Surgery Day!

Captain's Log 10.03.2019

AND today is surgery day. Carpal tunnel fix on my left hand. Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to  it so that whole saga will be over. But for this minute, no coffee, nothing to drink or eat.

Speaking of drinking, I finally figured out that it was my much loved coffee that was the trigger for my IBS-C. I knew it was for the "D". It took a couple of days of having tea for everything to work its way back to normal. I was getting pretty uncomfortable with not pooping for days on end. Whew, glad that's over. I did learn that if you have both C and D, they call it IBS-A, for alternating. Yep, that's me.

Nothing much has changed on the diet side. I'm trying to make more actual meals so I don't do the snacking bit. Bill's been a peach and will chop vegetables for me. My right hand still isn't healed enough for chopping. Every time I do it, my right hand hurts for a couple of days after.

Onward.

It's All Good. Lesson Learned. Again.

Captain's Log 09.25.2019

Ye gods, I was a hurting unit all night long. Hands, wrists, elbows, one previously injured low back vertebra, knees and ankles were all affected. I finally got back in bed around 6 this morning and slept for 5 hours.

But it's all good. Lesson learned. Again.

I had deluded myself into thinking that a healthier version of a brownie (awesome black bean brownie recipe) would be okay for a treat for Bill. Or that's how I spun it. So, even though it only had 2 T of actual cane sugar (maple syrup is most of the sweetener in the recipe), it also had 2 T of cocoa powder. And a cup of chocolate chips. More than the recipe called for, I just wanted to empty the bag.

On my list of inflammatory foods to avoid: sugar and cocoa. Chocolate chips fall in that category, too.

Also, in my 'waste not, want not' lifestyle, I polished off the rest of the mashed potatoes from the previous night's dinner. Why did I make potatoes, you ask? The potatoes had already been cooked, then frozen, probably because I had too many at the time and this was a good way for me to be able to use them. This was before I discovered that I should stay away from spuds.

On my list of inflammatory foods to avoid: potatoes.

AND of course, there were plenty of bananas that were perfectly ripe. So, I had peanut butter and banana toast. And a small apple.

On my list of inflammatory foods to avoid: wheat, banana and apple.

Honestly, it was glorious. I relished every single bite of every single food I was supposed to avoid.

Until around two in the morning.

I don't know how long it will take for the residual pain to be gone, but right now it's a reminder that some things just aren't worth the aftermath.

Bill picks up bananas every time he goes to the store, thinking that he'll eat them. He'll have one or two. I look at the remaining four and try to figure out what to do with them. Usually I end up freezing banana slices for smoothies. Often I use several slices in green smoothies without noticing inflammation, but just because I can't feel it, doesn't mean it's not there, right? Ditto with the small apple. It's also not on the 'approved' menu.

But shit's getting real now. Time to stay with the program.

Marianne

Company and My Much Loved Carbs

Captain's Log 09.23.2019

Company and more company. And more carbs than I needed. But it was great.

I am no longer going to beat myself up because I didn't stick to the plan for a few days. It was special company. First our only grandson who lives in FL was here and then our youngest son who lives in CO. We had a good time, ate too much, sometimes laughed too hard...at someone else's expense!! In this family, you don't show weakness. hahaha

I stayed with the high dose Vit D protocol, but yesterday, both Bill and I hit a wall. Agh. Neither of us wanted to do anything and felt weird after taking a higher dose of the D3. So today, I dropped back down to 15,000 plus 200 of K2-MK7 and the magnesium. Just like before, I feel energized and perky!

I had zero hip pain for a few days. Zero. I was aware of my knees kind of aching, but not to the point where I took some over the counter pain medication. Even the night when it was going to storm, I was able to sleep. Almost always, I ache so much that there's no way I'm sleeping, even with a handful of Tylenol, Advair and Aleve. And Benadryl. Anything to induce sleep.

But then I started eating tomatoes. They were so good. For three days, I had some wonderful, home grown tomatoes. And last night I was a hurting unit. Again.  And no weather change. So, the rest of the tomatoes will end up in the freezer, waiting to be added to a big pot of soup this winter. I think I can handle 'some' tomato, but not much and not too often.

This morning I ate a sliced cucumber with a bit of sour cream, 2 oz. of cream cheese and a very small apple. I need the higher fat when I'm going to take the D3 as it's a fat soluble vitamin (actually hormone). I haven't even thought about lunch as I'm satisfied. Supper will be pizza on cauliflower crust. The trick to those things is making sure they are baked to a crispy texture. CauliPower is really good, neither of us liked the Green Giant. YMMV

No one was home besides myself, so I cranked on the music and boogied while I was doing dishes, etc. Nice.

Love yourself.
Marianne

Captains Log - Staying the course

Captain's Log 09.18.19

Yesterday was pretty good. I was stoked about losing another inch of belly fat and that keeps me going. I had a big salad for breakfast with pretty much the same ingredients as before, but this time I used homemade apple cider vinegar/Dijon mustard/maple syrup dressing. I was still hungry an hour or so later so I ate the rest of the chicken breast/onions/yellow bell pepper dish that I'd made for supper the previous night.

Lunch was boiled egg, 2 ounces of cream cheese (back on THAT again) and a small apple. Supper was taco salad with no cheese, but I did put some sour cream on it. Still hungry later, a small bowl of blueberries and sour cream. And eventually a leftover grilled hamburger. I was having some serious protein cravings. Thinking that I don't have to eat Keto or Paleo has made it easier. I'm aware of the high carb foods, so I don't eat them daily.

I exercised in my chair for only 10 minutes before life got in the way. I never did get back to it.

Our youngest son is still visiting, so this morning I made biscuits and gravy for the guys. I didn't even eat a crumb of my much loved biscuits. It was almost lunchtime and I still hadn't eaten breakfast. I finally decided on eating the rest of the salad that was hanging out in the frig, mostly because I could tell the lettuce had just a tinge of rust.

Egads!!

In the spirit of 'waste not, want not', I dumped it into a bowl. There wasn't a lot there. So I added a medium yellow tomato, a boiled egg, half a cucumber, then the standard sunflower kernels and dry TVP for a bit more texture and protein. That helped fill the bowl. Eventually my hands will be completely healed and I can make salad in a jar. Those are awesome to keep in the frig. I use Romaine, cabbage and carrot.

So far, I haven't had any arthritis pain kick in from the addition of the tomatoes. A lot of folks with arthritis stay clear of tomatoes and anything in the nightshade family. Maybe I'll be one of the lucky ones. Carrot isn't considered low carb, but it's high in Vit A which is good for people with lung disease. Funny, they say to get plenty of A from food sources, but to avoid A supplements. Hmmmm. I wonder about these things.

I've actually had a LOT less pain in my hips and knees since I started the Vit D3 protocol. This morning I took 20K units of D3 along with 200 mcg of K2-MK7, calcium and magnesium taurate. Plus half of the other vitamins/supplements that I have. I use that specific type of magnesium as I had cardiac bypass in 2014.

As usual, don't follow my advice. Do your own research and decide what's best for YOUR body.

D3 is a fat soluble vitamin, so you don't pee the excess out. I'm not concerned. I'm not one of those people who think 'if one is good, two is better'. If I'm having good luck with a maintenance dose, I'm staying with the maintenance dose.

Marianne

Here's a nifty little calculator to determine how many calories you should eat to lose weight.

Course Corrections - "Move More, Eat Smarter"

Captain's Log 09.17.19

Did I say that I wasn't going to weigh for a week? I couldn't help it! I lost a pound and lost an inch around the fattest part of my stomach. Yahoooo!

Since I had no vegetables the day before, I loaded up on them yesterday. For breakfast I had a big smoothie with mixed lettuce, spinach, kale, sliced banana (equal to half of a small banana, or less), almond milk, Pyure, crushed ice and topped off with some dry TVP.

I still have some mixed greens from a salad mix that our son brought over. We weren't eating it fast enough, so I stuffed it all in a zipper bag and put it in the freezer. I automatically freeze spinach and kale when I get it home from the store. I'll leave some for salads, but the bulk is frozen. Bananas are frozen on a cookie sheet, then put into mason jars and back to the freezer. Usually I add a big spoon of cottage cheese, but there wasn't any in the frig.

For lunch I ate two sliced cucumbers with some sour cream and Pyure, a very small apple and two ounces of cream cheese.  That didn't hold me over for a late supper, so I had two hard boiled eggs and a small sliced yellow tomato.

For supper I cooked a chicken breast with 1 yellow bell pepper, 1-1/2 sliced onion, salt, pepper and a pinch of fajita seasoning. I added a big serving of broccoli. There's enough left over for lunch today.

After supper I had cucumber and sour cream......and the last cookie bar. Hey, it was going to get stale. Dammit.

Because I'm writing down everything that crosses my mouth, I'm very aware of the patterns I'm developing. Again. 

1. Entirely too much dairy, which is one reason why I quit the low carb other times. The dairy makes it hard for COPDers to breathe. Hard cheese doesn't seem to bother me (and others). I like some cottage cheese for the protein (there's a throwback from being vegetarian!) and to add to salads for part of the creamy dressing. That creamy feeling is something that I'm still craving for some reason. But there are options. I can rotate between two ounces of Gouda or another hard cheese on the days that I have cottage cheese.

2. Expecting a lot of sweet tasting things.

I have coffee in the morning with Pyure (the equivalent of one tsp sugar) and powdered coffee creamer. I can't be trusted around cream. I mean it. And again, it's dairy. The last time I had a milkshake, I couldn't breathe for three days. Soooo, I need to mix up my old vegetarian standby dressing which sounds just wretched: apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and maple syrup. Before you start gagging, I make my own apple cider vinegar which is not nearly as strong as Bragg's. Big difference. I can use that on salads and the bowls of cucumber that I'm devouring lately. 

I also did some chair exercising  - two sessions of 10 minutes, pretty close together. I got distracted in the middle of it. Plus our youngest son, who's a respiratory therapist, was on the couch and apparently listening to me huff and puff behind him. I had headphones on so I wasn't aware of how much I was snorting. Ha! He laughed when he saw what I was doing. I think he was more surprised than anything.

I'm currently embracing the "Move more, eat smarter" way of life. Lots of little things, like doing small, backward leg lifts while I'm waiting for the microwave, occasional butt clenching while I'm sitting here at my desk (holding for a few seconds), holding my abdomen in when I walk, and purposely taking one or two items from the laundry room to our bedroom, then walking back to get a couple more things, arm lifts when I'm walking and no one is watching, etc.

I'm also embracing my vitamins and supplements. I ordered a book about mega dosing Vit D3 yesterday. I had started that protocol a few days ago and yesterday I was stunned when I walked up our three porch steps that my hips and knees did not hurt AT ALL. Maybe it was a fluke, or the power of positive thinking. It doesn't matter. I didn't hurt.

Marianne

Waist

 

Captain's Log - Low Carbing It.

Captain's Log - 09.16.19

Low Carbing It. Lower carbs than usual, anyway.

I didn't weigh today, but I measured an inch less around the fattest part of my belly. That, in itself, helps me stay motivated.

I ate some cookie bar yesterday, dammit. We had a surprise visit from our grandson who lives in Florida. It was a brief trip for him, just three days, two of which were travel days. He surprised his mom by showing up at her workplace on his birthday. He left yesterday and hours later, our youngest son came in from Colorado. Yay! The two members of the family that we don't get to see too often putting in an appearance. His visit is also brief as he's picking up a vehicle that he bought locally and driving it back home. Since it was a 'special occasion', I made the cookie bar. Thought I could resist, didn't happen. Dammit.

Breakfast yesterday wasn't my standard oatmeal. I had a big salad with iceberg, Romaine, small amount of carrot, red cabbage, hard boiled egg, a bit of sunflower seeds, a big pinch of dried kale and dry TVP (textured vegetable protein). The TVP gives the salads another texture, similar to nuts. I like the bit of added plant based protein plus the soy keeps my night sweats away. YMMV Creamy dressing w/ homemade yogurt and I was good to go. Later I had two sliced cucumbers with some yogurt and Pyure sweetener (stevia/erythritol blend). It tasted similar to the old 'cukes and cream' recipe, the one with equal parts sour cream and sugar for a dressing over sliced cucumbers.

The rest of the day I ate a polish sausage, 2 hard boiled eggs, 4 oz of cream cheese and stared at the can of green beans and the salad in the frig. Today I'll actually open that can. The only veg I had was in the salad. Not good.

While my hand was healing, I read some about the difference between counting calories and counting carbs:

Pros of counting calories: You can easily read a nutritional label and get a number to count toward your daily intake. A low calorie diet can benefit health conditions associated with obesity like high blood pressure and heart disease.

Cons of counting calories: Calorie counting doesn't take into account your nutritional needs, only your intake of calories. Cutting calories to an unhealthy level (usually less than 1200 to 1500 calories per day) can be a harmful way to lose weight.

Pros of counting carbs: This approach can be beneficial for those who must watch their carbohydrate intake, like people with diabetes. You can easily read a nutritional label and get a number to count toward daily intake. (Wow, it's like they had to stretch to find some shit to write.)

Cons of counting carbs: Not all foods contain carbohydrates. For example, a porterhouse steak doesn't have carbohydrates, but is very high in fat and calories. Watching carbohydrates alone doesn't guarantee a healthy diet.

Here's that source. We can all find some things to argue about all that, pros and cons. The bottom line is that we all have to find that one way that helps our body.

Marianne

Belly Fat