Day 1 - Is there such a thing as too much education?

I've been wondering if there is such a thing as too much education when it comes to food, health, nutrition, weight loss, fitness et al. The reason that I've been wondering is because it seems to be that the verdict is always changing.

In the 80's carbs were all the rage, we needed pasta and bagels and grains to fuel those workouts, then it was all low fat, fat is bad. That makes sense right? If you want to lose fat why would you eat it? No no, it's not the fat you just need more protein, your muscles are made up of the stuff so if you want to build more muscle to burn more calories you've got to eat meat meat meat. No wait, meat causes acid build up and that is going to age you. What you want is an all plant based diet. Plenty of leafy greens, grains and beans, lots of yummy fruit. Hang on a minute, sugar is the real enemy. Actually it doesn't really matter what you eat, you've just got to use up more than you take in so count your calories. 

It's enough to make a girl's head spin. Having given up dairy and gluten and sugar and meat, what the heck is left? And for crying out loud why am I still carrying this extra ten pounds and why in god's name is it a spare tire around my waist when I work out so hard every day???

This is what I know for sure. While counting your calories and limiting the crap out of them you can lose weight, you will never keep it off. I'm proof. Having done Tracy's 30-day Method diet - I got to where I wanted to be yet here I sit today crying at my computer key board. 

I chose to go sugar free for the month of April (that's the abridged version and all I have time for this morning). During the course of the month many different friends and I have been having conversations all over the place about fat loss and health and nutrition and all sorts which has brought me to this point today. Day 1 of Dr. David Ludwig's ALWAYS HUNGRY SOLUTION. 

Yesterday was prep day and because I have to get my butt to work very shortly I don't have a ton of time to explain everything that went on but here are the Cliff Notes!

If you read the previous post you know I am quite serious about doing this program right. You only get one chance to do something for the first time when you have the novelty of it propelling you. After that, it becomes a do-over and it never has the same power or effect. So I went type-A on this hard core. The day before day one is the day where you prep yourself. You chop veggies and wash fruit, you make sauces and prepare snacks. The idea being that if you are super prepared, you will have fewer excuses and a higher rate of success.

So here is how yesterday looked.

Carrots, radish, broccoli, green onion, celery and all sorts got washed, chopped and stored. I also did the same with my herbs: cilantro, parsley, and dill. Yum. It smelled like summer in the kitchen yesterday.

I got things ready to make homemade dressings and sauces according to Dr. Dave's handy recipes found in said book.

I followed instructions to the Tee which I NEVER Do! It's was hard.

I already had my spare jars ready and now the fridge is stocked with pre-made whole-food things.

I even got a head start on the snacks. Here are the toasted nuts.

It took everything I had not to add brown sugar or maple syrup like I've done for years with my delish homemade granola. But we were able to add coconut in the end so hopefully that will give just a touch of sweetness.

It's a little hard to see the finished product there, sorry, I'm not a food blogger so not very good at this part.

But all that is to say I am ready for today. However, here on day one I have already had to make some adjustments to the menu. Turns out I am working an odd shift where I will be away from 11:30 to 9pm so I had my morning smoothie as I have already outlined that I'd do rather than make his breakfasts. I am a smoothie girl and want nothing else usually. But now that I am adding my raw vegan protein powder I confess, it's a bit like drinking sand. I find it to be a bit gritty. Yesterday on my test run I had it with banana so was under the impression that it was thick and creamy. Yeah, no! That was the banana that was thick and creamy. For the next two weeks? No bananas. Sad face. I'll live.

Lunch which I am about to dash off and make is a chick pea salad with one of the above lovely sauces, the lemon tahini I believe and dinner was where I had to change the plan. I know me. When I get home at 9 tonight I am not going to want to spend a hour prepping a full meal! But if you fail to plan, you plan to fail right? So I am having a beautiful gluten free vegan lentil soup (already made thank you very much) to which I get to add some gorgeous shredded cheese.

Now this is where the "too much education" piece kicks in. I am really hesitant about the cheese and dairy in general. I was not able to give up that splash of milk in my tea, I already gave up the sugar, what more do you want from me dammit! But I have in fact been off dairy for a little over two weeks and I think I am actually finally starting to see some improvements in my skin. Or is that just from quitting sugar?? I don't know. But I have really been under the impression that dairy is bad. Why are we drinking the milk of another mammal. That can't be right can it? And while I do miss cheese, it's nothing compared to how much I miss sugar, like on an hourly basis!  Again it goes back to this thought process that you can't lose weight if you eat dairy. And for this piece of the project I am really in it to lose weight and lose it permanently. I've got ten extra pounds and I want them off for good. No matter how I'm moving or what age I climb to I want that healthy comfy good-feeling weight and I want to achieve it through proper nutrition not a diet.

My head hurts. Is fat really bad? Not according to Dr. Dave. Dairy? The jury (in my own head) is still out. Also Tracy (Anderson) has said many times that she has never seen a person who eats nuts lose weight. Am I already fighting a losing battle? We shall see. I am going to be the guinea pig of my own experiment. Here's hoping that this is the solution I have been looking for.

Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted. Thanks for reading.
Shan