Meat. Butter. Eggs.

I've been reading this book which N gave me yesterday at the Orchid Society lecture. It reads like Atkins but with a few "tweeks". Enough so it's not a copy cat. Schwarzbein wants you to eat lots of eggs. As many as you want for breakfast everyday. No cereal, hot or cold. No milk. No juices and no fruits, unless it's half a small piece of fruit. Nonstarchy vegetables in unlimited amounts. Only non fermented cheeses: mozzarella, cottage, feta, cream cheese. Butter. Cream. Peanut butter. No bread, grains, pasta or rice. Yes to Meat& Nitrate free bacon and sausages. No chocolate.

I had a mostly Schwarzbein dinner tonight. Olive oil, onion, kale, eggbeaters, tomato with one addition that is limited. Two sliced small boiled potatoes. I used a huge amount of kale. Right now I feel full but am having some cramping. Eggs mixed with other foods, (and I scrambled the egg in with the potato, onion, kale mixture), doesn't do very well in my digestive tract. Eggs over easy all by themselves with pancakes on the side, I can digest them just fine. Mayo? Lord, no!

So it's Atkins with onions, peppers, eggplant, green beans, celery, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, asparagus, kale, swiss chard, cucumber. In other words, the watery vegetables.

Jennifer Anniston eats this way. Egg white omelet with feta and spinach every morning. Salad and grilled chicken or fish every day for lunch. Chicken or fish with a vegetable and salad for dinner. I would have to commit suicide. Schwarbein recommends grilled tofu instead of the fish and chicken for vegetarians. GAG. Might as well eat soft erasers.

No grains other than one third cup of brown rice or potatoes every once in awhile. Have you ever measured out 1/3 cup of cooked rice? Put it on your plate? Looked at it? Been thrilled?

I did learn that I can and did enjoy the taste of the fried onion, steamed and sauteed kale and the egg beaters with lots of salt, pepper and red pepper for "kick". The fresh tomato was a nice accent. I would skip the potato next time. And I wouldn't steam the whole 8 cups of kale, if that's what it was. It looked like a lot. One bunch. When do you measure it? Before or after it's cooked? It's awfully hard to measure destemmed raw kale leaves. I guess, by weight.

With the 2 potatoes and 9 tortilla chips (don't ask), I am 260 calories over for today. I was 300 under for yesterday. So it's a wash. This has been happening. One day I'm under just about the exact amount I'm over the next day. Then I go along at 1200 for a few days and then under/over. Let's me think I am getting away with something. I'm not doing the "treat" days yet. That's when I get to eat anything I want. That's when I started having Chinese Lunch on Sundays.

It's nice to know that the eggplant parm with mozzarella was on the Schwarzbein diet menu. I won't be having the 2/3 cup of oatmeal with butter and cream (no sugar) and a side of eggs any day this week. I could have a half cup of buttered grits with poached eggs. I like that.

I've learned a few things and added a few items to my diet plan. Like real cream in my coffee as the fake stuff has sugar in it (but really she wants me to just drink plain water). Meat. Eggs. Salad with vinegar and oil dressings. Nicoise with egg, green beans and tuna. Raw carrots, but never cooked carrots. Only whole milk yogurt. All the others are full of sugar. Schwarbein doesn't want us eating ANY sugar or sugar substitute. Fat, yes. Sugar, no. And that includes natural sugar from the Stevia plant and honey.

Will I follow this diet? No. I don't like chicken or fish or sausage or turkey. I only eat meat that is encased in crispy fried breading or covered in BBQ sauce. Meat in disguise. Or BACON. I love bacon. But Schwarzbein says only plain meat. Breaking open real eggs and looking at those "parts" attached to the yolk? Not happening. Salads? Yes. Pot Roast without potatoes and gravy? No. Chinese without a big bowl of rice? No. Soup without beans? No. Pasta? Pizza? Yes & Yes!!!

And perhaps this is the root of all my dietary problems. A lack of plain meaty protein and lots and lots of eggs. We'll never know.