Losing weight the baby-friendly way

Okay, so I weighed myself this weekend and I'm back up to 181.5.  Boooo!   At least I'm not back up to my weight of 195, but I don't like the direction I'm going.  (I had gotten down to 165.)  I had been doing so well, but for the past 2 months I've been doing fertility treatments after a year's hiatus from the last time.  Those hormones really mess you up!  I'm positive they had something to do with the weight gain.  :-/

Anyway, the new diet starts tomorrow.  I was going to do the whole low carb thing that worked so well before, but eating a lot of meat is not good for fertility.  SO, here's what I'm going to do:

Eating - 
1.  Eat lots of salads with a lot of mixed veggies.  (Like grape tomatoes, arugula, spinach, radishes, broccoli slaw, etc.)  and dress it with lemon juice and Canola oil.  (Canola oil has omega 3's in it, which olive oil doesn't.)

2.  Put a half cup of beans on the salad for protein.  Beans are supposed to increase fertility and it helps to limit meat.

3.  Only one serving of fruit per day.  (To reduce sugar.)  I will start the morning with my rice-protein powder shake and include blueberries in it.

4.  NO sugar, honey, artificial sweetners, etc.  (Sweets are my big weakness.  It's so much easier to keep the calories down if I just give them up altogether.)

5.  Eat one serving of full-fat dairy per day.  (Amazingly enough, this has been proven to increase fertility.)  I will make my yogurt with whole milk this week.  This way, I won't go for the ice-cream with all the sugar in it.

Work-out - 
1.  Two afternoons per week:  Curves gym (interval training) - 30 minutes

2.  One night per week:  Zumba! - 1 hour - (Gonna check it out for the first time tomorrow.)

3.  One night per week:  Indian Dance - 1.5 hours - (my latest passion!)

I have been bad about working out lately.  It's so hard to feel like working out when the fertility hormones make you feel horrible and bloaty.  My boobs are insanely sore and I feel like a stuffed sausage.  I've decided I don't have PMS, I have PMMS (Permanent Mexican Meal Syndrome).  You feel as if you have eaten a big disgusting Mexican meal.....all the time!  Even when you first wake up and haven't eaten anything.  I'm sick of it!  I'm going to take a break from it for the next few months and try to get my weight and health under control before I undertake IVF.  

Stupid 'ol hormones and falling off the wagon

So, I did really well on my grain-free, sugar-free diet last week and lost 2 pounds.  This week, I was terrible and totally fell off the wagon.  (I don't know what I weigh now, but I'm afraid to get on the scales.)  Not to make excuses or anything but this past week I found out that my last IUI didn't work and I've now started a new cycle.  (Fertility stuff for those of you who are fortunate enough to not know what an IUI is.)  I have to inject hormones into my belly every day for 14 days or so of each cycle.  I also am craving carbs like CRAZY.  I don't think this is a coincidence!

I asked my doctor if the fertility hormones cause weight gain and he said, "No.  But they can make you want to eat more and THAT can make you gain weight".  Ummm......is it just me or doesn't that mean the hormones make you gain weight?

You know what else?  These stupid 'ol hormones give you nausea and morning sickness.  (Not to mention hot flashes!)  What a mean trick!  It seems like you should have morning sickness and be pregnant OR not have morning sickness and not be pregnant.  To have morning sickness and NOT be pregnant is just plain mean.  I feel like God is laughing at me sometimes.

I think going through fertility is rough because it forces you to face the issue every day.  When I wasn't giving myself a shot everyday and going in to have an ultrasound and my blood tested every 4 days, it was easy to focus on other things and forget about it.  These IUI cycles just kind of shove it in your face and make it hard to ignore.  

Anyway, sorry to be tiresome and to keep harping on about this but it's hard not to.  This is the biggest thing going on in my life.  It's the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep....and all the times in between.  If you're wondering what I'm thinking about when I'm stopped at a red light, it's this!  My hope is that someone else going through infertility might feel better knowing that someone knows what they're going through.  I also hope that this might help those who have never had fertility issues understand those who do. 

Diet and Progress

I stopped posting my menus b/c I don't think anyone is all that interested.  You get an idea of the things one eats on a no-grain, no-sugar diet, right?  Basically, I'll eat the same thing this week with minor variations.  (Like I'll have lamb instead of steak and this week's soup is lentil instead of chicken.)  I posted 5 days worth of meals if anyone wants to try this diet.

When I weighed myself at the gym on Saturday and my weight was 176.  (Down from 178.)  Okay, so 2 pounds isn't much but I'll take it!  Plus, I did cave in and eat some rice cakes.  This coming week, I'll be more careful about grains and I'm sure the weight will come off more quickly. 

No-grain, no-sugar diet - Day 5

What I ate -

Breakfast:
shake (with rice protein, ground flax seeds, almond butter, cocoa nibs, and soymilk)

Mid-morning snack:
sunflower seeds
green tea

Lunch:
Greek chicken (take-out)
cauliflower
mustard greens
sauteed eggplant

Afternoon Snack:
none

Supper:
omlet (with kalamata olives, tomatoes, green peppers, nitrate-free pepperoni)
salad (with 1 slice roast beef, spinch, arugula, olive oil, and lime juice)

How I felt -
Much better than yesterday.  Kinda blah though. 

No-grain, no-sugar diet - Day 4

What I ate -

Breakfast (4 pts):
1 egg, fried in olive oil
Baked butternut squash w/cinnamon (I just can't seem to get enough of this breakfast!)

Mid-morning snack (2 pts):
4 parsley lemon-pepper shrimp

Lunch (5 pts):
Homemade chicken soup

Afternoon snack:
none

Supper (8 pts):
2 rice cakes
almond butter
green tea

Total pts = 19

How I felt -
Terrible! Had a headache all day that turned into a migraine in the late afternoon.  Couldn't eat much b/c of the accompanying nausea.  I gave in and had the rice cakes b/c it was the only thing I could bring myself to eat.  Will get back to the no grains thing tomorrow. 

No-grain, no-sugar diet - Day 3

What I ate:


Breakfast  (4 pts.):
1 egg, fried in olive oil
baked butternut squash with cinnamon
(It was so good yesterday that I had to have it again.)

Mid-morning snack (3 pts.):
handful of pumpkin seeds

Lunch (5 pts.):
salad with spinach, arugula, 2 slices of roast beef, olives, palm hearts, roasted red pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice

Afternoon Snack (10) pts.):
1/2 avocado
2 slices of turkey
2 vinegar-free pickles (I like Bubbies Pure Kosher Dills.)
flax seed crackers
almond butter
green tea with soymilk
(I was starving when I got home!  Apparently, that salad wasn't filling enough.)

Supper (8):
grass-fed steak (fat cut off)
creamed spinach


Total:  30 pts.


How I felt:
MUCH better today!  I had more energy than usual and had a very productive day.  (I notice I don't need a nap when I stay away from wheat.)

No-grains, no sugar diet - Day 2

What I ate -

Breakfast (4 pts):
1 egg, fried in olive oil
baked butternut squash with cinnamon (I baked it last night.)
Green tea w/soymilk

Mid-morning snack (2):
plain, homemade yogurt

Lunch (5):
homemade chicken soup
Green tea w/soymilk

Afternoon snack (5):
flaxseed crackers with almond butter
dandelion tea w/soymilk

Supper (12):
Turkey patties
salad w/olive oil and lemon juice dressing
1/2 avocado

Total pts = 28

How I felt -
Crappy.  It's sugar withdrawal symptoms.  It takes about 3 days for sugar to get out of your system.  The last time I gave up all sugars, I felt like I had the flu for 3 days.  This time, it's not as bad but I did have a headache and nausea all day.  I can tell you from experience that the first 3 days of giving up sugar is the worst.  If you can make it 3 days, then it becomes a lot easier.  You feel better and you won't have cravings.

Day 1

Today is my first day of being back on my diet of no grains or sugars.  (No fructose or lactose either.)  My weight today was 178 pounds.  (Blerg.  Up from 165 in June.  :P)  I hope to track my success with my blog.  Plus, for those of you out there that want to try it, you can use my meal ideas.  (*Note:  I was on Weight Watchers for years so I still add  up points in my head when I do this diet.  The points listed are my estimates.  Nothing official or anything.)

Breakfast (I estimate about 8 Weight Watchers points):
Shake:
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 T rice protein powder  (The starch has been removed and the protein extracted.  You can find it at health food stores.  Whey protein would be an alternative.)
2 T flax seeds, ground  (I grind them in my coffee grinder.)
1 T cocoa nibs, ground
about 1 t of chopped fresh ginger  (this makes you almost feel like there's some kind of fruitiness to it.)
1 T almond butter  (I can tolerate small amounts of nut butters, but not nuts themselves.  Strange.)

Blend with a splash of water and ice in a blender.

Mid-Morning Snack (I estimate about 1 Weight Watchers point):
4 sauteed shrimp with lemon pepper and parsley (I got them pre-prepared at Whole Foods, then froze them in tiny, individual tupperwares so they're ready to go.  If you can tolerate nuts, I say eat nuts as a snack!  They travel well.)


Lunch (I estimate about 8 Weight Watchers points):
Salad with arugula (rocket), 2 slices of turkey, 1/2 avocado, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives (vinegar-free), palm hearts, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt.
Green tea


Afternoon Snack (I estimate about 3 Weight Watchers points):
1 hard boiled egg
2 T black bean dip
celery sticks
Dandelion Tea

Supper (about 5 points):
baked fish (cod)
steamed broccoli
artichoke leaves
olive oil dip:  with lemon, parsely, oregano, salt, and garlic

Total points = 25

So far, so good!  :-)

My Blood

This is what my blood looked like about 5 months ago.  I visited a "Functional Medicine Practitioner".   (More on this visit coming soon!)  They put a drop of my blood under a microscope, then showed it to me on a computer screen.  This is a photo of the print-out they sent me home with: 

As you can see, my blood is relatively healthy.  The only problem is that some of the cells are not quite perfectly round.  Can you see the slightly misshapen ones?  Dr. Cooper says that blood cells function more efficiently when they are perfectly round and that taking fish oil is one thing that can help with this.

The globby-looking things are white-blood cells (except for in the bottom right picture).  I could actually see them moving!  The really bright thing is something that a white blood cell sends out to help fight disease.  (I forget what she said this was called.  Cyto-something or other?  Can a medical friend help me out here?)  This is all what it's supposed to do. 

In the picture on the bottom left, there are two cells that are misshapen  because they are running into something dark.  Do you see this?  I was told that this is yeast!  (You can see a smaller piece on the right of the pic as well.)  The poor cells were trying to do their job even though the yeast was getting in their way.  I kinda felt sorry for them.  I have to say, if you need motivation to eat right, have someone show you your blood cells.  Just seeing them makes you want to give them what they need!

Below is a slightly clearer picture: 

 

The bottom two rows are additional pictures which were taken in negative. They did this because you can see the yeast more easily. The yeast looks similar to the white blood cells in these pictures, but if you saw them live on the screen you can totally tell the difference. The white blood cells move and change shape. The yeast is darker and it floats around without changing shape.  What  you see in these negative images is yeast.  

Non-Perfect Health Day

You know how I said I'm feeling tons better but not perfect these days?  Well, today was a non-perfect day for sure.  I woke up with a headache in the middle of my forehead and nausea.  It wasn't a full-blown migraine, but it was still miserable.  Sometimes, taking a Maxalt works, and sometimes it doesn't.  Today it didn't.  I still was able to go to work and function, but it wasn't fun.  (Especially when teaching kids with drums!)

Do you know how frustrating it is to make such an effort to make all these changes and still have these symptoms?  Also, I'm not really sure what caused it so I don't know how to prevent it the next time.  The only two things I can come up with are the change in weather and the Tamari (a type of soy sauce) I had in my food last night.

We had a drastic weather change last night.  It suddenly got really wet and cold.  I find my symptoms worsen whenever it rains and when there is high barometric pressure.  I hate this because there's really not a lot I can do about it!

It could be the Tamari.  (Which is sad because I love it!)  There is some MSG in Tamari, but I tell myself it's okay because it's a natural form and it's not too concentrated.  However, maybe it isn't okay!  For dinner last night, I made steak with broccoli and sauteed mushrooms.  I love putting Tamari in the mushrooms to give them some flavor.  I suspect it may have been this because I had leftovers for lunch today and immediately felt worse.  Next time, I guess I'll just use garlic and olive oil.  

This just goes to show that I have not figured out all the answers yet and am still on the journey.  My goal is to stop these symptoms and never have a headache with nausea again!

Pictures of Progress

Here are some pictures of me which help to show my progress so far.

June 2009 - At my heaviest (195 lbs.):

November 14, 2009 - 175 lbs:        Today, (March 2, 2010) - 168 lbs:

As you can see, I've still got a long way to go but it's a start.  For my height (5'3"), I should be around 130 or so.  I did fall off the wagon around Christmas and ate wheat, dairy, and sugar so that did slow down my progress.  However, I'm back on now with a vengeance!