fromthicktothin

Ok, I’ve been wanting to write a post about this for a while, but I’ve been stuck in the place of “I know this information might help someone” and “People are going to think I’m nuts”. Anyhow, call me almond butter because I know this book has helped not only myself but several of my friends.

I think if you’ve read my previous posts, it’s easy to see I do not prescribe to the SAD (Standard American Diet). I was a vegetarian for 9 years and pretty much wrecked my health with soy. The sad thing is that I did no research when I decided to change my diet, I just jumped in and 9 years later I was suffering from anxiety, depression, insulin resistance, food obsessions and obesity. Some of this is also due to allergies I have (hello, what do you mean I’m allergic to wheat) and eating a ton of processed vegetarian crap - veggie burgers, veggie dogs, tofutti (Ok, even I will admit that Tofutti the best tasting “fake” soy food found out there but I wouldn’t touch it for a million dollars). I now make certain I’m eating whole foods or if I am buying something the label has no more than 6 ingredients. Yes, I am now following a “primal” diet and it wasn’t just because I saw this guy’s lovely photo, oh, I mean story:

but because all my research lead me to it and well, it works. I have been on it for two months and seen some amazing changes not only in my body but mentally. I can not eat a lot of sugar and grains or I will suffer from some pretty sever anxiety, night terrors and obsessive thoughts of death.

Anyhow, when I made the change in my diet in my search I stumbled across Julia Ross’s book The Diet Cure . I checked out her book from the library and found a couple of podcasts that explain how she uses amino acids to help balance brain chemistry:

Underground Wellness: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/UndergroundWellness/2009/05/06/The-Diet-Cure-with-Julia-Ross

Livin La Vida Low Carb (obviously this one is going to “push” the low carb lifestyle)

http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/310/nutritional-psychologist-julia-ross-on-curing-carb-addiction-episode-266/

Finding her information has really been the icing on the cake for me.

Here’s amazon’s review of her book:

For most health books, the word cure in the title is a definite sign to steer clear. The Diet Cure is a refreshing exception. Author Julia Ross has the unusual job description of “nutritional psychologist,” which means that she works with people to eradicate food cravings, addictions, and eating disorders (including overeating). The gist of The Diet Cure plan is that food allergies, hormonal irregularities, blood sugar swings, and thyroid dysfunction, among other factors, cause biochemical imbalances that lead to food addiction and weight gain, and that these problems can usually be lessened or eradicated with the proper diet and supplements.

To be sure, most of these health problems ought to be diagnosed by a medical professional, but they often get overlooked because their symptoms can be numerous and vague (fatigue, depression, inability to concentrate). They’re not easily diagnosed by the common managed-care tests (such as the TSH, or thyroid-stimulating hormone, blood test; Ross advises several more specific tests if a thyroid problem is suspected). Ross’s questionnaires, worksheets, and profiles of case studies from her 10 years of clinical experience will enable you to determine what may be the hidden causes that sabotage your weight-loss efforts.

Ross’s book should be lauded for its educational tone. She warns of the dangers of zinc and vitamin B1 deficiencies, two common problems found in chronic dieters, along with protein and fat deficiencies and adrenal exhaustion (which is particularly common in caffeine fiends). She rails against the most popular diet programs, including the Zone, the Atkins Diet, and even Weight Watchers, for (among other things) their ignorance of food allergies such as grains, dairy products, and sugar. For those whom Ross terms, perhaps frighteningly, sugar addicts or “recreational sugar users,” she suggests an amino-acid and fish-oil supplement plan to curb sugar cravings and aid weight loss. Many of her patients over the past decade testify in the book that their environmental allergies and weight-loss problems disappeared after they cut sugar from their diets.

Ross’s suggestions may seem radical to many primary-care physicians; her approach to health and weight loss definitely takes a holistic approach. She does, however, back up her suggestions and plan with references to medical studies, along with dozens of print and online resources on finding a nutritionist, naturopathic physician, holistic M.D., and testing labs (many of them mail-order).

So I was talking to a co-worker and she told me that I’m looking more toned and if i was losing weight.  I was a little surprised and said “Yep, I’m trying to get healthier” and went on to explain how I had stumbled across the phrase “Insulin Resistance” and it woke me up the fact that I was staring at diabetes down the road. Normally (as I have done many times in the past), I would have mumbled something and said “Oh yeah” and gotten all tight lipped about what I was doing. I’m not someone who likes attention and especially when it has to deal with my weight. I’m glad that I was able to open up because I know this has been one of my weight loss stumbling blocks - people start noticing I’m fitter and then I start eating more and gain the weight back. NO MORE OF THAT!

Nancy just had to mention bacon wrapped hot dogs this morning didn’t she :). I’ve also been eying this cake and I plan on making it this weekend:

I try not to make sweets often because I am addicted to sugar and desserts but this baby is made of beans! Crazy huh? It’s actually low in carbs and sugar. The recipe can be found here. She uses Stevia and erythritol but I’ll be making the version with honey. It has a little more carbs but I’m not comfortable with these sugars and stick with only raw honey or maple syrup in my diet.

Ok, I stole that from Jimmy Moore’s podcast (sorry Jimmy) but I wanted to see if there was any interest in a low carb support group. I know a lot of us have started following this plan for various reasons - heath issues (Diabetes, pcos, etc), sugar addictions or you just want to get healthier. I’m basically following this plan for all the three reasons I listed. I know there are many different versions of low carb (Atkins, South Beach, Rosedale, Low carb vegetarian and vegan, Paleo, Primal) but I would love to have a place to share recipes, trials and tribulations and just give each other support.

I started a thread in the weight loss groups and if anyone would like join stop on by!

Right now I feel like I’m in a good place. I’m being active and I’m digging my”diet”. The only issues I’m bumping up again and again is patience. I need to learn some patience. I’m trying to do it healthy this time and lose 1 -2 pounds a week vs the huge losses I saw when I went completely raw vegan (which of course I gained back when I started eating my typical Kelly way).

I didn’t lose any weight this week mostly because 1) I know that I am eating too many nuts (walnuts have I told you how much I love you) and 2) I’m pmsing like crazy (although my symptoms are much milder since I cut most of the sugar out of my diet) . I’m going to start taking my measurements and comparing them once a month as I have banned myself from the scale for the summer. My husband has mentioned that I’m looking fitter but he’s also been hyper aware of my exercising and telling me not to go too crazy, which I am not doing. We just had a small “discussion” because I’m going to start doing a women’s version of the 300 workout and he thinks that means I’m going to start Olympic weight lifting or something :) 

While, these women are a testement to hard work and diligence, it’s not my cup of tea.   So really I need to learn patience with the scale and with my hubby.

Well, I currently have an older scale (not digital) that is always jumping around and giving me different weights (which makes it a bummer if for some reason it decides to set under 0 and then I think that I’ve lost when I really haven’t).  I figure this is my scales way of placating me so I don’t do something silly like throw it away.

Does anyone have any digital scale recommendations? I’m looking for something that will also figure my body fat.

Thanks!

Ok, it’s easy to guess that I’m someone who is not afraid to eat fat, specifically saturated fat (If you think about it, 99% of all the oils that a majority of the population is eating are vegetable oils (soy, cottonseed, canola) and more often and not these oils are hydrogenated or have become unstable by high heat) . I think that your typical “diet dictocrats” would take a look at the fats I use in my home and well, have a heart attack. My cub bard is full of raw virgin coconut oil, home rendered lard and raw olive oil. I would actually like to add tallow to the mix also. However, this post is not about all those other oils. It’s about coconut oil.

I think a lot of people hear coconut oil and their first reaction is “What? omg, that is stuff is terrible for you. It raises cholesterol and causes heart disease.” Well, the studies that proved this point used hydrogenated coconut oil, not raw virgin coconut oil. Any oil that is hydrogenated is going to be a wrecking ball to your system.

First, why do I included raw coconut oil in my diet?

One - It has an amazing amount of Lauric acid. Where else do we see lauric acid? Breast milk. Lauric acid helps fight infections. If you look at the ingredients of any baby formula you will see that they have included lauric acid which is derived from the oil.

Two - It supports the thyroid.

“The cholesterol-lowering properties of coconut oil are a direct result of its ability to stimulate thyroid function. In the presence of adequate thyroid hormone, cholesterol (specifically LDL-cholesterol) is converted by enzymatic processes to the vitally necessary anti-aging steroids, pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA. These substances are required to help prevent heart disease, senility, obesity, cancer and other diseases associated with aging and chronic degenerative diseases.”

A direct result of this is that it helps with weight loss.

Three- It’s excellent for your skin and hair (curly hair girl here). It help prevent wrinkles.

Four - New research is coming out about how it helps with Alzheimer’s. This runs in my husbands family so I make sure he gets his coconut everyday.

If this blog leads you to think, hey I wanna check out some of this stuff. Please make sure that you are only buying virgin coconut oil. It should smell like coconuts. Another thing, is to included it slowly in your diet if you are not used to fat because, um, it will lead to trips to the bathroom if you go whole hog.

I will be the first to admit that Fermented Cod Liver is an acquired taste. When I first started taking it, I took the easy route and took it in pill format. However, the cheapskate in me looked at the price difference of going with the oil vs pill and the oil won. Now, why is cod liver oil a beautiful real food? It’s packed with fat soluble vitamin A and D, EPA and DHA.

Most people are vitamin D deficient and the darker your skin the more vitamin D you require.

Why is vitamin D so great? Vitamin D has recently been shown to lower the risk of diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, memory loss and several types of cancer.

Why is vitamin A so great? Vitamin A “participates in physiological activities related to the immune system, maintenance of epithelial and mucosal tissues, growth, reproduction, and bone development ”

I only take fermented cod liver oil because it is not an adulterated product and it is a whole food supplement, not something synthesized in a laboratory. I personally noticed that the first winter I went through while taking cod liver oil was the first one I didn’t experience seasonal depression.  This BRF is something I have added to my health arsenal.

Well, I haven’t written a blog post in a while . . . wow since December . . . and lots has changed since then. Honestly during the winter I totally slacked off. I maintained my weight at about 248. Luckily I’m part of the commit to getting fit group and Sabrina helped get me back to tracking my fitness (really, knowing that there was no judgment (if I only worked out once a week)) and only support made me keep coming back to the group.

Anyhoo, I have made some wonderful changes to my diet in the last month, reduced my sugar intake to almost nothing (sometimes I bake something and I need a tbsp of maple syrup or honey), started to following a more “Primal/Traditional Foods” diet i.e I’ve eliminated grains and eat lots of organic vegetables, grass fed meats, nuts, fat and grass fed dairy (Raw milk has and will always been a staple in my diet). I feel amazing. I have noticed that all of the issues (anxiety, night terrors, fixating on death (not killing myself just the constant loop of thoughts of my mortality) disappeared when I eliminated sugar from my diet (I was a 4 - 5 sweets a day person - cake, candy bars, pastrys, etc). Honestly, at first when I stopped sugar, I didn’t notice that these symptoms has disappeared. It wasn’t until my husbands birthday and I had a very small portion of the blackberries from the cobbler that my MIL had made and later I suffered through a bout of anxiety that had become so much a part of my existence that I didn’t realize that it wasn’t normal or preventable. Never again. I’ve found my path (I’ve also managed to get down to 235 and I’m losing inches . yeah! getting closer)

Each of us is on the path to a healthier person. I wanted to share some of the beautiful real foods that I’ve started eating that have helped my in my journey. This is the first of the seven I would like to share with you:

Butter - Yep, I said it. Butter. Real butter. Butter that is made from cream from grass fed cows. Years ago when I was a vegan I wouldn’t have touched this stuff with a four foot pole. However two years ago when I changed my diet (after researching Soy - which I ate by the truck load and never questioned -btw I avoid all soy like the plague now) and found this excerpt explaining how margarine was made:

” To produce them manufactures begin with the cheapest oils - soy, corn, cottonseed or canola, already rancid from the extraction process - and mix them with tiny metal particles - usually nickel oxide. The oil with it’s nickel catalyst is then subjected to hydrogen gas in a high-pressure, high-temperature reactor. Next, soap-like emulsifiers and starch are squeezed into the mixture to give it a better consistency; the oil is yet again subjected to high temperatures when it is steam-cleaned. This removes its unpleasant odor. Margarine’s natural color, an unappetizing grey, is removed by bleach. Dyes and strong flavors must then be added to make it resemble butter. ”

Well, that sounds . . . nasty. And then I realized that I can make butter in five minutes with my food processor and cold cream and it tastes a million times better. It’s a no brainer for me. Also, one of the benefits of going with butter from grass-fed cows is that not only does it taste better but you get a wonderful mix of fat soluable vitamins - vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin K and vitamin E as well. Unfortunately or fortunately, however you choose to see it, my new obsessions is tasting different butters. Right now my number 1 butter is from Noris Dairy in Crabtree, OR. Oh that butter is just yummy all the way around.

I need to buy a belt. All of my work pants are starting to slide off my butt - this can be particularly fun when I’m working with a client and I have to dash into another room to pull up my pants. Also, he he, sorry if this is too much information, but there is nothing more uncomfortable than having your drawers sliding down when you’re walking around. This has been happening to me all week! Ha Ha. I swear I’m going shopping this weekend.

I’m finally getting back on track after the holidays. I didn’t go too overboard on turkey and stuffing, but I made two pies - apple and pecan. I gave away as much apple pie as possible but the pecan pie was intact (hubby’s family isn’t too big on the pecan pie). I probably ended up eatting 3/4 of it. Then I had a donut. Then a chocolate cheesecake muffin. Sigh. When I weighed myself on Sunday I was still at the same weight, which is a blessing but we shall see what the scale brings tomorrow.

Anyhow, I was chatting my sister and she was telling about the daily plate. I’ve started tracking food and exercise over there and I really like how they tell you how many calories to eat based on how much weight you want to lose in a week. They also take into account if you work out and up your calories for you.

Food Log

Exercise Log

Well, today started out sad. One of my chickens was killed by a possum. The possum actually attacked Thursday night but I had assumed Rosemary was hiding (as she was prone to do) and this morning I didn’t see her out with the other girls  so I went looking and found her. My husband and I have plans down the road to have a small hobby farm and I know that by making this decision we will be faced with the reality of the life and death of our animals ( For goodness sakes, I mean we plan to raise animals to eat - I won’t be naming these). That was the only thing that got me through this morning without crying (then of course I talked to my hubby and started bawling).

This week has been tough. I was feeling out of sorts on Saturday. I ended eating way more than I should have that day (hubby & I went for late night Mexican food (after dinner) - although I did manage to eat mostly beans and avoid the mountain of sour cream and cheese piled high on my taco salad. I also ate only half of the shell). Sunday I was just tired to the bone but I went for my hike and ended up with a fever that night. Monday I had another fever and a terrible headache so I skipped working out for two days and for some reason that also meant I could eat what ever I want. By Wednesday night, I knew I was starting to slide and I wasn’t about to let myself off so easily. I am committed to this change, so Thursday I started food journaling again so I am watching my calories as I should. I’ve been giving my lower back a rest as it started acting up on Wednesday and finally today it’s better. I weighed in today and I am exactly where I was at last week which is a relief. I was expecting to have gained weight. I didn’t meet any of the goals I set out for myself last week so I will pick them up this week:

1. Do 10 squats and 10 wall push up every time I go to the loo at work.

2. Stay between 1700 - 1800 calories.

3. Eat one fermented veggie a day (ack! I’m going to have to learn to make kim chi)

4. Increase yoga to twice a week.

Food Log

Exercise Log