Monday, November 26, 2012

Atkins Induction Menu Plan - Day 1

2 WEEK INDUCTION CHALLENGE

2 Weeks - How many pounds?

For any who are checking in on menus, I had a very extensive surgery about 11 weeks ago, called a Bilateral Latissimus Dorsi Flap Reconstruction with placement of Bilateral Tissue Expanders. This involved 4 large incisions: 2 on my back, extending the width of my back and 2 large tissue donations from those back incisions onto my breasts (they are oval or football shaped flaps that compose the majority of both breasts now.

The back muscle and skin are tissue donations that replaced dead tissue in the irradiated breast skin and the cadaver donor muscles that formed my intermediate breasts after a double mastectomy. It involved reconnecting veins and nerves and also involved cleaning up scar tissue in my left shoulder/arm and also reattaching the muscle in that arm. I also had my port removed. So it's been a tough 11 weeks and during that time, the Wizard of Plastics did not want me to restrict my calories or carbs and was completely opposed to me being in dietary ketosis either during surgery or after. That meant I had to quit JUDDD (Johnson Alternate Day Diet) and had to leave my low carb diet behind about a week prior to going into surgery.

I'm just now at the point of being able to resume a ketotic lifestyle. I know from experience this plan will help me lose the fluid bloat and regained pounds I acquired through eating a high carb diet for the last 12 weeks. I can't make myself take a blood glucose reading. I know it will be high. It was all I could do to step on the scale this morning and take measurements. But I did it. I'm up 22lbs from my pre-surgery low of 218.0 pounds. *gulp* But I've faced GHDWL (Ground Hog Day Weight Loss) before and will do it again.

My goal is to normalize blood sugar and reduce inflammation and pain and lose the regained weight. I'm in tons of daily pain and don't mind relating that the struggle to remain productive is immense. All I want to do is stay still and not move too much, so I don't inflame my muscles and back incisions. It's  a toothache type of pain that is unrelenting once it begins.

But I can't give into that and must move. Ultimately moving will be to my advantage. I'm also hoping the diet will reduce some of the swelling in my sides and back and even my breasts. I'm going to start physical therapy for the lymphedema and radiation/surgical scarring this week and know it will be painful but will be best for the long run.


Day 1 Intake:
Weight 240.8 lbs
Measurements 42-39-51
Pain 6
Mood 7

Brunch (307 Cals; 24gF (64%Fat); 7gC; 3gFib; 23gP; 4gNetCarbs)

Spinach, Mini Chicken Sausage, Fried Egg
 3c Decaf Coffee, black, unsweetened

1 serv Sauteed Spinach with Garlic (3oz Baby Spinach, 1cl Garlic, 1tsp EVOO)

1 lg Fried Egg in Olive Oil (1 lg Egg,
1tsp EVOO)

8 links Mini Chicken Sun Dried Tomato Basil Sausage

1/2 serv Tomato Caper Relish (Grape Tomatoes, Onion, Capers, Garlic, Basil, Lemon, EVOO)





Lunch

None - still full from Brunch


Dinner (618 Cals; 46gF (66%Fat); 19gC; 6gFib; 34gP; 13gNet Carbs)

1c Green Chili with Sour Cream & Avocado (1c GC, 1/8c Sour Cream, 1/8c Avocado)

1 Chopped Salad (2c Romaine, 1/4c Cucumber, 1/8c Red Bell Pepper, 1/8c Onion, 4 Grape Tomatoes, 2 Tbsp House Vinaigrette)

Green Chili

Chopped Salad

Daily Totals

925 Cals; 70gF (66%F); 25gC; 8gFib; 58gP; 17gNet Carbs

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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 26, 2012 at 2:15 PM

    God bless you, Fluffy Chix. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Also, you have my ultimate admiration for your strength and perseverance throughout this whole ordeal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. susietNovember 27, 2012 at 3:22 AM

      MUAH! Thank you so much! But gosh, I'm just no saint. I had a total and complete meltdown on Saturday and caused a huge stink while decorating the tree. Please make sure you know I'm just a spoiled brat with an Irish temper!!! Hugs!

      Delete
  2. UnknownNovember 26, 2012 at 8:28 PM

    Dearest Fluffiest Chix: I am so happy to hear your update. As usual, the amount of pain you are feeling brought a tear to my eye. Just know there are many of us out here appreciating your updates, SO glad to hear from you, and thinking well of you and praying for you. Bless you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. susietNovember 27, 2012 at 3:23 AM

      Each of you bring a tear to my eye! No kidding! Your support keeps me going a lot of days!!! MUAH. Love ya girl!!

      Delete
  3. NancyNovember 27, 2012 at 2:42 PM

    I pray for a quick recovery. Seems to be against all common sense to OFF of a low carb way of eating, but you do what you have to do. And thank you for sharing what you are going through. Big, long distance hugs (would not do a real hug right now!). P.S. Where did you get the mini sausage?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. susietNovember 27, 2012 at 9:32 PM

      Nancy, it has nothing to do with my common sense. I didn't want to go off of low carb, especially with my history. But my plastics doctor was adamant and since this involves so much more than I know about, I did what I was told. The last think I wanted to risk was any kind of complication with the transplants. But we will have a future discussion about it before the next surgery in February. I am certain of that!

      Also, I got them at Sam's. I think they are called:
      Old World Kitchen Brand and they are Mini Chicken Sun Dried Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Sausages. Supposed to be "all natural" and gluten free. One serving is 1g of carbs.

      I think they are good, but seem salty to me...maybe that also contributed to the overnight gain?

      Hugs!

      Delete
  4. Kathy Jo HoranNovember 29, 2012 at 2:07 PM

    Dear Fluffy Chix -
    Have really been enjoying your food and your light hearted way of blogging! I want to offer all my prayers and lots of love and encouragement for everything you have been, are and will be going through. I had to laugh when you said you had a meltdown over decorating the tree because OF COURSE you had to decorate the tree, AND battle breast cancer, AND go through intense pain, AND shop, wrap, bake and BE Christmas for your family and still you have a wonderful sense of humor and can blog and be happy! My husband has been battling Stage 4 lung cancer (we've been blessed with a not too hard battle so far, with a year off between chemos) and all he has to take care of is doing the actual chemo and working from home when able and he can barely keep up with those 2 things :-)! I'd like to be able to cook and serve you a months worth of meals, pay your bills, do your laundry and clean your house - because I am sure that you are doing it all and probably in a damn good way, AND recovering from incredibly invasive surgery, radiation and chemo.
    I feel incredibly blessed to "know" you and I send lots of love and laughter and cheer for the season to you and yours!
    Love from a new follower (yay, we are 3 in number now)!
    Kathy Jo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. susietNovember 30, 2012 at 12:48 PM

      Kathy Jo,

      I'm so glad you like the blogs. :) Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I won't lie, some days are diamonds and some days are dust!!!

      I'm so sorry to hear of your fight with lung cancer and that of your husbands. It's weird cuz when one member of the family gets cancer, the whole family gets it in a sense. I'm glad his Stage IV had a year of respite and will pray this round of chemo is effective.

      Just an aside, I'm assuming you know the world of lung cancer from A-Z by now, but my mom had Stage III non-small cell lung cancer and she had stereotactic 4D radiation that was quite effective in killing the primary tumors.

      (Unfortunately, she was 80 and the fight took it out of her. She succumbed to an infection as a result of a hospitalization and developed a blood infection - we lost her as a result.)

      Yay for having 3 readers now!!! ;)

      Love and laughter to you and your husband too. And big prayers!

      Delete

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Fluffy Chix eat what??? Holy smokes! You can't eat that on low carb, can you? Thanks for joining Fluffy Chix Talk Chicken Scratch, the adventures in daily low carb nutrition and all the menus that go with it and maybe a picture or two! This is the daily Fluffy Chix Low Carb Menu Blog. Leave lots of comments and love, ya hear?!! Please share Fluffy Chix Cook with your friends!


November 26, 2012
Resumed Atkins Induction after surgery and recovery.


September 25, 2012

Bilateral Latissimus Dorsi Flap Resection for Stage IIIC Breast Cancer Reconstruction


September 19, 2012

Quit JUDDD and low carb to prepare for surgery.


August 13, 2012 -

Resumed JUDDD schedule while continuing with the Circadian Rhythm Schedule for eating and sleeping windows.


July 23 - August 12 -

I'm starting an n=1 pseudo-experiment today. It's based on experiments with Calorie Restriction and Food Restriction or Food Windows. I'm working with some guidance on this. The idea will be to reset my Circadian Rhythms.New research shows that Circadian Rhythm disruption influences inflammation and obesity as well as insulin sensitivity. These are all areas I'm desperate to address because fixing these areas could allow my body to heal. This could give me a better shot at remaining cancer free.


For the next 3 weeks, I must reset the Circadian Clock inside my body. To reset the CC (Circadian Clock) I need to discontinue JUDDD over the next 3 weeks and simply adhere to a feeding, sleeping and waking schedule. I will be adding a note section at the end of each day in order to evaluate status and moods.

Step 1: Eat a low carb diet without calorie restriction for the next 3 weeks without any type of calorie rotation.

Step 2: Eat all meals within an 8 hour feeding window - 11am - 7pm. Absolutely no eating after 7pm. Non-caloric liquids are allowed on demand.

Step 3: Adhere to a bedtime with total darkness at 11pm and wake time of 6:30am, every day.

Step 4: After 3 weeks I will resume JUDDD Rotations with a 20% Calorie Restriction on Down Days - 500 kcals, Up Days will allow up to 2340 kcals. The JUDDD Rotation will feature low carb nutrition. Continue to follow the FR (Food Restriction eating window, bedtime, and waking time.)

Step 5: After 2 weeks back on JUDDD Rotations, evaluate the ongoing weight loss level I feel comfortable in sustaining for the long term. I can go as high as a 50% restriction and still experience activation of the SIRT1 genes and asthma alleviation. Continue to follow the FR (Food Restriction eating window, bedtime, and waking time.)

***********************************

JUDDD Plan -

What in the Sam-hill, cockamamie food plan are you following? That can't be low carb!! Well, you're right it isn't simply low carb. I follow a derivation of the Johnson's Alternate Day Diet. I tweaked the JUDDD diet, as it's called, into a low carb version.

I choose to follow this plan right now, because I am experiencing dramatic improvement on asthma symptoms, blood sugar control and weight loss.

More importantly, I also experienced a greater than 50% response rate in neo-adjuvant chemotherapy towards a high grade prolific ER+/PR+/Her2Neu- breast cancer and lost 45lbs during treatment - when most people in breast cancer treatment gain 10-20lbs. (KI-67 was 22% with 17mitotic bodies).

Sure, I'm a turtle. Weight loss is slow weight loss. But it's weight loss! Hope that helps bring you up to speed!

The JUDDD diet has quite a bit of testing behind it and is founded upon theories that alternate day caloric restriction activates the longevity gene, the SIRT1 gene.

Suggested side effects of the JUDDD Diet are greater blood sugar control, reduction of systemic inflammation, relief or improvement of asthma conditions, reduction in movement disorder brain dysfunction, and possible anti-cancer effects.

But! Key to remember, I'm an n=1, not a doctor, not a nutritionist, nor allied health practitioner and you MUST do your own research. I'm just a girl who had cancer and is dancing with NED at this point in time.