We're almost done. Over the past few weeks we've been able to maintain our weight within 2 pounds of our set weight....when we've gone over that 2 pound limit (Easter for example) we know exactly what to do to bring it down within the proper range too. We've started to reintroduce some foods that were an absolute no-no during this diet as of last Friday. So far we have found that flour tortillas (I had a wrap with ham, turkey, lettuce, onion, tomato) and hubby with steak fajita do not affect us at all for weight gain. One night I decided to try making some homemade doritos which called for corn tortillas...we both ended up gaining 1 pound the day after eating those and the rest of the meals we were careful to be very strict in the diet and the calories were where they needed to be for the whole day overall. So....corn tortillas are an issue we need to watch. The other item we tried was white potatoes in the form of hash browns (prepackaged and preshaped) with breakfast. Wow....only having one hash brown I literally felt like garbage the entire rest of the day. The potatoes sat heavy in the stomach for hours and did not play nice with the rest of the g.i. tract either. When we eat foods that at "better" for you...you can almost feel your body working to break it down and any feeling of being overfull disappears within a few minutes leaving you just satisfied. You don't feel bloated, you don't feel like you've horribly overeaten, you just feel full and satisfied. Potatoes in any form are not our friend anymore. We've both decided to kick them to the curb forever....which is a great thing because any cravings we had for potato chips just turns the stomach now. Tomorrow we'll be introducing pepperoni back into the diet as I'll be making homemade pizza using a cauliflower pizza crust and adding homemade pizza sauce, green pepper, red pepper, onions with the pepperoni. The only no-no food is the pepperoni as it has....you guessed it....dextrose (sugar) in it.
So many prepackaged foods have sugar it's absolutely horrible. They hide the name so it doesn't make you believe it's sugar but it's typically easy to spot now that we know what to look for. By avoiding as much pre-packaged, pre-made foods as possible we'll be able to limit that sugar and eat the calories and carbs that our bodies can easily breakdown and process. Next up....and something we are looking forward to.....the slow but steady weight loss to finish up losing the last of the weight we both want to lose by the end of the year doing it 0.5-1 pound a week and doing it day by day making sure we achieve our goal.
Monday, April 4, 2016
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Phase 4
The reintroduction of some foods as well as healthy oils has been interesting and so very missed. For the most part this phase is literally training your body that this is the maximum weight you want to be so there can not be more than a 2 pound gain or loss from the set point weight. Six nights a week we do really well and we'll even go out for dinner without any issue....then Sunday hits. It's by far our laziest day of the week and we almost always go to the in-laws for dinner. There's always something in those fabulous meals that messes us up whether it's fruits (cranberries from a can) or starches (rice, potato, flour/corn starch for thickening of sauces) that messes us up. In one day we'll have a 2-3 pound weight gain and Monday has become our typical "apple day". If the weight doesn't come off enough on apple day we go back to our normal breakfast and lunch but have steak for dinner with good veggies. We've done this two weeks in a row and after 2 days hubby is back to within 0.4 pounds of his set point and I am at -0.4 of my set point (yes, that's a negative 0.4).
This is what is so awesome about the Nutrimost system.....it teaches you to monitor your weight daily, if you splurge occasionally or your body reacts to a new food being reintroduced (your weight triggers) you understand what you need to do to fix it immediately. Your body does not get used to the weight gain and the weight comes right back off easily. I wish we had known about this way back when in our late 20's and early 30's....but then again, we probably would have gotten busy with the kids with no time to cook and best laid plans would still have gone haywire.
During this phase you also learn your weight gain triggers and one item we have found which triggers weight gain in both of us is flax meal. One day we had breakfast and lunch just like always without going overboard and for dinner we made pizza with a flax meal crust which was well within the calories range. The next day we had both gained 3 pounds. I went through and double checked every meal and every ingredient within each meal (yes...it's still important to track everything!) and the calories were correct with no excess....but still a weight gain. I've used coconut flour to make bread, I've used almond flour in a number of items and neither one was an issue. Using the flax meal in such high concentration was the issue. If I use it as a minor ingredient there is no problem but with the pizza crust it was basically just flax meal, fresh grated parmesan cheese, egg and herbs without anything else added. Lesson learned and filed away with full weight loss within 2 days. Next up...Easter Sunday which we know will be an issue day with that beautiful sugar crusted spiral cut ham.
This is what is so awesome about the Nutrimost system.....it teaches you to monitor your weight daily, if you splurge occasionally or your body reacts to a new food being reintroduced (your weight triggers) you understand what you need to do to fix it immediately. Your body does not get used to the weight gain and the weight comes right back off easily. I wish we had known about this way back when in our late 20's and early 30's....but then again, we probably would have gotten busy with the kids with no time to cook and best laid plans would still have gone haywire.
During this phase you also learn your weight gain triggers and one item we have found which triggers weight gain in both of us is flax meal. One day we had breakfast and lunch just like always without going overboard and for dinner we made pizza with a flax meal crust which was well within the calories range. The next day we had both gained 3 pounds. I went through and double checked every meal and every ingredient within each meal (yes...it's still important to track everything!) and the calories were correct with no excess....but still a weight gain. I've used coconut flour to make bread, I've used almond flour in a number of items and neither one was an issue. Using the flax meal in such high concentration was the issue. If I use it as a minor ingredient there is no problem but with the pizza crust it was basically just flax meal, fresh grated parmesan cheese, egg and herbs without anything else added. Lesson learned and filed away with full weight loss within 2 days. Next up...Easter Sunday which we know will be an issue day with that beautiful sugar crusted spiral cut ham.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Day 44 - The Start of Phase 4
Hubby is now down 50 pounds with Nutrimost and today is day one for the Reset Phase and it will last for 3 weeks. Doctor has set his calorie intake at 2800/day....we both actually said holy cr*p at that too....when you don't eat a lot of junk food it's going to be a challenge. Thank goodness though we can now mix veggies and begin to add some items back into our diet.
Breakfast this morning was a 2 egg omelette with green peppers, red peppers, onions, a little bit of tomato and one slice of bacon. On the side we had another two pieces of bacon. Total calories was a little under 500. Now for me that's fine as I don't need as many calories however for him it's going to be interesting getting it up that high.
As we'll be making homemade chicken sausage today....lunch today will be a bunch of taste testing along with a salad. Hmmmm, going to have some issues with calories in that meal too. Of course we'll be adding snacks - good nuts, fruits, etc. in between meals but it's still going to fall far short for the overall count for the day. We'll have to work on getting this right though as this phase is what tells your body that this is your new permanent weight.
Overall we're still loving this program. It's taught us a lot about food including what to eat more of, what to avoid eating except for once in a blue moon, different cooking techniques to reduce/eliminate fat where possible, and it's gotten hubby to eat some foods that he would never consider eating in the past....and that's the icing on the cake as some of those foods are some of my favorite foods that I haven't made in years because he didn't really like them.
Oh, before I forget, they do tell you that your taste buds will change (which they did for both of us) and that as you add back foods into the diet you will, almost definitely, have a digestive tract reaction. It makes sense....you eat extra lean for over 40 days and then you can begin bringing in some fat with oils, diary and even fattier meat. Anyone who doesn't think there will be a reaction is a little naive. We're prepared though as we added fresh shredded cheddar cheese in the omelettes and used a touch of butter in the pan to make it easier to cook without sticking. We'll be definitely taking it slow in the adding of items back into the diet....the only restrictions are still no starches, no sugars and pay particular care with certain fruits as they may be triggers for your individual body that will make your weight jump. At least at this point we're starting to put the jigsaw puzzle back together and only have to figure out a few slightly complicated pieces to make it all work.
Breakfast this morning was a 2 egg omelette with green peppers, red peppers, onions, a little bit of tomato and one slice of bacon. On the side we had another two pieces of bacon. Total calories was a little under 500. Now for me that's fine as I don't need as many calories however for him it's going to be interesting getting it up that high.
As we'll be making homemade chicken sausage today....lunch today will be a bunch of taste testing along with a salad. Hmmmm, going to have some issues with calories in that meal too. Of course we'll be adding snacks - good nuts, fruits, etc. in between meals but it's still going to fall far short for the overall count for the day. We'll have to work on getting this right though as this phase is what tells your body that this is your new permanent weight.
Overall we're still loving this program. It's taught us a lot about food including what to eat more of, what to avoid eating except for once in a blue moon, different cooking techniques to reduce/eliminate fat where possible, and it's gotten hubby to eat some foods that he would never consider eating in the past....and that's the icing on the cake as some of those foods are some of my favorite foods that I haven't made in years because he didn't really like them.
Oh, before I forget, they do tell you that your taste buds will change (which they did for both of us) and that as you add back foods into the diet you will, almost definitely, have a digestive tract reaction. It makes sense....you eat extra lean for over 40 days and then you can begin bringing in some fat with oils, diary and even fattier meat. Anyone who doesn't think there will be a reaction is a little naive. We're prepared though as we added fresh shredded cheddar cheese in the omelettes and used a touch of butter in the pan to make it easier to cook without sticking. We'll be definitely taking it slow in the adding of items back into the diet....the only restrictions are still no starches, no sugars and pay particular care with certain fruits as they may be triggers for your individual body that will make your weight jump. At least at this point we're starting to put the jigsaw puzzle back together and only have to figure out a few slightly complicated pieces to make it all work.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Coming Into the Home Stretch for Phase 2
Just another day or two left in hubby's blue bottle of supplements until we start phase 3 & 4. He is now under 230# with total loss from being on Nutrimost at about 45#. Phase 3 is the "making sure all the supplements are out of your system" which only lasts 3 days...then it's Phase 4 where breakfast is reintroduced, we can mix veggies (something we really missed) and we can have same fruit or veggies in one day.
In Phase 4 we still won't be eating the bad carbs but oh we can start eating some of the recipes we love.... I miss my mixed roasted veggies! We're also starting to plan and think out some of the differences we want to incorporate into the meals later. We've been doing some research on different flours which there are so many out there now and they all do it a little differently. Some can be used just like typical flour but others need more liquid or less liquid....the trade off though is in the carbs. I'm not going to swear off of breads, pastas, pizza for life but if I want some I'm going to make dang sure it's as healthy as I can get it.
Oh and that pizza? That is the ONLY item that hubby and I both miss. It is one of the things we would always make at least one night when our grandson comes over and stays overnight....and it really is the one thing we want again. So my challenge will be to figure out a really good thin crust pizza dough without having so many bad carbs as typical flour. I've tried a couple of the cauliflower pizza crusts and I have not been impressed....don't get me wrong, they are okay but fall far short of what I was hoping for with texture and taste. Good thing I like challenges....!
In Phase 4 we still won't be eating the bad carbs but oh we can start eating some of the recipes we love.... I miss my mixed roasted veggies! We're also starting to plan and think out some of the differences we want to incorporate into the meals later. We've been doing some research on different flours which there are so many out there now and they all do it a little differently. Some can be used just like typical flour but others need more liquid or less liquid....the trade off though is in the carbs. I'm not going to swear off of breads, pastas, pizza for life but if I want some I'm going to make dang sure it's as healthy as I can get it.
Oh and that pizza? That is the ONLY item that hubby and I both miss. It is one of the things we would always make at least one night when our grandson comes over and stays overnight....and it really is the one thing we want again. So my challenge will be to figure out a really good thin crust pizza dough without having so many bad carbs as typical flour. I've tried a couple of the cauliflower pizza crusts and I have not been impressed....don't get me wrong, they are okay but fall far short of what I was hoping for with texture and taste. Good thing I like challenges....!
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Day 34 & 35 - BusyBusyBusy
Day 34 - Another check in with the Nutrimost doctors yesterday resulting in some pretty fantastic new. Except for hubby's BMI every other reading is falling in the green or so close to it that one more week should do it. When he started this program his metabolic age was well over 90 (anything over 90 keeps just showing 90) and with yesterday's readings he now has the metabolic age of a 53 year old...he's 54 right now...and with 11 days left they hope to get him in the 30-something age bracket.
Day 35 - Endocronologist Visit (type 2 diabetes). Hubby shocked the heck out of the doctor and nurse when they weighed him in and check his last weight 6 months ago. The doctor was asking questions about the diet he is on as some of these plans that call themselves "homeopathic" actually give you a injection weekly that once you go off them you gain the weight right back. He explained to the doctor about the 44 day start and the remaining phases that we'll be seeing soon. Even the doctor says that it sounds logical and if it works she wants to know more about it on his next visit in 6 months. She looks at his daily blood sugar readings and has seen that they have leveled out to be "normal" without taking any of his medications. She did recommend though that once he gets back into the you can basically eat anything you want phase that he continue with one of his diabetic meds which doesn't let your body absorb the bad sugars to spike the blood sugar. She explained that it would actually help him maintain his weight or even lose some more based on what he was eating.
Last weekend we flew up to Atlanta for a Hops in the Hanger event....yup a beer fest. Hubby was very careful about what he ate and came back 1 pound lighter....even with sampling the beers. I on the other hand gained 5 pounds....my problem is with flying and the fact that all of a sudden my body starts holding so much water to the point that my feet, ankles and even my hands swell. It's not enough that anything hurts but it's just something I've always had to deal with. So after 2 days back now I've only got 0.8 pounds to go and I'll be back to my pre-trip weight.
Potatoes!!!!! So during Phases 1 & 2 you are on this strict diet with absolutely no potatoes, rice, grains, etc. Over the weekend we went out to dinner with our son who ordered french fries and yes, you guessed it....I had 3 french fries. I'm not kidding....3 french fries. They tasted so good but then about 15-30 minutes after eating them all of a sudden I felt bloated, my stomach felt "funky" and by the 45 minutes after all I did was want to curl up and go to sleep. WTF! Literally 3 french fries sent me into a carb coma feeling? But the better question is, what was with the bloated and funky feeling? Well is just so happens that the Nutrimost staff started talking to him about the next phases where they would start reintroducing some oils and foods into his diet. Without him saying anything they mentioned that fact that when he starts eating potatoes again to be prepared for the result. Hubby just laughed and told them about my experience over the weekend and their reply was....yes, even a small about of certain bad carbs will produce that result. They also said that because I was following his diet part and with my reaction to the french fries it was because I too had "detoxed" from the opiates which naturally occur and are found in potatoes and even with the very small portion I had it would hit like a ton of bricks.
So to date.....Hubby and I both love how we are feeling. We both have more energy during the day and we are sleeping longer and more soundly at night. We're both still dropping weight and even with "special events/weekends/etc" we are able to dump any temporary weight gain quickly. I was skeptical when hubby wanted to do this but after 30 days and with the results we've seen I think it was probably one of the very best decisions we've made.
Day 35 - Endocronologist Visit (type 2 diabetes). Hubby shocked the heck out of the doctor and nurse when they weighed him in and check his last weight 6 months ago. The doctor was asking questions about the diet he is on as some of these plans that call themselves "homeopathic" actually give you a injection weekly that once you go off them you gain the weight right back. He explained to the doctor about the 44 day start and the remaining phases that we'll be seeing soon. Even the doctor says that it sounds logical and if it works she wants to know more about it on his next visit in 6 months. She looks at his daily blood sugar readings and has seen that they have leveled out to be "normal" without taking any of his medications. She did recommend though that once he gets back into the you can basically eat anything you want phase that he continue with one of his diabetic meds which doesn't let your body absorb the bad sugars to spike the blood sugar. She explained that it would actually help him maintain his weight or even lose some more based on what he was eating.
Last weekend we flew up to Atlanta for a Hops in the Hanger event....yup a beer fest. Hubby was very careful about what he ate and came back 1 pound lighter....even with sampling the beers. I on the other hand gained 5 pounds....my problem is with flying and the fact that all of a sudden my body starts holding so much water to the point that my feet, ankles and even my hands swell. It's not enough that anything hurts but it's just something I've always had to deal with. So after 2 days back now I've only got 0.8 pounds to go and I'll be back to my pre-trip weight.
Potatoes!!!!! So during Phases 1 & 2 you are on this strict diet with absolutely no potatoes, rice, grains, etc. Over the weekend we went out to dinner with our son who ordered french fries and yes, you guessed it....I had 3 french fries. I'm not kidding....3 french fries. They tasted so good but then about 15-30 minutes after eating them all of a sudden I felt bloated, my stomach felt "funky" and by the 45 minutes after all I did was want to curl up and go to sleep. WTF! Literally 3 french fries sent me into a carb coma feeling? But the better question is, what was with the bloated and funky feeling? Well is just so happens that the Nutrimost staff started talking to him about the next phases where they would start reintroducing some oils and foods into his diet. Without him saying anything they mentioned that fact that when he starts eating potatoes again to be prepared for the result. Hubby just laughed and told them about my experience over the weekend and their reply was....yes, even a small about of certain bad carbs will produce that result. They also said that because I was following his diet part and with my reaction to the french fries it was because I too had "detoxed" from the opiates which naturally occur and are found in potatoes and even with the very small portion I had it would hit like a ton of bricks.
So to date.....Hubby and I both love how we are feeling. We both have more energy during the day and we are sleeping longer and more soundly at night. We're both still dropping weight and even with "special events/weekends/etc" we are able to dump any temporary weight gain quickly. I was skeptical when hubby wanted to do this but after 30 days and with the results we've seen I think it was probably one of the very best decisions we've made.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Day 23 - Worrisome Doctor Vist
Ever since the plateau broke, for the past two days, hubby has actually gained just over 1.5#. I went over every single ingredient in every recipe for the past couple of days without turning up any indication of hidden sugars or too many calories. Just got the phone call after his doctor visit today and the doctors were really happy and even gave him a congratulatory hug for his hard work. His new readings are perfect! He is now at his correct body water percentage, his visceral fat rating is again marching downward, his body mass index and body fat percentage is down. Last week his metabolic age was still over 90 but today it is in the 60's and considering the fact that he is only 54 years old that news was fantastic to hear. So what about the weight gain? He gained water, was working harder than normal this week and gain muscle weight which when added with the loss of the body fat his weight went up slightly as muscle weighs more than fat. The doctor told him that if he wanted to do another apple day or steak day on Monday to give it "a kick in the pants" he could.
What a relief though as a slight weight gain was not something we anticipated as during this phase as you are not to work out heavily. Too much working out at this phase with the lower calories can set up the body to go into fat storing mode again and that is something they do not want. So word to the wise....watch your diet first and foremost, moderately exercise if you must and don't get too concerned if your weight does increase slightly after losing so much. As long as your readings are coming in better, you're actually still on the right track.
What a relief though as a slight weight gain was not something we anticipated as during this phase as you are not to work out heavily. Too much working out at this phase with the lower calories can set up the body to go into fat storing mode again and that is something they do not want. So word to the wise....watch your diet first and foremost, moderately exercise if you must and don't get too concerned if your weight does increase slightly after losing so much. As long as your readings are coming in better, you're actually still on the right track.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Day 20 - Plateau Broken
We did the steak plateau breaker yesterday. No lunch and had a steak dinner with an organic apple. First of all, by the time dinner came around we were both ravenous. That dry pasta in the pantry was looking mighty fine about 5:30 pm. We did the right thing though and we ate dinner (about 6 pm). A beautiful med-rare steak and a perfectly ripened apple that was almost as sweet as candy. They tell you in the program outline that the plateau may not break for up to two days and you need to be patient if that happens....our plateaus though broke over night. Both of us back on the scale this morning with both of us losing another 2 pounds. We're back on the scheduled food today. That feeling of being discouraged at a plateau did not appear with this program. Yes, we hit one but at least we were given the knowledge of how to break it without any struggle.
One of the things in this plan is that you really need to not drink alcohol. Hubby is on the full blown plan with all the supplements and doctor visits and food. I on the other hand am just doing the food. Not that we drink a ton anyway but we do go out on Wednesday nights typically and meet up with one of our friends and then usually we'll go out on Friday night to one of our local watering holes. He has not had any alcohol at all for the past twenty days....I on the other hand will still have a beer or if at my in-laws house will have that Manhattan or Gimlet before dinner. One of the changes this diet has created that could be dangerous.....drinking one-third of a Manhattan will now get me tipsy (I used to have to be starting my 2nd one to make me feel like that before this diet) and also now just two beers will do the same. It's not that gradual march towards feeling it either. With a higher metabolism my body is processing the alcohol faster and it's a wham in your face, here you go scenario. Hubby is wondering what it will be like for him as he will not have any alcohol for another two weeks until we travel up to Atlanta to the Hops in the Hangar event at the Delta Museum. We both don't want to screw up the diet but we've had these tickets since well before even thinking about starting the Nutrimost program and we both love taste testing all the different craft beers. At least hubby goes for the lighter beers, most often with some type of fruit (he loves a good Steigl Radler or Cigar City Florida Cracker any time) whereas I enjoy more of the porters, stouts, and ales. It will be interesting to see exactly what will happen and if it knocks us off schedule for a day or two at least we now have a better understanding of the foods we need to eat to get it right back on track.
One of the things in this plan is that you really need to not drink alcohol. Hubby is on the full blown plan with all the supplements and doctor visits and food. I on the other hand am just doing the food. Not that we drink a ton anyway but we do go out on Wednesday nights typically and meet up with one of our friends and then usually we'll go out on Friday night to one of our local watering holes. He has not had any alcohol at all for the past twenty days....I on the other hand will still have a beer or if at my in-laws house will have that Manhattan or Gimlet before dinner. One of the changes this diet has created that could be dangerous.....drinking one-third of a Manhattan will now get me tipsy (I used to have to be starting my 2nd one to make me feel like that before this diet) and also now just two beers will do the same. It's not that gradual march towards feeling it either. With a higher metabolism my body is processing the alcohol faster and it's a wham in your face, here you go scenario. Hubby is wondering what it will be like for him as he will not have any alcohol for another two weeks until we travel up to Atlanta to the Hops in the Hangar event at the Delta Museum. We both don't want to screw up the diet but we've had these tickets since well before even thinking about starting the Nutrimost program and we both love taste testing all the different craft beers. At least hubby goes for the lighter beers, most often with some type of fruit (he loves a good Steigl Radler or Cigar City Florida Cracker any time) whereas I enjoy more of the porters, stouts, and ales. It will be interesting to see exactly what will happen and if it knocks us off schedule for a day or two at least we now have a better understanding of the foods we need to eat to get it right back on track.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Day 19 - Plateau
Well they warned us.....sometime between day 10 through 16 it's common to hit a plateau. For the past three days hubby has been at the same weight. The nice thing is that there are ways to break the plateau so today is no lunch and dinner will be steak with an apple. The funny thing is that we both hit a plateau on the same day so this will be interesting to see if it will break the same way. As today is Day 19 out of 44 there's still plenty of time for him to lose a lot more weight. The good news is also that he is not feeling hungry (which is common on this diet) so at least he can deal with the not eating a lunch today.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Day 16 - Still Rolling Along
In the past two days hubby has only lost 1.6 pounds for a total now of 21.6 pounds. The weight loss has definitely slowed however he still has not reach a plateau. We keep waiting for that however to this point we've been very lucky. He has 47 pounds to go and even if he does not reach it during the Nutrimost program he'll be on the right track and we've be armed with the knowledge of how to complete it.
Also, with me just following the food diet (versus him on the food diet PLUS the supplements) I've now lost 8 pounds and people I haven't seen in awhile they ASK me right away if I've lost weight so it's starting to show. When they see hubby they simply just say...wow, you're looking good how much weight have you lost.
One of the things dietitians and nutritionists always are saying to "read the labels". Well we really did start looking at them the other day. Did you know that most prepacked food has some type of sugar added? There's so many ingredients listed in their chemical name that you don't know what they are so you just skip right over them....MISTAKE! If you see a chemical you don't know and it ends in "-ose" or "-ol" there is a very very very high probability that it is sugar. We all know that anything with the name sugar or syrup is sugar but how about Maltodextrin? Yup, it's an additive (even in some dry stevia products!). Maltodextrins are classified by DE (dextrose equivalent) and have a DE between 3 and 20. The higher the DE value, the shorter the glucose chains, the higher the sweetness. So why do they add it? Simple it allows you to use it in both hot and cold applications without losing taste. Simple way around adding another sugar into the food....use the LIQUID stevia extract which does not contain any additional sugars and it can stand up to hot and cold applications.
Years ago, at our old house, we had a garden. We never used pesticides and it was truly and organic garden with Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Green Beans, Broccoli, Hot Peppers, etc. We always talked about putting in another garden and our new house but never did....until the other day. The old rototiller was pulled out and we got it running again and we are prepping the soil for another garden but this one will be much larger than our previous one. We're already nurturing some plants and have started from seed some others as the ground won't be ready for another two weeks. Prepping the soil is important....tilling the soil, adding nutrients to the soil, reworking the soil, add more nutrients, rework it again....you get the picture. Our old garden actually grew in height over the years and our sandy Florida soil turned into beautiful, perfect rich black dirt. So with this new garden along with Tomatoes, Green Peppers and Broccoli we're adding Pickling Cucumbers, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Jalapenos, two different kinds of lettuce and STEVIA! Can't wait to try making my own stevia extract which from reading up on online....it's not difficult at all. Best part about the whole process is the ability to walk outside for fresh vegetables. Vine ripe food has amazing flavor compared to what you get in the grocery store and anything I end up having to can, I'll know exactly what went into the canning and it will not be any sugar!
Also, with me just following the food diet (versus him on the food diet PLUS the supplements) I've now lost 8 pounds and people I haven't seen in awhile they ASK me right away if I've lost weight so it's starting to show. When they see hubby they simply just say...wow, you're looking good how much weight have you lost.
One of the things dietitians and nutritionists always are saying to "read the labels". Well we really did start looking at them the other day. Did you know that most prepacked food has some type of sugar added? There's so many ingredients listed in their chemical name that you don't know what they are so you just skip right over them....MISTAKE! If you see a chemical you don't know and it ends in "-ose" or "-ol" there is a very very very high probability that it is sugar. We all know that anything with the name sugar or syrup is sugar but how about Maltodextrin? Yup, it's an additive (even in some dry stevia products!). Maltodextrins are classified by DE (dextrose equivalent) and have a DE between 3 and 20. The higher the DE value, the shorter the glucose chains, the higher the sweetness. So why do they add it? Simple it allows you to use it in both hot and cold applications without losing taste. Simple way around adding another sugar into the food....use the LIQUID stevia extract which does not contain any additional sugars and it can stand up to hot and cold applications.
Years ago, at our old house, we had a garden. We never used pesticides and it was truly and organic garden with Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Green Beans, Broccoli, Hot Peppers, etc. We always talked about putting in another garden and our new house but never did....until the other day. The old rototiller was pulled out and we got it running again and we are prepping the soil for another garden but this one will be much larger than our previous one. We're already nurturing some plants and have started from seed some others as the ground won't be ready for another two weeks. Prepping the soil is important....tilling the soil, adding nutrients to the soil, reworking the soil, add more nutrients, rework it again....you get the picture. Our old garden actually grew in height over the years and our sandy Florida soil turned into beautiful, perfect rich black dirt. So with this new garden along with Tomatoes, Green Peppers and Broccoli we're adding Pickling Cucumbers, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Jalapenos, two different kinds of lettuce and STEVIA! Can't wait to try making my own stevia extract which from reading up on online....it's not difficult at all. Best part about the whole process is the ability to walk outside for fresh vegetables. Vine ripe food has amazing flavor compared to what you get in the grocery store and anything I end up having to can, I'll know exactly what went into the canning and it will not be any sugar!
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Day 14 - Milestone
Today is day 14 on the Nutrimost system for my hubby. Although some days he will only lose a fraction of a pound and on other days he will lose more than a pound. On the two week mark he has lost 20 pounds and although there still are times where he really wishes he could have a burger and some fries he has definitely found some new favorites.
Part of the Nutrimost system is that they give you recipes based on what phase of the plan you are in. During phase 2 (44 days of 500-800 calories per day) it was a little daunting in the beginning to figure out how to cook without any oils, butter, margarine....no fats. The one thing I have figured out though is that although oils make it easier to cook THEY ARE TOTALLY UNNECESSARY IN MANY RECIPES. Yes, that's right. Cook with the right pan using the right ingredients has turned out some wonderful meals.
Case in point, my hubby has always said that he did not "prefer" scallops....which in his terminology meant that he would eat it if served to him but he wouldn't exactly be happy about it. Well last night I made some Sea Scallops....pan fried (no oils using a ceramic coated pan well heated before cooking) for 1.5 minutes per side and during the last minute threw in some fresh minced garlic and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Done! They turned out beautifully browned and tender with a lot of flavor. We paired it with the recipe they have for ketchup (which is a ketchup that is also a great cocktail sauce) and using less than one tablespoon and a romaine lettuce salad with the Simple Girl Citrus Ginger Dressing (program recommended with no oils) and for dessert the Nutrimost recipe for Strawberry Sorbet. I've said it before....we are not hungry on this program! We don't miss the potatoes or rice or pasta that we would have included in the past for the simple fact that these meals fill us up and keep us filled up. Are they a little "plain jane"? Yes, because they are so simple with no mixed proteins, veggies or fruit however they are still flavorful because of the spices we are using with just a touch of some citrus for flavor only (too much counts as your fruit for the meal).
On Super Bowl Sunday we had the Nutrimost recipe for chili. Basically just meat, tomatoes and spices. Now tomatoes can go as either your fruit or your veggie and with our homemade chili we would also incorporate kidney beans, green peppers and onions we decided to treat the tomatoes as our fruit in the meal and add onions to the mix. Cooked everything on the stove top for an hour and wasn't satisfied with the flavor....very bland compared to our normal chili. Double downed on the spices, threw in a little bit of hot sauce (which replaced the flavor of the green peppers), cooked it for another hour and viola! We were both happy with the outcome.....so happy in fact that I'm making a big pot of it to bring over to my in-laws on Valentine's Day so they can try it and we can portion our servings out to meet the program requirements.
That's another thing.....I'm getting really good at eye-balling food and knowing approximately how much it weighs without getting the digital food scale out. I still measure it to be sure but I'm correct more often within a fraction of an ounce than I ever was in the past. Thinking about how big our portion sizes used to be compared to what they are now I don't wonder how the weight got packed on.
In following his diet with only the food part (not taking the supplements he has to in order to really get the metabolism pumped up) in the past two weeks I've lost a very respectful 6.2 pounds. His supplements help him to not be hungry until lunchtime (phase two you only eat lunch and dinner) whereas I am hungry within an hour or so of waking. The thing is I don't remember any time in my life including as a kid that I ever felt like eating before lunch and sometimes not until mid-afternoon. My metabolism is starting to get moving again just by eating and doing so in a healthy manner. Being in this phase is "resetting" some of our bad habits into good habits and killing off those cravings for chips, pretzels, Doritos as late night snacks. :)
Part of the Nutrimost system is that they give you recipes based on what phase of the plan you are in. During phase 2 (44 days of 500-800 calories per day) it was a little daunting in the beginning to figure out how to cook without any oils, butter, margarine....no fats. The one thing I have figured out though is that although oils make it easier to cook THEY ARE TOTALLY UNNECESSARY IN MANY RECIPES. Yes, that's right. Cook with the right pan using the right ingredients has turned out some wonderful meals.
Case in point, my hubby has always said that he did not "prefer" scallops....which in his terminology meant that he would eat it if served to him but he wouldn't exactly be happy about it. Well last night I made some Sea Scallops....pan fried (no oils using a ceramic coated pan well heated before cooking) for 1.5 minutes per side and during the last minute threw in some fresh minced garlic and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Done! They turned out beautifully browned and tender with a lot of flavor. We paired it with the recipe they have for ketchup (which is a ketchup that is also a great cocktail sauce) and using less than one tablespoon and a romaine lettuce salad with the Simple Girl Citrus Ginger Dressing (program recommended with no oils) and for dessert the Nutrimost recipe for Strawberry Sorbet. I've said it before....we are not hungry on this program! We don't miss the potatoes or rice or pasta that we would have included in the past for the simple fact that these meals fill us up and keep us filled up. Are they a little "plain jane"? Yes, because they are so simple with no mixed proteins, veggies or fruit however they are still flavorful because of the spices we are using with just a touch of some citrus for flavor only (too much counts as your fruit for the meal).
On Super Bowl Sunday we had the Nutrimost recipe for chili. Basically just meat, tomatoes and spices. Now tomatoes can go as either your fruit or your veggie and with our homemade chili we would also incorporate kidney beans, green peppers and onions we decided to treat the tomatoes as our fruit in the meal and add onions to the mix. Cooked everything on the stove top for an hour and wasn't satisfied with the flavor....very bland compared to our normal chili. Double downed on the spices, threw in a little bit of hot sauce (which replaced the flavor of the green peppers), cooked it for another hour and viola! We were both happy with the outcome.....so happy in fact that I'm making a big pot of it to bring over to my in-laws on Valentine's Day so they can try it and we can portion our servings out to meet the program requirements.
That's another thing.....I'm getting really good at eye-balling food and knowing approximately how much it weighs without getting the digital food scale out. I still measure it to be sure but I'm correct more often within a fraction of an ounce than I ever was in the past. Thinking about how big our portion sizes used to be compared to what they are now I don't wonder how the weight got packed on.
In following his diet with only the food part (not taking the supplements he has to in order to really get the metabolism pumped up) in the past two weeks I've lost a very respectful 6.2 pounds. His supplements help him to not be hungry until lunchtime (phase two you only eat lunch and dinner) whereas I am hungry within an hour or so of waking. The thing is I don't remember any time in my life including as a kid that I ever felt like eating before lunch and sometimes not until mid-afternoon. My metabolism is starting to get moving again just by eating and doing so in a healthy manner. Being in this phase is "resetting" some of our bad habits into good habits and killing off those cravings for chips, pretzels, Doritos as late night snacks. :)
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Day 11 - Super Bowl Sunday
Hubby is now down 17.2 pounds and told me today that his cravings are getting fewer and farther between. The first 10 days would have been so easy for us to give into snacking on chips, Doritos, Cheetos, etc however we're both to the point that we have to succeed in this challenge. Since we are both challenge orientated people, being coaches to each other, and both stubborn as all heck in not backing down, it's working. I can see how someone could fail in this program....without the support of your spouse, partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, mom, dad, kids, friends it would be easy to cheat and end up failing. My recommendation before anyone starts this program.....make sure everyone you live with is on board to eat the same foods you have to and get rid of all the junk food in your home!
One of the things we were talking about yesterday is the lack of legumes in this diet. We kind of figured that potatoes, rice, quinoa, would be big no no's for the obvious reasons. What we didn't know, until the doctor discussed this, is that some foods contain naturally occurring opiates in them and as part of the detox they are not allowed until much later.
So what is an opiate? According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary it is:
Simple Definition of opiate
Popularity: Bottom 40% of words
: a drug (such as morphine or codeine) that is made from opium and that is used to reduce pain or
cause sleep
: something that causes people to ignore problems and to relax instead of doing things that need to be
done
Full Definition of opiate
1a : a drug (as morphine or codeine) containing or derived from opium and tending to induce sleep
and alleviate pain; broadly : narcotic 1a
b : opioid 1
2: something that induces rest or inaction or quiets uneasiness
And to think that every day, sometimes twice a day, for 50+ years we were eating foods which contained naturally occurring opiates....no wonder we causing damage to our metabolism. Does that mean we need to totally get rid of this from our diets? No, it just needs to be put back into the proper scale within our diets. If you're reading this and want to find out more about this I've added a couple of links below and as always...do your own research too, do not rely on just one doctor or one item you read online.
http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/toxins-in-food.html
http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/05/17/wheat-opiate-of-the-masses/
One of the things we were talking about yesterday is the lack of legumes in this diet. We kind of figured that potatoes, rice, quinoa, would be big no no's for the obvious reasons. What we didn't know, until the doctor discussed this, is that some foods contain naturally occurring opiates in them and as part of the detox they are not allowed until much later.
So what is an opiate? According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary it is:
Simple Definition of opiate
Popularity: Bottom 40% of words
: a drug (such as morphine or codeine) that is made from opium and that is used to reduce pain or
cause sleep
: something that causes people to ignore problems and to relax instead of doing things that need to be
done
Full Definition of opiate
1a : a drug (as morphine or codeine) containing or derived from opium and tending to induce sleep
and alleviate pain; broadly : narcotic 1a
b : opioid 1
2: something that induces rest or inaction or quiets uneasiness
And to think that every day, sometimes twice a day, for 50+ years we were eating foods which contained naturally occurring opiates....no wonder we causing damage to our metabolism. Does that mean we need to totally get rid of this from our diets? No, it just needs to be put back into the proper scale within our diets. If you're reading this and want to find out more about this I've added a couple of links below and as always...do your own research too, do not rely on just one doctor or one item you read online.
http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/toxins-in-food.html
http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/05/17/wheat-opiate-of-the-masses/
Friday, February 5, 2016
Day 9 - Doctor Visit
As I said before this is a diet which is monitored by doctors which is a good thing because hubby has come down with what we thought was going to be the flu but is now looking more like a cold. With his weight down just shy of 17 pounds...YES 17 POUNDS....we didn't want him taking anything that would mess up the weight loss. Doctor gave him Nucleo Immune Supplement which he said would give that cold a kick to the door. It's made by Premier Research Labs, the same people that make the Pink Salt you are to take during the program.
I love this pink salt. We sprinkle a little on the food and it bumps up the flavor of the food wonderfully. The salt just adds that little bit to take it from yes it's good to wow, I love this flavor. Definitely going to buy more of this after the program just because I love this stuff.
This weekend we'll be making some chili....to diet specifications...a version of what we normally make but since we can't mix veggies yet it will be interesting. Tomatoes can be a fruit or veggie so we'll be using it as a fruit in the chili as hubby refuses to not have his onions in it. We'll be leaving out the green pepper this time around.
Tonight, since it's Friday, has always been our fish fry night. Tonight hubby had foil baked mahi mahi with a dash of chopped onion, a lime slice and fresh parsley while I had grilled ahi tuna (he doesn't like ahi tuna at all but will eat albacore tuna out of the can). Matched it with wilted spinach cooked with water and apple cider vinegar with two cloves of garlic thrown in for good measure as well as pink salt and pepper. Dessert will be the Nutrimost candied apple recipe however instead of slices I wanted mine chunky. Baked for an hour in the oven. They're only about half the way done and the house is starting to smell yummy.
One thing I have found on this....we are not hungry at all. With the smaller portions you would think you'd be starving but you're not. When you finish eating you are pleasantly full, not over stuffed, and definitely not looking for more food.
I love this pink salt. We sprinkle a little on the food and it bumps up the flavor of the food wonderfully. The salt just adds that little bit to take it from yes it's good to wow, I love this flavor. Definitely going to buy more of this after the program just because I love this stuff.
This weekend we'll be making some chili....to diet specifications...a version of what we normally make but since we can't mix veggies yet it will be interesting. Tomatoes can be a fruit or veggie so we'll be using it as a fruit in the chili as hubby refuses to not have his onions in it. We'll be leaving out the green pepper this time around.
Tonight, since it's Friday, has always been our fish fry night. Tonight hubby had foil baked mahi mahi with a dash of chopped onion, a lime slice and fresh parsley while I had grilled ahi tuna (he doesn't like ahi tuna at all but will eat albacore tuna out of the can). Matched it with wilted spinach cooked with water and apple cider vinegar with two cloves of garlic thrown in for good measure as well as pink salt and pepper. Dessert will be the Nutrimost candied apple recipe however instead of slices I wanted mine chunky. Baked for an hour in the oven. They're only about half the way done and the house is starting to smell yummy.
One thing I have found on this....we are not hungry at all. With the smaller portions you would think you'd be starving but you're not. When you finish eating you are pleasantly full, not over stuffed, and definitely not looking for more food.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Day 8 - Nutrimost Wow!
Using Nutrimost hubby is now down 13.2 pounds in one week. I, by just following the food part of the plan, am down 3.1 pounds. No exercise at all....yet.
When hubby first started he got a goody bag of products - toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, etc. Since he doesn't use conditioner I decided to try it this morning to see how good of a job it did. When reading the back label it shows that it can be used for a number of purposes from hair conditioner, hand/body lotion, in shower moisturizer, makeup remover, shaving lotion, cuticle cream, lip balm/gloss, massage cream as well as for psoriasis, poison ivy, eczema.
The first thing you notice about the conditioner is that there is no perfume smell. The conditioner looks like any other lighter weight conditioners and left my hair soft, full of body without being over conditioned which in me makes my hair flat. The other thing I noticed was that my hands were conditioned too. I never noticed a "hair conditioner" ever doing that to my hands before...with this I noticed it right away.
The first thing you notice about the conditioner is that there is no perfume smell. The conditioner looks like any other lighter weight conditioners and left my hair soft, full of body without being over conditioned which in me makes my hair flat. The other thing I noticed was that my hands were conditioned too. I never noticed a "hair conditioner" ever doing that to my hands before...with this I noticed it right away.
All the items in the goody bag do multiple duties....the hair gel is also a hand sanitizer as well as a pain reliever for muscles and joint pain. According to my hubby he says it worked great on his knee the other night and was pretty amazed that a "hair gel" could do that.
Now I am a big one to try to save money where I can. I make my own laundry detergent which works just as good as the name brands you may find in the grocery store but where you might spend $10 or more on a one bottle of laundry detergent and you might get about 90 loads from it. Of course that is if you use the correct amount and only if your clothes are not heavily soiled where you might need to add more. I spend $10 every 6 months and I get about 200 loads. So if I can find a product that does three or more things for me for less than the price of buying those three or more individual items and reduce the clutter in my house I'm all for it.
So in a nut shell after one full week....we are liking the weight loss and we are liking the products.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Day 6 - And We're Back
Yeah! Weigh in this morning netted an even 1 pound loss for hubby and 0.5 pound loss for me. After the blood pressure scare of yesterday hubby is feeling better and beginning to halve his blood pressure medication today.
One of the best things hubby has said about the Nutrimost system is that it is, so far, exactly what they said it would be. He may get hungry but not close to how hungry he used to be and sometimes he has to eat just because he knows that he has to eat. Cravings for evening snacks are starting to abate and when one does come around it's easy to ignore it as it seems to just disappear after five or ten minutes.
Last night we decided to save the dinner fruit portion until about one hour after dinner and have it as a dessert. That dessert was Strawberry Sorbet.....8oz frozen strawberries, a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, sweet leaf stevia to taste (I only used 1/8 teaspoon) and a tablespoon of water (optional to get to the consistency I wanted), Hubby looked at the serving (yes, that is one serving) and couldn't believe how much he got all for 73 calories.
Today for lunch he brought shrimp (with 1 tablespoon of homemade ketchup which is also really good as a cocktail sauce), apple chips (dehydrated apple with cinnamon) and celery. The guys he works with are amazed at the lunches he gets to eat and sometimes a little envious that it looks so much better than the typical sandwich, sub, burger.
One of the best things hubby has said about the Nutrimost system is that it is, so far, exactly what they said it would be. He may get hungry but not close to how hungry he used to be and sometimes he has to eat just because he knows that he has to eat. Cravings for evening snacks are starting to abate and when one does come around it's easy to ignore it as it seems to just disappear after five or ten minutes.
Last night we decided to save the dinner fruit portion until about one hour after dinner and have it as a dessert. That dessert was Strawberry Sorbet.....8oz frozen strawberries, a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, sweet leaf stevia to taste (I only used 1/8 teaspoon) and a tablespoon of water (optional to get to the consistency I wanted), Hubby looked at the serving (yes, that is one serving) and couldn't believe how much he got all for 73 calories.
Today for lunch he brought shrimp (with 1 tablespoon of homemade ketchup which is also really good as a cocktail sauce), apple chips (dehydrated apple with cinnamon) and celery. The guys he works with are amazed at the lunches he gets to eat and sometimes a little envious that it looks so much better than the typical sandwich, sub, burger.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Day 5 - Recovery
Due to the oops of yesterday hubby was only down 0.1 pounds. Although we were disappointed we were both pretty happy that it wasn't a weight gain. So we're getting back on track today.
One of the issues that the doctor reiterated a few times as hubby is on blood pressure medication; one day it just might hit where he would not need as much of his medication to control it. Today was the day. About 10:00 am this morning, working outside, walking up and down ladders he started getting light headed, dizzy and nauseous. A pharmacy was right down the street and he took his blood pressure at one of those self service machines....yes, they can be accurate, but then again they typically are not as good as you would hope. His pressure was down a lot lower than it typically runs (but not in any red flag danger zone reading) so out came the fruit he had for lunch. Eating raises your blood pressure and he did start feeling better however there was no way he was good enough to be working on a ladder. Tonight is better but standing up too fast is still an issue....time to cut back by half on the blood pressure medication and monitor.
One of the things we both have missed since the beginning of this is something crunchy. Celery and biting into an cold fresh apple will only go so far in satisfying that crave for crunch. I've banished the potato chips, doritos, cheetos in the house as well as soda of any kind....so how to replace it with "healthy". Simple, after buying all the beautiful fruit yesterday we'll be freezing some, juicing some (portioned out according to the plan 1/2 grapefruit with pulp) and apple chips....nothing more than dehydrated apples with cinnamon....portioned out to an appropriate serving size. So tonight I'm starting to dehydrate....I have cinnamon apple chips, strawberries, and for me only bananas. Bananas are not on "the list" but since hubby doesn't like them it's one way for me to make sure they don't rot before I eat them.
Can't wait to see his results tomorrow and I swear after not even a week I'm already seeing a difference in him. :)
One of the issues that the doctor reiterated a few times as hubby is on blood pressure medication; one day it just might hit where he would not need as much of his medication to control it. Today was the day. About 10:00 am this morning, working outside, walking up and down ladders he started getting light headed, dizzy and nauseous. A pharmacy was right down the street and he took his blood pressure at one of those self service machines....yes, they can be accurate, but then again they typically are not as good as you would hope. His pressure was down a lot lower than it typically runs (but not in any red flag danger zone reading) so out came the fruit he had for lunch. Eating raises your blood pressure and he did start feeling better however there was no way he was good enough to be working on a ladder. Tonight is better but standing up too fast is still an issue....time to cut back by half on the blood pressure medication and monitor.
One of the things we both have missed since the beginning of this is something crunchy. Celery and biting into an cold fresh apple will only go so far in satisfying that crave for crunch. I've banished the potato chips, doritos, cheetos in the house as well as soda of any kind....so how to replace it with "healthy". Simple, after buying all the beautiful fruit yesterday we'll be freezing some, juicing some (portioned out according to the plan 1/2 grapefruit with pulp) and apple chips....nothing more than dehydrated apples with cinnamon....portioned out to an appropriate serving size. So tonight I'm starting to dehydrate....I have cinnamon apple chips, strawberries, and for me only bananas. Bananas are not on "the list" but since hubby doesn't like them it's one way for me to make sure they don't rot before I eat them.
Can't wait to see his results tomorrow and I swear after not even a week I'm already seeing a difference in him. :)
Day 4 - Sunday Funday
No matter how best your plans are laid out, something will always mess them up. I'm writing this after the fact to serve as a little warning.....
One of the best things about living in Florida is that you can get just about anywhere within a 2-3 hour drive. Plans on Sunday were to pick up our grandson, driving to Plant City, FL and pick up some fresh strawberries and fruit from some of the farm stands up there. It's a nice little drive about 1.5 hours from the house and we were successful in getting a bunch of flats of beautiful fruit from strawberries, grapefruit, apples, tomatoes and more. We packed my husband's lunch in a cooler with his water....everything was going great until hubby decided to snack on his celery. Our grandson wanted some celery too and hubby ended up with only 1/4 of what he was to eat.
Then we decided to see if our daughter who lives in Orlando was off or working and we drove up to visit her. We also decided to go to lunch. Mistake! Especially because he also forgot to pack the supplements he would normally take mid-day. We settled on a place that was American-Asian Fusion style....figuring his lettuce wraps with shrimp (yes, it had tofu with it and it was not on his list) wouldn't have a bunch of oils that's what he ordered. When it came out it was laden with a soy/olive oil sauce that has been poured all over the top which the menu had not made any mention of. The waitress talked to the manager and they remade his food free of oils and hubby didn't even make a move to use any of the side sauces they provided.
We knew that his results for day 3 would not be very good for several different reasons mentioned above and as long as there is no weight gain....we'll be happy.
One of the best things about living in Florida is that you can get just about anywhere within a 2-3 hour drive. Plans on Sunday were to pick up our grandson, driving to Plant City, FL and pick up some fresh strawberries and fruit from some of the farm stands up there. It's a nice little drive about 1.5 hours from the house and we were successful in getting a bunch of flats of beautiful fruit from strawberries, grapefruit, apples, tomatoes and more. We packed my husband's lunch in a cooler with his water....everything was going great until hubby decided to snack on his celery. Our grandson wanted some celery too and hubby ended up with only 1/4 of what he was to eat.
Then we decided to see if our daughter who lives in Orlando was off or working and we drove up to visit her. We also decided to go to lunch. Mistake! Especially because he also forgot to pack the supplements he would normally take mid-day. We settled on a place that was American-Asian Fusion style....figuring his lettuce wraps with shrimp (yes, it had tofu with it and it was not on his list) wouldn't have a bunch of oils that's what he ordered. When it came out it was laden with a soy/olive oil sauce that has been poured all over the top which the menu had not made any mention of. The waitress talked to the manager and they remade his food free of oils and hubby didn't even make a move to use any of the side sauces they provided.
We knew that his results for day 3 would not be very good for several different reasons mentioned above and as long as there is no weight gain....we'll be happy.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Day 3 - The First Weekend
Weekends are the hardest to get through. During the week both of us work all day, come home for dinner, relax, watch a movie...you know, the typical daily pattern. Weekends are a different story. Starting on Friday we go out for dinner then to one of our favorite bars for drinks and music and having a good old time. Saturday is typically an all day cooking fest for a new and way too big dinner. Sunday is always a huge breakfast with 3 egg omelets stuffed with veggies and cheese with bacon or sausage and either breakfast potatoes (potatoes, green pepper, onion and our secret sauce all fried up together) and finally off the the in-laws for another fabulous dinner.
By the end of the weekend I would typically add on 3-5 pounds. Then I fall back into my weekday pattern and it would be gone by Wednesday or Thursday right in time to start it all over again. That roller coaster ride is a pain and when we go on vacation for a week....it's worse as it takes longer to drop back down. This weekend is different and I'm wondering what the end result will be.
Now remember I am not following the entire plan just the food side of it however hubby has dropped another 2 pounds this morning by following it to the letter. On the Nutrimost plan in the beginning you do not eat breakfast and instead start taking all the personalized supplements. During a discussion this morning my husband said it felt like he should eat something....but he wasn't feeling hungry at all. It's the habit he fell into and the mind wanted something that his body didn't. One of the doctors at Nutrimost told him to expect this. He also said that this "mind game" is what sets people back. Just like trying to quit smoking, or chewing on your nails, or twirling your hair....you have to break a bad habit to start a good habit. Each of us is helping the other to "not fall into a pizza" which will be very, very hard come Tuesday as that's the night we typically have our grandson overnight and it's always pizza night for him.
The good news for me is that even though I didn't even lose an ounce in weight from yesterday....I didn't gain any either. We ate according the the plan and then met up with friends for drinks at one of our favorite places. Hubby was good....only water for him as alcohol is really a no no....empty calories with no nutritional value. I on the other hand had a couple of beers and a couple of shots. I definitely was anxious stepping on the scale this morning and was happy to see no gain at all. The weekend still has a long way to go though so we'll just have to wait and see the end result.
By the end of the weekend I would typically add on 3-5 pounds. Then I fall back into my weekday pattern and it would be gone by Wednesday or Thursday right in time to start it all over again. That roller coaster ride is a pain and when we go on vacation for a week....it's worse as it takes longer to drop back down. This weekend is different and I'm wondering what the end result will be.
Now remember I am not following the entire plan just the food side of it however hubby has dropped another 2 pounds this morning by following it to the letter. On the Nutrimost plan in the beginning you do not eat breakfast and instead start taking all the personalized supplements. During a discussion this morning my husband said it felt like he should eat something....but he wasn't feeling hungry at all. It's the habit he fell into and the mind wanted something that his body didn't. One of the doctors at Nutrimost told him to expect this. He also said that this "mind game" is what sets people back. Just like trying to quit smoking, or chewing on your nails, or twirling your hair....you have to break a bad habit to start a good habit. Each of us is helping the other to "not fall into a pizza" which will be very, very hard come Tuesday as that's the night we typically have our grandson overnight and it's always pizza night for him.
The good news for me is that even though I didn't even lose an ounce in weight from yesterday....I didn't gain any either. We ate according the the plan and then met up with friends for drinks at one of our favorite places. Hubby was good....only water for him as alcohol is really a no no....empty calories with no nutritional value. I on the other hand had a couple of beers and a couple of shots. I definitely was anxious stepping on the scale this morning and was happy to see no gain at all. The weekend still has a long way to go though so we'll just have to wait and see the end result.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Day 2
Some of the things I really like about this Nutrimost program (remember my hubby is the one going through this and I'm following along on the food part only)......
Have we really become a society that bigger the better in all areas? Yes, the fast food chains have started to do away with the behemoth sizes they once offered however I still sometimes hear people complain at non-fast food places that the portions are too small....or so big that the customer walks out with their doggie bag of food saying that it's two more meals for them.
For lunch today I made for my hubby Blackened Shrimp (using the approved blackened spice mix and the new love of my life George Foreman Grill) and Roasted Onion
with a side of strawberries. When I first asked if he wanted onion for his lunch his response was "What? Raw?" I laughed because I knew that would be his response and could just see him eating a raw onion like an apple. What I made for him last night was Roasted Onion with a Bragg's Organic Cider Vinegar Reduction (literally bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vinegar darkens in color and thickens slightly...don't go too far though or it will burn easily at the end) with a little pink salt and fresh ground pepper. I never do anything the easy way so I sliced the whole onion into petals not cut all the way to the bottom, put it on some foil, drizzled the reduction sauce, salt and pepper, sealed it up and baked it for about 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I did sample one petal after it had cooled a little and it was phenomenal.
So after the first load up day hubby is down 4.0 pounds and I am down 1.3 pounds at the beginning of day #2. Yes it stinks that women do not lose weight as easily as men however due to the fact that women's bodies are designed to give birth our bodies don't want to release that storage of fat quite so quickly. That built in protection system for carrying our children for 9 months just means we have to work a little harder to get there.....
- You look at the strict portion sizes versus how you used to eat.
Have we really become a society that bigger the better in all areas? Yes, the fast food chains have started to do away with the behemoth sizes they once offered however I still sometimes hear people complain at non-fast food places that the portions are too small....or so big that the customer walks out with their doggie bag of food saying that it's two more meals for them.
- You learn new ways of cooking
- You are getting more variety than before
For lunch today I made for my hubby Blackened Shrimp (using the approved blackened spice mix and the new love of my life George Foreman Grill) and Roasted Onion
So after the first load up day hubby is down 4.0 pounds and I am down 1.3 pounds at the beginning of day #2. Yes it stinks that women do not lose weight as easily as men however due to the fact that women's bodies are designed to give birth our bodies don't want to release that storage of fat quite so quickly. That built in protection system for carrying our children for 9 months just means we have to work a little harder to get there.....
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Day 1 - Backseat Driver to a Nutrimost Dieter
Today is Day 1 in my husband's quest to lose weight, approximately 70 pounds worth of weight. It's not going to be easy however with me as the backseat driver it should go easier on him. It really is a pretty basic principle that as a team we can succeed as we will both be following the same food plans which will result in hopefully fewer unintentional sabotages on his quest.
Here's a little background to how we got to where we are today.....
I've been married to my husband for 32 years now. Even back in our early 20's it concerned me that every time he ate a meal he would flush bright red as to me that was not normal. He wasn't overweight, he was active all day long, he seemed "normal" except for when he ate. By his late 20's it was confirmed that his blood pressure was high and instead of opting for big pharm drugs we took steps to reduce salt, try to exercise more, all the stuff you're supposed to do. It was hard though with two kids by the time we were thirty our plans always had to shift so we couldn't do what we had to for his diet. With both of us working full time there wasn't much time for cooking so we began to take the easy way out with purchasing prepackaged food, eating out, and way to many carbs.
By the time he was in his mid-30's my husband owned his own business. He was a paint contractor, active all day long, constantly moving, lifting, bending, climbing. The weight was starting to pack on though and we both knew it. There is a saying that everything can change in one day and yes, I remember the day that changed out lives forever. Painting a chimney on top of a tile barrel roof he lost his footing. He saved himself from falling off the roof and instead caused extensive damage to his knee. He didn't break it but instead damaged tendons and ligaments to the point he was on crutches for a couple of weeks. Like most injuries it healed over time but after a few years of more spraining and straining it, the knee ached so badly that he finally talked to the doctor about what could be done as over the counter pain relievers just weren't working anymore. Scar tissue had developed in the knee and through a simple procedure they would go in and clean it out. Surgery was a success and in very short order he was back with full range to the knee and he was active again. The weight seemed to fall right off without trying....the problem though was that it didn't stop falling off and seemed in fact to be accelerating in speed.
Within 2.5 months he had dropped over 60 pounds without trying, without dieting....something was wrong. At age 39 he was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. A complication from undergoing anaesthesia to repair the knee his pancreas totally shut down. His doctor immediately admitted him into the hospital and he was transferred to ICU as his blood sugar was so high they feared he could die. After 5 days in ICU he was finally stabilized and moved to a regular room for the next 48 hours. He was now on insulin shots multiple times a day and once again on a strict carb counting diet. We took classes in food from a licensed dietician to help make sense of how diet and body chemistry all work together. I absolutely believe that those classes gave me a better understanding of food and how to cook and what to eat....for us though, looking back, it wasn't quite enough.
The next big "one day everything can change" occurred ten months after the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. One day his pancreas just decided to turn back on full steam. His endocronologist had warned us that it might happen because of how he developed diabetes however no one, including her, thought it would occur outside of the first few months. Nothing is scarier than after eating a full meal and making sure they've take an insulin shot you see someone bottoming out and slipping close to diabetic coma. Trying to find easily digestible sugar filled foods and drinks to counteract the insulin in a house that had little of these foods I reverted to sugar water, fruit and "fully leaded (non-diet) soda" that we had just for the kids to drink occasionally. For 15 minutes I monitored his symptoms and just as I was ready to dial 911 for an ambulance his world finally starting coming back into focus.
My non-diabetic husband was back. Life got easier and everything we had so strictly monitored in the past for diet ever so slowly went by the wayside. Looking back now I can honestly point a finger to what went wrong in the following years....carbs....the bad carbs. I'm talking the bread, the rice, the pizza, the burgers, the deep fried this and the deep fried that everything that we had always loved to eat as kids that had been strictly monitored and sometimes now never eaten could suddenly be eaten again. Within 12 years, by the time he turned 52 he had developed type 2 diabetes and yes, had packed on the pounds again.
His fight against type 2 diabetes was different....it was much harder. Insurance coverage had changed and the expenses were higher. He was prescribed Metaformin which worked admirably for a little while, then a long acting insulin shot was also prescribed. The problem though was that the long acting insulin was not working for him as his blood sugar in the morning was horribly high and none of the changes in dosage or diet were helping. Finally he was prescribed some of the new classes of drugs. Once a week shot of Tanzeum and daily pill of Farxiga. Success was achieved but was very short lived. Within two weeks of glucose readings we were excited about the side effects of Farxiga set in. Lighthead, dizzy, stomach feeling as it was being ripped apart from acid. He immediately stopped taking the Farxiga and within a week he was feeling better. The Tanzeum shot was working but it still needed something else added to help. The endocronologist prescribed another drug in the same class with a free one month to start. Success! No side effects and blood glucose levels coming in perfect every single day. The kicker....after that first month, with our insurance carrier not having the drug on the "approved" list for coverage the cost would have been $1000/month. The Tanzeum help we were receiving with their costs would be running out in 9 months.....that will then cost about $1000/month. Two drugs when added together is over twice our monthly mortgage payment. Enough is enough and action needed to be taken and taken now to get him off of these big pharm medications but we needed to get his weight down and keep it down for the rest of his life.
Along came Nutrimost. My husband had heard about this through a local radio station where one of the on air personalities had done it. The praises of the program and the doctors were enough to get us interested in exploring this program. As I have a very anal personality I had to learn as much as possible about them....I found everything online from they're the best to they are scammers.....somewhere in the middle though is the truth and I intend to report truthfully through this blog every day about our progress. Yes, OUR progress. Even though I myself am not going through the personalized program the staff did say that I will lose some weight (which is good because I need to lose about 50 pounds if I want to be totally honest).
During the first appointment they did some scans and talked about the program including the fact that it is tailored specifically for him. They went through what is out of whack in his metabolism including some of the items he's not getting enough of. Appointment #2 came last week with a final scan to set up his supplements and yesterday he received his goody packet with shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, toothpaste, etc along with his supplements.
So today is Day 1. You get to have "good fats" which for the next 43 days following we will not be using or eating at all unless specifically told to use by the doctor. Yes you eat protein...fish, mollusks, shrimp, free range chicken, buffalo, veal, very lean beef, specific vegetables, and fruit. All of these need to be as organic as possible....no chemicals, antibiotics, GMO free, and most importantly of all removal of bad fats and bad carbs all with controlled portions.
One thing I want to state.....Yes these are medical doctors, you meet with the doctors throughout this entire process. You text updates to them DAILY! If they see an issue it is addressed immediately including when you hit a plateau. Please do not think of following this diet to the extreme without oversight by a doctor. Although I am overweight I am also pretty healthy....my blood pressure is good, my cholesterol is good, I do not take any prescribed medications and I also know that if something feels wrong to stop immediately.
So today I started my day with mixed nuts (almonds, macadamia, cashews)....my lunch will be strawberries and arugula and dinner tonight will be Buffalo Meatloaf (individual sized 3.5 oz pre-cooking weight) which is seasoned only with herbs, Roasted Cabbage (oven baked with a drizzle of EVOO-a good fat, lemon juice, pepper and a bit of Pink Salt...the original recipe calls for bacon bits which I will not be adding to the dish at this time). Dessert tonight will be either an orange or an apple (no sure which yet). The goal today is to keep the calories between 500-800 calories and make them good calories so they provide energy instead of being converted to fat.
I also intend on posting some of my more favorite dishes I've discovered in this process to my Pinterest Account if you would like some healthy food options. During the next 44 days these recipes will be modified to meet the requirements of removing bad fats and to maintain the correct calorie count. https://www.pinterest.com/jb11037/food-low-cal-cooking/
Here's a little background to how we got to where we are today.....
I've been married to my husband for 32 years now. Even back in our early 20's it concerned me that every time he ate a meal he would flush bright red as to me that was not normal. He wasn't overweight, he was active all day long, he seemed "normal" except for when he ate. By his late 20's it was confirmed that his blood pressure was high and instead of opting for big pharm drugs we took steps to reduce salt, try to exercise more, all the stuff you're supposed to do. It was hard though with two kids by the time we were thirty our plans always had to shift so we couldn't do what we had to for his diet. With both of us working full time there wasn't much time for cooking so we began to take the easy way out with purchasing prepackaged food, eating out, and way to many carbs.
By the time he was in his mid-30's my husband owned his own business. He was a paint contractor, active all day long, constantly moving, lifting, bending, climbing. The weight was starting to pack on though and we both knew it. There is a saying that everything can change in one day and yes, I remember the day that changed out lives forever. Painting a chimney on top of a tile barrel roof he lost his footing. He saved himself from falling off the roof and instead caused extensive damage to his knee. He didn't break it but instead damaged tendons and ligaments to the point he was on crutches for a couple of weeks. Like most injuries it healed over time but after a few years of more spraining and straining it, the knee ached so badly that he finally talked to the doctor about what could be done as over the counter pain relievers just weren't working anymore. Scar tissue had developed in the knee and through a simple procedure they would go in and clean it out. Surgery was a success and in very short order he was back with full range to the knee and he was active again. The weight seemed to fall right off without trying....the problem though was that it didn't stop falling off and seemed in fact to be accelerating in speed.
Within 2.5 months he had dropped over 60 pounds without trying, without dieting....something was wrong. At age 39 he was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. A complication from undergoing anaesthesia to repair the knee his pancreas totally shut down. His doctor immediately admitted him into the hospital and he was transferred to ICU as his blood sugar was so high they feared he could die. After 5 days in ICU he was finally stabilized and moved to a regular room for the next 48 hours. He was now on insulin shots multiple times a day and once again on a strict carb counting diet. We took classes in food from a licensed dietician to help make sense of how diet and body chemistry all work together. I absolutely believe that those classes gave me a better understanding of food and how to cook and what to eat....for us though, looking back, it wasn't quite enough.
The next big "one day everything can change" occurred ten months after the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. One day his pancreas just decided to turn back on full steam. His endocronologist had warned us that it might happen because of how he developed diabetes however no one, including her, thought it would occur outside of the first few months. Nothing is scarier than after eating a full meal and making sure they've take an insulin shot you see someone bottoming out and slipping close to diabetic coma. Trying to find easily digestible sugar filled foods and drinks to counteract the insulin in a house that had little of these foods I reverted to sugar water, fruit and "fully leaded (non-diet) soda" that we had just for the kids to drink occasionally. For 15 minutes I monitored his symptoms and just as I was ready to dial 911 for an ambulance his world finally starting coming back into focus.
My non-diabetic husband was back. Life got easier and everything we had so strictly monitored in the past for diet ever so slowly went by the wayside. Looking back now I can honestly point a finger to what went wrong in the following years....carbs....the bad carbs. I'm talking the bread, the rice, the pizza, the burgers, the deep fried this and the deep fried that everything that we had always loved to eat as kids that had been strictly monitored and sometimes now never eaten could suddenly be eaten again. Within 12 years, by the time he turned 52 he had developed type 2 diabetes and yes, had packed on the pounds again.
His fight against type 2 diabetes was different....it was much harder. Insurance coverage had changed and the expenses were higher. He was prescribed Metaformin which worked admirably for a little while, then a long acting insulin shot was also prescribed. The problem though was that the long acting insulin was not working for him as his blood sugar in the morning was horribly high and none of the changes in dosage or diet were helping. Finally he was prescribed some of the new classes of drugs. Once a week shot of Tanzeum and daily pill of Farxiga. Success was achieved but was very short lived. Within two weeks of glucose readings we were excited about the side effects of Farxiga set in. Lighthead, dizzy, stomach feeling as it was being ripped apart from acid. He immediately stopped taking the Farxiga and within a week he was feeling better. The Tanzeum shot was working but it still needed something else added to help. The endocronologist prescribed another drug in the same class with a free one month to start. Success! No side effects and blood glucose levels coming in perfect every single day. The kicker....after that first month, with our insurance carrier not having the drug on the "approved" list for coverage the cost would have been $1000/month. The Tanzeum help we were receiving with their costs would be running out in 9 months.....that will then cost about $1000/month. Two drugs when added together is over twice our monthly mortgage payment. Enough is enough and action needed to be taken and taken now to get him off of these big pharm medications but we needed to get his weight down and keep it down for the rest of his life.
Along came Nutrimost. My husband had heard about this through a local radio station where one of the on air personalities had done it. The praises of the program and the doctors were enough to get us interested in exploring this program. As I have a very anal personality I had to learn as much as possible about them....I found everything online from they're the best to they are scammers.....somewhere in the middle though is the truth and I intend to report truthfully through this blog every day about our progress. Yes, OUR progress. Even though I myself am not going through the personalized program the staff did say that I will lose some weight (which is good because I need to lose about 50 pounds if I want to be totally honest).
During the first appointment they did some scans and talked about the program including the fact that it is tailored specifically for him. They went through what is out of whack in his metabolism including some of the items he's not getting enough of. Appointment #2 came last week with a final scan to set up his supplements and yesterday he received his goody packet with shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, toothpaste, etc along with his supplements.
So today is Day 1. You get to have "good fats" which for the next 43 days following we will not be using or eating at all unless specifically told to use by the doctor. Yes you eat protein...fish, mollusks, shrimp, free range chicken, buffalo, veal, very lean beef, specific vegetables, and fruit. All of these need to be as organic as possible....no chemicals, antibiotics, GMO free, and most importantly of all removal of bad fats and bad carbs all with controlled portions.
One thing I want to state.....Yes these are medical doctors, you meet with the doctors throughout this entire process. You text updates to them DAILY! If they see an issue it is addressed immediately including when you hit a plateau. Please do not think of following this diet to the extreme without oversight by a doctor. Although I am overweight I am also pretty healthy....my blood pressure is good, my cholesterol is good, I do not take any prescribed medications and I also know that if something feels wrong to stop immediately.
So today I started my day with mixed nuts (almonds, macadamia, cashews)....my lunch will be strawberries and arugula and dinner tonight will be Buffalo Meatloaf (individual sized 3.5 oz pre-cooking weight) which is seasoned only with herbs, Roasted Cabbage (oven baked with a drizzle of EVOO-a good fat, lemon juice, pepper and a bit of Pink Salt...the original recipe calls for bacon bits which I will not be adding to the dish at this time). Dessert tonight will be either an orange or an apple (no sure which yet). The goal today is to keep the calories between 500-800 calories and make them good calories so they provide energy instead of being converted to fat.
I also intend on posting some of my more favorite dishes I've discovered in this process to my Pinterest Account if you would like some healthy food options. During the next 44 days these recipes will be modified to meet the requirements of removing bad fats and to maintain the correct calorie count. https://www.pinterest.com/jb11037/food-low-cal-cooking/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)