Observations

Post Elimination Diet Observations so far

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Happy Labor Day! I’m into my 2nd full day of my post clean elimination diet program.

I’m having a problem bringing just one thing back a day to see what type of reactions I have to the food.  However, I have had some reactions or lack of reactions that I’ve captured below.

On Saturday as many of you know, Penn State kicked of their 2011 football season (and they won 41-7). Wahoo!!  It was a noon game and the tradition I have for noon games is to have a Bloody Mary…which I did have. There were free appetizers offered at the watching party.  I tried some.  But I stopped at one round (normally I would’ve gone back for more).  The food was good too…I just didn’t want anymore.  I did have a salad for lunch with grilled chicken (sans feta cheese and roasted peppers). However, I did have some pizza later in the day and evening (plus a salad). I also drank lots of water throughout the day.  I was hanging out with a friend later in the evening and felt itchy all over (now there was a dog around and I am allergic…I grew up with 2 dogs so I can usually deal with it). My reaction was more intense. Not sure if it was the food I ate or the dog. Interesting none the less.

On Sunday, I had a shake for breakfast, a lasgna roll-up and spinach salad for lunch and dinner was grilled chicken and spinach salad. During the afternoon I had my first fountain drink and a chocolate frosty. The fountain drink didn’t really do anything for me (as in it wasn’t overly enjoyable).  The frosty on the other hand was yummy.

Today I had my morning shake. Lunch was spicy tuna roll. I had my first cup of coffee today (the coffee just didn’t taste as I expected…now I did use regular sugar and didn’t have my light cream so that could be it too).  Not sure I’ll have coffee tomorrow morning (I’m shocked just writing this)!

I’m off to a Labor Day BBQ later this afternoon.  So more to come over the next couple of days on how I’m doing (and my observations).

In the Homestretch…

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Sorry I’ve been away for awhile.  Hurricane Irene was a bit distracting.  It was a little scary Saturday night and I lost power for a few hours.  I got off easy vs. many people up and down the east coast who are dealing with flooding, still no power and damage to their property.  If you want to donate to help with relief:  http://www.redcross.org/

Well I’ve completed my 2 weeks on the Clean program. I’m in the homestretch!!  I’m officially done at noon on Saturday. I’m 1/2 day shy of the full 21 days.  I’m stopping a 1/2 day early as this Saturday is the kick-off of the PSU 2011 Football Season.  More on the reason later.

I’ve stuck to the program for the entire time.  Don’t get me wrong, I had my cravings but I got through them.  I’ve noticed some changes.  One in particular relates to my feet.  I have an arch problem (it is so bad I have custom orthodics).  I noticed last week at bootcamp, it wasn’t bothering me as much.  I can narrow it down to two things:  I did purchase new cross trainers and I haven’t been eating nightshade veggies.  What are nightshades?  They are tomatos, peppers, eggplant and gogi berries.  They cause inflammation.  I’m going to see how my workouts for the next couple of days to see if I notice the same thing as last Friday.

What is next?  When I finish the 21 day Clean program or in my case 20 1/2 day Clean program, you gradually add back the foods you’ve eliminated to see if you have any reactions.  The first thing I plan on introducing back are 2 things – nightshades and alcohol…I plan on having a Bloody Mary at Noon on 9/3 to kick-off the 2011 Football Season.  I’ve already committed to myself that I’m not going to blow all of my work my first day back to regular eating.  I picked out my salad and know what I’m going to ask them to remove and add (and I’m bringing my own salad dressing) (and yes I know at least one of my friends will give me a look – I’m used to it though).  So for the most part on Saturday I’m sticking to the program.  I’m going to have a shake for breakfast, a light lunch (grilled chicken salad sans feta cheese and my own balsalmic dressing), veggies / apple during the game, water, bloody mary, water and a shake or soup for dinner.

Below are the foods / beverages I have eliminated from my diet over the passed 2 1/2 weeks.

ELIMINATION DIET

Fruits:  Oranges, orange juice, grapefruit, strawberries, grapes, banana

Dairy & Substitutes:  Dairy and eggs, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, cream, yogurt, butter, ice cream, non-dairy creamers

Gluetins / Starch:  Wheat, corn, barley, spelt, kamut, rye, couscous, oats

Animal Protein:  Raw fish, pork, beef, veal, sausage, cold cuts, canned meats, hot dogs, shellfish

Vegetable Protein:  Soybean products (soy sauce, soybean oil in processed, foods, tempeh, tofu, soy milk, soy yogurt)

Nuts:  Peanuts, peanut butter, pistachios, macadamia nuts

Vegetables:  Corn, creamed vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers

Oils:  Butter, margarine, shortening, processed oils, canola oil, salad dressings, mayonnaise, spreads

Drinks:  Alcohol, coffee, caffeinated beverages, soda pop, soft drinks

Sweetners:  Refined sugar, white/brown sugars, honey, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, Splenda®, Equal®, Sweet’N Low®

Condiments:  Chocolate, ketchup, relish, chutney, soy sauce, barbecue sauce, teriyaki, other condiments

Hurricane Irene and Comfort Food

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Why is it that everytime we have a major snowstorm or in this case a hurricane in NJ that I crave / want…maybe even need comfort food?  I know this past winter when people we stocking up on essentials during one of our 5 major snowstorms, I was stocking up on some version of ice cream (even if it was made with coconut milk), Herr’s Reduced Fat Kettle Cooked Chips, Diet Soda, etc.  When I was stocking on one of those trips last winter I thought this is crazy…in the past those types of snowstorms were few and far between…it was a regular occurance this past winter.

Onto Irene and comfort food.  I was in BJ’s Thursday night and saw some of the things people had in their shopping cart.  I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was a little jealous.  I stayed my course and purchased my pecans and almonds.  I spoke to one of my fellow bootcampers Friday morning about the same thing…comfort foods…why do we do it?  So it is now Saturday night, I’m completing week 2 of my 3 week program and I can tell you I’m jealous I don’t have any of my favorite comfort foods in the house (and grateful that I didn’t cave when at the grocery store).  I do have the fixins for a cocktail or beer, but I’ve gotten this far and I’m not going to cave.  I’m staying the course.

I’ve handled my craving for comfort food by making the Cinnamon Roll Smoothie for dinner and added a TBSP of raw cocoa! 🙂

So for all of my friends and readers who are on the East Coast…be safe as our unwelcomed guest, Irene, makes herself known and hopefully leaves quickly.

 

One Down…Two to Go

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

I completed week 1 of the Clean Program (www.cleanprogram.com) Saturday night!  Following the program the first week wasn’t as hard as I thought.  The biggest challenge for me was getting my supplements in place, figuring out my dinner (you can check out my week 1 food log to see what I’ve been eating), no coffee & working out.

I figured out the supplements in a couple of days (if I had dug around on the www.my.cleanprogram.com a little more I would’ve figured it out sooner).  As you will recall dinner is liquid which means it can be a soup.  I’m not a huge soup fan, but I have enjoyed some…others not so much.  There is also timing on dinner too as the program recommends not eating anything for 12 hours after dinner.  I already posted a blog on how much I’ve missed my morning coffee.  And I’m still missing it…I enjoy the ritual…it is how I start my morning (not the first thing I do but pretty close)…I miss the taste (I enjoy mine with some light cream and sweetner – and yes I’ve been gradually getting off the sweet and low).  And lastly working out.  I made it to bootcamp on Day 2, but was plagued with terrible / lack of sleep last Tuesday and Thursday nights.  Thursday was the  worse…severe muscle pain on my shoulder…that eluded sleep (I slept about every 2 hours).  I ended week 1 on a high note…Saturday morning was beautiful and I got outside for a nice 45 minute walk…it felt great (and I got a little pool time in the afternoon).

I plan on focusing on the following during week 2:  mixing up my dinner options (I found a recipe for a cucumber / avocado gazpacho soup recipe I hope to try tonight…I’ll let you know) and moving around more (particularly on non bootcamp days as I’m hoping it will help me with my sleep) and getting a massage (and this is a recommended part of the program–this may be the toughest part of the program for me…NOT 🙂 )

Wish me luck!

Have a great Tuesday!

Observations – Week 1

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Observations from week 1 of my journey on the Clean program

Caffeine: Steady headache from Day 1 through Day 3. Day 4 slight in the morning but gone after that.

Cravings: Still seem to have them from 2:00 – 4:00 pm

Sleep: Slept fantastic the first 2 nights…since then it has been sporadic to very bad. Last night (thurs), I went to bed early (9:30 pm). I had a slight twinge of pain in my right shoulder…laying down made it worse. I pretty much woke up every two hours after midnight to refresh my cold herbal packs.  Feeling better during the day; should be interesting to see how tonight goes.

Mornings are the toughest because of the headaches

The liquid dinners are easier than I expected.  I just found a cantaloupe cold soup I like.  Thought  I’d like the cold cucumber soup but it was had tooooo much dill.  Next time I’ll try without the dill.

Coffee…oh how I miss you…

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

As I suspected, my morning coffee(s) or lack there of have been the biggest challenge so far. Not only do I miss the caffeine, but I also miss the taste (I love light cream in mine) and the ritual. I’ve substituted Chai Green Tea…but it just isn’t the same. I’ve had a headache every day so far and I’m only on day 4. Thank goodness I have my herbal cold packs…they have helped. And I haven’t taken anything for the headaches…which is a huge positive. I do get migraines; however, I can tell the difference and the headaches I’ve been having are caffeine withdrawal.  Someone suggested CALM to me, so I’m going to try to see if drinking that helps.

There are other things on the program that you can’t have, but I’ve managed through it so far. I went to the Farmer’s Market Monday evening and of course the fresh corn, tomotoes and fresh peppers looked wonderful…but no can do right now. 😦

On a positive note, I had a board meeting last night where I usually have a few cocktails and order dinner. I planned everything out. Before I hoped on the train I drank my shake in the car, had some gobi green tea to sip on, raw cashews in case I had the urge to snack. I only had water at the meeting and didn’t need to use my cashews. The one thing I did learn is I can’t have green tea in the evening. I did not sleep well last night.

Looking forward to the caffeine adjustment…hope it is sooner rather than later! 🙂

Happy Hump Day!