My husband is bummed that he misses chocolate. Or maybe he's bummed that I managed to snag in white chocolate, dark chocolate, and vodka, and am still managing to get the right carbohydrate, fat, and protein numbers. Granted, I'm only tracking towards 1.75 lbs lost a week.
He's jealous of chocolate, I'm jealous that he gets to lose weight fast. It works out.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Day 8 of husband's diet
The stolen salad reappeared; either someone realized they took the wrong one, or realized that it was seriously boring food and didn't eat it.
I'm currently boiling some eggs before bed so I figured I'd post something.
Measuring food:
I haven't gotten into it much, but I am an old pro at tracking food, measuring portions, ect. I'm solid at eyeballing many foods, and often help my husband because of this. I haven't tracked my food in a while, though, and the reason why is simple: it's easy to splurge when you're not paying attention. And I've been doing too much of that.
In light of that, and to help be supportive, I've started tracking my food again. I'm currently using FitDay again for the time being, although I opened a new account. A cleaning of the slate so to speak. I think this is going to help because I don't think my splurging is good for him. He says he's fine with me cruising around chomping on an ice cream sandwich, or telling him "DUDE THAT GUY ON THE SECOND FLOOR MADE BANANA RUM ICE CREAM!". It's not that I don't believe him, I do - he is super blunt and honest that way. For my peace of mind, though, I'd like to be more accountable and start ditching the junk from my diet, too.
Eating out:
No new exciting recipes today, although I am learning a lot about how to work on the eating out stuff. Today we had no time to pack dinner, so I stopped in for teriyaki. My favorite is spicy chicken, steamed veggies, and brown rice. I could live off of that, and it would be quite balanced. Rice is clearly not an option for my husband, so I got him some chicken breast and steamed vegetables.
Today's eating out lessons learned:
-Plain chicken breast is boring. He said he wanted the spicy sauce. I worried there may be something in it he shouldn't have. He said he'd rather take his chances next time than eat plain boring chicken.
-Ask for the kind of veggies. Typically, it's a bunch of broccoli and a few carrots there. Today, it was carrots and a few pieces of broccoli. I'd planned on giving him my broccoli as I can happily live off of carrots, but there just wasn't time with all the car shuffle to get to rehearsal. He didn't eat any carrots, though; that was my job. :D
-Plan ahead; find a list of places that you know will work. Teriyaki is pretty high on my list.
And a final one aside from that: keep more salad on hand. That's probably less about eating out and more about always having a backup vegetable that's easy to pack with.
Eating out so far:
Red Robin:
Not terrible choices, but you have to be careful. Hubby stalled after the visit there, but I don't know if that's a true stall or his body going "ok this 2-3 pounds a day thing is a little much after 5 days, let's take that down to more like 1 pound." I worry that the chicken has too much stuff it's been stewed in or something. He did however manage a salad with cucumbers, tomato, lettuce, and chicken. He used vinegar as dressing. In a pinch, it worked.
Teriyaki:
Our favorite place near my work is fairly solid here - they use straight out chicken, not stuff that's soaked in crap. I think a lot of teriyaki places have similar options. What to watch for: chicken other than breast. Not all chicken is alike. Most of the chicken there is probably thighs or something, which isn't hCG friendly obviously.
Tomorrow we are going to Mediterranean, which is going to probably suck badly for him. It was his idea, though. :P
A final note
I won't lie: this hCG thing is crazy to me. I do, however, have a hard requirement of a diet: I trust no diet that doesn't allow apples. Period. If a diet says no apples, it's immediately not credible as far as I am concerned. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's because I have a very high fiber requirement. I will admit that the hCG diet met that requirement. We're both eating more apples than ever before around here.
And I get to eat all the bananas. Bananas are good drummer food. Actually, everything is good drummer food. Nevermind. Drummers eat everything. If anyone finds a drummer doing the hCG diet, get a picture because otherwise I won't believe it! :)
Aside: another bias I suppose. Low potassium puts me in a very bad state, so bananas and potatoes are my drinking buddies. Granted, all we drink is water, and potato always steals all the butter, but whatever.
I'm currently boiling some eggs before bed so I figured I'd post something.
Measuring food:
I haven't gotten into it much, but I am an old pro at tracking food, measuring portions, ect. I'm solid at eyeballing many foods, and often help my husband because of this. I haven't tracked my food in a while, though, and the reason why is simple: it's easy to splurge when you're not paying attention. And I've been doing too much of that.
In light of that, and to help be supportive, I've started tracking my food again. I'm currently using FitDay again for the time being, although I opened a new account. A cleaning of the slate so to speak. I think this is going to help because I don't think my splurging is good for him. He says he's fine with me cruising around chomping on an ice cream sandwich, or telling him "DUDE THAT GUY ON THE SECOND FLOOR MADE BANANA RUM ICE CREAM!". It's not that I don't believe him, I do - he is super blunt and honest that way. For my peace of mind, though, I'd like to be more accountable and start ditching the junk from my diet, too.
Eating out:
No new exciting recipes today, although I am learning a lot about how to work on the eating out stuff. Today we had no time to pack dinner, so I stopped in for teriyaki. My favorite is spicy chicken, steamed veggies, and brown rice. I could live off of that, and it would be quite balanced. Rice is clearly not an option for my husband, so I got him some chicken breast and steamed vegetables.
Today's eating out lessons learned:
-Plain chicken breast is boring. He said he wanted the spicy sauce. I worried there may be something in it he shouldn't have. He said he'd rather take his chances next time than eat plain boring chicken.
-Ask for the kind of veggies. Typically, it's a bunch of broccoli and a few carrots there. Today, it was carrots and a few pieces of broccoli. I'd planned on giving him my broccoli as I can happily live off of carrots, but there just wasn't time with all the car shuffle to get to rehearsal. He didn't eat any carrots, though; that was my job. :D
-Plan ahead; find a list of places that you know will work. Teriyaki is pretty high on my list.
And a final one aside from that: keep more salad on hand. That's probably less about eating out and more about always having a backup vegetable that's easy to pack with.
Eating out so far:
Red Robin:
Not terrible choices, but you have to be careful. Hubby stalled after the visit there, but I don't know if that's a true stall or his body going "ok this 2-3 pounds a day thing is a little much after 5 days, let's take that down to more like 1 pound." I worry that the chicken has too much stuff it's been stewed in or something. He did however manage a salad with cucumbers, tomato, lettuce, and chicken. He used vinegar as dressing. In a pinch, it worked.
Teriyaki:
Our favorite place near my work is fairly solid here - they use straight out chicken, not stuff that's soaked in crap. I think a lot of teriyaki places have similar options. What to watch for: chicken other than breast. Not all chicken is alike. Most of the chicken there is probably thighs or something, which isn't hCG friendly obviously.
Tomorrow we are going to Mediterranean, which is going to probably suck badly for him. It was his idea, though. :P
A final note
I won't lie: this hCG thing is crazy to me. I do, however, have a hard requirement of a diet: I trust no diet that doesn't allow apples. Period. If a diet says no apples, it's immediately not credible as far as I am concerned. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's because I have a very high fiber requirement. I will admit that the hCG diet met that requirement. We're both eating more apples than ever before around here.
And I get to eat all the bananas. Bananas are good drummer food. Actually, everything is good drummer food. Nevermind. Drummers eat everything. If anyone finds a drummer doing the hCG diet, get a picture because otherwise I won't believe it! :)
Aside: another bias I suppose. Low potassium puts me in a very bad state, so bananas and potatoes are my drinking buddies. Granted, all we drink is water, and potato always steals all the butter, but whatever.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Day 7
As of this morning, my husband has lost 9 lbs since the "official" start which was last Thursday (Tues and Weds were the "eat everything in sight" days. It's extremely cool! Although a little disturbing - my inner weightlifter is cringing. She's trying to hand him a bowl of oatmeal and a squat cage!
He is ROCKING IT and needs a new belt. He's largely had a great attitude and has a lot of "eyes on the prize." I'm really proud of him for dealing with the restrictions so well. He's focusing on results, not what he can't have. I'm helping him focus on what he can have by keeping what he can have interesting. One of the hardest things about healthy eating is boredom.
The internet also helps a lot. I can usually pick out a couple of ingredients and search for them along with "hCG" and get a bunch of good stuff. That's been huge. A lot of it is just good food to eat, no matter who you are. It does kind of make me wonder why people need a special diet to eat well. On the other hand, being on a diet like this brings people on it together. They share resources, because it's not as mainstream.
Weekend went ok. Hubby did have one low blood sugar moment, which I would call his first issue, but recovered pretty quick. Low blood sugar is hard on him.
Today almost resulted in "Body Count: 1". Someone stole his salad from the fridge at work. Who the hell steals lettuce, celery, 2 eggs, and a radish? A big fucking asshole that can eat a dead goats balls, that's who. I'm packing all of tomorrow's food in containers that fit in the new lunchbox I got for him, along with an ice pack to put in it. By my guess, that should be enough to keep it cold until the dinner mark (6-ish). I managed to get him a chicken salad, but even so, chicken bought from a store that's precooked isn't great, theres's lots of crap in it sometimes.
I told him to put up a note that says, "Dear salad thief, thanks for the hypoglycemic episode." Sure it's overstating things a bit, but hell, you're going to be a dick and steal someone's dinner...
For dressing, I went with salsa tonight. This is one of my default salad dressings anyway, as it's low calorie, and is just more veggies. I got a pico de gallo style one, which I think feels more filling and less watery.
Today's Diet Adventure: Cucumber Mint Lime Salad
Not worth posting a full recipe as it was basically a tablespoon or so of vinegar, a cucumber, juice of a lime, a bunch of mint, and a sprinkle of Xyla. Would be better with some feta though. :P
He is ROCKING IT and needs a new belt. He's largely had a great attitude and has a lot of "eyes on the prize." I'm really proud of him for dealing with the restrictions so well. He's focusing on results, not what he can't have. I'm helping him focus on what he can have by keeping what he can have interesting. One of the hardest things about healthy eating is boredom.
The internet also helps a lot. I can usually pick out a couple of ingredients and search for them along with "hCG" and get a bunch of good stuff. That's been huge. A lot of it is just good food to eat, no matter who you are. It does kind of make me wonder why people need a special diet to eat well. On the other hand, being on a diet like this brings people on it together. They share resources, because it's not as mainstream.
Weekend went ok. Hubby did have one low blood sugar moment, which I would call his first issue, but recovered pretty quick. Low blood sugar is hard on him.
Today almost resulted in "Body Count: 1". Someone stole his salad from the fridge at work. Who the hell steals lettuce, celery, 2 eggs, and a radish? A big fucking asshole that can eat a dead goats balls, that's who. I'm packing all of tomorrow's food in containers that fit in the new lunchbox I got for him, along with an ice pack to put in it. By my guess, that should be enough to keep it cold until the dinner mark (6-ish). I managed to get him a chicken salad, but even so, chicken bought from a store that's precooked isn't great, theres's lots of crap in it sometimes.
I told him to put up a note that says, "Dear salad thief, thanks for the hypoglycemic episode." Sure it's overstating things a bit, but hell, you're going to be a dick and steal someone's dinner...
For dressing, I went with salsa tonight. This is one of my default salad dressings anyway, as it's low calorie, and is just more veggies. I got a pico de gallo style one, which I think feels more filling and less watery.
Today's Diet Adventure: Cucumber Mint Lime Salad
Not worth posting a full recipe as it was basically a tablespoon or so of vinegar, a cucumber, juice of a lime, a bunch of mint, and a sprinkle of Xyla. Would be better with some feta though. :P
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Recipe: Buffalo tomato sauce
Standard disclaimer:
Buy stuff that has no sugar, and preferably no other crap either. Additionally, keep in mind that this is aimed for an 800 calorie plan.
Also disclaimer:
I'm not on the hCG diet. I'm just a supportive spouse.
Servings: 3-4
On my husband's 800 calorie plan, it's 3 servings; on a lower 500 one, 4 servings.
Ingredients:
-1 can organic tomato sauce (15 ounce)
-1 lb lean ground buffalo
-Handful of spinach
-2 tablespoons garlic
-6-8 leaves fresh basil chopped
-1/2 white onion
-Italian herb to taste
-Red pepper flakes to taste
-Pepper to taste
Preparation:
Cook buffalo in pan. Put in strainer and run under hot water for a few minutes (this is a trick I use making chili to try to keep the fat content from becoming overwhelming).
Wipe out pan and put everything else in. Cover and cook on medium heat and stir frequently; my goal here was to get some of the moisture out so that it could be eaten by itself or on Miracle Noodles (which may not work out depending, we haven't tried them yet). The little bit of fat left from the buffalo will help it not stick too much.
Drain buffalo well and add back in; simmer, stirring frequently. Put to the side with the lid cracked to let out a bit more of the moisture. It may sound weird, but it makes it a bit thicker.
Optional:
Mixing this with a handful of Miracle Noodles is going over well.
Non-hCG spouse option:
Serve with whole wheat noodles and a bit of cheese if you'd like.
Notes:
This makes a surprisingly large amount of food; I believe it may count as two veggies, but that could be cut down by adding less tomato sauce and omitting the spinach, or would work as-is for those on a higher than 500 plan. Me, I confess, I just like tossing spinach in stuff.
More disclaimer:
This violates one commonly cited rule of the hCG diet, and that is to not mix veggies. However, the naturopath said it's fine to do so, and it helps keep enough variety in things. Additionally, I know this is a lot of veggies in one meal technically. He came in under calories by over 200 yesterday, so I'm trying to make up that difference a little bit by rounding out some stuff.
Buy stuff that has no sugar, and preferably no other crap either. Additionally, keep in mind that this is aimed for an 800 calorie plan.
Also disclaimer:
I'm not on the hCG diet. I'm just a supportive spouse.
Servings: 3-4
On my husband's 800 calorie plan, it's 3 servings; on a lower 500 one, 4 servings.
Ingredients:
-1 can organic tomato sauce (15 ounce)
-1 lb lean ground buffalo
-Handful of spinach
-2 tablespoons garlic
-6-8 leaves fresh basil chopped
-1/2 white onion
-Italian herb to taste
-Red pepper flakes to taste
-Pepper to taste
Preparation:
Cook buffalo in pan. Put in strainer and run under hot water for a few minutes (this is a trick I use making chili to try to keep the fat content from becoming overwhelming).
Wipe out pan and put everything else in. Cover and cook on medium heat and stir frequently; my goal here was to get some of the moisture out so that it could be eaten by itself or on Miracle Noodles (which may not work out depending, we haven't tried them yet). The little bit of fat left from the buffalo will help it not stick too much.
Drain buffalo well and add back in; simmer, stirring frequently. Put to the side with the lid cracked to let out a bit more of the moisture. It may sound weird, but it makes it a bit thicker.
Optional:
Mixing this with a handful of Miracle Noodles is going over well.
Non-hCG spouse option:
Serve with whole wheat noodles and a bit of cheese if you'd like.
Notes:
This makes a surprisingly large amount of food; I believe it may count as two veggies, but that could be cut down by adding less tomato sauce and omitting the spinach, or would work as-is for those on a higher than 500 plan. Me, I confess, I just like tossing spinach in stuff.
More disclaimer:
This violates one commonly cited rule of the hCG diet, and that is to not mix veggies. However, the naturopath said it's fine to do so, and it helps keep enough variety in things. Additionally, I know this is a lot of veggies in one meal technically. He came in under calories by over 200 yesterday, so I'm trying to make up that difference a little bit by rounding out some stuff.
Shopping list
Again, shopping is weird. I found myself buying a lot of prepackaged stuff for myself, mostly all natural stuff where possible. I'm a particular fan of anything from Amy's, but some other stuff works in a pinch. My thought is that if I give myself more options, it'll be easier for me to devote the time to helping him.
Stuff I've picked up:
-Stevia drops
-Xylitol sweetener
-Oranges, apples, strawberries
-Spinach, lettuce, radishes, celery, cucumber
-Ground buffalo
-Chicken breasts
-Tilapia
-Miracle noodles
-Lean pork (to make a ginger stirfry with the noodles)
-Eggs (free range, vegetarian fed, ect)
-Stevia sweetened soda
He's taking to the Stevia better than I'd thought; I'd tried for years to get him to eat some more healthy stuff, and it's neat that he's trying this stuff. For my part, tried Truvia in tea and coffee. It was the worst thing ever, and I found I was happier with small amounts of sugar (as, again, I was on a fairly standard well rounded diet, albeit I was a bit fanatical myself in spots, and admit that).
I'm thinking I can eat what he does, and supplement with brown rice, potatoes, ect. I do think I'm going to have to start tracking my food, though, as I may be in danger of taking in too few calories myself now. Which would be bad as I'm built like a German tank, and pride myself that I hold muscle well. I'd like to keep it there!
Stuff I've picked up:
-Stevia drops
-Xylitol sweetener
-Oranges, apples, strawberries
-Spinach, lettuce, radishes, celery, cucumber
-Ground buffalo
-Chicken breasts
-Tilapia
-Miracle noodles
-Lean pork (to make a ginger stirfry with the noodles)
-Eggs (free range, vegetarian fed, ect)
-Stevia sweetened soda
He's taking to the Stevia better than I'd thought; I'd tried for years to get him to eat some more healthy stuff, and it's neat that he's trying this stuff. For my part, tried Truvia in tea and coffee. It was the worst thing ever, and I found I was happier with small amounts of sugar (as, again, I was on a fairly standard well rounded diet, albeit I was a bit fanatical myself in spots, and admit that).
I'm thinking I can eat what he does, and supplement with brown rice, potatoes, ect. I do think I'm going to have to start tracking my food, though, as I may be in danger of taking in too few calories myself now. Which would be bad as I'm built like a German tank, and pride myself that I hold muscle well. I'd like to keep it there!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Support groups and salad dressing
As an aside, here is the rough recipe for the dressing. Mind you, I'm largely ballparking this as I don't measure anything. When people ask me for my chili recipe, I usually shrug. I managed to write most of it down, but even so, I don't follow it. I throw whatever I think is a good idea at the time into it, and I never taste it until it's ready to be served. I know, that's trouble waiting to be had.
My fans are not deterred by my sloppiness: this stuff is to die for. Hell, it will probably kill you. If the spiciness doesn't, the next day's consequences have a chance. If that doesn't do you in, wait for your arteries to clog. You know you want to.
Maybe it's no wonder we both have weight to lose? For me, though, I'd rather have a small bit of Death Chili than a huge bowl of something healthy, because some things are what they are. Tasty and bad for you. I'm fine with a tiny bit of bad for me, and eating some salad to round that out sometimes.
Onto the salad!
Drummergirl's First HCG Friendly Salad Dressing
(aka "Random Crap In A Cup And Cross Fingers" dressing)
Ingredients:
-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (I'm finding myself fond of Bragg's)
-2 tablespoon lemon juice
-.5 tablespoon brown spicy mustard
-1.5 tablespoon chopped green onion
-A dash of Bragg's Liquid Aminos
-1-2 drops liquid Stevia (I imagine this varies from brand to brand, but the stuff we have is really potent)
-Salt/pepper to taste (I also added some other seasoning salt mix I had)
A note on all ingredients: make sure there is no sugar in ANY item.
Preparation:
Prep is simple, throw it together and shake vigorously. I may even eat this!
The quantity is small, mainly because if I make a big batch, the green onions get a little brown. My suggestion would be to make a big container, and dole out smaller portions to add the onions to.
Support Groups
I was also thinking about support groups today. I heard that the wife of someone on my team is also doing the same diet. It made me think about if something like that would help my husband, some kind of support group. The problem is, we're not support group people.
When we did Weight Watchers a long time ago, part of why we didn't stick with it was the meetings. It was great that people came together to support each other, that they shared tips and ideas. However, there was so much feeling of validation, of "group hug!" constantly that it kind of turned us off from the whole thing. It felt kind of fake, as if no one were really talking about the challenges. We stopped going.
When I worked to lose weight, I didn't spend a lot of time with major support groups. Instead, I spent a lot of time in weight lifting communities, places where I could get tips, inspiration, and share my own successes. Support group? Perhaps. But a down to earth one for the most part.
After that, I ran a mailing list with tips and tricks, for eating, exercise, foods to eat, ect. I wrote lots of great articles, from the benefit of using a heart rate monitor to the joys of fruit. It helped focus me, to pass on this positive energy. This is the kind of support group that I feel can be very beneficial - it has a lot of room for the different ways people like to do things, without saying "this is the way to do it and that's it!" I don't think that's a good support group. I will say that if you're following a diet, yes, there may be one right way to do it. But that particular diet is not the One True Diet for everyone.
It happened with Atkins; people were fanatic in their devotion, and vocal in their criticism. It polarized people. HCG isn't really any different. Some people will say it's dangerous, some people will swear by it, some will swear by it to the point of aggression, some people will be supportive and thoughtful and encourage people to do what's right for them and give them resources. Every community has all of these types of people, I suppose. There's a trick to finding a balance between support and sounding crazy.
A diet like this simply would *not* work for me, and I would never want someone in a "support group" going off on me for that, attempting to correct me on my "facts" and how great it is. The only fact there is for me is: I lost 60 pounds with sensible eating and exercise. If that works for me, then that's that. If some other diet works for someone, same goes.
The internet is cool in that you can shop around for the kind of community you want, though. Having supportive people in your life is a must, whatever you do. I've been where my husband is to a degree - I've gone to restaurants where the only thing I can eat is a green salad with vinegar or salsa on it. I already have the tools to help. In a way, I'm really excited that now I can use some of the tricks I learned. On the other, I know this is going to be crazy some days. It's not a diet in which I can toss a high fiber granola bar in a bag and send him off to work.
I suppose my bottom line for support groups is, "Support networks are good, but taking fucking crazy people and feeding them 500 calories a day is a recipe for burning down the house." Stick with people with balanced perspectives, helpful advice, and a positive attitude. In life, these are always the best people to surround yourself with anyway.
My fans are not deterred by my sloppiness: this stuff is to die for. Hell, it will probably kill you. If the spiciness doesn't, the next day's consequences have a chance. If that doesn't do you in, wait for your arteries to clog. You know you want to.
Maybe it's no wonder we both have weight to lose? For me, though, I'd rather have a small bit of Death Chili than a huge bowl of something healthy, because some things are what they are. Tasty and bad for you. I'm fine with a tiny bit of bad for me, and eating some salad to round that out sometimes.
Onto the salad!
Drummergirl's First HCG Friendly Salad Dressing
(aka "Random Crap In A Cup And Cross Fingers" dressing)
Ingredients:
-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (I'm finding myself fond of Bragg's)
-2 tablespoon lemon juice
-.5 tablespoon brown spicy mustard
-1.5 tablespoon chopped green onion
-A dash of Bragg's Liquid Aminos
-1-2 drops liquid Stevia (I imagine this varies from brand to brand, but the stuff we have is really potent)
-Salt/pepper to taste (I also added some other seasoning salt mix I had)
A note on all ingredients: make sure there is no sugar in ANY item.
Preparation:
Prep is simple, throw it together and shake vigorously. I may even eat this!
The quantity is small, mainly because if I make a big batch, the green onions get a little brown. My suggestion would be to make a big container, and dole out smaller portions to add the onions to.
Support Groups
I was also thinking about support groups today. I heard that the wife of someone on my team is also doing the same diet. It made me think about if something like that would help my husband, some kind of support group. The problem is, we're not support group people.
When we did Weight Watchers a long time ago, part of why we didn't stick with it was the meetings. It was great that people came together to support each other, that they shared tips and ideas. However, there was so much feeling of validation, of "group hug!" constantly that it kind of turned us off from the whole thing. It felt kind of fake, as if no one were really talking about the challenges. We stopped going.
When I worked to lose weight, I didn't spend a lot of time with major support groups. Instead, I spent a lot of time in weight lifting communities, places where I could get tips, inspiration, and share my own successes. Support group? Perhaps. But a down to earth one for the most part.
After that, I ran a mailing list with tips and tricks, for eating, exercise, foods to eat, ect. I wrote lots of great articles, from the benefit of using a heart rate monitor to the joys of fruit. It helped focus me, to pass on this positive energy. This is the kind of support group that I feel can be very beneficial - it has a lot of room for the different ways people like to do things, without saying "this is the way to do it and that's it!" I don't think that's a good support group. I will say that if you're following a diet, yes, there may be one right way to do it. But that particular diet is not the One True Diet for everyone.
It happened with Atkins; people were fanatic in their devotion, and vocal in their criticism. It polarized people. HCG isn't really any different. Some people will say it's dangerous, some people will swear by it, some will swear by it to the point of aggression, some people will be supportive and thoughtful and encourage people to do what's right for them and give them resources. Every community has all of these types of people, I suppose. There's a trick to finding a balance between support and sounding crazy.
A diet like this simply would *not* work for me, and I would never want someone in a "support group" going off on me for that, attempting to correct me on my "facts" and how great it is. The only fact there is for me is: I lost 60 pounds with sensible eating and exercise. If that works for me, then that's that. If some other diet works for someone, same goes.
The internet is cool in that you can shop around for the kind of community you want, though. Having supportive people in your life is a must, whatever you do. I've been where my husband is to a degree - I've gone to restaurants where the only thing I can eat is a green salad with vinegar or salsa on it. I already have the tools to help. In a way, I'm really excited that now I can use some of the tricks I learned. On the other, I know this is going to be crazy some days. It's not a diet in which I can toss a high fiber granola bar in a bag and send him off to work.
I suppose my bottom line for support groups is, "Support networks are good, but taking fucking crazy people and feeding them 500 calories a day is a recipe for burning down the house." Stick with people with balanced perspectives, helpful advice, and a positive attitude. In life, these are always the best people to surround yourself with anyway.
Day 4
Last night I was up super late making stuff. Boiled a few eggs, made some salad dressing. Packed up some lettuce, a radish, and some cucumber into a container. Salad dressing was made with vinegar, spicy brown mustard, green onions, lemon juice, salt/pepper, and a drop of Stevia. He actually seemed to like it.
I sent him off today with an apple, the salad and stuff, the dressing, and two hard boiled eggs. He also ate some strawberries. I can already see that eggs are going to be a regular staple, as they're a lot easier than trying to heat up a piece of chicken (which can, I suppose, be eaten cold, but I'm not a fan of cold chicken and won't inflict it on him).
The total as of now is at around 275 calories for the day. I'm more than a little creeped out. It's starting to show, he's starting to look a little down and out. By the time he has dinner, it'll be just past 500 for the day. Since he's able to go up to 800, he'll have some wiggle room for another apple, some cottage cheese, ect.
Dinner for him is a lean sirloin steak (very small though :P) and some steamed asparagus. However, this is a pretty standard dinner, size-wise, for me, so I know I'll be good (I'm going to eat a piece of spicy sausage tonight).
Still a bit surreal, I think. We bought some "miracle noodles" tonight. What's weird about that is that it's the kind of stuff I always tried to get him to eat when I was eating super healthy, and he wasn't very keen on it.
I suppose I understand that, though. When I finally realized that I wanted to lose weight, that motivation, that drive, only came to me when I was ready to make the change. For me, that was when my cholesterol reached over 250 and I realized that I was on the crazy train to killing myself the long way. What followed was a lot of tracking my food, making better choices, exercising, and lifting weights. It changed my life, but it started, when it came down to it, in me.
As a result, though, I know how to cook healthy, and I'm not afraid to experiment. I have a very limited set of foods to work with, which is annoying yet challenging at the same time. I think he feels the annoyance more than me, as I am pretty strict about saying "You can't have that." I feel like a jerk sometimes, but I think the best way to be supportive is to help him succeed. Sometimes that's going to mean I'm a jerk.
I think one of the next purchases is going to be a steamer basket thingie for the microwave. That way, I can send him off with fresh veggies, and he can steam them and eat them. Otherwise, I have to send everything raw (good for some stuff, not for others), or cook it and pack it, which means it'll get cold and mushy. In which case, he'll treat it like our cats treat an apple. He might lick it, but then he'll end up backing away slowly and giving me a look that says, "You have to be KIDDING me!"
I know it's odd to suddenly blog here about all this. This blog started out, though, at it's core, about how I wanted to do something else. How I wanted to have options, and how I wanted to change my life. It seems a fitting place for this. Who knows, perhaps there are other spouses out there who are also finding themselves in the same support role that I am.
I sent him off today with an apple, the salad and stuff, the dressing, and two hard boiled eggs. He also ate some strawberries. I can already see that eggs are going to be a regular staple, as they're a lot easier than trying to heat up a piece of chicken (which can, I suppose, be eaten cold, but I'm not a fan of cold chicken and won't inflict it on him).
The total as of now is at around 275 calories for the day. I'm more than a little creeped out. It's starting to show, he's starting to look a little down and out. By the time he has dinner, it'll be just past 500 for the day. Since he's able to go up to 800, he'll have some wiggle room for another apple, some cottage cheese, ect.
Dinner for him is a lean sirloin steak (very small though :P) and some steamed asparagus. However, this is a pretty standard dinner, size-wise, for me, so I know I'll be good (I'm going to eat a piece of spicy sausage tonight).
Still a bit surreal, I think. We bought some "miracle noodles" tonight. What's weird about that is that it's the kind of stuff I always tried to get him to eat when I was eating super healthy, and he wasn't very keen on it.
I suppose I understand that, though. When I finally realized that I wanted to lose weight, that motivation, that drive, only came to me when I was ready to make the change. For me, that was when my cholesterol reached over 250 and I realized that I was on the crazy train to killing myself the long way. What followed was a lot of tracking my food, making better choices, exercising, and lifting weights. It changed my life, but it started, when it came down to it, in me.
As a result, though, I know how to cook healthy, and I'm not afraid to experiment. I have a very limited set of foods to work with, which is annoying yet challenging at the same time. I think he feels the annoyance more than me, as I am pretty strict about saying "You can't have that." I feel like a jerk sometimes, but I think the best way to be supportive is to help him succeed. Sometimes that's going to mean I'm a jerk.
I think one of the next purchases is going to be a steamer basket thingie for the microwave. That way, I can send him off with fresh veggies, and he can steam them and eat them. Otherwise, I have to send everything raw (good for some stuff, not for others), or cook it and pack it, which means it'll get cold and mushy. In which case, he'll treat it like our cats treat an apple. He might lick it, but then he'll end up backing away slowly and giving me a look that says, "You have to be KIDDING me!"
I know it's odd to suddenly blog here about all this. This blog started out, though, at it's core, about how I wanted to do something else. How I wanted to have options, and how I wanted to change my life. It seems a fitting place for this. Who knows, perhaps there are other spouses out there who are also finding themselves in the same support role that I am.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Hubby and hCG: Day 3
First off, it's already clear: this diet is going to require mad planning skills that I don't have. Even when I was eating extremely healthy myself, I did have room to play it by ear. Wanted a cookie? Sure, I can have a cookie, I just have to have less of something else later.
There's not much wiggle room, really. Every day he gets a couple of fruits, a couple of veggies, around 10-12 oz protein, as much tea and water as he wants, and not a whole lot else. I'd want to do more than punch someone in the face, I'd probably punch myself in the face, then start eating my own fist out of desperation.
Mmm tasty, meaty hand of mine...
Ahem.
If these planning skills are beyond me, I didn't want to think about what this would do to my beloved husband. When his blood sugar is low, he becomes... difficult. Difficult like pushing a minivan up a hill in a wheelchair. He doesn't think when he's hungry. So I'm going to have to think for him.
Make no comments about typical women here - I'll kick your ass, and then I'll send my husband along to finish the job, assuming I can get his blood sugar up high enough.
Today was hard in terms of him finding food he liked and could eat. I did some shopping to see if I could help. Shopping for this stuff is surreal. It's a paradigm shift. It's also stressful - I know I'm going to be the primary person who has to manage this stuff. It's kind of a big load to know that I have to always be on the lookout, always have to be the control factor. If I don't stock the house with the right food, who will? He hates grocery shopping almost as much as he hates needles!
He is, however, determined. I admire him a lot for that.
I bought a ridiculously expensive load of stuff, most of it stuff that I got for him to eat, but also a nice portion of quick food that won't kill me so that when things get nuts I at least can still eat decent.
Body count is still at 0, so that's a good day. Hunger set in as the evening waned, and I attempted to stave it off by blending up nonfat cottage cheese, strawberries, and a few drops of Stevia. He ate it, but looked extremely disturbed by the whole thing.
Next step is to try to work up some recipes, as I'm sure salad and chicken is going to get old pretty fast.
I really hope this works for him. Hell, I may end up losing a few pounds, too, who knows. If nothing else, I'll burn lots of calories wandering the grocery store trying to find something he can eat.
There's not much wiggle room, really. Every day he gets a couple of fruits, a couple of veggies, around 10-12 oz protein, as much tea and water as he wants, and not a whole lot else. I'd want to do more than punch someone in the face, I'd probably punch myself in the face, then start eating my own fist out of desperation.
Mmm tasty, meaty hand of mine...
Ahem.
If these planning skills are beyond me, I didn't want to think about what this would do to my beloved husband. When his blood sugar is low, he becomes... difficult. Difficult like pushing a minivan up a hill in a wheelchair. He doesn't think when he's hungry. So I'm going to have to think for him.
Make no comments about typical women here - I'll kick your ass, and then I'll send my husband along to finish the job, assuming I can get his blood sugar up high enough.
Today was hard in terms of him finding food he liked and could eat. I did some shopping to see if I could help. Shopping for this stuff is surreal. It's a paradigm shift. It's also stressful - I know I'm going to be the primary person who has to manage this stuff. It's kind of a big load to know that I have to always be on the lookout, always have to be the control factor. If I don't stock the house with the right food, who will? He hates grocery shopping almost as much as he hates needles!
He is, however, determined. I admire him a lot for that.
I bought a ridiculously expensive load of stuff, most of it stuff that I got for him to eat, but also a nice portion of quick food that won't kill me so that when things get nuts I at least can still eat decent.
Body count is still at 0, so that's a good day. Hunger set in as the evening waned, and I attempted to stave it off by blending up nonfat cottage cheese, strawberries, and a few drops of Stevia. He ate it, but looked extremely disturbed by the whole thing.
Next step is to try to work up some recipes, as I'm sure salad and chicken is going to get old pretty fast.
I really hope this works for him. Hell, I may end up losing a few pounds, too, who knows. If nothing else, I'll burn lots of calories wandering the grocery store trying to find something he can eat.
Crazy diet stuff
A lot going on around here lately, the largest impact of which is my husband's weight loss quest. After not having a lot of luck through conventional means, he has decided to try the hCG Diet.
We met with the naturopath on Tuesday, who walked us through it all. If you haven't heard of it, it is basically an extremely restricted diet combined with injections of the pregnancy hormone hCG. Some people do drops or creams, but apparently injections are the way to go. There's a lot of information on the internet about it, a number of pro and cons, a whole ton of testimonials and a whole ton of people warning people against it. The key principle is that with the hCG, the body instead burns it's own fat (not muscle) and can subsist on a very low number of calories. In his case, he has been put on around 800 calories a day. People have reported losing .5-1 lbs a day loss, and are able to keep it off.
This entire thing is crazy. I've seen lots of crazy diets, the most recent of which came in the form of the Paleo diet. Now, I'm not saying it doesn't have it's merit, absolutely there are very positive things about it. Everyone should be eating a lot more vegetables. I think my thought on that much restriction was summed up by a friend who tried it. "I wanted to punch the person that suggested this in the face, and force feed her a sheet cake."
Intentionally sticking a needle in oneself every morning, so you can go through the rest of the day eating almost nothing? I'll be over in the corner, eating the baked potato that you can't have because you're on it. Good by me, I need the potassium.
The naturopath said, "Typically, success is best with the support of a spouse." I agree, but not I think how she meant it. There are two decisions I made where this was concerned:
1) I am not doing the hCG diet. While I know that it would help my husband to have someone go through it with him, I have a number of reasons. For starters, I don't like diets like this; I lost 60lbs the old fashioned way, by eating sensibly and exercising. It look me longer, sure, but I did it. Perhaps the even larger motivation for me is the headaches: I have been having headaches almost constantly since February or March. Doing the math on that, that's months of headaches. I've been taken off of birth control pills and I now have an IUD. I'm starting to improve. HCG would raise the levels of progesterone in my system, which would risk putting me right back where I was, pain wise.
Plus, to put it plainly, this shit is wack.
2) I have decided to eat the same foods that he does when he can. Obviously not in the same quantities; I need at least 1200 calories, and preferably 1400-1700 based on my activity level. I can eat the same stuff he does for the most part, and then use the rest of the calories on the other foods I need that he can't have.
It's a very restrictive diet, though. Amazingly so.
The first day, the naturopath gave him the shot. It's a fairly standard needle, but gets plunged straight into the leg.
Did I mention my husband hates needles? When I got my first occipital nerve block he had such a look horror on his face when the doctor stuck the needles in the back of my head. He pales at the sight of them. He hates having anything stuck in him at all.
Those of you who read back will see: I have no fear of needles. Even I cringed when she jabbed him, and I was certain I'd be giving him the shot from there on out. It has to be fast, like a Needle Ninja, or it hurts like a bastard.
The first two days were loading days, where he was told to eat everything in sight. That was fun because then we both started destroying all the foods he couldn't have. Not so good for me, but hey, at least I got some cake and pumpkin pie out of the deal.
Day 2, he had to give himself his own shot. I took it out of the fridge and put it out for him. By the time I came back, he was sitting there staring at the syringe. I asked if I needed to give him the shot. He said that he'd already done it.
This is huge, people. HUGE. I'm so proud of him, because that's determination. I'd have a hard time putting a needle in my leg.
Today's experience, day 3 and the first day of really following the plan, has made me think that perhaps I should be blogging about all of this. More to come.
We met with the naturopath on Tuesday, who walked us through it all. If you haven't heard of it, it is basically an extremely restricted diet combined with injections of the pregnancy hormone hCG. Some people do drops or creams, but apparently injections are the way to go. There's a lot of information on the internet about it, a number of pro and cons, a whole ton of testimonials and a whole ton of people warning people against it. The key principle is that with the hCG, the body instead burns it's own fat (not muscle) and can subsist on a very low number of calories. In his case, he has been put on around 800 calories a day. People have reported losing .5-1 lbs a day loss, and are able to keep it off.
This entire thing is crazy. I've seen lots of crazy diets, the most recent of which came in the form of the Paleo diet. Now, I'm not saying it doesn't have it's merit, absolutely there are very positive things about it. Everyone should be eating a lot more vegetables. I think my thought on that much restriction was summed up by a friend who tried it. "I wanted to punch the person that suggested this in the face, and force feed her a sheet cake."
Intentionally sticking a needle in oneself every morning, so you can go through the rest of the day eating almost nothing? I'll be over in the corner, eating the baked potato that you can't have because you're on it. Good by me, I need the potassium.
The naturopath said, "Typically, success is best with the support of a spouse." I agree, but not I think how she meant it. There are two decisions I made where this was concerned:
1) I am not doing the hCG diet. While I know that it would help my husband to have someone go through it with him, I have a number of reasons. For starters, I don't like diets like this; I lost 60lbs the old fashioned way, by eating sensibly and exercising. It look me longer, sure, but I did it. Perhaps the even larger motivation for me is the headaches: I have been having headaches almost constantly since February or March. Doing the math on that, that's months of headaches. I've been taken off of birth control pills and I now have an IUD. I'm starting to improve. HCG would raise the levels of progesterone in my system, which would risk putting me right back where I was, pain wise.
Plus, to put it plainly, this shit is wack.
2) I have decided to eat the same foods that he does when he can. Obviously not in the same quantities; I need at least 1200 calories, and preferably 1400-1700 based on my activity level. I can eat the same stuff he does for the most part, and then use the rest of the calories on the other foods I need that he can't have.
It's a very restrictive diet, though. Amazingly so.
The first day, the naturopath gave him the shot. It's a fairly standard needle, but gets plunged straight into the leg.
Did I mention my husband hates needles? When I got my first occipital nerve block he had such a look horror on his face when the doctor stuck the needles in the back of my head. He pales at the sight of them. He hates having anything stuck in him at all.
Those of you who read back will see: I have no fear of needles. Even I cringed when she jabbed him, and I was certain I'd be giving him the shot from there on out. It has to be fast, like a Needle Ninja, or it hurts like a bastard.
The first two days were loading days, where he was told to eat everything in sight. That was fun because then we both started destroying all the foods he couldn't have. Not so good for me, but hey, at least I got some cake and pumpkin pie out of the deal.
Day 2, he had to give himself his own shot. I took it out of the fridge and put it out for him. By the time I came back, he was sitting there staring at the syringe. I asked if I needed to give him the shot. He said that he'd already done it.
This is huge, people. HUGE. I'm so proud of him, because that's determination. I'd have a hard time putting a needle in my leg.
Today's experience, day 3 and the first day of really following the plan, has made me think that perhaps I should be blogging about all of this. More to come.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
A New Blog
About me:
I've been blogging around here at http://cravingchange.blogspot.com/. I like my cravingchange blog, but frankly, I've been calling myself "Drummergirl" there for a while. I wanted something of a clean slate, something that's me that could convey things as they are today.
As a rule, I've been anonymous on Blogger. I don't plan on changing that, so if you know my Sekrit Identity please keep it as such. I'd like this to be a place I can be honest without worrying about who may see it. If you know me in "real life", though, I'm happy to have you here. Good friends are like socks, I can never have too many. My husband on the other hand really does have too many socks.
I like drumming, video games, gardening, hiking, and probably some other random stuff. I'm your standard geek working in software.
Why I'm Here:
My husband has decided to go on the hCG diet. This is one of the single most weird things in over 14 years of being together.
He hasn't had a lot of luck with normal weight loss strategies. Part of that is that they take time and he's busy, always on the go. Another part of it is that I think he gets discouraged that it seems to take so long. Weight loss and health is a journey.
I've walked this road before. I'm ideally suited for helping him rock this bitch down the street, around the corner, and up the hill, all without going over the cliff on the other side.
Cravingchange was, at it's core, about empowerment, about wanting to shake things up. Reading back, there's a lot of soul searching. Seeing my husband go through a lot of me wanting to empower myself. When I first started the cravingchange blog, the second post said the following:
There is nothing more empowering than realizing, “I can.”
My husband is there now, so I'm along for the ride.
What to expect:
I'm not the only person supporting a spouse on a diet like this. One thing I'd like to do here is get out my thoughts on it, and give some tips and tricks to help others as we move along. Recipes, ways to alter them for the non-hCG dieter, rants and raves as need, and a dash of my own brand of crazy, as I am undoubtedly a bit nutty in the head.
I've been blogging around here at http://cravingchange.blogspot.com/. I like my cravingchange blog, but frankly, I've been calling myself "Drummergirl" there for a while. I wanted something of a clean slate, something that's me that could convey things as they are today.
As a rule, I've been anonymous on Blogger. I don't plan on changing that, so if you know my Sekrit Identity please keep it as such. I'd like this to be a place I can be honest without worrying about who may see it. If you know me in "real life", though, I'm happy to have you here. Good friends are like socks, I can never have too many. My husband on the other hand really does have too many socks.
I like drumming, video games, gardening, hiking, and probably some other random stuff. I'm your standard geek working in software.
Why I'm Here:
My husband has decided to go on the hCG diet. This is one of the single most weird things in over 14 years of being together.
He hasn't had a lot of luck with normal weight loss strategies. Part of that is that they take time and he's busy, always on the go. Another part of it is that I think he gets discouraged that it seems to take so long. Weight loss and health is a journey.
I've walked this road before. I'm ideally suited for helping him rock this bitch down the street, around the corner, and up the hill, all without going over the cliff on the other side.
Cravingchange was, at it's core, about empowerment, about wanting to shake things up. Reading back, there's a lot of soul searching. Seeing my husband go through a lot of me wanting to empower myself. When I first started the cravingchange blog, the second post said the following:
There is nothing more empowering than realizing, “I can.”
My husband is there now, so I'm along for the ride.
What to expect:
I'm not the only person supporting a spouse on a diet like this. One thing I'd like to do here is get out my thoughts on it, and give some tips and tricks to help others as we move along. Recipes, ways to alter them for the non-hCG dieter, rants and raves as need, and a dash of my own brand of crazy, as I am undoubtedly a bit nutty in the head.
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