Sunday, July 29, 2012



Hey, there I am!  Chillin' on the beach in Cape May where I spent the last week with the family.  Oh, and that's also me at 14 lbs lighter than I was on July 1.  Booyah Whole 30, BOO-FREAKIN'-YAH.  I do have to make two confessions, though:

1) I can't credit all of this to Whole30.  About a week into this process, I finally had an appointment (after a six month wait) with a primary physician who specializes in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, a condition I've had since high school.  You can consult Dr. Google for more details but the long and short of it is that I have a hormonal imbalance that messes with my ability to process insulin which leads to all sorts of issues including weight gain and ovaries that don't work quite right.  Most physicians, even OBGYNs, are less than knowledgeable about this issue and I'd lost almost all hope that I could find someone who would really help me proactively attack this.  Imagine my surprise when this doc instantly diagnosed my insulin resistance, prescribed me the medication I KNEW would help me, and even freaked out in a good way about the fact that I was already knowledgeable about paleo.  She actually recommends this way of eating to her PCOS patients.  So I'm fairly certain that the meds are helping because now I'm processing food like a normal person, but I like to see the meds and Whole30 as a dynamic duo of healthy weight loss ass-kicking.

2) Technically, my Whole30 ended at aWhole23 or so because I had a couple treats while on vacation and the official rules say that you have to start over if you have even a morsel of no-no food.  Four alcoholic drinks and two ice creams in the entire week aren't that bad, but still, the rules are the rules.  Anyway, the Whole9 crew is having an official Whole30 starting August 1, so I'm doing my best to tow the line until it's officially business time on Wednesday.

So even though this wasn't a pristine month of eating, I have to say I've learned a lot. First, coconut milk makes everything okay. I had it in my coffee (stir often, my friends), poured it over fruit and coconut flakes on the rare occasions where I craved dessert, and made lots and lots and lots of red curries with whatever leftover protein I had on hand and bunches of chopped veggies. Secondly, almost everyone I know seems to have taken my eating changes very personally. Why?  I have no idea, but they did.  I've actually given up on explaining it to people and instead have opted to just straight up lie and say I'm doing this to fight allergies or stomach issues (a partial truth).  Whenever I try to outline it any other way, people seem to explode into these furies where the food pyramid is trotted out as if I've never seen it before and I'm told about all of the circa-1980 starvation diet plans that I should try instead.  And lastly, I really do love to cook and enjoy food, which I can still do even if I make the Whole30 into the WholeRestofMyLifeWithaFewTreatsHereandThere.  And I can finally enjoy food without feeling guilty.  As long I ignore the whole grain-loving Scarsdale diet pushers out there, of course.


No recipes of my own today, but we tonight we had a beautiful piece of sirloin topped with this roasted garlic schmear from Symon's Suppers on the Cooking Channel.  It was amazeballs.  TRY. IT.

Also, after a week at the beach, my new (or re-newed?) obsession is with sea scallops.  No fancy recipe needed for these. Just get a 1/2 lb or so, heat up some butter or oil on medium heat, lightly salt and pepper those babies, and then cook for about 7 minutes on each side.  Only buy them if you know they are super fresh because the taste will be best that way.  The key is to keep the heat at medium and take your time.

I could have totally turned that last line into some sort of cheesy metaphor for eating clean and losing weight but I'd never do that to you.

2 comments:

  1. Can you believe I hate sea scallops? I think it's the consistency. I've been off dairy for a while due to intolerance. Coconut milk and almond milk are my saving grace. I make ice cream from coconut milk (delicious but the consistency is a tad different) and tapioca pudding from coconut milk.

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    1. Andrea! First, I got your new book and it's AWESOME. Will be doing a review here and on Amazon as soon as I get my act together. Secondly, I would love to get your recipe for coconut milk ice cream. My ice cream maker is feeling very neglected since I made the switch to non-dairy, so I'd love the chance to use it!

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