Sunday, March 8, 2015

No dining out solo-Lent, Veg (No Meat) March- the perfect storm

So I gave up dining out alone for Lent. This is a big sacrifice. The 'alone' caveat is important- it does not allow the decision to impinge on anyone else. 

It is also not relevant- it has only been an issue twice since February 18, that's almost 3 weeks ago. Once it was with PAS (Feb 20) and once it was with BAB (March 6). 

But the intersection of this rule with the diabetes/weight loss doc rule of under 30 carbs, coupled with No Meat March have created an eating perfect storm. Which is crazy for a non-belonging, non-drinking, non-rolling, non-exercising, non-sexual, non-social being. Food is the only thing left to trigger any of the reward centers in my brain. 

So my diet is pretty restricted. Although I have pretty much all the time in the world, with the severe limitations on consumption, who wants to spend all their time in the kitchen?

So this is a breakdown of my dietary regimen:

Breakfast is either a bagel thin, a PB & J uncrustable or a Belvita Banana Nut Biscuit. The bagel thin is 29g Carb/160 kcal; the uncrustable is 28/210; the biscuit is 32/190. Great on calories, not so great for staying under 30g carb. 

Another meal (or sometimes 2 if a 4-meal day) is usually Advantedge Protein shake by EAS/Abbott. The Premier Protein is what the doc wants (5/160-but 30g of protein), but the advantedge is a non-milk protein and is 1.5/100 with 17g of protein. This is great for both carb and calories, and before March 1 there was no breakfast meal, just this 3x a day + dinner. 

Since March 1, 'Dinner' has become a base of bell peppers, onion (white or yellow) and white mushrooms, generally sautéed in PAM. That has been the base of the meal for the last 8 days. It is dressed up one of four ways: 

Vegetable Soup. A base of Veg Broth, garlic, Finely chopped, chopped and strained tomatoes; the Veg Mix  and some bean, so far to include black, northern, navy, green pigeon and white kidney. 

Franks & beans: Franks here is Frank's Red Hot (it is veg, after all). I've been using Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans, Sauerkraut, the Veg Mix  and Sabarett onion sauce. This is the most 'convenience' based meal, and also the highest by far in sodium. 

Stir Fry: Veg Mix; Walden Farms Sesame Ginger dressing (No Carb, Fat nor Calories), 1/2 teaspoon of stir fry seasoning premix; all added to a bed of cabbage slaw, broccoli slaw (both sautéed), cilantro and mung bean sprouts. 

Taco Salad: Veg Mix; Walden Farms Chipotle Ranch dressing (No Carb, Fat nor Calories), Frank's Red Hot, 1/2 teaspoon of taco seasoning premix, diced tomatoes and a black bean mash; over a bed of lettuce. 

These meals are all a blend of mostly whole food with some non-cal components and some convenience items. They are low cal, low fat, low carb and non-meat. 

They have satisfied some of my reward centers, so far. I've had each iteration twice. 

Since the doc commanded me to lose 70 lbs (I've lost 61) I have been eating much less meat, but was still drinking milk and eating cheese, yogurt and sour cream. Originally for No Meat March, I was going to continue dairy. Later decided to cut that out, also.  

Of course, the 70 lbs loss mandate was only b/c I told her that "250 doesn't really represent weight loss for me- anytime I'm particularly ill, I drop to 250-255." Last visit, she upped the ante another 30 lbs (100 total- that would be a sub-215!). I told her my 'in shape' weight was 233. She said, maybe at 25 yrs old (she was right- that was when that was last true). She said likely a lot less muscle now- also very, VERY true. (She said my 'ideal' goal should be a weight of 150-175; I told her I was rail thin at HS Grad and was 165). 

I'm in that range now (253-256). And I've been at a complete stand still since going veg (March 1). She said it is the carbs from the added breakfast meal. Before that was not part of the diet I was on. But no milk nor cheese seems to have cut our carbs, too. We'll see. 

My A1c was 7.7. That is the best reading I've gotten since my diabetes diagnosis. By a lot. My daily B/S has been 87-113 typically for over a month. This is still with both metformin (pill) & meal time insulin.

I have a physical some time in the next fortnight. 46 comes. It's not s great time. But still, Life is Good. 

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