Day 8 and 9

A long week caught up and I slept in Saturday. Had a salad for lunch and we made tacos for dinner. The lectin free tortillas didn't come out as hoped. They need to be very thin and I had them too thick. The taste is okay and it feels like I'm eating a corn tortilla, but it's just almond flour and coconut flour. I learned a lot about making tortillas and I need to make some cassava flour tortilla which should be more like normal flour tortillas. The evening had a band fundraiser called beats and treats. They make money of tickets and auctioned items, but parent made treats are included. And I couldn't eat a one; just had a water. My daughter was still hungry, so we got her some food at Sonic and my wife got a Oreo Sonic Blast. I was pretty stressed today and having to see all the goodies fed the fire. It should be noted thought that despite being irritated/stressed/wanting to quit my blood pressure came in the lowest it's been in about 6 years. This morning I saw 311, so the drop continues albeit a bit slower. My wife made fiesta lime chicken which isn't the most compliant dish and it didn't sit well with me. I'm not sure why, but I paid for it. We made hamburgers for dinner and I made my own buns which were okay, but not great and my own ketchup which did turn out alright. Nightshades are generally a no-no, but can be eaten occasionally if they are skinned and deseeded. The tomato paste base I used was skinned and deseeded (pretty much all are including puree). I finished off by eating the rest of my coconut milk ice cream (butter pecan). I have some things to make this week and we'll see if I actually find the time. Sloppy Joe will be one and the ketchup will be the base for that. I already had my own Sloppy Joe sauce recipe which blows the can stuff and other recipe I've had away. We will see how it tastes with most of the lectins removed. I really need to solve that bun mystery though. A final note, I used to have an program called Pepperplate that I had some of my recipes in, but it went pay be the month and I lost access. I've been looking for something else cheap to organize my recipes and I found the holy grail! It's called Paprika and there is a free version that allows up to 50 recipes to be stored. This is a phone app and you have to pay separate for each platform if you want the full version and they will then share all in the cloud. I was able to go to some different lectin free sites and download the recipe which is so quick and easy. Some other programs do this, but only with certain websites, this had done everyone I've tried so far. There is also a meal planner which is handy and that will create a shopping list for you. There is also a pantry where you can put all the ingredients you have in your kitchen with expiration dates. I input my whole spice rack which will be nice when I'm at the store and wondering what I have. Check out Paprika, it's pretty cool and free for up to 50 recipes. Oh, finally watched Ratatouille tonight since food is the focus lately: good movie.

Day 4

This is a bit late, but better than never. The first day back was okay. I was working on short sleep, which didn't help. In hindsight, sleep is always important, but even more so when in the first week of this diet. I believe there was something mentioned about being irritable and some of that might be a little hangry streak especially with people eating normal food around you. I imagine it's like a smoker trying to quick but having to stand next to the smoke pit. I started (yesterday now) with a homemade chocolate milk of sorts (coconut milk, 100% cocoa, swerve and stevia drops) and it was okay, but not great. I threw some prebiotic in there too. I had my Gundry nut mix with me and an orange-cranberry muffin which got me through the morning, but I was very tired. A couple hours in I put a scoot of Super Reds in a water bottle and that perked me up quite a bit. Lunch was another good Caesar salad since I need to use the dressing up. We did spaghetti for dinner and I used the Capellos Fettuccini noodles with my nomato sauce and Parmesan Reggiano cheese. It was okay, as Beth said: a little too beety. I had an 8th of a cup of So Delicious Non-Dairy Butter Pecan Ice Cream. The should change this to so-so delicious. I spent the early evening trying to figure out a compliant potluck dish, but failed and will just take a Caesar salad. I wanted to run to the store, but got delayed in that and the frustration and whatnot having built over the day just got worse and I was super stressed at bed time. I couldn't go to sleep. I ended up taking half the day today because I was so wiped out. I think I've reset myself and should be okay for a second half day of work. This is also the 4th straight day with a drop on the scale: I cracked into 312 pounds. I haven't really noticed it on my body except if I suck my gut in the top is a bit smaller. I know from the Six Week Cure to the Middle Aged Middle book from back in Afghanistan that this is visceral fat that is around the organs and water weight. Your visceral fat is usually the first to go-and on that, time for me to go. Thanks for reading and sorry it's a bit late.