Loveskale's Journal

[Loveskale]

Hi Boots!

Day 3:

B: Steamed potatoes (no salt), an apple
L: Leftovers from last night (a little salt)
D: Same, but I'll probably add some letuce for fun!
S: Apple, potatoes
D: Water, may or may not have chamomile tea tonight

So far so good. I am so much happier knwoing that what I'm eating is keeping me healthy. My skin looks a lot better. My hair is also looking good, it's a lot less frizzy. I'm a lot more confident when speaking to people. My depression/anxiety is getting a whole lot better. My IBS has been improving in leaps and bounds these past few weeks. It's still a little mad from Thanksgiving, but I know that I'll get better soon.

Last night I fell asleep before I finished my chamomile tea, so I might not need that to help me sleep anymore? Now I've gotten to the point where my head hits the pillow and it's not long before I'm out.

[Loveskale]

Day 4:

I can't believe that I am on day 4 of my little challenge and I am still happy with it. Very happy, in fact.

I am still very happy with the improvements I see in the mirror, however, today I had a huge pain in my stomach, no idea what that was about, it's never happened before. Let's hope that it never happens again.

Also, turns out that quinoa is so fatty to me it made my face rather greasy; I can't think of anything else I've eaten that would cause this. But, I am not worried.

B: Hashbrowns w/ a little salt.
L: Leftovers from yesterday.
D: Red beans, grene peppers, swiss chard, and pumpkin. DELICIOUS. Even my sister ate some, that is a huge thing.
S: APPLES! A very reasonablye portion of homemade pumpernickel bread.
D: WATER!!! Some chamomile tea w/ honey.

I have a spice mix that I've been using, turns out the salt from that was enough to make my dinner tasty enough. I didn't add any more. I am very happy about this. This spice mix isn't very salty (at least the ingredients say so; I hope that this isn't a math deception thing).

I wanted to add tomatoes for dinner but we were all out of canned. Then, I noticed tomato sauce. I considered it, looked at the ingredients and the salt and said "nope", it was VERY salty. I love how being successful on this challenge makes me care a lot more about my health. I am feeling very good.

As for the bread, I made more, and this had a negligible amount of starch flour (2 tbsp). I believe I can make this bread without now, however, I just need to remember to replace it with another flour!

Anyways, off to bed now.

[kittyadventures]

You go girl....

I am impressed by how much better you are feeling although I guess I feel like that too.

When I eat stuff that has not been packaged I do feel lots better.

[Loveskale]

Hi Kitty! Thanks for stopping by!

Day 5:

I am very pleased with my progress, so far 5 days and I have been strict McDougall. I think that honestly in two years this is one of the longest times I've been strict. Always a little "oh well" oil here and there. Surprisingly, it is a whole lot simpler when I cut out all processed foods. It was just that little processed food that made it so easy to eat more processed foods. I think I really need to keep it out of my diet. I used to eat a horrendous amount of sugar, now I am eating no white sugar, just a little honey in my tea at night. I used to drink so much non-dairy milk, now I drink none. I used to let myself indulge in coffee now and then, now it has been over a week and I am feeling great.

B: Hashbrowns w/ a little salt
L: Leftovers
D: Spicy lentil soup, mashed taters and rutabaga
D: Raspberries
S: Apples, raspberries, 1 slice of pumpernickel bread
D: WATER! Probably will have some chamomile tea tonight

I weighed myself this morning, I very rarely do this, and I have lost a little weight. I have mixed feeling about this since I am pretty close to a good weight for me, and I do not want to lose a lot of weight, I don't want to become anorexic. However, I am still feeling good and strong so I'll see what happens. This could mean that I need to eat more regular plan foods like avocado, olives, or more tortillas. But I'm not going to go crazy just yet.

My stomach still hurts now and then, but I am convinced that I am coming down with a cold and that is what the case is. We'll see.

Challenge is 1/6 complete, yay!

[Loveskale]

Day 6:

Just a busy day today.

B: Hashbrowns w/ a little salt
L: Leftovers
D: Another bean-squash-kale stew served over rice with a little flax seed
S: Apple and raspberries
D: WATER, chamomile tea w/ honey

I'm trying flax seeds to see if it helps with my joint pain. Omega 3's apparently help with inflammation. Now that I'm eating a low-fat diet I am getting very few omega 6's so adding a little flax should make my omega 3:6 ratio 2:1, good thing to do. With lots of kale added I theoretically can make my own DHA. I hope.

[Adrienne]

Hi LK

If you are curious about your omega 6:3 ratio you can put in your daily food intake to the cron-o-meter or nutritiondata.com. You are getting more omega 6'a than you think because they are in everything.

Ideally your 6 to 3 ratio should be under 4:1 which I am sure yours is if you are not eating oil or nuts. However don't go overboard with the flax because too many omega 3's will cause blood thinning, increase in bruising and immune suppression. You know you are getting too much when you cut your finger and have trouble stopping the bleeding. One tbsp a day is though is certainly health-promoting and perhaps will help with your pain. And flax seeds are tasty as well!

[Loveskale]

I guess I need to review the ratios, I thought you needed more 3's than 6's. I will definitely check out a nutritional program; I have a different version.

Day 7:

B: Potatoes
L: Leftovers, raspberries
D: Leftovers
S: Apple
D: WATER, chamomile tea/ w a little honey

I am being really good about using little salt so I'm not going to mention that I only used a little. I am really happy with how well I'm doing.

I barely slept last night and I'm not getting as much done as I wanted today; however, with this WOE I'm handling it a little better. Especially since I'm not being super anxious about it. No coffee for me.

Lots of IBS pain today, I can't believe it. I have been doing everything right, or so I thought. I guess I will have to keep waiting and eating correctly.

[Adrienne]

You might find reading through the Hot Topics section on Jeff's forum helpful. He has several discussions on the 6 to 3 ratios in the Nuts, the Oils and the Fats, EFA's and Fish Oils threads.

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=7828

[kittyadventures]

Lk,

You may want to monitor your IBS in relation to the flax seed.

IT can be an irritant for some folks.

[Loveskale]

Thank you Adrienne, turns out I had the ratio backwards. Isn't Jeff's forum great?!

KA- I am convinced that added fats are very bad for me...everything was fine until I started eating more of them.

Day 8:

I have a mild cold, and it is messing up my stomach, so I had a smoothie this morning (before checking my journal), and I added flax seed. Then later I had a larabar. I think I am going to be in pain later.

B: Smoothie, which I very obediently didn't add almond milk too! yay! blueberies, goji berries, and some apple cider and maple syrup.
L: Leftovers
D: Leftovers
S: Apple, raspberries, larabar
D: WATER, chamomile tea w/ honey

[simoncat]

Hi, LK. The sushi had mostly rice with a little chickpea hummus with tahini in it and some pickled ginger. The combination, though strange, was very good and it was simple to make!

Do Larabars make you feel bad? I used to buy them, but they really are rich tasting and it's hard for me to say, "no" to them.

[Loveskale]

Honestly, I didn't even want to finish it. They now make me feel bad to eat. I just needed to get something into my stomach. I really don't like eating a lot of nuts, they are WAY too heavy.

In future I'll have to find something easier to snack on.

[kittyadventures]

I have never had a lara bar.. do they have gluten in them? are they like eating a cookie...
are they a handy snack for on the go?

[Loveskale]

Day 9:

I went a little too far on the nuts yesterday, but I am not giving up.

I now know that they REALLY bother my IBS. I had some guac today but I won't be able to tell if it bothers me since I might still be having side effects from the nuts. However, I will go easy on the fats for the rest of the challenge, like I said. This challenge has been a good learning experience. I'm learning what irritates my stomach and what does not.

B: Steamed potatoes and an apple
L: Leftover
D: Tacos with beans and veggies, salsa, and guac
S: Mashed potatoes w/ rutabaga
D: WATER!!!
E: 15 minutes of yoga, 10 minute of qigong

It was interesting that today I was really craving a sugary tea. I heard the voice saying, "You've had a tough day and it's miserable outside. You should have some tea." BUT I used my willpower and didn't have any. YAY me.

I surprised myself and I got up and did some YOGA this morning. My joints felt SO GOOD afterwards, infact, I felt SO GOOD after. I think I might keep this up! My joints started hurting later in the day though.

In case anyone is interested, qigong is like taichi, but it is more of a healing martial arts. There are some movement exercises so I guess it counts as exercise. It also has meditation exercises, which are nice.

[sksamboots]

Hey, your doing wonderful trying to figure out what works for your body and what doesn't. Continue on the path. I'm thinking about trying yoga/meditation myself. I'll be looking into classes in the future. Have a good one