"Wheat Belly" Progress

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Was to the doctor at the VA the other day and my doctor is amazed. My DW and I started the "Wheat Belly way of eating" just before Thanksgiving. As of last week I have lost 27 lbs and I have never eaten so well. My doctor can't figure out how. I have purchased an extra book specifically to give to her. I have blood labs coming up in February and I can't wait to see what my Chem Panel is. I suspect I can go off my niacin because my Triglycerides will be normal and I'll bet my cholesterol % are great too. My Total Cholesterol is usually ok but the % are a bit off. I DO NOT TAKE STATINS. BP may be low enough to ditch the BP meds or at least decrease them, even though they are at half childs doses now.

[myheaven]

Please tell us mOre about the wheat bellies diet.

[luvrulz]

Found this on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lo.../dp/1609611543

[chewie]

that is super, good for you both!!!

[Alice In TX/MO]

Congratulations!! We've had similar experiences. Look at my sig line for more info.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

"Wheat Belly" is a book and a subsequent cookbook written by a Cardiologist that when you read it will SCARE you completely off of wheat. Removing wheat from the diet is not easy - both from a practical standpoint (they put wheat in literally everything) and from a psychological standpoint - there are exorphins (outside derived endorphins) the bind to the same receptor sites in the brain as opiate pain killers. Yes about 30% of the people who go off of wheat experience withdrawal symptoms. Weight loss is totally painless once you get rid of the wheat and the easiest weight to lose is the most unhealthful fat that accumulates around your gut - hence the name "wheat belly". Surprisingly I am not hungry much anymore. You find wheat in everything - the main ingredient in SOY sauce - yup wheat. what is wheat doing in Tomato soup (see my recipe for tomato soup in the Preparedness Forum). Instead of bread I enjoy a couple of slices of Grainless (no flour of any kind) Banana/raisin/cranberry bread or other type of dried fruit bread every morning. It is made completely with almond meal, flax seed meal, walnuts or pecans, and dried fruit. Recipe follows:

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups almond meal (You need to moderately pack the cups like brown sugar)
1/3 cup Flax seed meal
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon or to taste
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup splenda equivalent (the cup for cup Splenda), stevia equivent or if liquid stevia add it to liquid ingredients
1 cup of mixed dry fruits (cranberries, cherries, blueberries, apricots, pineapple, apple, raisins, etc)

Mix the above together

In a separate bowl the wet:

2 eggs plus 1/4 cup of egg white (I use bottled egg whites from the dairy case)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup (scant) olive oil
1 over ripe banana mashed
2 teaspoons vanilla or to taste

Beat this up with a fork - the banana causes this mixture to become a thick and sticky emulsion that helps the bread rise.

Mix the wet with the dry just enough to wet all of the ingredients and pour into a loaf pan sprayed with PAM. Bake at 350 degrees for 52 minutes (52 minutes is what my convection oven takes to bake this bread) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool on a rack. I take a small thin spatula and run it down the sides when it comes out of the oven and then invert the baking dish to allow the bread to cool and then drop down onto the rack by itself. It helps to do this to keep the middle of the bottom from pulling away from the bread.

This is the recipe in the recipe book with my changes to improve the recipe. Mine comes out better than theirs!! Trust me, you won't miss the wheat flour in this recipe.

ENJOY.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Or - enjoy a crustless Quiche:

Make a custard:

8-10 eggs
1 pint of half and half
seasoning (salt and pepper or I use Montreal seasoning 5-6 good shakes of the big container)

Beat this custard with a whisk until completely combined.

Mix this custard together with 1 pound of shredded Swiss cheese, 12 ounces of thawed frozen spinach and 12 ounces of thawed frozen broccoli dices (thaw these and squeeze as much moisture from these veggies as you possibly can - the drier the better). I also add in about 4 ounces of grated parmesan or romano cheese. Mix it all up with the custard and pour into your largest rectangular baking dish that has been sprayed with PAM. Bake in a 350 oven for about 45 minutes. It will be set when the top starts to get lots of nice light browned patches on it. Remove from the oven and let set and cool some for about 15 minutes. Enjoy for breakfast or lunch/dinner. I make this great big pan full as it keeps all week in the refrigerator and it's too much work to just make a little one.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Oh - I Forgot to also tell you that I can have potatoes once or twice a week on this "diet". What helps with the potatoes is to have them with plenty of butter and sour cream. Sounds counter-intuitive I know, but the fat and protein in the butter and sour cream dramatically slow down the digestion of the potato starches and lessen it's stimulating effect on the pancreas. Although over the holidays I had mashed potatoes, they really are better to have in the whole potato form as the less the processing the slower the digestion and the less the stimulation of insulin. Also, I really like potato skins with the whole baked potato.

[Alice In TX/MO]

We have not had any trouble getting off wheat. You just cook from scratch. Meat, veggies, fruit, nuts. Do not purchase prepared foods.

We eat eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. for breakfast. Omelets with tomatoes, onions, peppers, kale, etc. Grain free granola made with nuts and dried fruit. Homemade goat yogurt.

Lunch is meat and veggies.

Supper is often salad.

It isn't hard.

[larryfoster]

I bought the book and decided that (for me) the food is unappetizing and a lot of the stuff is expensive and, for me, hard to find.

By the way, I am "burley", "husky" (fat).

I can appreciate that others will like it.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Don't rely on the book for advice about what to eat for supper.

Have steak, a big salad with grated cheese, pecans, onions, carrots, and dried cranberries. Use your fav homemade salad dressing.

For breakfast, have two fried eggs and bacon. Have extra bacon.

For lunch, have bbq chicken, steamed carrots with a drizzle of honey, and cole slaw.

What's not to like?

[Randy Rooster]

Wasnt there a verse in the bible - something about " there is no end to diet books and people who write them" ?

[Shygal]

What if you love things like pizza, macaroni and cheese, lasagne , spaghetti, etc? And homemade bread , I think it would be hard to give up wheat altogether

[PistolPackinMom]

Originally Posted by Shygal

What if you love things like pizza, macaroni and cheese, lasagne , spaghetti, etc? And homemade bread , I think it would be hard to give up wheat altogether

Cauliflower crust pizza, quinoa and cheese, zucchini lasagna (or use coconut flour crepes) and spaghetti squash for noodles. There are gluten free bread recipes, but they usually have little to no nutritional value, so I prefer coconut flour/almond flour/banana bread.

Giving up wheat seems challenging at first, but there are some very creative and tasty alternatives that are not only better for you, but diversify your diet.

[Shygal]

how do you make a cauliflower crust pizza?

[CJ]

I have been following this diet for a bit over a month now. While I FEEL great, and it's not really difficult to follow, the weight is NOT falling off. I started at 160lbs and my goal weight is 125lbs, I've lost 10lbs this first month, but ONLY by severely restricting my calories. The first 2 weeks I didn't lose anything at all because I was enjoying things like bacon and eggs for breakfast, steaks for dinner, and plenty of veggies and avocados. Only when I started eating lean meats (fish and chicken) and more veggies than meat did I start losing the weight.

What works for me on this way of eating is that by eliminating the starches and simple carbs from my diet (bread, oatmeal, pastas, etc) I'm not nearly as hungry as I used to be, so I feel fine on 1600 calories a day... whereas normally I eat more like 3000.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Pizza options:

http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2012/0...iflower-crust/

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/personal-portobello-pizza/

Almond flour crust:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/personal-portobello-pizza/

[Hannah90]

I have done some research into this, and I am not quite sure what I think just yet. I get the whole changed wheat thing. Makes total sense in my mind... but what if one were to grow their own wheat from heirloom open pollinated wheat seed?

I mean.... people have eaten bread and wheat and other gluten grain products for centuries. So, I have a hard time understand this...

[Callieslamb]

Hey, if it works for you...it works! congratulations. But for those that it doesn't work for - just keep looking for your thing.

[larryfoster]

Thanks alice in tex/mo.

I'll take another look. The things you listed are quite tasty sounding.