Day 26

Today is New Year's Eve, and the end of the year. Every year I make the same New Year's resolution. Every year I resolve that this year will be different. Every year I curse the 20/30/50 pounds that stand between me and who I want to be. And every year my LS or something makes a normal "diet plan" very difficult. I am tired to the bone of all the crap that gets in the way. So this year I am approaching it a little differently. I have been following a pretty high-fat plan, and while it works well if I really stick to it, it is very difficult to stick to it with a houseful of people who want to eat "low fat, high carb"--So, it's time for compromise. I got several gift cards for Christmas for Barnes and Noble, and so I went "diet" shopping, and settled on a plan I think we can all live with. I chose the South Beach Diet--mostly because it goes very well with the Paleo Diet and despite the "low saturated fat" aspect of it it also goes well with Protein Power. It should satify my husband's desire for low fat everything, and my mom in law's love of carbohydrates, and my own desire for fresh protein-based meals. I don't have high expectations regarding weight loss, although the new South Beach Diet book is "Super Charged" and promises "faster" weight loss. I am going to use the outlines of the diet, but not follow the menu plans exactly--some of the recipes just don't sound very good, and I still want to avoid high-oxalate foods for the most part. There is an exercise plan included in this version of the book, so that will be nice too.

Days 19 & 20

No picture again today. Yesterday for breakfast I had leftover steak with scrambled eggs, lunch was leftover lasagna, and dinner was a snack of salami with artichoke and parmesan cheese dip and a glass of wine. I also broke down and had a glass of eggnog...

Today, I weigh 189. I have been sticking to the diet mostly, but apparently the eggnog, and a few chocolates I had the other day have stymied me. I need to be better after Christmas. I have also been exercising fairly regularly--long hikes in the snow...you would think that would make a difference. But, then again, I refuse to live by the scale. I am doing well 85% of the time, that is better than some. Today I had an omelet with bacon, onion, peppers, and mushrooms and a little cheddar cheese on top. Lunch will be leftover steak with salad, and dinner is cornish game hens with salad. Tomorrow and Christmas I doubt that I will post. One holiday days like this, I pretty much agree to eat what I want--there are not a lot of holidays that are like this. We are going to my cousin's so only some of the food will be ok for my diet. AND I can tell you now there will be chocolate. High oxlate and high carb--but I will definitly have some. I have been suffering from a flare up for the past few days. I don't know what caused it--I have had raspberries a couple of times, but I am careful about everything else--but I also had chocolate once. It is my anniversary in a couple of days, and I have high hopes of "getting it on" so to speak. Right now, that seems impossible. However, I will be really careful for a few days and we shall see. Maybe I will save the chocolate for our anniversary...

In other news, I am off of work until Jan 5, so that will be a nice break!!

Days 16, 17 & 18

Thursday and Friday I didn't work because Seattle was closed down due to snow. I took a nice long walk in the snow on Friday though. On Thursday dinner was taco salad, I had a sort of large snack instead of lunch with some smoked salmon with cream cheese. Friday for breakfast I made a shrimp and cream cheese omelet with tomatoes. We had snacks again for lunch after our long walk, and then for dinner I made roasted chicken with my cheesy cauliflower bake, and green beans. Saturday we went Christmas shopping, I made a nice breakfast of bacon and eggs, lunch was out at a reastaurant, and was a huge cobb salad with chicken. Then for dinner I made noodle-less lasagne. Today so far has been boring food wise. I had leftover lasagne for breakfast with two cups of coffee and cream. and then about 1/2 cup of my Paleo Curried Salad for a snack. For dinner we are having steak and salad.

I am hoping we are closed again tomorrow for work. The roads are terrible.

Day 15

I had a late start this morning due to snow (In Seattle 4 inches closes most everything down--at least for a while). So, since I had a little extra time, I made a scramble with leftover sausage, onion, mushrooms and pepper and a little cheddar cheese on top. I'm not sure what lunch will be, or dinner for that matter--it all depends on whether or not I end up going to work today...

Day 14

Today marks two weeks since I started this new blog. I have lost a total of about 3+ pounds (Since Friday this week) today I am 184.8 and my LS is pretty good. I do have a little irritation, but not much--and I have been experimenting with high-ox foods from time to time so not bad considering...no picture today since I made the same thing for breakfast today as yesterday. Sauasage and eggs with coffee and cream. Lunch will be leftover steak with salad and bleu cheese dressing with tomato and cucumber. Snack will be sunflower seeds. Tonight for dinner I am planning taco salad with avocado and tomato and sour cream and possibly homemade salsa.

Day 13

Breakfast today is three organic sausages with two scrambled eggs, and 1/2 a satsuma mandarin orange with coffee and cream. Lunch is leftover Coq au Vin and I have packed a snack of sunflower seeds, as well as a "diet" hot chocolate packet that is 4 grams of carbs and sweetened with sucralose. It is chocolate that has been prepared using the swiss method which is supposed to cut down on the amount of oxalates--so I figured I would give it a try if I am in need of chocolate later...

The LS is ok today, still itchy, but no lesions. On the updside, I have lost another pound, so I am down to 185.6. I figure if I can just manage two pounds a week, in six months I will have met my goal--maybe this is too much to expect, but I will hope for it anyway. The important thing is to manage my condition while I manage my weight--always a difficult thing, made even more difficult by circumstance.

Day 12

Breakfast this morning was smoked salmon (2.5 oz) with scrambled eggs (2), cream cheese (1 T.) and about 1/2 cup of sliced strawerries. No picture. I have lost another pound which is good. I started out at 188, and am now 186.4. I haven't been really strict with my diet until the last few days(starting Saturday)--but it is paying off and that is good.

Update: Lunch was some marinated artichokes and mushrooms (about 1/4 cup each) with afew olives and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. Then I had a snack of about 1 ounce cheddar cheese and some smoked salmon (2 oz) and aglass of wine. Dinner was Coq au Vin, made with no carrots.

Day 11

Today I am compensating for the wine by drinking lots of water. I've already had 32 ounces followed by an easy breakfast of scrambled eggs (3) and cottage cheese (1/2 cup), along with coffee (1 cup) and cream (1 T). I probably should have had some fruit or veggies, but I am saving those for lunch/dinner later today after I put my Christmas tree up. Got to go--decorating to do!

Update: For dinner I had a really huge salad with chicken tomato and avocado drenched in bleu cheese dressing. Then later, I had about a cup and a half of whipped cream sweetened with stevia and some fresh raspberries (about 1/2 cup). (and half a glass of wine) :)

Day 10

I weigh a little bit less today (1/2 pound down), and my LS seems to be under control for the moment. Breakfast was scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, a little whipped cream cheese, and fruit. It is more of a brunch really since I got up and started cleaning the house and haven't had a chance to sit down and eat. I am getting ready to decorate for Christmas! I love this time of year.

Update: Lunch/Dinner was three roasted chicken thighs, an avocado, and a plate of assorted pickled veggies (mushrooms, olives, and artichoke hearts). Plus three glasses of wine. I know the wine was a bit too much--I should have stopped at one glass, but it was really good wine. I totally recommend it--it was just a table wine by Sineann, they are vinters from Oregon, and the wine was pretty delish for a simple table wine. It was on sale at QFC for $9.99, and the wine guy recommended it--he knows exactly what I like.

Day 9

I think today I weigh more than I have ever weighed before. This makes me very unhappy. It also motivates me. I must lose weight!! I cannot continue down this path. It is very difficult for me to do this, especially this time of year. But yesterday and today I have been very diligent and good. No chocolate, no sugar, just protein and vegetables and a little fruit. Breakfast today was left over steak (5 oz.) with two eggs scrambled in a little butter mixed with olive oil, 1/2 c, raspberries, and coffee with 1 T. cream. It was very good and filling. Raspberries are about 11 mg of oxalate per 1/2 cup. Lunch is salad with leftover steak, cucumber and tomato, and two tablespoons bleu cheese dressing.

Update:

I had a work party this afternoon, and had a variety of grilled veggies and some cheese, and one small skewer of shish kabob. I had a spiced rum and diet cola, and no dessert. Then when I got home, I had three chicken thighs and some avocado and tomato with a glass of wine, and lots of water.

Days 7 and 8

Breakfast yesterday was scrambled eggs (2) with cottage cheese (1/2 cup) and 1/4 cup raspberries and coffee with cream. Lunch was chicken salad with tomato and herbed salad greens, and a snack of sunflower seeds. I had steak and salad with avocado and tomato for dinner, and 1/2 glass of red wine.

Today breakfast was scrambled eggs (2) with leftover steak and raspberries (1/4 cup) coffee and cream. Lunch is curried chicken salad with tomatoes and herbed salad greens, sunflower seeds as a snack, and dinner will be leftover chicken with yes, more salad, or maybe I will go crazy and have green beans.

I hope to post a list of foods I am eating with oxalate content this weekend sometime, and hopefully come up with menus and calorie/carb/nutritional info to add to my sidebar. I would like at least a month's worth of menus.

Note: I have had chocolate several days this week (I did not write it in my menus) as an experiment to see how I react to the oxalates in chocolate. It is important to me as the holidays arrive and I invariable am exposed to that tempation. I love dark chocolate. So far it seems that it has no effect...I have been careful to take calcium citrate three times daily. I am hopeful this will continue to be true. In small amouts good, semi-sweet dark chocolate has many benefits.

Days 5 and 6

Breakfast yesterday was 2 eggs scrambled with 2.5 pieces of bacon. Lunch was left over chicken from the other night, and dinner was tossed salad and green beans with roast pork stuffed with sun dried tomatoes, roasted red pepper, feta cheese and minced bacon.

Breakfast today is two scrambled eggs, and 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 3/4 cup strawberries. Lunch will be bay shrimp with a little curry and mayo, and tomatoes on top, and I have snacks of salami and sunflower seeds. Dinner is marinated steak with salad.

I am trying to lose weight while still following the low-oxalate part of my diet. I find it very difficult to lose weight if I eat purely Paleo, probably because I cannot fill up as much on veggies and fruits as the average person since so many vegetables and fruits are high or medium in oxalates. It is impossible to follow a low-fat high carb plan for the same reason. So, my choice for weight loss is Protein Power's 30 day weight loss plan. It is a mostly Paleo diet, with the exception of dairy and occasional other exceptions. Most importantly, it is a diet I can live with. I have a protein goal for each meal, and am allowed 2 servings from the "small" carbohydrate list of fruits and vegetables they have in the book. I am limited to 10 grams of carbohydrate per meal. Because I have snacks, I have reduced my carbs per meal to a little less than 10.

Update:

We actually went out to dinner tonight and I had chicken in a gorgonzola sauce with fresh veggies (zucchini and pea pods) and a caesar salad. We will have steak tomorrow.

Day Four

Last night I ended up having more taco salad for dinner. Kind of boring, but easy to make. I picked out all the spinach and beet leaves and was left with some red and green lettuce, a little cilantro and some arugula. My LS doesn't seem to be flaring any more, so that is good! Today I had two scrambled eggs, one and a half pieces of sausage, and a piece of bacon, along with coffe and cream. I do not know what will be for lunch or dinner yet--maybe tuna salad and some sort of chicken...
Update: I had curried tuna salad (the recipe is in the Recipes section--I think I call it Paleo curried salad) Dinner was roast chicken with green salad, tomatoes, and avocado.

Day Three

Breakfast today was sausage and eggs, with coffee and cream. The sausage was Isernio's which has no fillers or sugar, just meat and spices. Lunch will be a large taco salad (leftovers from yesterday) and I have a snack of a leftover chicken leg and thigh. Today is pretty meat-heavy so far, so tonight I will try to make something with a lot of vegetables, like maybe just a nice salad. My LS is flaring a little today. I hve been eating salads that are mixed greens including spinach and beet greens which are both very high oxalate. I will have to start picking them out I guess, or get salads that don't have them. Too bad though, they have such nice flavor...

Day Two

Breakfast today was smoked salmon (2 ounces) with two scrambled eggs, about 2 tablespoons of whipped cream cheese, and strawberries. I also had one cup of coffee with cream.

Lunch is a salad made of fresh herbed greens, leftover steak (3 oz) and tomato and cucumber. I picked a bleu cheese dressing since it is day two and I feel a little deprived. Snacks are sunflower seeds and leftover lamb. (I need to get some fruit).

I'm not sure what dinner will be yet. I will update later with that info.

Let the games begin--Day One

I started today off with some meat and fruit. Four ounces of lean roast lamb, and about a cup of strawberries. The Low Oxalate Cookbook lists strawberries as a low oxalate fruit, and they were sweet and good and really hit the spot. I also had a cup of coffee with about a tablespoon of cream. While I have cut out most dairy, I still have cream and butter in small amounts, and I also enjoy cheese from time to time in small amounts.

It is my goal to follow the Paleo aspect of this diet as much as possible without feeling like I am suffering for it. If I have to give up all the high oxalate foods I love (like chocolate, kiwi fruit, spinach, rhubarb, blueberries, almonds, soy and potatoes), then I need to be able to have some things I still enjoy that are not high-oxalate. I choose coffee with cream!

I am taking lunch to work today. It is an herbed salad with roasted chicken and tomatoes, with a vinaigrette dressing. I suppose ideally it should be a dressing made without vinegar, but I find it difficult to embrace those types of dressings. Perhaps over time...in the meantime I am trying to stick with organic dressings with no MSG or very many additives. The Newman's Own Brand is reasonable, or I make my own.

I have also packed a couple of snacks. Smoked salmon, and 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are about 8 mg of oxalate per 1/4 cup which is pretty high really considering my daily goal is to not exceed 60 mg, but it is hard to find good snacks. Perhaps I should forgo snacks entirely and simply eat more at breakfast and lunch...I will have to think on this. Pumpkin seeds are another option I suppose--they are much lower in oxalates.

Dinner tonight will be marinated flank steak which I will broil and serve with a salad and green beans.