Every day I learn more and newer things about myself. There are unfortunate things happening in the life of my family members at this time and the crummies of which I spoke in my last blog come from processing the information and my emotions surrounding it. Being three thousand miles away from my loved ones during difficult times is a tough thing, but understanding that and going gently inside of my own life is something that will help to keep me safe, sane and healthy. Not surprisingly, sticking to bennies in the diet help with that gentleness. I even allowed myself to stay up late (2 a.m…yipes!) re-reading Harry Potter last night. I needed to escape into somebody else’s world for a little while, and Hogwart’s was where I wanted to be! I was sleepy today, but my spirit felt cared for.

On less touchy-feely notes, the tuna that I grilled up in the beginning of the week has nearly all been eaten, and I do notice a difference in my strength with consistent flesh throughout the week. I’ve also been doing the cup of warm water/lemon thing in the mornings and it makes me feel pretty good, I think. I’ve also gotten back to eating way less more consistently throughout the day and have felt much more even, if that makes any sense. Finally, I’ve been having real trouble with coffee lately (I want too much of it!!), and while it hasn’t made me sick, per se, I know that it’s an avoid and I’m trying to control it in my diet. I did get some pretty good green tea from Trader Joe’s and it’s yummy with soymilk, so I’m going to shoot for less coffee and more green tea this coming week. Oh, and one more thing!! I’m meeting a friend in Pasadena this weekend to window shop and catch up on gossip, but we’re meeting up at the Barnes and Noble…so that means my dear BTD followers and friends…I’ll finally pick up LR4YT!! I’ll let you know what I think after this weekend. Maybe I’ll get the saliva test to check my secretor status after all…

Take care and be well…

Today finds me still feeling kind of crummy, but at least I got to print out a clean, empty weekly portions page. I made about a pound of tuna steaks this morning (pan steamed) and plan on spacing out the consumption of them throughout the week. I think that that ought’to cover the weekly allotment of fish flesh. I also bought ground turkey meat (I have a half a carcass in the freezer, but not enough hours at home to make soup…frustrating!), and will freeze out some portions of that so that protein is covered on that end too. I’m going to bulk up on dark leafy greens this week (collards, spinach) and see if that helps the mood. I’m off to hit the pool and then classes. It’s still raining here in sunny So. Cal…and despite the rainbow yesterday (so perfect!) and the exciting thunder and lightening…I’m about ready to get back to normal, sunshine…

Keep eating well, stay in healthful thoughts and make today a great day!!

Hullo, my name is Amanda and it’s been two days since my last blog…

I’m a bit down today…lots of things to worry about I guess. I haven’t been following the diet very closely the past couple of days…it’s just easier to grab whatever’s nearby than go through the thought process of taking care. This doesn’t help matters any with the affective state…but we do what we can do, right? At the very least I am still swimming and creating good chemicals. I’m also trying to bury myself in my studies since there’s not a lot that I can do about the other stuff right now. Of largest physical concern to me right now is the rapidly decreasing flexibility that I am experiencing. I can’t afford to buy yoga classes, so I have to figure out some way to stretch out effectively…I may pull out some of my Pilates paper work…maybe I can re-create my mat classes from a few years back.

On one other note before I sign off for today—I’m putting a big cosmic “wonder” out there. I got no protein this week to speak of (no eggs, tofu, nuts, turkey or fish) and felt pretty horrible. Yesterday I forced down a can of tuna and felt better within the hour. I’m struggling with the heart/brain connection…my brain knows that I need to eat a balanced diet…my heart is still having trouble warming up to flesh. Anybody have any tricks to hide the animal protein behind yummy veggies…or space it out so that it’s not so overwhelming?

Peace, love and serenity to y’all…have a groovy weekend…be well…

I got a lovely message from a darling young lady in the UK. She mentioned a few things that I forgot about, and feel would be great to bring up here. A few of the many benefits of living on the BTD aside from weight loss are a clearer complexion, shining hair, more energy and elevated mood levels. I’ve found a type of “afterglow” that comes along with adherence to bennies and neutrals on the diet. This really is such a wonderful life-style change that even with the occasional slips…my quality of life has improved a thousandfold from what it was before (and I didn’t think it was too bad pre-BTD!).

I’ll rehash some of what works for me here, both for myself and for y’all…it’s what we educators call “spiraling review”…if you go over the content of something enough times, you get a bit deeper with it each time and come to some better connections and understandings.

ANYHOW!!

I own only the Cook Right 4 Your Type book currently. I have every intention to buy Live Right 4 Your Type, but have to save a few dollars first. I have read ER4YT out of the library to understand some of the history behind Dr. D’s work a while back. This web-site is also very informative…click on the different articles and try out the different interactive “base” programs (TYPEbase, RECIbase, DOCbase, etc.).

Every Monday I print out my weekly chart of foods and serving sizes so that I can track a balanced diet. I have found that left to my own devices, I eat mostly fruits and veggies and not much protein or starches…both of which are necessary for balance. When I go to the market (local growers…I’m lucky to be in Southern Cali)…about twice a week…I wash and dry everything as soon as I get home. This makes it much easier to cook quickly or grab and go!! I’m gone from the house for nearly 12 hours a day, so I have to pack most of my food. I’ve found that since being on the BTD, my appetite has decreased (b/c I’m getting starch and protein!!), so it’s not too difficult to pack a day’s worth of food!

I think I’ll save some of my fave foods for an upcoming blog…this is getting lengthy!

The last thing that I wanted to share is that I swim nearly every day for an hour. We do sets of between 1800-2300 meters each workout. I don’t stretch out much, and feel a need to do so…I just have to make the time….like everything else!

To re-cap quickly, the diet combined with exercise, enough sleep (at least 8 hours/day), and lots of water (I drink 2-3 liters a day) have contributed to weight loss, clearer skin, elevated energy and mood and a general “afterglow” affect that leaves me feeling strong and capable.

My poor zombie lactic acid laden body is aching from the kidneys out. We got M&M’s as treats tonight in one of my classes and I just couldn’t not eat them!! Now my kidneys are screaming, my muscles are crying from being taken on a wonderful hike yesterday and then submitted to THREE HOURS of sitting in traffic (lactic acid puddles tried to drown my poor muscles). Anyhow, I’m still happy on the BTD and working to fit in my weekly counts of everything…and working on laying off the highly-processed-not-so-good-for-you junk food. Happy day and happy eating. With love in secrets big and small…be well…