Day Five - Course Correction

Hey!
How's your week going? Eating healthy and feeling well I hope. Me? Ugh, not so much.

As I said right up front (or at least I hope I did) this ALWAYS HUNGRY SOLUTION is an experiment on myself. The idea being that I want to work within my own unique biology and create a plan that works for me and I have been learning so much I don't even know where to start. Bottom line, I want to be a fat burner.

If you're just catching up and want to know the whole story, you can click the MY SOLUTION link in the bar above and I've put all the AHS posts in one place. How convenient right? I still have no idea how to organize a blog so it's easy to find and search stuff so that was the least I could do.

Getting back to the topic at hand, I am on day five of Dr. Dave's diet plan with my own tweaks in place and things are not going well at all. I have been bloated, tired, low energy, head ache and worst of all...

Gassy. I mean to tell you that I have been letting rip the mother of all brother-in-law stink bombs that are so rank even my dog can't stand to be in the same room as me! So what gives? It's not the plan itself, it is my biology and certain foods that I know I have sensitivities around. They are the usual suspects, soy, dairy, sugar (I know it's not that this time around as I am still off the sweet stuff) and wheat. (same goes I'm off it) so it's got to be the soy and dairy in addition to certain beans. My weekly plan has been filled with chick peas, black beans, and tofu oh my. Add to that full fat milk, yogurt and cheese and well folks, we have a storm brewing. Quite literally. Hold your nose, she could blow at any time!

As I have been listening to all of the speakers that I could find time for during last week's THE TRUTH ABOUT FAT LOSS SUMMIT, some very common themes emerged. The most important message I got? Inflammation is no bueno! Without going into a whole lotta education or scientific jargon that I could never hope to pull off, inflammation is the root cause of ALL stubborn fat that won't seem to budge. We have biofeedback mechanisms in place in our bodies that are a cascade of cause and effect and this is what it breaks down to at its simplest. Certain foods do not agree with us. Let's use sugar as an example.

Refined sugar like the stuff you find in cakes and cookies and even certain boxed cereals that disguise themselves as healthy cause an inflammatory response in your body. (they release insulin and play up certain hormones which are all part of this cause and effect, but like I said keeping it simple) Do not be fooled friends, anything that comes from a box in the centre  aisles of your supermarket generally look like this on the inside!

When you get inflammation, your body produces antibodies to protect itself because our bodies were designed for survival and when we eat sugar the body thinks it's being attacked. (why the heck does it taste so good then, answer me that!) Anyway, these antibodies trigger your body to produce fat cells, mostly around your abdomen because the body is laying down a cushion to protect your organs. Increased fat cells however cause more inflammation which then trigger the antibodies which then trigger the production of even more fat cells, then more inflammation and you suddenly find yourself on a hamster wheel  going round and round eating what you think are all the right foods, killing yourself on the treadmill or in my case in the mat with Tracy Anderson or Katia Price and you still cannot shake the weight.

Shit! So what to do? How do you know what foods cause inflammation? As I said the general culprits are wheat, dairy, sugar, corn, soy, and meat. How do you find out what affects you personally? An elimination diet like CLEAN and then trial and error as you reintroduce the foods back in one at a time. I do want to discuss some things like WHEAT specifically and also certain foods that trigger HORMONES in the body but those deserve their own posts. I have highlighted them in blue so I can come back here and quickly remember what it was I wanted to talk about later. For now, suffice it to say having gone through Clean I know that I do not do well with eggs, dairy, wheat, and soy. I am off sugar and don't eat meat so basically everything is a trigger for me. That might not be food specific it may have more to do with LEAKY GUT but more on that in the wheat post.

With all of that in mind, it now makes perfect sense why five days in I have actually gained some weight (I know we are not supposed to weigh in until the end of the week but I just saw my belly growing so I had to) and am bloated, irritable and feel generally crappy. Full? Yes. Cravings? Not so much. But rotten? Oh hell yeah.

So I'm going back to my roots.

The idea that there is a one size fits all diet for everyone out there is absurd since we each have our own unique make up. Secondly no one knows my body better than me so why am I so quick to outsource my decisions on what to eat? Because it's easier, I don't want to have to think. News flash people, we can still prepare and plan ahead of time, then not have to think when it comes to the day to day. So what's next then.

I am still committed to Ludwig (Not the loving Dr. Dave anymore is he? lol) and the Phases of this plan, Phase 1 being 50% healthy fats, 25% lean protein, and 25% unrefined carbs. I just won't be getting my fats from cheese or my protein from beans or soy. Thankfully I'm totally cool with lentils. Yay! I won't be eliminating dairy altogether as I've got to have my splash of milk in my tea. 

I was worried at the start about reintroducing dairy as I had been off it for a little over two weeks. Self-fulfilling prophesy? Dunno, just know my tummy aches.

Today began the course correction. I had more veggie cold-cut lettuce boats on the menu for lunch, but have since discovered that my beloved Tofurkey is made with Wheat Gluten. Bummer. So instead, I made a salmon salad with wild caught salmon, 1/2 an avocado, a couple of walnuts, topped off with a generous helping of micro-greens and a dollop of full fat ranch dressing. Both Dr. Junger and Dr. Ludwig would be proud.

Additionally I have made some Vegan Bone Broth. No, I didn't make it out of the bones of Vegans! That would be cannibalism silly. Everyone has been touting the benefits of sipping bone broth daily but since I don't eat meat I made a vegan variety. Again the VEGAN BONE BROTH deserves it's own post, so lots to come noble reader as I continue to figure this all out!

Gianormous hugs and good health to you all.
Thanks for stopping by.
xoxo
Shan