Hello! 

My ketones were back up to 1.0 this morning, which was a nice surprise after they had been so low for a few days. I decided yesterday that I need to improve my stress management, and started yesteday with a guided meditation. I used to meditate daily and I really feel like it is effective in so many ways. I feel calmer, more productive and focused, and much less stressed when I meditate daily. 

I also have not been happy with my skating and feel that I do better when I am visualizing skating well and feeling confident, so I need to write out a new roller derby visualization to practice. I also have been finding myself annoyed with people when they suggest things I can do to improve. I get annoyed with people because I am already really hard on myself, and chances are I have already been beating myself up about whatever it is that I did not do well or need to improve on. That said, I know suggestions are intended to help me and I realize getting annoyed when people try to help me is not acceptable. 

The font that I have been using on this blog is pretty hard to read, so I think I am going to go ahead and use something different. 

Something else that bothers me is that I sometimes act like a know it all. I  have a hard time letting things go when I know someone is wrong. I will start out polite saying something like "I don't think that is how it works" but when they insist that it is I usually have a hard time leaving it at that instead of setting them straight. 

Work is busy right now, and I am getting ready to go play OKVD so I need to actually get pretty far ahead. 

Speaking of work- I had better get at it. 

♥
Erica

Enjoy the guided meditation I did this morning: 

Food Journal
Yesterday
----------------------------------------

breakfast 
2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese
2 slices bacon
1 cup fatty coffee.
( I noticed some add supplements. I take Vitamin D, Multivitamin, Potassium, Magnesium and desiccated liver) 

Lunch
not hungry

Snack
2 oz cheese (a variety of what I had small thin slices of: raw cheddar, robusto, dubliner. Yum. ) 

Dinner
5oz chicken tikka masala, less than 1/2 cup sauteed squash, 1 cup salad (mixed greens, dressing, olives, sprinkled with Parmesan) 


Calories:1238 Carbs: 16 Fat: 92 Protein: 73

Water- about 7 large glasses.

Hola! 

I am feeling much better today!

I checked my blood ketones yesterday and they were extremely low. Since I do not seem to be eating to many carbs, or too much protein I think I may need to manage stress better. My husband is convinced that we both should probably also be eating a bit more.

It seems like so many people are so obsessed with calories, and I find it frustrating. I feel like it perpetuates this idea that if you eat a starvation diet  you will get thin- which is not necessarily the case, and it can be more harmful than beneficial. I try not to get annoyed, but it makes me angry that this calorie theory has really made such a mess of my health, and I am probably not the only person experiencing this.

I spent 10 minutes meditating this morning to attempt to decompress a little and asked online for some advice on how to reduce stress. One person suggested yoga, andI really think I would like to try that. I need to find a studio with childcare, but I am sure that is doable.

Take care for now,

♥Erica


Food Journal
------------------------


Yesterday

breakfast 
2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese
2 slices bacon
1 cup fatty coffee.

Lunch- 1c broccoli cooked in butter and herbs, one pickle, 1oz robusto cheese

Snack- Keto lemonade (2-4 drops liquid stevia, apple cider vinegar, lemon wedge squeezed in) 

Snack- beef bone broth

Snack- 2 more slices of bacon after practice ♥ 

Calories: 994 Carbs: 16 Fat: 79 Protein: 37

Water- about 10 large glasses. 

Under on protein again

Good morning! 

Yesterday my vision got spotty in the afternoon and it was followed by a mild headache. I Used to get the spotty vision thing pretty regularly, my husband thinks they are ocular migraines... but this is the first time since in keto. I started feeling a little ill after that and this morning, so I may be catching something. I have felt so invincible lately that this surprised me.  

I also woke up to ketones at 2.2 this morning. I have not eaten anything off plan, so I wonder if it was stress, or because I may be catching something? or maybe I felt unwell because I was kicked out of keto? I don't know. I have been eating more protein, so I may be over- shooting.

Food Journal
------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday

breakfast 
2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese
2 slices bacon
1 cup fatty coffee.

Lunch- Keto Enchilada (1.5 oz raw sharp cheddar, 2 oz chicken, 1 serving green chili sauce, put in oven and broil for a few min. yum) 

Snack- Keto lemonade (2-4 drops liquid stevia, apple cider vinegar, lemon wedge squeezed in) 

Dinner
Broccoli cooked in butter and herbs, Small grass-fed burger topped with pickles. 


Calories: 1257 Carbs: 19 Fat: 85 Protein: 74

Good Morning!

I had a pretty good weekend :)  Practice on Saturday was fun, but really hot. I enjoyed my bike ride. I weighed in, but I am confused because I actually gained a lb. It reminds me of the last 5 years. Ok... Not really. I am hoping it can be attributed to muscle gains.

Adam and I slept in really well on Saturday and Sunday, so that was really nice. We get 8 hours of sleep every day, but sometimes it is nice to sleep a little extra :)

Last Week Summary:

Monday

Bf: 2 slice bacon, 2 eggs, sprinkled with a little cheese and green chili, fatty coffee

L: Sardines (about 1/3 container), small Salad with oil &vinegar and a little cheese, 1/2 avocado

D: Wild pronghorn Tenderloin Chops... about 3 oz (omg, the pronghorn cut was amazing, Adam was given these at work) Kale cooked in grassfed butter with almonds mixed in.

Fatty Chai. Keto Lemonade (water with a good squeeze of lemon, a little apple cider vinegar and a few drops of liquid stevia)

beef bone broth... not full fat, due to taste

Calories: 1324 Carb: 16 Fat:110 Protein: 52

(carb count is a little funny, the calculator I use has net carbs on some things and total carbs on others)

Workout: 10 min morning intervals and planks, Speed Skating Class 1.5 hr, .5hr of that is off skates (Should be over 800 cal burned, if it mattered, and I don’t think it does)

Tuesday:

breakfast

2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese

2 slices bacon

1 cup fatty coffee.

Late Lunch

Small Salad (1cup spring greens, sprinkled with cheese, topped with goddess dressing)

1/2 avocado

small pieceof salmon broiled in butter. (3oz)

1/4 cup of sauerkraut

No dinner, not hungry, had to go to practice, but I did have some bone broth.

Calories: 906 Carb: 11 Fat: 71 Protein: 40

(carb count is a little funny, the calculator I use has net carbs on some things and total carbs on others)

Workout: 10 min morning intervals and planks, Derby Practice 2 hr (Should be over 1380 cal burned, if it mattered, and I don’t think it does)

Weds:

breakfast
2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese
2 slices bacon
1 cup fatty coffee.

Lunch
Broccoli cooked in a little grassfed butter
one egg scrambled

Snacked on 4 slices of large pepperoni in the afternoon.

Bone Broth Before Practice

Dinner/late snack after practice... 2 slices raw cheese a little carne asada (bought a total of .3 lbs and used less than 1/3 of container... so whatever that is) and 1/2 avocado and fatty chai.

Calories: 1490 Carb: 16  Fat: 140 Protein: 52

(carb count is a little funny, the calculator I use has net carbs on some things and total carbs on others)

Workout: 10 min morning intervals and planks, Derby Practice 2 hr (Should be over 1380 cal burned, if it mattered, and I don’t think it does)

Thurs:

breakfast
2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese
2 slices bacon
1 cup fatty coffee.

Lunch
1/2 avocado (salted) Small Salad (spring mix, dandelion, cilantro, a little cheese, pepper dressing) 3 oz carne asada

Dinner
about 2 oz bison liver, cooked in grassfed butter with onions, Green beans cooked in grass-fed butter and herbs 1/2 avocado and fatty chai.

Calories: 1345 Carb: 20  Fat: 113 Protein: 42

(carb count is a little funny, the calculator I use has net carbs on some things and total carbs on others)

Workout: 10 min morning intervals and planks other than that, off

Friday:

breakfast
2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese
2 slices bacon
1 cup fatty coffee.

Lunch
1/2 avocado (salted) 1/4 cup sauerkraut

Dinner
Small salad with goddess dressing and cheese, Hamburger, no bun, pickles and lettuce and fatty chai.

Calories: 1150 Carb: 14  Fat: 96 Protein: 30

(carb count is a little funny, the calculator I use has net carbs on some things and total carbs on others)

Workout: 10 min morning intervals and planks, stretching via 1 hr light yoga

Saturday:

breakfast
2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese
2 slices bacon
1 cup fatty coffee.

Pre- workout I had a cup of bone broth. It was my long day, ended up being about 6 hours including the bike ride to practice.

Lunch
N/a- workout from 10am -4pm but did eat about 1/2cup of sauerkraut when I got home... and a lot of water...

Dinner
Very small pour of dry red wine, 3 oz grassfed tenderloin, green beans cooked in butter and herbs, topped with Parmesan, 1/2 avocado (salted) This dinner was AMAZING.

I also made some whipped cream stuff (heavy whipping cream, cream cheese, vanilla extract and a little stevia) and had a little of that. Maybe 1/4 cup if I am over estimating.

Calories: 1384 Carb: 26  Fat: 112 Protein: 48

(carb count is a little funny, the calculator I use has net carbs on some things and total carbs on others)

Workout:  4 hours skating 2 hours biking to and from practice.  (should burn about 3300 calories)

Sunday:

breakfast

2 eggs scrambled with green chili and cheese

2 slices bacon

1 cup fatty coffee.

Lunch

1/2 avocado and about 2-3 oz skin on chicken breast. 2 small slices of robusto cheese (less than one oz)

Snack- 1 Cup of bubbies pickle juice

Dinner

1 cup sauerkraut and 1/2 an elk brat.

Fatty Chai

Calories: 1304 Carb: 15  Fat: 105 Protein: 57

(carb count is a little funny, the calculator I use has net carbs on some things and total carbs on others)

Workout: None, but it is an active day, we clean the house, play games with kids, etc. 

Good Morning!

Not that anyone is reading... I don't think... But good morning, world!

I am tired this morning. My Monday workout throws off my sleep schedule, and last night I did not feel like I slept well, so the sleep deprivation is compounding.

I have been checking my ketones in the mornings while they are a little off. This morning they were up to .7, so that is good. I am still not entirely sure what threw me OUT of ketosis... I really think it was the tiniest bit of watermelon- less than a bite- that I had over week ago. I also ate a little less fat last week, and we know our body prefers to burn fat when it is getting it.

My legs are still sore and burning from Monday, so that is annoying. I used to really enjoy a specific yoga/Pilates fusion video when my body got sore, but it is not on netflix anymore. I wonder if I can get it somewhere else? If I am still sore on thursday it would be good to do for my crosstraining.

 My blood pressure is still low, but a little higher than before,  and I have been trying to get in lots of salt and water.

Salut!

♥Erica

Good morning!

I did  not manage to write over the weekend. I guess the only person I cheated with that is myself.

I had an awesome weekend.  On Saturday my league had a mash up bout and I won MVP blocker on my team, so that really made my weekend!

I did feel good about that game and how I played, so it felt really good that others recognized that. I did feel a little brutal in a few cases when it came to blocking some skaters, but my blood-thirst and desire to win overpowered any feelings of guilt caused by that. 

My ketones were really low this morning, and I was actually up two pounds this week when I weighed in this morning. I started my period on Sunday, so I am going to blame the small gain on that. I feel pretty good , but my blood pressure was really low ( 84/49). That is unusual because it is usually high. 

In general, I still feel awesome, still have lots of energy, etc. I am a little confused about my ketones being low, I think I need a little more fat in my diet, I cut back a little last week. 

I am feeling like I need to get started on work, so I think I need to bring this to a close for this morning. 

Hasta,

♥Erica

Everything is going well, and like most people, I tend to stay more quiet when all is well. I am going to try to write in this every day- not sure that is likely, but I am hoping to spend just a few minutes here every day before I check my email and my orders. Unfortunately, today was supposed to be my first day doing that and I already failed! I have already checked and answered my personal and work email, my etsy shop, my facebook,  and two message boards I look at (a low carb one and the etsy one). So, tomorrow I hope to do a little better.

My weight loss journey is going well, generally. I have lost over 20 lbs in about 6 weeks rather effortlessly. After trying for over 5 years with no improvement I am extremely pleased with that. I still have a long way to go, but I am making great strides towards my goal, and my overall health has improved dramatically. I have energy, my skin has improved, joint pain has gone away, and my teeth feel strong and look healthy and white.... just to name a few ways I feel better.

I love ketosis.

Unfortunately, I learned for the third time yesterday that my body can not tolerate fruit.  After having a PAPER THIN slice of watermelon that was LESS THAN AN INCH, square I noticed keto-flue symptoms, and when I checked my ketones I was barely in ketosis. Yikes. I should add, that was eaten with a meal. I find it really amazing that such a tiny amount of fruit and carbs could have such a huge effect on me. I think it is the fructose, our bodies metabolize fructose differently. I am shaky on the facts, so I will listen to more talks about that today while I work.

Speaking of work, I should get to that...

Take care !

♥ erica

I got in late last night from Tuscon, where I had attended the Dust Devil  roller derby tournament and skated with my team, the Munecas Mueartas. I have mixed feelings about the weekend. I did not get enough sleep, and I am feeling the effects of that. I know that it is super important and am not feeling like I am functioning as well without it. I also did not have the concentration  wanted to have. I also noticed I was not able to hit out some girls when I wanted to. I think I need to practice some jackhammer style hitting and also work on strengthening my core.

On the other hand, my body felt amazing. I felt like I could seriously go forever, even after the third game of the weekend.  I do really love how ketosis feels.

I started making bone broth last week, and I think that really helps me get a nice dose of sodium, potassium and other nutrients much better than the store-bought broth. It is pretty tasty, too. My salt intake seems to have a very direct impact on how well I skate and feel doing exercise.

 I feel like I am starting to find my glow again, so I love that. I have been so unsatisfied with myself and full of disdain that have not really been seeing a positive reflection of myself in my interactions with others. More often I feel like I am giving off the glow of self-love and confidence, and it seems to be engaging people

I lost about three pounds this week, and I weighed a week early, so that is awesome. My ketones read the highest yet, 1.4 mm. So that is awesome, too.

In other news, I have been really enjoying listening to the relentless roger and caveman dr podcasts :)

I am still a bit behind from the crazy derby weekend, so it is time to get back to the grind :)

♥Erica

Good morning.

I am going to use this as more of a daily journal since I am tracking a lot on My Fitness Pal, and this is really supposed to be a blog about self-improvement- on all levels.

 I am still enjoying this new ketogenic lifestyle and I am continuing to lose weight, and I think I am also gaining muscle. When you are losing weight on a low calorie diet, you are in a catabolic state, or losing muscle, but in keto, even when you are losing weight you are in an anabolic state.

Keto is not exactly paleo, but in many ways they seem to go together and I have really been enjoying listening to all of the paleo, bodyhacking, and ketogenic podcasts and youtube videos. I made my first batch of bone broth earlier this week, and LOVE it. It cooked so long that there were only about two cups of it, so I made a second batch that will be done soon. I used more water and a bigger pot, so I will end up with a larger quantity.

Lately my older daughter is driving me crazy. I feel bad, because she get's in trouble more than her sister, and I often feel like I love her sister more. Right now I am not really sure what to do with Autumn most of the time. She is only almost 6- I fear for her teenage years.

Today I will be leaving for Tuscon, and I still have a lot of work to complete. I know I will get it done, but I feel a little stressed about it anyway. I am looking forward to playing roller derby, but I am sad to be leaving my family. Some drama surfaced within my team this week and while I am glad it was addressed and worked out it has me turned off a bit to derby again already- and we are only a few games in to the season.

I am listening to Autumn play on her leap pad, and her sister is sitting with her. It is cold. I feel awake and ready to get some work done, but more stressed than I would like to be.

Take Care,
♥Erica

Loving Ketosis.

Sooo. I have been doing Keto for almost two weeks now, and that has been really super amazing! I love love love it.

I feel amazing. I know I should be tracking, because I would love something that shows how awesome and effective this is, but I really do not HAVE to track so it has been hard to keep this up.

Every time I step on the scale- which has been daily, due to excitement- I have lost. I have also measured myself and lost inches. After five years of pushing against a brick wall trying to lose this extra weight, I am elated. I also never realized how exhausted and hungry I was until now. I feel like I have boundless energy and I an NEVER hungry. It is so strange. I mean, not really, I know why, but I am not used to feeling this way.

I have been eating less than I was the first week. Since my body can actually access my fat stores, it seems like most of the time that is the preferred fuel.

This is what I ate yesterday:


•2 boiled eggs, half glass of veggie juice (5 carbs)
• 2 cups coffee with butter, coconut oil and heavy cream
• 3 slices of bacon and salad with egg, feta, olive oil and two scrambled eggs(about 2 carbs)
• about 2 oz cream cheese, heavy cream and stevia whipped together (about 2 carbs)
•cup of beef broth
• two more slices of bacon and another 2 cups of butter/coco/cream coffee as a pre-workout for derby practice
•6 large slices pepperoni (from whole foods) and other half cup of juice (5 carbs) .  Also less than one oz of cheese, (sample)

So that was about 14 net carbs for the day.

♥I also went to roller derby practice for two hours

There was a noticeable and serious decline in my athletic performance for a while also, but that seems to be getting back to normal.

I started reading "The Art and Science of Low Carb Living" I am enjoying it. I may have to read it more than once, I feel like I am missing things.

Eeek! Love Ketosis! ♥

Tuesday Food Entry

In Ketosis?  yes

Breakfast- veggie juice, 3 boiled eggs
snack- 2 cups of coffee with 1 tbsp butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, stevia
Lunch- 2 slices of Bacon and eggs scrambled in grease
Snack- slices of cheese
Dinner-1/2 cup miso broth (sodium helps the transition to ketosis)  Salad, spring mix sprinkled with cheese, annies dresing tomatoes and two slices of bacon
1/8 cup cream, butter, stevia, coconut oil and vanilla extract mixed together

Sleep- ok
Feel- ok. A little off. Derby practice was good, but my body couldn't figure out how to handle the endurance portion.

♥Exercise- 2 hour derby practice. Good endurance but other than that exertion was mild.

I calculated the carbs for the juice and decided to spread out my juice over more time (like the whole day)

Monday Food Log

Breakfast
2boiled eggs and cup of green juice
2 cups coffee with cream, butter, coconut oil

Lunch:
3pc bacon 3 eggs scrambled in bacon grease

Snack: 2 pcs beef jerky

Dinner: Salad Bar, spring greens Lots of cheese and bacon, Blue cheese dressing

Snack: small amount of butter, cream, vanilla extract and stevia mixed together. Delicious,  but could only eat a few bites.

♥For exercise I made up a workout. I concentrated on legs. I also worked on arms. Took an hour.

Sunday Food Entry

Breakfast: 2 pc Bacon, 3 eggs scrambled in bacon grease. One glass green juice
2 Cups coffee with cream, butter and coconut oil
Lunch: 28 oz green juice and no-tortilla enchilada
Snack: Carne Asada
Dinner, had guests: Beef Strips stir fried in butter with spices and broccoli, served with salad.
1 more cup of coffee with cream, butter and coconut oil.

I always use omega-3 eggs, grassfed beef and grassfed cheese and butter. Most food is organic.

Ketosis!

 I have abandoned many of my former beliefs about nutrition and retained many and am now eating a Ketogenic diet. I say it that way because I am not on a ketogenic diet in the sense that it is something I intend to do to lose weight and then come off of.  As long as I continue to see health benefits from it, I hope to remain on this ketogenic diet indefinitely. Since this blog was started my weight has ranged from 235-239 on the high end, almost exactly where I left off after having Penelope- which is a little disappointing because I did manage to get down to about 207 after over a year of training and fairly restrictive dieting (it was gained back in maybe 6 months, most significantly adding on during a 3 month break from roller derby). Since I started eating a ketogenic diet I have lost about 10 lbs (weighing in at 228 this morning, even though I started my period today and USUALLY gain about 10 lbs the week of my period that comes off week following my period). That is pretty exciting!

That said, I am going to wait a little longer to celebrate, because several of the times I have tried something new my body reacted really strongly for the first week, and then realized that it was losing weight and without me making changes to my eating and exercise habits I would quickly gain it back.

I do feel extremely optimistic, because I checked my ketone levels today and I am in KETOSIS! Woot! What that means, is that there is no sugar left in my body to be used as fuel and now my body is burning fat and using ketones for fuel. I was not sure I would make it, as I am still juicing and even green veggies have  carbohydrates.

I would like to add, that in addition to that I am feeling super awesome... at least for the most part. The past several days I have had some moments in the afternoons when I feel hot and sleepy, and another odd feeling that I do not really know how to describe. It usually happens after lunch or after my afternoon snack and passes in 1-2 hours. I have read that these can be normal and are often more severe when the body is transitioning into ketosis. If anyone has ever transitioned from eating primarily processed foods to eating a clean diet it is a similar experience. I am not really sure what causes it, but I always see it as my body cleaning out the junk.

I am pretty excited about all of this, and  How We Get Fat by Gary Taubes. I still have a few chapters left because my reading time is so scarce, but I plan to write more about it when I make it to the end. Then I will need to find a new book to read. I was thinking about reading a book on vegan nutrition for a well balanced knowledge, but I am more interested in Paleo and Ketogenic lifestyles.

Some info about Ketogenic Diets (this woman is awesome... and she is like, 46, which I could not believe):

Food and Exercise Journal entries

I had these written down, but did not get a chance to transpose until now...

••Saturday••

Breakfast: 2pc Whole foods black Forrest bacon, 3 eggs scrambled in bacon grease, Topped with green chili and organic grass-fed cheddar cheese

Snack/part of breakfast: Drank 2 cups of coffee, both with creamer,1tbsp coconut oil and 1/2 tbsp butter ... (spread out over about 3 hours until lunch)

Lunch: 28 oz green juice and slices of cheese

Snack: BIG plate of no-tortilla enchiladas Shredded chicken with grass fed cheddar cheese on top and green chili- also super easy to make.

It is 9pm and I am not hungry at all. I will not be eating more tonight.

♦exercise- very low intensity roller derby practice.

♥Ketone level: moderate

••Friday••

 Breakfast:
2 1/2 boiled omega-3 eggs, glass of green veggie juice (made from a very wide variety of veggies)

Snack/part of breakfast: Drank 2 cups of coffee with creamer and butter... (spread out over about 3 hours until lunch)

Friday Lunch: 2 eggs scrambled in butter sprinkled with organic cheese and a spring mix salad (about 2 cups topped with annies organic goddess dressing and organic cheese)

Friday Snack: (same as lunch)

Additional food: Drank an additional 28 oz of green juice.

Friday Dinner: 80/20 %  Grass fed hamburger... large-ish cooked rare, no bun, pickles, wrapped in romaine lettuce (not used to eating meat this way :/ )  salad  (about 2 cups topped with annies organic goddess dressing and organic cheese)

♦exercise- Rock Climbing with Adam and Autumn

••Thursday••

Thursday Lunch:
Lunch 3 scrambled eggs cooked in bacon grease with cheese sprinkled on it and a salad (spring mix annies organic goddess dressing, cheese)

Thursday dinner:
2 pc Whole Foods Black Forrest Bacon (only one carb for both slices! I was shocked)


♦exercise- 1 hour speed skating class at roller skate city

Food and Exercise Journal

Last night- Roller Derby practice- 2 hours Breakfast- Green Juice, 3 boiled eggs, coffee with grass-fed butter in it. Snack-3 slices of bacon. I have not had lunch yet, but I am thinking I will probably cook up some scrambled eggs in the bacon grease I have left from that snack, sprinkle it with grass-fed cheese and also eat a spring green salad.

Thoughts on Nutrition

I have sort of derailed my journal because I am reading a book "Why We Get Fat", and my mind is blown. I am going to continue to record what I am eating, and the exercise I am doing, but from this point forward I will be doing things a little differently, and my goal will be to FINALLY eat enough and stop starving myself for the sake of conventional wisdom and a lifetime of misinformation in health and nutrition. I only have a little time to read (usually the evening before bed) so I am not finished reading it yet (although I have been listening to constant debates, webinars, podcasts, etc. about the theories in the book since I started it), and I am sure I will continue to be dumbfounded by the revelations but I just can't help wanting to talk about it NOW. I mentioned earlier that I would share my opinion on what an optimal human diet is after the past 5 years of independent recreational research I have put in to it. Since I had my first child, Autumn, I have been unable to lose weight, and not through lack of willpower, determination, or effort. Because of this I have been reading as much about nutrition, fitness and weight-loss as I have time for between my children and husband, my business and playing roller derby. I am so obsessed and fascinated with it that I occasionally daydream about becoming a nutritionist. Before reading this book, I felt that the best possible human diet consisted only of raw organic produce (as local as possible) and lean, grass-fed and free range meat (basically animals that eat the diet they are intended to eat) and the portion should be ¾ live food to ¼ lean protein. I enjoy being active and felt this was necessary to be fit and healthy. I thought grains of all kinds should be avoided all together and think that sugar and white flour are poison. I also thought that occasionally treating oneself to thinks like sugar and white bread was ok. “Everything in moderation” as we have been told so many times before. I have been eating a lean low calorie diet for the past 5 years and getting plenty of exercise so I know there is more to being overweight than eating less and exercising more, and I started this blog to prove to drs, nutritionists, etc that I was doing what conventional wisdom tells us to do to lose weight. I still think organic greens, and animals that eat their natural diet are great, and more than ever I think that refined sugar and white flour are poison, to the point that even though I have always loved these things, the idea of eating them is currently revolting. I will wait until I finish “Why We Get Fat” to explain the actual changes in what I think is an optimal human diet, what changed my mind, and how Gary Taubes put the nail in the coffin for me when it comes to refined sugar, and flour, and most carbohydrates. ♥ Erica