What I Eat

 

I have changed my diet over the last 12 months.

It started with an effort to fuel my running and has culminated in a major change in my eating.

The biggest change is the total elimination of grains. No flour, rice, pasta, cereal etc.

The second biggest change is the (almost total) elimination of sugar!
The grains were pretty easy to go without. Over a period of a couple of months I just stopped eating bread, rice, cereals, biscuits and so forth. But the sugar has been more of a challenge. I have enjoyed chocolate and have not managed to go without. I am following an 80/20 rule which means I can eat well 80 percent of the time and not so well for 20. Over a ten day period this means two days which do not quite measure up. In fact I eat well 95% of the time so a bit of chocolate once a week is fine.

Websites I use regularly are:

Marks Daily Apple

Robb Wolf

Jamie Scott

These websites are pretty similar in many areas but there are key points of difference.

Some people recommend no dairy while for others it is fine. Also in the firing line is fruit because of fructose and they vary on total carbohydrate intake. I do not currently favour an ultra low carbohydrate approach.

Breakfast is usually two eggs fried, some meat – leftovers, bacon or small beef steaks – and vegetables – kumara, mushroom, fried and also cauliflower, zucchini, silverbeet boiled. Sometimes potato and an orange to finish.

Lunch is two eggs boiled, salad and kumara and sometimes potato. An apple or carrot.

Dinner is whatever meat we are having, kumara and or potato and salad or veges.

Snacks – have not had many – maybe a banana if really hungry or an apple.

I have been trying to limit fruit to two or three pieces a day -

I am drinking two cups of green tea a day and water.

How am I feeling? – Since September when I stopped taking a daily berroca I have had a funny feeling in my head. Most days I notice it. I have experimented with foods to see if my eating is causing it. It does not alter with the addition of protein, sweet food or fat. I have tried extra sleep because it is that sort of feeling. I am currently completing a course of minerals. Certainly some benefits in other areas but still my cotton wool head persists.

Other than that I feel great. When I’m out walking Ellie I could walk all day although still waiting for my love of running to return. Just have not felt like a run since Christmas.

Plans are to keep eating as I am for the next few months.

Update – December 2010 – Am doing very well with this style of eating. My weight is stable and apart from end of year tiredness I mostly feel energetic and very healthy indeed. My family mostly think I am nuts but I am convinced of the goodness in not eating gluten. There are a tonne of posts that testify to this. Robb Wolf among others suggests that if you do nothing else then go Gluten Free.

Enjoyed som pavlova and cheesecake yesterday. Delicious and because you don’t eat this way often ypou really appreciate it. I mean really!