High Fat Experiment

     Last week I made a low carb cheesecake.  At the end of the day, I had gone way over on calories and my carb count was close to 20.  I almost threw it away so I wouldn't be tempted to eat more but a friend suggested  I just spend the next day eating it and eat only the cheesecake and bacon.  I did this and the next day I was down 2lb.  This past weekend I ate a lot of restaurant food (went to NM with Matt) and was up a couple lb.  I decided to repeat this "experiment".  This time with low-carb key lime pie.  The recipe which can be found here http://allrecipes.com/recipe/key-lime-pie---low-carb-version/ is as follows:

1 c ground pecans

3 tbsp melted butter

2 packets Splenda

1/2 tsp coconut extract (I used coconut oil instead)

1/2 c heavy cream

2 packets Splenda

1(6 oz) Lime flavor Jello

1/3 c boiling water

1/3 c cold water

2 packs cream cheese, cut into pieces & softened

1/2 tsp coconut extract

2 tbsp ground pecans

1) In med. bowl mix together 1 cup ground pecans, butter, 2 packets Splenda, 1/2 tsp coconut extract. Press firmly in bottom & up the sides of an 8 inch pie plate. Refrigerate until firm.2) In small bowl, whip the heavy cream w/ 2 pks Splenda until soft peaks form. Set aside.3) In a large bowl w/ high sides, mix the gelatin w/ boiling water until dissolved. Then stir in cold water. With mixer, slowly beat in cream cheese, after all is added stir in remaining 1/2 tsp coconut extract & beat at Hi speed until smooth. Carefully fold in whipped cream. Use spatula to scrape mixture into pie pan & spread around. Sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp nuts on top. Refrigerate several hours or overnight to allow gelatin to set.

I ate the Key Lime Pie, bacon and chicken thighs yesterday.  Here is my My Fitness Pal food diary from yesterday.

I had 2208 calories, 9g of carbs, 213g of fat,  and 48g of protein.  You would think I'd gain huh?  This morning I was down 3.6 lb!  Same results twice.  I am now calling this a correction day.  Pretty cool huh?

Sodium Strikes Again!

     Eeek!  This morning I am up count them, SIX POUNDS!!!  I was already up 3 because well my body tends to do this on a regular basis and yesterday I had some salted pumpkin seeds and then I had 2 bunless chicken sandwiches from Sonic.  This morning, up 3 more lb.  I am trying not to freak as I do this quite regularly (can you say every month?) and after looking at my food journal from yesterday I went over my sodium allowance by 3500 mg!  Guess I went kinda nuts on the pumpkin seeds.  We were in a hurry to get to Diana's GT symposium so we grabbed snacks from the gas station.  I thought the pumpkin seeds were the best choice and they probably were but OUCH!  Pushing water and doing a protein day.  In addition to my Bulletproof coffee and water I am only eating eggs or meat.  Hopefully I can flush out this sodium.

What I'm having for breakfast and lunch today!

A fun picture from last night.

The Quest Bar-Low Carb or Not?

     For the last couple years I've been a proponent of the "just eat real food" mantra (thanks Steve Cooksey) but sometimes we just want convenience and something sweet.  Sometimes you're in a hurry and have no time to cook or would like to have something to keep in the car in case of an emergency.  So what if there were a product that tastes good, is low carb and made with as the company claims "no junk ingredients"?  Along with this it boasts of 10g of fat and 20g of protein and only 4 net carbs!  Sounds too good to be true.  So is it?  

     Recently I've been hearing about how awesome Quest bars are in the low carb circles and decided to test it out for myself.  After all, I am a type 1 diabetic so this should be a good test of whether this is truly low carb.  Starting blood sugar: 121.  I eagerly unwrap the Peanut Butter Supreme bar and take a bite.  Tasty with a satisfying texture.

   
     Thirty minutes later: 153.  Ok, that isn't HORRIBLE.  Not great but I can live with that.

       One hour in:  201.  Not good.  Maybe it will come back down?  Not likely but one can hope.

   
     An hour and a half:  217.  Still going up and I'm starting to feel crappy.  This is not looking hopeful.

     2 hours in:  229 and I feel like I am going to puke and am in a horrible mood.

 

     My conclusion:  too good to be true.  Clearly the "indigestible fiber" digested.  I do not believe this to be a low carb food and do not recommend it to fellow diabetics or low-carbers.  You are fooling yourself and might as well eat a candy bar.  Ok it might be a bit healthier than a Snickers but it has the same overall effect.    I'll stick with my real food.

A much tastier protein option and diabetes friendly!

Still Losing!

     I am now 8 days out of Phase 3 and as of this morning I am 146.8lb!  That's over 3lb below my lowest injecting weight and 2lb below my lowest weight in the 72 hours not injecting at the end!  I am thisclose to my goal of 145 which I didn't think I was going to make.

     I've been experimenting eating super high fat and it appears to be working.  Yesterday I really pushed it and hit 94% fat.  Someone suggested I use ghee in my Bulletproof coffee and this boosted the fat and calories up.  It's totally awesome BTW, better than butter.  I'm not restricting calories but I have set 1800 as my upper limit and thought that kind of put a crimp in my food for the day but I actually ate fewer calories.  Maybe because it kept me full longer?  So I had it again yesterday, a fatty pork steak for lunch and mushrooms and onions sauteed in butter and bacon fat for dinner.  I was totally full but my calories and fat were lower than I wanted so I made what is essentially a fat bomb.  I mixed 2tsp heavy whipping cream, a Tbsp double devon cream, a Tbsp coconut oil, a Tbsp coconut cream a Tbsp of butter and some sugar free Torani salted caramel syrup.  It was like a decadent dessert and probably would have made an awesome ice cream but I was too impatient to wait.  That added 32g of fat and 275 calories and put me at 94% fat for the day.  I was very curious to see what the effects would be and I'm excited to say they were awesome!

     I don't think I'll push it that high all the time.  I'm still aiming for 80% which I'm hitting most days.

I think I see abs!

I've always avoided shorts because I hate my thighs.  They're still bigger than I 'd like but I might just wear them this year!

One Year Old! (Plus a few months)

   

      It has been FOREVER!  Adrian is now 15 months old.  He had a wonderful first birthday and has grown so much.  He is walking, talking and into everything!  I started a few grains when he turned one.  He had a rice flour birthday cake and we tried some rice flour crackers but he was not too keen on them.  I recently started oatmeal with flax and he loves it.  We're still attempting to stay gluten free though he has gotten into a few things (unattended goldfish crackers and a pizza crust) which did not sit well on his tummy.

     It's also looking like Adrian is lactose intolerant.  After we started milk when he turned one, he started having almost constant diarrhea.  I eliminated the milk but kept giving him other dairy and for a while he did ok, but then it started up again.  Horrible diarrhea and nasty diaper rash that would show up almost immediately.  I've been attempting to eliminate dairy but he will get the occasional ice cream or sour cream on his taco which have the same results.  We had this 15 month check up yesterday and were advised to remove all dairy for 2 months, reintroduce it and see if the symptoms come back.  For now he is drinking goat's milk and almond milk and we'll see how he does.  Tonight he will be celebrating Daddy's birthday with some coconut milk ice cream!  He is also still nursing 1-2 times a day so he's getting that as well.  I do think he'll probably wean soon though as we sometimes skip a feeding and he doesn't seem to notice.  He does still like to comfort nurse when he is tired or sick or if he has a booboo.

     We had a great Thanksgiving and I made my paleo stuffs and they came out really well.  Adrian had more than 2 helpings and especially loved the almond flour cornbread!  He wasn't too big on the cranberry sauce (nor was the rest of the family). I think I needed more sweetener.  He did love the pumpkin pie and so did I but Daddy wasn't thrilled.

Almond Flour "Cornbread"

Homemade Cranberry Sauce sweetened with Stevia

Deviled Eggs

Paleo Pumpkin Pie with Walnut Crust

Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus

Paleo Thanksgiving!

     Earlier this month, the kids had a nice surprise.  Grandma Ginny came to visit!  We kept her visit a secret from Diana and Aidan and surprised them at school.  We had a really good visit and the kids really enjoyed spending time with Grandma Ginny.  She has also been eating Paleo for about 8 months now and has lost over 50lb.  In addition to that, her asthma symptoms have completely disappeared since she eliminated grains!

 



       Yesterday, Adrian weighed in at 27lb12oz fully clothed in a questionable diaper, so probably a few oz less and 31 inches, though I'm doubting that measurement as well as he was screaming and wiggling the whole time.  He is otherwise healthy and had 5 shots :(  .

Trying out the potty.

     Cloth diapering is still going well and our original 99 cent China diapers have bit the dust after 8 months, which I think was well worth the money.  I started using Alva Baby diapers a few months ago and I love them!  They have adorable prints, are bigger and have side snaps that prevent wing droopage.  Also they are about $6 a diaper on Ebay, much cheaper than the big name brands.  Adrian has started taking off his diaper and bringing us a new one when he needs a change so I went ahead and introduced the potty.  I'm not pushing it, but wanted to get him used to it.  I've always heard cloth diapered babies potty train faster because they don't like the feeling of being wet.

Love Alva Baby Diapers!

     I've just finished up the semester for school (I'm taking pre-requisites for nursing).  I ended up with 3 A's and  B which is pretty cool.  I now only need 4 more classes before I can take the rankings tests to start nursing.  I was expecting to be able to take all 4 in one semester and then jump in but it looks like it won't be that easy.  I need Anatomy and Physiology I & II which can't be taken together, Microbiology and Pharmacology which can't be taken until until I have completed A&P I & II so it's going to take a good bit longer than I had planned.  These classes have to be taken in person so Adrian will have to go to daycare a couple times a week.  I am worried about this as I don't know if cloth diapers will be allowed and I am very concerned about what they will feed him.  The plan is to feed him before I drop him off (class is 11:30-1:40) and pack him snacks but I'm scared they'll feed him cookies and junk.

     The stomach flu has been going around the Herschede household and as in the past, I cannot highly enough sing the praises of Vitamin D3.  When Matt started getting sick I started Stoss's Protocol of 500 IUxlb of body weight for 3 days.  http://drbganimalpharm.blogspot.com/2009/03/vitamin-d-natures-antibiotic-20-50k-iu.html  I also started giving the kids gummies and put liquid D3 in Adrian's drink.  Aidan and I both had a low grade fever for a night and I had chills but by the next day we were all fine.  I have found a brand I really like.  NOW brand liquid Vitamin D3.  It is flavorless, contains just Vitamin D3 and MCT oil (an added bonus) and I got it for around $5 on Amazon.  Sundown naturals is also great if you don't mind the orange flavor.

        I will do my best to update more often.  Here are some more pics!

Loved his cake

First Dentist Visit

11 months old

In one week my baby will be a year old! Adrian is all over the place. Not quite walking yet, but he has learned to climb stairs (and scare the crap outta mommy)! We tried baby gates, but couldn't get them to fit right and were afraid the older kids wouldn't be able to get around them. So Matt found this mesh gate that blocks off all but the living room (we have one gate up in front of the stairs in the living room). Baby is into everything. I think he will be like his big sister. He is extremely curious and not scared of anything!

We're still doing well with eating. We introduced milk a couple weeks ago and at first he didn't like it, but later realized that he didn't like it cold! I guess that makes sense s

ince breast milk is body temperature. It's nice to not have to break him of the bottle. He's been using a sippy cup

since around 5 months so he's a pro at it now. He does not however like the cups with the straws. Still no grains, but I am planning a gluten free birthday cake made with rice flour. We'll see how that goes.

I cut my strict paleo a week or so short since we were traveling to

Mississippi for Matt's family reunion. The first day of no dairy was absolutely miserable. I felt like I was back

in the days of low cal, low fat. I was hungry and obsessed with eating. This feeling passed though and I lost around 7lb that I had put back on. I've since lost another lb since going back to normal (low carb paleo but including dairy, eggs, nuts and nightshades).

We had a great time in MS. My kids got to see both sets of grandparents and after my parents went back home we traveled a few minutes down

the road to Louisville, MS to Lake Tiak O'khata where the Herschede

family reunion was held. It

was great catching up with family and the kids had a blast. I had a little trouble with the meals as the food was very southern (think fried chicken and mashed potatoes) and I later discovered that the green beans had sugar in them! Also, whatever was in their Salisbury Steak spiked my blood sugar to 270! I spoke with one of the servers the next day and was told almost all of their veggies were made with sugar! How crazy is that? They did however offer some steamed veggies and grilled chicken the next night so all was good. All in all, it was a great reunion

and everyone enjoyed themselves.

We got to stop at one of my favorite restaurants on the way

home. Mcallister's Deli! They have a beanless chili that has like 1 net gram of carbs and I also had their awesome chopped Italian salad. Heaven!