Thursday, March 28, 2013

Looking at what is working, and what does not- nuts & bacon

 Hello All- keeping busy. My goal is to blog shorter posts, more often. Today's short topic is to look. Look at what is working. Look at what does not work.


This month, I excluded pork and nuts for about 3 weeks. Good news and bad.
Good news: what worked

1. I can eat nuts in measured amounts, unsalted. I weigh less!!! when I eat nuts.( macadamias/almonds)
2.  My hair is smoother. ( I have big 80's hair, so this is good)

Bad news: this is not so good, but I'll survive
1.  Pork and...... bacon. Probably is not working for me. Whaaaah! on the bacon. :(
2. I don't feel so great (maybe some related joint pain), temporary weight gain.
3. I'm over it. I had a 5 minute pity party and I'm over it.

Life changes. Be sure to look to see what you are doing is working and is in line with priorities and goals. I could continue to eat bacon.... but inflammation is just not good. My heart, cardiovascular system, and mind will thank me for eating foods that make me well. 





17 comments:

  1. i understand your mixed feelings! i continue to eat/drink SOME things i'm better off without, but it's a conscious trade-off now that i know. :-) is it "conventional" bacon that gives you an inflammatory reaction? if you haven't given "uncured" pastured pork a try, that might work better for you....

    best regards!
    t

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    1. I'm willing to try the uncured pastured pork one last time. Maybe in a month or two. I tried some Neiman Ranch and Applegate farms stuff just after my Whole30. I also have a local farmer at the farmer's market that sells pastured pork.

      I think I'll wait 2 months or so.

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  2. I love your very practical approach to continually evaluate and react based on data - using your natural skill set to your advantage! I imagine it is obvious to you (this process of thought/problem solving), but I learn a lot watching you do it. Obviously I'm a more rambly person (LOL) but I'm going to try to be better this time around about logging data in fitbit, so I can also track patterns as I lose, and in maintenance.

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    1. Hi Cheri- thanks. Food logging has been helpful. I did not expect to learn so much after my whole30. I suspect pork has been a problem, but I used to eat so little of it that it never registered. Going by how my body feels is huge. I've learned to keep an open mind about it all....

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  3. I ADORE bacon too, but holy moly, the MSG and sulfites in it (let alone the sodium). We've given up bacon too; we cook up hamburger patties for our Sunday (big) breakfasts now instead. Le sigh.

    I love almonds and lightly salted cashews. My kitchen scale is one of the best gadgets I own, to make sure I stay at only one ounce per serving! :)

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    1. I feel like I'm dealing "other" substances with my baggies and macadamias, Gwen- sooooo funny. It works well, though.

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  4. I am just the opposite. I can eat pork, but I can't eat nuts--especially macadamias. Once I start eating them, it's like candy--I can't stop. So for me, it's not so much how they make me feel as that I can't stop eating them. Always a bad thing for me. Like you said--Whaah!

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    1. Hi Joyful Susan. I hear you on the macadamia's. Totally slippery slope if left to an open bag. Pistachio's, walnuts, and pecans are like that for me. I'll have them only if they are ground up as a meat coating. And, no snacking while working with the nuts.

      I like the flavor of bacon. That's what I'll miss.

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  5. We will have a BLT for Friday night dinner about once every two months, but no bacon other than that. I don't do well with nuts I discovered. I tried the individual 100 calorie packs of almonds and found myself opening the third one in one sitting. Better to abstain. :(

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    1. I was almost to that point, Caron. I can use the 100-200 calorie pre packaged nuts at work, if meal time is delayed due to meetings. I find myself getting crabby, down some almonds and I can stay evened out until I eat. Life saver some times.

      Abstaining is a great tool. Mentally, once you make the shift- freedom.

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  6. I love good quality pecans because they offer that little bit of natural sweet. Pistachios are favs of mine as well. It's great that your experimenting on what works for you.

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    1. I love both pecans and pistachios- too much. But for whatever reason, finely chopped as a crust works. I store those nuts in in the garage- out of sight if they are at my house.

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  7. I love that you have big 80s hair. :)

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  8. Of course we all now want to see a picture of your hair very badly.

    Thanks for note yesterday. Helped.

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  9. Vickie and Norma- see Good Friday, Big Hair. My hair is weather dependent, so I'll get another photo up soon of my really big 80's hair.

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  10. What about turkey bacon, Karen? Is that out of the question for you? I don't particularly care about it either way, but my husband likes both so I've replaced his pork with turkey and the difference, though certainly detectable, at least to me is not that great.
    I find it difficult to limit nuts so I don't even start! It might as well be peanut M&Ms for me...

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  11. Oh, never mind. I just reached the Jan. 4, 2013 entry and you addressed the bacon issue.

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