Hello, you adorbs peeps!
First, I owe you an apology.
Why? Because I’m like that. I apologize for things, and especially when I’m wrong. (Except when I’m arguing with my husband. Because then I’m always right. Stop laughing.)
Not realizing there are so many new readers in the new year, I’ve become so freaktacularly lazy at explaining my menus. Like seriously lazy. Like so lazy, you’d expect to find a piece of gum in my cleavage–hey; so that’s where that went).
I assumed you know what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, what my Taco Star Nachos are (look up and then read this)(BTW guys, those are the grilled chicken nachos in the picture!), why I’m an Aquarius, what color my underpants are, and why I’m not wearing any socks.
Alas, there is also some confusion as to how much I’m eating and if I’m getting any protein or nutrients at all. This is understandable, especially since I forgot you are actually reading what I’m short-handing and assuming I am not a flaming buttheaded buttmonster of buttlaziness. I appreciate your confidence.
I’ve become slightly complacent in my efforts to beef up other areas of the site to bring the fabulosity. And in so doing, I have so totally neglected what I thought no one was even reading anyway: The menus…
My assurance to you: I will try to be more helpful and less lazy (sigh), and I’ll stop assuming you can read my brains. And if you have a question, definitely let me know. I appreciate that.
Moment of disclaimer goodness: I do not advocating eating as I eat. Why? Because I’m not a licensed dietitian or medical person.
What I am doing:
I am working to suss out my food allergies (so far: wheat, some dairy, soy, eggplant, broccoli, avocado), and I pay attention to calories as well as to carbohydrates to some, small degree (the keto advantage is mighty, but not magical).
- I do enjoy a high-fat (60-65% of calories from fat), moderate protein (30-35% of calories from protein) food lifestyle, stick to typically 20 net carbohydrates or less to keep blood sugar under control (save for on my Taco Star Monday with corn chips), and have lost roughly 66 pounds in the last 4 months as a result of stopping my former binging behavior (with the help of low-carb + Dr. Julia Ross’ The Diet Cure book and amino acids regimen) and making healthier, non-or-less inflammatory/allergy food choices.
- I also weigh in weekly at TOPS for accountability, and I do my best to show you that even someone as imperfect as I am can lose weight so long as I’m focused on journaling my food, noting how I feel afterwards, so that I can find even more food issues I’d never paid attention to before. That means that I do eat whatever I want (in moderation), along with certain baseline foods that you’ll see again and again that do not set off inflammation or allergic reactions.
- I’m not here to send a message or beat you on the head and tell you my way is right and your way is wrong; I’m here to spread a mission: Do you, define your healthy food lifestyle based on your personal needs and health predispositions, and love your food in the process.
Now on to how I’ve been doing with my weight loss and continued sussing out of foods to which I’m intolerant or allergic to… Be sure to do your thing. I am thrilled share my progress and thoughts, but I’m not the person you should necessarily look to for dieting advice (I’m not a paid nosh-a-titian). Be sure to subscribe for updates by adding your email right (in the sidebar) or through Feedburner in the title bar up top. You can also click the tab up top that says Mid-Year Resolution for regular updates.
Tuesday, January 8 (Day 139)
I ate this:
Breakfast: Nothing. I had way too many handfuls of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit last night (more than I recorded) + cottage cheese
Lunch: Gunther Toody’s Taco Salad sans the wheat bowl (grilled chicken breast, black beans, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, tomato, shredded cheese, refried beans, and a light-light drizzle of dressing)
Dinner: Papa Murphy’s Cowboy Pizza scrapings from 3 slices (cheese, mushrooms, black olives, onions, sausage)
Notes: We typically don’t eat out this often (let alone twice in one day), but it’s been one of those days when we have company from out of town and it was fast and convenient. I really enjoyed being able to scout for healthy options, and I made great choices! Sure, it’s a little carbier than most days and I ate slightly beyond satiety, so tomorrow I’ll try to keep it light and stick to my usual base foods to make up for today–and only eat when hungry.
What I learned:
Dried fruit is not something I plan to enjoy on a regular or even semi-regular basis. It’s like nature’s crack. I could roll naked in this stuff and drape it over my face like diamonds. Only I wouldn’t eat diamonds. Probably. Maybe. Do diamonds taste like dried apples?
You make me laugh! I will never look at dried fruit the same again! Thank you for the positive vibes you put out everyday! We feel it, truly we all do! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Your a perfect hero to me…hehe
You are so sweet!
Ok… With a name like Papa Murphy’s Cowboy Pizza… I had to click on your link and see what EXACTLY this Irishman is calling a COWBOY!
Ok, Jamie. You have officially made me crave pizza for dinner! and only yesterday I made my other go to comfort food! Chili Con Carne… The entire pot only 10 carbs … Serves 3-4!
Now I want a melted mozza crust… Lots of onion, green olives, pepperoni and to top it off, bacon! All Nov and Dec I gave up my express pizza delight…and replaced it with whey shakes! I am craving pizza! So pizza is my only menu option tonight!
Thanks for helping me decide what dinner is going to be!
Regards,
Glad
thanks for sharing some of your thoughts, I enjoy your blog so much and am in awe of how good the recipes you come up with are. I added your cookbooks to my library. I have so many food allergies it is hard to figure out meals, you help me greatly. I too do TOPS. I had been wondering how you could figure out foods so well and eat such an unbalanced diet. but your loses are good and mine aren’t so you go girl. I hope for a better year. Rusty
Hi, Rusty! I haven’t sold any books. What I do here I do to help others. I am happy sharing my work with families to help them eat better!
How did you suspect you had food allergies to begin with? I ask because the question has come up in my mind whether I might have food allergies, but I’m not sure (and I need to figure out how to well, um, figure it out).
Melinda–It never occurred to me until I read Dr. Julia Ross’ The Diet Cure book. As long as I’d done Atkins, I never was able to suss out what food allergies were and how they affected me. Ross was the one who did that, and I’m so thankful.
I do love seeing your daily eats. I just find it interesting to see what other people really do on longterm low carb. Also, when my husband and I fight, I am also always right.
Thank you so much. And yes–we are right! I am glad I’m not alone there… 😛
Hi Jamie, can you tell us more or recommend a link about your amino acids regimen?
Hi there! I highly recommend Dr. Julia Ross’ The Diet Cure (she shares the regimens for each person based on self-assessment quizzed you take in the book). If I share my regimen, that might be misconstrued as giving medical advice.
You are so funny and do not need to beat yourself up. I LOVE the things that you share. I did laugh at the “read my brain”. I do that as well, just assume everyone knows what I am thinking and therefore, what I say makes perfect sense! (Well, at least to me !)
glad you cleared that up – about what you eat – cause over the last few days as I have looked over your blog, being new to your blog, it looks like you are hardly eating at all and I knew that couldn’t be right.
Yeah, it’s definitely not right! I eat a lot more than it appears. I totally get why people are confused. I am definitely accepting blame.
You do not need to apologize to the likes of us. We think you are clever, brilliant ,funny and a foodie genius. Why do I keep using the royal “we”? I am a definite fan of you and all your adventures, in a non-stalker way, of course.
LOL. Royal “we”… You almost made me spew my bev!
Hey! Well wadda ya know! I am an Aquarius too!………Everything about you makes sense now hahahaha 🙂
I knew at some point the connection would be made. I always tell people I’m horoscopically blonde.
Ok I love this entire post but I have to say the best part was that someone else in the world is allergic to/intolerant of broccoli. People have been telling me for years they have never heard of such a thing. They thought I was nuts and almost convinced me I was. Thank you thank you thank you…. I’m sane!!!! Farty, pukey and green when I eat broccoli…. But sane. 🙂 (Was that an overshare?)
It is totally a think. We’re averse to cruciferous vegetables. You might also have a slight reaction/intolerance to cauliflower as well.
This is my first time visiting your blog. You are hilarious!! I’ll be back so keep up the good work.
BTW, I am allergic to broccoli too. At least that’s my story when someone offers it to me. Blech!
It’s a legit complaint. With so many food allergies these days, no one questions an allergy! Thanks for your kind words. I am glad you’ll be back!
I dont know if my reaction is what would be termed allergic….but I get really bad, roll on the floor, about to deliver a child kinda stomach cramps that last for a couple hours until the broccoli is digested……so I keep far from broccoli…but funny cauliflower I have no problem…go figure
Stomach distress is a good sign of intolerance, minimally. People who have lactose intolerance suffer similar reactions when they consume dairy.
I am new to the site, found it on pinterest & have been obsessed with it since. You are so creative & I LOVE your recipes! I have done low carb successfully several years ago…but now 3 kids later, it does not seem to work as well. Do you have any suggestions/experience with this? I am wondering if I might only succeed in the induction phase…which I haven’t started in lately due to nursing. But I am to be a matron of honor in about 8 months & cannot fathom standing up in front of hundreds in my current state!
Also, about how many calories per day do you eat? Do you exercise along with your low carb lifestyle?
You are an inspiration to many & again, I love your recipes! The best thing about them is you us real food – not those weird low carb additives that I never have on hand. Keep he recipes coming! 🙂
Hi there! It’s so nice to meet you. I don’t count calories (but I know they matter. The studies I have seen show a benefit to lipolysis, but not a magical vacuum). I don’t exercise right now, but I would like to start using an exercise bike I’ve had for years and try to muscle my way back to using the treadmill desk again. I try to stick to 20 net carbs or less, and I’m also trying to suss out food allergies that kept me inflammed and craving sugar for years! So far I have sussed out wheat, soy, broccoli, potatoes, oats, rice, dairy, and MSG.
I really suggest looking for the food intolerances first and foremost. Since ditching a lot of what my immune system has had to fight, I’ve been able to lose quite a bit of weight healthfully. The book that helped me to do that is Dr. Julia Ross’ The Diet Cure.
Thanks Jamie! I really appreciate you sharing so much! I am also looking into joining TOPS after reading about it from you. I live in a small town & to be honest, at first, the thought was a little embarrassing. But now after hearing about it from you – I realized was being way too silly & it sounds like a great organization. P.S. I tried a version of fried rice last night with cauliflower rice & LOVED it! I look forward to your new recipes every day!
You are so sweet! Did you attend a meeting? I had to miss yesterday due to my stupid back (and I had company), but I look forward to going back next week.
oh I love dairy….milk, cream, ice-cream….and have no problem with them….other than that is what I will always crave or choose if eating what I want over what I should have. However since I began the challenge I have let go all of those choices. My substitute is Isobolic or Zero carb isopure protein powders….which I just shake with water (I used to mix with almond milk) and I pretend its milk…..and it satisfies the craving lol
I am all about satisfying those cravings. I love almond milk, but it was an adjustment for sure.