I paid a visit to a Naturopath last week as I am fascinated by Iridology. For those who don't know what Iridology is:
Iridology (also known as iridodiagnosis[1] or iridiagnosis[2] is an alternative medicine technique whose proponents claim that patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the iris can be examined to determine information about a patient's systemic health. Practitioners match their observations to iris charts, which divide the iris into zones that correspond to specific parts of the human body. Iridologists see the eyes as "windows" into the body's state of health.
Iridologists use the charts to distinguish between healthy systems and organs in the body and those that are overactive, inflamed, or distressed. Iridologists believe this information demonstrates a patient's susceptibility towards certain illnesses, reflects past medical problems, or predicts later health problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridology
So I took myself and my little eyeballs off to see her, under a recommendation from a friend. Once there I filled in a form asking the usual questions of health history, reason for visit and a basic daily food intake. Once I went in and we had a little chat and she took photos of my eyes she picked up on some stuff that was 100% accurate. She asked if I experienced heart burn, which was always my biggest pregnancy complaint. And she told me I was lacking energy and just pushing myself to get things done, as they had to be done. And when she asked me if I was a bit foggy brained I nearly fell off my chair in agreement. I had noticed in the last couple of months I had become quite "off my tree" for want of a better quote. I was putting it down to lack of sleep and possibly taking time off work and not stimulating my brain as much. And I knew before I went back to work in the New Year that I had to get my head together or work would be a struggle. So here's hoping the super pills she gave me will make me smart again?? So I was super impressed with the Iridology part of our appointment (although anybody could probably guess that as mum of a 4 month old and a 3 year old I would be lacking energy and a bit space headed lol).
Then she handed me a couple of sheets of paper and said she wanted me to cut out carbs (or limit to 20g a day, which ain't a lot!). As soon as she said that one word popped into my head...ATKINS! But then she said don't worry about keeping track of fat content as everything you can eat is healthy fats, so 2 words popped into my head....HEALTHY ATKINS?? So basically that means I can't eat bread, pasta, rice, fruit, anything with flour (which is ALOT of things), grains and alcohol *sob sob*. However the silver lining is I am allowed 1 low carb beer per day. So when I checked out my list of unlimited foods I wasn't expecting to see cheeses (nearly all sorts) and bacon. It was just like the infamous Atkins diet which I am not really a believer of, and to make it worse, she wanted me to do it for a month!! So I've struggled with the decision to follow it or not, as it's not something I would put my clients on. I am a big believer of everything in moderation and Atkins can be very successful if followed smartly, but it can become quite unhealthy with some poor food choices (oily bacon and eggs for breaky everyday anybody?) and generally people struggle to stick with it long enough to see the results. BUT I've decided to have a crack at it and I started last Thursday and went surprisingly well Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Although I did have to teach a Bodycombat class Saturday morning and after 2 days of no carbs that was probably one of my hardest classes ever. Then Sunday was Miss 3's party day and I'm sorry but I had a devine birthday cake made, I was going to eat it. But I did behave myself alot better than I would have if I wasn't following the plan. So back on it Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday has hit and I am struggling today! No energy, tired and all I want to eat is carbs when I feel like this :( But I'm giving myself until Sunday to see how I go and as I'm expecting BIG results for such deprivation, if I don't see a big drop on the scales I won't continue on with it. The good thing about it though is it is based on lots of clean eating (lots of vegies and salads, although some are restricted). You just have to be mindful of your choices when it comes to your meats, cheeses and eggs as it can become a very high fat diet.
On the plus side I ordered a few low/no carb items from the net, including cookies, cookie mix and savoury wafers (so I can have Camembert and crackers with my low-carb beer - ok this diet is starting to sound better and better!). They arrived today so I'm hoping they will make the next few days a bit more easier.
I will keep
So that's my ramble for the week and I will keep you all updated on how I go. I'll leave you with my attempt at a no-carb meal plan for the week:
Monday - Beef Stirfry (no rice for me)
Tuesday - Dining out - so proud I ordered an Eye Fillet steak for the first time ever, and I didn't eat my chips (ok I had about 5) and I refused chocolate cake and cheesecake while everyone else ate in front of me :(
Wednesday - Chicken Caesar salad (no croutons)
Thursday - Zucchini Slice and salad
Friday - Parmesan Chicken and salad
Saturday - No Crust quiche
Sunday - Either leftovers or Low-carb lasagne (still researching recipes)
No comments:
Post a Comment