It’s almost been a month since my last post and progress has been great. I’m down 15 pounds and have another 10 pounds to go. I know my body will find its own ideal weight but I want to get down to 180 lbs before I run my 10th and final Bix 7 road race. Two years ago I signed up for what would have been my 10th and final Bix race but I hurt my right knee just a few days before the race. It took over a year after my surgery to be able to run pain free. The Bix 7 race is very demanding and there are a lot of people. I’ve become accustomed to the small amount of people who run a half or full marathon.
Since I have less cartilage between my right Femur and Tibia, I have to cut back on my longer/ harder runs anyway to save my knees.

I didn’t think I would lose weight so fast now that I’m 13 years older than when I first started ERFYT, but I’m not going to argue. My Hunter GenoType sure makes it easier.

Since my last blog I have been trying to find ways to cut back on the things that could be contributing to my kidney stone problems (too much red meat, too much salt and too many nuts and seeds). I also need to drop a few pounds being that my winter weight was much more than in the past.

Before, I was eating a total of 5 buffalo and burger ¼ lb patties and 2 ½ cup portions of my trail mix while I was working. I would then have a decent size supper after work. I only ate if I felt hungry and I had been eating that way for a very long time.

After my last episode with a kidney stone and my weight gain, I finally decided to get serious and make some changes. I now only eat 3 patties and one ½ cup portion of my trail mix while working and have a fourth pattie and a healthy glass full of Black Cherry juice for supper. I only have water for the rest of the night. I do get hungry and my stomach growls but I've lost 3 pounds in 7 days but. As long as I keep losing weight and stop making kidney stones, this is actually going to save me money and I’ll be healthier.

Well, it finally happened. My kidney stone passed and when it happened, it wasn’t painful. I felt a strange sensation while “going” and it plopped into the toilet. There was a slight burning sensation as a finished but that was it. When I bent down to get a closer look at it I was amazed that something so large could come out with hardly any discomfort.

After retrieving it and getting it analyzed by a lab, here’s the results:

56% Whewellite calcium oxalate monohydrate

29% Weddellite calcium oxalate dehydrate

15% Uric Acid

The literature that came with the results all pointed to my diet. Too much protein, salt and too much nut/seed consumption, not enough water was another cause but if I up my current water consumption, I have to pee every 20 minutes.

I have been consuming large amounts of walnuts, pecans, almonds and pumpkin seeds in my trail mix and that also is where the salt might come in. I am consuming more protein than Dr. D recommends for non secretors, way more….

So here’s my dilemma. I can’t sit down and have a “meal” during the day and that’s what works so well with the burger patties and trail mix. Just plop them in a ziplock sandwich bad and voila! It’s such an easy way to avoid eating things I know are bad for me.

I’m at a crossroads and need some ideas on O Hunter type foods that are quick and easy to eat when you can’t sit down to eat.

About one year ago I woke in the middle of the night with severe pain in my right kidney area. I broke into a sweat and was in pain for about 20 minutes or so. The pain subsided and my body calmed down. I changed clothes and went back to bed. Nothing happened after that, so I just chalked it up to muscle spasms.

Back in March, my right side kidney area flared back up and this time it lasted for a few days. It was very uncomfortable but with ibuprophen and heat, it subsided and life went back to normal.

Three weeks ago, I started having painful urination and my wife and I thought it might be a urinary tract infection or something similar. After a weeks worth of antibiotics the pain had went away but came back even worse within a few days. That’s when the pain in my right kidney area came back. I then went to my doctor to get a urine test which showed blood in my urine. My keytones were high too, but with the O diet, that is to be expected. I started drinking way more water and cranberry juice to see if it would help the possible infection. The extra fluids did the trick but I was urinating every 20 minutes and very urgently at that!

After a couple of days of that, things seemed to get better. The kidney pain died down and the level of blood in my urine dropped to the point it was no longer painful to urinate.
With all of that, we decided to find out if I had a kidney stone and set up a catscan for this past Tuesday to find out for sure.

Well I found out I have a kidney stone that has made its way into my bladder. That would explain the improvement, but I’m not out of the woods yet. I now have to “filter” my urine to try and catch the stone so it can be tested to see what kind of stone it is.

All of this begs the question, why am I making stones? I’ve been following the O Diet for over 12 years now so what could be going on? I might be consuming too much protein which is one of many causes for stones. I do consume my fair share of Sea Salt that I use in my trail mix and put on my burgers. That can also be a cause. Uric acid stones can happen too, but I doubt that is the reason.

If it is because I am consuming too much protein, I am going to have to cut back by 25-50% which is going to complicate my daily food consumption routine. The problem is that when I don’t eat enough protein I get hungry faster and usually make poor food choices. I am weighing my options at this point, but I don’t have any ideas on something that’s easy to make and can take with me for the day for my small frequent meals.

I will report back when the stone passes or something else changes.

Today I had a booth at a local event to once again promote ERFYT!
I managed to speak to about 25 people and had a good time.

Two of the people I talked to were from a nearby booth. After the daughter went back with the "All About You (A)" brochure, the mom came over a little while later. The first thing out of her mouth was: "What's this I hear that wheat is bad for me?"

I smiled and explained that the protein in wheat called a Lectin first damages your intestintal lining, gets into your blood stream and clumps up your red blood cells. It also gets into your joints causing inflamation and damgage, mimics insulin - causing insulin resistance and fat production. It even gets to your thyroid causing damage. The lectin in wheat is so strong it can even bind to things that almost look like your blood type like cancer!

The mom then asked if she coud have an A brochure too! I gladly gave her one and answered a few more of her questions.

I was hoping for a larger turnout compared to last year but any time I can potentially help someone turn their health around, I'm good!