Do not miss these encores of the Paleo Summit for great info if you have 1. cholesterol issues and/or 2. gluten or autoimmune issues

Okay! So happy there's an encore, as I was busy the day Chris's interview was up and I missed it! These encores may only be up for a matter of hours, so go listen. Go, now!

So, why am I so eager to hear Chris? Well, I've got high LDL. I am also not euthyroid, and my thyroid going bonkers is probably part of this problem. We'll see once I'm euthyroid.

A lot of folks doing Primal, Paleo, low-carb, or high fat diets like to dismiss high cholesterol (like high LDL, which is not so rare on this type of eating),  because HDL and Triglycerides tend to become amazing eating this way. For this reason, it's good to hear what Chris has to say.

Chris Kresser on cholesterol
description:

The cholesterol hypothesis has its staunch proponents as well as its skeptics. So who’s right? Chris presents the latest research demonstrating why elevated cholesterol scores should not be dismissed by the skeptics. He also explains why a high cholesterol score is not always cause for a prescription.

Presentation Correction: The ideal total cholesterol:HDL ratio should be between 3 – 4. A ratio of 2 would be too low. (Submitted by Chris Kresser)

I plugged Dr. Tom O'Bryan's interview on gluten last week. I'm plugging it again. Very much worth listening to.

Description:

The most basic Paleo Diet recommendation is the removal of gluten. But did you know that gluten sensitivity goes well beyond the digestive tract? Dr. O’Bryan reveals the latest research on how gluten consumption may lead to autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, and muscle pain without digestive symptoms.

If you are a science person, seems like you can easily skip the third encore lecture by Dr. Jack Kruse on leptin circadian cycles. Or read the critique and overview here and decide. Note, there is a lot of sarcasm and scoffing at bad science, so if that's something you're very sensitive to, there ya go. It's also really funny in a snarky way.  
Evelyn also critiqued Doc's blog post that coincided with his paleo interview date. 

Paul Jaminet, Matt Stone, Dr. Thomas Bryan at Paleo Summit--and worth listening to for varying views. Note: If you even mildly suspect or wonder about GLUTEN sensitivity, listen to Dr. Bryan's segment.

Dr. Paul Jaminet, co-author of THE PERFECT HEALTH DIET --and one of the more gracious persons online discussing how we ought to eat for health and weight loss-- is interviewed HERE. You can listen for free for a limited time (maybe just today).

You can also hear Matt Stone--whom I strongly recommend simply for the clear warning not to base your identity around ANY DIET, so that you stop listening to your own biofeedback, which is a super-dangerous thing for anyone-- and other speakers as the summit continues. If you've eaten in a particular diet style--high carb, low carb, Paleo, etc--and it has stopped working for you or you are having increasing issues with metabolic resistance to that way of eating, his talk is very worth listening to for a dissenting view.

Got gluten issues, suspect or wonder about this? Got autoimmune issues and wonder if diet is related to it? LISTEN TO DR O' BRYAN. The synopsis of his discussion is "The most basic Paleo Diet recommendation is the removal of gluten. But did you know that gluten sensitivity goes well beyond the digestive tract? Dr. O’Bryan reveals the latest research on how gluten consumption may lead to autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, and muscle pain without digestive symptoms." I have autoimmune issues--as does my family, and an AI disease killed my mom-- and my hubby HAD digestive ones. Going gluten free helped us both (my allergies/asthma overall improved, hubby's bathroom woes cleared up and he dumped many pounds.)  Autoimmune disease is the NUMBER ONE CAUSE of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized world, and it seems to underlie cardiovascular disease (which a lot of folks THINK is our #1 m&m cause). If you have MS, migraines, osteoporosis, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Parkinson's, eczema, cardiomyopathy, gallbladder disease, etc...please listen ALL THE WAY through.

The tabs for each talk are near the top part of the pages. 

I figure it's worth to hear the different voices out there, those doing research, working with folks, reviewing the science. You may learn something that helps you on your journey. Ya never know. :D

Ticker Update: 118 Pounds Lost...A different ME is revealed when hubby is out of town...and I Resolve To Never to Eat Modern Wheat Again

Tanita-san: 181.0

That makes 118 pounds off. Ticker reflects this as of...a minute or so ago. :)  I am eager to cross that barrier to the 170s...so eager.

Food has been so easy this week. Hubby is out of town --boohooo--so I only have to worry about MY food. Which means...heck, easy-peasy. I do whatever is minimal, and I only go into the kitchen when hungry. This means I barely hit the kitchen. Yay!  I don't lose 2 pounds in five days unless I'm eating less. So, yeah, I'm eating less. But it's cause I'm following my natural rhythm: Only go into the kitchen when I'm hungry or just before I think I'm about to get hungry (preventative meal-making).

When hubby returns, I have to be regular with cooking, make extra for his lunches/snacks. It makes me think of food more, have to eat more on a schedule. That means more eating.

I want to win the PowerBall and never have to cook again. I'll be 125 pounds that way. hahahahahhahaha!!!!!

joking, half-way. ; )

I remember when I was morbidly obese and hubby went on trips. I saw that as "Woo-hoo, let's order delivery like mad" time. Order a pizza with the toppings MY way, no compromise. Order lasagna and meatballs. Order Chinese binge-feasts.

Now, I'm a different gal. I didn't order delivery once. I fixed all my meals. They were focused on protein, veggies, fruit, nuts, good fats,  with one deviation last night. I had a small portion of some leftover rice n beans, topped with salsa, alongside my home-made quickie-chicken-picatta and wilted spinach. Honeydew for dessert.

I actually could have not eaten at all on Tuesday--really had no appetite--but I always worry that if I go too long without, I'll get TOO hungry and set up a bingey thing. So, while I'll do intermittent short fasts (17 to 21 hours), I won't go longer. I guess I don't trust the binge-monster in me completely, even if I feel like a transformed person. Better safe than sorry.

I finished WHEAT BELLY, reviewed it at Amazon, and it firmed up my resolve from a few months back not to eat wheat/gluten. Hubby is on board, so it makes shopping/meals easier knowing he supports this. I know he's seen how it's done me good, and he sees how it's done him good, and why go back? His coworkers are frequently asking him what he's doing, cause they see he eats A LOT of food and has gotten radically slimmer. I think they see his three tupperware cooler of two-lunches and assorted snacks and wonder how he is so sleek, when he wasn't so sleek before. hahahah.

ETA for JoBee:
People become dependent on bread/wraps/crackers/pasta because it's simple/easy/no brain. To ditch the wheat--stop thinking of any food as a lunch food or a breakfast food. Any food is okay any time. Chicken for breakfast. Eggs for dinner. Veggies for breakfast. Steak for a snack.


For hubby, to simplify, I cook extra at dinner. A lot extra. And then I can use extras for the next couple days. And right after supper, I might make scrambled eggs with ham or cheese or both and he nukes it for breakfast with fruit.


Breakfast: have eggs any way you like with veggies. Add fruit if you're not insulin resistant/diabetic. Or can't live without it. hah. Have leftover dinner food. Have any protein with any veggie and some healthy fats. My fave is veggie omelettes, usually with some cheese (feta, cheddar, swiss). I almost always have fruit.  But I've had leftover chicken with spinach for breakfast. Hubby has had leftover buffalo chicken (I make it at home, no breading) for breakfast. He has turkey and cheese. He has leftover burger. As long as there's protein and some plant item, it's good.  I cook his stuff in EVOO, butter/ghee, or coconut oil.


Lunch: I have to fix him two lunches, cause he gets too think since ditching gluten and most sugar. Here is one day's packed lunches/snacks:

 Here's one "lunch set": There's grilled chicken with chopped carrots and diced celery over romaine; carnitas pork with rice and mozzarella cheese, applesauce, cashews; snacks include hummus/carrots, Larabar, dark chocolate square. He took his usual banana/apple in his workbag.

The above includes food from meals (leftovers). Grilled spicy chicken over yellow rice with a spinach mozzarella salad side; cheeseburger (sans bun) with asparagus (cooked in EVOO) with real mashed potatoes on the side (butter, cream); Snacks: Beanitos and salsa, cottage cheese with cantaloupe and strawberries, and there's dark chocolate under the bag of Beanitos. On top of this, he took an apple, a banana, and a bag of peanuts.

I stress that *I* can't eat like this. We tried totally grain free, and he dropped 5 pounds a week and was heading toward seriously UNDERweight. I added rice and taters back for him. I have them maybe 2x a week. I have metabolic issues he doesn't. But he has lost about 60 pounds from his highest weight.

I find salads are easiest: chopped cheese and turkey or chicken or ham or leftover steak or chicken or pork on top of greens with some veggies he'll eat (diced celery, broccoli slaw, shredded carrots). He's not got a big veggie vocabulary, but I do my best. :) He often has hummus with carrot sticks. I love using the Sabra single serve ones. Perfect for a snack. I also buy him Larabars (raw, gluten-free), which he enjoys. I can't eat them (too carby), but it helps him keep weight on these days. :D Cheese and nuts with crudite veggies and fruit can make a perfect no-cook meal. Breakfast can be non-sweetened yogurt with berries and nuts.

Just focus on protein/veggies as the spotlight, then add nuts, cheese, fruit (in moderation for those sensitive to sugars/carbs), seeds as accents, lots of nice spices. The starches that are safe and a allowed in our home--tubers, rice. For the non-carb-sensitive, gluten-free oats can be used. Use legumes if you aren't sensitive to them and they are properly soaked (although it's not Primal/Paleo, it's up to you. Dr. Davis gives the okay to moderate portions t keep glucose under control).

If you have any suspicion you might be wheat or gluten sensitive, if you have diabetes or insulin resistance (like moi), if you have a belly (ie, fat one), if you get cravings for wheat/gluteny products (that is, when you do your uncontrolled snacking, is is made of wheat or gluten-containing products, like crackers, pretzels, pizza, wraps, cookies, etc--or are you night snacking on roast chicken and spinach or honeydew and Manchego cheese?), if you have autoimmune conditions, or if you have low HDL/high triglycerides and dangerous small LDL that's HIGH--read the book.

The September 5th Woman's World magazine (your supermarket has it), gives a quickie overview and sample eating plan. But I recommend the book as he shows why wheat has been altered from its ancestral type. How it's not even the wheat eaten a couple generations ago. Different beast.

I'll eat ancestral wheat, should I come across bread made from it. I won't eat modern rejiggered/engineered wheat with its scary properties.

I don't need it, anyway. There's no nutrient in wheat that I can't get from the whole foods I eat, and in better form :) And I bet you don't need it, either. You might desperately want it. You just might be addicted to it. (And yes, he addresses that in the book, and if you have a loved one with schizophrenia or autism, you do want to read about the experiments in these areas with regard to wheat.) But that's all the more reason to assess your dependency on this not-benign grain and staple food.

So, that's my book recommendation for the week. WHEAT BELLY by Dr. Davis.

If you read it and try the program, really give it a good shot of at least 30 days,  let me know how it goes for you.

Have a great Thursday, eat well, move well..be well.

Closer to the "One-Seventies", Wheat Belly, And Not Hungry...And almost half of you hung in there in Slimmer This Summer, which is great.

Tanita-san: 181.8

Yes! A bit more down. Closer and closer to breaking that next barrier and hitting the 170s. I don't know how long, but I hope before the challenge begins on the 11th. :D

I just downloaded a book I've been looking forward to reading since I heard Dr. Davis was going to release it. It's just now available on Nook and Kindle (I Nooked it), and it's called WHEAT BELLY. I'm a big fan of ditching the wheat. Hubby and I both feel great, great, great, since ditching the gluteny grains. I may review it on the blog later. May not. Dunno. But you should at least go look it over if you have issues with obesity. The author, Dr. Davis, also has a blog. It's on my blogroll.

I had a good Pilates session yesterday and my core is nicely sore. Weather is miserable, so no walking today. I'm so gonna be happy when cooler, drier late autumn days come back.

I am not hungry. I just realized, right now, I have not eaten today. I'm gonna go fix something after I publish this post. Not cause I have an appetite, but cause I don't wanna get hit by the hungry beast and then have to decide what to eat. Preventative eating, yeah!

I visited the last Slimmer This Summer update linky blog to see how many challengers made it to the finish line. About half. That's pretty good. It was a moderately lengthy challenge--12 weeks--and my hearty congratulations to those who hung in there. TWENTY FIVE made a final post. Some did great, some not so great, but they finished.

We've got a nice number of challengers already for the CHRISTMAS DRESS COUNTDOWN CHALLENGE. I've got a few on the under-consideration list. Basically, I need to know you can finish what you start, which is why StS and DDDY peops were automatic acceptances if they finished a challenge/phase. You stick it out. I consider that important. I've learned that's important, even if you do poorly. You understand weight loss struggles go on for life and you just don't quit! So, thanks to the StS who made it to the finale. And if you're in the CDCC, welcome. Do your prep work. Get READY.

See you in that challenge soon.

And to all: Have a good evening . Be well....

Struggling, but My Attitude Sucketh NOT in a week of Roller-Coastering Mood ; )..plus day out with sisters and totally resisted the killer fried food and dessert barrage...but it's asthma-season for me...EASY LUNCHBOXES and planning what you eat..and has anyone tried PURE WRAPS?

I am on increased meds, so excuse the rambliness of major proportions, should it show up. :)

This was an emotional week. A few reasons:

1. Since the weekend, the asthma/allergies have started getting worse. August is a notorious month for me (September, too). A month that often saw me in the emergency room in the past (before I became better controlled with a battery of Rx's), often saw me with bad sinusitis, bronchitis, nosebleeds, visits to docs, steroids,e tc. So, doing Pilates this week has been hard. I've even teared up today in frustration at not being able to breathe deeply or control my breathing. My walks have been at a slower pace (no sprinting or superwalking), because my respiration can't keep up. But I'm trying to stay active.

2, Sunday, the family (sans eldest sis who was visiting with ill relatives and friends) got together. Mood up. Tuesday was the first month marking of my nephew's death. Mood way down. Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of my father's death. Sad. But my sisters and I, and my niece (the one whose brother just died) and grandniece (her papa is the one who died) got together to put flowers at the cemetery and have lunch and talk. This was good. But there were some teary  moments.  And today is my big brother's (well, the youngest of the 3 big brothers) birthday. Glad he's alive and well (though he's asthmatic/allergic-sufferer, too, so we congest together). Up and down and up and down.

3. Appetite has been higher, no longer superzen. This is a combo of the stress from the breathing, the mood shifts, and who knows, maybe the extra fruits I'd been having since last week. Scale is still higher than my lowest weigh-in, and the lack of adequate sleep is making things worse. Oh, yeah, that does make me hungry, forgot that. Not sleeping. (This is partly the meds, partly the trying to shift to earlier hours.) It will sort out, but it means it's tough to portion meals and it's a struggle.

On the plus side: 
~I'm still trying to move at a good level against the breathing odds. Makes me feel...powerful...to not give in. :D

~I'm not focusing constantly on the stressful negatives, but actively focusing on what's good and making "thanksgiving breaks" during the day when I focus on and thank God for the great stuff in my life. I am blessed in so many ways.

~While we ate out yesterday--at Ruby Tuesday's--I had salad bar (1 and a half plates of all the non-starchy veggies plus some egg and a couple tablespoons of the chopped ham for protein. Drank my water, decaf, iced tea. Kin had a fried/butter-drenched extravaganza. And when everyone else had the chocolate lava cake with ice cream and tiramisu, right in FRONT OF MY FACE, I didn't touch a single crumb/spoonful. I just sipped my coffee and averted my eyes when tiramisu flew around. ; )

~Been really tired, tired, tired in the evenings (lack of sleep, adrenal exertions from the meds increase), but still am fixing hubby his three bento boxes' worth of healthy lunches before I go to bed and making sure he has his breakfast stuff--which sometimes means scrambling his eggs ahead of time so he can nuke em warm, or making gluten-free hotcakes (he can have starch, since he's a metabolic burner!) with no-sugar homemade fruit compote, etc.  He and I really love the EASY LUNCHBOXES system I got him last week and we started using this week. It's a positive, cause I'm keeping up with NOT caving to crap, even when exhausted. I force myself to the grocery store; I make myself make the lunches. I make sure we have produce galore. Big plus. Big lifestyle change from the gal who just would call for delivery crap when tired.

As far as the EASY LUNCHBOXES: a dream for us. Three boxes fit in the bag, and it zips and is easy to carry. Works great. He gets two meals and one box full of snacks (nuts, Larabar, hummus with carrot sticks, cheese n apple slices, etc.

I won a set from Katie J's blog (thanks, Katie!) and that should arrive soon. This way, we'll each have our own bento system, which is lovely, as when we have to take food for BOTH OF US to avoid temptations when out and about, that will simplify matters. And they have a great page with pics of REAL lunches and ideas. They do need more low-carb, Paleo, Primal, Gluten Free example pics! Maybe I'll snap one these days of hubby's threesome. ; )

No BPA. And though the lids are made for kids to be easy pop open (not Tupperware supertight), I just use rubber bands to secure stuff that might spill and use Press n Seal for when I use cottage cheese/yogurt/mooshy-smooshy-semi-solid--oozey stuff.

I have the bags in olive and aqua, and won a system with a dark red bag. The newest color is the pink, I think, and young girls, as we know, loveth the pink. With my three bags and 8 containers--and they have nice colorful lids--I'm REALLY set.  I fill them at night, put the whole bag in the fridge, and hubby just has to grab 'n go in the AM when he's ready to head out for the office. Then he puts the whole bag in the fridge at work. :D EASY!

It's a great TOOL to make sure you think about what to eat and plan for balanced, healthful, non-crap meals. If you're a dieter who works, really, get some sort of brown-bagging or bento system. Makes things easier. And making stuff is as simple as cooking extra at dinner (or lunch or breakfast) and saving it for the next day. And some things I pack are so easy and don't require cooking for hubby: nuts, fruit, cottage cheese, salads with deli meat, etc. If you like  yogurt, you can make a whole great snack in one bento, make your main lunch food in another, and not have to give in to office-crap temptations.

Speaking of stuff that makes lunches easier: Anyone try those gluten-free, no soy or assorted weird stuff alternate to regular sandwich wraps,  PURE WRAPS? If you have, review it or link me up to your review of it. And where did ya get it? Thanks.

Anyway, if the weather is benevolent--and August/September in Miami is not the most benevolent of times for exercisers being outdoors--I will have my walk and that will make for almost 1.5 hours of exercise for the day. I may not be able to go all-out while I have congestion issues, but I can do something. And so can you!

I wish all my fellow fatfighters well today. If you're struggling like me to get back down the scale and find your full-behemoth mojo again, let's egg each other on. No quitting. Ever!

later, lovelies...

Pounds To Goal Weight..really? Wow. How'd I Not Focus on that?..A Gal Who Lost What I Want and Plan To Lose and Has KEPT IT OFF (most important!)--ie, ROLE MODEL of HOPE.... And a Book I'm Gonna Pre-Order....and a blogroll purge...

I was reading one of the challenger's blogs in SLIMMER THIS SUMMER, and she was happy that she's only 21 pounds away from her goal weight.  Her "end is near."

I'm super happy for her, too. Isn't that what we all hope for. To complete our weight loss journey.

And I realized, as I commented on her post, that I'm 27 pounds away from my goal weight. (Although, I confess, as I'm pretty darn happy at my weight now, I think my goal weight may be adjusted a bit higher than the original 160. Perfectionist, I'm not. I just want health and sustainable mobile/flexible/normalish weight.)

Yep: 27 pounds away.

I remember when I was 139+ pounds away and it seemed utterly, totally, ridiculously hopeless. I was dispirited big time.

Then I was 129 pounds away and it seemed only slightly less hopeless, but hope had risen in my bosom some, and I started a weight loss blog in 2007.

Then I was 119 pounds away, and I felt mired, but not hopeless, and looked for all sorts of options/ways to make progress, with lots of backsliding, with lots of experimentation, with half-hearted attempts, but never again to that dread 139+ hopelessness.

Every 10 pounds made it less hopeless. Every 10 pounds NOT regained kept me NOT hopeless.

Then, momentum came, at last, God be praised, and every 10 pounds lost lit a fire and every 25 pounds lost made me feel utterly victorious. Though goal sure still felt so far away...

Now, I'm 27 pounds away, and these last pounds are the hardest, but the ones most full of joy and hope. Yes, I can see that finish line. Which is only a new starting line: maintenance.

I googled for "lost 140 pounds and kept it off" to find a role model. I used to do this with google back in 2007 and the couple years after. Looked for people who had lost more than 100 or 120 or 130 etc pounds. Now, I search not for those who lost it alone. I've seen too many regain who have lost those massive 100+ pounds.

I want to know who KEPT THE DARN WEIGHT OFF.

I found this gal: Debra Mazda. She looks mature, healthy, fit, but not perfect. She looks realistic. She looks like *I* could look if I kept going and got down to 160-165 and kept working out. She's a realistic role model for me. (And if I get an indication we'll still be in South Florida for my birthday next year, that cruise of hers sounds like something I can reward myself with for making goal/close to goal/new goal by Christmas.)

Seeing her look so vibrant at a weight HIGHER than my goal of 160 make me think, sure. I can be happy bigger than 160, if it's a HEALTHY, FIT, MUSCULAR 160+. I'm happy now. I can be happier. :D

Do you ever look for your size/your loss/your dream role models? Realistic, real-people role models? If not, start.

And  I hope one day I can be the "She kept the weight off for 5, 10, 15" years role model for someone who needs to lose 130+ pounds. Isn't this part of why we document and blog and give our insights out. To give hope to those who are where we WERE?

Thanks, Debra Mazda, for being one of those beacons of hope to the ones, like me, who had/have a long, long road to get to a happy weight.

So, now that I have time to read again, I am gonna pre-order this one (unless I learn it will come for the Nook, and wait for that): WHEAT BELLY: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back To Health by William Davis, M.D.

I feel loads better since ditching wheat/most grains, and I want to see what he says more in-depth about it. He, like Dr. Mercola, the Primal/Paleo folks, the New Evolution folks,  and the Jaminets of the Perfect Health Diet, pretty much show the value of going wheatless/gluten-free. For those with resistant appetites and Metabolic Syndrome or heart disease issues (especially inflammatory issues, like me), it's worth a look for sure.

I'm off to purge my blogroll on my old blog, then this one some time later or tomorrow. There are bloggers who haven't updated for weeks or months and it's time to say "adios". I posted/commented often to try to lure some back, but when folks wanna stay gone, well, what ya gonna do? They gave up and you can't make folks post, right? Time to remove them from the list and make room for those who are posting. Some will always be remembered fondly.

I'm also thinking of saying adios to some other bloggers who are active--even VERY active--and who I kept my on my old blog's linky blogroll,  but who have indirectly, probably even unknowingly, been insensitive or have caused me pain. Sometimes, you gotta do that, too. For mental health.

I wish my challengers and all fat-fighters a strong and happy Sunday. Beat your food demons. Beat your lethargic, couch-potato demons (my issue this new week, to get back to my exercise-girl persona habit). Let's win the war and win back our health!