The Lard Arms

She-Wolf

Shakira in her She-Wolf outfit

The only reason I have posted the very foxy Shakira here is because her video (of her song, She-Wolf) was playing at the gym, while I was on the treadmill.  I've was really struck by the images and the fact that none of the women around me bore any resemblance to the South American chanteuse.  And yes, I was feeling particularly bloated and uncomfortable myself but after Shauna's stern words, I will NOT use this post to be negative! : )

Anyway, here is the Potatoes not Prozac update.  There have been definite improvements in my mood.  Not all the time but distinct, significant improvements.  And I'm not even done with Step 1 yet!  There is a bit of chicken and egg going on right now; I've changed a few things in my life so not sure where the improvements originate.  

Food-wise, I've been doing Step 1 very slowly - Eat Breakfast with Protein Every Day .  Step 1 has four individual parts:

• (Eat) enough protein for your weight
• (Include) a complex carbohydrate
• Eat within one hour of getting up
• (Follow it) every day

As a vegetarian, it's a greater challenge to get the required amount of protein (30g for me right now) - without going fat-tastic - NOT impossible, just more challenging.  And getting on top of the food (organisation), is a skill I really have to master - not just for now but forever.  I decided to go back to my own methods of old - protein shakes.  I use Holland & Barratt's own-label protein powder, mixed up with skimmed (dairy) milk and a banana.  I find this sustains me for hours.  Where this breakfast falls down is that it doesn't include a complex carbohydrate so I need to address that.

The eating within one hour has been non-negotiable.  I have stuck to that rigidly, even if it has required getting up at 5am to factor it in.  There was just one day - yesterday - when I didn't follow it.  I had several biscuits (ginger nuts, in case you wondered) and toast.  In fact, my food yesterday was an example of how my organisational skills can let me down, and I had had just four hours sleep.  I had prepared a packed lunch (salad, protein, some carbs - pitta bread) but I was running so late that I had to leave the lunch at home. While out, I had a Geo bar (horrible!), sandwiches, crisps, copious amounts of tea and a Coke Zero.  I had the salad when I got back, pasta for supper and well, you can see it had a theme - the carbathon day.

Of late, I have been ditching any cola drinks.  I have been avoiding sandwiches while out (but still tucking the toast away rather too often at home).

I am NOT doing this programme to lose weight - that was NOT the primary objective.  It was to really see if the food could improve my mood.  I am convinced, well, I am very, very, very hopeful that the weight loss will come.  The downside is that I have put on a lot of weight.  But I really cannot lay the blame at the door of the programme - that would be totally unfair.  I've swapped chicken (low-fat protein source) for cheese.  Not good.  And not advocated by Dr DesMaisons. I've also been on some hardcore medication.  Even though I have been going to the gym, work commitments have meant that I haven't been able to go as often or for as long as I liked.  I am not calorie counting and one major factor remains - extreme tiredness.  When I am tired, I eat more.

Last week I had a breakthrough; I was in unfamiliar (and trigger-tastic) surroundings, I'd had my breakfast and organised having my protein lunch on hand, whenever I was ready to eat it (out all day).  I was in a canteen in that difficult (for me) in between period - breakfast is done but it's too early for lunch.  I lingered over a display of every snack imaginable - chocolate, biscuits, health bars, pastries, crisps - canteen fare - but do you know what?  I figured, I am not hungry, I don't need to eat. So I bought a cup of tea.

The reason it was such a breakthrough was that it was a decision made without restriction - I'm not on a diet per se, I am not restricting my food intake - there was no internal argument to be had.  I wish I could say that such clear thinking lasted all week but it didn't.  BUT that would be to miss the point of the Potatoes not Prozac programme; it's all about mastery, one baby step at a time.  

What I have seen is that if tiredness is not in the mix and I'm on top of my protein, the food chaos is really not as extreme.

PS one vegetarian/vegan protein source that is really working for me - smaller volume - is a Trek bar

Potatoes not Prozac - Step 1 (ii)

Wow!  I was away for an all-day training session and came back to fantastic comments and questions (which always cheer me up).

Not least because the author of Potatoes not Prozac left a message, too.  Answering the questions!  How fantastic is that?  It also confirms my feeling that this is NOT a process to be rushed, even though the dieting/addict mindset say the opposite.

Peridot is very concerned about breakfast so I will answer, as best I can.  Unless it is a certain time (of the month), I rarely want sweet things for breakfast BUT if I am tired or have to get up very early (4am, for example), a sweet choice will always be made.  I have worked out that - ideally - I'd be getting 27g of protein within an hour of waking up.  I think Shauna's (aka Dietgirl) breakfast sounds a yummy solution:

"Greek yogurt contains a decent amount of protein... 150g pot of 2% has 10g. my weekday brekkie is greek yogurt with unsweetned tinned apples or pears (me very lazy) and a sprinkle of raw oats and sunflower seeds (good fats and some carbs) and cinnamon. almost tastes like apple crumble"

And Shauna is absolutely spot on when she says:  

"Eggs are good and only take as long to scramble as your slice of bread does to toast... "

I've been doing a mixture of both - yoghurt options (with Greek zero fat) - and/or the reliable eggs/toast combo.  I've gone back to reading the chapter about Step 1 and guess what?  It's also broken down into further steps.  So it really is baby steps.  I love that approach.  It's the opposite of all or nothing - perfectionism or total doom.  I have not been doing it to the letter - purely down to the lack of organisation. BUT I can understand why it's so important.  Today I had eggs on one piece of toast.  Later in the morning I felt hungry.  And panicked.  Momentarily.  So I had an apple (which sounds very healthy and 'good') but I had to remind myself that I did not have 27g at breakfast.  This is all going to take time.  Much more time than I anticipated.  But that's OK.  As is a mid-morning snack.

I'll leave the last word to Dr Kathleen DesMaisons:

What a great beginning!! WOW~~you have an open heart...
a) the issue about an hour is important so you don't put your body into a stress crisis.You haven't eaten since the night before.
b) you can have a mid morning snack :)
c)the potato is designed to raise serotonin in your brain. Serotonin is the JUST SAY NO chemical. It gives you impulse control. The myth that potatoes are bad for you is a myth. Read the book for a scientific explanation :)
d)No, it simply means that you are free from compulsion and you GET TO chose what you want. This is not about control. You can't control sugar addiction. This is healing. But the sugar thing is step SIX, not step one. By the time you get there, it is a non issue.

The book says "Don't try to do it all at once" and  "Take it in sequence". I love that reassurance.  I absolutely do. So, Peridot, I hope your questions have been answered.  From two experts (published authors no less) and ...me!  So, if you're curious, buy the book; this is a paperback I have absolutely zero reservations about recommending.  And nothing can replace reading the words for yourself.  They are still singing to me. Loudly.

PS apologies for the formatting.  As soon as I cut and paste in TypePad, it ignores my wishes...(ie editorial control on the layout).

Potatoes not Prozac - Step 1

 

So, after last week's epiphany with Potatoes not Prozac, I've been consciously trying to eat more protein.  But since I am now almost back to being completely vegetarian, this presents more challenges, particularly as the protein I am consuming is of the high-fat variety.  That's fine if you are doing Atkins and going into ketosis but I am not.  So I need to be careful.  

One of the many key points of the programme (Potatoes not Prozac - which I am going to refer to as PnP) is to take a step at a time.  Because, even a seemingly easy step, can be challenging - purely from a logistics point of view.  And you don't want to set up failure before you've really started.

I was not going to list all the steps in a post but lovely commenters have expressed concern about one of the steps - 'have a potato before bed' and I was concerned that other readers may wonder what this programme may be prescribing!  But the potato question is a legitimate one.  Of course, I wondered - from a weight-loss perspective - how having white carbs at night was going to help me shed the pounds.  So, instead of me trying to worry ahead (which I usually do), I am going to try a different approach and trust the programme.

And the reason for this is that PnP is a step-based programme and the author encourages to walk before you can run, ie step-by-step, taken at your own pace.

Here are the steps:

1. Eat breakfast with protein.
2. Journal what and when you eat and how you feel.
   
3. Eat three meals a day with protein.
   
4. Take the recommended vitamins and have a potato before bed.
   
5. Shift from "white foods" to "brown foods".
   
6. Reduce or eliminate sugars.
   
7. Come alive.

Step 1 immediately presents a challenge; there is a recommended amount of protein to eat at each meal so breakfast - which is seen as the foundation of the programme and, therefore, your own programme - has to be eaten.  Regardless of whether you are hungry.  I used to find the more I ate breakfast, the hungrier I got before lunch.  But Dr DesMaisons talks you through the concerns in her book.

For the hardcore slimmer, there is always an urgency with wanting to lose weight.  I can't tell you much I want to shift the two stone (28 pounds) I have gained since April.  But, unless I address some core issues around my eating, I will end up losing and gaining the same weight, over and over again.  And what's more, if I had started PnP at the same time as doing a VLCD, chances are I would be less than I weigh now because I would not have been crippled by depression (when I eat and eat and eat).  My own bio-chemistry would have been more balanced by now.  But everything seems clearer with hindsight.

So, much as I want to find low-fat protein and maybe stint on what needs to be eaten, I recognise that I have to change habits.  And repetition is the only way.

I've been doing the Step 1 for a few days now - just getting into the habit of eating breakfast with protein (not solely protein) within an hour of getting up.  But I am not doing it 100% so there is still plenty of room for improvement and so I am in no rush to move on.  I was working all weekend and managed to have quite a few chocolate biscuits - 'just to keep me going'.  Hmmmm.

Do you know what the hardest part (of this simple step) is?  Getting organised to ensure I have the right things ready to eat!