30 replies to this topic

[spectacled_owl]

Quick outline of my diet goals here since I didn't have them before:

NO GLUTEN. Avoiding all grains right now, period.
No legumes. (soy, beans, peanuts)
No processed food. Just food as is, with some chopping and cooking I make small exceptions for the occasional Lara bar... this is hardly what I consider processed though.
No drinking of milk, unless it's raw, and this is so rare anyway. Limiting most dairy with the exception of raw cheese, grass fed pasture raised butter, Greek yogurt and kefir, full fat organic cream for coffee. If my forehead acne doesn't clear up, I will probably drop the cheese and cream.

So why am I eating like this? To stop spiking my blood sugar, let my gut heal, be able to exercise without getting pooped, balance hormones, prevent illness and disease... and get rid of acne! I know now that these things are all connected and that the Standard American Diet is crap. I have a lot to learn still, and I'm far from perfect, but the improvement so far has been amazing. I feel so great, I wouldn't even care if I still had some acne. Thankfully that seems to be going away though

_____________________________________________________________________________

Starting today, Monday May 16, 2011.

Morning: Sweet potato hash and sausage sauteed in coconut oil. Coffee with cream.

Snack: Salami with raw milk cheddar. Water.

Lunch: Four romaine lettuce leaves filled with one avocado, two pieces of bacon and homemade mayo. This was like four little sandwiches, hehe. I wish I didn't forget my tomato, woulda been yummy.

Drinking kombucha throughout the day.

So far - feeling good and satiated.

Snacking on: Pork rinds.

Dinnertime: Ground pork, broccoli, cabbage, green red and yellow peppers and onions sauteed in coconut oil with some fresh ginger, spices and apple cider vinegar. Then tossed in some sesame seed oil. I don't think I like the sesame oil... felt kind of weird after eating it and I eat the other foods all the time with no problem. Maybe I'll try again in the future.

Had some dessert tonight too, about 1/4 cup leftover chocolate mousse (which was originally made with 175g unsweetened chocolate, 2 eggs and 4g sugar and 1T maple syrup - for a special occasion

Snack: Coconut milk and mixed frozen berry smoothie.

Late night snack: 2 spoonfuls of almond butter with coconut flakes.

Acne status: Some whiteheads on cheeks and chin. I think this is due to a change in birth control. I'm not doing anything different with diet or cleansing, just waiting it out.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 30 May 2011 - 03:23 PM.

[TexMurphy01]

So... bread, mayo, milk, cheese... what is it you're cutting out? In fact, outlining your philosophy and/or regimen might be a good idea.

[spectacled_owl]

@ TexMurphy It's kind of a lacto-paleo diet. I don't eat bread, my "sandwiches" are sans bread.

Here's a breakdown of my diet:

No grains/soy/legumes
Grass fed, pasture raised meat, poultry and eggs (most of the time)
Wild caught seafood
Fresh, local when possible, veggies and fruits
No processed food

I still allow dairy as I'd like to see how I do with it still in my diet. I don't drink milk but I consume grass-fed butter, raw milk cheese, cream, and yogurt.

I make my own salad dressings and mayo... and any other condiment like sauce so that I choose what goes into it.

I still think I snack too much on dark chocolate, fruit, and "paleo snacks" that contain honey, sugar, etc and Lara bars. I hope this log gives me a better idea of how my food affects me.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Leftovers from last night's dinner. Coffee with cream.

Lunch: Tomato soup with a sweet potato and lots of butter. I love Kerrygold butter.

Snack: Chocolate chip brownie Lara bar (not one of my favorite flavors, blah)

Gaaaaaaahhhhh my stomach! So I think my lunch was a bad combo. I can totally feel my lunch just sitting in my tummy right now. I did a lil research and it seems that eating very acidic foods with carbs is not good. Something along the lines of the alkaline/acidic digestion processes being opposite and the acid process usually wins and therefore the carbs won't digest.

So yeah, my potato is sitting in my belly. It feels gross

Something to think about if there's anyone who gets heartburn or indigestion after eating a big pasta with tomato sauce meal, or orange juice with grains, or something like that.

I know that tomatoes/tomato sauce has never bothered me and neither has sweet potato. I've never eaten them together like that though. It was a pretty odd combo, but it's what I had with me at work.

Dinner: This. Bison steaks with sweet potato and grass fed butter and broccoli cooked in chicken broth.

My stomach felt better by dinnertime but I didn't end up eating all my steak and I normally would have. That's ok though, breakfast tomorrow.

Kinda Late Snack: Small coconut mixed berry smoothie and a few pork rinds

Edited by spectacled_owl, 18 May 2011 - 08:14 AM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Coconut and mixed berry smoothie. Coffee with cream.

Acne Status: One new small whitehead on chin, not inflamed. Other whiteheads are pretty much cleared up. Also a note: I haven't been wearing my mineral foundation since Monday May 9. This was difficult at first because my red marks and scars look terrible... oh well though, I feel better not wearing it.

12:21pm and I am SO ready for lunch. I ate a Lara bar and a couple of pork rinds to get me through the morning but I'm feeling shaky since I haven't had anything solid. I really hate not eating a proper breakfast.

Lunch finally: Just gobbled up leftover bison and an avocado. <3 Deeelicious.

Avocados are pretty close to being my favorite food. Coconut wins though because it's so versatile and tasty.

Dinner: Two hamburgers with cheddar, romaine, tomato, mayo and red onion.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 18 May 2011 - 04:23 PM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Sausage, egg and cheese from Panera Bread (without the bread). Coffee with cream.

Snack: Coconut milk, banana and cocoa smoothie.

Acne Status: No new pimples, although one of the whiteheads on the right side of my chin from before is larger and a little inflamed. Also forgot to mention that my chest and back acne is gone.

Lunch: Fresh sliced roast beef and an avocado.

Just ate almost 2oz of dark chocolate with hazelnuts... damn me, I can be so weak. Good news though is that I turned down a cinnamon stick pastry and a bag of m&m's that were offered to me. I'm getting better at saying no and worrying about offending people.

Afternoonsies: Drinking some Tazo Chai tea with a splash of coconut milk. Couple hours later snacked on the last of the roast beef.

Dinner: Roast pork loin with a vinegar paprika (other spices, not sure, the bf made it) marinade with sweet potato and grass fed butter. Glass of red wine.

After dinner I checked on my kombucha.... SCOBY! I call it Mow, because it looks like a Portuguese man of war....and because even cultures of bacteria and yeast can have cute names It has been 10 days since I started my batch.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 20 May 2011 - 09:32 AM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast sucks today: Because basically I didn't have it. I made some Chai tea with 1/4 tsp honey and ate an apple. Then I ate another 2oz of the hazelnut chocolate an hour or so later. I feel ok, hungry but not weak or starving. I could make a coconut milk smoothie with banana and cocoa but we've got too much going on at the office to bust out the blender.. so I've just got to make it til about 1pm. Woo hoo.

Snack: Remembered I had some pork rinds so I snacked on some with a glass of coconut milk.

Ate a handful of m&m's... haha just goes to show that if I'm hungry enough and it's food, I will eat it. That's why I like my house, it's only filled with food I want to eat!

Supper: Spaghetti squash with hamburger tomato sauce. One of my favs, yum yum yum.

Dessert: Went a little crazy with minime making chocolate covered things, so I ate a bit more than I should (of course, man what a lame day I'm having!). We made dark chocolate covered bananas, dried cherries, strawberries and blueberries and almonds. I washed it down with a glass of almond milk.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 21 May 2011 - 09:41 AM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Leftovers! SS with meat sauce.

Snack: Went for a hike and ate a mix of dried fruit, almonds, dark chocolate and walnuts.

Lunch: Some more trail mix, couple slices of turkey breast, couple corn chips.

Dinner: Applegate hot dog

Snack: Greek yogurt with some pineapple and blackberries.

Snacky snack: Kale chips. Some almond milk.

Acne status: Nothing new and other spots pretty much healed. Just got the usual lingering redness.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 21 May 2011 - 09:33 PM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Bacon, poached egg with raw milk cheddar and kale sauteed in butter.

Snack: Bacon, beef jerky, almond milk and dried fruit.

Late lunch: Hamburger with tomato sauce.

Dinner: Applegate hot dog and then a little later greek yogurt with blackberries.

I wasn't very hungry today.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 23 May 2011 - 07:10 PM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: 2 Applegate sausages wth kale sauteed in butter.

Snack: Dried fruit (aahhh I've really got to stop eating this, just realized it has sunflower oil and sugar, awesome.) Apparently I really do need to read every single label, because I thought dried fruit was just fruit that is dry. FML. ha not really, it's just some sugar, I'll live. Also some beef jerky.

Lunch: Turkey, bacon and avocado, although I didn't eat much of the avocado since it was at the end of its life and a bit too brown and odd-flavored for me. Also ate 2 cabbage rolls that my coworker made and they had some rice in them. Shortly after I made some Greek yogurt with blackberries.

Snack: Almond butter, beef jerky, cup of chai with almond milk.

Dinner: Yummmmmmmy green curry! Free range chicken thighs, red and green pepper, broccoli, green curry paste and chaokoh coconut milk (note to self, don't buy this brand unless you get a manual can opener - these cans are too soft and just bend when I attempt to open them in the auto-opener.)

This is so good I want to eat the whole pan

Worked out today and was hungry like all day.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 23 May 2011 - 07:10 PM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Cafe latte and pecan pastry from Panera Bread... Bottom line: I don't miss pastries. It wasn't great and of course I was hungry like right after since I just ate flour and sugar for breakfast. It feels so good to not be afraid of or intimidated by food! My taste has changed dramatically and I really feel when I'm not getting nutrients. I bet that sounds lame/crazy to some people, but whatevs! I truly enjoy eating the way I do now.

Snackity: Beef jerky.

Lunch: Leftover curry - just as good if not better than last night Drinking some kombucha.

Snack: Piece of dark chocolate with coconut flakes.

Dinner: A sweet potato with grass fed butter. I wasn't very hungry.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 25 May 2011 - 06:22 AM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Some kale chips, water, a banana. I imagine I'll probably be hungrier in an hour or so

Random snacking: Beef jerky, greek yogurt with blackberries, more kale chips.

Lunch: Sweet potato with butter. Iced coffee with almond milk. Piece of dark chocolate with coconut.

Dinner: Roasted chicken with mashed turnips in butter and carrots.

Umm: The minime insists on cookies. I am sometimes powerless to the five year old's logic as to why cookies are a good idea at 8 o'clock at night. She has some good reasons though, like the fact that she rode her go kart for the first time! She was flying around, so awesome! Check her out.

Anyway, just made some paleo cookies. I'm not particularly in the mood so I think I'll be eating just one with a glass of coconut milk. I promise if I eat more than that I will post in the morning

K I'm still here after eating my one cookie, and yeah, that's all I need. They were good though. Really good! I'm totally bringing some to work tomorrow and not telling anyone they're paleo(ish) lol

Here's the exact recipe if anyone would like to make 'em:

2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp arrowroot powder (or baking soda)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 egg
sweetener of your choice to taste, I used about 2 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup of chopped up dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients (I warmed up my honey and coconut oil in a dish and then added the vanilla and egg). combine wet with dry and stir in chocolate. You can either refrigerate the dough so it's easier to work with or just go for it.. I went for it and it was fine. They don't rise or spread much so you can space them about 1 1/2" apart. Smush them kinda flat too. Bake for 7-12 mins (the recipe I read said 7-10 but I baked in my oven for 12). Voila! http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m274/sk...up/IMG_0789.jpg

Edited by spectacled_owl, 25 May 2011 - 07:45 PM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: 2 pieces of bacon (I wish there was more!) one of my cookies, a banana, coffee with almond milk and splash of cream.

Ugh, I really need to get my routine together. I have no problem eating a good breakfast, but I do have a problem getting up in the morning. I am just so stimulated at night... I go to bed usually after midnight and (try) to get up at 5:30. Sometimes I do get up at 5:30 and exercise and make breakfast, but I still won't be tired and go to bed early the same night! I've got to commit to cutting out the late night computer/DS/tv sessions. Sleep is a big part of this diet too and I'm failing horribly.

Acne Status: Nothing new! Well not really. I noticed my forehead has many small bumps, but I hardly notice them. No whiteheads though and everything else I had is healing or gone. Skin oiliness is greatly decreased and overall my skin feels terrific. I haven't been wearing foundation at all and just occasional eye makeup and I feel gorgeous this way Love it!

Lunch: Turkey breast with an avocado. I feel pretty full.

Note... I think this is the first time I've not had any type of craving. Like last night, I really didn't care if I had a cookie, I just wanted to make them with minime. This morning I only ate one because I'm an idiot and don't give myself time to make a proper breakfast. I feel great right now though and actually the thought of eating something sweet sounds gross.

So, some advice. If you are trying to cut sweets or whatever out of your diet and having a hard time, don't stress. Just take it at a pace you can handle. For me, trying to just completely not eat sugar was too hard. I mean... I've eaten one way my entire life! I practically consumed sugar at every meal/snack whatever. It was easy to stop eating bread and grains, but I still needed that sweet fix. Rather than stress about every gram of sugar, I just weaned myself to less and less. That seems to work and I hope I continue to feel this way.

Snack: Greek yogurt with blackberries

Dinner: Southwest chicken soup - made from leftover chicken and stock from last night's roast plus roasted red, yellow and green peppers, onions, tomatoes and plenty of herbs and spices.


Soooo excited!! I just bottled my kombucha! Lookie

I blended it with some POM pomegranate blueberry juice. I'm letting those three bottles ferment for a few days sealed out of the fridge so they will carbonate. I put two right in the fridge though for drinking immediately. I think it came out really good!

Now I don't think kombucha has any crazy health benefits or anything, and is perhaps just glorified vinegar soda with some probiotics, but I do think it's delicious - even without juice or carbonation or even being cold. Minime really likes it too, which surprises me because it is pretty vinegary.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 27 May 2011 - 06:59 AM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Poached egg with raw cheddar and kale sauteed in butter. Also drinking my kombucha, which came out delicious! Nice and vinegary, just how I like it lol.

Lunch: Leftover chicken soup. Super yum.

Snack?: A raw carrot. Some butter sauteed shrimp and yellow and green squash.

Snack again: Applegate hot dog.

Oh and just in case anyone is wondering why the only way I seem to eat eggs is poached, it's because that's the only way I like them really. I despise scrambled eggs and last time I had a fried egg I didn't like it. Even when I poach my eggs I don't leave the center very runny... it just grosses me out for some reason. I do like omelets with tons of veggies but making omelets is kind of a big ordeal for me so I usually only make them on weekends.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 27 May 2011 - 03:50 PM.

[spectacled_owl]

Umm the weekend has been a little crazy and I don't remember my food schedule too well. I've eaten a random mix of the following:

Eggs, kale, chicken, green beans, peas, almond meal pancakes, raw cheddar, coconut milk, berries, coffee, cream, tea, kombucha.

That's all I can think of. I've stuck to my diet well enough, I just don't remember what exactly I ate and when

Hmmm, let's throw in some eggplant, tomato, homemade mayo on a burger. Carrots. Also some almond butter and coconut flakes. I think there was some dark chocolate with coconut in there somewhere too.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 29 May 2011 - 10:25 PM.

[spectacled_owl]

All I've had so far is a coffee with cream and half of a sweet potato with butter. Not very hungry. I can't wait til later though... because we're gonna make these pink tacos haha! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYxO3Y-wOrM Except there's no way I'm wasting perfectly good Patron in my perfectly good guac. Just the tacos too. Basically wrapping up tacos in bacon instead of a taco shell, sounds good to me.

Some things to note: I dunno about eggs. I rarely eat two for breakfast because they are so sickening to me. Well I ate two for breakfast yesterday with some kale and zucchini and my stomach felt odd all day. I had this feeling like I didn't want to eat the other egg either... shoulda listened.

I seem to do well with a lot of fat and protein. Sometimes I swear I'm a carnivore I'd like to start introducing organ meats into my diet but I've got to find a good source. I'm not buying the walmart special! I'm gonna try the local farm that sells pasture raised meat and raw dairy, it's just a bit far and kind of expensive (at least for the usual muscle meat). Can anyone recommend a good brand or source for their organ meats? I'm thinking I'll try liver first, probably from beef or lamb, then explore other options. My ex coworker's mom used to make us homemade oxtail soup and it was sooo good.

Here's a pic for you guys so you can see my skin. Warning: just because my skin is clearer does not mean I am any more photogenic, some things you just can't fix! I'm not wearing any makeup and my hair is dirty heh. Seriously though... my forehead just has some small bumps and everything else is redness and scars.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m274/sk...up/IMG_0820.jpg

Dinner: Oh.My.Goodness. Best friggin tacos ever! I'm sorry, I wanted to take a pic, but was overcome by the scent of bacon which was intoxicating. One minute I was weaving a bacon mat, the next I was rubbing my belly in delight in front of an empty plate.

The layers: Bacon, taco meat (pasture hamburger, salsa verde, tons of spices, bacon grease, onions), cheddar (this unfortunately was just the Kraft Mexican blend), guacamole (avocado, fresh garlic, onions, tomatoes, lemon juice, cilantro, salt and pepper), sour cream (normally I'd use my Greek yogurt but it was gone...sigh) and romaine lettuce. We made one gigantic "wrap" and then cut into individual servings. It was messy, it did not stay together...it was good. I think this will become a staple around this house... like Epic Bacon Taco Monday Madness.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 30 May 2011 - 04:50 PM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Some leftover taco meat and sweet potato hash sauteed in coconut oil.

Snack: Coconut milk and berry smoothie (strawberries, blueberries, black & raspberries) Coffee with cream.

Lunchies: MORE leftover taco meat (yum!) on some romaine lettuce with a dollop of sour cream.
Followed shortly after by a fruit and nut bar (it had almonds, cashews, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, apricot and some agave nectar) and a raw-volution bar which is similar to a Lara bar.

Then I drank a couple of swigs of kombucha. Then my stomach felt like crap about 10 minutes later.

This isn't the first time that's happened but I don't mention stuff like this right away in case it's just random. However, this is the third time my stomach has been weird. The first time was after I ate those two eggs for breakfast. The second time was last night after eating the tacos and now again today after lunch.

I'm thinking it could be caused by either the kombucha being drunk too soon after a meal or my body adjusting to my diet (the higher fat and protein content). Either way... it's got to have something to do with gut flora and/or stomach bile. I'm leaning towards the kombucha because up until now I haven't had any issues with eating fat or protein. The kombucha is the common denominator here, although I haven't had any problems until the past few days. Since I've made my own, I've really upped my portions It's good, what can I say hah. I'm going to not drink any at all for a while and see what happens. Then I'll try it again in the future.

Dinner: Shrimp, clams and green and yellow squash sauteed in butter, garlic and lemon juice. Seafood is so effortlessly delicious. All I kept thinking though, was how good asparagus would be in there. Next time...

WTF: So my dinner sat in my stomach again. UGH. I swear this feels worse than labor, at least I can say that now since it's been 5 years hah. Anyway, so I know something is wrong. Here's my hypothesis:

Too much acid from my kombucha and diet. I mentioned my kombucha was very acidic (and I'm weird and think it tastes good) however I've kinda been gulping it down and it's probably unhealthy due to it being more acidic than kombucha is normally. Also I want to examine my diet log (too tired right now) because I bet I've been eating a lot of acidic food.... tons of meat and fat for instance.

Starting tomorrow I'm gonna try to eat more alkalizing food, basically more veggies and some fruit, and ease up on my meat and fat until I feel normal again. Definitely laying off the 'buch for now.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 31 May 2011 - 10:24 PM.

[mei-ling]

OH MY GOD TACCOOOOSSSSSSSSS!!!

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: I'm almost too embarrassed to write that all I've had today is some blackberries, a chocolate coconut Lara bar, a small handful of dried fruit and some coffee with cream. Yay me... a bunch of sugar and acidic coffee NFTW. Excuses are that I had to get up extra early and do some stuff this morning and we need to go grocery shopping as there's not much good to eat. I'm starting to feel pretty crappy anyway, seeing as I'm (probably) barely getting any nutrients from what food I am eating. Learning the hard way is sure my style.

I just ate about 5 antacids because my tummy feels like a fermenting pot. Starting to feel better. I do plan to eat a good lunch today with lots of veggies.

Lunch: Romaine lettuce with some turkey and homemade mayo. I actually felt normal after eating! What a relief. My appetite is screwy though, I almost feel like I'm "starting over" in some sense.

Snacked on some pork rinds

Dinner: Shrimp, clams and vegetables (leftovers). Also ate a couple of cheap packaged cookies and I swear I had a headache after.... but who knows if it's related.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 02 June 2011 - 06:44 AM.

[spectacled_owl]

Breakfast: Plain Greek full fat yogurt with blackberries. Had a small coffee with cream.

Lunch: Romaine lettuce, cucumber and an avocado.

Felt pretty blah about 10 mins after eating, the usual feeling of food sitting there.

Snack: Yogurt and blackberries again.

Dinner: Grass fed lamb with asparagus in butter.

I have kind of a full feeling, a bit more intense than just being "full". Not too bad though.

Acne Status: I haven't done one for a few days, oops. I got a pimple on my neck (very unusual for me) and 3 small non-inflamed whiteheads, two on cheeks and one on my chin. Could be from the nasty cookies or perhaps my stomach issues, or who knows.

Edited by spectacled_owl, 02 June 2011 - 07:19 PM.