Onlyme's Weekly Diet for Shelley's Review

[onlyme]

Typical Menu

(99% of the foods listed below are organic - even though I don't specify everything as such, just assume they are)

6:00am – Approx. 2-1/2 T lemon juice, 1 T apple cider vinegar, 1 T psyllium, 1 T olive oil, 1 T blackstrap molasses (for sweetening), and 16 oz. warm water - chase this with 16 oz. hot peppermint tea

7:15am – Hot cereal
1/4 - 1/3 c. quinoa flakes, buckwheat (lundberg), or brown rice (lundberg) cereal
1 c. water
1 handful almonds (approx. 20), slivered
1 T ground flaxseed
1 T Kal nutritional yeast flakes
1 T granulated lecithin (I just used the last of that today, so I think I'll give it a rest for a while)
1 piece of fruit, diced (such as a pear or a green apple) with cinnamon
OR
½ c. frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries)

10:00am-ish – Hot herbal tea (such as Yogi Tea India Spice)

Noonish – Kichadi with vegetables

I make a big batch of this and then freeze. When I take it to work for lunch, I portion out about 1 cup of the rice/bean mixture and then dump whatever veggies I want on top (spinach, zucchini, green beans, carrots . . . ) and then heat it up at lunchtime.

OR
Lundberg wild rice mix with adzuki beans or garbanzo beans and veggies

Same as above, I portion out about 1 c. rice and bean mixture (a little more with garbanzos, since they take more volume) and then add veggies and heat up at lunchtime.

3 fish oil pills
¼ unsweetened cranberry juice, sweetened with Stevia and diluted with water


3:00pm-ish – Hot herbal tea (such as Stash Licorice Spice) with 1 calcium supplement


6:00pm-ish – One of the following:

Fish (wild salmon, mahi mahi, or tilapia w/lemon juice – for the mahi mahi and tilapia I also add a little bit of butter so it doesn’t dry out) with Cleansing Pasta (made with brown rice pasta) and veggies

Moroccan Soup (I fill a large 2-3 cup bowl)

Beef and Veggie Stew (I fill a large 2-3 cup bowl):
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 pound small cremini mushrooms (last time I substituted with sliced porcini mushrooms since these were the only organic mushrooms I could find)
2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces) (I substituted brown rice flour)
2 pounds lean beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces (got the grass-fed stuff from Trader Joe’s)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup dry red wine (substituted red wine vinegar since we didn’t have the real stuff – it worked fine)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 carton organic beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled white potato (about 1 pound) (I used white, red, and purple potatoes)
1 1/2 cups (1-inch) slices carrot (about 12 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown. Spoon mushrooms into a large bowl. Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add onion mixture to mushroom mixture.
Place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge beef in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned beef to mushroom mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining beef mixture and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
Add 1 cup wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add thyme, broth, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Stir in beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is just tender.
Stir in potato and carrot. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beef and vegetables are very tender and sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.


Cannelini Bean Soup:
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained
1 32 oz. carton chicken or vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
6 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 3-inch pieces
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, bring the beans, broth, garlic, bay leaf, and carrots to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Add the spinach, salt, and pepper and stir for 1 minute. Spoon the stew into bowls. Drizzle with the oil and vinegar.

Evening – Hot herbal tea (such as peppermint) or hot chocolate (approx. 3 t organic, unsweetened cocoa powder, stevia, 1/4 c. almond or rice milk, 8 oz. water) - the hot chocolate only on occasion

Right before bed – cal/mag supplement

Some other foods I have here and there are sweet potatoes (baked, with a bit of coconut oil, cardamom, and nutmeg on top) and avocadoes.


I supplemented with a B-complex plus C for a while – I think it was this one - http://www.nutraceutical.com/search/view_product.cfm?product_index=6307035
I just took it ‘til the bottle was gone. Now that the bottle is gone, I’m mixing the Kal nutritional yeast flakes in my cereal and occasionally drinking Emergen-C.

That’s pretty much it. My husband likes that I am cooking more, but doesn’t like that I don’t want to eat out much. Also, he asked if I am losing weight and has been commenting whenever he sees “too skinny” women – “that’s disgusting.” I know I’ve lost weight and I can see it and don’t like how my arms look, but last time he made comments on my weight I ended up eating too much junk to try to make up for it and ended up where I was when I called you with all that pain. So, my fear is of feeling terrible again. I feel SO MUCH better pain-wise, my ears have cleared up, and I’m sleeping better and feeling awake during the day. I don’t want to screw that up. I am feeling a bit rigid about stuff though – the fear about restaurants is that I’m going to get the “bad” oils and also preservatives and additives (I’m really frustrated about my cholesterol levels). I’m being really cautious about that in my cooking at home – organic 99% of the time, washing produce with the veggie wash, only olive oil, clarified butter, or coconut oil in cooking, only wild fish (no farmed), and only hormone-free chicken and meat.

A big concern I have is the fact that we are planning an Italy bike trip for early July – 6 days of biking 30-40 miles per day (considered advanced-beginner) – and we’re going to start “training” with a local cycling club soon. I’ll need to up my calories for sure, but not sure what is best? Those Power Bar things are so gross tasting and so processed (high fructose corn syrup is the first ingredient)! I tried doing the protein-shake with 1/2 c. kefir, 1/2 c. plain yogurt, 1-2 organic omega-3 eggs (this is the only way I can stand eggs – I still hate the taste of eggs although I’ve come to tolerate some of my other “hate foods” such as garlic and spices, which used to bother me immensely), 1 T cinnamon, 1 t ginger, pinch of nutmeg, pinch of cardamom, 1 T flax seed, 1 T Kal nutritional yeast flakes. Sometimes I’d add frozen fruit (blueberries, raspberries) and then forego the spices. Anyway, I tried this for about a week or two and my ears crusted up again, so I’m 99% sure it was the dairy. I was hoping that kefir and yogurt would be okay so I could get some good stuff into me after being on antibiotics for the ear infections for so long. So, I ended up getting some refrigerated probiotic pills instead. And, I do take digestive enzymes with meat-based (red, fish, or fowl) meals.

I know I’m going to have to work on incorporating some new foods in before we go on our trip so I don’t end up with some wacky reaction from introducing something I haven’t had in months (like tomatoes! I’ve read that they can be a problem for people with arthritis-type symptoms).

Exercise-wise, I’ve been doing yoga several times a week, an exercise band routine (in lieu of weights) about once or twice (at most) a week (just started that up again a few weeks ago now that the pain is gone), and walking the dogs around the neighborhood (truly a “leisure walk” since the dogs have to sniff EVERYTHING along the way). So, incorporating the bike riding is going to be a big up in calorie expenditure. To begin, it will be once or twice a week at 20+ miles per ride (we’re starting with the beginner group!).

If you’ve made it this far – Congratulations!

P.S. I am freezing cold all the time - my hands and feet turn blue, but my thyroid and iron levels tested fine.

[onlyme]

P.S. I am 5'2" and don't own a scale, but I would guess I've lost down to between 90 and 95 pounds.

[shelley]

I forget, did I tell you to keep taking calcium? I'm curious about your getting so cold. It looks like you're eating enough protein, so it could be due to cal being too high in proportion to D. Consider stopping the calcium for a couple weeks.

Instead take:

zinc, cod liver oil (lemon flavored), wheat germ oil, (alternate between these two oils - spoonful a day of one of them)

Toss out the fish oil pills, they're worthless. You have to swallow 25 pills to get anything that makes any difference, and they're rancid to boot. Instead, get refrigerated, preferably opaque bottles of good oils. Also look for Udo's Choice, or a nut oil, and extra-virgin coconut oil and coconut milk. All of these will ensure that your symptoms don't return, too.

Until you can purchase these oils, be sure to eat 1 avocado a day at least 4x a week, and at least 1 egg a day, or 2 eggs every other day to cut down on cooking. When in doubt, live on eggs and avocadoes. You can get them anywhere. Add a spoonful of nut oil, or Udo's Choice, or coconut oil, to your hot cereal. Add coconut oil or nut oil to your soups.

Make your shakes and smoothies from this basic formula:
1/4 to 1/2 cup of kefir
6 ounces of rice milk or coconut milk (don't use almond milk, it has too much phosphorus)
2 ice cubes
1/2 cup to 1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit
1 egg
1 tablespoon wheat germ oil if wg day, or nut oil.

Pilaf your rice - add oils and butter both.

If you have a blender, make cold savory drinks - think of them as cold soups, or gazpacho, or thick V8.

Basic Savory Blended Recipe:

1/2 cup of nuts
1 avocado
Some kind of green/lettuce - about 1/2 to 1 cup
Trio of veggies: 1/2 a bellpepper, 1 celery rib, 1/2 cucumber is good, or Jicima
some kind of onion (green, yellow, red) - to taste, usually teaspoon
some kind of herb (basil, parsley, dill, rosemary...)
Dash of worstershire sauce (to taste - for the bass note)
pepper
Some kind of salt - whatever flavor profile you're going after, such as kosher salt for clean salt taste (Italian, Indian), soy sauce or hoisin sauce for Asian flavors...
Some kind of oil (toasted sesame for Asian...)
Optional enhancements: garlic, basil, curry, cumin, turmeric, tomato, olives, heat (horseradish, white pepper, jalapeno, tobasco, red chili)

Blend until it has the consistency you like. Add broth or water or watery vegetables to thin, more avocado or nuts to thicken. Can eat as is, or use as dip.

Olive Tapenade:
Grind up can of tree-ripened black olives (Santa Barbara)
Add 2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp anchovy paste (optional)

Eat on toasted sourdough or sourdough French bread or Jicima.


Hope that helps!

[onlyme]

Thanks for your thorough advice. Due to your previous recommendatiomns I'm already taking much less calcium than I was taking (dr. recommends 2000mg per day!!! I am only taking about 500mg per day - I have been diagnosed with osteopenia). With osteopenia, is it wise to stop taking the calcium? I can not tolerate any dairy, including kefir - it aggravates dyshidrotic (sp?) eczema on hands and itchy ears (which is basically eczema in the ear canal).

Yes, I use the lundberg wild rice mix for your rice pilaf recipe in the faq. I've eaten four avocados in the past week. I'm about out of almonds and will switch to another nut at that time - any suggestions? I don't like the taste of walnuts. Just bought some organic free-range omega 3 eggs, so I'll eat some of those too (I really don't like the taste of eggs, so i'll have to use them in the smoothie with rice milk thing).

I think I need to take a rest from rice soon - kichadi, rice pilaf, rice milk, brown rice pasta, cream of rice cereal - I've been having rice in one form or another every day for quite a while now. Even though I rotate cereals, etc. I have some form of rice with at least one meal a day.

I'm taking a rest from the cleansing drink (just twice a week now, rather than every day). I figured when I ran out of fresh lemons it was time to take a rest. I've come to rely on my basic recipes and it is tough to break out of the rut. Lots of planning, cooking, grocery shopping, etc. It gets expensive and tiresome and it's easier to make a few things ahead of time and freeze it for later rather than come up with new stuff all the time. But, I don't want to create new intolerances from eating the same stuff all the time - that's what happened before I started the cleanse. I haven't added many of my old standbys yet (I was eating soy and oatmeal every day for months, also chicken . . . I am eating some organic free range chicken now - about once or twice in a week every two weeks or so).

Thanks again. I'll keep working on this. I'm increasing my portions, so maybe that will help put on some weight. I'm really getting discouraged with how I look. I don't want to be embarrassed to wear short sleeves when summer comes - right now, my arms look skeletal. Ugh.

[shelley]

Yep, a break from calcium is probably in order. Overdosing will cause you to feel cold becuase it messes with the nerves.

Unfortunately, taking calcium does not ensure bone building. Recent studies bear this out. Once you're over 50, the body simply does not try to build bone mch. Best thing to do is to get plenty of Vit D, not calcium. D regulates the parathyroid and prevents the body from leaching calcium from bone. And you shouldn't overdose on foods high in phosphorus, which includes almonds come to think of it, oops. Pecans are better.

Be sure to have your iron levels tested. Taking 1000 mg of calcium will cause the body to shed iron and not absorb iron and that too leads to feeling cold and tired all the time.

[onlyme]

I'm nowhere close to 50 - was diagnosed with osteopenia in my 20's, now in my 30's. And, as I mentioned in the first post of this thread, my iron levels are fine. Ditched the almonds and will shop for pecans this weekend. I'll need to look for a separate D supplement, since mine is in the cal/mag supp that I'll be ditching as well. Thanks for the guidance.