pain which comes and goes in various parts of my body and is so irritating. Fasting weirdly helps this issue. So does exercise, lol! But one thing at a time.
Today's menu:
Breakfast (started at 8am with coffee only): Coffee with MCT oil, marine collagen powder, and German butter (blended in a blender); (later at 11am): one egg fried in evoo, one almond and tapioca flour tortilla, one whole avocado
Lunch (this wasn't very good because I had to grab something quick in between classes and counseling parents): a bowl of basmati rice with cinnamon, date syrup, and coconut milk
Dinner: (after work today I was too tired to cook a meal): homemade artisan bread made with almond, arrowroot, tapioca flour, and ground flax-seed, served with Chevre goat cheese.
Didn't eat any salad so the menu was a bit of a fail.
Last edited by magistra17; 05-10-2018 at 11:19 AM.
Happy Anniversary, Magistra! What a lovely milestone to celebrate.
I had a busy stressful week last week and was struggling with my emotions. But that has passed and I'm back to normal! Whew! I hope things are going well for you too. 
