Charlotte’s Diet Log

For most people, changing the way we eat is a huge even though we mentally understand the benefits. Everyone’s journey to health is different and Charlotte is brave enough (in the following log) to share part of her journey with us.

~ Michele Comeau

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Walking the Wellness Path with Me…

I hope that you enjoy the experience, or that we at least enjoy a laugh together along the way.

[This is my personal log, and, as always, you should consult your doctor before venturing into or changing your nutrition habits and/or exercise routine.]

This journey began on Monday, June 29, 2009. I’d met personally with Michele Comeau and learned a few things about eating a nutritionally-rich raw plant-based diet. But I certainly was not going to dump out my pantry, refrigerator or freezer, so along the way you’ll read about my non-raw food choices. That’s where we’ll do a reality check and maybe the laugh or two.

Day 1

Breakfast:

Large iced coffee with almond milk and Just Like Sugar.

Beef tri-tip and a large glass of water

10:33am

Large glass of water

12:04pm

Broccoli coleslaw with a French roll and butter

Brownie

Afternoon:

2 Diet Pepsis

6:42pm

Beef tri-tip on a French roll with horseradish sauce

Well, there is Day One. What do you think? Doesn’t look very nutritionally charged, but Michele and I met and came up with a few changes: using fresh lemon or lime for the coleslaw dressing with a little extra virgin olive oil.

Let’s jump ahead.

Day 7 – Monday, July 6, 2009

6am

Awake and went for a walk and stepped on the scale (235.5 lbs).

Large glass of water

9am

Coffee with fat-free milk and Just Like Sugar.

11:00am

Salad: romaine, kale, tomato, onion, garbanzo beans with lime juice and extra virgin olive oil.

2:49pm

Large glass of water

3:12pm

Soup: fresh cut Napa cabbage cooked in vegetable broth

2 large glasses of water

5:30pm

Whole grain spaghetti with vegan sausage and onion in tomato sauce

Evening Snack dehydrated eggplant

Look better? Still could change out the coffee with green tea.

As the next days passed, I did replace the coffee with fresh brewed green tea (and others that were in the pantry) and added fresh ground flax seed to my breakfast. Michele guided me with information on acidic versus alkaline bodies and information from doctors she’s studied with.

The most home-hitting talk we had was around day 10. We’d met at the Go Raw Café where our conversation turned to my “why.” Why do I stay the way I am? What is the downside to staying? What is the advantage of holding on to the weight? Icky, not the most comforting conversation to have out loud. The upside – we then created a vision for the future. Now that was the ticket and the motivation to stick to it. I’m still creating my vision board and will post a picture when it’s together.

Day 15 – Tuesday, July 14, 2009

5:15am

Awake and weighing 231 lbs.

Ground 1 tablespoon of whole flax seed and mixed with about a ¼ cup warm water. Large glass of water.

6:30am

Walk

7:15am

Juiced: 1 cup water with 1 cup of blueberries, a little parsley and a handful of romaine

Nori roll stuffed with mung bean sprouts and avocado

8:22am

(I’ve not told you that I am diabetic, but I’ll begin sharing my readings now.) After this morning’s feast blood sugar was 240 – too high.

9:15am

Green tea

Noon

(My business takes me out of the office often, which means many restaurant meals, but it’s all about looking for alternatives.)

Meeting at Nora’s Cuisine: 3 ice teas without sugar, and the House Salad

(Crisp lettuce topped with mozzarella, pepperoncini, olives, onions, and tomatoes with House Italian dressing), added a chicken breast but passed on the warm rolls and butter. 2 glasses of water.

5:46pm

Large green tea

I felt pretty good about the meal at Nora’s Cuisine, for my friends also ordered pasta entrees. I’d only added the chicken breast because I wasn’t sure if the salad would be enough to fill me up, but I still passed on the bread and an order of pasta; all in all a good meal and meeting.

Day 36 – Tuesday, August 4, 2009

6:30am

15 minutes on the treadmill
Large glass of water

7:18am

Blood sugar level at 199

8am

1 Nori rolls stuffed with mung bean sprouts and avocado

8:30am

Water

9:34am

Blood sugar level at 106 (feeling a little weak) Ate one organic fruit-flavored hard candy and a glass of seltzer.

2pm

Lunch with friends at Sweet Tomatoes

Salad: spinach, romaine with raw beets, squash, zucchini with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Also tasted (small serving or bite) pizza, macaroni and cheese, and vanilla soft serve.

7:12pm

Water and a couple rye crackers

This day was pretty good, but I did not feel well the next morning. Something from lunch did not agree with me. I think it was a pre-made Asian chicken salad.

Day 48 – Sunday, August 16, 2009

5:40am

Awake and weighing 229.5 lbs with a blood sugar level of 203

6:01am

Juiced: one fresh coconut (milk and pulp) with two frozen bananas.

10:30am

Raw carrot and a glass of water

11:30am

Cooked tofu with onion, mung sprouts, baby corn, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, bok choy, extra virgin olive oil and Braggs liquid aminos

12:48pm

Buckwheat crackers

1:50pm

Fresh sliced pineapple

6pm

Salad: mixed field greens and tomato with vinaigrette; a slice of garlic bread, taste of carrot cake, with ice tea, water and coffee to drink.

Day 56 – Monday, August 24, 2009

This day I had my quarterly blood tests – more on the results later.

Day 66 – Thursday, September 3, 2009

Have officially lost and kept off 10 lbs. My morning blood sugar was 191; yesterday it was 145; still working out the ups and downs of food combinations and their effect on the glucose levels.

Day 72 – Wednesday, September 6, 2009

As I write this, it’s Day 72 (Wednesday, September 6, 2009). The menu for today was a lot of office work with yummy dehydrated vegetable snacks (tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant). Right now I cleared out more pantry items and made a delicious bean salad.

Bean Salad: 1 can each (drained and rinsed) red kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, and black-eyed peas with two cans diced tomatoes with juice, green chilies, chopped onion and grated garlic. Very tasty now and once the flavors have married even better.

Since beginning, I’ve invested in me with a new dehydrator and a Vita-Mix machine. These are great tools that make eating this way so much easier, but my oven and a heavy duty blender may have done the trick.

Until we meet again along the path, I wish you great health and success.

~ Me