Saturday, May 05, 2007

I Have Been Pooned

No I am not being rude.
On Friday I had my first appointment with the metabolism specialist.
His name is Dr. Poon. Link HERE

He specializes in weight problems for folks who are diabetic, have heart disease in their family, and have multiple ailments or diseases.

I happen to fall into that category. Besides having a brain injury that has basically stopped my body from doing any action.

Last year my Pain Specialist told me the end-game plan of my pain program would be to start Dr. Poon's program.
I was excited! I really didn't know why I couldn't start right then.
Dr. Lisa told me that if I tried to lose weight while I was recovering from the brain injury, and while my body vital statistics were unstable, I would not lose weight.

This answered a lot of questions. I had been going to the gym for a year, with a personal trainer, and when I started having the headaches, I could not lose any more weight. My body stopped. I would work out for the few weeks before the onset of the medical issue and all I would get was tired. I wasn't hungry, I was just tired.

So, the good news is that over the past two months, all my vital statistics have normalized. I am still tired, but I get little bursts of energy that I never had.
So, now is the perfect time to visit Dr. Poon.

Dr. Poon is in the city of Richmond Hill, which is a short bus ride from the North of Toronto. He is a Physician that specializes in Metabolism food programs tailored to each person's metabolism issues. He is covered by OHIP, but you have to qualify for the program to be able to get in.

He put me on a body mass reader. Which is like a weigh scale with conduction pads where your feet go. He measured the % of body fat, the weight, the amount of water, and I think the amount of salt in my system. His assistant also measured my neck. (Ohh the place that never lies)
He told me that I am holding 26lbs of water! EEEEWWwww!
So for the next two weeks we are workin on the water.

Here is what I can eat:

Lean meat: beef, chicken, pork, fish, shelfish, lamb, and egg white
all fat and skin removed before cooking.

Veggies: Green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, mushrooms, tomatoe, peppers, celary, etc.

I cannot have: any grain, starch, or fruit, plus no vegetables from below the ground.

ABSOLUTELY NO SALT
ABSOLUTLEY NO SUGAR

I can have small amounts of olive and canola oil

I can season my food with herbs and pepper

There is the restriction to the amount I can eat. But after I am finished I must wait two hours before eating anything else.

This morning a made an egg white omelette's with mushrooms and broccoli.
Ok so I am off to a good start.
I hope I can keep it up.

I have no problem with the restrictions because through my life, my auto-immune disease imposed many restrictions to my diet. I think for me, this will be more of my subconscious doing it to please the Dr. Yeah so maybe this is a good trait to have, this people pleasing. Especially if it works!

I packed on 30lbs in my last year driving the truck, and because I am over 40, it just isn't coming off like in the old days.
By no means is 30 lbs all I have to lose. But it will certainly change my body shape from round to hour glass again.

I am hoping that by July, I will no longer have the shape of a pumpkin.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lynn,
That is the food I ate when I did the atkins 2 week quick start 2 years ago. I lost 15 pounds of water and fat in 3 weeks or less. I had amazing energy. I just can't get motivated to go at it again. I got so sick of eggs and other protein. I think it was the combo of no starch and less calories. I am fed up of the pregnant look. 30 pounds of fat on my belly above the naval and arms and back. As Dr. Oz would say, it might be my Omentum..I love that word. Good luck with this. Maybe I will do it with you. I need the support. Laurie

RheLynn said...

Glad you are feeling your energy bursts! Your breakfast sounds yummy - especially with the herbs.

I was just thinking myself that the diet you've listed is mostly protein! It sounds like what I ate for about a month after getting off Jesse's vegan diet and started following my cravings. I went from 15 lbs underweight to right on target, and then it took another month after that for everything in my body (skin, women's etc) to regulate again before I started looking alive instead of dead.

I'm back to a 'normal' diet now - but high protein, dark green veggies and high vitamin E (eggs, olive oil, almonds, fish) is still a large proportion of it.

Lynn said...

Well I am encouraged.
I made parsley salad with cucumber, mushrooms, celery, grape tomatoes(just a couple)and zested up with lemon.
I had three small lean pork chops today. I cooked them this morning and cut them up into little pieces and then ate a bit every few hours.
I had that and a little more of the parsley salad at midnight cuz my sugar is dropping low.
I spent the better part of this afternoon and evening just cutting up veggies for the salad.
I put the clean dry parsley cut up small into those glad containers with 4 or 5 snap peas, so I have portioned containers to just grab when I am hungry.
I really enjoyed the omelette. I will do that again in the morning.
Tomorrow I have lean steak.

Teena in Toronto said...

This sounds interesting. Lemme know how it goes and perhaps I'll go see Dr. Poon too.

I'd have a hard time giving up subs and rice, though.

Sigh ...

Waterfall said...

Hi Lynn,
I follow the Dr. Bernstien way of eating for my medical conditions and it's basically the same thing but more geared to the diabetes. http://www.diabetes-book.com/
and am having some really good luck with it too! :) I'm finally under the 200lb mark. I also have been carrying lots of water around with me :( Do you think we gathered it all up around us for emotional protection? I sometimes wonder about that...
Oh! also... my Diabetic specialist put me on a pill that cuts cravings, helps you lose the water, can help your nerves and pain issues, but normally it's used for seizures... this is one of those cross over side effects not readily known...
I get the generic brand because it comes from the government (don't know if it's a different name) but it's called Topiramate. I'm supposed to take 2 a day but I find my toes go numb if I take them, so I take one a day...shhhh:) I figure it's okay because its for weight loss anyway and that's happening.
It just took my sugar craving and stopped them right away! awesome! I feel so relieved with them gone now.
Anyway..
EXCELLENT way of eating...way of life... don't let anyone tell you different :)

namaste
Nancy

Mother of Invention said...

That's geat! What about dairy? Feta cheese? if it's light or fat free?
I don't think I carry much water...I don't drink near enough.


All the best with it! I'd love to go on that drug that Nancy is on..I could use it to cut the cravings and fibro-pain. I was taking amitriptaline and it made me put on weight and did nothing for the pain so I'm weaning off ot.

Lynn said...

The medication that Nancy is talking about will be one of these three:
Topiromate, Gabapentin, Pregabalin
These meds in low doses (compaired to what you get for seizures) taken along with Nortryptaline or Amatryptoline (Amatryptoline turns into Nortryptaline once it recycles through the liver once) is great for the nerve pain. For Fibromyalgia, or Diabetic Neuralgia, or for what I have: Trigeminal Neuralgia.

And to answer Mother's question. No I am taking no dairy in the first phase of the food program