Tonight's dinner was great and not like a diet meal at all; in my opinion. Even though I have eliminated a lot of food groups for now, it isn't forever, you can still have great meals. Tonight we grilled beef tenderloin with just garlic olive oil and sea salt. I pan-fried scallops in butter olive oil and sea salt, and we had steamed carrots (which I poured lemon olive oil over once cooked). Delicious.
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People are always asking me "Well what do you eat?" and "Do you get sick of the limited choices?". I won't say it's easy because it's far from it, but I believe everyone who feels so bad health-wise will eventually reach a point that they are willing to try anything to feel normal again. I reached my point and finally started Digestive Health with Real Food. I had the book and the cookbook for over a year before I actually started it. It is daunting. The idea of not eating any grains, sugars, fruit, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, beans, nuts, or most vegetables is very scary. This is not forever though. You eliminate most everything to feel better and then you start reintroducing to see which foods have a negative effect on you. Those you can then limit or avoid and try again at a later date as food intolerances can change.
Here's some of the meals I ate this past week. Meats/protein were lamb and pork burgers, roast turkey, turkey liver and chicken hearts, ground pork, tuna steak, beef tenderloin, bacon (cured with saltwater only), scallops, eggs (yay), and chicken. The veggies are still the same four: carrots, zucchini, green beans, and spinach. I try cooking them different ways, sometimes roasted with flavored oils (this helps a lot), fried, steamed, stir-fried; and I try different combinations. I have been enjoying it. After six weeks on the elimination phase of Digestive Health with Real Food, I finally got to reintroduce eggs and they are a go! I had 5 good days in a row and decided to try eggs first. I love eggs and really miss breakfast foods, although it has gotten much easier. Fried ground pork and veggies has become a regular breakfast item for me lately.
Reintroduction starts slow. Day 1 I tried one whole egg, day 2 was two eggs and day 3 was four eggs. I had a little bit of stomach pain that night after the four eggs so maybe I can't tolerate that many at once. That's fine, I'll take it. Eggs are back in! I am doing really well on the elimination phase of Digestive Health with Real food. I have started week 6 and am hoping I will get to reintroduce a new food tomorrow; fingers crossed.
The way this diet works is you pretty much eliminate all foods that may be problematic. I have eliminated all sugar, processed foods, additives and chemicals, grains, dairy, fruit, alcohol, caffeine, beans, nuts, most vegetables, and all unhealthy fats. I know, most of you are thinking, "What the hell can you eat?" I am eating meats (local and organic when possible) and fish (wild caught), healthy fats (olive oils, avocado oil, coconut oil, & ghee), and four vegetables (carrots, zucchini, green beans, and spinach. Yup, that's all I have eaten for the last six weeks. Once you are feeling better (minimum of 3 weeks on this phase) and you have 5 good days in a row you can start reintroducing foods one at a time and test your reactions. If a bad reaction then that foods remains out for now, if no reaction then I have a new food added that I may enjoy :) Some of my meals this past week: Pork Stir-fry, Cornish hen with roasted veggies, beef soup, salmon and carrots, bacon (pork belly cured in salt water) with fried leftover roasted veggies, fried ground pork with veggies (usually a breakfast), pork roast with green beans, cod with bacon and carrots, and pork tenderloin with roasted veggies. Everything is cooked in healthy fats and once cooked is usually drizzled with more oil :) I am finishing up week 5 of the elimination phase of Digestive Health with Real Food and still doing well. It's recommended to stay on this phase for a minimum of 3-4 weeks. After that you wait for 5 good days in a row and then you may start reintroducing foods; one at a time. I am still waiting for the 5 good days. There may be some other digestive/health problems going on as well so the book recommends looking into other problems if you do not get the run of good days after 6-8 weeks. I am still awaiting a GI appointment to rule out other problems and just started taking a natural med to help with possible yeast problems.
I admit this was extremely difficult when I started and I found the first 2 weeks very hard, but it did get easier. It has become familiar and routine now to eat the way I am eating. Yes, I still get cravings but I don't want to sabotage what I have completed so far. I am feeling better and that's the main point. Dinner last night was cod (caught myself during the last food fishery) with bacon (cured ourselves with just salt) and steamed carrots. All topped with lemon olive oil. Made an excellent soup tonight. The soup itself is pretty simple but the broth was made the day before as it takes pretty much a day to make it :)
I roasted some local beef bones (bought from Oliver's Farm) in the oven with oil and salt for a couple of hours. Then I brought them to a boil in 12 cups of water, 1 tbsp salt and 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar. I simmered for at least 6 hours. Once the broth is done I let it cool a little and then put it in the fridge overnight. The next day I skimmed the top layer of fat off. You are left with some great tasting beef broth with no questionable ingredients :) I browned up some bison and beef in oil. Added my broth, brought it to a boil, added carrots and green beans and let simmer for at least 40 minutes. Longer simmering is better for more tender beef but we were getting hungry :) I loved the bison in it and will likely just try bison next time in beef broth. I am into week 4 of the elimination phase of Digestive Health with Real Food. I am not going to lie, it has been pretty hard but I have really surprised myself and stuck with it 100% for almost a month now. It really helps that I am feeling much better and I am losing weight.
I mainly went on this diet for two reasons: inflammation and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I have been back and forth to my family doctor and a homeopath recently. I have been having lots of joint and muscle pain and stiffness, along with extreme fatigue. My blood work revealed that markers for inflammation are very high but they haven't found anything else wrong with me. The markers were even higher for the second test a couple of months later. I didn't want to go on numerous medications that have lots of nasty side effects, and I didn't want to keep feeling so bad; therefore I decided to try this diet. Much research shows a correlation with foods we eat and inflammation along with arthritis. So I figured, why not. This diet is for digestive problems, which was my reason number two. I have suffered digestive issues for many years and was told almost twenty years ago that I likely have IBS. I have learned to live with it, thinking I had to and there was no other choice, except medications again. Well, this diet is working wonders for me so far. All my IBS symptoms have greatly improved, my muscles and joints are getting much better, my fatigue has greatly subsided, I am sleeping better at night, and I am losing weight. All of this keeps me motivated to keep going. This phase is not forever. You do it for a minimum of 3 weeks and then after 5 good days in a row you can start reintroducing foods. I am into week 4 and am hoping I will soon get to reintroduce some foods. This week we had pork chops, tuna, cornish hens, pork roast, and steak. I usually have fried ground pork or chicken with veggies for breakfasts during the weekdays and pork belly and veggies on the weekends. Here's some of the meals I had this past week: Had a great food weekend :) Almost 3 weeks into my elimination phase of Digestive Health with Real Food. It has gotten easier but I was very tempted to eat some chocolate on Halloween. I didn't give in though but I did come close.
Had some good dinners. Made lamb and chicken burgers yesterday and fried up some fish with bacon tonight. I am not a huge fish lover but we marinated some pork belly in water and salt and fried it up; kinda like scrunchions, and fried the fish in the same pan :) It was pretty good. |
AuthorMy name is Michelle and I am tired of struggling with my weight. I am stopping the struggle. Archives
September 2020
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