Testing

kayceeme

HI all,

I've made it through the cleanse and am feeling good. Lost over 4 lbs as well and that usually would take me a month or more of a 1200 cal/day diet plus working out. Kind of amazing. Was able to have a cup of coffee today but found I wasn't craving it as badly and didn't want to drink as much as usual.

Today I try the goat cheese and was able to find a goat cheddar at my local Trader Joe's. My first test! Keeping my fingers crossed.

GmaQueenBee

Congrats on the 4 pounds and good luck with the goat cheese. Keep us posted.

kayceeme

Thanks, Jocymc!

Not sure what to think about the goat cheese. I found I gained .4 lbs this morning, but The Plan considers a weight gain of .5-2 lbs a reaction. Also, didn't sleep too well. But then I also had a yeast reaction, probably due to the chocolate and wine. I understand yeast can throw things off as well.

I will resume taking the probiotics for a week and will "rest" today, rather than going on to the rye test. Guess the thing to do is re-try goat cheese another day.

GmaQueenBee

With the cost of goat cheese I don't think it's going to be in my diet much unless cow cheese proves super reactive. I tried it today and found it a little salty but with a nice flavorful taste. It really added some zing to my spinach salad.

I quit making flax granola and ordered some from the company Lyn suggests. They're a small company and their business has increased 100 fold since Lyn's Dr. Oz show. They're a week behind on shipping orders! Until I receive it I'll just make the Blueberry Pear Compote. It taste's a lot better than the Flax Granola I make!

caroline212

Have you tried the Chia Hemp Power Pudding for breakfast? It is ridiculously easy and very good. I bought the chia seeds and hemp online from Swansons.

scubagal71

I had the chia hemp pudding this morning!

If you have a Trader Joes, they have some great goat cheese that isn't like traditional goat- I love goat cheese but my huband doesn't- but he loves the Goat Cheddar and Goat Gouda I found at TJ's- and I LOVE the Drunk Goat hard cheese from Whole Foods.

I love cheese. All Cheese.

Stephib10

Costco sells a crumbled goat cheese that is excellent! It's soft and can even be used as a spread on bread mixed with avocado and fresh basil (if you don't react to bread of course).

Thanks for starting this group!

kayceeme

Hi Stephib10,

Welcome to the group!

Your goat cheese recipe sounds really yummy. If you get a chance, it would be great if you can add it (and any other recipes you enjoy) to our "Recipes" discussion.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't pass goat cheese. Today I am testing cow's milk cheese and am keeping my fingers crossed that I pass.

GmaQueenBee

I hadn't tried goat cheese before starting the plan and now I totally love it. I found the soft goat cheese logs at Costco and the price wasn't as outrageous as at Fred Meyers.

I made the Flax Granola recipe again and it turned out much more flavorful than the 1st batch. I added lots more spices! I received the flax granola from ColumbiaCountyBread.com today. I'll try it out tomorrow. I'm using the flax granola on the test days and the rice cereal or blueberry pear compote on rest days.

I tested bread on Friday and woke up Saturday with a .8 weight gain. I didn't know if it was all the whole wheat bread because Friday was a mixed up day and I didn't follow the plan exactly. Saturday was a rest day and I followed it to the letter. On Sunday I had a 1.1 weight loss. Sunday I retested but used plain white bread. Today was a 1.4 weight gain. No more bread for me!

mqtphd

Hi ladies. I'm on day 14 of the plan...though technically I should be further (I had to take an unexpected break for a work trip...though I tried to stick to the plan as much as possible). So far I've tested reactive for rye (+.8 lbs.) and beef (+.8 lbs.). I followed up both days with food from the first day of the cleanse and bounced back nicely. So far I've lost 14 lbs. and 5 inches on my waist. It's pretty astonishing. I can't get over the fact that I eat so many calories and never feel hungry yet almost every morning I'm seeing the scale go down! It's a bit of a head trip, no? My biggest impetus for trying this was monthly hormone-related migraines and constipation dominate IBS both of which have gone away (knock on wood). I feel like this is something I can stick with...I'm definitely enjoying the "surprise" of getting on the scale each morning to see how my body has reacted to foods. What have you all struggled with thus far? What are you enjoying about working the plan?

wjleffi

Testing cows milk today - I love the goat cheese and have been very satisfied with it, but just need to know. So far I have been reactive to pineapple and pork. Fish, beef, lamb, cherries(I like the dark frozen ones) potatoes and sweet potatoes have been fine. A small bowl of creamy wild rice soup with a salad and lemon juice at a restaurant sent me up 3 pounds that took me a week to get back off. I will be leaving that stuff alone! And I have found that 2 proteins in a day, eggs, and combinations of protein/rice have all been ok, so I am feeling very lucky.

GmaQueenBee

14 lbs & 5 inches on the waist is wonderful. It is amazing that we can eat so much and lose inches. I haven't lost much weight, 4 lbs the 1st week. Then I tested reactive to bread and pork. In just a few days I gained almost all of it back. On my rest days I not losing as much as I gain when I'm reactive, although 8 oz in one day is an grand loss. If this continues I might have to take an extra rest day to let my body catch up. On the plus side I have lost one inch around the waist and 1/2 inch from the hips.

LaurieWurster

Oy! failed potatoes. Not a huge reaction, I just stayed the same weight. I will retest in a couple of months. I knew I was going to fail, because I had a horrible night of sleep.

kayceeme

Hi Laurie,

Sorry to hear that. It must be frustrating. I notice that on the days that I don't get a good night's sleep that I don't lose either. In that case it is hard to say whether the food reaction is causing the sleeplessness or vice versa.

I had that happen with cow's milk cheese and that makes it difficult to follow many of the menus as they call for cheese. I totally bombed goat cheese so that won't work. I recall the author suggesting some kind of seeds, but somehow that doesn't seem to me like a great alternative to cheese.

I made it to the breakfast test today and enjoyed a cinnamon roll with my coffee, perfect for a weekend morning. Yum, one of my favorites and keeping my fingers crossed!

Hope you do better on your bread re-test!

kayceeme

Hi mqtphd,

I wanted to respond to your questions about what we're struggling with and what we are enjoying.

I would say that my struggle has been that I have had a lot of days, even safe days, where there is no scale movement. It makes it hard to evaluate what's going on. The only thing I had a strong reaction to has been goat's cheese and have more clarity about that than I do other days. Also, I know that having both dark chocolate and wine with the same dinner causes a yeast reaction so I usually opt for wine. Dark chocolate isn't really my favorite, but I really enjoy red wine so that's an easy choice for me.

What I really enjoy about the plan is that I am almost never full, have lost many of my cravings. I also feel that the foods are very healthy and I feel good about that. Best of all, I've lost about 7 lbs and a couple of inches around my waist. I feel like I am armed with information that will help me lose the approx 11 lbs I'm trying to shed and also have the tools to maintain that loss once I get there. Also, it is good to know that I don't need to totally abandon my favorite foods or restaurants. Just need to follow them with a safe day or two.

kayceeme

Hi Jocyme,

That loss of inches is great. To me, that is more important than losing pounds. I want to be able to get rid of my muffin top, rather than always worrying about how to dress to disguise it. Somehow all my excess weight settled around my mid-section.

Pretty sure it has to do with my age category, mid-50s, post menopausal etc. Of course, it would be wonderful to lose some inches elsewhere as well!

GmaQueenBee

Just a general question ... If potatoes are a separate test how come we have salt-free potato chips on Day 7?

kayceeme

Hi Jocymc,

That potato chip thing is puzzling to me as well. Here's my take on it:

I think it is because the ability of the chips to stave off sodium reactions and is a good source of potassium. Both of these aid weight loss. Benefits outweigh the potential problems, maybe. Recitas draws upon a lot of experience she's had with her patients, and what they do and don't react to so I imagine that most people fare well with the chips. And perhaps the 1 oz portion is less than eating the 1/2 potato that is in the vegetable test and, therefore, considered "safe".

FYI, I read on the author's facebook page that low sodium chips are ok if you can't find no salt.

bry8iyze

RE: reasonably priced Goat cheeses, I like Trader Joe's but can't always get there. I found Mont Chevre brand sold in my regular supermarket in the imported/specialty cheese section and in most big markets here in W. Mass. It's the most reasonably priced but importantly has the least sodium. It's hard to find low or no-salt cheeses. I like their crumbled sheep/goat feta as well as goat gouda and cheddar. For sure its not as cheap as commercial cow cheeses but being as I reacted to cows milk as a child, I'm being very careful about testing cow dairy. I've done ok on fresh mozzarella and just tried an organic mac and cheese by Amy's that had cheddar in it and did ok. But I'm testing every single cheese and dairy item and keeping them relegated to an occasional treat. Meanwhile the goat and sheep cheeses are mainstays. Sticking with the 1 oz portions of most Plan meals, they last a long time.

GmaQueenBee

I found a reasonably priced goat cheese at Costco which has 160 mg of sodium per ounce. It comes in a double pack of 10.5 ounce logs for under $9.00. I haven't found any other goat cheese except the plain in my town but I'll keep looking.

GmaQueenBee

I tested lamb as my new protein a few days ago and lost .6 pounds. Yesterday I retested Chickpeas and ended up losing .8 pounds. Was so stoked to be under 175. I have been up and down from 180 to 175 for months. Today I retested white bread following the thyroid plan instructions (1 slice of white bread at breakfast with almond butter and 1/2 a fruit). 45 minutes later I was feeling fuzzy headed, had stomach cramps and diarhea! I fully expect a huge weight gain tomorrow.

kayceeme

Congrats on the lamb, Jocymc. Another protein to add to your meals makes for more variety and helps us stay with it. Even bigger congrats at getting under 175--what a great feeling!

I have been gaining and losing the same 5-10 lbs repeatedly. Having lost pretty steadily with The Plan, I'm now within 2 lbs of what I was the last time that I was really working out and focusing on my calories--about a year ago. But this way of eating seems much more sustainable so I hope that I continue to lose and that the pounds don't creep back on again.

Wow, what a strong reaction to the bread!

GmaQueenBee

Thanks Kayceeme. It looks like you're doing great on The Plan. Those last 2 pounds should be gone by the time you finish your 20.

I don't know what to think about the bread reaction. It was so immediate. Bread is definitely off my menu for a long time. This morning I woke up feeling great but the scale showed a .5 pound gain, which I expected. When I was finished in the bathroom I decided to reweigh. I was DOWN by 1.3 pounds!! I couldn't believe it so I reset the scale & tried again. Same weight. Can't wait to see what I weigh tomorrow.

kayceeme

I just read something in the book today to the effect that reactions are caused by inflammation, and inflammation happens instantaneously--like when you cut your finger and it turns red. Food for thought! (pun intended)

GmaQueenBee

It's good that our bodies tell us immediately that a food is bad for us, but that was going a little overboard. Anyway, I took a break from The Plan on Saturday and took a rest day on Sunday. The rest day included salt free potato chips which I was reluctant to try since I had tested reactive to potatoes. Talking to people on Lyn's FB page and here I was told that the cooking process would deactivate whatever it is in the potato that I was reactive to. It didn't! I had a .8 pound gain after that rest day, so Monday was another rest day. I woke up with a 1.2 pound loss! Today I get to test a new protein. There are so many I want to try that it's hard to decide. It was going to be pinto beans, and I have them soaking, but I've decided on cow's milk cheese. I would love to have a little cheddar sprinkled on my chicken or salad.