A Delicate Balance...and Boobs Anonymous 6:36 PM

There has been a lot of discussion in the Paleo/LowCarb/Primal community about the wisdom or insanity of including potatoes in ones diet. Richard Nickoley committed obvious heresy according some of his Paleo community followers by suggesting that there was nothing wrong with eating some taters with his grass fed meats. Tom Naughton did his own little self experiment with the dreaded white potato and sweet potatoes, posting about his blood glucose reactions to the two different kinds of spuds.

I have done my own little experiments regarding potatoes, both white and sweet, though not quite as scientific as Tom, and thankfully under less scrutiny of my peers than Richard. I'm not Paleo - - don't claim to be, am not a reenactor, don't really care whether potatoes were eaten by theoretical cavemen or not, so my experiment is merely about how my body reacts to them, basically as Tom was trying to discover about his own reaction. Except mine was done without the BG readings on a glucometer. I am pretty much in tune with what is going on with my body these days, and I know from the way my heart races when I eat something that makes my BG levels go crazy high that I should avoid whatever made it happen.

The verdict? I will probably never be able to eat white potatoes ever again. Well, I won't say never, because there may be those occasions when I just want a BG rush and then to fall into a deep coma-like sleep, but we'll see. Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, seem to have very little effect on my BG, much like Tom discovered.

I don't really miss potatoes anyway. I have too many other wonderful, satisfying things I include in my lifestyle of eating that worrying about whether or not I can eat a potato is of no concern. I just know it's not good for me. It may be fine for someone else, like Richard. More power to him for discovering what is good and right for him.

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Mark Sisson posted an interesting link to Paleo Princess' post on the Paleo Alphabet. All of her alphabet points rang true for me, though I don't follow exactly the same lifestyle as she...but I found her "B" point to be most interesting, and true for myself, as well:

"B is for Boobs! Big boobs! I was never a small chested woman, but I went from a 34-C to a 34-D on a paleo diet, even though I lost twenty-eight pounds. I’m not complaining!"

 I went from a C to D cup while eating low carb/Primal. It was noticeable...so noticeable that my ex-husband asked me if I had had breast augmentation surgery. I thought, up until her post, that I was the only one who that happened to, but now I know I am not! Anyone else had the same thing happen? I wonder why it happens? Anyone have a clue? Not that I am complaining, either!

Breaking a Plateau Anonymous 11:11 PM

I began my low carb journey on July 6, 2007. I lost 25 pounds in the first four months of low carb eating and posted about it in my personal blog, here. I had mentioned in that post that I would continue to eat in this manner even if I never lost another pound because it made me feel so good. I never would have guessed how prophetic those words of mine were...because I didn't lose another pound for about 12 months after that. I did feel great, but there was more excess baggage I was wanting to lose. I was not satisfied with the way I looked.

I frequented some Low Carb forums, attempting to come to a better understanding of why this stall was happening. Some of the reasons people gave were the following:

1. Thyroid Dysfunction
2. Not eating enough vegetables.
3. Eating too much dairy.
4. Eating too many vegetables.
5. Not taking the proper supplements.
6. Eating too many calories.
7. Eating too much fat.
8. Eating low carb "frankenfoods."

I'm sure I missed a few, but those were the most common.

I fiddled around with the composition of my diet for a while. I ate more veggies...no change. I cut out what little dairy I was eating...no difference. I wondered about the thyroid thing, but not having health coverage made it cost prohibitive for me to have any tests done. I took recommended supplements (CLA and another, I can't remember what it was now). Nada.

I resisted cutting fats down too much because I knew it was the fats that were helping to make me feel satisfied, and really made me feel all around good.

I had learned early on that the low carb frankenfoods stalled my weight loss, so I wasn't really indulging in those things at that point. I was, however, eating some other processed foods (albeit low carb ones), and still eating vegetable oils. Upon researching outside of the low carb forums I came to the conclusion that I just needed to eat non-processed, whole low carb foods, and completely eliminate vegetable oils from my diet.

That is where the turnaround came for me. I cut out eating pepperoni and cheesy metts. I stopped eating things like the burger patties out of a McD's double cheeseburger, and stopped eating the processed American cheese that I would allow myself on occasion. It made all the difference, just those few little changes.

I also started doing some Intermittent Fasting, sort of on accident at first. I just wasn't always hungry after I cut those things out of my diet. These changes allowed me to shed another 20 to 25 pounds. I still have a bit more adipose I would like to get rid of, and it is coming off slowly, but ever so surely.

Have you ever hit a plateau? What did you do to break through a stalled weight loss?

Quick Morning Breakfast Anonymous 10:26 AM

No time this morning to cook something for breakfast, as I am heading out the door very soon for work. I threw together a breakfast eggnog (I know, 'tis not the season anymore, but it sounded good to me). One half pint of heavy cream, some freshly ground nutmeg, a touch of a Stevia based sweetener...and one raw egg. I know, the risk of Salmonella...blah, blah, blah...I don't fear Salmonella, Salmonella fears me. I'll let you know if I die later. ;-)

I have to have some good quantity of saturated fat in the morning to get me through my day. I crave it sometimes when I wake up...heavy cream, egg yolks...I want to do a post on those fat cravings and what I think they mean. But, that will have to wait. Out the door...home this evening. Wild caught Alaskan Pollock for dinner tonight, yum!

UPDATE: I didn't die. Felt great and the breakfast egg nog held my hunger at bay until lunch. Matter of fact, I wasn't very hungry at all come lunch time, but I ate anyway. =)

Walking in Joy Anonymous 11:05 AM

This post is a departure from my usual theme here at No Pain, No Grain. Well, sort of a departure.

My mother has been in the hospital for almost three months today, having had a heart attack, multiple stent placements, and multiple bypasses in her heart arteries and leg arteries. Through all this she was found to be allergic to a common blood thinner and nearly bled out and died during one of the procedures. The latest procedure was a bypass in one of her leg arteries. That incision became infected with E. coli.. She underwent her second debridement on the incision area day before yesterday. She is now lying in a hospital bed in a lot of pain. She has never made any great steps forward in recovery. We have said our goodbyes just in case she doesn't recover, but I live in hope.

My mother has atherosclerosis, though she wasn't aware of this until her heart attack. It is this scenario that I am trying to avoid for myself, and my children, by eating in a Primal/Paleo/Low Carb way. I do not want this to be the future for any of us, and I wish I had a way to turn back time and eat and live the way we have been in the last few years. Hindsight, as they say...

So today, after speaking with my mother on the phone, I stumbled upon (by chance) a note she had given me some time ago, long forgotten. It was given to me during a sad and tumultuous time in my life, before my divorce. My mother and I have a very close relationship, and I had been telling her that I had no joy anymore...I was depressed and just going through the motions of living, but not really living. This note was her gift to me. She is a woman of great faith.

As we approach Resurrection Day this Sunday, I thought sharing this now couldn't be more appropriate. My mother may be going "home" soon, but I know her legacy of love and joy will live on. Excuse the typos (Mom is not much of a typist). The mistakes didn't matter to me, as this was a personal note between she and I...but it is too good not to let others see it. So, without further adieu...(click to enlarge)