Friday, August 9, 2013

Today was a good day.

Got in exercise with each meal, though lunch and dinner was after I ate. Still having a hard time getting the food on the table AND exercising before I eat.

I am eating really low on calories. I'm not sure what to think of that. I'm glad to be under and I'm rarely hungry, so I don't feel like I want to work too hard to change it. I was low on protein tonight. I should have worked a little harder to get in some brighter greens and nuts with my meal.

I had half an apple tonight for a little dessert after our evening walk. Not my usual habit, but it was nice to have a little extra something tonight.

We watched a show tonight, Eat, Fast, and Live Longer with Michael Mosley, about how fasting and diet affects health. It was interesting, but even I could see the faulty science in it.  It is streaming on pbs.com right now if you're interested in watching it. 

I thought it was quite interesting that they were pointing out that the IGF (insulin factor) is higher with higher levels of protein in our bodies.  By decreasing the protein, we decrease the IGF, thereby lowering our risk for disease.  Not exactly what we're being told by the medical community. 

What was off to me was his ending theory that by eating whatever you choose for five days a week and "fasting" by eating only one meal, limited in calories, 2 days a week that you will decrease your risk for disease.  Truly, if you eat high fat, high sugar foods five days a week and then don't eat those twice a week, it's pretty easy to see that your blood levels will show a decrease in the effects of those foods in your body.  That doesn't mean you are necessarily healing or preventing disease long term, in my opinion.  If you are vicariously eating unhealthy foods on a regular basis, abstaining from them for any amount of time can certainly help, but it won't bring lifelong healing. 

In short, that fasting pattern is not a habit I'm interested in developing.

I am, however, interested in learning more about the idea of restricting calories and fasting in general. It was intriguing to see some of the scientific research connected to hunger and brain activity.  I also found it fascinating to see the effects of people who eat a restricted calorie diet normally.  They were the ones that were strong, healthy, alert, young, and content with their lifestyle.

On another note, I attempted a new recipe tonight, Saucy Lentil Loaf from The End of Diabetes by Dr. Furhman.  I need to better prep myself for these meals. It took way longer than I planned for.  We ended up reheating some leftover soup to go with our cabbage and green bean stir fry.  The lentil loaf will be used for sandwiches tomorrow at lunch. 

My biggest obstacle was dealing with the artichokes in the recipe. I have never eaten those, never mind prepped them. I'm sure you would have been laughing at me to watch the mess I made.

I'm working on making my menu for next week.  I'm getting it on the computer so it's easier to update each week.  I'll come back later to post the link when it's done.

Daniel Fast - Day Fifteen

June 24, 2013

Day Fifteen

Today all that energy I've been talking about went missing. I was slow and quiet and not moving much at all. We tidied the house some, but I was mostly directing.  We got in a bit of reading and a couple of people worked on writing some letters. I did some lunch prep, made dinner, and read my book most of the day.  I'm embarrassed to say how much I enjoyed such a relaxing, lazy day. *blush*

I finished my day under on calories again. I'm starting to even out how many calories I eat in a day. When I look at my chart, I can see I may be forming some consistency in my portions and choices for meals.  I'm also going to start dropping snacks and work on consuming all I need during my meals.  It's hard to change my brain about that.  After being pregnant so often, I tend to just eat those snacks as a matter of habit.  I want to try going longer between meals, though, to learn my body's cues for real hunger.

This book, Eat to Live: The End of Diabetes has my mind spinning.  I'm not convinced this is the plan the Lord has for me, but I have certainly gained a great deal of information and learning from it.  I am more firm in my convictions regarding vegetables as the core of my diet. I am intrigued by what I'm learning about legumes and nuts and seeds.  Intrigued enough that I'm considering purchasing the book for myself.  I'm going to keep praying on this. 

One argument that Dr. Furhman makes is that you can easily obtain the amount of protein you need daily from a plant-based diet.  I know that many have said this isn't possible. In fact, that's one of the biggest reasons I almost didn't read the book. Yet, as I've been plugging in my food on myfitnesspal.com, I can see that I am easily achieving the protein goals I set for myself back when I was aiming for a high protein-low carb diet.  Amazing.  Today the largest source of protein I had was one peanut butter ball at breakfast. The rest was simply lentils, beans, broccoli...nothing I would really consider high protein foods. Yet, there I am. Right at my high-protein goal.  And feeling full as all get out at that.

If I wasn't doing this fast, eating a plant-based diet while reading this book, I would never have believed what I'm reading.  But, I'm experiencing so much of what he's saying, I can't help but lend it some validity. 

Off to do some more reading and praying.  My husband has chosen to do a complete fast for this week.  Nothing but prayer and water. If anyone out there is reading this, please pray he remains safe and healthy. He is working hard outside in the heat all week painting on ladders. We need the Lord to keep him alert and clear headed. Thank you!

Wednesday May 4, 2011

Today's Good Things:
Logged & blogged
Good meal choices
Great skype-chat with a good friend
Ended the day decent for calories

Today's Not So Good Things:
No exercise
Still snacking
high carbs

I'm feeling tired, worn out, and hungry tonite. I don't want to eat more, though, trying to keep my calories down. I need to add in a bit more water for the day.

It's been hard to get motivated for exercise. I struggle so much with that, it seems. Wish I could just stay consistent with it. Of course, that would require our life staying consistent. ;-)

Wednesday March 2, 2011 Quiet Day

Today's Good Things:
Restful day
Completed a couple small projects
Tried a new soup, good and healthy
skipped the pasta bake again

Today's Not So Good Things:
No exercise
Fought a headache all day
T.i.r.e.d.
Over on calories

Today my oldest was feeling sick. We took it easy, as I've been fighting a headache myself, though I'm pretty sure that's due to lack of sleep more than illness.

I felt so hungry today. Possibly b/c I've been under on calories the last couple of days.  But I was genuinely hungry, not just eating out of habit. So, I'm over by a couple hundred calories today, but I think I needed them. I just wish I hadn't gone so Carb Heavy today to do it.

Dh worked late tonite, but is home safe and sound out of the snow and ice. We've had some crazy weather and while I enjoyed some gorgeous sunshine pouring in the afternoon, the ground is covered in white yet again tonite.

I am so ready for spring.

Thursday Februray 24, 2011

Today's Good Things:
Morning 15..wooohooo!!
Good school day
Great eating day
Got in 1.5mile walk this afternoon with hubby (lovely out!)
My box of new curriculum arrived today..yay!
4th day of successful potty training!! (only 3..maybe 4 accidents the first week..not bad!)

Today's Not So Good Things:
Nothing to report here. :-)

I'm doing pretty well with the lower calorie amount. I feel a little hungry when I exercise, but if I choose the right food, I can meet my calorie goal and chase the hunger away. In fact, I've been aiming for a few hundred less than 1500 each day to make up for the 1000 calories over I went on Tuesday. Blah.  I have 400 more calories to make up before I break even. I can't believe a Whopper, fries and a Boston Kreme for dessert from my honey would mess me up for a whole week! Crazy thing is, I wouldn't have even cared a few months ago. That wasn't "normal" but it was definitely not something I would have bothered about. To top it all off, I felt sick to my stomach that whole night and couldn't sleep. SOOOO not worth it. (remind me that next time I smell that flame broiled aroma :-P)

Tomorrow is our relaxed day for school. I hear we are expecting snow and ice. I hope not, as we are all aching to go swim for the day. I'd love to get some good exercise in before the weekend. If we can't get out, we'll plan to get in some good shoveling and some good workouts on the wii. That, and kicking back with my new teacher's manuals. ::bliss:: :-D

Munchin' on carrot sticks tonite. Did you know that 1 medium carrot has 33mg of sodium? That's weird.