Results: 5.5 pounds down.
The first week of my meal plan is over, and I had a few people ask me how it was going. It’s going well, and since this time around it is not so much about the weight as it is my health, I’ve been more conscious of how my body feels. Once again, I am amazed by how completely I relied upon grain as fast snack/meal. I would never allow the boys to rip a corner off a baguette or grab a handful of crackers and call it lunch, but I guess when it comes to feeding myself, I am not nearly so discriminating or concerned with balance. This sort of haphazard eating allows me to cram more activities into my day, and it’s killing me slowly, to boot.
My main goal was to gain more energy, eliminate heartburn, and reduce my risk for the major killers (heart disease, cancer, et al) by losing a healthy amount of weight. Sure, I would love to be skinny, but if I make that my goal my mind starts playing tricks on me. Better to focus on health. To that end, the heartburn has all but disappeared. I am disappointed to report that the strawberries in that bowl of yogurt gave me heartburn. I had the same breakfast with peaches earlier this week with no problem. Looks like they are out for a while, which is fine since they’re not even in season right now.
I also had heartburn after eating four (four!) Nut Thins while making Mikey’s lunch last night. They are gluten free, but apparently still a no-no for me, at least for right now. I’ll give it another month before I try them again, but I have a gut feeling (pun not intended but it’s cute so I’ll take it) that I will be avoiding baked goods and sticking to rices for the long haul. My last ditch hope in the baked goods department is that soaking will eliminate the discomfort I get when I eat bread, crackers, cookies, and other baked items. (But, damn, it hurts so good!)
The only problem with soaking? Mikey hates the taste of every single bread I have ever made, even the ones that aren’t all that healthy. He likes Milton’s Multi-Grain bread, and that’s about it. (I’m sure he would love Wonder bread, but too bad.) One time I gave him a different healthy brand of bread in his lunch–one I didn’t make–and when he came home he asked if I had made it. “It tasted so bad, mama, that I thought it was one of yours.”
“but I guess when it comes to feeding myself, I am not nearly so discriminating or concerned with balance. This sort of haphazard eating allows me to cram more activities into my day, and it�s killing me slowly, to boot” Are you certain you are not living inside my head? ;-)
OMG the heartburn!! I never had heartburn problems and then I gained 60 pounds (mostly thanks to a change in my birth control and mostly because I like food) and all of sudden BAM! heartburn. It’s ridiculous. I have wicked heartburn as I’m typing this. I guess the weight gain is the culprit? And I can’t seem to get rid of it, it just has to go away on its own. I’d rather have a migraine. Ugh.
I the weight is a large part, but there must be more. Otherwise, why would something as bland and benign as a gluten-free cracker give me heartburn?
glad it’s going well and I hope you figure out the heartburn!
I’m sure it will get better once I eliminate the triggers and lose weight. :)
What is soaking?
Click on the link in the post. It has a great explanation. :)
Ooops, sorry! I don’t know how I missed that.
I was having issues a couple of years ago with heartburn and my stomach in general. I bought a book called “Eat Right for your Type” which is all about eating based on your blood type. It sounds so silly, but it was written by a doctor and a lot of his theories are based on research. I tried the blood type diet and felt so much better! In the end, the whole diet was not very easy to stick to since my husband and I are not the same blood type, however, it resulted in me completely cutting the recommended dairy and gluten/ wheat based products out of my diet and I have still remained heartburn free…. and I lost about 10 pounds in the process without adding exercise to my routine…
I read that book years ago (there aren’t many diets I haven’t tried!) and, funny enough, it recommends a meal plan similar to what I am eating right now.
I was also rec’d this book and I’m giving it a try. Time will tell. I have silent reflux, which means there is no sign of the typical acid or sourness of heartburn, just constant throat clearing and the feeling of a lump in my throat. I’m responding to your post here because with the changes I’ve made (practically eliminating dairy and wheat, along with solidly cutting out the typical no-no’s like onions, sodas, chocolate) I have been having strawberries nearly EVERY DAY! They are good for you, right?!? Your strawberries and yogurt about made my eyes pop out of my head — if it turns out they are contributing to my reflux issues, then I will live without strawberries and do a happy dance! This reflux is scary and sooo darn stubborn.
My husband is a believer in the Paleo Diet (have I said that already?) I know I feel better when I stay away from grains but who wants to in the long run? Considering that if I don’t I cannot lose weight I guess I’d better do a better job.
I have only heard about soaking things like beans but it sounds interesting. And the kids love the whole wheat bread I make and I get the flour locally. It is so heavenly so I have to watch how much I make for us–I can go overboard.
You have, and you referred me to Mark Sisson/Primal Blue Print. That was a great resource! He recently discussed soaking, actually. He says it’s the way to go if you are going to have grains, but that he doesn’t have the patience to do it. In my opinion, soaking saves time.
What’s your recipe for bread? I would love to try it.
Thanks for sharing and damn about the baked goods! I hate to hear it because I know I need to get rid of the bread, too. Have you said before, does whole wheat pasta give you heart burn as well? I’m so scared of what would happen to my sad, little cooking repertoire if I have to get rid of that.
http://40daysof.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/yall/
All pasta does. It helps if it is loaded with fat, like a cream sauce, and protein, but that’s not exactly healthy.
congratulations on the 5 lbs and the heartburn (or lack thereof). I hear you on the bread and kids situation. I was eating the Ezekiel sprouted grain bread for a while and my mother in law once had to make the kids PB&J’s for them using it (we had run out of Oroweat). You would have thought I had tried to give them dirt! My mother in law made mention of it to my sister in law and told her “that bread Andrea has is awful!”
Kids are so “delightfully” honest. My husband suffers from severe heartburn. Never thought about the possibility that it could be grains. I hope not because we live in Germany and Germany is all about the grains.
Good luck with your diet, looks like you’ve made some nice progress already. Keep your will strong and don’t expect to lose as many pounds this week because the first week is always easiest.
Any chance it could have been the nuts in the NutThins that caused the reflux? Just playing devil’s advocate – we’ve had to sleuth out a few food intolerances and bonafide allergies at our house, so I know how maddening the process can be. Hope you’ve had a good weekend!
Very good point! I will have to look into that a bit more.
When I gained weight the heartburn was unbearable all day long everyday. Someone recommended I try snacking on almonds and I did. It seemed like a miracle the almonds made my heartburn subside and they were a great healthy snack. Before that I had tried soooo many other remedies, they work for a minute but then I would feel the burn again. hope it works for you
way to go!
HI there,
I have been going through something very similiar. I also have been eating lots of plain yogurt and cut up fruits, and I have been enjoying smoothies, hummus and celery. Those are my go to staples now. And I know when I eat those, I don’t get sick.
As for me, I don’t know if its heart burn, because I haven’t been experiencing burning pain in the chest, but I have been experiencing belching, lots of it after eating certain foods, and pressure in the chest. I began eating more raw foods, like veggies and fruits, and I have been feeling much better. I thought I was allergic to wheat, so I began eating gluten free items, but when I ate a box of crackers too, with a label gluten free, it also started experiencing problems again, so I knew something was up. Also, I went to whole foods recently, ate a bunch of things at their buffet bar, which never makes me sick, and all of the ingredients had wheat. So I eliminated the fact that I thought I might be allergic to wheat. I think I have eliminated a few things that might be causing it and right now, at least in my case, it might be a certain oil in foods, maybe corn oil? I think that’s what might be causing it. Or maybe even a certain olive oil. Recently, someone gave me olive oil, I tried it and my symptoms came back. What was the ingredients in the crackers?
Take care and be well!!
Kim