Off to England!!

I leave for England tomorrow morning, and am in the throes of last-minute packing, but I need to update and let you know what has been going on...

I mentioned last week that I was going to see a weight-loss specialist. She is Paleo/Primal friendly, and our first meeting was great!! This is the first doctor I have had that I could actively converse with about diet and nutrition and who is up on all the research, and knows the names of all the paleo/primal/lowcarb bloggers and researchers out there. We had a wonderful conversation and I left with a plan that I feel good about.

She recommends a low carb approach for women in their 40s like me (she is also in her 40s, which is nice.) She gave me a goal of at least 60 grams of protein per day, but more is fine (I have been averaging about 150 grams). I can eat fruit, but need to count the carbohydrates in fruit--I am limited to about 30 carbs a day (total carbs, not net carbs.) I can eat as many non-starchy veggies as I want, but should completely avoid the starchy veggies for now.

She has also recommended a whey-based protein drink to keep my protein up--(it is available at Costco). The main reason she suggests the drink is that each serving is 30 grams of protein, and only 5 grams of carbs. Many people when following a high protein diet lose their appetite entirely, so drinking two of these a day would ensure that they get adequate protein. I have been using the shakes as snacks--they do come in handy--a couple of days I have seen my protein drop to around 80 grams, so I can see how it would be easy to not keep track and slip behind on the protein. Fortunately I am a Fitday addict, so I weigh and measure everything, and I have done it long enough that I am pretty good at eyeballing portion sizes now as well.

Previously I was eating an entire avocado, and nuts at least once a day (sometimes more). She asked me to concentrate on protein and non-starchy veggies. Make sure that I have some good fats (she recommended coconut oil) and just skip the avocados and nuts for now.

My Whole30 was shot as of 8/23 because the shakes are definitely not Whole30 compliant (they have whey protein and sucralose). For now this is fine, I don't expect to be consuming the shakes forever...She has also asked me to stop the alternate day fasting for now so that we can see if this dietary approach is going to work for me. I meet with her again the Monday after I get back from vacation and we can see if I have made any progress. I can do low-carb on vacation--it's pretty easy in the UK. I cannot take the shakes with me, so I will have to keep a close eye on my protein and make sure that I eat enough, and avoid anything obviously carby...

As of today I have been following her advice for a week, and I feel pretty good. I am waiting to weigh myself back at her office in a couple weeks to see if I have lost weight and I think they will measure me then as well...it is easy not to weigh yourself while on vacation. Well, that's the scoop, I don't think I will be able to post while on vacation, but if I can, I may check in. I am SO looking forward to this trip, I love Wales in September, and England in general pretty much all the time. Tschuss!