Eating Out: A Challenging Thing

I wanted to share my tips and secrets to eating out. Since I have started this dietary change, eating out has been more challenging. But there are some things you can do to make the experience more pleasurable.

Just about anywhere has salad and if you order the salad without dressing and cheese, it can be a very healthy thing. I can't have most salad dressings, so I usually ask for olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I didn't think I would like this combination, but I love it! The balsamic vinegar has a very good flavor to it and the olive oil definitely enhances it!

Also I have learned that if you ask servers at sit down restaurants if they have a gluten free menu they will either bring you one or tell you what is gluten free and what isn't on the menu. My cousin got married yesterday and we had a luncheon at Texas Roadhouse. Texas Roadhouse specializes in huge slabs of meat - namely ribs and BBQ pork. Well, they have salads too and other items on the menu. I decided to get the BBQ Chicken with a house salad (ordered without eggs, cheese, or croutons, and the oil and vinegar on the side) and sweet potato (plain, nothing on it). The server informed me that if I did get the BBQ Chicken I would need to order it without the BBQ sauce as the sauce contained gluten. Most servers are trained to know the allergy information for their menu because some people have severe enough allergies that it could really do damage. So I ordered the chicken plain and the potato plain, but it was still a very satisfying meal!

So, if you choose to make drastic changes to your diet as I have and you aren't sure what to eat and what not to, I would consult with a doctor or a dietician or someone else who knows what they are talking about. I am not an expert - I only share my experiences and my knowledge of what I have learned. And this diet has been customized for me. What works for me may not work for someone else, but if you do choose to omit something from your diet, make sure that any essential nutrients in that item gets replaced from something else. For example, if you choose to omit meat from your diet, it will be essential to eat fruits and veggies that have a lot of protein in them so you don't lose your protein.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! See you all next week!

A New Chapter

So today I had another doctor's appointment, but I actually went to the doctor's office instead of having the appointment via phone. I learned today that I lost another pound which brings my total weight loss thus far to 16 pounds! Oh yeah! I haven't lost weight at all in like that last two years and I have been steadily gaining, so to see this kind of dramatic weight loss is very thrilling to me! The doctor was very pleased with my progress. I honestly cannot tell that I have lost weight, but the doctor said that he can tell after not seeing me for like three weeks as all of my appointments until today were done over the phone. YAY!

I am starting some new supplements and was also given the go ahead on trying corn in my diet. I have been successful with the brown rice, so I was able to get some bread made from brown rice flour. I have tried it a few different ways already and I decided that I like it toasted best. I toasted some of the rice bread for dinner tonight and I couldn't even tell that it was rice bread instead of wheat bread. I will definitely be having some for breakfast!

If all goes well with the corn, it will mean I can have corn chips (as long as they are cooked in sunflower oil), corn tortillas and anything else that has corn in it so long as everything else is diet friendly. I have learned from this journey that our bodies are amazing things and if we feed it the right things, it can heal itself. For the first time in almost eight years, I finally have some control over my digestive issues that have plagued me for so long. They are almost completely eliminated and I am so thankful for that. Of course, if I eat things I shouldn't then they come back almost immediately.

Well, that is where we are at with the progress so far. This week is Christmas and I am bound and determined to be a good girl! We will see how it goes. I will keep everyone updated! Have a great Christmas, an awesome Hanukkah, and a fabulous Kwanzaa everyone! And Happy New Year!

An Update On My Goals

Well, I haven't posted in a week or so. I have been busy getting ready for Christmas. I have some time to post right now so I will.

My diet restrictions have been eased a little, but not much. But the things that have been added back in have allowed me to eat and enjoy more things and also be more creative in my meal prep. I think the biggest challenge this week has been the bread. Once I have determined I can handle brown rice, the doc says I am free to eat any gluten free breads made from rice flour, so I am getting very excited about that! I enjoy sandwiches and it will be wonderful to have them again. I have never really liked condiments on my sandwiches, so that is something I won't miss.

Today I decided to weigh myself because the doc kept asking me every time he would if I had weighed myself. I don't own a scale and haven't had a chance to weigh myself anywhere since I started this adventure. So I took some time and wandered up to the scale on the third floor of my office. This scale adds ten pounds to your weight (because it isn't weighted properly), but I did weigh myself on that scale right before I started this adventure so I did have a starting number to go off of. I stepped on the scale and put it at that starting number. It was too heavy, so I moved the little thingy down some more. Still too heavy! Then it finally evened out! I have lost almost fifteen pounds in a month! In all of my weight loss goals I have never lost that much weight in a month and I am proud to say I have done this healthily and I haven't felt deprived. I think the biggest things that have helped has been giving up the refined sugars (aka candy) and the soda and caffeine. I feel much better about this treatment.

Well, I am hoping to start trying to new recipes next week - just haven't had time to whip up anything with the up and coming holiday, but I will find time! Have a great weekend everyone!

YAY For New Foods!

I spoke with the doc this afternoon and I discussed with him what foods I will be allowed to eat when I am done with this diet in four days! I will for the most part still be continuing this diet, but the goal is to slowly figure out what foods my body can handle and which ones it cannot. So, starting next week I will be allowed to have eggs, tomatoes, and beef again. I am most excited about the eggs and tomatoes part! So, starting next week I won't be nearly as miserable. I still can't have dairy or gluten, but where I can have eggs, I can make some batters with my almond milk and buckwheat flour for like pancakes and stuff. So, happy day! Maybe I can even get my grandfather to make his famous pancakes using my buckwheat flour and almond milk. . . .hmmm. . . .

Day 9: I Can't Eat That, Or That, Or Even That

Yesterday went fairly well. I had my sweet potato and turkey sausage for breakfast. And I had my leftover white chicken chili for lunch. The caffeine headaches started yesterday and they got so bad I went home early from work. I laid down and was out like a light bulb. My calendar notification on my phone woke me up and reminded me I had a wedding reception to go to. I love going to wedding receptions, but not when I am on a restrictive diet. I went to the wedding and the bride and groom were lovely. As I made my way to the food table, everything on the table looked fabulously yummy and delicious but there was not one thing on the table I could have except for the water spiked with fresh orange slices, so I got a cup of that.

We sat down and I watched my mother eat a plate of yummy food and even have a very positive reaction to a chocolate cake ball. For a fleeting moment I was a little jealous. I did make it through the wedding without breaking my diet though. This is the first major social function I have been to since starting this diet and it helped me realize I am my own master and conquer this! Tomorrow (Thanksgiving), will be the ultimate test, however. I made some mashed sweet potatoes today for our work potluck and I think they will be good. I tried some of them last night and they were pretty tasty, so now I can have at least turkey and potatoes for lunch. Yay!

Tonight I am venturing my way to my grandparents cause my aunt and I are going to the movies and she wants to go to dinner, so tonight I have to be strong again and order a salad or grilled chicken. Wish me luck!

Day 8: One Week Down, Two To Go!

I have crossed the one week mark! It has been rough but for the most part I have been triumphant! The doc said I may experience fatigue and headaches. Well, that hit today. I am so tired and it has nothing to do with going to be late and I have a lack-of-caffeine headache this morning as well.

Yesterday wasn't too bad of a day. Doing some of my meal prep on Sunday helped a lot. I enjoyed a hearty breakfast of sweet potatoes and turkey sausage which I paired with a banana smoothie. I brought some of the leftover peppers I made for dinner the night before for lunch. I however, didn't think dinner through last night. The power company had to do some repairs in my neighborhood last night so the power was out and all of my appliances are electric so I couldn't make anything for dinner. The boyfriend and I went to my church activity and then we went and got some salads from Zupa's. I was hoping to get some soup, but they didn't have any soups that didn't have tomato, dairy, or noodles. All of the soups had at least one of these components.

I am now drinking my "protein" shake three times a day the doc has me taking. After this week I will go back down to twice a day and then once a day.

I am looking forward to going shopping for my Thanksgiving things today after work. It will be awesome! I enjoy cooking, so I will enjoy helping with the Thanksgiving feast this year and providing some alternatives to the dinner table!

Well that is all I have for today. Yesterday was easy to a degree even though I was a little frustrated with things I can't have. But alas, I will survive.

Day 2: Breakfast

For breakfast this morning, I decided to have the last half of my chicken sausage and an orange. I love oranges this time of year! I swear the stores sell us crappy oranges all year but then at Thanksgiving and Christmas, they bring out the best of the best!

I learned how to cook buckwheat yesterday and considering what I learned, I didn't do half bad. I should have toasted the buckwheat though before boiling. I will know this for next time.

For my morning snack I have another banana almond milk smoothie and for lunch I am having leftovers from dinner last night! I had my little protein shake thingy this morning as well. In a few days I will be having this drink twice a day and then three times a day and then I will work back down to once a day. Out of all of the protein shakes or similar I have had this has probably been the best one I have ever had. Most of them I can taste the protein powder and it grosses me out. This one has balanced things out nicely and is very chocolatey, which is my favorite part - chocolate in the morning!

Today is also my first day without any caffeine. I hope I can survive the withdrawals that are sure to follow!

New Menus Ahead

So, I have really slacked in my blog as of late! I really don't have an excuse other than I just didn't feel like it. To be honest, I haven't felt like doing much of anything lately. For the last few months I have just felt icky and after I get home from work all I want to do is just be lazy and play with my iPod.

I have been going to the doctors a lot these past few months searching for answers because no one in their twenties should feel like they are a 100 years old! I found a chiropractic physician who seems to know what he is talking about, so I am going to give him a chance. As a result of this treatment, he has put me on a very strict diet. It is the anti-inflammatory diet, so there is a lot of things that I cannot eat.

So I am going to be using this blog to post the new recipes I am having to learn out of plain necessity. This strict diet will be lasting three weeks only. I started today.

Basically here is the run down of the diet. These are the foods I cannot eat: dairy, eggs, gluten, tomatoes, corn, peanuts, soy, beef, pork (in all of its forms), canned meat, coldcuts, rice, potatoes (except for sweet potatoes), shellfish, dried fruit, fruit juices (unless I make them from the fresh fruit myself and don't anything else to them) caffeine, soda, and sugar and other artificial sweeteners.

The foods I can eat are: Fresh fruits and veggies (except for tomatoes and soy), peas, legumes and beans of any kind (except edamame which is soy), raw nuts (except for peanuts), fish (except for shellfish), turkey, chicken, lamb, water, herbs, sweet potatoes, spices, herbal teas, buckwheat, quinoa, and almond milk.

So looking at the lists above it probably seems like there are more foods that I cannot eat than I can eat. I enjoy chicken and I like a lot of fruit and veggies, so I know I will be able to survive. There are a few things on the CAN EAT list that I have never had before, so I am looking at this as an opportunity to try new foods. And there is also a variety out there so I will be getting all of the nutrition my body needs, so if anyone was worried about that, I am good.

I addition to this diet, the doctor also has me on some supplements and a "protein" shake. So I will be getting the additional nutrients that I may not get from some of the foods I am permitted to eat. My biggest challenge is going to be no caffeine. I usually drink at least one 20 oz. Diet Pepsi at work every day. I know I can do it - I am just not looking forward to the headaches and withdrawals.

Now you know what I am being faced with for the next few weeks and in the months to come. I am thankful I can have turkey cause if not I don't know what I would do this coming Thanksgiving!