Resa's ZC/VLC Journal

[Resa]

Hi All! I've decided to jump in and make my own journal here too. I want to chart what I eat, how I feel physically and emotionally, how I sleep, and if I'm losing weight/building muscle.

Where I stand as I start this? I haven't been doing well. I've been suffering from anxiety and depression (untreated) for about 10 years -- lesser in my youth, but it's gotten to be mildly crippling over the last decade. My weight is at an all time high. My last doctor appointment had me weighing in at 298, and I suspect that in the year since I've crossed over into the 300s -- though I don't have a home scale. I really don't want to know right now.

In the past I was very physically strong. A decade ago had me stacking 30, 66lb bales about 10 high -- to eye level, and I didn't think it was hard at all. But since then, and two accidents, I've been very weak.

- - -

In 2004, I moved into a house that the previous resident had gone nuts about insects on. I lost a dog, and became fairly crippled up before I realized the house was soaked in pesticides. At the time I left (early 2005), when I woke up in the morning, I had to have a chair by my bed to stand. And could not move my legs for some minutes. And then I could only slide them via my hips. Once I was mobile, I could function, but I had to be careful to not sit long during my breaks at my job, or I'd have to explain my extreme difficulty in standing/walking for several minutes afterwards.

Late 2005, still dealing with the problem, but greatly improved since the move, I tried to go down some stairs, and one leg refused to rise the the request, and I fell. I banged myself up pretty good, and ripped a rotary cuff, and spent most of 2006 fairly immobile. And though I'm now recovered from that, my strength is still crap. A 20 lb bag is almost too much weight for me right now. And I dearly want my health and strength back, far more than I give a damn about my weight.

- - - -

To back track, I dieted all through my teens and 20s. But gave up on diets in my 30s. I could lose, but felt like crap while I was doing it. And could not keep it off. I exercised, and that helped, but it didn't stop the slow creep back up. And at one point, even dieting didn't budge my weight at all. So I finally decided to just deal with how I was.

So this diet is mostly about wanting to get back to feeling good and being strong again. If I lose weight, I won't lie -- I'll be tickled! -- but it isn't my first priority. I want to FEEL BETTER.

So that's where I'm starting.

- - -

As I mentioned elsewhere, I started trying Low-Carb via Rosedale when my cousin was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. We room together and share meals, so it seemed a logical choice, particularly with all the claims of better health and strength that came with the press about Low Cal.

Rosedale was a disaster -- low fat and low portions did not work for me. My cousin did okay. But started moving naturally toward VLC, sometimes ZC eating. She was reading Bernstein and Atkins then, and then we found this place. And so, there we are.

I should say, that though I don't always feel perfect (I did cheat on a candy yesterday, and I suspect that's the culprit) my mood is greatly improved.

I'm also using my old Jake's Machine again, with a glider, and hand weights. My goal is to exercise/weight lift 15-30 minutes daily. And I'm doing fairly well keeping to this so far.

And with that, I'll exit. And start posting my daily info as I go ...

[Resa]

Just for the record: Yesterday!!!

I ate a cooked hamburger patty mad of 1/2 lb hamburger mixed with about a 1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese for brunch. I had the same thing for dinner. I kept the melted fat as a sauce.

I also had a slice of a stevia custard cheesecake after dinner.

I had several cups of tea -- most with cream. And 1 cup of coffee, also with cream. And about 8 ounces of water. I ... need to drink more water. But I really only like the taste of bottled water. Hm.

I exercised for about 20 minutes. So I'm happy about that.

- - -

I want to add, that my menu two days ago was similar, with a few exceptions. I had 3 ribs for dinner and a cup of iceburg lettuce with home-made blue cheese/shredded mozzarella dressing. I cheated on the ribs and added about a teaspoon of regular BBQ sauce between them. And had ... one Chow Mein Noodle Chocolate Haystack (a gift. Argh!). And I suspect some of these changes may have been responsible for my feeling fairly crappy yesterday. I felt pretty much like you feel at the end of a very bad cold -- tired, foggy-headed, achy. I feel better today, but the leftovers are still with me.

[Darcy]

Hello and welcome. Hopefully as you post more and read around our forum you will see that AS (the stevia cheesecake) and sweetners (such as those in barbecue sauce) and chocolate haystacks or whatever really have to go. As in now. Please get those items out of your house so as to not tempt you. They will keep your cravings alive and slow down your progress. Keep only NON sweet tasting vlc/zc items in your house. If you're hungry have a cheeseburger. Getting rid of the junk food, even stevia/splenda junk food out of your diet now will get you where you need to go a lot faster.

Good luck

[Resa]

(01-10-2009 08:44 PM)Darcy Wrote:  Keep only NON sweet tasting vlc/zc items in your house. If you're hungry have a cheeseburger. Getting rid of the junk food, even stevia/splenda junk food out of your diet now will get you where you need to go a lot faster.

HI!!

I gotta tell ya, removing the cheesecake is going to make me quite sad, as I worked a long time to perfect the perfect cheesecake. But I have to admit, I've already dropped stevia as a sweetener in anything else but the cake, because I didn't like how I felt after -- say, putting a bit in my hot tea. Stevia has driven me to non-sweetened tea and coffee.

And don't worry, the haystacks are going out on Monday. And that BBQ that was in the back of the fridge, uncaught during the big "Throw It Out" we did about 2 month ago on Rosedale ... will go now. (looks at it longingly.)

And you're absolutely right about the candy. I opened the late Christmas gift, saw my old favorite, and my resolve broke and I had one. I've been good, and haven't had any since, because I noticed that my cravings -- which had faded to almost nothing since I cut out all sugar and starches some weeks back -- came back with a vengeance. One candy -- just one!! -- made me ravenous for more candy the next day. Plus I felt like utter crap. I still feel pretty crappy today. So, I may be cured of wanting any more. They're going to the gals at the Library on Monday. Which, though I suspect they'll be happy to have them, I kinda feel guilty over. :-(

I am going to miss the cheesecake though. Most of my best recipes are now going to the scrap heap.

[Charles]

I hear you, Resa. I remodeled my kitchen for my wife to do all this exotic cooking but now she laments that there is nothing to cook there. All we eat is meat, meat and more meat. I feel for her and I feel for you, but I also want you to be healthy!

[Resa]

(01-11-2009 12:07 AM)Charles Wrote:  I hear you, Resa. I remodeled my kitchen for my wife to do all this exotic cooking but now she laments that there is nothing to cook there. All we eat is meat, meat and more meat. I feel for her and I feel for you, but I also want you to be healthy!

Argh! Your poor wife! Me, I've collected old cook books for ages, and was in the process of learning how to make my own sourdough starter for real fermented sourdough bread ... and now I'm going Zero Carbies.

But yeah, like you and your wife, Feeling Better means more to me than those lovely, traditional carb-based recipes. Every dang thing in those books is based on carbs!!! Ah well, they'll make nice gifts eventually for somebody.

At least I can look forward to making Pemmican. That looks like an interesting process to learn! And grab and go food! Yea!

[Darcy]

I have to share. I purchased $4000 worth of cookware from one of those places where the saleperson comes to your house and makes dinner. I forget the name. That was just last year. Now the ONLY thing I use is my caste Iron Skillet! ($12 at Walmart) That's pretty pitiful! My DH never said a word but must have been seething over that one for awhile. Recipe books? I must have thrown out dozens. Your life will change. Will will start of missing your favorite foods and cooking activities. Slowly but surely you start not missing a thing and after that even the foods you used to love look gross.

This is what has happened to all of us on zero carb. It's not something you control. It just happens. Now when I get candy as a gift I thank the person and when they leave it goes in the trash. I don't even save it and give it away anymore.

[Nyteez]

I used to love to cook! I had tons of cookbooks I have collected over the years. I would spend hours a week planning my weekly meals, shopping for ingredients and cooking these meals. Since ZC I have given most of my cookbooks away, and have thrown out all my exotic ingredients. Going ZC saves me so much time it is unbelievable. My dinners only take 15mins, less dishes to wash, easy clean up, fast shopping, I love it!

[con]

It's more than the foods, like cheesecake etc., it's part of the way we were socialized. It's easy to socialize while eating or drinking because we can always talk about food or alcohol. Giving that up is harder than we at first realize. At family dinners I finish eating in 5 minutes---than just sit there staring at everyone else eat. It took a while to figure out how to cope with that.

[Resa]

Ah! Darcy! $4000 in cookware! I'd cry! That beats me and my collection of old cookbooks (1949-1966) pat. But I suppose if you can survive that, I can survive this.

Nyteez -- I can relate completely! I was even considering taking a French cooking class sometime in the next year or so, because I adore the process! I love all the gadgets (again, POOR DARCY!!) and the fancy spices. And now I'm left with "grill the steak, turn, grill, done." It seems ... wrong somehow...

Con -- Oh, that hits it right on the noggin, Holidays/Get-Togethers are all about nibbling on tons of little carb foods. My first Low Carb Holidays were Christmas and New Years. I have always looked forward to making all kinds of treats -- pies, cookies, candies, appetizers -- but this year, nothing. It was like taking Santa and gifts away from a 5 year old. It was very disappointing. I felt like I'd missed out on so very much!! And I stayed home!!! I'd have broke my diet for sure if I'd visited with family.

We did "splurge" on making a meat crust pizza. Instead of pizza sauce, we mixed roasted garlic with cream cheese, and topped it with pepperoni and mozzarella, some olives and mushrooms ... which, though not bad for Low Carbing, is not appropriate for VLC/ZC. I suppose maybe I'll focus on buying some fancy beef cuts and maybe some shrimp next year. Perhaps that'll keep me from feeling deprived of fun due to VLC/ZC on the Holidays.