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Post by loveshoes on Oct 10, 2012 9:25:01 GMT -5
I also tried the food diary, literally it’s the same old things every single day, I’m kinda boring like that Breakfast – steel cut oats, I eat about 1.5 cups cooked, adding 3 tsp of ground flax seed, ½ banana and almond milk cut with lactaid I also like to have that Yogi tea, I’ve been back to the detox kind, just plain, no honey or anything mixed in. 1 mug lasts me all morning at work
Lunch – salad, about 2 cups worth of the 50/50 mix. Drizzle of dressing measured Mid Afternoon Snack – Fage 0% greek yogurt, small squeeze of honey and ¼ cup UDI’s GF granola, always measured so I don’t eat too much granola Sometimes I’ll also have some fresh fruit or some sugar snap peas with hummis or I have added in the hard boiled egg for a snack or a stick of cheese with the sugar snap peas snack.
Dinner – been eating a fresh kale salad these past few nights or some chicken. I’m just not a dinner person so it’s usually smaller. I feel like I eat the most at breakfast and then lunch.
I only drink water so I have about 4 or 5 16.9 oz waters per day in addition to the tea which is about 2 cups of fluid.
I’m really at a loss Hells – it’s the same diet over and over again. I’m definitely not over eating calorie wise yet I don’t feel like I’m by any means starving myself. I’m eating a ton of fresh foods that are very very healthy. Very few “processed” junky items. So to answer your question the only true “gluten free” item would be the granola and the bobs red mill gluten free steel cut oats. Everything else is fresh veges or fresh fruits, organic as much as possible.
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Post by hellsbells on Oct 10, 2012 14:25:48 GMT -5
Ok, 3 things that you could try cutting out temporarily - because they can bung you up - dairy, banana and egg. Not saying stop all three at same time but maybe experiment a little. It really does sound like your tummy issue is one of bloat and constipation. Did you start eating a lot more fibre suddenly? Maybe actually try cutting back a little. It's also really important that you vary your diet - how about browsing for some recipe books? I've used a stool softener called Movicol. Tastes like sh*t but it's very effective and gentle, you can get if from a pharmacy (drugstore!).
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Post by loveshoes on Oct 10, 2012 15:41:04 GMT -5
No, I have been eating the high fiber lots of veges and the flax seed for awhile just because it’s a healthy thing to do. I was drinking a breakfast smoothie with some chia seeds but I felt the chia was blocking me up plus it was too many calories, I was adding lots of peanut butter AND also still having breakfast so I cut out the smoothies and figured afew months ago that was the reason I wasn’t dropping weight at all. Then I was eating these cocoa covered almonds that I loved but was eating too many of those and figured those too were another reason why I wasn’t loosing. Really, there isn’t much left to CUT. I got rid of all the naughties and just save them for treats every once in awhile now. I’m not sure, usually I don’t get bound up too much but when I do, it can be for afew days. If I do get bound up, I drink this smooth move tea that the ladies mentioned awhile ago in another thread. It’s basically a senna tea and 2 cups of that produces a normal deuce the next day. I was eating 2 egg whites with spinach/mushrooms/tomato for quite awhile as well but got sick of it so switched to the GF steel cut oats. Again, just trying to stick to gluten free and keeping the endo diet in mind, I just feel so so so limited. Once you do the gluten free thing, that really narrows the options for breakfast I feel. I also just have the new dietary suggestions in mind where they say at least ½ of your plate should be greens/veges and the rest a meat and whatever else. I feel I’m really doing the best I can but I will cut out the cheese again, I just wanted to try the suggestions you guys gave me last week but maybe cheese just isn’t my friend. Hard boiled eggs as well – yuck, stink worse than a hog barn, eggs in hard boiled form are not my friend.
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Post by hellsbells on Oct 10, 2012 15:56:32 GMT -5
Good luck - it's all really trial and error to see what works and what doesn't - most of us have been there.
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Post by Karen on Oct 10, 2012 17:36:46 GMT -5
I echo what Helen said - just because something is considered healthy by most doesn't mean it's healthy for you. Eggs, lemon, cheese, etc. are all things that most consider healthy, but for me, cause either significant pain, bloating, and/or brain fog. It's all about what works for YOU, and may take some experimentation. The only time my belly is noticeably much flatter is when I avoid ALL the things that irritate me in some way or another for at least 2 weeks - with not so much as a lick of any offending food.
As for breakfast, I'm very limited due to my intolerance of eggs. Even very clean breakfast recipes ALWAYS have eggs. So, I do a sweet potato/grass-fed ground beef/onion hash with coconut oil. I get my 3 basic food groups - protein, veg/carb, and fat in one. Keeps me satisfied and stops my cravings for hours.
In terms of a test for water retention, some alternative doctors/chiropractors and/or personal trainers can do a BIA. I've had it done twice and revealed both times that I had WAY too much water outside my cells instead of inside my cells. The ratio was way off, and I was told it amounted to 10-20 pounds of excess water alone. However, I LOOKED bloated all over, not just one small area.
Feeling restricted is perspective. If you limit yourself to a few foods, and you eliminate one or more of them, yes, it feels incredibly restricting. However, when you look around the perimeter of a grocery store, there's actually a lot there that's within most people's limits. It might require you to be a bit more adventurous. I had to force myself to do the same and if I reflect on what I've eaten over the past few days, 90% of it is stuff I wasn't eating 6 months ago.
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Post by semicolon on Oct 10, 2012 19:14:11 GMT -5
Everything really is so individual. If I ate all those greens I'd be in serious digestive distress! And it is frustrating because it seems like you've tried it all. Not sure what to say and i don't have any new advice, just keep trying!!
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Post by loveshoes on Oct 10, 2012 19:53:06 GMT -5
Ah see, yeah, it's so individual. I really like cooked eggs, they never give me problems so maybe I'm mistaking the hard boiled egg causing the gas, maybe it was too many sugar snap peas that did it. Lemon has never been a problem and see, I'm trying so hard to learn and improve. I think Hells suggested in another post for me to make my own salad dressing and when I found this kale salad recipe I was like ooohhh so good. That for sure doesn't cause me any upset and I feel so much healthier making my own dressing for that particular salad. My lunch time salad is a jar dressing, some asian sesame stuff, it's really good. I'm interested more in the perimeter of the grocery store...since I don't digest beef, I say away from that stuff and i don't like the lunch meats due to the nitrates. If I have meat, I buy a roaster chicken from the deli and just use that for meat but again, I can't really have a sandwich b/c it's just a pain finding any gluten free breads. I'd have to go out of my way to a specialty store in my area, the regular ones that are handy don't have any GF bread choices. Dairy is on the outsides but most dairy is out for the endo diet.....I'm really trying to open minded and try new fruits/veges but again, I have that fructose intolerance thing so most stuff like apples, pears, mangos, cherries, broccoli, cauliflower, are out or I can only have them infrequently, if I eat them regularly, I'm reeking like a hog barn again, it's just too much fructose and whatever is in the veges is just too much for me. The safe items for me so far are raspberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cucumber, mushrooms, kale, spinach, field greens mix. I'm really trying to avoid the potatoes of any kind, seems like too many starches aren't my friend either.....I love them but my middle doesn't. That was part of my problem, eating a red potato nuked in the microwave more often for dinner than not. I am also mindful how Jenaya pointed out in another thread that eating gluten free doesn't mean it's healthy and to always be mindful that alot of the GF foods on the shelves are high in sugars and bad stuff so I'm so thoughtful of that as well. Ugh, this is so frustrating. I tried so hard to cut out the bad stuff but I'm just feeling so lost. I felt like I made really good food choices...keep the suggestions coming ladies, I'm open minded and obviously, very willing to change and or try other things as I go along. I really appreciate you all helping talk me thru this!
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Post by loveshoes on Oct 10, 2012 19:55:54 GMT -5
Feeling restricted is perspective. If you limit yourself to a few foods, and you eliminate one or more of them, yes, it feels incredibly restricting. However, when you look around the perimeter of a grocery store, there's actually a lot there that's within most people's limits. It might require you to be a bit more adventurous. I had to force myself to do the same and if I reflect on what I've eaten over the past few days, 90% of it is stuff I wasn't eating 6 months ago. I do agree Karen, I have really opened up my horizons as well, eating the kale, never ever would I have thought I'd be eating kale but it's now one of my favorite things! Same with the greek yogurt, I could never go back to the sweet stuff on the shelves. I never ate close to the amounts of fresh fruits/veges 1 year so so yeah, I forced myself to just keep trying stuff and have really found some cool things to eat that I never would have tried in the past! I really want to make some eggplant as well. Oh - spaghetti squash is another one of my faves!
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Post by DeAnna on Oct 13, 2012 2:23:29 GMT -5
Loveshoes, I had a trainer tell me once that 80% of what you look and feel like is attributed to what you eat. I believed that for a long time. I used to eat a strict South Beach Diet and was a lean, mean machine I noticed in your diet log that you do eat very healthy but that if wanted to, you could cut down a bit on some of carbs. For example, honey/granola, etc. Im not saying that these things aren't healthy and balanced but if you are insulin resistant, you may want to take a closer look at this. When in my best shape, I got my carbs from fruits and vegetables primarily. At this time, I am in the same boat as you. Although I am not exercising, I have gained 30 lbs and despite efforts to revert back to watching carbs and limiting sugar of all kinds, I am not loosing weight. In my case, I have looked into thyroid/adrenal issues and feel that is where my problem lies. I have started on the path to find a practitioner to effectively treat these issues and can say that functional or integrative medicine docs seem to be the best; but unfortunately, they cost quite a bit. For me, my health is worth every penny that I spend. As far as your digestive issues, I have that as well. Have you considered that you may be deficient in digestive enzymes? Also, if you have hypothyroidism or subclinical hypothyroid symptoms..... poor digestion and bloating can be a result of this. You can check out www.stopthethyroidmadness.com for additional info. Its a great website and super informative. Best of luck and hope that you get some answers soon.
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Post by loveshoes on Oct 13, 2012 9:41:35 GMT -5
Thanks DeAnna! I'm still waiting on my blood work to come back. I messaged the doctor office yesterday but they said hopefully Monday. My sister in law had her thyroid removed many years ago and we were talking last night. She said her levels have been off again and she's been very itchy - I've been super itchy for months now - dermo put me on a steroid but she said thyroid issues can cause itching so we'll see. She said as well with my cardio, to maybe increase the intensity but for shorter periods of time so don't work out for 45 min, maybe make it 20 min but really hard just to change things up, so we'll see. I can't wait to see how my cholesterol and other #'s come back, they have to be beyond amazing with all the work I have been doing this past year. How do you know if you're deficient in digestive enzymes? Maybe the link you gave explains that question, I'll look later tonight! Thanks so much for the tips! Oh - what fruits/veges give you carbs?
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Post by hellsbells on Oct 14, 2012 9:18:30 GMT -5
All of them loveshoes - all fruits and veg are carbohydrates/sugars to a greater or lesser extent. When people suggest cutting back on carbs it's the starchy/refined ones that they are talking about. You can't really get away from carbon!
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Post by 1234 on Oct 14, 2012 9:31:46 GMT -5
Nope! We are mostly made of carbon, mass-wise any way.
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Post by semicolon on Oct 14, 2012 9:42:29 GMT -5
Diamonds are carbon refined, so we're all just diamonds in the rough. Anywho, carbs are not the enemy, it's just finding the right balance between carbs, proteins, and everything else.
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Post by DeAnna on Oct 17, 2012 0:45:57 GMT -5
Loveshoes, I try to stay away from anything that is refined sugar..........white bread, white pasta. etc. I actually dont eat much in the way of grains. Quinoa on occasion as it has lots of protein in it and it is gluten free. As far as fruits and vegetables, I avoid the ones that are higher on the glycemic index....like mangoes and bananas and grapes. I eat lots of blueberries. If I am eating cantaloupe. I pair it with some protein to balance things out. I will swap something like pasta for zucchini "noodles" that I use a mandolin to make. Zucchini contains carbs, but much less than pasta. Little tricks like this help me feel satisfied with what I am eating. I shop at the Farmer's MArket every week and try to make the most out of what is in season. Hope this helps. Let us know how your numbers turn out.
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Post by loveshoes on Oct 17, 2012 8:59:22 GMT -5
I hardly ever even eat the gluten free breads, maybe 2x per month IF that. Same with the GF pasta, maybe 1x per month if that. I also really like quinoa, I fry up some mushrooms and when I made the quinoa, I use chicken stock for some extra flavor. I eat a lot of the fruits that are lower in sugar as well due to my intolorance of fructose so mangos would be out for me. Mostly berries and cantelope IF I eat it. I really like pomegranate seeds! I like using spaghetti squash in place of pasta and have it with sauce, very good and healthy. Got my labs back, all of my healthy eating and working out has paid dividends, all of my levels were amazing, they were great before but even more improved now so that was good. Vitamin D level was high, doctor said to cut back to only 1000 IU of D3 per day rather than the 2000 IU I’m currently taking. Other than that, thyroid was normal. I’m doing the very best I can, I’m not going to worry too much about this anymore, I feel good and my clothing size isn’t increasing so I can’t complain. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, try some other foods and see how it goes. I made brussel sprouts last night with some olive oil and sea salt/pepper in the oven – yummy!
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