Monday, July 04, 2016

Day Ten: The Plan Diet Moves Along


Carrots.  It's a good thing I like to eat them, grow them and make fabric art with them as the subject. I am eating pounds of carrots.  I eat them raw, I eat them cooked into a soup with onion and ginger root, I eat them rolled in olive oil and grilled on the grill.  I eat them sliced into planks to scoop up chickpea hummus which I make myself minus the tahini (not tested).

Day Ten dawns with me having started this elimination diet at 203 pounds and weighing in this morning  at 196.5.  That's one part of the story.  The other is the fact that my body shape is changing. The water and fat leaving is from long stored deposits.  Deep pockets of inflammation.  I wake each morning and notice bones in my knees I have't seen in years.  Feel hip bones. Some morning my ankles may even look thinner.  Why not hope for the impossible?

The other part of the story is the disappearance of the rash around my eyes.  And the rash on the back of my neck.  I occasionally (still) have some acidic water dripping out of my eyes (which makes my skin burn) but I now believe it's from pollen.  Tree pollen is high right now in Maine.  Zyrtec usually takes care of that.

New foods are coffee in the morning, avocado in my salads or on the newly tested white bread toast. Salt free potato chips (not very exciting) and today's new protein test--pork.  I got loin chops to marinate in a ginger soy (Chinese) marinade and grill.  I am hoping pork tests well.  My last protein-egg--did not. On Wednesday I get to test a new vegetable.  I can't tell you how much thought and consideration (on my part) goes into the choice of a new protein or a new vegetable.  It has to be something that will enhance the things I am already safely eating.  I start days before adding and eliminating choices before the BIG TEST DAY. G thinks it's pretty funny. Friday's test is tough. Yogurt, whole milk or Bran flakes--- any or all may be reactive. Which one to try?

And I have traveled into the attic to pull clothing out of the boxes of too small, just right and too big  looking for something to wear that isn't "too big".  I'm still extra large in shirts because I like shirts loose.  But I am now able to wear all the really cute flowered capri pants I have been buying at Goodwill over the years (in hopes of some day being able to wear them). I even wore shorts to the library and grocery shopping. The sizes don't matter as they are actually pretty useless in determining size.  So, I have to try everything on.  An 18 can either be too large or way too small.  An 18 can be smaller than a 16. I even have a treasured pair of 14 pants that fits no matter what size I am.

And, as I wrote to a Reader, I am an Energizer Bunny of Housecleaning.  So much pent up energy is coming out (with the inflammation) and needs to be used.  The carpets are vacuumed but I am thinking seriously of getting out the carpet washing machine and doing that.  I opened the door to let the dog out and then started cleaning the door and finally washing both sides of the glass in the door.  Then washed the paddles on the ceiling fans. And let the dog back in.

Out in the garden (with G's help), the carrot bed is finally weeded as are the other beds.  I have planted an additional 10 tomato plants (may test reactive),  all the zucchini I grew from seeds and the yellow squashes I grew from seeds.  The eggplant (but I may test reactive for eggplant in future).  I have green beans and potatoes left to plant.  The broccoli plants I started in the Winter milk jugs are now knee high and starting to produce little broccoli heads.  I covered the broccoli in floating row cover to keep the white moths from laying eggs and ruining them.  I also planted cucumbers which look awfully tiny.  I am planning to string some wire around a support so the cukes will have something to hang on to as they grow.  The peppers went in last week and most have peppers on them already.  I haven't tested peppers yet but it'll be a month before any are ready to eat.

I know I am writing too much.  Energy.  Keeps the fingers busy.

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