My in-laws introduced me to a nutritionist that they had been seeing for about a year, to much success. Her name is Karen Hurd. She is from North-Western Wisconsin, but many of her clients are from around the world. She is willing to do consultations over the phone, which was extremely helpful for me, being a busy, homeschooling mom.
I'll admit, I knew what I was getting myself in to. My mother and father-in-law had discussed their diet with me enough for me know what radical steps I was going to take if I embarked on this plan - and a nutritional plan is what this is. I called it a diet, but really it isn't a short-term fix, it is a lifelong decision to improve and maintain my health through my food choices.
So here is the bones of my nutritional plan:
I have to eat 7 vegetables a day
I must eat a palm size serving of an efficient protein at every meal (efficient proteins come from animals - beef, chicken, fish, seafood and eggs)
I drink 96 oz. of water a day
I eat a half-cup serving of beans at every meal (Karen is big on soluble fiber)
Here is my typical breakfast. I cook up an egg (this is an egg, tomato and goat cheese frittata), saute half of a bell pepper and onion with mushrooms and eat a half cup of refried beans. Does it look like a lot of food? It is! But it fills and satisfies me for hours, keeping my blood sugar level and giving my brain cells, as well as other cells, plenty of good protein to keep working.I'm 5 months in, and even though it hasn't always been a bed of roses, I remain committed to this plan. Tomorrow (or soon, at least) I'll write about what I'm NOT allowed to eat.
