30-Day Challenge – Zero Carbs

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meat

I’m going full ketogenic for July. No foods or drinks that come from plants. That’s right I’m doing a 30-Day No Carb Challenge. Let’s see if eating just animal foods is possible. Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and amenic181.

Well this should be interesting. I love my veggies, avocado, plum tomatoes, coconut oil and seasonings. But in the interest of my diet, I decided to give them all up in July. Yep, I’m going from 20g of net carbs a day to 0g total carbs.

That means no vegetables or fruits of any kind. No garlic. No leafy greens. No berries. No coffee or tea. No alcohol!!!!! No spices or seasonings, except for salt. If it comes from a plant, I’m giving it up in July.

Why am I doing this? Why not. Sometimes its good to shake things up. Also many LCHF folks experiment with this and many find it much easier to stick to. For me, the idea of giving up my morning avocado seems impossible, but I’m going to try.

What Can I Eat & Drink?
For 30 days the only foods I’ll eat comes from animals. Drinking is also restricted. Read More

Why Women Are Getting Fatter

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tape measure fork

Four in 10 women are obese in America and that number is climbing. Yet they are more focused on diet and nutrition than men. So why are women getting fatter? Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net and Mister GC.

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reveals that while the obesity rates of men (35%) have hit a plateau, women’s obesity rates (40%) continue to climb. Yet women pay more attention to calories, food labels, and are far greater consumers of health and nutrition information.

Studies show when schools roll out an anti-obesity program, girls are far more likely to change their eating behavior than boys.

Not only that, women do the “lion’s share” of grocery shopping. And Women’s Marketing, a marketing agency focused on women consumers and their buying power, indicates that the next trillion dollar business is “Health & Wellness.”

With that kind of buying and decision-making power, is it any wonder that the food, nutrition, health and fitness industries heavily cater to women? It’s clear that women are more tuned in to the current nutrition advice from the US government than men.

If that’s the case, why are they getting fatter? Read More

Weekly Weigh-In: Inching Closer to 170s

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weekly weigh in june 5

I’m down a few ounces. A loss is a loss. But I’m tweaking my food this week to fight the cold. My body temperature is off and changing my macros should do the trick. Perhaps this will eventually kick my insulin resistance to the curb and jump start my weight loss.

I’m down a couple of ounces this week. I’ll take it. That puts my total weight loss at 140.8 pounds. As frustrated as I am that I’m still hovering in the mid 180s after a year, a little perspective makes that frustration go away.

I’ve shed nearly 50% of my weight in 4 years and kept it off. That’s awesome.

But I am doing some tweaking to my diet and it has noting to do with the scale.

I’m always cold. Too cold. And it has nothing to do with my air conditioning.

It’s been going on for nearly a year. Regardless of temperature, I’m always wearing a sweater because I feel chilly. How cold I feel goes off the charts during fasts. So no more intermittent fasting this week. My metabolism is off and the course corrections I’m making this week are already bearing fruit.

Funny, I’m wearing the sweater right now and I’m sweating up a storm. Clearly I reached for it this morning out of habit. That tells me my resting metabolism was out of wack for far too long.

If all goes well this week I plan to try a 36 hour fast this weekend. I’ll eat regular on Friday and not eat again until Sunday morning. Keep in mind the fast isn’t about the scale. It’s about lowering an artificially high body weight set point caused by decades of insulin resistance. And the best way to do that is by fasting.

Optimal health really is one big science experiment. And I’m enjoying being the scientist and the lab rat.

Fruits & The 5 A Day Myth

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I always wondered how the US Food Guidelines came up with the recommendation of eating 5 servings of fruit and vegetables everyday. In the video below Dr. Zoe Harcombe (PhD in public health nutrition) explains how this idea of eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily has no science to back it up.

I should have known it was just a marketing gimmick by the companies that what you to eat more fruits and veggies.

Is this really a big deal? I mean fruits and vegetables are really healthy and we should eat more, right?

If you are healthy, go for it. If you have insulin resistance, fruit isn’t your friend.

In the video, Harcombe explains that fruit isn’t as nutritious as we’ve been told. What fruits lack in vitamins and minerals they make up with an abundance of sugar and fructose. People, especially women, tend to over eat fruit (because of that sweetness) and limit or skip the more nutritious vegetables.

For me, I made the decision to severely restrict fruit when I started eating low carb, high fat (LCHF). Thanks to insulin resistance, my metabolism was broken. The only way to start reclaiming my health was to go strict LCHF (no more than 20g of net carbs a day). Given my level of insulin resistance, fruit wasn’t going to help me do that.

Not all fruit is horrible.  Berries provide enough of a benefit that outweigh the rising insulin.  However I follow 2 rules strictly when eating berries:

  1. I always eat fruit with a fat, like cream, to minimize the insulin response.
  2. I rarely eat berries, because fruit is nature’s candy.

Do I miss fruit? Sometimes. Bananas were my favorite, but not anymore. They are pure sugar. Cherries, peaches, kiwi and apples are missed. At some point I’d love to enjoy them again, but I also understand that I’m dealing with decades of damage to my metabolic system.

I may never “cure” my insulin resistance. The best I may hope for is increasing my sensitivity to carbs.  Which means I’ll never eat the 2-4 servings a day recommended by our government as part of a “healthy” diet.

I’ll enjoy those missed fruits again, but only on my terms — as rare, special treats … and always with fat.

June Food Challenge: SEAFOOD

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Fish cooking

OK, so the cedar plank did catch fire, but the dish came out awesome despite a little set back on the grill.

I got a jump-start on my June Food Challenge. Last night I made a macadamia crusted Mahi-Mahi with cauliflower mash and sautéed mustard greens. I had no idea what I was doing when making the crust. It really was on a whim and not thought out. I ended up topping it with a pesto sauce just in case the crust didn’t come out.

Why A Fish Challenge?
I’ve always hated fish. Always. When I was a kid I’d go fishing with my best friend’s family. I just remember being repulsed by how slimy the fish were and the whole cleaning process. Heck, to this day I still refuse to put bait on a fishing hook. The whole process is just icky to me.  And that pretty much drives most of my aversion to fish.

Most, but not all. Let’s not forget the fishy taste. Canned tuna always made me gag. And salmon…don’t get me started.

However I started rethinking the whole fish thing a few years ago when I tried sushi.  Yep, I ate raw fish…and loved it. No fishy flavor. I didn’t even mind the texture so much. Of course all that dang Wasabi may have had a hand in it, but it got me thinking.

Plus the health benefits. There is no way around that. I’m missing out on Omega-3 because of my aversion to fish. Taking fish oil just isn’t the same.

Finally my husband loves seafood. And it isn’t fair that he rarely eats fish because his wife is grossed out by it.

But eating fish is always hit or miss. Freshness is really important for a fish hater trying to become lover. I’ve had amazingly good Chilean sea bass and god awful salmon (Yes, I’m a bit like Ahab…but salmon is my Great White).

So June I’m making a serious effort to add fish to my diet. This month, twice a week, I’m eating seafood. Ultimately I want to be able to enjoy fish once a week after this challenge ends.

Fire In The Hole
My first attempt at grilling fish exceeded my expectations…despite the fire. The crust was a bit mushy going on but got pretty crispy (not burnt). Rather than chopping the macadamia nuts, I mistakenly pulverized them in my herb grinder. I basically turned the nuts into mush. In an effort to firm up the nut mush, I added my homemade salt seasoning (pink Himalayan salt, fresh cracked pepper, garlic powder and paprika) and some Parmesan cheese.

I ended up patting the crust mix on top and sides of each filet before adding them to the cedar plank.

Keep Calm & Eat Fish
Adding the pesto sauce was done out of panic. Again, this wasn’t planned out. I saw the fish at my grocery store earlier that afternoon and decided to pick up 3 fillets. The pesto sauce was just in case the crust or fish tasted bad.

The panic was for naught. The crust was yummy as was the pesto. And as for the fish…it was delicious. Mahi-Mahi was a good first choice for this challenge. My Wegman’s fishmonger recommended I start my challenge off with a mild white fish before working my way up to the dark and oil rich fish.

Apparently there are 5 types of fish.  So for the first few dishes I’m focused on milder white fish. That should help me get over hangups regarding texture and eating the skin before moving towards stronger flavored fish and eventually wild salmon.

As for the recipe, I tracked how much food I ate, but didn’t calculate the nutrition value of the fish dish. I’m working on that today and will post it later today.

I was too excited (and nervous) about starting this challenge to do some calculations. But I’ll make sure to have it ready to go when I post about my next dish: Steamed Muscles & Bacon-Wrapped Scallops.

Weekly Weigh-In: Less Wine Means -1.5 Lbs!

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weekly weigh in May 28

Make smarter decisions — less wine, make my own food — and the weight loss pick back up…amazing how that works!

It really is amazing what happens when you make better food choices. I’m down 1.5 pounds this week thanks to eating out less and cutting back on wine. Funny how that works.

This was also the week where I could consistently go outside and enjoy walks. The weather finally turned the corner and we said good-bye to lots of cold, wet rain. Since I’m no longer with a gym, my primary exercise right now is walking and interval running.

My eating habits and activity level are closely linked. On days where I can do a morning walk or jog, I’m much more mindful of what I shove in my mouth. So I’m grateful for the sunshine.

Grilling Season Is Here
More sunshine is in our extended forecast. When presented with the option of going out to eat or staying home and grilling, we normally opt to grill. So I’m creating a menu for the upcoming week that focuses heavily on grilling – Shrimp and Scallop Kabobs, pork and beef ribs, burgers and dogs.

And if we’re lucky on our excursion tomorrow, fresh fish. Yep, we’re going fishing in the morning. Depending on which spot the husband picks we might land a bass, trout or catfish. Read More

Low Carb Baking With Cacao Butter

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cacao butter

My cocoa butter arrived! Let the low carb baking and ice cream making commence!

Amazon’s delivery fairies left a little package at my doorstep today – cacao butter (a.k.a. cocoa butter)! This weekend I’m experimenting with a few chocolaty fat bomb and dessert recipes. Double yum.

I’ve wanted to try cocoa butter for a long time. It’s an awesomely healthy fat. However I couldn’t find any at Whole Foods, Wegmans or Trader Joe’s near me. So I started searching Amazon. And yes, there were plenty of vendors who sell it, but who do you trust when you’ve never heard of any of them? And the prices ranged from dirt-cheap to “are you kidding me.”

If you decide to pick up a block, there are a few things to consider besides price.

Consistency. Does the quality of the butter change from order to order? For a lot of sellers, that isn’t the case. Read More

IVF, Hormones & Diet: The Balancing Act

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weigh in may 22

So the weight gain thanks to my estrogen injections stopped…for now.

This week I bid adieu to my estrogen injections and (temporarily?) the weight gains. My weight held steady this week, and considering my hormones are all over the place, that’s a victory.

I still feel bloated and a bit moody … a bit like having PMS on and off for 2 weeks. Ugh!

Estrogen Injections – Mixed Results
(Warning: Female stuff ahead. I suggest the more delicate flowers out there read with caution or skip to the diet changes.) After 2 weeks of taking estrogen, the results were a bit mixed. On the plus side, the ultrasound indicated that my uterine lining thickened like it was suppose to.

On the minus side, while I was taking the estrogen, I noticed that the day following the injection, I’d start spotting. While it’s not typical to have vaginal bleeding during these injections, some women do. It turns out my estrogen level is lower than the doctor would like.

So now I’m 3 days (out of 7) into taking my new med – progesterone. The idea is that the new med will get my menstrual cycle properly regulated. About 5-7 days after my last dose, it will induce my period. Then the birth control pills start up.

Yep, I need birth control pills to get pregnant. Oh, the irony.

Then a saline sonogram and afterwards we might start the estrogen injections again.

Improving The Diet … & Bank Account!
On the diet front I noticed that I’m experiencing cold hands and feet on fasting days. What’s up with that?

I have too much of a calorie deficit on non-fasting days. Seems strange since I only eat when I’m hungry. That means I need to retool what I’m doing by upping my protein back to 6 ounces per meal. I cut back to 4 ounces months ago. Sure enough, I started feeling colder not too long after cutting back and just didn’t put 2 and 2 together.

I’m also making a sincere attempt at adding more fish into my diet, eating it twice this week. In June I’m going to start a seafood challenge – eating fish 2 times a week. That means I’m on the hunt for recipes as culinary skills in this area are severely lacking.

Besides improvement on the fish front, efforts to cut coffee from my daily grind are going well. This week I only enjoyed the Black Java during the weekend and limited myself to 2 cups in the morning. I expect by June I’ll be so over coffee.

As for cutting my ties to wine, I’m making progress there too. We no longer have bottles at home. But when I go out for dinner, I have a glass or two with my meal. I’ve essentially created a habit. Normally I’d consider this a little indulgence rather than a habit. The problem is we’re going out to eat far too often – 4-5 times a week! That’s a lot of wine.

And its wrecking havoc on our bank account (cost of restaurant + wasted food at home = stupidity). It also kicks me out of ketosis since my body burns the alcohol before any fat. Not to mention the sugar in wine is getting stored somewhere.

It also can’t be great on the hormone front either.

I don’t want to set foot in a restaurant until June. And even then I’m limiting eating out to twice a month. That way its more of a special treat.

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork & Low Carb Mustard BBQ Sauce

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I’ve tried to make a pulled pork dish a few times over the last couple of years and found some success using rubs rather than sugary sauces. But the leftovers never stayed tender or moist.

So about a week ago I embarked on creating a mustard-based BBQ sauce without any sweeteners. I don’t think what I came up with is considered an official “according to Hoyle” South Carolina mustard sauce, but I loved it and that’s what counts.

The recipe for the sauce makes a little more than 2 cups. I ended up using just 1 cup and used up the rest on burgers, salads and steaks. Hmmmm…

Now when I say this is slow cooked, it is…about 6-7 hours in my Dutch oven at 300 degrees. I always thought it was an art to transforming tough cuts of meat into tender bites of deliciousness. But there is also a science to slow cooking meat too. It’s important that the temperature is low enough to breakdown the collagen in the meat – that’s what turns tough meat into tender, falling off the bone awesomeness. If you cook the collagen too quickly the meat turns tough as heck. Too slow and it never breaks down.

This recipe worked best if you season the pork and make the sauce the night before cooking the pork. It’s important to let the ingredients meld together overnight. Your taste buds will thank me. Read More

Weekly Weigh-In: Down A Bit

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weekly weigh in May 7

Down 1/2 a pound this week. Just need to keep up the momentum. Exercising outdoors helps with that. Hopefully I’ll be able to run tomorrow with weeks of rain finally ending.

I’m down slightly this week. Or as I like to look at it, I dropped 2 sticks of butter from my thunder thighs. That’s half a pound baby. Not too bad considering I devoured a yummy strawberry short cake during mom’s birthday celebration.

Exercise Nil All Last Week
Hopefully the rain will finally stop so I can start running again. Or even go for a walk. We’ve had rain for nearly 2 weeks straight. So anything outside was a non-starter. Which means when the weather finally turns for the better I have to start my interval training from the beginning. Ugh!

Now I’ve run during sprinkles before. But this was cold, windy and sprinkles mixed in with heavy rain. Oh and puddles. Lots of big, deep puddles. Not fun if your shoes behave like a sponge.

Unfortunately I own gear for two particular seasons — freezing cold winters and hot humid summers.

I think it’s time to invest in running gear for the spring and fall rains.

Fearless In The Kitchen
This week I spent quality time working on some new recipes, including an awesomely tender pulled pork with homemade mustard sauce (with no sugars!). The husband went bonkers for it. Pictures and recipe coming later this week along with my sausage-egg bake. A casserole that the hubby enjoyed hot or cold.

I’m also working on some new recipes using my new Dutch oven as well as testing older recipes that my slow cooker ruined. With the Dutch oven I can control the cooking temperature. With my slow cooker, not so much as the “low” temperature is really “hot.” Unfortunately you can’t leave the house when cooking with a Dutch oven.

With summer around the corner I’m busy this week working on tasty, low carb breakfast smoothie ideas. I do miss smoothies. Unfortunately my favorites are loaded with carb-heavy fruits. So I’m noodling with ingredients like cacao and protein powders, avocado, coconut milk, coffee, green tea, cream, jalapenos, berries, cherries, leafy greens, flavor extracts, nuts and fresh herbs.

A lot can go wrong, but that’s part of the fun of being fearless in the kitchen.