Here I am again over a month later.  Such a struggle with health and weight issues.  AIP (autoimmune protocol) has been a revelation.  Hard in one way - AIP is quite restrictive - but easier in another sense - clear-cut guidelines on what you can and cannot eat. 

Switching to Paleo two years ago was a similar change in mind-set, but because I felt so much better and there were so many articles, blogs and books to read to keep me motivated, I loved it.  While I can't say I "love" AIP, it has made me feel a lot better in lots of ways - all good, right?  Not necessarily, unfortunately. 

I have been working with Mickey Trescott (one of the Consultants in  The Paleo Mom's group) and sticking pretty strictly to the AIP plan (even eating beef liver jerky trying to get some liver into my diet), talked a soil-based probiotic, HCL to improve digestive enzymes, 600 mg of magnesium every day, with some reduction in the number of stomach aches, better sleep occasionally, a clearer mind but absolutely no, none, zero weight loss and not much change in energy levels. 

Mickey (and I agree) feels my biggest issue is stress.  Stress causes an increase in cortisol, which messes up your sleep, which makes your body hang onto extra weight.  My exercise for the past month has been stopping whatever I am doing three times a day to breathe mindfully.  How's that going?  Not well.

If I go one step off the AIP plan, I get a stomach ache, bloating and more weight gain.  Last weekend we helped Youngest Son do some things around his new home and the whole day was eating the wrong things (Ikea meatballs, mashed potatoes, dinner at a local pub, including ice cream) and did I pay for it.  Eating out has pretty much become a painful exercise, except when we went to the Keg and I had a whole lobster.  No stomach ache - just a big restaurant bill!

I have been told by Mickey and The Paleo Mom (who I met at the book signing last month), to focus on better health not the weight loss.  (Have you seen them - both slim and gorgeous!)  If you have read The Paleo Mom's story you know she had a major weight loss (100+ pounds) when she started eating better and still wants to lose more weight, but still...it's easy for them and all the other (normal weight) bloggers who say the same thing because they did lose weight.

I'm not giving up, in fact I have another appointment with Mickey in a couple of weeks to see what we can try next.  I do appreciate the health benefits and I don't want to lose those, but I would also like to see fifty a few pounds disappear.

On a more positive note, I have discovered that Point Roberts, a part of the State of Washington that you can only get to by land by going through Canada, has an international market that sells Kerrygold butter (US$5.69 for half a pound) and Organic Valley butter from pastured cows (US$5.29 per pound).  It is less than half an hour from our place so we can make a run every month - better fat.

Would you like to see what I have been eating on AIP? Click here for the recipe for Citrus-Thyme Pot Roast - easy and delicious!

Autoimmune Paleo

It's been awhile (again) since I blogged, but I can't stay away from it too long.  Very cathartic.  I have been busy working on my health and weight issues and getting into Autoimmune Paleo mode.  Autoimmune Paleo is Paleo (no sugar, dairy, legumes, grains or processed foods) plus AIP = no eggs, nuts, seeds or nightshades (chili pepper, cayenne, peppers - all kinds and, most importantly for me - no tomatoes), and to increase my use of organ meats (I'm struggling with that).

I am almost finished the first month of the plan I got from working with Mickey Trescott (Autoimmune Paleo), which meant reducing my stress levels (not doing too well there), getting more sleep (a bit better) and healing my digestive system (which is going well as long as I stick to the eating plan and take my Betaine HCL every time I eat).  I have also just added a soil-based Probiotic/Prebiotic for more healing.

Depending on how bad your gut is, some people can do 30 days and then start adding back non-AIP foods slowly, but I have had these problems for so long I think I am looking at a lot longer before I will risk adding eggs or nightshades.

One Week On

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there.  I talked to mine this morning (he's 800 miles away) and Mom had taken him out for breakfast and they are going to the Dairy Queen later for ice cream.  At 86 I think he deserves a banana split at the Dairy Queen or anything else he feels like eating today and, if I know my Dad, that will be buttered potatoes.  Do you think buttered potatoes are the secret to a long healthy life?  Wouldn't that be great.

Well...it's been a week since I have been following the Autoimmune Protocol meal plan (mostly) and I have to say that I feel better - mind clearer, sleeping better, more interest in cooking (and blogging) - all good things.  However, zero weight loss in the week.

I have my one-hour meeting (via Skype) with Mickey Trescott, and I am excited (hopeful?) that she will have some insight into my inability to lose weight.  Fingers crossed.

I love to cruise around Pinterest looking for meal ideas and saving them for inspiration.  I found a couple of recipes for stuffed baked sweet potatoes with various fillings that I saved, one of which I planned to make for Friday night dinner.  However, when I went to start dinner I discovered I was down to one largish sweet potato, so I decided to deconstruct the recipe, and use other vegetables I had on hand instead for the "stuffing".  It turned out pretty good - four bacon strips from Paleo Grandad.

I'm back!

I'm back (I hope).  It's been too long. I got off track (love you Paleo Grandad, but no more chocolate, please) and I was prescribed some medication for stomach problems that added to a 25 lb. weight gain (in less than two months), serious bloating and swelling of my legs and feet and to feeling depressed again.  When I'm happy, I blog.  When I'm depressed, it's all I can do to get out of bed and go to work...and then there's work.

I'm off the stomach medicine now (immediately dropped 5 lbs. - like the next day) and am desperate to get back on track so I can get back the energy and the enthusiasm I had before I got derailed.  Most of all, I need to lose the 20 lbs. I just gained, plus another 30 more that I have been carrying around for years. 

Crispy Lemon Herb Chicken

Several years ago in my search to solve health problems and lose weight, I bought all of Suzanne Sommer's books and one of them (forget which one) had a recipe for chicken drumsticks that we really liked.  She used fresh herbs for this recipe (she grows her own), but I didn't have fresh and I actually like it with dried.

I had bought a big package of chicken thighs (not organic unfortunately, but not many people can afford a big package or organic chicken thighs), so I used thighs instead of drumsticks. The only difference is that the thighs didn't get as crispy as the drumsticks would.

Crispy Oven Wings

Do you like chicken wings?  Crispy chicken wings?  Crispy chicken wings without deep frying?  If you said yes to everything, I've got the recipe for you - Crispy Oven Wings with Asian Sesame Sauce.  I found the recipe on Primally Inspired's site. 

The recipe comes with a technique for making the wing really crispy in the oven and a tasty Asian Sauce.  I think it would also work really well with Buffalo Sauce, though I haven't tried that yet.

It's quick and easy to put together and the rest of the time is just baking in the oven.  Roast some broccoli spears at the same time and dinner is done.

Lobster Crab Mac & Cheese

Hi - it has been awhile.  The last few weeks have not been good for my stomach, but things seemed to have settled down again, but not until I was so uncomfortable I had to go to the doctor.  He prescribed a proton pump inhibitor and another drug to get things under control.  I still don't know what caused the problem but it killed any desire I had to cook (or eat for that matter) for too long.

During that time Paleo Grandad and I each got a new toy - a Fitbit.  It's wristband that you wear 24/7 that tracks your steps and your sleep.  You can also track your food and other things, but I wanted it mainly to track my steps and my sleep.  You have probably heard that we all need to take 10,000 steps a day - that is a lot of steps - but you can set the Fitbit for any goal you want and I started with 5,000.  We went for a walk yesterday afternoon and ended up taking 6,517 steps!  When you meet/exceed your goal the wrist band buzzes (made me jump).  I also know I had 7 hours and 9 minutes sleep last night, and was restless for 14 minutes during that time.  Cool.