Gi Diet - Journey To Health

The GI Diet was my introduction to the glycemic index. It was highly recommended for the treatment of the symptoms of PCOS, so naturally I had to give it a try.

The plan was basically a low carb, low fat diet. You only eat foods that won't spike your blood sugar. Spikes in blood sugar result in high insulin secretion which leads to obesity. Keep your blood sugar stable, lose weight.  I am not here to explain the science behind it all, if you want to know you can read up on it!

Pros:
-short book, easy to follow plan with a simple chart of green, yellow and red columns. Green is eat freely, yellow is eat with caution and red is never eat.
-great for PCOS and diabetes.
- there was some really great recipes

Cons:
- low fat, did not allow much for red meats,
-required some hard to find ingredients
-allows for a lot of grain products & carbs

My conclusion:
This diet was a great introduction to low GI eating. It is short and simple. However I feel that humans do require a decent intake of healthy fats for optimal nutrition. In my opinion, it would be hard to maintain this diet for a lifetime. I definitely would like to go back a read through it again and try some of the recipes again.

Trim Healthy Mama: Day One

Flashback to several months ago. I was on my way to do a Steeped Tea party in Okno, rather upset about the fact that I feel like I have tried every diet in the book and nothing has ever given me permanent results. I prayed to God for an answer, some direction, some hope.

At my tea party I was telling the hostess about how I wanted to learn to eat in a more healthy and natural way. She asked me if I have ever read Trim Healthy Mama. I said no, and her and her guests were shocked! Everyone they know has read it. One of the ladies had a few books for sale for $40, so I bought it off her and picked it up a few weeks later .

It took me a few weeks and another tea party later to finally read the book. I loved it. Immediately ordered tonnes of the specialty ingredients and starting making recipes from the book. Most of them were delcicous. I ate from the plan for 2-3 weeks pretty strictly. I lost 6 lbs and Eric lost 7 or 8, (it kills me cause he didn't stick to the plan as closely as I did).

Enter summer vacations and cooking at camp for a week, and I was completely off track. I struggled to get back on for weeks, always saying I would start Monday, and by midday I was stuffing my face with candy or having a hardcore chocolate craving.

This past Tuesday I weighed myself to find, not to my surprise that I had gained all my weight back, and then some. It was time to try again.

Yesterday completed a whole day, I ate food I enjoyed, I didn't crave anything and I wasn't hungry.

This is what I had yesterday:

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with cheese, 2 slices chicken bacon and a glass of chocolate almond milk.
Lunch: Asian Salad with Sweet Chilli Thai chicken
Snack - Some cheese and a few almonds
Supper - Pizza on Joseph's Lavash Bread (Very low carb flatbread that I bough online at http://www.lowcarbcanada.ca )
Dessert: Secret Agent Brownies with Icing. I made the brownies with Chana dahl beans.

On the menu today:

Breakfast: Sweet Cinnamon Quinoa, 2 slices chicken bacon and 1/2 Banana
Lunch: Tomato soup with 4 slices Little Big Bread (it's sprouted bread, I get it from Costco for 5.99 for 2 loaves. It is the best bread I have ever had, I would eat it even if I wasn't on plan)
Supper: Ground beef tacos with Josephs low carb Tortilla's (also from http://www.lowcarbcanada.ca)
Dessert - Brownies from last night. They are even better the next day.


The basis of the plan is not eating fats and carbs at the same time, and you have protein with every meal. The plan is divided between two main types of meals, S - Satisfying and E- Energizing. They focus on only having one fuel source at a time. Fat being one fuel source, carbs being the other.

S meals are your fat based meals, they have generous amounts of healthy fats - butter, olive oil, coconut oil, red meats, nuts, etc. They must not contain more that 15 grams of carbs.

E meals are the carb bases meals, but they are supposed to be good carbs. Ones that have a low glycemic index which do not spike your blood sugar. You are still supposed to try to keep the carbs under 45 grams for these meals, and fat no more that 5 grams (1 teaspoon)

There is also Fuel pull meals, which have protein but less than 5 grams of fat and 15 grams of carbs. These meals help to speed up weight loss.

There are Crossover meals as well, meals that have over 5 grams of fat and over 15 grams of carbs, these are meals that will help maintain weight. If you are trying to loose weight, you should have very little crossovers.

Basically, you switch between S and E meals, with at least 3 hours in between types of meals. You can have 3 S meals in a row or whatever you want, but you always are supposed to wait 3 hours between types of meals. Fuel pull meals and snack you can have at any time, because they don't have any major fuel source.  Yesterday, all I ate was S meals because it was easier not to switch. Today breakfast and lunch are E's (the soup is a fuel pull, but with the bread added in it is an E) and supper/dessert is an S.

I find it much easier to make and enjoy S meals. I struggled to find tasty and enjoyable E meals, so I end up eating more S' than E's. Which is ok, they say to have at least 2-3 E meals a week.

This has turned into a very long post, and it is time for me to make lunch! One reason I wanted to start blogging again was so I could share my everyday struggles with this. I am hoping it will help me stick to it in some way or another.

Oatmeal Cookies

I made these a week or so ago with Sugar Twin Granulated Brown sugar and they were alright, but has a really weird taste to them. So I found my own brown sugar substitute recipe (1 cup granulated sweetener and 1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup = 1 cup brown sugar sub.) and these ones turned out fantastic! They taste so good you can hardly tell they are healthy! This is one of my favourite Low GI recipes so far!

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I used 1/2 almond flour)
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup brown sugar substitute
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated soft margarine
1/4 cup liquid egg (I just used 1 whole large egg)
1/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried currents (Lets be honest, currents are gross so I used semi sweet chocolate chips, but only a 1/4 cup) OPTIONAL

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Mix oats, flour, bran, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar sub., margarine, egg, water and vanilla. Slowly add oat mixture to bowl and mix until combine. Add currents chocolate chips and stir to combine.
3. Spoon onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper and flatten slightly. Bake until firm and golden, about 8 min. Let cool on rack!

They freeze well!

YUMMY YUM YUMS!

Mixed Bean Soup

Today I wasn't feeling good at work. I didn't eat much for lunch and I didn't really feel like making or eating supper. I did muster the energy to go for a run and to do Ripped in 30 after supper though! :)

I needed something super easy and I wanted it to be Low GI. So I threw something together that I had in my cupboard and it turned out really well. The only real work I did was to pick and peel the carrots.

Mixed Bean Soup

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can cut green beans
1 can mixed beans
5 large carrots, peeled & sliced
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
2-3 tbsp beef bouillon (to taste)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp basil
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
water to cover ingredients

Combine all ingredients. Bring to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until carrots are tender.

It was that easy! Eric really liked it as well, and I was happy I didn't have to do a lot of work. Next time I might add another can of mixed beans. They make you feel like you are eating meat! :)

Tummy Update

I got frustrated and went back to my naturopath.

I don't think I am lactose intolerant. It seemed to help me for a few days to avoid milk and take the Lactaid. But it did not help completely. So if I am truly lactose intolerant, there is more than just that causing my tummy troubles.

My naturopath out me on Candicin to help with a possible candidia yeast overgrowth. Ever since I started taking those herbs, my stomach has felt WAY better.

I would also like to start the low GI diet hardcore again. Luckily my shakes are low GI, but I have not been eating low GI with my other meals and snacks. I need to start eating more veggies. I have been slacking in that area as well lately.

I am just so exhausted with these stomach issues. I need them to stop. I need to feel normal again!

Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge Week 5

I had a really rough week last week. I ate a whole bag of Caramilk Secrets (880 calories, BTW) on the way back to camping after my staff meeting. What can I say, I am a stress eater. That was not all I ate either. There was much, much more.

So for the last few days I have been tracking my food with MyNetDiary app on my iPod, and I am happy to say I am back on track. I have been walking and running, and I am eating healthier again.

I am down 7 lbs and a whopping 5 inches after my 5th week on the Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge.
I was disapointed by the number on the scale, but very impressed with the measurements.

Surprisingly enough I am not tired of the shakes. I try to make different flavors every day, so it is always like I am having something new. It is saving us money, and making my work prep in the morning very very easy. No more buying lunch 2-3 times a week because I forgot to bring something.

My goal this week is to run 5 or 6 times for at least 20 minutes.

Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge Week 4

Well the truth is I didn't get to weigh in. We were away camping, so I skipped this weigh in and measuring. It is probably for the best though with the amount of junk I ate this weekend! I am sure I probably gained! :(

This week I plan to work out more! This Sunday I will have a better update hopefully!

Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge Week 3

My 90 Day Challenge is still going well. So far I am down 6.6 pounds! I am loving the shakes. This week I tried to the Strawberry Mix-In with some ice and milk. It tasted EXACTLY like a strawberry milkshake. This morning for breakfast I mixed in a little bit of pistachio pudding mix with some ice and skim milk. It was AMAZING! I have a few more recipes I would like to try. So much so that I can't wait until it is time for my next shake.

This past week I have not eating very healthy suppers or snacks, so I was very surprised that I managed to even lose 0.6 of a pound. I would like to start getting back into the exercise groove this week. If I could only get to bed on time!

I am super excited to share about these products with other people. I am excited to help people get healthier. I am excited to help people achieve their financial goals.

I have been dreaming these last couple days of building up my team. I would love to make enough money from this to pay off all out debt. I would LOVE to be able to use that money for our fertility treatments and adoption. I would love to get Eric a decent vehicle to drive. I would love to help pay off the debts of my family and take them on a nice trip somewhere!

Challenge Party

Today my Body By Vi Challenge Party went very well! People loved the shakes and couldn't believe how good they tasted! I signed up quite a few more people today.

I am really excited about doing this challenge with other people. I think this is the best way to get healthy. To do it with friends who will motivate you, inspire you, encourage you, support you, and maybe even a little healthy competition!

I am sure you get getting sick of my posting this, but for more info on the products you can go to http://lintc.bodybyvi.com

Agave Almond Bran Muffins

I had a pretty productive weekend. We got home Saturday afternoon, and I was in the mood to clean. It took me quite some time to unpack because I was doing so many other things. I washed all of our bedding, and by all I mean the down comforter, the duvet cover, mattress cover, sheets, pillow cases. I cleaned the fridge, which was long over due. The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxation and cleaning. I almost have our whole bedroom overhauled. I probably haven'tdone that since we moved in! I was so thankful to have a few days at home without any plans because July felt so busy.

I have been wanting to bake some muffins for a while, but haven't had the chance because of busyness. Today I made these and I am very happy with how they turned out. And yes, I made up the recipe by looking at a basic bran muffin recipe.

Agave Almond Bran Muffins

1 cup wheat bran

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup spelt flour (or any other type of flour, you can also use all almond flour if you want)

2 tsp baking powder

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup agave nectar (you can use honey or maple syrup, too)

2 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup skim milk

1/2 to 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (or raisins if you prefer. I don't!)

3-4 tbsp hemp hearts

Preheat oven to 400 F

1. Mix all ingredients together well.

2. Spoon into greased muffin tins or lined muffin tins

3. Bake for 15 minutes or until done. Be careful, they might look light on the top but will be dark on the bottom.

Makes 12 muffins

Each muffin has approx 200 calories, 24 g carbs, 4 g fibre, 13 g sugar (keep in mind it is agave nectar, which is a low GI sugar), and a whopping 7 grams of protein! Not to mention heart healthy fats from the olive oil and hemp hearts! Perfect for an in-between meal snack!

The 90 Day Challenge

Today I started my Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge!

Now, generally I try to stay away from fad diets. I have tried many of them and they work for a short period of time, but I just can't seem to stick with them.

I don't see this as a fad diet, I just see it as a challenge! It consists of two protein shake meals a day, and one healthy balanced meal with healthy snacks in between. I already have a protein shake for breakfast every morning, so that stays the same, but I am also going to have one for lunch. I am excited about this because I am always scrambling to find something for lunch, and this will be easy and healthy!

The shake mix is a sweet cream flavour, so you can mix it with pretty much anything. This morning for breakfast I mixed it with a cup of frozen raspberries and a cup of skim milk for "Raspberries & Cream", and for supper tonight I plan on having a Peanut Butter Cup shake! I will mix a bit of chocolate frozen yogurt, 2 tsp peanut butter, the chocolate mix in, 2 scoops shake mix and a cup of skim milk. (I had lunch at the in-laws which is why I am having it for supper).

My goal in the 90 days is to loose 25 lbs and exercise 45 minutes 5 days a week regularly.

If you would like to join me you can visit http://lintc.myvi.net/ for more information.

The shakes are not just for weight loss. One a day helps maintain a healthy weight, and mixed with water or skim milk after a work out is a great way to help build healthy lean muscle. ViSalus also has vitamins, metabolism boosters, and natural energy drinks, and protein cookies. I like that they try to focus on healthy, natural products!

Another great thing about these shakes is that they are Low GI, so they are perfect for my diet to help control PCOS. I have been of the wagon for over a month now, and I am excited to get back on!

Agave Sweetened Chocolate Chunk Cookies

• 1 and 1/2 Cups Agave Nectar
• 4 Cups Almond Flour
  
• 1/2 Cup Margarine
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder (
• 1 pkg. Chocolate Chips or Dark Chocolate Bar cut into chunks. OR BOTH!

Read more: How to Bake Agave Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2319136_agave-sweetened-chocolate-chip-cookies.html#ixzz1KsmMU56u

I modified the recipe you find on eHow to match my diet, but I think it worked pretty good. The cookies are delicious. I used one dark chocolate bar cut into chucks, 1/2 of a 90% Cocoa bar cut into chunks, a cup of milk chocolate chips and a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. The batter was still a little runny, so I think I might add another 1/2 -1 cup of almond flour next time. They sure do taste good though. They are very soft, almost too soft. I think that is from the agave nectar...

I will post some pics tomorrow, cause it is late!

YUM!

I just made a batch of gluten, dairy and refined sugar - free cupcakes. The batter was delish, so I am hoping the cupcakes will be too! They are cooling right now, then I will make some frosting!

This is the recipe I used:

1 cup blanched almond flour
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 /2 cup honey
1/2 cup maple sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch
cake pan with grapeseed oil and dust with
almond flour.
In a large bowl, combine the almond
flour, salt, and baking soda.

In a medium bowl, combine the honey, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir the wet
ingredients into the almond flour mixture
until thoroughly combined. Scoop the batter
into the prepared cake pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick
inserted into the center of the cake
comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the
pan for 1 hour, then serve.

Except I made mini cupcakes and only baked them for 12 minutes!