Yes, Bizibee, I am very fortunate to have a good doc.
Even with his encouragement and the encouragement of Dr. Mosley in the book and on the boards, it was VERY HARD to start eating fat after 60 years denying it! Fat causing fat seemed so logical. But wrong! Fat burns fat as long as a low carb diet is part of it.
I eat 50 grams of protein (yes salmon!- just less of it ), 50 grams of carbs, the rest fat. At 800 calories, it’s not a lot of fat, but I have it with every meal. I am not hungry compared to when i was eating a few more carbs and no fat.
Once i traded out carbs for a little fat, my weight loss increased significantly. My doctor says that now I am burning fat, not carbs nor proteins. That is the idea. Even for scrawny prime athletes. My energy is more even. I am sleeping better.
But I will say that the first couple of weeks were rough while my body was realizing that I wasn’t going to give it a bunch of carbs any more!
Breakfast with eggs and oil.
Full fat milk. Nuts (I don’t bring home many cashews because i love them TOO much!, lol), olive oil, cold pressed coconut oil, grass fed butter. Fatty fish, chicken with the skin on! Full fat kefir and yogurt (plain). Hummus has been a good standby. But only the ones with fat.
And for me, ground flax seed to keep things moving. I used xylitol once for that purpose, but prefer to let my palate change to liking natural sweets like berries.
I watch my cravings. They are now for cooked greens, chicken with skin on, and berries! So i indulge those, lol.
My doctor has suggested that I read the Bulletproof diet (about fats, autoimmune, heart disease, energy, etc.) and add some of the suggestions from the book when I stop the 800/8 week portion. He says it is an easy read. He is concerned that I not continue beyond the 8 weeks because he doesn’t think that I’ll get enough nutrition for the long haul that I have to go. So, in a couple of weeks, I’ll transition to 5/2. I have about 95 pounds to go! But, I’ve lost 21 (a total of 42.8 from my highest) pounds since 1/10 and 3.25 inches from my waist. I have been very strict with the calories. I figure this is my one chance to shift things dramatically and for the good.
I’ve also been dealing with a bug, secondary infection and a flare up of the autoimmune illnesses. This necessitated antibiotics and higher doses of prednisone and I felt like a beaver wanting to eat the furniture! VERY hard days there. But the motivation of the weight loss kept me going.
After 4 1/2 weeks my blood sugars seem to be steadily in the 80’s down from 112.
AND, i can barely exercise because of an accident injury. So there’s hope for us very sedentary folks. I am hoping that the weight loss will take pressure off of the back and make it easier to heal.
My blood pressure went down after the FIRST week!
I watch both my blood pressure and blood sugar carefully.
Basically, now that i’m well on my way, Dr. Mosley’s book makes more and more sense. In the beginning it was hard to wrap my mind around eating nuts! I’m starting to re-read it for the nuggets. Before, i just wanted the facts and what to do!
I’ll happily live on the Mediterranean diet for life since i find the foods comforting.
Wishing all the very best. The diet works! Even for very complex medical issues. 🙂