Well, he was right and I was wrong.
After Moira was born, oatmeal became my go-to meal. I had it practically every day for breakfast and lunch, because I could microwave it for just a few minutes with some rice milk and be full, Plus, it increases your milk supply, so I was gloriously full of milk.
Over a few months, something alarming happened. MY skin started to FOLD OVER OTHER skin. I'm a big girl, you know that. But even while big I've been shapely. Not anymore. Flesh started to pour out of my bra. Tummy rolls folded over my c section scar and jiggled when I walked. My weight went up to higher than it's ever been, even more than all three pregnancies. 230 pounds, my friends. The most I weighed in any pregnancy is 220.
I COULD FEEL MY CHIN ON MY NECK.
All from oatmeal. No, really. Dinner was usually the same old same old. I wasn't eating extra dessert. Just oatmeal.
It was about this time that some of my friends started eating high protein low carb diets called Paleo diets, Caveman diets, Primal diets, Hunter-Gatherer diets. All of these names refer to eating in a way that helps keep blood sugar low and energy high. I'm sure it is the bane of Vegans and Vegetarians everywhere. And I don't believe that any ONE diet is right for everyone.
However, I tried it, and not even 100%, mind you, and I lost 13 pounds over 5-6 weeks. I still have more fatty skin than I want, but my double chin is gone. Everyone tells me they can see it in my face.
I replaced my oatmeal with "No-Oat Meal" and went from coke to diet coke. I started eating nut and fruit bars instead of granola bars when I took the kids out. THAT IS IT. That's the main change I made.
Because eating this way is expensive, I went back to eating "normal" this last month. My jeans have stopped fitting again.
So, now I'm making more of a commitment, and convinced Bryan to join me for a while. Less bread and pasta, more meat and vegetables and berries (berries have lower sugar content than other fruits). The idea is to eat the way our caveman ancestors did - animals, fruits and vegetables that could be found in the wild, seeds and nuts. Lots of fat, lots of fresh.
Which brings me to the butter. (Click Here for a run-down on why cultured butter from grass-fed cows is good for you)
A friend of mine mentioned on Facebook that she has a butter smoothie in the morning. This sounds disgusting to me. But, her husband has lost 30 pounds eating this way. I know because she posted a picture of his shirtless six pack self to show how awesome this way of eating has been. She posted the recipe for her smoothie on her blog just for me (CLICK HERE). Yep, that's a stick and a half of butter she puts into that smoothie every morning, sometimes twice a day. She admits that it is expensive - organic butter, egg yolks, kefir, organic frozen berries - but she feels less depressed and more cheerful on the days she has it.
Bryan and I tried it for the first time two days ago. It was...buttery. It takes some getting used to, and I only used half a stick. Today it was even more buttery, a whole stick, in fact, and it left a film on the inside of my blender. BUT - it was very filling. After that smoothie, it was a while before I felt hungry again. I expected it to make me feel sluggish or at least nauseous, but it didn't. I felt good.
I've made butter before with the kids - you have them shake the jar and roll it around to keep them occupied while you cook the holiday meal - so I think we'll start making our own cultured buttered with some local cream.
10 comments:
This isn't gonna happen this month, but we do love smoothies, so maybe I'll have to try this. Even just adding butter to our regular smoothies I bet would be a step in the right direction. Hmmmm...
Do you make your own kefir?
Haven't tried it yet. Bryan can't stand it so I've been using plain greek yogurt.
hahaha, your illustration is brave, honest, and really cute!!! I love it. I'm so glad you liked your butter smoothie. I am shy to post a pic of me yet, because I still have some mommy wrinkles on my tummy where three rather large little humans have incubated, separately, for a combined total of 27 months. but I will say that I went from 135 pounds to 112 pounds, from size 6 jeans to size 0 jeans, and my mood and energy level have improved dramatically.
I can testify that even PARTIAL change makes a huge difference.
Now I need to work on being more consistent with cardio exercise. I do a lot of yoga, but I notice more weight loss when I get regular walks in. That whole "sleep when dark, wake with the sun" thing aint gonna happen, though. I've tried to get this vampire family on a day schedule for two years. We're night owls and that's that.
Nice!!! I'm glad it's working so well for you. I looked at the Paleo diets but I need to do it dairy-free and nut-free. Blargh. I want to go GF & DF since I realized they make me tired & give me headaches, but it's hard with no nuts. I gave up on full vegetarian with our restrictions already, lol. I bet Chloe would like a butter smoothie though. She licks it off her toast.
That's an excellent example of why there's no such thing as one diet that is right for everyone. That's frustrating about food storage recommendations - LOTS of flour, rice, oatmeal, sugary jam. We wanted to try my sister on a gluten free dairy free diet but mom lived off the bishop's storehouse for over a year while my step-father was in a home for alzheimers. No nut milks, no dairy free bread, no gluten free pasta or cereals. I laugh when people get their panties in a knot over the fact that people can buy steak with their foodstamps - not everyone can survive off of ramen and dried beans, my friends!
I recently read an article on how diet sodas can actually cause weight gain. I know for me, in the past, when I have dieted, I had a harder time with soda consumption when I was drinking diet. While I still drink some soda here and there, I'm able to get past a lot of it by drinking sparkling water. Adding some concentrated fruit juice helps with the flavor. I'm also a bit of a sucker for those sparkling juice sodas like Izze.
I don't know what my weight is currently but I keep thinking I should cut down on some of the grains myself. It's not easy for me to keep up with restrictive diets. Eventually, I go the other direction and go nuts. It's just not easy for me at all especially since I tend to have a lot of food issues.
I'll not be giving up soda any time soon. Or popcorn.
Something that is inexpensive to make at home, that is extremely healthful and a delicious soda replacement, is kombucha. You can start making it at home and allow yourself to get used to the taste and experiment with the recipe before you give up your soda. ;)
Not saying cut out the soda, but you're probably actually better off drinking the stuff with sugar than with sweeteners. Sierra Mist now has soda with sugar and some other sodas have the "throwbacks". Soda with sugar does taste a little off to me but they taste like they have sweetener in it so you might not notice the difference. If that and popcorn are your only vices, hey go for it! I still drink some soda myself, just in moderation. I just won't do diet because I think there are more problems with it than not (especially as sweeteners have their issues regarding neurotoxicity). After both pregnancies, I hit the Pepsi really hard then down the line back off. Not sure why it is but it starts in the hospital and I come home with an intense Pepsi craving that I have to satisfy for awhile. I do love my Izzes though. Too bad 4 bottles of those costs MORE than a 12 pack of soda or I would get them all the time.
Not telling you what to do, just giving you some food for thought since the article on this came out not all that long ago. I know the diet soda has fewer calories but then so does butter compared to oatmeal. ;-) Something in the diet soda though is still causing weight gain and with the added concerns of the sweetener themselves, I figured I'd mention it.
Oh, and you should check out this blog: http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/blog/
I absolutely LOVE IT!
Post a Comment