It's, like, the Beach, man...

[eurydicebound]

Upon reviewing my bloodwork again and looking for options that won't involve medication, the South Beach diet was suggested to me. Aside from any weight loss I may experience while on it, it should go a decent way toward reversing the less than ideal parts of my bloodwork results. It can't hurt, regardless, though I'll admit that I'm not looking forward to it one little bit.

As it is, I'll be starting on it this weekend. Tomorrow, most likely. I've been to the store and bought a ton of things that will spoil if I don't use them (eep) and I imagine I'll spend the next couple of days cooking like mad for the coming week.

I'm honestly not sure how to deal with this alongside feeding the boys... I'm supposed to have lots of veggies, dairy, good types of fats, and protein, with sugars and starches sparingly or not at all -- at least at the beginning. it's going to mean a lot more cooking, and while I know I ought to be doing it anyway, the advent of school in the mix for both me and the boys will make things... interesting. Not to mention freaking expensive. They each eat twice as much as I do right now regardless, much less with all of it fresh. If I make deviled eggs, between the two of them they'll finish off the better half of a dozen. And they haven't even hit any major growth spurts yet. *shudder*

Still, it's worth doing. I'll figure it out. My only remaining issues are that I'm moderately lactose intolerant, so the dairy has to be picked with care, and that both aspartame and splenda give me migraines. I've picked up some agave nectar to substitute for sugar when I absolutely have to have some, though, and I should be able to muddle through until the cravings go away (they swear they go away) and I've sorted through it.

Comments

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

Lactaid would be good for you to use, then. There are tablets you can chew when you know you'll have straight-up dairy, and there's Lactaid dairy products as well. (My mother is lactose-intolerant as well.)

Along with agave nectar, don't forget other sugar/sweetener options like honey, molasses and other syrups. (I almost listed corn syrup, but really: you don't really need it. It's in every processed food already. :p)

[anaka.livejournal.com]

I've considered that. I haven't actually been motivated to use Lactaid stuff because thus far I've found stuff I like that I can use, and I don't really miss the stuff I can't have. I actually prefer vanilla soymilk to milk, and I can still have aged cheeses and certain other low-lactose cheeses, not to mention goat's milk cheese (which I like). Oh, and yogurt (though I avoid the types with HFCS, which means I don't have it that often). Regular milk or sour cream, though? Right out no matter what.

[michael-finn.livejournal.com]

http://www.brittainhealth.com/contact-us.html

This is the nutritionist who's helped me with alot of stuff. He's good, understands body chemistry more than most doctors, isn't too granola, and is not at ALL pushy.

He has some fantastic advice on dieting, and has these two supplements, Protoglyen and Glysen, that appear to be helping my body get insulin to be working correctly...all without meds.


PS: Agave...GOOD! High Fructose Corn Syrup....very very bad. Cane sugar....natural, easier to deal with.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Yeah... Well, for the first two weeks, I'm supposed to be staying away from sugar as much as possible. The diet recommends making some low cal sweet treats using artificial sweeteners (sugar-free jello) for example, but that won't work for me. Hence the agave nectar... low GI rating, pretty sweet... should get me through without going postal on anything. It's good to hear about those supplements, though. I'll keep them in mind. :)

And yes, HFCS very bad. I've been working to cut it out of my diet altogether, which is harder than it sounds, but definitely worth the effort.

[michael-finn.livejournal.com]

...he's also got good advice on dieting ;)

[anaka.livejournal.com]

He does, from what I can tell. It's unfortunate he's in Houston. :)

[shellyinseattle.livejournal.com]

Good luck.

This was one of the diets recommend by my diabetes doctor. Wolf did it with me last year during the hard core phase. It worked quite well at weight loss, but made us quite cranky during the two weeks until phase 2. Also, takes more time for menu planning/cooking as well as money.

After the two weeks I switched to a more carb-happy diet, Sonoma, which was recommended by my diabetes nutritionist, and it has been working more slowly but with me less cranky and able to do it more long term.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Well, that's good to know. If it turns out that I can't hack this, I'll keep Sonoma in mind. :)

[oldmangrumpus.livejournal.com]

My only remaining issues are that I'm moderately lactose intolerant, so the dairy has to be picked with care,

I have somewhat the same problem. I've had to be careful with cheese, which makes me sad.

However, I have no problem at all with yoghurt. People offer all sorts of explanations as to why this is, but I just know that it is (though I have to be careful with full-fat Greek yoghurt - but it's good!).

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, yogurt is my friend. The live cultures offset and break down the lactose to where it's manageable. Which is why aged cheese (or certain low-lactose soft/fresh cheeses, but those are harder to find) work for me, or why cooked cheese/milk in dishes is sometimes okay where the raw versions aren't.

[michael-finn.livejournal.com]

Raw cheese, also goot.

Goat milk yoghurt. It is your friend.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Dear lord, where do you even get that?

[michael-finn.livejournal.com]

We get it from Whole Foods. You are, of course, 873 billion miles away, and so they may not carry it there.

But it's good :)

[wilthoughts.livejournal.com]

I've just started to experience some problems when I drink milk or eat dairy, though not the usual lactose intolerance kind (I just get stuffed up in my throat, to put it nicely). Even the organic milk I was drinking is doing it, so I"ve started using almond milk (I rarely drank milk anyway, just used it for cooking and cereal). It's expensive, but it's very low cal and it tastes great.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Sounds like more of an allergy than an intolerance issue. Ick. My sympathies.

I myself have picked up Silk soy milk. I can't tolerate a lot of the soymilk brands out there, but Silk is really good. Even my kids like it.

[michael-finn.livejournal.com]

I can neither confirm nor deny that raw milk seems to have completely negated my lactose intolerance.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Ergh. But see, I didn't even like milk when it didn't bother me. Thanks for the suggestion, though. :)