BCNfoodie diary - Tales of jamon iberico and beyond! page

[bcnfoodie]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking for a while now and reading lots of blog posts. I think it's time to do my diary.
I have a personal blog but not sure if I will include my challenge there. Maybe...

For now, I want to do this within the community.

So, I've been gluten free since the 2nd of January 2013. I decided after baking cupcakes, whoopie pies, a carrot cake, etc over the holidays!

I've been feeling great - no grains, no legumes, no sugar (still using sweeteners though!)

I'm thinking of doing the AIP protocol diet (Paleo) because I have mild psoriasis (diagnosed). I used steroid creams in the past but never remembered to put them on daily. So they didn't really work and I hated the smell!

Next month, I plan to cut out dairy, alcohol, eggs, nuts and seeds, and nightshades. Oh and coffee and chocolate too. Any thoughts on this guys?

It will be difficult cutting everything out for one month but I just want to know for sure whether I am allergic to these. I am pretty sure about dairy as my tummy always rumbles after I eat some and I get bloated.

I question coffee, alcohol (red wine) and dark chocolate. Do I really have to? Uff.

On the exercise side, I've been trying to ride the bike along the beach, started the essential movements 2x a week, and try to walk everywhere instead of taking the metro/bus. I've started doing tango again too.

I also get sunshine daily (partly why I moved here from London! my dermatologist said that it would help my condition.)

Measurements: I was 225lbs when I left London, and am now 202 lbs without really dieting for the past year. My goal is to get to 140lbs (high end of normal range) then 112lbs (ideal weight). I'm 5'3".

Oh, I've done every diet known to mankind, except WW: mayo clinic, juice fasting/raw, vegan/vegetarian (short-lived), low fat, and of course Atkins, which sold me to the low carb way of eating.

I've joined a local primal group here too. The only challenge is that I have a food business here and now I won't be able to eat any of the food except jamon and grilled food. Fried stuff here are usually breaded although cooked in olive oil most of the time.

However, I am keen to eat offal and unusual meat here: callos (tripe), pig's ears, ostrich, wild boar, poussin, rabbit, morcilla (blood sausage), and even jamon iberico meat! I am so excited.

I am also using lots of olive oil and duck fat for cooking. The people here haven't dropped dead from cooking with olive oil so I don't believe in the argument against it (except for cost but it is cheap here yay!). Also, the chefs can't all be stupid. Lots of them use only olive oil here.

Up next, will try to post my planned menu for next month!

Thanks for reading

[bcnfoodie]

I've been busy working all week, had a friend visiting from London too so haven't posted anything all week.

I have managed to stay away from all the bread and potatoes etc so far. Instead, I've had lots of seafood, made some beef brisket soup and pork belly stew.

I still have some leftover tuna and baby octopus left from lunch the other day.

I am rethinking my aip plan. I might keep coffee and chocolate just to keep me sane

[Hedonist2]

All you need to do for good health is be primal 80% of the time, as long as the other 20% is not terribly unhealthy.

Next month, I plan to cut out dairy, alcohol, eggs, nuts and seeds, and nightshades. Oh and coffee and chocolate too. Any thoughts on this guys?

I have all of those things. At 70 yo, my health has improved dramatically in every way!

[bcnfoodie]

I'm now around 186 lbs! I had stalls but hey I'm halfway to my normal weight now.
My highest documented weight was 232 lbs and I need to reach 140 lbs to be normal again. So I've dropped 46 lbs already.

Since turning Primal on the 2nd of January (starting weight = 210 lbs), I've dropped 24 lbs in 5.5 months. Quite slow I think.

I did the AIP in March - awful as it was challenging socially. I couldn't go out much. I was under a lot of pressure to drink some alcohol. I don't think this is sustainable long term for single people in Europe! Drinking wine is part of the culture.

I've also given in and eaten an amazing 25-course meal with visiting friends last week. Hey, I live in Barcelona! I also had an amazing 3-course dessert last night. Although, I haven't been binging, I've been indulging occasionally.

On a daily basis though, I avoid grains especially wheat. I stay away from sugar except in mojitos!

I also found out that I have a bad reaction to eggs after my elimination diet but none to coffee and chocolate (just keeps me awake).

I really want to hit my next target of 168 lbs (just overweight, no longer obese!) in the next 2 months. I will have to go paleo and cut out dairy, alcohol, nuts and indulge no more!

This is a bit depressing as other people do fine on 80/20. I think I need to go 100% for this to work.