8:30AM 3 eggs cooked with 2 Tbs raw butter and 1 ounce raw cheddar cheese
12:15PM 3 eggs cooked with 2 Tbs raw butter
4:00PM 3 eggs cooked with 2 Tbs raw butter
7:00PM 3 eggs cooked with 2 Tbs raw butter
EGGS CONSUMED: 12 DIET SODAS: 0 (ZERO!!!) 8 DAYS DIET SODA FREE!!!
NOTE: It's day 20 of my eggfest and here's my caloric intake today: 12 pastured eggs (960 calories) with 8 tablespoons of raw butter (800 calories), and 1 ounces of raw cheddar cheese (90 calories) for a total of 1850 calories. I'm rolling right along with my eggfest going on three weeks and counting tomorrow. I plan on ending this experiment on Saturday, April 10, 2011 at 5PM when we have the Upstate South Carolina Low-Carb/Paleo Kick Off Gathering in Greenville, SC (join us if you're near the area!). It'll be the first non-egg meal in a month and I look forward to the experience of seeing people in my own backyard! Hope to see you there!
You know, it's funny I'm doing this eggfest right now and brand new research released in the April 2010 issue of The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry today looked at the impact of eggs on health. Low-carb researcher Dr. Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut collaborated on this study about the health implications of eating eggs. Many have complained about the negative effects that the yolk especially plays on heart health because of the fat and cholesterol in eggs, but that's not what Dr. Volek and his fellow researchers found. When combined with carbohydrate-restriction (and this is the key!), consuming eggs increased HDL cholesterol levels and increased the number of large, fluffy LDL particles that are healthy for your heart (it's the small, dense LDL particles that are indicative of a high-carb diet that you want to avoid).
So how ya like them eggs? Not only is it helping to produce weight loss (which is a nice "side effect" of eating healthy eggs, butter, and cheese), but more than anything it is improving my health markers EVEN MORE! I already have pretty good HDL and LDL particle size, but this eggfest is just improving upon those numbers even more. I've never had HDL above 72, but would love to see it even higher. And my LDL particle size has been sensational ever since my 2004 weight loss experience on Atkins. This kind of research just gives me a newfound confidence to keep doing what I'm doing, consume quality pastured eggs, raw butter, and raw cheese, and let the results speak for themselves. At some point I will be going to get my numbers checked again (probably this summer after I've lost 50 pounds and been eating clean for several months in a row) to see how I've progressed. THANKS for following my journey!
Here are some more egg pics to tickle your fancy for today:
9:30AM 3 eggs cooked with 1 Tbs butter and 1 ounce cheddar cheese
1:00PM 3 eggs cooked with 1 Tbs butter and 1 ounce cheddar cheese
4:15PM 3 eggs cooked with 1 Tbs raw butter, and 1 ounce raw cheddar cheese
7:45PM 3 eggs cooked with 2 Tbs raw butter
EGGS CONSUMED: 12 DIET SODAS: 0 (ZERO!!!) ONE WEEK DIET SODA FREE!!!
NOTE: It's day 19 of my eggfest and you'll notice my egg intake was up by 33% today: 12 eggs (960 calories) with 5 tablespoons of butter (500 calories), and 3 ounces of cheddar cheese (270 calories) for a total of 1730 calories. Today I deliberately added in more eggs to get my protein up a little more than it was. This is still a very high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb nutritional approach and now I've added in raw butter and raw cheddar cheese. I got a HUGE shipment in the mail today with 18 pounds of raw butter and 9 pounds of raw cheese. WOO HOO! Yes, my refrigerator looks odd to most people stocked full of fresh pastured eggs, raw butter, and raw cheese. I LOVE IT!
THE JIMMY MOORE 4 eggs 4 ounces hard cheddar cheese, full fat 4 tablespoons butter
1. Chop the cheese into very small pieces. 2. Break the eggs into a bowl and mix well with a fork. 3. Add the cheese to the eggs and mix well. 4. Heat the butter in a medium sized skillet over medium heat until the butter melts. 5. Add the egg/cheese mixture to the butter and start stirring the mixture in a clockwise direction with a fork as it cooks. 6. Continue to cook and stir until the eggs set. They should set within a few minutes and look just like the photo of the recipe.
SERVES 2.
One of my readers provided some analysis about my eggfest and he states that no matter what happens on my eggfest it has been a resounding success:
Your egg diet is "egg"zactly what you need right now, no matter how it goes. Being able to finally see that food can be just fuel allows for a paradigm shift where the idea of food as practically a drug is dropped even if only for a little while...that undeniable fact that the body is an awesome machine that does not have to follow the dictates we are taught to believe....You're breaking through the mental barrier of food-as-fuel that eventually leads to a real appreciation of the majesty that is nature, and by extension the human body.
He's right! Some MAJOR changes have happened inside my head and body that would have never happened had it not been for this eggfest. I will not regret taking these measures to help me rid myself of the diet soda (ONE WEEK OFF OF THEM!!!) and other artificial junk I no longer need. Anyone who struggles with this, I HIGHLY encourage you to try a very high-fat, adequate protein, very low-carb ketogenic approach to take away the cravings yourself. Is anyone else who is on the eggfest with me experiencing this too?
Here's the funny egg pic for today that hopefully brightens your day:
8:45AM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
12:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
3:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter, sour cream, and cheddar cheese
7:45PM 3 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 9 DIET SODAS: 0 (ZERO!!!) DAY 6 DIET SODA FREE!!!
NOTE: It's now day 18 of my eggfest and I switched up my egg meals just slightly today for the following calories: 9 eggs (720 calories) with 6 tablespoons of butter (600 calories), 6 ounces of cheddar cheese (540 calories), and 2 Tbs sour cream (60 calories) for a total of 1920 calories. I had some sour cream in the refrigerator today and decided to cook it with some of my eggs, but it didn't work out so well. One thing I have done in the past with my eggs is to put some salsa on top with some sour cream on the side for a sorta Southwest flair. Bobby Flay would be so proud! Maybe I'll add salsa at some point, but I'm not quite ready for that yet.
I also upped the cheese and lowered the butter slightly just playing around a little. Beginning tomorrow I will probably add one extra egg to each meal and cut the butter down to 1 tablespoon per meal. It's not that I fear the butter in any way, but just trying to get my protein level up a little more. After all, I'm a big guy and I want to make sure I'm getting an appropriate amount of protein for my bodily needs. Calories will still fall in at around 2,000/day and I'm not at all bored or tired of eggs as I approach three weeks on this plan. I know, it's hard to believe, but I'm still LOVING this eggfest!!!
Yesterday I shared an e-mail from a reader who said my eggfest idea was crazy and he saw my response to this notion. Today I got a follow-up e-mail from him with several more questions and my responses to them:
You've lost weight before and regained, so why do you think it will be different this time?
It's always a journey trying to find what will work for you and this eggfest is a part of that journey. You and others critical of my menus act as if the weight gain that has happened to me over the past couple of years is somehow my fault. It is not. I've been extremely good eating low-carb, but I now realize that for me I have to keep carbs very low if I hope to see the weight go down and stay down. The key point is I never stop trying to find the answer for me and can only do that if I constantly try things to make it happen.
And why would you view losing 20 pounds in two weeks as healthy and sustainable? I wouldn't.
Quite frankly, I don't really care what you think. This is my life, my body, my health. As I've stated many times in various posts about my weight gain, my health has been spectacular through it all. HDL up, trigs down, LDL particle size the large, fluffy kind, heart scan score of zero, etc. The fact that the eggfest has produced a 20-pound weight loss for me so quickly is simply an indicator that I'm moving back in the right direction again with the weight aspect of this equation. Is the weight loss sustainable? You bet it is and the lessons I'm learning from this experience (i.e. giving up diet soda, no longer relying on artificial sweeteners, not having the sweet cravings, and more!) have been an invaluable part of my continuing education.
It doesn't seem like you are thinking clearly about this. But do whatever you like.
I've never thought more clearly in my entire low-carb life. I will indeed do what I think is best for me and would only ask people like yourself to respect my decision. You don't have to do this, but it's what I feel is the right thing for Jimmy Moore.
I was just trying help, but apparently you already have all the answers.
Now there's no need to be smug and condescending about it, man. Why do you have to go and pitch a hissy fit because I don't bow down to you and agree to follow whatever plan YOU say is best? I'm doing this for me and I've never pretended to "have all the answers" as you claim. I'm simply learning what works for me and sharing those experiences with my readers. There's nothing wrong with that at all.
Not everyone is bellyaching over this eggfest like that guy--here's what a doctor wrote on my Facebook page:
I'm a doctor and have been eating nearly zero carb (meat, cheese, eggs) for 8 months now to control my Type 2 diabetes. My labs normalized completely within 5 weeks of starting and have stayed here. I haven't died yet, and I don't think Jimmy will either! In the long run, I think zero or very low-carb works best if the diet is primarily meat. At least that is what there is evidence for so far. I'm sure Jimmy will eventually move in that direction. In the meantime, his current diet is better than 99.9% of the population. We all should be a bit more critical of our OWN diets, and less of those belonging to others. Jimmy, your eggfest is inspiring. Thanks for keeping us all updated on your progress. It takes courage to share something that personal with the world. Way to go! I wish you continued success.
THANK YOU! To her point about moving towards a more meat-based diet, that's the next goal. I've decided that I will continue on with the eggfest until Saturday, April 10, 2010 during my evening meal where I will break it. I'm meeting up with my low-carb peeps in the Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina area that day at a restaurant called California Dreaming (details coming soon!) and will make that my first non-egg meal in over a month. Thereafter I'll be having some grass-fed beef with my eggs and butter and slowly make the transition to that for a while before maybe adding in some green leafy veggies. But I'm not in any hurry to move too quickly with this so that I don't trigger those desires for diet soda or other artificially sweetened stuff that I know my body doesn't need. I'm choosing to do this and it's making me healthier than I ever thought possible.
Here are two egg pictures for you today to put a great big smile on your face! ENJOY!
12:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
4:15PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
7:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 0 (ZERO!!!) DAY 5 DIET SODA FREE!!!
NOTE: It's now day 17 of my eggfest and my calories today were as follows: 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), 2 ounces of cheddar cheese (180 calories), and 2 ounces cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 1820 calories. And, boy oh boy, you would think I was eating some kind of garbage diet with the way some people are responding to my eggfest. Check out this e-mail I received from a reader today:
I read about your recent weight gain. In my opinion, you are going in the wrong direction. The "eggfest" just sounds crazy in my opinion. I think you should look at other options.
Hmmmm...I've been on this eggfest for a little more than two weeks, lost over 20 pounds, given up my diet soda and virtually all of my addiction to sweet stuff, feel absolutely fantastic, am never hungry, and my clothes are fitting better already...and I'm supposed to "look at other options" simply because this guy things what I'm doing is "crazy?" Can someone explain the rationale behind this? And when I decided to throw excerpts from this e-mail up on Twitter and Facebook, the floodgate of opinions came pouring in. More than 75 responses and counting have come in from people who either support what I'm doing or offering up reasons why they think it's not such a good idea. The back and forth on this one has made for very interesting reading if you wanna check it out.
One of the criticisms from well-meaning low-carb supporters about my eggfest is the claim that it is making me deficient in certain vitamins and nutrients that my body needs and that I'm putting myself on track for cardiac arrest and even death. But I have a question for anyone who believes this is true: What about those people who eat a low-fat diet? Or how about those who are totally disengaged from eating healthy and are stuffing their mouths daily with fast food, soda, candy, and other carbage? Where is the carnage in the streets of people keeling over eating THAT kind of nutrient-devoid diet? With my eggfest, I'm getting plenty of fat, adequate amounts of protein, and very few carbohydrates at all. Is anyone seriously contending that the eggfest is unhealthy compared with those other ways of eating? Surely you jest.
In case you are wondering, yes, I do take a battery of vitamins which I've done a YouTube video about previously:
Since we did that video in 2007, I have also added in Vitamin D3 gel caps to my supplements:
One other supplement I started taking recently is iodine after interviewing Dr. Jorge Fletchas on my podcast last year. In all, these vitamins give me an incredible boost of nutrition to go along with whatever diet I happen to be consuming at any given moment. I've ditched all the fake foods from my diet now and am having real, whole, fresh free-range eggs from a local farmer, real butter (and soon will be switching to raw butter now that I've found a supplier), and full-fat cheddar and cream cheese (again switching to raw cheese). I would argue the eggfest is HIGHLY SUPERIOR in nutrition than the chosen diet of most of the population. And don't forget it was Dr. Mike Eades who brought up the case study of an 88-year old man in a nursing home who ate 24 eggs a day for many years during an interview I conducted with him and Dr. Mary Dan Eades a couple of years back:
Sometime soon I will contact several low-carb nutrition and medical experts I know to get their feedback on what they think about my eggfest. Fred Hahn of Slow Burn fame chimed in on the claims about an all-egg diet being harmful, whether the eggfest is causing more harm than good for the low-carb community, and if he thinks this is a fad:
Eggs have a good deal of choline in them and choline helps mobilize body fat. The only problem I see is that you might wind up hating eggs for the next ten years! You are NOT giving the LC community a black eye. Fad diets are only fads if they come and go quickly. Eating eggs has been around for quite some time I believe. But if you eat other meats it is not going to harm fat loss. I think your recent fat loss is mostly due to your quitting diet soda.
I responded to him that I lost 14 pounds the first week of doing this while still drinking the diet soda and that the weight loss has actually slowed down somewhat since I gave them up less than a week ago. But I know that ditching them in the long run is best for my overall health. And I'm STILL NOT CRAVING THEM! Utterly incredible for this sweet-a-holic-and-a-half! Okay, it's time for YOU to be brutally honest about how you feel about my eggfest. Do you see anything wrong with it as long as I'm enjoying it and sticking to it to retrain my body to begin making and wanting healthier choices? I want any and all comments on this one. THANKS for sharing!
Here's a fantastic e-mail I received from a longtime reader of my blog:
I've been following your menus blog for the last few days. I am so happy that you have gone all these days without artificial sweeteners, and that you do not crave them. I feel that your body chemistry is really going to normalize, and that everything is going to get better for you both weight and health wise. It is clear that the egg diet is giving your body something that is satisfying your nutritional needs in a new way.
Now don't get me wrong. I am not telling you how to eat or how to "improve" the diet you have chosen, even though telling Jimmy Moore what to eat seems to have become a cottage industry over the internet this last week. I am just applauding your good choices!
I'll share this with you. My wife used to have a terrible craving for sweets. But she has given up sweets in all their forms. She does not miss them. And she has never used artificial sweeteners. But she does eat a LOT of good pastured butter. And she continues to lose weight, more every month.
I'm proud of ya, buddy!
AWESOME STUFF! Here's another egg pic to help brighten your day today! ENJOY!
11:30AM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
2:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
5:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 0 (ZERO!!!) DAY 4 DIET SODA FREE!!!
NOTE: It's now day 16 of my eggfest and my calories today were as follows: 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), 2 ounces of cheddar cheese (180 calories), and 2 ounces cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 1820 calories. I'm making it giving up diet soda and really all artificially-sweetened products I used to CRAVE...disappeared! I can't explain what's happening, but I know that what I'm doing is working some really extraordinary things in my mind and body. It's gratifying to know that all I've attempted to do the past few years to get this thing under control have led me to something that seems to be the answer for me. You cannot fully understand how freeing it is to maybe, just maybe, be on the brink of a breakthrough that could change the course of the rest of my life. That's empowering!
Today was the first BIG test of my eggfest because our church choir decided to have a social at a Mexican restaurant this evening. They offered us free drinks and Mexican food is one of my favorites. Everyone was sucking down soda and ordering beans, rice, flour tortillas, and all that other carbage! That said, I had my egg meal 30 minutes before the social began at 6:00PM and I simply engaged in the conversations without eating or drinking anything. And I was surrounded with lots of Mexican food and sodas that could have tempted me, as well as a cake! What the heck?! Check it out:
But you know what? I wasn't even remotely tempted at all. Whether it's because I have felt satisfied with my egg meals or if stabilizing my blood sugar/insulin levels has done something to help me, I'm just not craving anything "sweet" right now. For people who know me, they'd be the first to tell you what a big deal this is. I've ALWAYS had a sweet tooth for as long as I can remember and I've fed it sweet stuff whether it was sugar all those years before I started Atkins or the artificially-sweetened stuff the past six years. That stuff had a hold of me tight for so long that I never thought I'd be able to lick it. But in just over two weeks on the eggfest, I feel no desire to put that stuff in my mouth.
I don't know what switch was turned in my brain or what, but I want it to stay there long-term. That's one of my reasons for continuing this eggfest a little while longer before transitioning to adding spinach to my eggs or eating grass-fed beef for the meals later in the day. That time will come when it comes, but right now I'm so excited to see the changes happening within me not just physically, but mentally overcoming my addiction to needing something sweet in my life. It's encouraging to know I am making myself healthier than I ever thought possible by taking this temporary eggfest detour to get back on track again. THANK YOU for all of your encouragement and comments about it!
Before I go today, here's another cute egg pic that I hope you enjoy:
11:45AM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
2:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
5:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 0 (ZERO!!!) DAY 3 DIET SODA FREE!!!
NOTE: It's now day 15 of my eggfest and here's the scoop on my calories today: 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), 2 ounces of cheddar cheese (180 calories), and 2 ounces cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 1820 calories. Motivated by an amazing first two weeks of this all-eggs-all-the-time plan and over 20 pounds lost and counting, I enter the third week stoked about what's to come. I've been inundated with people sending me e-mails, Facebook and Twitter messages, and comments about my plan over the past week suggesting how I can "improve" upon it. Ummmmm, why would I change anything right now when it's all going swimmingly well? That doesn't make any sense at all to me. Oh well, people have a right to share their opinions...and I have a right to listen and move on.
Some have expressed their shock that I've been able to last this long and it's really not a big deal to me. I've quickly adapted to this simple-to-follow plan of eating my egg meals every 3-4 hours as a "fuel-up" time and nothing more. I'm not obsessed with what I'm eating, no longer looking for some mysterious "variety" to keep from getting "bored," not longing for any junk food that is labeled "low-carb" or otherwise...all of that is irrelevant to me now. I'm just as surprised as most of you who've written that this shift has happened so quickly, but all I can say is the eggfest has really done some incredible things for me not just physically, but also psychologically. It's arguably the best thing I've done for my diet since I began livin' la vida low-carb on January 1, 2004. The best part of it all is I'm enjoying the process and, of course, the results.
Another question that has come up about my eggfest is "when will it end?" That question remains to be seen, but I can tell you I have no intention of giving it up anytime soon. As long as I'm progressing towards the goal of reaching 210 pounds in 2010 and my health remains as spectacular as it has been, there's no sense in giving it up or transitioning to anything else. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I could easily envision staying on this for most of the rest of the year. We'll have to wait and see how my schedule looks (I may be taking a trip in a couple of weeks to Seattle and I'm DEFINITELY going to NYC in May, so I will have to decide how I will be eating on those trips when I don't have easy access to eggs).
One other subject that has come up from a very dear reader who wrote the following:
In reading your menus for the last year or so, it seems that when your dear Christine is sick or having surgery is when you fall off the wagon and turn to low-carb ice cream, low carb bread, and even non low-carb foods. I understand this entirely as I have the same problem when my dear husband is not well. The stress and emotional distress sends me over the edge. And, the so-called "low-carb" products are just a gateway drug to carb hell. I am a Type 2 diabetic with high insulin, so this is a big no-no for me. Does the stress cause an increase in insulin production which then makes us hungry? Is it strictly on an emotional level? My mother always thought food was the answer for everything in children. Is it a cortisol, endorphin, or a serotonin thing? Perhaps you can find the answer for the zillions of us out here with this problem.
I responded back to her, "Pray that Christine is healthy and stays well this year!" HA! Seriously, she does have a point. Those are the times when I tend to reach for my own personal "comfort" foods and I'm ready to preempt that before it happens this time around. I'm committing to ALL of you right now that through thick and thin, good times and bad, come Hell or high water, I WILL stick with this real, whole foods, high-fat, adequate protein, low-carb plan to get my weight back down again and continue to improve my health markers. This is my life and I fully intend to live it the best I can free from the artificial desires that pretend to fulfill me. I know better and am striving for the good things in life--that are TRULY good for me!
A reader friend sent me a series of egg photos that I will be sharing over the next week leading up to Easter next Sunday. What a great alternative idea to dyeing them! I'll be sharing these with you at the end of my commentary until then. ENJOY!
12:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
3:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
6:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 0 (ZERO!!!) DAY 2 DIET SODA FREE!!!
NOTE: I've hit the two-week mark of my eggfest and I can't wait to share with you the results thus far of my experiment only eating eggs, butter, and cheese. Full details coming up in a moment. Today I had the following caloric intake: 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), 2 ounces of cheddar cheese (180 calories), and 2 ounces cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 1820 calories. Once again I went the entire day without consuming a single diet soda and, to be honest, I didn't really feel the desire for one either. Quite frankly, I'm surprised this has kicked in so quickly for me, but I credit my low-carb lifestyle over the past 6+ years for preparing me for when the day would come that I could say goodbye to diet soda and all artificially-sweetened stuff in my diet. I'm giving it a go and I sincerely appreciate all the outpouring of love and support as I continue down this journey. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!
One week ago, I shared with you how I've been on this all-egg diet and the news was pretty good. The only downside I shared at the time has been the heartburn and it's still there from time to time--but MUCH MUCH better now than it was. I don't know what the source of the heartburn is and it wasn't the diet sodas since I still get heartburn even without drinking any the past couple of days. Like I said, it is a marked improvement over what I was feeling last week at this time, so that's a good thing. Some people have asked about my energy levels--THROUGH THE ROOF! I'm still spilling ketone bodies galore and they are fueling my body and brain with so much energy right now I can barely contain it.
Honestly, I don't even feel like I'm on any kind of "restrictive diet" nor am I "bored" with eating the same thing all the time. I'm not looking at food for the pleasure it gives me necessarily (although, I ain't gonna lie, I'm STILL loving these eggs!), but rather like filling up my car with gas. Fuel is fuel and that's how I'm viewing my egg meals. My aim is to stick with the plan of eating every few hours, keeping the meals basically isocaloric, paying attention to how I'm feeling (AWESOME right now!), and doing this for as long as I'm seeing results. I realize this eggfest isn't for everyone, but it's for Jimmy Moore. Yes, I could be doing this with grass-fed meats or a mix of other foods, but eggs are what I've chosen to do. Whether you agree with it or not, I really don't care because I'm doing what's right for me and my hyperinsulinemia.
Alright, with that out of the way, it's time to share my results after two weeks on the eggfest...and again it's VERY good news! After starting out at 289 pounds when I got back from the cruise on March 12, 2010, I lost 14.2 pounds in the first week as I reported one week ago. That was a substantial amount of weight loss and honestly I didn't expect a lot of weight loss on the scale for week two. Maybe a couple of pounds would have been awesome. Well, when I stepped on the scale and it showed me a weight of 268.4, I was ecstatic! That was an additional 6.4 POUNDS LOST for a grand total of 20.6 POUNDS SHED IN TWO WEEKS! WOW!
As excited as I am about this, I still must temper it with the reality that I've been struggling with this issue for the past 2+ years and I can't help but be skeptical about what's to come. But if these first two weeks are any indication, it appears I'm well on my way to seeing great success thanks to the eggfest. Why would I change to anything else right now if this is working so magically well to produce the results I'm looking for? The answer is I wouldn't and I won't. The momentum is on my side and I can't wait to see what's gonna happen in the weeks and months to come. This journey is not even close to being over, but now I have the confidence and the hope to see the possibility that this may be the answer I've been looking for. We shall see in the coming days!
10:45AM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
2:15PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
5:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 0 (ZERO!!!) DAY 1 DIET SODA FREE!!!
NOTE: I'm now on Day 13 of my eggfest and my calories today were as follows: 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), 2 ounces of cheddar cheese (180 calories), and 2 ounces cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 1820 calories. It was a monumental moment today in my eggfest journey because today I embarked on what could very well be the biggest obstacle I've faced over the past six years of livin' la vida low-carb--GIVING UP DIET SODA! Yes, I've struggled with this one for many years and the time is right. I credit the eggfest for helping my body to realize that I just don't need them anymore. I'd like to expand upon this thought more in just a moment.
First I had to share with you a blog post that health blogger Matt Stone wrote about me and my eggfest yesterday entitled Poor Poor Jimmy Moore. It's certainly great entertainment to see my weight gain and low-carb lifestyle mocked in that manner, but at the same time it's kinda sad that these people just don't get why low-carb nutrition is so important for people like me and so many of you. Yes, I'm dealing with my issues, but that's not the fault of low-carb. The diet is how we were meant to eat and have eaten as for tens of thousands of years. The real fad diets are the ones that have come along since the Industrial Revolution purporting to be better than a diet consisting of things like real butter and eggs, for example.
On that note, some people especially in the comments section at Examiner have accused me of doing a "fad" diet with this eggfest. That's so hilarious to me...what exactly is faddish about consuming real whole foods like eggs, butter, and cheese? Hello? Anyone? Yes, it's unorthodox, but that doesn't make the eggfest anything other than a diet of healthy high-fat, adequate protein, low-carb nutrition that is good for my specific metabolic condition. I could stay on this for a very long time because I love eggs that much. Plus, I've noticed something as I approach two weeks on this plan--I'm not thinking about food hardly at all. AWESOME!
And that's the point I was making earlier about giving up the diet sodas BECAUSE of the eggfest. Rather than looking at food and wondering, "What am I gonna have at my next meal" I've now turned that around to say "It's time to fuel my body." Seeing food as an energy source rather than a pleasure-seeking venture is a radical shift for me. But being on the all-eggs-all-the-time plan has opened my eyes to some bad habits I had acquired in over six years of low-carb living. One of those I now see was mostly a habit was my diet soda consumption. It wasn't until I stripped down my diet to eggs, butter, and cheese that my body finally said ENOUGH. And so you'll notice today was Day 1 of my quest to say goodbye to the diet sodas and to all artificial sweeteners for good.
If you're skeptical that I'll be able to do it, you're in good company. SO AM I! But if my long-term goal is to be as healthy as I can possibly be, this is a necessity. And the best part is that I didn't miss the diet sodas in my life today. That's a MAJOR thing that I think bodes well for me succeeding with this and I am confident it will happen as long as I keep the focus off of the enjoyment of food as a first priority and rather on food being fuel for my body. It's almost hard for me to explain it right now but this eggfest is working on me BIG TIME. For that reason alone, I'm gonna be continuing on with it for a while longer. Yes, at some point I will introduce some grass-fed beef into the mix along with the eggs, but the eggs are doing the trick for me.
Stay tuned tomorrow as I announce my two-week weight loss and progress with the eggfest! Feel free to share any thoughts or questions you may have about what I'm doing.
11:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
2:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
5:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 1
NOTE: I'm now on Day 12 of my eggfest and here was what my caloric intake was for today: 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), 2 ounces of cheddar cheese (180 calories), and 2 ounces cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 1820 calories. I had to break up my routine somewhat today since we went to see the tax guy at 3:00PM and that can take a couple of hours. So I ate my third meal a little sooner than normal to make sure I had something in me in case it went long. Thankfully we were finished in about 75 minutes, so I was able to get right back on the timing of my meals for the fourth meal. I suppose I could have had one more meal at 8:45PM, but I just wasn't hungry. WOO HOO!
Something pretty cool happened today that I think will be a watershed moment for me in this journey to get the weight back down again. In the busy-ness of the day getting things done with the blog and preparing to meet with our accountant, I totally "forgot" to have a diet soda. I know that seems strange to think you'd not remember to have something to drink like that, but it led me to one conclusion -- I don't really NEED them after all. With my reduction in diet soda consumption to 3 a day with a goal of 1 or less daily on this eggfest plan, I think I'm FINALLY getting to the point where I can let them go. I'm not gonna lie to you -- this is very difficult for me as you well know. I've tried before and failed to make it stick. In 2010, I want to make this happen!
So you'll notice I had ONE diet soda today (which was amazing to me!) and Lord willing it will be my last one for a very long time...or even ever! I can't believe I'm actually typing this right now because I adore drinking Splenda-sweetened and stevia-sweetened diet sodas immensely. But if I'm working on being as healthy as I possibly can on my high-fat, adequate protein, low-carb diet moving towards a Paleo-styled diet long-term, then the diet sodas have to go. Pray for me to overcome my desire for them and begin this new day in my journey with a cheerful demeanor. I KNOW I can do this -- and I will! THANKS for your support!
12:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
3:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
7:00PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 4
NOTE: I'm now on Day 11 of my eggfest and check out how I did with my food consumption today: 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), 1 ounces of cheddar cheese (90 calories), and 3 ounces cream cheese (300 calories) for a total of 1830 calories. I like eating at similar times every single day because you can get into a rhythm with a plan like this so that it just become second nature. At the same time, I don't want my body to get so used to eating this way that my efforts become counterproductive as I enter a state of homeostasis. Mixing up the times may be a good remedy for that. But unless I see a major stall or other issue arise, I'm not gonna worry about it.
You might be wondering where this whole idea for an eggfest first popped into my head. Well, actually, it has been a long time in the making and was inspired by a podcast interview I did with Drs. Mike & Mary Dan Eades a couple of years ago. I recalled we talked about eggs during that conversation and I told them I'd love to do an all-egg diet for a week just to see what would happen to my various health markers. Check it out:
Yes, this has been a long time coming and now I'm doing it! And, might I add, LOVING it!
9:00AM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
12:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
4:00PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
7:00PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 3
NOTE: I'm now on Day 10 of my eggfest and here's what I ate today: 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), 2 ounces of cheddar cheese (180 calories), and 2 ounces cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 1820 calories. I like this meal plan best with four meals, cheese with every meal, and spaced out about every 3-4 hours. Sundays are usually very hard for me to eat my first meal, get to church and sing in the choir for both services, and then get home in time to eat my next meal. I did it today, but I had to wait until just before I left to eat first and then as soon as I got home made my second meal.
Some of you have been wondering much longer will I be keeping this up? The honest answer is "I don't know." I do know it's working for me right now like a charm, so why mess with it. I'm sure there will come a point when I'll want to transition to a similar level of calories and macronutrient ratio coming from other foods besides eggs. But I cannot underscore enough how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE eggs. That's probably what is making this so enjoyable for me right now and motivates me to stick with it longer than most people EVER would. But that's just me. Maybe you don't like eggs like I do, but this is an incredible experiment to get me refocused on doing the right things. And for that I'm grateful.
12:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
3:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
7:00PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 4
NOTE: I'm now on Day 9 of my eggfest and today I consumed 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), 2 ounces of cheddar cheese (180 calories), and 2 ounces cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 1820 calories. The heartburn has subsided during the daytime now and only seems to happen when I lay down in the bed to go to sleep now. Maybe it will go away soon, but I'm still keeping an eye on it. Otherwise, this plan has been fantastic! I'm still showing ketone bodies in my urine and I'm not hungry eating this way at all. My energy level is up and I'm confident this is helping my hyperinsulinemia get under control.
Remember a few weeks ago I told you about a friend of mine from church who collapsed while on the treadmill and doctors found he had a genetic heart condition that had killed both his father and grandfather at the same age he is? Well, I wanted to update you on him today and it's good news. After putting him on mandatory bed rest for a few days after he fell in the gym, his cardiologist said he needed to have a pacemaker put in since one side of his heart was trying to pump for his entire heart. I've seen him in church the past couple of weeks and he looks fantastic. The good news is he is still pumped up about livin' la vida low-carb and I wish him continued success as he moves on with his life now with a pacemaker. THANK YOU for your prayers and thoughts for him.
Still truckin' right along with the eggfest and will be blogging it at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog to share what I'm doing with my readers there. I realize not everyone could do something like this, but it's definitely working for me right now.
9:00AM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
12:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter
3:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
7:00PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and 2 ounces cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 3
NOTE: I'm now on Day 8 of my eggfest and yes, I'm still LOVING it. Some of you probably can't imagine how somebody could eat the same thing for every meal upwards of 4-5 meals a day, but I've always been that way. Longtime readers of my menus blog know I'm a creature of habit and can latch on to a specific food or pattern that I like for weeks at a time. It's just the way I'm wired. Or maybe I'm just weird (no comment Christine!).
Now that I've been doing this eggfest for a week, I've sorta found my groove with timing and portions that give me the desired effect. It looks like eight eggs spaced out over every 3 1/2 hours is the perfect amount for me. Today I consumed 8 eggs (640 calories) with 8 tablespoons of butter (800 calories), a total of 3 ounces of cheddar cheese (270 calories) after I added an extra bit to my final meal of the day to increase my calories as well as 1 ounce cream cheese (100 calories) for a total of 1810 calories.
I can certainly live with this for a while if need be because I'm not at all hungry, feel incredibly energetic, and even psychologically feel like this time I've FINALLY found a plan that just might work for me. It will still take persistence and patience, but It appears I've found the right mix of fat, protein, and carbs that's working for me. I'm still cautiously optimistic, though, because I've been down this road before seeing early success on a plan and then it stop working. But this time feels like it'll be different.
And, yes, I'm doing this consuming diet soda still and I admit that's been a struggle to give up. But despite the diet soda, I'm seeing results. Ultimately I'd love to give up my diet soda habit, but incrementally I will work on it. Limiting myself to 3 or less a day is a MAJOR accomplishment. If you only knew...just know I'm working on getting down to 1 or less daily. I'm doing it in my timing in a way that works for me.
As I begin week 2 of of eggfest plan, I know what I'm doing is helping me already. It's exciting to think that my HDL "good" cholesterol is going way up, my triglycerides are coming down even further, the majority of the LDL particles in my blood are increasing to the large, fluffy kind and so much more. And oh yeah--I'm losing fat and weight! Things are moving in the right direction and I'm anxious to see what happens next.
9:45AM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
1:00PM 2 eggs cooked with butter
4:15PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
7:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 8 DIET SODAS: 4
NOTE: Today was officially one week on my eggfest and my first update on how it's going so far. Today I got up a little later than usual, so it reduced my egg meals to just four today. That lowered my egg consumption to 8 (640 calories), butter was down to 8 tablespoons (800 calories), and I had 2 ounces of cheddar (180 calories) along with 1 ounce cream cheese (100 calories) for a total of 1720 calories--my lowest intake of the week. Of course, I wasn't hungry enough to eat more than that, so it would have been a moot point trying to stuff down an extra egg or cheese at each meal or adding an additional meal. I'm cool with it.
So, you might be wondering how this whole "eggfest" experiment is going for me. Let me share with you my thoughts:
- Since I LOVE eggs, I'm still not tired of eating them yet - The butter and cheese have made this experience enjoyable - I don't see this as a forever and ever amen kinda thing, but not a bad "back-to-the-basics" plan - Despite the heartburn which isn't all the time, this has been very pleasurable to do - It's been quite economical...5 dozen eggs ($10), 2 pounds of butter ($6), and 1 pound of cheese ($4) total for the week - Consistency in the meals so I know exactly what I'm eating calorically and macronutrient-wise - I have been in ketosis from the get-go...as expected eating so high-fat, low-carb - I feel fantastic and can already feel I'm getting smaller in my clothes...ever-so-slightly - My body fat percentage according to my scale went from 35.2 down to 33.8 (WOO HOO!)
But how about the weight loss, hmmm? You know wanna know. Although I'm not using weight as my primary means for judging my success on this plan, it is an interesting number to look at. When I returned from the cruise, I was at my highest weight since 2004 when I was losing the first time--289 POUNDS! Grrrrr! So after being so inspired by the speakers on the low-carb cruise to get my hyperinsulinemia under control, my plan to eat my egg meals that are high in fat, adequate in protein and low in carbohydrates has yielded in just one week a total of 14.2 pounds lost. Today I weighed in at 274.8 pounds.
I'm somewhat excited about this, but at the same time I am skeptical. I've been down this road before doing "sweet"-free and other such plans, but I'm loving this one immensely. I can honestly see myself continuing on this plan for an entire month to see what happens. I consumed over 60 eggs in the past week...don't you know the American Heart Association would be shocked to hear someone doing something like this--ON PURPOSE! LOL! Well, I know I'm not "clogging my arteries" or causing myself harm eating this way. It's just good old-fashioned farm-raised eggs and they taste pretty darn delicious if you ask me.
Somebody asked if I'll be on this for life. Maybe not all day everyday, but I could see this being the basis of how I eat most of the time as a convenient, money-saving, structured way to insure I'm getting the right proportion of nutrition for my body. At some point I may include one day when I eat low-carb and then back to the eggs the rest of the week. I can see my body getting so used to eating a certain number of calories that when I go to "normal" low-carb I will be unable to overeat. All of this is an experiment and I'm happy to share the results with you here. So far I'm pleased!
2:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
5:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
9:00PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 9 DIET SODAS: 3
NOTE: Day 6 of my eggfest and here are my statistics for today: Consumed 9 eggs (720 calories), 9 tablespoons of butter (900 calories), and 2 ounces cheddar cheese (180 calories) as well as 2 ounces cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 2000 calories. My second egg meal today I just wasn't very hungry, so I only had the one egg at that time. But the rest of the day was business as usual and I ended up eating 9 eggs instead of 10 like I have been and just 9 tablespoons of butter instead of 10. This reduced my calories slightly today, but let me hit my goal of 2,000 on the nose. All in all a good day!
However, I have noticed something start to happen today that I have not usually had to deal with--HEARTBURN! And I don't mean the minor kind that just comes and goes after a meal. This is like a bonfire rising from my stomach all the way up to my throat causing the uncomfortable sensation that's really quite annoying. I tried relieving it with water, but it only gets worse. And surprisingly diet soda helps to provide relief from it (go figure!). Anyone have a theory as to why consuming eggs, butter and cheese would lead to this? I'm perplexed.
Still feeling fantastic about what I'm doing and plan on continuing this all-eggs-all-the-time plan for a little while longer. At some point it will morph into a most of the time thing with maybe one day off a week from it or a weekend off if I'm going out of town with no access to eggs every 3 hours like I have at home. One thing is for certain, my body is definitely back into ketosis and it's so awesome to see that happening on the Ketostix:
That's what eating a high-fat, adequate protein, low-carbohydrate diet will do for you! :D On the other hand, have you heard about what eating a vegan diet has done to some whacked-out people in San Francisco? Check this out:
2:15PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
5:15PM 2 eggs cooked with butter
8:00PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 10 DIET SODAS: 3
NOTE: Day 5 of my eggfest and today I yet again consumed 10 eggs (800 calories), 10 tablespoons of butter (1000 calories), and 2 ounces cheddar cheese (180 calories) as well as 1 ounce cream cheese (100 calories) for a total of 2080 calories. I've found that 10 eggs spaced out throughout the day is just about the perfect amount of food for me to consume to give me the energy my body needs. Three out of the five meals include cheese in them for more fat and protein and very few carbohydrates.
Fat intake has been close to 85% by design with protein around 15% and minimal carbohydrate. Other than the calories being around 2,000 daily, this diet closely mimics the diet used to control seizures and prevent cancer. I suppose if I had issues losing weight eating this way, then I'd keep the same 84/15/1 ratio of fat to protein to carbohydrate and simply lower calories slightly. But this is working pretty well right now and I physically feel smaller than I did when I started this last Friday. That's a good sign and it's those kind of intangibles that I'll be using to measure my progress on this plan.
GROSS-OUT ALERT! When I lost my weight in 2004 after weighing in at 410 pounds, there was one thing that was kinda disgusting but also gratifying because I knew my body was getting rid of stored body fat. I recall seeing fatty stools when I'd poop and I again saw that happening today. It was disturbingly awesome to see the floating yellow stools on top of the water because that's stored body fat leaving my body. Sorry to be so graphic, but it was exciting to see something familiar happening again in my efforts to shed body fat. In other words, the eggfest is working and I'm sticking with it for a little while longer.
At some point, I will likely add in meat to this plan, but I'm not gonna hurry that process up. I'm enjoying my eggs and the consistency of the meals. Sometimes when you mix it up, you lose count and proportion of the fat/protein/carbohydrate ration of what you are eating which I think is pretty important. So that's one advantage to the eggfest. Plus I'm eating real, whole eggs, butter, and cheese that are an incredible part of a healthy low-carb lifestyle. It's the best of all worlds.
Finally, I wanted to share some video testimonies from people who went on the 2010 low-carb cruise last week:
2:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
5:15PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
8:30PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and Provolone cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 10 DIET SODAS: 3
NOTE: Day 4 of my eggfest and I consumed 10 eggs (800 calories), 10 tablespoons of butter (1000 calories), and 2 ounces cheddar cheese (180 calories) as well as 1 ounce Provolone cheese (70 calories) for a total of 2050 calories.
I lost the contents of the commentary on this day for some reason, so I apologize for that. Crazy Blogger software!
5:45AM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
9:00AM 2 eggs cooked with butter
1:15PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
5:45PM 2 eggs cooked with butter
8:15PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cheddar cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 10 DIET SODAS: 3
NOTE: Day 3 of my eggfest and I can tell Sunday is gonna be my most difficult day of the week to stick with this new egg plan. Church was a challenge because we're there most of the morning and it's hard for me to get home in time to have my next egg meal before the 5th hour. I just barely made it today. Maybe I'll consider bringing a hard-boiled egg with me to eat between services after Sunday school or something. I'll make it work.
Had 10 eggs (800 calories), 10 tablespoons of butter (1000 calories), and 3 ounces of cheddar cheese (270 calories) for a total of 2070 calories today -- ALMOST PERFECT! I did have three diet sodas today and my goal is to get that down to 1 or less daily. Working on it...slowly but surely! My body obviously wanted me to get some work done early today making me wide awake at 5:30AM this morning. I was struggling to stay awake in church (no offense, Pastor DJ!). Got a nice nap in after my egg lunch meal and got to eat again when I woke up. WOO HOO! Loving this plan so far.
11:45AM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
2:15PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
5:00PM 2 eggs cooked with butter and cream cheese
8:00PM 2 egg cooked with butter and cream cheese
EGGS CONSUMED: 10 DIET SODAS: 3
NOTE: Day 2 of my eggfest and I decided to kick up the egg counts today to increase calories and see how I feel. I had a total of 10 eggs (800 calories), 10 tablespoons of butter (1000 calories), and 5 ounces of cream cheese (500 calories) for a total of 2300 calories. That's a little better than I had yesterday, but I may aim for around 2000 calories/day for this experiment.
You might be wondering what I hope will happen as a result of this egg-stravaganza! I'm so glad you asked. In addition to helping me shed the pounds, I look forward to seeing my HDL go WAY UP and my triglycerides go WAY DOWN. Not sure what's gonna happen to my LDL, although I do know the particle size will remain mostly the large, fluffy kind. Depending on how long I do this egg thing, those blood test results should be amazing.
One other thing I'd like to do after I've been on this for a little while longer is check my blood sugar levels at specified times to see what's happening there. The goal is to equalize my hyperinsulinemia with this strategy, right? Well, let's see what is going on with blood sugar levels consuming the eggs every few hours in an effort to prevent the reactive hypoglycemia from kicking in. I dumbfounded Dr. William Davis and Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt on the cruise when I talked about my blood sugar DROPPING after a low-carb meal, but Dr. Mary Vernon and Jackie Eberstein knew exactly what was going on because they've seen it in patients for many years. I'm so glad I got to spend some time with these real experts to get to the root of my issue and I'm doing something about it!
NOTE: I'm gonna be dead honest with you...I was NOT at all happy with the way I looked on this year's low-carb cruise. It was a little embarrassing for me to weigh as much as I did, although it should not have been a surprise to anyone since I've been very open and honest about my struggle. This photo of me and Christine says it all -- I've got a gut and something needs to be done about it:
I spoke with Dr. Mary Vernon and Jackie Eberstein about what they think will help me with this and both reminded me that although I'm not 400 pounds anymore, I'm still metabolically hyperinsulinemic. In other words, no I don't weigh as much as I once did, but the underlying condition of insulin resistance as a result of many years of damaging eating due to carbohydrates is still there.
One strategy Jackie (who worked with patients of the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins for three decades as a registered nurse) suggested was consuming lots of small meals every few hours and make sure they are high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carb. So that got me to begin something today that I have been meaning to do for a couple of years (I shared my desire to do it in my 2008 interview with Drs. Mike & Mary Dan Eades) -- and now I'm gonna do it!
As you can see from my menus above, I didn't eat anything else besides eggs, butter, and cheese today. That was by design. Today I officially start an egg fast and will be on it indefinitely to see what happens. Here are the 10 parameters of my eggfest:
1. Must eat eggs as the primary source of fat and protein. 2. 1 tablespoon of butter used per egg consumed. 3. I must eat an egg no later than 30 minutes after waking. 4. The egg meals ideally should be eaten every 3 hours, but not more than every 5 hours. 5. I will follow this schedule even if I'm not hungry, however I'll only have 1 egg when that happens. 6. Cheese will be permitted up to one ounce per egg. 7. A minimum of a half-dozen eggs must be consumed daily. 8. The eggs will be local pastured eggs loaded with healthy omega-3 fats and vitamin D. 9. Egg consumption will cease three hours before bedtime 10. Diet soda will be allowed up to 3 cans daily with a goal of 1 or less.
So that's what I'll be doing in the near future to see what happens. I got back from the cruise weighing in at 289 pounds. Yes, I'm humbled by that number and I'm doing something about it. Wish me well in this newfound journey and I'm excited to see what will happen as a result. I'll document everything that happens here.
Day 1 was not too bad, although I did find I got hungrier later in the day than I did in the morning. I held out until the final meal of the day to consume 2 eggs and needed some cheese in it to get the calories up. Each extra large egg I consume is about 80 calories, the 1 tablespoon of butter is 100 calories, and the ounce of cheese is about 100 calories. So today I had 7 eggs (560 calories), 7 tablespoons of butter (700 calories), and 2 ounces of cream cheese (200 calories) for a total of 1460 calories. That was a little low for me, so I'm gonna up my intake starting tomorrow. YES, I LOVE eggs, so this egg bonanza is going to be enjoyable for me...can't wait to see how it goes!
4:00PM Avocado Salad with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and Ranch dressing Taco Salad with beef, shell, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, and cheese Diet Coke with lime
7:00PM 135-minute competitive volleyball
10:00PM Sugar-free chocolate/vanilla pudding
NOTE: After spending the past week in the Atlantic Ocean with some of the most amazing people in my life, it was time to come home again. We drove 5 hours through the rain back to Spartanburg, SC where I was greeted with THOUSANDS of e-mails just waiting for me. You know people always joke about needing a vacation from their vacation. Well, that's certainly true for me about this trip...I'm wore plumb out. But it was SO worth it and I can't wait to go in 2011!!!
8:15AM Eggs, cheddar cheese, sausage, bacon Coke Zero
12:15PM 2 hamburger patties with American cheese, chili, and mayo Coke Zero
6:45PM Crab cake Shrimp cocktail Veal parmegiana with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese Sugar-free cheesecake with sugar-free vanilla ice cream Coke Zero
11:30PM Sausage, green peppers, onions, mozarella cheese 2 hamburger patties with American cheese, chili, and mayo 2 hot dogs with sauerkraut and mustard Coke Zero
NOTE: After a disappointing extended stay in Nassau rather than going to the beautiful beaches of Half Moon Cay, we headed home for Jacksonville, FL. It was pretty cold anyway, so I'm not sure how inviting the waters would have been. But strolling on the beach, playing some sand volleyball, and just the change of scenery would have been wonderful. Oh well, maybe next year. Makes me glad Christine and I went in November 2009 and experienced it.
7:30AM Eggs, cheddar cheese, sausage, bacon Coke Zero
1:30PM 2 hamburger patties with American cheese, chili, and mayo 2 hot dogs with mustard Coke Zero
6:30PM Escargot with garlic butter and Parmesan cheese Shrimp cocktail Chateaubriand with butter Sugar-free cheesecake with sugar-free vanilla ice cream Coke Zero
1:30AM Sausage, green peppers, onions, mozarella cheese Coke Zero
NOTE: Day 2 in Nassau after they tried to patch up a hole in the bottom of the boat. We since found out that Carnival knew about this problem before our cruise left the Jacksonville port and they acted like this was something that happened suddenly. The cruise before us and the one right after us also missed Half Moon Cay because of this faux pas on their part. A lot of people were mad about this and it certainly was a downer, but at least we had the low-carb conference to be OUR highlight of this week.
Since we had a little more time today in Nassau, Christine and I went down to the straw market to pick up some knick-knack gifts for some neighbor friends who were watching our cats for us while we are away. We found the perfect stuff and enjoyed the cramped quarters that is the Nassua straw market. It's funny how aggressively these people hustle you. "Come on, mon, I'll give you good deel. Yahhhh!" Hilarious!
My sleep-deprived mind and body could barely process it all, but we did manage spending only about $40 in there, including one very nice Bahamian woman named Henrietta who was one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. After negotiating a reduced price on a straw bag for my sister-in-law and having her stitch the name into it, I went ahead and paid her full price...you should have seen the smile on her face when I did that! Priceless!
Had escargot at dinner tonight. It was two years ago on the first low-carb cruise when I tried this for the first time and now I'm hooked. As soon as I saw it on the menu, it was going in front of me. :D
Christine and I joined Becky Gandy who helps put these wonderful cruises together each year for us to sing a medley of songs in a capella, including "Amazing Grace," "I'll Fly Away," "I Saw The Light" and the "Doxology." What fun! Somebody took video of it, so I'll post it soon. :)
9:30AM Eggs, cheddar cheese, sausage, bacon Coke Zero
1:45PM 2 hamburger patties with American cheese, chili, pickle, tomato, and mayo Pepperoni and mozzarella cheese Coke Zero
7:00PM Mozzarella cheese Shrimp cocktail Jerk pork loin Sugar-free cheesecake with sugar-free vanilla ice cream Coke Zero
2:00AM Sausage, green peppers, onions, mozarella cheese Coke Zero
NOTE: Today we were scheduled to be in Nassau, Bahamas for a few hours until this afternoon and then set sail for Half Moon Cay, Bahamas tomorrow. Unfortunately, we were informed that the Carnival Fascination suffered some structural damage to ship and that they would be unable to take us to the beautiful sunny beaches of Half Moon Cay. Darnit! That was gonna be the highlight of the cruise part of this trip as I showed when Christine and I visited late last year. Oh well. This meant we'd be spending an extra half-day in Nassau before heading back home.
Here's a photo of the Carnival Fascination docked in Nassau:
A group of us went to the Hard Rock Cafe in the heart of Nassau and I was shocked how much they wanted for a burger without the bun and a salad -- $25! I got Christine something to eat, but I waited to get back on the ship to eat on the Lido deck thank you very much. :) I'm not a big fan of Nassau because it's just one big tourist trap if you ask me. But Christine had a good time and I got her some blue diamond jewelry. Good hubby! :D
7:30AM Eggs, cheddar cheese, sausage, bacon Coke Zero
12:30PM Hamburger patty with butter, American cheese, bacon, and mayo Coke Zero
6:30PM Prosciutto with melon slices Shrimp cocktail Prime rib steak with sour cream and horseradish sauce Lobster tail with butter Sugar-free vanilla ice cream with blueberries Coke Zero
1:00AM Pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, onions, mozarella cheese Coke Zero
NOTE: When I put together the scheduled speakers for The 3rd Annual Low-Carb Cruise to the Bahamas, I wanted to make sure that I found the right mix of experts to cover a range of topics related to livin' la vida low-carb -- and boy did we ever! Today was the first session featuring Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt from Sweden, Dr. William Davis, and Fred Hahn in the morning and the always-entertaining Dana Carpender in the afternoon. I'll be sharing more details about the specifics of the talks at my blog soon, but WOW! You missed some of the most educational and inspirational stuff on low-carb I've heard in a very long time! Hope you can join us in 2011.
We even had a reproductive endocrinologist named Dr. Michael D. Fox who lives in Jacksonville, FL join us on the cruise to learn more about the science behind carbohydrate restriction from the experts who came with us this week. He already understands the importance of low-carb for treating PCOS and other fertility issues that prevent women from getting pregnant. This week just helped solidify a lot of that information for him. It was fun watching him take notes and speaking at great length with people like Dr. Mary C. Vernon who will speak later in the cruise week.
12:00PM Chicken marsala Pepperoni, sausage,mozzarella cheese, onions and green peppers Coke Zero
6:30PM Broccoli & cheese soup Shrimp cocktail Spare ribs Sugar-free vanilla ice cream with blueberries and strawberries Coke Zero
NOTE: I've previously taken photos of the food I've consumed on past cruises here and here, so I didn't bother with it this time around. But it is still just as easy to stick with a healthy low-carb plan while on a cruise. Some people chose to enjoy themselves and let their diet loose for this week while others remained stringent in their adherence to staying on plan. Either way, it was fine and nobody stood in judgment of individual choices. We are on vacation after all.
We all met for dinner every night and sat together in the 5-star restaurant quality dining room:
7:30PM Greens salad with tomato, cheese, and Ranch dressing 8-ounce sirloin steak with Parmesan cheese topping Broccoli, squash, zucchini with butter Diet Coke with lime
NOTE: CRUISE TIME!!! After driving down the interstate about five hours to get to Jacksonville, FL, we met up with a group of fellow low-carbers who would be joining us on the cruise to the Bahamas along with some other friends in the local area like Deni Huttula. We told them at the restaurant about 20 would show up and we have over 50! EEEEEK! Here's a pic from ONE of the tables we had in the Longhorn Steakhouse:
Ya know, next year we might not be able to go out to dinner together before the cruise! We had 94 signed up to go this year after 38 in 2009. Can you say 200 in 2011? We're expecting it, especially after you hear about the amazing time we had on this year's cruise. Details coming soon...
12:00PM BBQ chicken Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing Diet Coke with lime Cantaloupe with whipped cream
3:45PM Atkins bar
7:00PM 30-minute competitive volleyball
8:00PM Dreamfields pasta with four cheese blend and natural tomato sauce Splenda-sweetened diet soda Crispbread with cream cheese and sugar-free strawberry preserves
NOTE: The day before leaving on the cruise...so much to get done in so little time! :)
2:00PM Chopped beef steak with Swiss cheese, mushrooms, and grilled onions with mayo Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing Diet Coke with lime Cantaloupe with whipped cream
8:00PM Chopped beef steak with Swiss cheese, mushrooms, and grilled onions with mayo Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing Diet Coke with lime Cantaloupe with whipped cream
NOTE: Just a quick update on my weight as we begin the third month of 2010. It's still remaining at around the same point it was at the beginning of the year when I blogged about it. I'm not giving up on figuring this out and will be picking the brains of many of the low-carb experts coming on the 3rd Annual Low-Carb Cruise to the Bahamas this weekend with 100 of my fellow low-carbers. It's gonna be a fun time, but also a time to reevaluate how I'm living my low-carb lifestyle to see what I need to do differently to bring my weight back down again. The good news is I'm healthy, feel fantastic, and am ready for what life has in store for me next! Bon voyage everyone and we'll see you when I get back next Friday!
12:30PM 3-egg omelet with sausage, bacon, cheddar cheese, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing Diet Coke with lime
7:30PM Chicken breast cooked in butter with Provolone, cheddar cheese, and mayo Splenda-sweetened diet soda
NOTE: Check out this video featuring ten of my favorite low-carb diet and health books for 2010t:
Those crispbreads that I've been eating lately have just 2g net carbs and taste divine with cream cheese and sugar-free preserves...WOW! The crunch and sweet is delicious! Try it if you want something new to add to your low-carb menus.
1:00PM Avocado salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, avocado and Ranch dressing Taco salad with beef, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes, and cheese Diet Coke with lime
10:00PM Beef steak tips cooked in butter with Provolone, cheddar cheese and sour cream Homemade low-carb cheesecake (cream cheese, heavy cream, cinnamon, sweetener, nutmeg, eggs) with sugar-free blueberry preserves, and whipped cream
NOTE: After an exhausting weekend that was totally NOT what I expected it to be, I let myself sleep in a little later than normal today. Christine and I stayed up late watching some movies, including "Marley & Me" which was amazingly good since I do not like dogs. We have four cats who Christine calls our "babies," so imagine us watching a flick about a big, slobbering dog tearing up a family's furniture, floor, and anything else he could get his paws on. But it was a very moving story of how despite all of life's circumstances, it's always good to appreciate the quirkiness that comes our way. This movie has been on our DVR for months, but I'm glad we finally watched it! So much to get done this week before leaving for Jacksonville, Florida this Friday for the low-carb cruise. WOO HOO! Can you tell I'm excited? :)
You know, it's funny I'm doing this eggfest right now and brand new research released in the April 2010 issue of The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry today looked at the impact of eggs on health. Low-carb researcher Dr. Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut collaborated on this study about the health implications of eating eggs. Many have complained about the negative effects that the yolk especially plays on heart health because of the fat and cholesterol in eggs, but that's not what Dr. Volek and his fellow researchers found. When combined with carbohydrate-restriction (and this is the key!), consuming eggs increased HDL cholesterol levels and increased the number of large, fluffy LDL particles that are healthy for your heart (it's the small, dense LDL particles that are indicative of a high-carb diet that you want to avoid).
