Week 1: Perspective & Evaluation

OK, it's been a week, and it's time to evaluate a few things.

1. Weight? Yes, on an average of only 880 calories per day (check my calorie diary, upper right of page, if you don't believe me -- there is no point to doing this if I'm not honest, so you'll just have to believe me; I'm being honest), I lost 2 pounds this week. Not as much as I'd hoped for the first week of serious dieting, but not a disaster, either.

2. The Mary Shomon Free Form Diet. I confess that after I found Calorie King (http://www.calorieking.com/), I started focusing more on calories and less on the requirements of the diet, which I should probably review if you didn't see my post about "Which diet?"

The Free Form Diet requirements (quoted below per Shomon's book The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss, p. 180):

• Eat 3 meals a day (yup, I did that)
• Protein - each meal should include 1-2 portions of lean protein (yes, check)
• Low-glycemic vegetables - eat all you want, and make sure you're getting at least 6 servings per day

Low-glycemic vege list per Shomon (serving size is 1/2 cup for raw or cooked veges but 1 cup of green leafy veges): artichokes, beans & legumes, brussels sprouts (don't eat raw, supposedly detrimental to hypothyroid dieting), celery, eggplant, green peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli (don't eat raw), cauliflower (don't eat raw), cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, spinach (don't eat raw), zucchini

(oops, no way did I eat 6 servings per day of low-glycemic veges. Looking at my daily intakes, I would say I averaged only 3 servings per day of low-glycemic or low-sugar veges. I guess I need to eat more cut up celery, cucumber, and squash to fill out these requirements)

• Low-glycemic starches - 2-3 servings a day max

Low-glycemic starches: Ezekiel sprouted bread (?), Bulgur (!), Whole-grain rye bread, Wasa crackers, Millet (!), Kavli bread, Amaranth (!), High-fiber multigrain bread, Whole-grain wheat bread, Pumpernickel, Akmak bread (?), Low-carb bread, Quinoa (?). Her serving sz is 1 slice of bread; crackers vary. I presume airpopped popcorn is OK here, too (2 cups serving sz)

(yup, on average I'm within 2-3 servings a day)

• Good fat - a small serving with each meal and snack (Shomon recommends olive oil, but I'm sure that safflower oil or peanut oil is just as good; here's a good link comparing fats. )

(yes, I seem to be on target with this, as well)

• Snacks - 1-2 per day if needed (I had airpopped popcorn a couple of times.)
• Treats - very sparingly: maybe a small serving once or twice a week at most (I shouldn't have, but I had a few mini Snickers this week, duly noted on the Calorie Diary.)
• Water - 64 ounces, minimum (I got close to this, probably 50 ounces on average? But there were a couple of days teaching when I didn't make it. So I'll try to do better next week.)
• Supplements - your choice as per your practitioner's recommendation (OK, I'm not doing this under "a doctor's care" right now, I'm doing this with common sense and by looking at academic studies regarding weight loss online. I'm smart and I'm self-disciplined; don't get me started on the health profession. However, the only supplement I'm taking right now is 2 chewable tablets per day of Caltrate 600 + Vitamin D. That's it, and I can point to research to back it up. I may add more later.)
• Fiber - 25 grams, minimum. (Oh bother. I only made it to an average of 16 grams per day this week, according to my CK diary, which you can check yourself. Yes, I'm horribly constipated, despite 16 grams per day, at least 50 oz of water per day, and despite having an Activia yogurt every day. AAAAAGGGHHH! OK. I'll have to do some research on the least destructive methods to improve constipation: laxatives? fiber supplements? or enemas? -- isn't this lovely? aren't you glad I'm sharing?)

OK, wrap it up. I need more low-glycemic veges per day and I need more fiber, apparently, to meet the Free Form Diet requirements. I'll add more of these next week and see if there is any difference.