THE MODIFIED VIRGIN DIET EGG CHALLENGE DAY 4

Yesterday, I challenged eggs for the fourth day in a row on my modified version of The Virgin Diet. 

MY SYMPTOMS

• Acne - No
• Chronic mucus/stuffy nose -No
• Constipation and/or diarrhea - Yes, in response to coconut oil (I think)
• Fatigue -No
• Food cravings -Yes
• Gas and bloating - Yes, coconut oil (I think) and eating out
• Headaches - No
• High blood glucose - No
• Inability to lose weight - No - Starting weight 147.8 - Current weight 143.4 - Goal weight 136 - To get back to goal, need to lose 7.4 more pounds.  Can button "measurement shorts" with a slight "muffin top".  Lost 0 pounds yesterday for a total of 4.4 pounds in 25 days.
• Insomnia - Yes - Woke up in the middle of the night and had a hard time getting back to sleep
• Joint pain - No
• Thinning, limp, lackluster hair -No
• Muscle pain  - No
• Nausea -No
• Swollen fingers - No

MY MENU

Yesterday, I ate bacon and eggs for breakfast.  I cooked the eggs in a tablespoon of coconut oil, and within 30 minutes, I was in the bathroom with bad diarrhea.  I would love to think it was not because of the eggs, but because of the coconut oil, in light of the fact that I got sick the day before right after eating coconut milk for breakfast.

I went out to eat at a family party yesterday, so I did not track my food.  The meal was chips and salsa, then tacos, then cake, cookies and brownies for dessert. 

Here is what I ate: 2 servings of taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. One large serving of mixed fruit with no sauce. A little bit more guacamole and a little bit of hummus. Water to drink. I did not eat bad carbs, but what I did eat, I ate a little too much of, and spent several minutes in the bathroom with horrible diarrhea. There must have been something in one of the foods that I am sensitive to. All in all, aside from eating the fruit, I think I did pretty well.

Here is what I did not eat: Hard taco shells, soft taco shells, refried beans, Spanish rice, chips and salsa, canned soda, cake, cookies and brownies.

Here is why I am still disappointed with my choices yesterday: I ate too much taco salad. I am on an elimination diet and I am not supposed to be eating ANY dairy, and I had sour cream and cheese. I am also eating very low carb, and Im sure the fruit, even though it had no sauce, probably tripled the amount of carbs I was supposed to eat today. Also, I do not eat legumes at all, and I had hummus.

I noticed that what I did eat made me crave overeating in general. After eating the first serving of taco salad, I went for more, realized as I sat down that my eyes were bigger than my stomach, I was already full, but I ate it anyway, because I felt like a binge was coming on. After eating that, I kept drifting back to the buffet to get a little bit of this and a little bit of that, even though I was uncomfortably full already. I really found it hard to just stop eating. What made me finally stop was that we left the party. And now I am home, I feel sick and full, my stomach is bloated, and all I can think about is finding something to eat. Sigh.   


EGG CHALLENGE

Yesterday was my last day of eating eggs.  For the next three days, I am back to my total elimination diet as it was in the first three weeks.


MY EXERCISE

 None.


MY BODY COMPOSITION

Since starting this diet, my body fat has gone down from 37.6% to 35.9%.  That means that I have lost 4.1 pounds of body fat and 0.3 pounds of lean mass.  To get to my goal of 136 pounds with 30% body fat, I need to lose 10.7 more pounds of body fat and I need to gain 3.3 pounds of lean mass.


If you are interested in getting a short synopsis of how this plan works, you can click on the link at the beginning of this post or you can listen to Jimmy Moore interviewing JJ Virgin by clicking here.

Read More..

THE MODIFIED VIRGIN DIET EGG CHALLENGE DAY 5

Yesterday, I stopped eating eggs for the first of three days in a row on my modified version of The Virgin Diet. 

MY SYMPTOMS

• Acne -Yes - One new zit
• Chronic mucus/stuffy nose -No
• Constipation and/or diarrhea - No
• Fatigue - No
• Food cravings - No
• Gas and bloating - No
• Headaches - No
• High blood glucose - No
• Inability to lose weight - No - Starting weight 147.8 - Current weight 142.4 - Goal weight 136 - To get back to goal, need to lose 6.4 more pounds.  Can button "measurement shorts" with a slight "muffin top".  Lost 1 pound yesterday for a total of 5.4 pounds in 26 days.  Thats an average of 1.5 pounds per week.
• Insomnia - No
• Joint pain - No
• Thinning, limp, lackluster hair - No
• Muscle pain  - No
• Nausea - No
• Swollen fingers - No

MY MENU

Yesterday,  I ate this:

124g fat (75%)
73g protein
21g carbs

For breakfast, I ate bacon and my Sunrise Cocktail.

For lunch, I ate homemade beef bone broth with gelatin and a protein shake with strawberries.  I thought I would try using some of that pea protein powder that I thought was giving me diarrhea.  It did not bother me, so I think it must have been the coconut milk all along.

For dinner, I had a ground beef patty and roasted kale.

For a snack later (I had company), I had a fat bomb and celery with cream cheese, and right before bed, I had one very small square of 70% dark chocolate.

By the way, my company was all eating ice cream sandwiches for dessert, and I did not have one.  So very proud of myself.  And since consequently losing a pound yesterday, Im really glad that I did not succumb.


EGG CHALLENGE

Yesterday was my first day of no eggs.  Two more days of this, and I start challenging dairy.


MY EXERCISE

 I took a one mile walk.


MY BODY COMPOSITION

Since starting this diet, my body fat has gone down from 37.6% to 35.4%.  That means that I have lost 5.2 pounds of body fat and 0.2 pounds of lean mass.  To get to my goal of 136 pounds with 30% body fat, I need to lose 9.6 more pounds of body fat and I need to gain 3.2 pounds of lean mass.


If you are interested in getting a short synopsis of how this plan works, you can click on the link at the beginning of this post or you can listen to Jimmy Moore interviewing JJ Virgin by clicking here.

Read More..

THE MODIFIED VIRGIN DIET EGG CHALLENGE DAY 2

Yesterday, I challenged eggs for the second day in a row on my modified version of The Virgin Diet. 

MY SYMPTOMS

• Acne -Yes - One new zit
• Chronic mucus/stuffy nose -Yes, very slight
• Constipation and/or diarrhea - No
• Fatigue -Yes, in the middle of the day, because I had to get up for work at 4 am
• Food cravings - No
• Gas and bloating - No
• Headaches - No
• High blood glucose - No
• Inability to lose weight - No - Starting weight 147.8 - Current weight 144.4 - Goal weight 136 - To get back to goal, need to lose 8.4 more pounds.  Can button "measurement shorts" with a slight "muffin top".  Lost 0.4 pounds yesterday for a total of 3.4 pounds in 23 days.
• Insomnia - Yes - Woke up in the middle of the night and had a hard time getting back to sleep
• Joint pain - No
• Thinning, limp, lackluster hair -No
• Muscle pain  -Yes, because I went for miles-long walks two days in a row and hurt my calf
• Nausea - No
• Swollen fingers - No

MY MENU

Yesterday, I ate this:

121g fat (76%)
70g protein
17g carbs

I did lose weight yesterday even though I increased protein by about 12%, so I am going to keep my macronutrient level where it is now.  My ketone strips should arrive in about a week.


EGG CHALLENGE

For lunch yesterday, I ate three eggs again.  Yummy!  So far, the only thing I notice is that I got a zit and a little bit of a stuffy nose.  Does this mean that Im intolerant of eggs?  Im not sure if what is happening shows a slight intolerance or not.  I did have a little insomnia last night, but I think it was due to the "warm flushes" I have been having lately.  I will have eggs again today and tomorrow, and then not have them for the next three days after that, and track any symptoms that I might have.


MY EXERCISE

None.


If you are interested in getting a short synopsis of how this plan works, you can click on the link at the beginning of this post or you can listen to Jimmy Moore interviewing JJ Virgin by clicking here.

Read More..

THE MODIFIED VIRGIN DIET EGG CHALLENGE DAY 3

Yesterday, I challenged eggs for the third day in a row on my modified version of The Virgin Diet. 

MY SYMPTOMS

• Acne - No
• Chronic mucus/stuffy nose -No
• Constipation and/or diarrhea - Yes, in response to coconut milk
• Fatigue -Yes, in the middle of the day, because I had to get up for work at 4 am
• Food cravings - No
• Gas and bloating - Yes, due to coconut milk
• Headaches - No
• High blood glucose - No
• Inability to lose weight - No - Starting weight 147.8 - Current weight 143.4 - Goal weight 136 - To get back to goal, need to lose 7.4 more pounds.  Can button "measurement shorts" with a slight "muffin top".  Lost 1 pound yesterday for a total of 4.4 pounds in 24 days.
• Insomnia - Yes - Woke up in the middle of the night and had a hard time getting back to sleep
• Joint pain - No
• Thinning, limp, lackluster hair -No
• Muscle pain  -Yes, because I went for miles-long walks two days in a row and hurt my calf
• Nausea -Yes, due to coconut milk
• Swollen fingers - No

MY MENU

Yesterday, I ate this:

117g fat (74%)
73g protein
20g carbs

For breakfast yesterday at 5 am, I decided to have some coconut milk with cocoa, cinnamon and Stevia.  I had not taken more than two sips and I started feeling really sick to my stomach.  I spent the next couple of hours belching a lot (this is unusual for me) and then had diarrhea.

I have had coconut milk in the past and did not remember ever having this happen before.  Then, I thought about it...  When I first started The Virgin Diet, I saw that the shakes were giving me really bad diarrhea.  I blamed the protein mix and stopped having the shakes.  Now I am wondering if it was the 1/2 cup of coconut milk that I was having as part of the shake.  I might have a little bit of shake some time today and see if it upsets my stomach.  Its not that I want to go back to shakes, but I would like to see if I should be avoiding coconut milk.


EGG CHALLENGE

For lunch yesterday, I ate three eggs again.  I did have a little insomnia last night, but I think it was due to the "warm flushes" I have been having lately.  I will have eggs again today, and then not have them for the next three days after that, and track any symptoms that I might have.


MY EXERCISE

None.


If you are interested in getting a short synopsis of how this plan works, you can click on the link at the beginning of this post or you can listen to Jimmy Moore interviewing JJ Virgin by clicking here.

Read More..

THE MODIFIED VIRGIN DIET THE END OF THE EGG CHALLENGE

Yesterday, I ended the egg challenge portion of my modified version of The Virgin Diet. 

MY SYMPTOMS

• Acne -Yes - One new zit
• Chronic mucus/stuffy nose -No
• Constipation and/or diarrhea - No
• Fatigue - No
• Food cravings - No
• Gas and bloating - No
• Headaches - No
• High blood glucose - No
• Inability to lose weight - No - Starting weight 147.8 - Current weight 142.4 - Goal weight 136 - To get back to goal, need to lose 6.4 more pounds.  Can button "measurement shorts" with a slight "muffin top".  Lost 1 pound yesterday for a total of 5.4 pounds in 28 days.  Thats an average of 1.4 pounds per week.
• Insomnia - Yes, sometimes
• Joint pain - No
• Thinning, limp, lackluster hair - No
• Muscle pain  - No
• Nausea - No
• Swollen fingers - No

EGG CHALLENGE RESULTS

In case you are just tuning in, I spent the first four weeks of this diet eliminated all of the following:  eggs, dairy, soy, gluten, peanuts, corn and sugar, including artificial sweeteners.  To be more exact, the only things I actually gave up were eggs and dairy, because the other things have not been a normal part of my diet for years.

I tracked my symptoms during that four week period.  I started out having to write "Yes" next to each of the symptoms I listed above.  As you can see, they now mostly say "No".  For week five, I ate eggs for four days in a row and then got back off them for the next three days, and during this week, I have been paying attention to my symptoms.

Basically, I dont think that I have a problem with eggs, based on my symptoms.  But something is a problem, because giving everything up improved my symptoms of inflammation.

For this coming week, I am back off of eggs and I will be challenging dairy.  I will eat dairy every day for the next four days, then stop for the three days after that, and I will be paying attention to my sypmtoms.


MY EXERCISE

 I got no exercise in the past two days.


MY BODY COMPOSITION

Since starting this diet, my body fat has gone down from 37.6% to 35.4%.  That means that I have lost 5.2 pounds of body fat and 0.2 pounds of lean mass.  To get to my goal of 136 pounds with 30% body fat, I need to lose 9.6 more pounds of body fat and I need to gain 3.2 pounds of lean mass.


NUTRITIONAL KETOSIS

This morning, I received my blood ketone test strips, and I tested my blood for both ketones and glucose.  My blood glucose was 89 an hour after eating, which is only a tiny bit high, 83 being my goal.  My ketones were only 0.5, which is a little disappointing.  The last time I was doing this, my average was 1.8 and I was losing weight.  So, for today, I am lowering my protein by a couple of grams to see if that will help.  If it doesnt, I will lower it a little bit more each day until I get my ketone level back up.


If you are interested in getting a short synopsis of how this plan works, you can click on the link at the beginning of this post or you can listen to Jimmy Moore interviewing JJ Virgin by clicking here.

Read More..

THE MODIFIED VIRGIN DIET EGG CHALLENGE DAY 1

Yesterday, I challenged eggs for the first time on my modified version of The Virgin Diet. 

MY SYMPTOMS

• Acne - No
• Chronic mucus/stuffy nose - No
• Constipation and/or diarrhea - No
• Fatigue - No
• Food cravings - No
• Gas and bloating - Yes, in response to protein powder
• Headaches - No
• High blood glucose - No
• Inability to lose weight - No - Starting weight 147.8 - Current weight 144.8 - Goal weight 136 - To get back to goal, need to lose 8.8 more pounds.  Can button "measurement shorts" with a slight "muffin top".  Lost 1 pound yesterday for a total of 3 pounds in 22 days.
• Insomnia - No
• Joint pain - No
• Thinning, limp, lackluster hair -No
• Muscle pain  -Yes, because I went for miles-long walks two days in a row and hurt my calf
• Nausea - No
• Swollen fingers - No

MY MENU

Yesterday, I ate this:

120g fat (75%)
72g protein
18g carbs

Im trying something a little different with my macronutrient breakdown.  I looked back at my menus for the summer of 2009, when I first started to lose weight.  At that time, I was eating more like this:

108g fat (67%)
90g protein
27g carbs

I ordered some more blood ketone testing strips, and I want to see if I can eat a little bit more protein and still stay in ketosis.  Although I have not been testing, Im sure that I have been in ketosis this past three weeks, but its hard (as I have whined about before) to eat so little protein that I can only eat two meals a day to avoid getting only a few bites with each of three meals.

Anyway, until the strips arrive in the next 7-10 days, I am going to increase the protein a little bit and reduce the fat and carbs a little bit and see if I continue to lose weight.


EGG CHALLENGE

For lunch yesterday, I ate three scrambled eggs with onions and coconut oil.  What a delight to get to eat eggs again!  The challenge is to eat eggs once a day for four days in a row and track my symptoms.  So how did I do?

I really enjoyed my eggs and I did not notice any symptoms of intolerance.  However, after dinner, I was short just a little bit of protein, so I had 7 teaspoons of protein powder mixed with a little water.  Within 20-30 minutes, I experienced very sharp stomach pain for several minutes, and then it stopped.  I had forgotten that I used to have these pains on a regular basis.  The pain was so bad that I was a little doubled over!  I will stay away from that protein powder from now on.


MY EXERCISE

None.


BODY COMPOSITION

When I started this experiment, I weighed 147.8 pounds with 37.6% body fat, which comes out to 55.6 pounds of body fat and 92.2 pounds of lean mass.  This morning, I weighed 144.8 with 36% body fat, which comes out to 52.1 pounds of body fat and 92.7 pounds of lean mass. 

So, even though I have only lost 3 pounds according to the scale, I have actually lost 3.5 pounds of body fat and gained 0.5 pounds of lean mass.

To reach my goal of 136 pounds with 30% body fat, I need to lose another 11.3 pounds of body fat and gain another 2.5 pounds of lean mass.


If you are interested in getting a short synopsis of how this plan works, you can click on the link at the beginning of this post or you can listen to Jimmy Moore interviewing JJ Virgin by clicking here.

Read More..