Day 1: 155. What kind of diet?

Ok, so this morning I'm 155 according to my bathroom digital scale. That's not unusual for me; my weight usually varies a couple of pounds between morning and evening. Last night I read Part 1 of the book The Thyroid Diet by Mary Shomon. Here are some highlights:

"Recent studies have conservatively estimated that as many as 20 million people have a thyroid problem, the majority of them undiagnosed." (3)

"One study found that as many as 40% of overweight people had evidence of a dysfunctional thyroid." (4)

Causes and Risk Factors

• family history of thyroid problems
• smoking
• history of stomach infection or food poisoning
• allergies or sensitivity to gluten
• exposure to radiation (??)
• iodine deficiency
• exposure to metals, such as mercury or other toxins
• use of fluoridated water/dental fluoride treatments
• eating "goitrogenic" foods -- brussels sprouts, rutabagas, turnips, kohlabi, radishes, cauliflower, African cassava, millet, cabbage, and kale
• age over 60
• female
• hormonal variance such as perimenopause, menopause, pregnancy, or postpartum
• serious trauma to the neck
• past diagnosis with a variety of conditions

Symptoms
In addition to what I listed in my previous post, here are a few more:

• sensitive to cold
• muscle and/or joint pain
• carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis
• painful soles of feet
• face, eyes, arms, or legs are abnormally swollen or puffy
• menstrual period is heavier than normal, longer than it used to be, or comes more frequently
• fuzzy thinking (haha, I thought that was age)
• "a full or sensitive feeling in the neck"
• raspy/hoarse voice
• periodic heart palpitations
• high cholesterol
• allergies have gotten worse
• regular infections (such as yeast or sinus infections)
• shortness of breath

And interestingly, this tidbit: "One possible sign of thyroid abnormality is a low basal body temperature...Typically, basal body temperatures lower than 97.8 to 98.2 degrees F are thought to indicate hypothyroidism." (21) Shomon recommends taking temperature upon awakening, before getting out of bed, but cautions that the test is not considered conclusive by many practitioners. I'll have to try that as soon as I find the thermometer.

There is a lot of information about various thyroid hormone levels, which I will leave to a future post.

For now, the real question upon wakening on Day 1, is What kind of diet?

Skipping ahead to Chapter 9 of the book, I learn that Shomon recommends one of three plans:

The Free-Form Plan

• eat 3 meals a day
• protein -- each meal should include 1-2 portions of lean protein
• low-glycemic veges (eat all you want, at least 6 servings per day)
• low-glycemic fruits (1-2 servings max per day)
• low-glycemic starches (2-3 servings max)
• good fat -- small serving with each meal/snack
• snacks -- 1-2 per day if needed (but avoid eating after 8 pm)
• treats -- very sparingly (1-2 per week max)
• water -- 64 oz min
• supplements (subject of a future post)
• fiber -- 25 grams min.

Carb-Sensitive Plan

• 3 meals per day
• protein -- 1-2 portions in each meal
• low-glycemic veges (eat all you want, at least 6 servings per day)
• low-glycemic fruits (1 serving max per day)
• low-glycemic starches (1-2 servings max)
• good fat -- small serving with each meal/snack
• snacks -- 1-2 per day if needed (but avoid eating after 8 pm)
• treats -- very sparingly (1-2 per week max, avoid carbohydrate snacks)
• water -- 64 oz min
• supplements (subject of a future post)
• fiber -- 30 grams min.

My observation so far: it's the same as the Free-Form Plan, except less fruit and somewhat fewer carbs (in snacks), and more fiber (hmm, hard to do with less carbs).

Calorie-Sensitive Plan
This one is a little complicated, so bear with me. The aim of the plan is to "stay within your calorie target, getting approximately 35% of your calories from lean protein, 20% from low-glycemic veges, 15% from low-glycemic fruits and starches, and 30% from good fats." My observation: I hate it already; I don't have a PDA to carry around to keep track of everything, and it's not realistic to carry around a notebook to do a good job of this, I know from experience. But let me at least present her formula for how to compute the number of calories allowed (I am limiting the formula to women):

BMR (basal metabolic rate), per Harris-Benedict equation:

BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kilograms) + (1.8 x height in centimeters) - (4.7 x age in years)

Gag. Here goes.

1. Weight in kilograms. Divide weight in pounds by 2.2, so my weight in kg would be 155/2.2, or 70.5.
2. Height in centimeters. Multiply height in inches by 2.54, so my height in cm would be 61x2.54, or 155.

= 655 + (9.6 x 70.5) + (1.8 x 155) - (4.7 x 50)
= 655 + 676.8 + 279 - 235
= 1,846 calories

Hmm. I think 1800 calories is way too much for me, given past dieting experience. True, I haven't carefully allocated calories as Shomon describes into the categories of protein, fruits/starches, etc. But I am being realistic here: this diet sounds harder to follow due to all the record-keeping. I pass.

So, it's between the Free Form Plan and the Carb-Sensitive Plan. I just think it's hard to get enough fiber with an especially low-carb diet unless one is sprinkling fiber on one's salad, so I think I'm going to give the Free Form Plan a trial.

OK, so some meal planning is in order:

Breakfast:
1 cup of coffee plus 1 T sugar-free French vanilla creamer
1 scrambled egg with 1 T shredded cheddar cheese (according to the pkg, 1/4 cup of shredded cheese is 1 oz, which is one serving, so this is a little less than a serving)
1 medium banana

Lunch:
Sandwich with 2 slices of pumpernickel bread (= 2 servings of low-glycemic starch, but I'm biking with my kids to the beach today and we are bringing a picnic), 2 oz. of processed lunchmeat (brown sugar ham, not a great choice, but I haven't been to the store yet to buy lean, unprocessed turkey), 1 slice of cheddar cheese, a leaf of lettuce, and a T of honey mustard.
4 celery stalks with about 2 T of smooth peanut butter smeared sparingly
About 1/2 cup of baby carrots, raw

Afternoon snack:
2 cups of air-popped popcorn with light sprinkle of Land-o-Lakes Sharp Cheddar seasoning (5 calories, according to label, but mostly salt.)

Dinner:
Not sure yet. Doing some research in the book, and then off to the store. I definitely need to buy a small scale to weigh portions. I need more low-glycemic veges & fruits for the fridge. I need lean, unprocessed turkey.

Well, there's my start. The other thing is, that I spend a lot of time on my computer, writing and researching. So from now on, here's my rule: Every time I sit down to the computer, I have to do 5 minutes of exercises (situps, leg lifts, stretches, etc.) FIRST. I am interrupted a lot (kids), so I should be able to get in some exercise that way!