Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A month on the leptin reset

I am copying all my blogs to here, all in once place for the month.   Food logs with the quantities and nutrition breakdown are in detail here, at least for most days.

The good news:  lots of weight and inches lost.  Ten pounds and eight inches.
The bad news:  no bad news.


Sunday, January 01, 2012

I started by cooking up a big pan of beef for breakfast. While it was finishing cooking, I weighed and measured myself. There wasn't enough protein in the beef so I ate a leftover pc. of turkey liver. It was cooked in bacon and peppers, so I got a touch of the banned foods.

I'll be keeping track of my food on the tracker for a couple of days, at least until I am pretty sure I am keeping the macronutrients at the recommended levels.

I'll be updating this blog post as I go along, keeping it to one post a day.

Breakfast: Ground beef, kale, parsley, celery, avocado, 2 oz black coffee, green tea

Lunch: my first challenge. A potluck where someone insisted I try something without telling me what it was. So, I had a dab of cream cheese, with other "legal" ingredients. Also mixed nuts, blueberries, mint tea and an apricot half. I couldn't make it until dinner so I had a small amount of coconut oil.

Dinner: 'Course I'm hungry after that lunch. I had turkey gizzards, heart, neck meat, chard, salad greens, sunchokes, a couple of tangerine sections, decaf coffee with cinnamon and coconut manna.

Monday, January 02, 2012

I lost lots of water weight in the last couple of days, and I am already switching to a smaller pair of jeans. I got up early this morning, so I was able to cook a good breakfast, clean the kitchen, enjoy some green tea and head out for a walk before sunrise.

Breakfast: beef, chicken, kale, chard, blueberries, tangerine, green tea and one ounce of coffee

Lunch: turkey, chicken, beef, avocado, escarole, lettuce, broccoli, blueberries, coconut oil, brazil nut

Dinner: venison, turkey, chicken, escarole, cooked greens, winter squash, blueberries, decaf coffee with coconut manna.

I was in misery in the evening. At first I was tired, then couldn't settle down even after multiple magnesium pills.

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

I think the nutrition tracker is wrong about how large a chicken thigh is, so I am upping the amounts to what I think it looks like weight-wise. If my diet looks boring it is because I have been buying max-packs of meat and I haven't been shopping recently. I am not bored at all.

Breakfast: chicken, venison, blueberries, cooked greens, tangerine sections, coffee with cinnamon and coconut manna, green tea

Lunch: venison, sauerkraut, salad greens, blueberries, sunchokes, decaf green tea, brazil nuts

Dinner: chicken, shrimp, winter squash, avocado, artichoke heart, salad greens, parsley, celery, onion, fennel, blueberries, coconut manna

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

The changes started last night already, so I am pretty surprised it is so fast this time. Perhaps I wasn't as broken as I thought. Two hours after dinner (with tons of coconut manna!), I got really hot for a moment. The same thing happened a couple of hours after the BAB this morning. It didn't happen after lunch because I ate lightly maybe? I was considering skipping lunch. I finally decided to eat at 1:30.

Breakfast: venison, chicken, greens, blueberries, bit of coffee with cinnamon, black tea

Lunch: venison, sunchokes, winter squash, sauerkraut, tangerine section, decaf coffee

Dinner: beef, chicken, salad greens, lemon, olive oil, coconut manna

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Last night, I had a tough time getting to sleep, and the same as before. I couldn't settle down and was quite restless, even though I took all the usual magnesium during the day. I got up and had some potassium and a few sprigs of parsley. The only thing I can think of that I did differently on the two days this happened is that I had a sample of decaff flavored coffee at the grocery store. I'll stop that, and have no coffee at all today.
I am going to stop tracking food so carefully, just the proteins for the BAB and maybe the carbs if I start eating something different than now.

Breakfast: tri-tip, greens, blueberries, green tea

Lunch: beef, sunchokes, winter squash, black berries, parsley, decaf green tea

Dinner: beef, chicken, large greens salad, olive oil/lemon dressing, parsley, manna, decaf green tea

Friday, January 06, 2012

Yesterday I experienced big changes in heat when eating. I got hot two hours after breakfast, one hour after lunch, one hour after dinner, then got hot after taking aspirin and my evening magnesium. Yes, I had a headache, and couldn't figure out why until I remembered that I had not had any coffee and had forgotten to brew another cup of full-strength green tea. So, that was what the aspirin was for.

I have already experienced most of the signs of leptin resistance: no cravings, especially for carbs; no hunger, changes in sweating, improved sleep, waking up refreshed, body composition changes, weight loss, better energy level in the day. The only thing I haven't experienced yet is the energy changes and sweating during exercise, mostly because I haven't exercised much. My mood was already good since I was low carb. (Eating carbs always gets my moods going up and down and I feel lethargic during the day.)

I did do tai chi, and since I got there early and was rarin' to go, I got a space up close to the teacher and the mirror. I noticed that I was doing it pretty half-assed, and so upped my game. That is, reaching higher, and squatting lower. So my arms were a bit tired and my thighs also, but I recovered nicely. Then I headed to the garden, but I got tired and dizzy so I didn't do as much as planned. It was REALLY HOT!!!

I weighed and measured myself this morning. So far I lost 7 pounds and 4.5 inches. Most of the inches are in the waist. I pulled out a smaller pair of jeans, but they are already too small.

Breakfast: tri-tip, cooked greens, blueberries, green tea

Lunch: chicken and vegetable soup, blackberries, green tea

Dinner: tri-tip, green salad, avocado, sauerkraut, blueberries, tangerine, parsley, coconut manna

I started lifting heavy things after dinner. Since I was already getting hot, I figured out it would be a good way to burn off the excess energy. I didn't feel sore, but realized I am very stiff, especially around the feet and the ankles, so I did more stretching while listening to Jimmy Moore's podcast featuring Dr. Kruse.

Saturday, January 07, 2012 

After a great night of sleep, I woke up immediately and started organizing the house, since it is something I can do easily with early morning light. I can tell that my early morning hormone levels are changing. Making breakfast was a snap; I made everyone's favorites, including my own, in minutes, and without any of that early morning bumbling and grogginess.

I took a cat outside to watch the sunrise. She was in kitty heaven being outside so early.

Last night I heated up after eating the coconut manna, and then again when I took the evening magnesium. What's up with that?

Breakfast: tri-tip, haddock, bok choy, blueberries, green tea

Lunch: salad with olive oil dressing, chicken, blueberries, sunchokes, coconut oil and cinnamon, decaf green tea

Dinner: beef, greens, blueberries, carrot, sauerkraut, coconut manna, tangerine, mixed nuts

Sunday, January 08, 2012

I did HIIT last night, but didn't really work all that hard. I did just a few reps, mostly 15 seconds, and a few longer intervals. I was feeling tired. I am not used to hard exercise or evening exercise, so I thought I would take it easy the first time. I am not sore at all today.

Breakfast: beef, chicken, sunchokes, winter squash, sauerkraut, bison, celery, parsley, blueberries, decaf green tea

Lunch: Bison vegetable soup, blueberries, coconut, lettuce, green tea, coconut oil

Dinner: beef, avocado, salad, coconut manna, olives, sauerkraut

Monday, January 09, 2012

I continue to make progress, although I haven't changed in weight in the past few days. I am Sleeping like a baby and waking up refreshed. I can tell my hormones are changing and that inflammation is going down. I no longer get warm after meals.

I have come to rely on my tri-tip roasts, and prefer meat every day to chicken. I haven't bought any pork since the reset, but when I do this week, it will be the super lean kind. Meanwhile, I am saving all the beef tallow from the roasts.

I have cooked two beef roasts this week, and that is two more than I have done in the last ten years. I did a rump roast once, in my mom's oven. So, I will have to learn how to clean the oven. Twenty years old and I have never cleaned it more than a simple wipe-up. It was mostly used for baking bread and a turkey every Thanksgiving.

I will go to the store this week and stock up on the sale meat and berries. Next week will be the start of the Superbowl sales, all the chips and industrial crap will be on sale, so I need to make the best of things now.

Yesterday I ate very early, at 5:00 am and by 1 pm I wasn't really all that hungry, but finally I just decided to eat something, and then I got hungry again. So today, I am titrating the am protein down and planning to eat a nice lunch and make sure the spacing between lunch and dinner is optimal. I don't feel I am ready, adrenally, to skip any meals.

Breakfast: tri-tip, blueberries, greens, green tea

lunch: chicken, salad, blueberries, coconut, beets, decaf green tea

dinner: beef bone marrow, salmon, roasted veggies, blackberries, herb tea. I have NO idea how much bone marrow I really ate.

I had two full bones, but couldn't take another bite of most of the third bone. The marrow bone nutrition info is from another member and it doesn't have the types of fats listed.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

I am doing well with the reset diet except that my stomach is a bit sluggish. Oh, and I ran out of sauerkraut and the most recent batch has a bit of mold on it, hopefully not too much.

I have been falling asleep early and waking up early, sometimes at around 4. This morning I finally got up and had the breakfast eaten by 6. I don't feel tired or groggy at all, so maybe this is normal. I got in 6 hours of pretty dense sleep.

I need to buy more spices. I went to a mild form of curry powder, but discovered that it also contains red pepper, so I am making my own curry blend, mostly from garam masala, ginger, cumin, turmeric and cinnamon. Preparing salad dressing ahead of time has simplified and de-borified the meals. The dressing is made with olive oil, lemon juice, sauerkraut juice, salt, pepper, ground mustard, cumin, garlic and onion powder and various home-dried herbs.

breakfast: tri-tip, bok choy, onion, mushroom, blackberries, tangerine sections, green tea, vegetable broth

Lunch: chicken, vegetable soup, bone marrow, coconut, blueberries, avocado

Dinner: tri-tip, salad, coconut, winter squash, sauerkraut

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

I don't know if it was the lack of sleep or the smaller breakfast, but I had trouble staying on plan last night. It was the only time during the challenge that I felt a strong urge to eat something else. Thoughts of cheese, a few pancakes, maybe some pizza. I just went for more meat and the last of the coconut manna.

Last night I was also groggy and went to sleep very early. Every time I woke up, I just tried for more. I got more than 9 hours of really good sleep, but woke up early again, unhungry and I didn't eat the BAB within 30 minutes. Truth is, I don't think I had enough cortisol in me to beat back again. I went for a high amount of protein again, but I am still hungry. I think I could go for another breakfast of bacon and eggs.

I had NO additional weight loss since last week, but things are shifting around.

breakfast: tri-tip, cooked greens, blueberries, tangerine, green tea

lunch: pork chop, sunchokes, winter squash, strawberries, herb tea

dinner: bone marrow, vegetable soup, salad, tri-tip, blueberries, strawberry, coconut

Thursday, January 12, 2012

For some reason, the whole household woke up early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I think I got up at around 3:30, laid there for about an hour, then got up. As before, I got 6 hours of really great sleep. Is this the new normal?

Over the past several days, I have noticed changes in my skin. My skin is thinner all over my head, on my nose, scalp, behind my ears, everywhere. My face is drier, but also softer. My scalp is in great shape and I have absolutely no blemishes.

During my macrobiotics heyday, I had lots of problems with my skin, especially with my scalp. I ran to (and from) shampoos and conditioners, trying to find something that wasn't irritating. Going low carb helped, but this is even better.

Breakfast: tri-tip, greens, blueberries, green tea

Lunch: chicken, vegetable soup, coconut, avocado, strawberries, aloe juice

Dinner: beef, sunchokes, winter squash, salad, coconut, berries

Friday, January 13, 2012

I knew I was in trouble by the afternoon when I was craving a stack of pancakes, and all my food seemed boring. I thought about what else I might buy or cook, and everything seemed boring, boring boring, except the pancakes and maybe a vat of home-fried doughnuts. That is when I knew "hey this isn't food related!"

I have been worrying about my lack of sleep, and then yesterday afternoon, I caught myself being relieved that I wasn't hungry and that I could rest from worrying about my meat shortage. "Hey, wait a minute, I don't have a meat shortage!" and concluded that I just had an excess of anxiety.

This continued throughout the afternoon, and by evening I declared that I was going to have some real light, or I was going to quit this stupid challenge. So I chucked the evening glasses, went into the real living and watched some real TV with my family. Eventually I decided to read, but couldn't find anything that I liked. (I had a WHOLE STACK of books and mags! so you know what this is about) When I got drowsy, I decided to sleep, even though it was only 8:30.

I slept like a log, only waking up when the cats started a fight shortly before dawn. I feel normal today, and in no need of a doughnut. Hopefully the sleep thing is behind me and I won't be so whiny about everything today.

Update: still out of sorts, so I spent lots of time outdoors. I have a bit of a sunburn.

Breakfast: tri-tip, greens, berries, green tea, aloe juice

Lunch: chicken soup, salad, avocado, coconut, berries, decaf green tea

Dinner: beef, vegetable soup, winter squash, sunchokes, coconut, berries, sauerkraut


Saturday, January 14, 2012

No weight loss yet, and I have settled down to, well, what is this? Sleep is fine, energy is fine, cravings are fine, HIIT two times a week is fine, lifting more weights, that's fine. The scale won't budge. I should have at least some reward for all this perfection.

Breakfast: beef, greens, blueberries, coffee, green tea

Lunch: pork, salad, tangerine

Dinner: thai food

Sunday, January 15, 2012

This was the first day that I sort of fell off the wagon. I am not sure if I went over the 50 gram carb limit or not, probably not too bad if at all. I did exercise it away in the afternoon.

Breakfast: pork, greens, green tea, pineapple, brazil nuts, aloe juice

lunch: almonds, fruit salad, rice crackers, olives, cream cheese dressing, TJ's gluten free granola-type snack, herb tea, decaf coffee

dinner: chicken, blueberries, salad, avocado, coconut, decaf green tea

Monday, January 16, 2012

Good sleep, straight through, good mood, good energy. Boring!! This week I'll be much more active outside than usual, so maybe something will break through one way or another.

I had a few breakouts later last week and over the weekend. I fear I may have a problem with pork. The next thing is to find out whether it is the meat or just the fat. I would hate to have to give up pork.

Breakfast: beef, chicken, greens, pineapple, green tea, aloe juice

Lunch: pork, cabbage slaw, blackberries, coconut, decaf green tea

Dinner: chicken, pork, bok choy, tangerine, beef bone marrow, beef broth

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

I woke up this morning with a headache and a sore foot. I was worried about an infection, but after soaking it and checking under a magnifying glass, it looks like I just scraped it. I put ointment, band-aids and socks on, and will continue until it gets better. I hope it won't get worse and I'll have to get antibiotics, then I will have to fix gut health again.

Breakfast: beef, venison, greens, coffee, chicken broth, aloe juice

Lunch: beef, chicken, cheese, tomato, green salad with balsamic dressing, sunflower seeds, artichoke, olive, strawberry, green tea

Dinner: salmon, chicken with tomatoes, asparagus, zucchini, salad with ranch dressing, sunflower seeds, coffee with half and half

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Today was the first full day of me not being in charge of my food selections. I am pretty sure the breakfast eggs had milk in them, and I had cheese yesterday, so WTH, I went with more half and half. I was planning to add in the foods this week, but it would have been better if I had controlled it better. One new food at a time would have been better.

For breakfast, I could tell after eating a few chicken sausages that there was some additive in it that bothers me. The food seemed weird, like there was too much sugar in it, or something that no longer agrees with me. I am afraid that coffee is an offender. I had just a bit of Peet's coffee yesterday afternoon and I got hot and my face got all red. Now that the overall level of inflammation is down, I can really tell some differences when I eat certain foods.

By the afternoon, my foot was really hurting, but I finally declared it was because I was eating so much salt, so I switched to the ranch dressing, and that was much better.

Breakfast: Greek eggs, kielbasa, chicken sausage, coffee, half and half

Lunch: Shrimp stir fry, green salad, sunflower seeds, decaf coffee with half and half, hibiscus tea, crasins

Dinner: cod with parmesean, pork with cranberry, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, banana, butter, salad with ranch dressing, decaf coffee with half and half.

Notice no sugary desserts! I was exposed to them all day long, in great quantity. Gobs of danish for breakfast, strawberry cake for morning coffee break, pecan bars for lunch, chocolate cake for dinner. I did have two packages of Splenda.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Today is the last day of my break from my own food. I think things will settle down once I get to eating my own food. No mystery ingredients, omega 6 oils, milk proteins. I got a couple of cold sores this week, and my skin is in worse shape. It is amazing how much a difference even a little bit of problem foods make.

Lunch was three different styles of gourmet pizza and pasta salad, so I just ate two servings of regular salad. This really resembled lunches in my vegetarian days. I figure that cooked, canned garbanzo beans are processed enough to remove anything harmful. This is the first time in my life that I have passed up pizza. Two of the varieties were vegetarian. This would have been vegetarian heaven for me a couple of years ago.

I'm soooooo bummed about the Peet's coffee!!!! All the other coffee this week was Santa Barbara Roasting company's Anacapa Island blend.

Breakfast: eggs, bacon, chicken sausage, fruit salad, coffee with half and half

lunch: salad with garbanzo beans, sunflower seeds, parmesean, ranch dressing, cucumbers, onions, picklem decaf coffee with half and half, white tea

dinner: pork, salad greens, avocado, sauerkraut, pineapple

Friday, January 20, 2012

I am getting back to normal, and enjoying my green tea again. Next time I go somewhere, I will take my tea with me. I had assumed I could get green tea, and was surprised when the only available option was with herbs I didn't care for.

I wasn't very hungry last evening, and so ate pretty lightly for dinner, and also lightly for breakfast this morning. Nowhere near 50 g protein, for sure.

Breakfast: liver, onions, pork, sauerkraut, green tea

Lunch: beef, celery, carrots, coconut, sauerkraut, decaf green tea

Dinner: pork, greens, sauerkraut, coconut, olives, pineapple

Saturday, January 21, 2012

I am just doing maintenance mode. I haven't done much exercise this week due to my sore foot, but it is much better now. I have finished the jar of coconut manna and have settled in with just plain coconut. I still heat up after eating lots of it. ...Wondering when the weight is going to start coming off.

Breakfast: pork, cabbage, sunchokes, coffee with cinnamon

lunch: beef soup with wakame and veggies, coconut, cashews, avocado, coconut oil, decaf green tea, aloe juice

dinner: chili, green salad, broccoli, eggs, cheese, bacon, chicken, potato, sour cream, butter, ice cream

Yesterday was the first time I attempted to eat at an all-you-can-eat buffet, I did have carbs like potato and a few beans, and also some things I am not currently trying to eat, like bacon, dairy and eggs. I even had a bit of frozen yogurt with chocolate and butterscotch topping. I had planned to bring back eggs this week anyway. My plan was to avoid gluten, and I succeeded in avoiding the muffins, pasta dishes, pizza, etc. The pizza was the hardest, but I walked by the muffin section no problem.

The carbs had me bouncing off the walls, and the UCP3 pathway was working, and then I slept like a rock for 9 hours.

Breakfast: pork, greens, sunchokes, pineapple, black tea

Lunch: turkey, wakame, cabbage, carrot, coconut, almonds, decaf green tea

Dinner: pork, parsley, brussel sprouts, daikon radish, cauliflower, blueberries, cashews, coconut, coconut oil

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Yesterday was the first time I attempted to eat at an all-you-can-eat buffet, I did have carbs like potato and a few beans, and also some things I am not currently trying to eat, like bacon, dairy and eggs. I even had a bit of frozen yogurt with chocolate and butterscotch topping. I had planned to bring back eggs this week anyway. My plan was to avoid gluten, and I succeeded in avoiding the muffins, pasta dishes, pizza, etc. The pizza was the hardest, but I walked by the muffin section no problem.

The carbs had me bouncing off the walls, and the UCP3 pathway was working, and then I slept like a rock for 9 hours.

Breakfast: pork, greens, sunchokes, pineapple, black tea

Lunch: turkey, wakame, cabbage, carrot, coconut, almonds, decaf green tea

Dinner: pork, parsley, brussel sprouts, daikon radish, cauliflower, blueberries, cashews, coconut, coconut oil

Monday, January 23, 2012

I am sleeping well, around nine hours a night, which is pretty weird for being so long. I finally weighed and measured myself.
Total weight lost: 5.5 lb
Total inches lost: 6 inches

Breakfast: pork, greens, pineapple, blackberries, green tea

Lunch: vegetable beef soup, wakame, liver, onion, coconut, coconut oil, cashew

Dinner: pork, salad greens, orange juice, olive oil, coconut, olives, avocado, blueberries, mixed nuts

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

My stomach is settling down and feeling better. My skin continues to be softer and more blemish-free. Moles are getting smaller, and some are disappearing completely. Now I have everything except the weight loss.

Breakfast: pork, greens, blackberries, avocado, decaf green tea

Lunch: chicken, parsley, fennel, celery, onion, blueberries, cashews, coconut, white tea

Dinner: green salad, shrimp, chicken, celery, fennel, onion, parsley, olives, cabbage, cashews, coconut

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Ho Hum, something should be breaking through by now. Some ladies brought in a ton of candy and other sweets for Chinese New Year. I didn't want any at first, but the constant rustling of candy wrappers made my stomach growl. After eating the candy, several people were hungry, and grabbed donuts before 11, and I had to watch that, too. We were supposed to take the leftovers home, but I resisted.

My skin is more of a problem, so I am going to dial down the cashews tomorrow.

Breakfast: pork, liver, onion, greens, sauerkraut, blueberries, avocado, green tea

Lunch: chicken, bok choy, pea pods, sunchokes, coconut, cashew

Dinner: bison, celery, fennel, cabbage, salad, olives, coconut, cashew


Thursday, January 26, 2012

I did a bit of HIIT yesterday, I'll push it harder next time. After a few days of ramping down the protein, I increased it again because I was feeling cold. I ate lots of protein yesterday, we'll see how much I want today.

Breakfast: chicken, spoon mustard, pork, sauerkraut, blueberries, decaf green tea

Lunch: Chicken, spoon mustard, bison, celery, fennel, avocado, tangerine juice, sunchokes, coconut, aloe juice

dinner: pork soup with kale and wakame, liver and onions, beef, snow peas, tangerine, coconut



Friday, January 27, 2012

I am just "kruse-ing" along with the plan. I noticed last night that I am losing even more moles. Not sure if things are ready to change, but I am a pound and a half down from a couple of days ago.

Breakfast: pork, greens, sauerkraut, blueberries, green tea

Lunch: green salad, liver, bison, avocado, tangerine, coconut, olives

dinner: beef, liver, snow peas, sunchokes, avocado, coconut, almonds, vegetable soup with wakame

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Milestone day for me: 4 whole weeks! This morning was the first time I ate processed whey. I just couldn't eat any more pork so I had some plain whey protein, which tasted pretty terrible all by itself.

I sleep like a log most nights now, and don't wake up the whole night for anything.

I seemed to have finally reached the weight loss stage. Since the beginning I have lost 8.5 pounds and 8 inches.

Breakfast: chicken, bok choy, whey protein, blueberries, green tea

Lunch: tilapia, greens, snow peas, blueberries, coconut oil, decaf green tea

Dinner: thai food

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Nothing new today, but I feel much better not eating so many nuts. But, they proved too tempting, and I ate some for dinner. I had a bit of trouble after being outside in the heat. I didn't take water with me, and then I got sucked into an errand with a friend, and by the time I was done, I was hungry and thirsty.

I started Dr. Sears' Pace HIIT.

Breakfast: beef, sauerkraut, kale, sunchoke, green tea

Lunch: chicken, green salad, avocado, tangerine, decaf green tea

dinner: strawberry, snow peas, beef, coconut, cashew, plum puree, aloe juice, lemon balm tea


Monday, January 30, 2012

I feel thinner and as if I am turning some sort of corner. Last night after my first big evening HIIT, I didn't think I would calm down, but I did rapidly after I turned off the electronics. Since I ate my dinner so early I got a bit more hungry in the evening, but then I could tell that after the HIIT, the fat-burning was kicking in.

Breakfast: beef, greens, sunchoke, sauerkraut, blueberries, green tea, coffee

Dinner: beef, broccoli, snow peas, salad, avocado, strawberry, liver, olives, coconut, almond

Note here that there was no lunch. I got busy, and didn't get around to eating, and then decided I would wait an hour or so more for an early dinner. That stretched into a couple of hours with no hunger.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Something is out of whack. I had trouble keeping warm at bedtime, and woke up a couple of times freezing. Then I woke up a bit early and couldn't get back to sleep. I wasn't hungry, but an hour or so later I started to get hungry so I got up. I had 6 1/2 hours of good sleep.

HIIT went well yesterday, but I think it revs me up too much in the evening. Later, I was cold, but too lazy to go get a sweater, and when I got up, my toes were blue. I need to start wearing shoes during the HIIT sessions.

This is the end of the January. I lost 10 pounds this month.

Breakfast: tri tip, greens, tangerine, sauerkraut, parsley, sunchokes, green tea

Lunch: salad, chicken, pea pods, mixed nuts, wakame soup, decaf green tea

Dinner: beef, carrots, pea pods, salad, avocado, olive, coconut, tangerine
















Saturday, January 21, 2012

Say it Ain't so, Dr. Rosedale - Part 1

It has taken me a long time to write this, maybe I was just waiting for the right time.  I listened to a podcast featuring Dr. Rosedale last month and it has been bugging me ever since.  In the podcast, he lamented the high percent of statisticians who work in the pharma field.  Oh my!  I just thought I had to defend my profession.  Correlation is not a cause??

The tidbit that 98-something percent of statisticians work in the field somehow made them the cause for the mess that our current medical system finds itself in?  Hey, Dr. Rosedale, I'll bet that absolutely 100 PERCENT OF ALL EVIL STATINS DESTROYING THE FABRIC OF SOCIETY ARE PRESCRIBED BY DOCTORS!!!!!!!!!!  So there.

And now for your weekend entertainment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKGz52xmtx8

Wasn't that fun?

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Open Letter to Tara Parker-Pope

[and....I have a dream.....happy birthday to MLK, the man with dreams.]

This leptin reset thingy is turning me into a  kinder, gentler, yet still very exceptional person.  Is it me or did you also think Gary Taubes' letter/petition in response to Tara Parker-Pope was a little harsh? I didn't sign the petition, but here's my response.

Dear Ms. Parker-Pope

I applaud you, Ms. Parker-Pope, for laying it all out there for people to criticize in a recent blog post on resistant obesity.  But, instead of calling out all the flaws of the article, I realize that you were really just banging the despair gong, and I want to help.  Go read this really great article I saw last year, about sugar, featuring Gary Taubes.  Oh!  Wait a minute!  You wrote that, so of course you read it.  I read this week that eating lots of fat rots your brain, but now I wonder if it is the other way around?  Anyway, I hope you continue to search, and then find, what works for you, even if it seems outlandish and goes against every dietary guideline that you have ever written about.

See, I think you have the balls to do a complete public 180.  Does the ADA?  No.  Those Heart people?  No.  Hey, why not you?  You don't even have to believe in any of Taubes' theories in order for it to work.  How cool is that?  Seriously, wouldn't it also be really cool to prove him wrong?  In order to do that, you have to try it.  I hope you'll join us.

Sincerely, EB"

After writing the letter I fell asleep and had another big dream.


"I am walking in a dense forest.  The path is so thick with fallen leaves that I can't hear my own footsteps.  Now I fear I am lost.  I see a light ahead, so I go towards it.  It is a gathering.  When I enter the tent, I realize that I have been here before.  Other people motion me to my seat that has been saved for me while I was away.  It is almost time for dinner.


Daphne Oz is sitting next to the fire.  Next to her is a blood-stained atlatl.  Robb Wolf is explaining hunting physics to her.  She looks both intrigued and confused.  I realize that Daphne has ditched vegetarianism to get rid of that last bit of fat that she tries to hide under the stylish salwar she wears on her TV show.  She and Robb talk about how TV makes vegetarians look fat.


Gary Taubes is sitting on the other side, immersed in his field notes.  He brought a giant salami to the dinner.  Reminded of Robb Wolf's podcast where he mentioned that he felt somewhat violated by a fan crush, I try to look away.


Tara Parker-Pope pokes her head in.  She looks exhausted, hungry and thirsty, having been all around the dense forest and getting nowhere.  Betty White, dressed in a Native American blanket, welcomes her.


"Come, we must give thanks!"  and Tara sits down at the circle right between her and Gary.


I am still trying to look away, and to reason with myself.  "Strange dream!  What could it be?  Sometimes a salami is just a salami.  But, shouldn't it be bread with Argentinian Malbec?  Gary offers a piece of the salami to Tara,


"Here, this is for you......"

Friday, January 6, 2012

Leptin Reset - Could it Be?

Six days on the leptin reset, and could it be that I am already leptin resistant?  Here are the signs, and my progress so far.

Weight loss:  Check

No cravings, especially for carbs:  Check.

No hunger:  Check.

Changes in sweating:  Check

Changes in body composition:  Check.  My husband says my clothes are falling off me.  This can only end well.

Wake up refreshed:  Check

Better sleep:  Check

Great mood:  Check

Better exercise recovery:  not sure, since I haven't exercised much yet.

This week, I'll start lifting heavy things and next week, I'll start the high intensity interval training.  I find that I sleep pretty well when I keep the light low.  Yesterday was my first night out since the start of the reset.  I put on my amber sunglasses before I went into a lit building.  People wondered if I was injured.

"No, I am resetting my leptin," and that really shut them up.  I also found out that people have trouble talking to blind people.  The conversations were normal when we went outside to better darkness and I took the glasses off.

I wear my sunglasses in the house at night, and relax before bed with a stack of real books and magazines, a 15-watt light and a baseball cap cocked to the side to shield the lamp.

Here's the link to the details.




Wednesday, January 4, 2012

This Just In for 2012 - The Lost Tribe of Atkins

Yes, there is still time to ring out the old and ring in the new.  Now you know that the "great upheavals and earth changes" and all that 2012 stuff are already here when Lori Corbin drops gems like "the FAT FREE revolution is over...."  For those not in LA, Lori Corbin is that slightly cute but mostly annoying health reporter food coach at a local TV station.  For years, it had been lots of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tofu, and chronic cardio for her, and for everyone else she lectures.

Now that she has read Richard Feinman's wonderful  nutty post, she gone a little bit nuts herself.  Since his post came out only yesterday, it looks like they made a quick change to her segment, which like virtually all her other segments, was 100% fat free.  What she really said is, "the fat free revolutin is over, BUT CALORIES STILL COUNT." and then shows a preview of yet another fat free recipe.  Oh, I guess the great upheaval still needs a bit of upheaving.

In his post, Dr. Feinman humorously laments the very real fact that the "in crowd" diet researchers have "discovered" fat and have somehow managed to write a "peer-reviewed" paper that completely ignores ALL of the very real research done by the Atkins band over the years.  I state, Dr. Feinman, that the Atkins have been slighted, but really, what do you care what other people think?

The Atkins. That lost tribe, swallowed up by rising waters of stupidity, floating around somewhere near Atlantis.  But like any good 2012 story, the lost tribe of Atkins was more advanced and sophisticated than today's "modern" researchers.  We have been wasting so much time on the Mediterraneans or the Kitavans, but what about the Atkins?  Happily, the idea that civilizations cycle around has already been re-discovered by Graham Hancock  before Dr. Jenkins' behavior verified his theory.  Like the lost civilizations that went before them, the Atkins believe that they have been housing the original Ark of Nutritional Knowing of Dietary Good and Evil.

Now even Lori Corbin is cookin' with vapors, that ethereal fat-free calorie-controlled method.  So, they are circling around and around, and they still can't get to that slab of bacon, that large and powerful force of the universe, capable of redeeming and destroying.  It is very promising and dangerous, so it was important that commoners didn't try this at home.  It is so powerful, the researchers can't even look at it, or they would melt into dust.

Fearing its destruction by nervous political powers, the Atkins protected this revelation for many years,.  Overarching nutritional religions were established to counter the intense power the Atkins discovered, tasked with keeping this dangerous ("and above all, boring") dietary strategy out of the hands of commoners, who might revolt and free themselves from all tyranny.  The false religionists created powerless analogs to mimic essential archetypes of the ancients: pyramids, circles, institutional monoliths, fake learning institutions, secret herbs and tinctures, the supposedly-sacred 60-30-10 geometry.

Last night, I fell into a deep sleep, and in a dream, the good beings visited me.  In the dream, I went onto the internet in the evening, and even though I had installed f.lux and turned down the brightness to restrict the blue light, this huge fireball shot out of my computer screen, with blue, purple, gold light, of all the other colors.  It knocked me off my chair and reset my circadian rhythms.  In the middle of the ball of light, were beings, made of light.  They were eating a large pan of hot, dripping, crispy bacon.  They offered me some bacon.  I tried to turn away, but I could not, and at first, I thought I would melt, but I took a piece of bacon, and as I was eating it, this is what the beings had to say.  "It is just becoming harder and harder to ignore the evidence."

I predict even more earthquakes, rifts and upheavals in 2012.  Remember, you heard it here first!!!!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year, New Me

I have started the leptin reset today, this time, as strict as possible, including the elimination of all potentially inflammatory foods and better care with respect to light pollution in the evening.

Food logs and details are boring for some, but if you NEED to see this sort of stuff, here's a link.  The food logs are viewable, and I'll have more detail on the one blogpost per day over there.

Keeping out of the blue light means I'll be on the computer less.  How ever will I keep up with all the blogging.  Not sure how this will work yet, but I already have a pair of amber sunglasses on.  This will be a challenge since they are also polarizing.

Wish me luck!!!