Karen's Journal

Members can keep their journals in this room for handy reference.

Moderators: Rosie, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh

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moremuscle
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Karen's Journal

Post by moremuscle »

Hi folks,

I welcome any and all comments, questions, and suggestions - humor too!! Thank you.

I've decided to start a journal here - it is the room I enjoy the most (next after the main discussion room of course). I have never kept a food journal - tried to use a little notebook back when I had diarrhea all the time; but I wasn't consistant. I don't intend to write here every day - I am too busy to do it; but I thought I would try to use the online journal format and see what it brings, if anything.

FYI, I am in remission with diet alone. I have been in remission since March 4- 2005 and I feel great.
My food intolerances include: Gluten, Casein (all dairy), soy, corn, and yeast. Carrageenan is a suspect and I avoid it completely. Chocolate is a suspect and I avoid it completely.

Saturday 6/25/2005:

Breakfast/Brunch: Sauteed beef sirloin tips with collard greens and garlic. Spices: Black pepper, turmeric, orange rind. Bilo Yellow Mustard and Muir Glen Ketchup.
Coffee - Green Mountain Mexican Blend (regular, not decaf).
Black Tea.
3 gel caps of Carlsons Cod Liver Oil.
3 Newmans Own prunes.

Snacks during the day (I was at work):
Four big dried Greek Figs
Handful of raw almonds
Approx 8 dried dates - small ones, not the big juicy Medjools
Water

Dinner:
I ate four Newmans Own prunes and a handful of Sunkist Pistacios while preparing dinner (I was very hungry because I had been away from the house all day w/o much to eat).
Flank Steak rubbed with slt/pepper and fresh pressed garlic
Green Asparagus and Artichoke hearts (frozen VIP brand) in skillet with olive oil and steamed with the lid on, slt/pepper added.
Mustard and ketchup to taste (same brands as for breakfast).
Organic Sunshine Burger heated in toaster oven.
Water.

After Dinner:
Earl Grey Tea
Jennies Macaroons (just one).

Karen
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Post by Polly »

Karen,

I am so glad you decided to do a journal even though you are in remission. It will give me and others an opportunity to pick up some new meal ideas. Thanks.

Love,

Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
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Post by Mars »

I 2nd Polly's comment - I am sooo board with food - I need some suggestions and love to hear what other people eat that is working for them!

I realize you don't have the time to post here all the time or every day but please do so whenever you can - I will definately be waiting.......

PS - the breakfast sounds YUMMY!
"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." -- Buddha
moremuscle
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Post by moremuscle »

Hi Mars and Polly,

I am glad you've found my journal and I love your input. I figured my journal would be a novel way to communicate my diet - instead of simply explaining what I mean by being on a Paleo Diet you will be able to see it by example. Of course I have already done a few things today that are not considered Paleo. Let me explain:
1) I ate an Organic Sunshine Burger with my dinner. It contains rice which is a grain - grains are not paleo. I have a relatively relaxed relationship with the Paleo diet - I don't get too dogmatic or caught up in it; I just do it my way. I know the rules and stick to them for all practical purposes - that's good enough.
2) Store bought ketchup and mustard are not considered paleo
3) Some paleo dieters consider added salt a no-no; but it is controversial; the scholars actually don't know if the cavemen and women added salt to their food or not.

Rules of thumb: No sugar, no grains, no dairy, no salt.

Ah, Polly - you should try the frozen artichoke hearts if you have not yet. They are fabulous - there is nothing added, no preservatives or chemicals; they are completely fresh and natural. VIP is the brand. The asparagus are frozen whole and also by VIP. Both are yummie products.

Margie, I am sorry if I can't inspire you to feel less bored with your food; I don't have much to brag about when it comes to cooking skills or creativity in the kitchen. I savor food though - I really LOVE the flavors of the food I eat. Oh, just let it fill up your mouth and your senses and eat it with LOVE. Just allow yourself to love the simple pleasure it is to taste the food. I just love it when I find a superior brand of something that is simple and edible by me (meaning free of basically everything except the item itself) such as for example Newmans Own prunes. Why are they superior? Because they are free of everything - they are simply dried plums; do you know how SWEET a dried plum is? It is incredible what powers a small dried plum packs.

The past year has been a very good one for me. I have learned so much about my body and I have learned to handle my own food intolerances so I can live a normal life. I can - again - focus on some of my athletic goals; it feels strange but incredibly wonderful to think about myself as an athelete given that I had never ever been on a sports team or done any kind of sport until the age of 40 - with the exception of some casual aerobics classes at the WMCA before I was pregnant in my late thirties and gave birth to Benjamin at age 36 and Noah at age 38.
I know I run the risk of being viewed as rediculous - taking myself too seriously; thinking I am something or that it matters what I do; who cares how fast I can run a 5K or how many miles I am able to run now? Well that's the point, I don't do it for anybody else; I do it for myself because I care.

That's the reason I do the diet too - because I care; I care to feel good and be healthy and there is noone else in my life to ensure that my diet meet the criteria so I take that responsibility upon myself every day to eat right. It's not anything to brag about - it's actually extremely easy; I know which foods I can trust 100% and they are easy to prepare - I never use a recipe. Perhaps I should use a recipe once in a while just to add variety but so far I haven't felt the need.

So much has changed in my lifestyle in the last year - it would have overwhelmed me if I had known in advance what would be required of me. But I didn't get a challenge that I wasn't able to tackle - not yet; let's see what the coming year brings.....

Last year I started getting sick around this time of the year - soon after school was out; diarrhea came to me while shopping in a TJ Maxx; I didn't make it to the bathroom in time. That was how MC introduced itself to me. After that it just escalated fast and furiously.

Love,
Karen
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tex
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Post by tex »

Hi Karen,

I applaud you. If you can please yourself, you're able to satisfy your toughest critic, and the only critic that really counts. :thumbsup:

As Shakespeare said in Hamlet, "To thine own self be true."

I really don't believe that you have to worry about taking yourself too seriously. With this disease, that's virtually impossible. Also, if you don't take yourself seriously, probably no one else will, either.

In less than a year's time, you have gone from a scared, depressed, very sick lady, cursed with the sudden onset of a horrible disease with no known cure, and no reliable medical treatment, to a self-confident, vibrant, athletic young lady, ready to take on the world again, and slay any dragons that rear their ugly head. You are truly an inspiration, Karen, and your pathway back to health is a tribute to dedication and hard work, and serves as a terrific example to others faced with the same problem. First, last, and always, never forget that :yourock: .

Love ya, Karen--you're fantastic,
Wayne
:cowboy:

It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by moremuscle »

Gracious, I am humbled, Wayne :oops:

Thank you so much for your wonderful "letter". You've always been an inspiration to me and I am glad you think I can be one to others. That alone makes me feel good but your post really makes me feel good. My son Noah sat next to me and read across my shoulders while I opened your post - he laughed out loud when he saw the "You Rock" guy. Me too, I laughed too and I am still laughing. Let me get right back to you and say: "Wayne, You Rock"

Well, this is a journal and food is a big part of the equation; I've finished my late Sunday breakfast, shall we call it brunch?!

Brunch:
- :coffee2: - no it isn't green coffee - but yes, I had a cup of coffee this morning; Green Mountain brand - you should try it; Green Mountain is a coffee roaster - Newman's Own has decided to buy their coffee from Green Mountain; I buy Newman's Own decaf in Publix and it is terrific coffee.
- Sauteed ground beef (80/20 fat content) with Bird's Eye White Pearl Onions and Brocoli. Both veggies were bought frozen in bags - I pour them into the skillet with the meat and reduce the heat and put a lid on and let it simmer until the veggies have thawed and warmed up. I added a little turmeric/slt/pepper to taste. Ate it with mustard and ketchup.
- A couple of small slices of cantalope

You may ask how much meat did I eat or how many cups of vegetables did I add? The answer is, I don't know. I don't measure anything. I just cooked the whole package of ground beef and added vegetables until the skillet was full. Then I eat as much as I feel like - until I feel satisfied. The rest stores easily in a tupperware container for later consumption - easy to reheat in microwave oven or on the stove top.

What a wonderful morning. It is cloudy here. We had a little drizzly rain yesterday and over night - not heavy rain, just drizzle. It cools the air off and makes the birds come out. We sat in the kitchen nook and had brunch - Noah pointed out a wood pecker that was looking for a place to peck on one of the pine trees. Bright red neck - beautiful. We had a couple of Carolina Wrens on the railing of the deck near the window and they were cute too.

I am going to write about lots of different things in this journal - not just food, diet, and poop. It is my intention to also write about my exercising. It's a big part of my life.

Last week I went to the Gym 5 days in a row. Monday through Friday. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my days to work with a trainer - I started working with a trainer June 1st. I had been training by myself for over a year and really needed to shake things up and get some help to get past a couple of hurdles. I have changed my perspective on what I want to do over what I wanted to do a year ago. I am now more dedicated to running than before and less dedicated to bodybuilding. In fact, I no longer want to compete as a bodybuilder. This doesn't mean that I don't work hard or train my muscles. As a matter of fact I am just getting back into adding weight and taking on a tougher challenge with the weight training helped and supported by my trainer. It is great - I am happy with what I do right now. It is demanding and it takes time away from other things such as my family but I still think there is room for all of us and all of our needs in the picture.

Friday I ran on the treadmill in the gym - no weight training except some abdominal exercises after the run. I ran approx 1/2 mile to warm up. Then I ran 3.5 miles at 6.4 miles per hour (this is a relatively challenging speed for me - I don't think I have ever before run that far at such a high speed). Then I started to taper down the speed and ran another 1/2 mile at progressively lower speed. A total of 4.5 miles of running. After that I was sweating buckets but I felt fine. I think my aerobic capacity is going up. Of course it is easier to run on the treadmill at 0% incline than it is to run outside where it is somewhat hilly - but still. It is a good way to practice and widen my endurance. And that's the point. I am working on my endurance as a runner because my goal is to run a 10K in the spring - in April 2006 I want to run a 10K in Charleston, SC - it is an annual event called the Cooper River Bridge Run. I think it will be amazingly beautiful. Running a 10K is the same as running 6.2 miles. I have never run that far in my life. But a few weeks ago I had never run 4.5 miles either so I will probably be able to advance to the 6.2 mile challenge given patience and practice. I don't want to push to hard/fast because I don't want to injure myself - I'd rather take a little longer in reaching the goal and be safe and sound all the way.

Afternoon Snacks:
A whole banana
some dried dates and raw almonds
some dried plums
water
a hard boiled egg

Dinner:
Leftovers from breakfast

I ran outside for 55 minutes at dusk - it was dark when I returned home.
Drank 1/2 liter of water immediately - I was drenched in sweat. So humid.

Post Workout snack:
2 Enjoy Life No-Oatmeal Oatmeal cookies
Handful of Ener-G granola
More leftovers from breakfast
decaf coffee

Love,
Karen
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Draft for Introduction to the Paleolithic Diet

Post by moremuscle »

This particular post is going to be a draft for an entry I am creating for the INFO on Diet room; an introduction to the Paleolitic Diet.

It is a while ago I read any books about it and it is a while ago I have followed what goes on in the Paleo Diet Forum that I am a member of so I will have to back-pedal and draw some things out of my memory bank in order to write anything intelligent about it - of course I still have the two books I've read; Neanderthin by Ray Audette and The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain so I can go back and read parts of them again to refresh my memory and get some of the facts straight.

If you read this please understand that it is a work in progress - nothing is finished yet. I welcome your comments. Thanks.

The Paleolithic Diet is not a weight loss diet or a fad. It is a diet that is based on knowledge about how people lived and ate in the Paleolithic Era -meaning in pre-agriculture society; sometimes it is refered to as the Caveman Diet or the Hunter-Gatherer Diet because of the lifestyle of the Paleolithic Human. We are looking at the way our ancient ancestors lived and ate.
The paleolithic era began some 2.5 million years ago in Africa when the first crude stone tools were developed - this era is also refered to as the Old Stone Age. It ended about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East with the first ancient farms. It has been only 500 generations since the Agricultural Revolution - that's a very short time speaking in evolutionary terms and yet we have almost completely lost touch with the way our ancestors lived and ate.

Does this mean that we need to start hunting and gathering or that we should live in caves?

to be continued............

Karen
moremuscle
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Post by moremuscle »

Monday 6/27

Breakfast:
Leftovers from Saturday (sirloin and collard greens)
15 Bing Cherries
Black Tea

Snacks during the day: (worked all day and didn't have time to go home for lunch so I didn't have enough food - felt hungry and irritable by the time I could finally go home at 6 pm).

Almonds, dried plums, more fresh Bing Cherries, an apple, water

6 pm - didn't have time to eat anything because David (hubby) was going to go out tonight and I would have to miss my workout if I didn't do it immediately, so I went home and changed cloths and did my weight lifting at the gym for 45 minutes. Drinking fair amount of water.

Dinner: approx 7:30 p.m.
Left over cold flank steak and a Bubbies Kosher Dill
Home made pork rack of ribs (Smithfield brand) with slt/pepper
3 Enjoy Life cookies
Black Tea
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Post by mle_ii »

Hi Karen,

Cool to see a journal from you, I'm sure I'll learn quite a bit as I have a strong interest in paleo and you are an active exerciser like I am. :)

I'm curious if you've started any threads here on the paleo diet. I have the book but haven't read it yet. Though I have a pretty good idea about what it is.

I would like to learn more that what is in the book as I have some questions but I'm not sure where to ask them. What paleo forum do you use?

Finally, I've read some comments on reviews of the various paleo books that pointed to some stretches of imagination on what the paleo diet actually might be. I'd like to see more of the hard science behind paleo, etc.

Thanks,
Mike
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Post by starfire »

Karen,
I think you made an excellent start on your article.

Love, Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
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Post by harvest_table »

Hi Karen,

I'm enjoying reading yours, and the others journals here and glad to hear your doing so well these days. That's terrific. Sure your busy at the shop too. How's that coming together?

Have you been making use of your dehydrator? We made some jerky recently. Also, picked up a bunch of outdated mushrooms last week- they dry down to nothing but are good in soups.

Love,
Joanna
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