I took the plunge and bought a Green Star juicer. Just like fellow blogger Jim has. It was a spendy thing, that’s for sure. I did have an Omega juicer before, but it was a centrifugal juicer. I’m sorry I bought that one. Centrifugal means that the machine juiced by spinning around really fast and creating a high heat that oxidized the juice. That would force me to stand there and drink the juice immediately, so that I could get the most nutrients in as fast as I could, otherwise the air in the juice would dissipate the good stuff and render it just south of so-so in the nutrition department. So, I’d stand there gulping the juice while cleaning the machine and not really enjoying the whole process. Especially, since just shortly after I had bought it did I learn that it was the wrong type.

So, anyway, this Green Star machine is a masticating juicer. It processes by squishing and tearing and smooshing the produce to make the juice. It creates a minimal amount of heat. I can cut up enough veggies and fruit at one time to make leftovers and store in the refrigerator and still retain most of the nutrients. The instructions say I can store the juice up to 72 hours. That way I can have fresh organic juice everyday without having to spend so much time making it and cleaning the machine each time. I’m hoping I will follow through with my juicing efforts. I think I can make myself do it as long as I don’t have to mess with the process every day.

How are you doing with your vegetable and fruit intake? Let me know how you keep up with the recommended servings.

The experiment is over, and I wasn’t successful. Last May, my blood lipids and glucose levels were darn near perfect. I had been taking Red Yeast Rice for the previous six months for elevated cholesterol. I also had made some changes in my diet. Mainly I was trying to eliminate as much animal fat as possible (without being driven mad) and to keep my starchy food intake to a minimum. So, in May my naturopath wanted to know if it was the RYR or the diet changes that had made my readings so good, and had me stop taking the RYR for three months and get tested again. Well, everything bounced right back up to the levels they had been last December. Total cholesterol is back up to 249. Triglycerides are triple digit again, as is the glucose level. HDL also jumped from a healthy 59 to 70. Heart health ratio is at 3.5. Up from 3.1 three months ago.

I’m pretty discouraged. I was hoping my level of compliance with BTD was enough to keep me at near prime health. Obviously I have a lot more work to do. First thing will be to get Dr. D’s new book on Cardiovascular health. Of course, I will start in again with the Red Yeast Rice. Now.

Daughter and Hubby left me alone again. This time they were gone three nights. They went on another motorcycle trip. They went to a town on the Washington/Oregon border where there are lots of neat road trips to take on bikes.

I had to take charge of both stores while they were gone, so didn’t have a lot of free time to indulge in being alone. Also didn’t give me a lot of time to spend on personal computing or blogging. But, I did enjoy the evenings. Two nights of liver and onions again. Had leftover rib roast and salad for the third dinner. I was also able to enjoy three evenings of movies on the TV. A rare treat.

But, I’m glad to have them back. I think they had a great time, even though it was pretty cold and rainy for them most of the trip. I really don’t mind compromising living styles with others. It’s just nice to have it all to yourself once in awhile.

My household is a diet nightmare. I’m married to an ‘A’ who eats and exercises like an ‘O’. Ever since he has embraced the Atkins way of life, which has been about two years now, he has aged in the looks department about twelve years. He is definitely thin. In fact, yesterday he was saying he needed to add some carbs to his diet because he’d dropped too much weight (again). He bought a rib roast and three huge baked potatoes to cook for dinner last night. I asked him why he hadn’t bought me a sweet potato instead. He said, he just wasn’t thinking about sweet potatoes. I told him not to bake a potato for me and picked up a salad on the way back from rehearsal. I also did NOT eat any of the chocolate birthday cake someone brought to rehearsal for everyone to share.

My daughter is a twenty-two year old ‘O’ who would benefit from the Atkins diet that her father espouses (constantly). But, she immerses herself in junk food. She is obese. She doesn’t like being fat, of course. But, at this point she is not willing to give up any of these poisons that she comforts herself with. She joined a gym this summer, and has only gone twice. My theory is that she is using overeating as a form of rebellion. I’m sure it is more complicated than that. People tell me she will come around in time to make an effort to take care of herself. I feel really helpless in the matter.

I follow the BTD diet to the best of my ability. I try to live a healthy lifestyle, while not being too rigid. My family hasn’t learned by my example. Drat it all!

On Sunday we participated in a charity golf tournament. We play in the same tournament every year. I’m on the board of the organization, and am pretty involved with it. Anyway, it is a day that I really look forward to. Mostly because of the food. And most of it the food is full of avoids. Wonderful, yummy avoids! This is the day I start off with my annual hot dog. I smother it in kraut, onions, relish mustard, ketchup…you know, the works. Then, after the tournament the dinner is fabulous. Always pretty much the same. We hire a couple who runs a pig barbecuing business. They roast a whole pig on a spit. The pork is served with a terrific sauce and horseradish. There are sides of potato salad, and other kinds of salads. Generally cookies or brownies are for dessert. In between times there are dishes full of chocolate treats and licorice and bags of chips. I did my best to eat as much as I could. I did find it hard to eat the sweet things. They didn’t taste all that good to me. The hot dog and the pork were the savories I craved.

So, I was expecting to feel pretty out of sorts and bloated all day Monday. But woke up feeling pretty good and went through all my normal activities without any problems. Went to Pilates, to work, and ate normal BTD compliant foods. It took 36 hours for the avoid foods to catch up with me. Woke up early Tuesday morning with the heartburn. It lasted all day, along with a gassy stomach. I was so lethargic mentally and physically that it was all I could do to make it through a round of golf. And a very poor round it was. Couldn’t concentrate.

Hah! And I thought I had gotten away with something!