I’m On A Diet

My doctor and I had The Talk, you know the one. We talked about the dreaded BMI, exercise, and carbs. She asked me to try a formalized version of the Mediterranean Diet. This includes 5-6 daily servings of fruits and veggies, less fat, less refined carbs, and more whole grains.

What am I eating?

Breakfast: low-carb bars and yogurt.

Lunch: a veggie bowl with lean meat, homemade tofu crumbles, or nuts and seeds. I’ll add low-carb yogurt if needed.

Dinner: any combination of veggies and protein seasoned to taste.

I fit in some chickpea based mac’n cheese about every other week. It’s convenient, high in protein and fiber,  allergy safe, and tastes great. Dividing it over several days makes it easy to budget for the carbs.

What I skip?

Sweetened coffee creamer, all sugar sweetened drinks, granola bars, sweet and white potatoes, and all conventionally prepared gluten free baked goods and other snack items.

Isn’t this terrible?

It’s more annoying than terrible. Food allergies became my normal in 2007, so these changes are not the shock they might have been. There are plenty of suitable treats out there for special occasions, like the Keto sandwich cookies we got for my birthday. I’m a bit concerned about doing this on the road at conferences, but time will tell.

What about weight loss goals?

My doctor explained that losing 20 pounds could make a significant difference for my health. I have no idea what will work out for me, but 20 pounds seems technically possible.

Slow and steady?

I have lost some inches, but my weight loss is very slow going. Imagine one of those summertime tomato plant memes about spending $50 dollars to grow one tiny roma tomato, now add my face.

Then add something about squirrel interference. To be clear, no squirrels were harmed in the making of this post, although someone may have yelled, a little bit. Without carbs, admonishing squirrels is one of the only remaining pleasures in my life. So yeah, I have plenty of time.

But for real, I do feel that my health has improved since working with my doctor on my diet. And I will continue working with her and making adjustments as needed.

Don’t hold your breath waiting on the weight loss pics

This is still new to me, but there won't be any pictures with “fat pants” or lifting my shirt to show off my abs, or whatever. In fact, write those down as my emergency signals. Send help right away if any of these things appear under my name.

My tips

Be prepared for feelings: defensiveness is a natural first response to The Talk. Taking time to work through this helped me to accept the need for changes and move on.

Acknowledge frustration: it’s already hard to making life happen sometimes, especially when basic things like working and taking care of ourselves eat up so much time.

Track your diet and activity: it’s important to get an accurate sense of what you’re consuming and expending. I keep an informal tally in the margins of my daily bullet journal pages.