Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Update - Struggles already with new diet.

Wow, I didn't realize I was already on Day 4.  Here is my diary so far.

DAY 1 (SUNDAY, 7/24):
On Sunday, I just had my juiced vegetables and water.  My wife made me some coffee, and even though this is not the best way to start, I figured that it is a good idea to start one step at a time.  I don't function well without coffee.  For dinner, I cooked some sweet potatoes and then blended them with some spices.  It made for a very delicious dinner.

DAY 2 (MONDAY, 7/25):
Same as day 1; everything was going well.  I decided not to have coffee (too acidic), so I was moody and groggy for much of the day.  Also had a huge headache from the hunger pangs.  However, at night, my wife was starting to bug me about me doing this.  She asked me, "so are you going to only be drinking juices? Will you be eating meat or anything else at all?" and I answered, "[Eve,] I have not decided exactly what I'm doing yet.  But yeah, sure, I'm sure I'll be open to eating meat."  Then I saw that she made this gigantic leg of some kind of beef.  I'm talking the kind of meat that you would see being sold at a carnival!  I'm telling you, the meat was red, it looked like corned beef on a bone, and it smelled amazing!

Inside, I had this dilemma.  I really didn't want to eat this meat, but I didn't want to seem like an extremist either.  Also, how bad could this one piece of meat be?

I took a few bites, and then I stopped.  Then I took a few more bites, and then after being upset with myself, I finished off a bag of parve cheese doodles.  "Damn," I thought.  I wish I were stronger.

DAY 3 (TUESDAY, 7/26):
Being slightly upset about the night before, I resumed my "vegetable juice only" regimen.  I drank my water throughout the day, drank green juice throughout the day, all was good.  In the afternoon, my wife made the same kind of soup I made just a few days before, but she didn't spice it at all... plus, she used carrots.  When I asked her about it, she said she made it for me.  After tasting it, I decided to improve the taste (or at least give it some), and so I added some salt, an apple, and some spices.  The problem is that I poured clover instead of ginger, and then when I realized it was the wrong one, I used too much ginger.  I tasted it and I dealt with the horrific taste of clover between my tongue and the top of my mouth.  Later that night, my wife tasted it and almost spit it out.  She said it was terrible tasting, and I apologized for ruining her soup.  In the evening, I saw my wife cooked the kids some chicken nuggets, a minimal amount was left on their plates after they went to sleep.  I gobbled up what was there (maybe a piece or two), and then I decided that I need to balance that with something healthy.  I steamed some organic broccoli, and that, along with some green juice and Yerba mate tea was my dinner.  Tea tasted disgusting without any sweetener.  I think I'm going to go get some Stevia or something healthy.  All in all, this was a good day.

DAY 4 (TODAY, WEDNESDAY, 7/27):
Today I was having a difficult day.  In the morning, I saw that my weight had dropped to 238 lbs -- holy smokes!  This was the first time in years I had broken below this weight!  I started my morning with my green veggie juice, but I had a serving of Halva my mother-in-law got us from her trip to Israel.  Throughout the day, I drank water - a liter or so, but in the afternoon when my wife was cooking herself that yummy meat (my piece from Day 2 that I did not eat), I took two pieces of cheese and ate them (dairy is no good for my diet). A few minutes later, I had another serving of Halva, two more pieces of cheese, and then I walked away realizing that I suck at sticking to this healthy food thing.  I'll be having more green juice and some veggies for dinner.

All in all, this takes a lot of will power.  I'm used to having lots of coffee each day, and I've cut that out, at least for now.  Part of me thinks I can use the caffeine, and so the Yerba mate tea does have a lot of caffeine, so I'll try that instead.  I went to IKEA this morning with my wife and our kids (the two not in day camp), and we spent two hours roaming the room setups.  I purchased a strainer so that the tea doesn't get mixed with what I drink.  Yesterday I brewed it in my coffee maker, but the instructions said that to benefit most from it and not kill the enzymes (or whatever nutrients are in Yerba), let it sit in cooler water first, then pour the hot water and heat it up.  My coffee brewer shot boiling water all over it.  The problem is that now that I have a strainer (it cost $0.99), I need to toivel it because it is metal.  Now I need to figure my way over to the shul and gain access to the mikveh.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Could you please explain what it means to toivel and why a metal strainer would create the need to do so?

Thank you.

Zoe Strickman said...

Off the top of my head, to toivel means -- according to Jewish law, various kinds of utensils and vessels (including metal ones) require immersion in a mikveh (body of water containing a certain measurement giving that water the power to purify). Until they are toiveled, they are not to be used. While the requirement to toivel applies to only certain kinds of materials, in my case, it applied to the steel tea strainer I purchased.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I understand. I'm familiar with the immersion in a mikveh. Although, I did think it was something that people did for purification, rather than something that you would also do to purify utensils or vessels. Thank you for explaining.

Anonymous said...

Missed you

Anonymous said...

Have you given up wasting cash at Starbucks and verbally assaulting your wife?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Anonymous (re starbucks comment)....rude and uncalled for. Get a life.

Anonymous said...

I didn't see anything wrong with the Starbucks comment...I think that Zoe made the last "anonymous" comment himself, to be honest.

Anonymous said...

I think he left it himself as well...he's probably too busy dealing with one kid after another being popped out to deal with this blog anymore, anyway. :-P

Anonymous said...

Zoe,
We haven't heard from you in a long time! Please update us!
Lea

Anonymous said...

Zoe = douchebag. :-P No post in forever, and he's probably working on having squirted forth worthless seed for a fifth or sixth child now.

Ahuva said...

Okay, what's with the hate? If you don't like the blog or don't like Zoe, then don't read it. If you really get off on attacking people for the sake of being vicious, then why don't you take it elsewhere? No wonder the guy isn't posting.