my progress

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone, Just wanted to share that I am on day 13 of the diet and am

feeling great. I focused mainly on avoiding pork, wheat, dairy and corn;

upping the beef and protein in general. That has been do-able. My energy

began to increase by the end of day 2 but I was skeptical to believe it was

due to such a short time on the diet. Despite getting that bad cough

sickness and my period, I had loads of energy and my mood was great (except

one bad PMS day). On day 9 I went out to dinner, a pre-planned menu that was

served over 2.5 hours and I went off the diet for that meal. I ate dairy,

decaf coffee & 3 pieces of wheat bread, and 3 glasses of white wine! I still

felt great the next day. However cheating on day 11 with a bagel for lunch

(no protein) and no protein for breakfast, was a disaster. Day 11, after

lunch, was the worst since beginning the diet, with very low energy,

fatigue, headache, bad mood, etc. I was also not eating between meals (for

various reasons). After beef in dinner I got a 2nd wind and was energetic

and happy again. This underscored for me how great this diet is and

reinforced why, for me, keeping the protein up, doing more beef than I used

to, and avoiding the wheat is key.

I also noted that in my teens and early 20s when left to my own devices I

was eating a lot of what the O diet is. It wasn't until I began reading

wellness newsletters and health magazines that I began eating things I

didn't like and/or eating foods against my will as the experts said they

were good for me. I intentionally abandoned beef and almost totally avoided

fruit. That is when the weight began piling on. Also, during my 2

pregnancies and afterward while breastfeeding, I was forcing myself to eat

certain things (i.e. whole wheat products) for my health and the health of

my babies. I know think this is why my weight stayed on despite eating low

calories and avoiding " junk " foods. I retrained myself to eat differently

than I would have naturally.

On this diet I am finding that I don't have cravings and don't even want

sweets or chocolate, despite more being around me due to Christmas holiday

time. I used to crave them both, no more. I was so worried that this diet

would be a real problem to be on. I see the biggest challenge as avoiding

wheat when eating on the go, such as visiting a deli or whatever. However,

it is not hard to chuck out the roll or to order soup.

I am considering finding out my secretor status now so I can make even more

finely-tuned food choices. As I progress on this diet I am sure I will begin

to avoid more things little by little, such as right now I can't give up my

favorite black pepper!! Just going with " the biggies " is doing wonders for

me, I am happy to feel this great by doing just what I am doing now.

I am finding no problems with using Ezekiel bread. Love the cinnamon raisin

toast with breakfast. The 4:9 is rather dry when plain on a sandwich,

though. I am planning to buy spelt flour in bulk from a co-op to make my own

bread recipes which I think taste better than the 4:9 and the store bought

spelt bread.

Thanks to everyone for the info shared on this list,