Flirty Thirties, Sporty Forties

Dear gentle reader… Just a quick post to let you know I’m still continuing on with this new way of eating. I sometime stop in amazement at some of things I’m going.  A couple days ago it was the realization that I really like a particular spice. Normally I just bought mixes and never gave a thought to what was in there. Now I can say with certainty: I really like cumin! Last night, it was the amazement that thanks to my many recent spice purchases (thank you, Aldi), I was able to make multiple recipes without wondering if I had the right things on hand and whether or not one green spice would be an appropriate substitution for another green spice (parsley, oregano, thyme, others).  My new typical grocery haul  Yesterday alone, I prepared the following for this week ahead: 3 servings of whole grain spaghetti 1 serving of oatmeal for today (they are quick oats so I only do them the day before) 1 large apricot/thyme glazed chicken breast Pinto beans Black beans Roasted red a...

 So I’m for sure many of you who KNOW me, the million dollar question is: Are you going to be able to keep this up and stick to it? The good news is habits take anywhere from 4-6h to really stick and I’m past the 4 week mark for eating health so I am feeling determined to find a way to make it stick, even though there’s a steep learning curve ahead for me when it comes to cooking/cutting/storing/meal-prepping.  Food takes a lot of thought and even creativity that I just usually don’t have the patience for. I’d rather daydream about travel. The Quick Oats are working beautifully and I’ve had those plus fruit, nuts, and plain yogurt for a few breakfasts now.  They taste just like the ones from the trial. Yesterday I made my first batch of pinto beans using my Zavor (like an Instant Pot), washed and “dosed” all my grapes, and ate only good things. I will update the label on the bin Today I made a batch of Lentil Chili, batch prepped 4 side salads, and did a pile of chopping....

 Oh boy…this is it!  It just hit me today around 5:30 PM that I actually have to think about what I’m going to cook tomorrow!  It has been SO NICE not needing to think about cooking/preparing food for this past month. I had my moment of panic but I do have one mini reprieve: I never needed use the emergency meals they send you home with on Day 1. They do that in case something happens and you can’t make it in to pick up food. I never needed them so … vegetarian chili is what is for lunch tomorrow! Tomorrow morning I’ll be trying to remember how to scramble eggs and where I put all my stuff for doing that!  🤪 Tomorrow morning are my final measurements and my final labs. I’m really excited to see the results and hope they continue to be going in the right direction.  Fingers crossed! 🤞 Instant gratification has been pretty nice, seeing changes after just 2-3 weeks, but I understand with more time they will continue to improve if I stick with it. Here is my photo...

 Today was a little tricky because I went and dropped off my car for what I thought would be a quick service appointment. I ate breakfast before going down there, but then realized the car wouldn’t be ready until after 3, so I made the 1h journey home (walking + subway) so I could eat my lunch and take a guilt free nap.  I got my car, did a quick Costco run, and then came home to start very preliminary meal prepping! I’m hoping that I don’t have to return the “emergency” meals I have in the freezer that the study sends me home with in case I am unable to come in and get food one day. If I can keep them, I will eat them Thursday. Here are my containers, ready to go.   I’ve been figuring out how many servings of each category I need each week so I can be fairly systematic about it. Yes, I’m going to be dosing my food!  Tonight I measured out the almonds and walnuts. I still need to pick up oats and sunflower seeds and then I’ll have everything to get started. I probabl...

1/28/24: Day 25 already! I’m saying farewell to some favorite meals, like the spaghetti with pinto beans and tomatoes tonight and the oatmeal with strawberries for breakfast, plus being glad to be done with the ones I won’t miss (the salmon, green pepper, onion, and spinach salad this afternoon). The BIG thing is continuing this on my own. Yesterday and today were my first shopping outings. It is going to take a lot of thinking, planning, and discipline but having the menu template really helps me feel confident. I bought quinoa, non-fat yogurt, and beans other than green beans for the first time ever!!  I almost expected to be carded or need to show proof of identity.  Groceries I have picked up these past two days Pinto beans, dry Black beans, dry Chickpeas/garbanzo beans, dry Lentils, dry. These aren’t on my recent menu but I really like lentil chili Quinoa, dry Whole grain penne Non-fat plain Greek yogurt Fat free Lactaid milk Oranges (2) Fuji apples (3 pound bag) Tilapia ...

 1/22 Today I started to think ahead and even worry a little bit about how I will continue to make good choices when I am not eating at home, when I don’t have as much control. I went to the DC Auto Show today and realized if I needed a little something extra to eat, I would have had to break the diet. There was no shortage of pop, potato chips, candy, etc.  I also got to thinking about restaurants. My go-to is usually chicken strips 😏. I will have to start looking at menus.  I also haven’t figured out where exactly cheese fits into those four food groups, and of course by groups I mean levels of processing.  I don’t have any answers yet but I’m starting to think ahead so I can have a plan for that part of life.  I will be sure to ask for all the educational materials they give the participants in the long-term, 12 month arm of the study!  Honestly one of my favorite things from the car show today was getting to try out an e-bike. I couldn’t stop giggling ...

 Today was my favorite breakfast: oatmeal with strawberries. I chopped up some of the walnuts and tossed them in as well.  I’m never 100% sure what I’m supposed to do with everything, because they give me apples, walnuts, and milk plus the oatmeal with strawberries already in it.  I like how the oatmeal is almost a baked consistency. It’s not runny, something you can scoop up with a ladle. I’ll have to ask before the study is over. Lunch: not my favorite, something I already know I won’t continue eating: salmon salad. It is spinach, green peppers, raw onions, sunflower seeds, olive oil/vinegar dressing, and canned salmon. It always comes with oranges so I cut up some of those and throw them in to make it feel life flavor roulette with each fork full.  Dinner: Whole wheat spaghetti, pinto beans, tomatoes, and spices.  I did a good job and ate a lot of that. I also had my daily side salad.  Snack: grapes and Greek yogurt. Weight loss has been a nice perk, but...

1/20/24. No food photos today, though it was one of my favorite breakfasts: scrambled egg and roast potatoes. Also, nonfat Greek yogurt and fruit. I’m a little sad that I only have that coming back around one more time! I’m past the halfway mark! Lunch was the garlic lemon tilapia I like so much, with the couscous I just really struggle with. It tastes harsh to me, I can’t come up with a better term for it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Dinner was vegetarian chili, side salad, and apples.  My thoughts are starting to turn to how to keep this up when I am doing it on my own. I typed up the weekly menu and tried to quantify how many times a day I was having fruit, nuts, grains, or dairy, plus I was looking to understand the pattern of what went together. Example: most snacks are a fruit and a fat, whether nuts or yogurt.  I need to get the black bean dip recipe because it is great with carrots! I did NOT expect it to be that good!

Oops - missed a day yesterday! 1/18/24:  To say I am happy and ecstatic is an understatement!  I volunteered for this trial because I *knew* I needed to change my diet and eat better. I have wanted to try the Mediterranean diet but never really knew where to start, what to cook, etc.  This trial was the perfect situation for me: the diet provides the food for these 4 weeks (yay), it's for science so I'm not going to take it seriously and not cheat, AND I get objective evidence through my bloodwork of what is going on in my body. I went into this with an A1c (average blood sugar for the past 3 months) of 5.7, which is in the pre-diabetes range, and I've had a cholesterol in the 200s for probably 10 years by now. And by 200s, I don't mean 200-210.  I didn't like where I was going, but thought I was powerless to overcome my genes and my sweet tooth.  Previous attempts to quit sugar did not go well. I already started to see changes after one week, but the changes af...

 Lucky Day 13 of the 28 day Spinach Challenge! Tomorrow is the halfway point! I’m sort of sad about that! Today’s my first day with a little headache. That could be from any number of things so I’m not worried that I’m having belated sugar withdrawals.  I was really hungry today so I didn’t bother taking pictures. Breakfast: sweet potatoes with green peppers and onions, grapes, walnuts Lunch: Salmon & spinach salad (with carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc) with red wine vinaigrette, apples, almonds I was hungry between meals so went back and ate more of the carrots and spinach that I hadn’t finished during lunch.  It is a big weird adjustment because it is a lot of food and a lot of chewing to get the same amount of calories.  I probably am getting full faster, so don’t eat it all, but then get hungry again.  I am definitely having moments of feeling hungry so it is good to learn and pay attention to my hunger cues. Dinner: Baked cod, whole wheat spaghetti, t...

 1/15/24, day 12. It’s snowing! I had to run an errand to Costco to pick up glasses so wandered over to the grocery section, past all the snack temptations, to see what they have that I might buy going forward.  While waiting to be helped, I was watching the TVs show reruns in incredible definition of creating some chocolate/walnut/cranberry dessert bark, which made me think of walnuts. I will likely get a bag of almonds, bag of walnuts, and a bag of quinoa there. I didn’t see any dry beans except a massive bag of black beans.  I appreciated today for the first time how much more free time I have had these last two weeks thanks to NOT cooking and NOT going to grocery stores or thinking about food! I will definitely miss this amazing convenience. I’m pretty sure it would be cost prohibitive to try to do this full time, but I am optimistic that with some meal prepping, I can stick to most of this. The proteins will probably be hardest except for the egg.  Breakfast: oa...

 These days are truly flying by! I am almost to the halfway point.  I am drinking unsweetened tea and not finding it as bitter, I am loving how sweet fruits are, even blueberries! Today at church I had a sip of grape juice for communion and whoo, that was shockingly sweet! I am pretty sure it is me and my tastebuds that have changed. Breakfast; skim milk, apples, walnuts, and oatmeal with frozen strawberries.  This should fuel me nicely for my long run today.  Lunch was salmon, spinach, onions, green peppers, and sunflower seeds (salad), and oranges. Dressing was olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Dinner was whole wheat spaghetti, olive oil, the good spices, tomatoes, and pinto beans. There was also a side salad with red wine vinegar/olive oil dressing. I sure eat a lot of spinach! I am glad it is largely flavorless so I don’t get sick of it. This pasta dish is actually pretty good. I’ll likely make it again.  Due to eating at slightly off times today, I did not ha...

 For the first time that I can remember, I was craving a salad today! I also think of my spinach, tomato, cucumber side salad as “bright” and fresh. 🥗  I wasn’t able to eat yesterday’s side salad because I was too full. Thankfully I had two of them to enjoy. I like tossing in some sunflower seeds from my snack for extra crunch. The food will be repeating a lot going forward but everything is still going well!  Lemon Garlic tilapia and the side salad Dinner: oranges, vegetarian chili, and side salad #2.  The snack for today was grapes, apples, and sunflower seeds. I’m truly getting my five recommended servings a day, probably for the first time ever!

 1/12/24 Black bean dip and carrot snack Today was the day of quinoa! Breakfast was quinoa with blueberries, almonds, and a cup of fat free milk. Lunch Quinoa, pinto bean, spinach, tomato, cucumber, and carrot salad with red wine vinaigrette sixteen grapes and plain Greek yogurt Dinner Paprika, cumin, oregano tilapia, side salad (too full to get to that), roast potatoes, and broccoli. Today’s snack was slice apples plus carrots and a surprisingly delicious black bean dip (photo at the top). It tastes pleasantly southwestern. If I get hungry later tonight, I am going to eat more carrots with that.  I am starting to make a mental shopping list for when I need to do this on my own: Fat free plain Greek yogurt  Skim lactaid milk Oatmeal Brown rice  Blueberries Strawberries Grapes Apples A big bag of spinach Sweet potatoes A couple tomatoes A couple cucumbers Avocado Broccoli Baby carrots Red or yellow peppers Onion Garlic Black beans Chickpeas Pinto beans Almonds, plain ...

 1/11/24: One week in! I'm very proud of myself!  I'm doing this!  I'm also very relieved that it's going so well. Last night I had what I would describe as an almond epiphany.  For the first time ever, I could taste the flavor of almonds in almonds. That might not make sense, so let me explain.  I love almond flavoring in frosting and certain pastries, but I never understood the connection between the nuts and that flavor.  Last night for the first time ever, I did taste a bit of whatever that magic is in the actual nut itself. Pretty cool! Breakfast: Oatmeal, apples, and an egg with green peppers & onions, and a glass of skim milk Lunch : Baked sweet potato with vegetarian chili, side salad of spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, and an astonishing number of carrots, olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. I think I had grapes with this meal as well. Snack : Oranges and more almonds I went for a run after work and that went fine. I wasn't too terribly famis...

 1/10/24, already into our first double digit day of 2024! Breakfast: oatmeal, blueberries, and chopped up walnuts. Not picture: raisins and a glass of skim Lactaid milk Lunch This was before I heated it. Top: A little piece of boneless skinless chicken flavored with garlic, though I couldn’t detect it, cooked in olive oil.  Lower left: plain quinoa Right: sautéed spinach  Not pictured: baby carrots  This afternoon I’m actually hungry. That wasn’t much chicken! I am breaking into the plain fat free yogurt and grapes and almonds snack so I can find some pep to run. This was one of those days I would normally stress eat during meetings or immediately after work, so the fact I didn’t do that is progress already.  I really haven’t thought about or been tempted to cheat. In fact I threw out my go-to pizzas and burgers that only took 1-3 minutes to cook! If anything, some of these foods could use more flavor to make them palatable since garlic or balsamic vinegar can ...

 1/9/24 Breakfast was sweet potato cubes with green peppers and onions. My stomach doesn’t do so well with that in the morning but I ate it, plus the grapes and walnuts. Lunch, sorry no photo- was hungry and just started eating: Salmon, Spinach, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and black beans with red wine vinaigrette, plus almonds and apples. Dinner:  Tonight it was Cod with Scampi or Cod Scampi. I don’t know what Scampi is or means but I didn’t see anything else in there that I didn’t recognize. The pasta is whole grain and there are tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano in there for flavor. Not pictured is the side salad (🥗 cucumber, spinach, tomato) with olive oil + balsamic vinegar dressing.  Tonight’s snack was oranges and sunflower seeds. I tossed a few of the seeds in the dinner side salad just for fun. 

1/8 I was really glad to talk to the dietician today so we could adjust the calories going forward! No wonder I felt overwhelmed with the amount of food - I think they mistook me for my teenage nephew 😄 Breakfast was oatmeal with blueberries and a yogurt+strawberry+banana smoothie. I did oatmeal first, smoothie a while later. Lunch: Baked Tilapia (above) flavored with paprika, cumin, and oregano. Sides were plain brown rice and sautéed stomach. There was also a spinach/carrot/tomato side salad with olive oil and vinegar. I was able to eat all the tilapia and the side salad plus some of the rice. I tried the spinach but definitely prefer it uncooked. Dinner: I have been looking forward to this: Southwest Chicken Salad, with black beans, spinach, chicken, corn, tomatoes, and avocado, tossed in red wine vinegar and olive oil. It was beautiful! This evening while watching the football game, I ate the apples that were assigned with dinner. I went for a run but didn’t need the extra snack t...

1/7 Breakfast this morning was oatmeal with strawberries (frozen, no sugar added). That was pretty good, I would make that again.  I also had 8 oz Lactaid skim milk, a bag of anpples, and a little cup of walnuts to eat. I did pretty good getting all of that finished, though I saved half the apples to eat with the Greek yogurt as a snack later. After adding some oranges Lunch: A giant salad of spinach, salmon, sunflower seeds, green peppers, and onions with olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing.  It was a lot of food and I couldn't eat it all but it wasn't bad  This is only the second time I've ever eaten salmon, by far the most I've ever eaten. They also gave me oranges to eat for lunch and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to combine them or eat them separately so I chopped them up pretty small and tossed about half of them in the salad.  If I get hungry later I'll go back and finish the rest of them. Tonight’s dinner was another side salad of spinach, tomatoes, an...

1/6 Here is all my food for the next 3 days plus my daily check sheets This morning’s breakfast was a scrambled egg and roast potato cubes, fat free Greek yogurt and grapes.  Today’s lunch: Lemon Garlic Tilapia Chicken, couscous, and green beans. Not shown: spinach /tomato/cucumber side salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar. The couscous was too plain and I couldn’t do it but the rest was actually really good. I guess I like lemon with garlic. 💛 Supper: vegetarian chili and side salad.  Honestly the amount of food with this diet is overwhelming and there is no way I can finish it all. I will need to talk to the dietician tomorrow or Tuesday because it's just too much! Maybe it's all the chewing that makes you eat slower and thus the fullness sensations hit you sooner. I liked the mushrooms in there because they give a sort of savory taste.   I'm starting to really dig those salads (spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil+vinegar dressing)

1/5/24 Again, I am the picky eater with the appetite of a six year old, so this is a big adventure for me.  I will highlight "new to me" foods in red. Day 2 Foods   Breakfast :  Quinoa with blueberries.  I also was given almonds and skim milk but no directions, so I heated the blueberries & quinoa and ate the other two things separately. That might not have been right!   I made my tea without any sweetener again. It took me almost 10 hours to get through it all but I did. I am a little worried I might get dehydrated! Lunch Today was a really pretty, colorful salad with: Quinoa Spinach Cucumbers Tomatoes Carrots Pinto Beans Red Wine Vinegar + Olive Oil (dressing) Other foods included plain yogurt and grapes. There may have been one more thing but I'm blanking.  It was WAY more food than I could eat and I think I could have maybe eaten it faster if I would have had more balsamic vinegar to add. That really makes a difference for me.  I think this i...

 1/4/24 Last night I dreamed about salad. I dreamed I was eating the most delicious salad, then I panicked thinking I had used the wrong salad dressing, breaking the study protocol, but it was SO good! It reminded me of the Caesar dressing back at Yakima. I woke up really excited to try my foods. Breakfast wasn’t bad at all. Oatmeal (cooked, no sugar added), apples, and an “omelet” that was smothered in green peppers and onions. That’s a lot of spice that early in the morning for me! I also had a little portion of plain walnuts. I got those down by alternating bites of apple with bites of walnut. I survived my sugar free, Splenda free tea, but it was not nearly as enjoyable. Lunch: Vegetarian Chili on Sweet Potato: really good, actually fairly sweet. Portion was way too much. This much food fills you up fast. Side salad of spinach, cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes. Accomplishment #1: I ate a raw, unadulterated tomato 🍅. Normally I only like them when converted to ketchup, salsa, ...

January 4, 2024  Remember that 30 day no sugar challenge from 2017?  Time has passed, I have aged a little, and I’ve started to become more concerned about my health. Sure, I run and feel just fine, but my labs are telling an ominous story between my cholesterol and A1c. I know genetics do play a role but really it’s my own fault for having the food preferences of a 6 year old. At work, I saw a study announced called the CleanMED study, where they were looking for healthy volunteers to eat a regular “Western” diet for four weeks and then a Mediterranean diet for 4 weeks. They provide the food for the Mediterranean part, and I really have wanted to try it but never knew how to start, so it seemed perfect.  My first four weeks were Western (normal) diet. I got to fully enjoy the holidays and my trip to NYC. Each week, my cholesterol comes back high (>200) as does a non-specific marker of inflammation. I’m really excited to see the impact of this new way of eating on thes...