Being dairy-free only leaves fruits, veggies, meats, nuts, eggs, and soy products in my diet. And 3 of those are on the "watch list" for sensitivities: nuts, eggs, and soy. Boy, if I have to cut those out, I'm in for a short list on my menu!

I had an omelet w/bacon this morning. I had some salsa, but it didn't really appeal to me, so I skipped it.

Lunch was cauli salad, a deviled egg, a pork chop, and WATER!

Dessert at LaMadeleine was fruit salad and iced tea.

Dinner was the same as lunch....only with my own fruit salad.

I've had a few sunflower seeds tonight and water. I've peed about 10 times today.

I scoped out the Cool Whip I bought for Thanksgiving. It is supposed to be non-dairy, but has something in it made from milk, but it is in the list of the 2% or less ingredients. I may have a little, but no more.

Thankfully, I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. So no worries there. Being sugar-free is hard enough....imagine avoiding dairy products at the same time.

Also, I think the soymilk is giving me gas. When I drank it before, it didn't bother me, but I was taking digestive enzymes. I may pop one when I have soymilk and see if it helps.

I'm headed into my 3rd full week of being dairy-free. Thank God for SugarFree (and non-dairy) Popsicles.

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Breakfast was a 2 egg omelet with ham. And green tea

Lunch was 1/2 a big pork chop, 1/2 cup cauli salad, 1 cup fruit salad, water

Snack was a small apple, water

Dinner was boiled shrimp w/mayo & mustard, cauli salad, and fruit salad. Water.

This was a good day. I hope my weight of 222 this morning holds or goes down. Last year on November 15, I was 221. I'd like to be back there tomorrow.

I'd better get to bed.....lack of sleep slows the metabolism.

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Max, you're doing GREAT!!!!!

Do your s/f popsicles have sugar alcohols in them??? That stuff gives me horendous gas if I eat too much.

Are you still watching LOST?

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Hey Maxi, just checking in on your non dairy challenge. You are doing a great job!!

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Heather
182-2/27/08

Hey, ladies.....thanks for checking on me in Nodairyland.

It's getting easier, especially since I'm seeing losses now. I do think it's the dairy. Some may say it's the Adderall, but it doesn't make me buzz. And when I get hungry, I eat....just lowcarb and non-dairy.

Barb, the Popsicles have 4 carbs: 2 of which are sorbitol, I think. And they are 15 calories each. I usually eat 2 at a time. So far, 4 grams of sorbitol isn't bothering me. My main ones to avoid are malitol and mannitol. I try to avoid them all, but a girls's gotta have SOMETHING to eat! LOL!

I got back to 221 this morning, which is where I was last year.....when TOM left, the baggage it brought left, too.

I am in the Thanksgiving challenge and I've made my goal (as long as I don't regain before Thanksgiving!) so I'm pleased. My next goal is the 'teens.

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I forgot to post my menu yesterday:

Breakfast: Jack-in-the-box, no cheese

Lunch: 1/2 pork chop, 1/2 deviled egg, soymilk

Snack: small apple

Dinner: Turkey V-8 chili, salad, and cantaloupe.

Snack: 2 s/f Popsicles


Today:
Breakfast: same
Lunch: leftover chili, deviled eggs, cantaloupe
Snack: small apple
Dinner: leftover chili, salad, 3 minute choc. cake w/HeartSmart "butter"

It's easier to get my 5-a-day this way.

AND....I was down to 220 this morning. I'm almost in the 'teens!

WHO NEEDS MILK?? NOT ME!

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:jumpgreen WOOHOO!!!!!!! You are on a roll girlie!!!!!!

Next time you see a milk ad, "Got Milk?' You can say, "NAH!!! Don't need no stinking milk!!!!"

I can't wait til you enter another lower decade in weight!!!!! Those decades are milestones for sure!!!!

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Hey, Barb...thanks for checking in on me and being my cheerleader! We've been through lots of trial and error here together, haven't we? Wheat, no wheat......soy, no soy.....creamer in green tea or not.....do calories count?......dairy, no dairy.....see what I mean? LOL!

I heard a "3 servings of dairy per day" commercial in the grocery store last night. I just said "Not me!"

I was telling my m-i-l all this.....trying to get her to see that you have to experiment in a safe way to find out what works for you. If a person quits eating dairy for 10 days just to see how they feel, they are not going to get osteoporosis or get sick from lack of calcium. You can always supplement.
It won't hurt anyone to cut ANY food group out for several days to see what effect it will have on them. If you feel better, supplement the vitamin/nutritional value the food was giving you and skip the actual food. Don't you agree? And we are all so different....how else will anyone know if it will help THEM or not?

Taking a probiotic if you don't need it isn't going to do anything. I don't think it's possible to ever-colonize one's gut. It's ALWAYS harder to grow the good stuff than the bad....just take a look at the weeds in the yard!

Anyway, I don't recall my Thursday's menu, but it was good...except for a rather LARGE steak I ate! I normally would've cut it in half and had the other half for lunch the next day, but I was hungry and ate it all. And I was up a pound Friday, but back down to 220 today.

I am so looking forward to a new decade, Barb. You're right, that would really be a milestone for me. Then, after that......single digits on the way to Onderland!

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I can't believe I am 2/3 of the way through my Non-Dairy November. Wow! I am pretty used to not eating dairy now. It has really simplified my diet. Without sugar, flour, and milk, there ain't alot left!

As I mentioned, meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, grains (I stick to flax), soy, and eggs are all that is left. Honestly....as long as I supplement am I REALLY missing anything? In this WOE, I'm not eating off plan. Just a little more strictly.
I'm not sure if I want to reintroduce dairy to my diet....I'm already used to NOT eating it, I don't need the calories, and I'd have to start carrying around lactase tablets with me again. I may just remain dairy-free and know I don't have to freak out if I accidentally eat some out somewhere. If there can be hidden sugar in foods, there could surely be hidden dairy.

I found some lowcarb, non-dairy, soy-based "ice cream" today. Sweetened with erythritol. I'm gonna try it for an after-dinner dessert. It's a pint and there are 4 half-cup servings. If it ****** I'll just go back to my s/f Popsicles.

I've got Thanksgiving all planned out. I'll have a full plate and they'll be no reason to call attention to the fact it's all (fairly) lowcarb and non-dairy.

Turkey, ham, green beans, mashed cauli w/organic n/d gravy, deviled eggs, peas, fruit salad, and pecan pie. Yummers!

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And that's basically what I had...except for no peas, add one dinner roll, and a minute amount of cheese in the broccoli salad.

I think I can remain non-dairy.....but my issue now is with soy. I was dropping weight quite well until I re-introduced soy to my diet. I had to start taking an enzyme when I eat soy because it gives me gas and bloating. Again, a "not digesting it" situation.

When I got a new box of Beano, soy was listed as a possible source of gas. I had never noticed that on the box before.

And now that my weight loss has stopped, although I am staying off dairy, I'm wondering if the soy is having the same effect on me as dairy: a sensistivity that causes internal inflammation that makes my tissues retain fluid=no weight loss.

I can do without dairy, too. I did buy another carton...I need to get rid of it. I can't avoid soy altogether, but I can avoid alot of it.

I'm still at 220, after a 1 day departure at 221. I don't know what to expect tomorrow. I haven't had enough fluid, exercise, or rest. I need to go to bed and fix one of those!

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I did finish off the last about half cup of the (expensive) soy-based ice cream I bought last week, but that's the only soy I've had in several days. And guess what? I am down to 217 as of this morning. I did see 216 at first, but several re-weighs showed 217, so I'm going with that.

The question remains: is it my new diet, being free of dairy....or the Adderall? One of the known side effects is weight loss. But I was on Adderall for 2 weeks and never lost a pound. The second day after I quit dairy, my weight began dropping.....until I reintroduced soy to my diet. Then I stopped losing. Now that I've quit the soy, my wieght is going down again....and I've been on Adderall the whole time. That's why I can't figure out what's what.

Being at 217 now is amazing to me. Amazing that I am finally in the 'teens. Amazing that I thought I was a cow at 184.
So, I've changed my goal weight to a more realistic 179. One pound below 180. With my age, genetics, and body style, I'd be ecstatic to be 179. That's 38 pounds from where I am now. THAT seems way more doable than when I was at my all time high of 250 and even 200 seemed so far away.
It's taken me over 4 years to yo-yo my way down to 217. It took me this entire year just to get back to my pre-Christmas weight of last year.

But now, with my change in diet, attitude, and maybe with the Adderall, I can lose those last 38 pounds. Here's hoping.

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I did it. I made it through 30 days with almost no dairy. I say that because on Thanksgiving I had a couple of tablespoons of a broccoli salad that had some shredded cheese in it. And I may have ingested a bit of a milk derivitive here and there. Also, Cool Whip isn't as non-dairy as you think....it has "less than 2%...." of something dairy in it.

But, for the most part....I was a practicing "non-dairian". And I lost 10 pounds doing it. My weight on November 1st was 226....my weight by November 29 (and 30) was 216.

I still am not sure if this recent weight loss can be totally attributed to any one thing. Maybe a combination of things: being dairy-free, being 100% on plan, drinking green tea every day, working like a dog, exercising here and there (LOL!), taking Adderall, not eating soy, wheat, or sugar. Maybe I just hit upon the right combination for me.

No matter what, the weight is gone and I pray it stays gone. Tonight, I actually had a small bit of dairy for the first time since that smidgen on Thanksgiving. A little shredded cheese and some ranch dressing. Weighing in the morning should give me an idea of if this was okay or not. Maybe I can have a little here and there.....maybe not.

My thanks to all who posted here and offered me encouragement along the way. The month actually went fast and I more or less got used to being dairy-less. If that's what it takes, that's what I'll do.

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216!!!!! WOWOWY!!!!!!!!!!!! That is AWESOME!!!!!!!! After reading your posts, it sounds like both soy and dairy do you in. SO, the lesson learned here is that you should prolly avoid both. I am SO happy for you that you have puzzled this out. And if you keep it up and keep losing, I think you have your answer!!!! :jumpgreen

As for calcium, I believe you get a goodly amount in veggies too.

Max have you read Protein Power lately or at all. The Eades talk about eicosanoids in a couple of their chapters, which is interesting to me. It's a compound that can be good or bad. The bad ones cause allergies and inflammations. It might help you to figure things out if you read about it.

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Barb, I had actually gotten down to 215 before I did another experiment of sorts (see my journal for details.). Anyway, I do have the Protein Power book. It's been eons since I read it. It's actually the first "lowcarb" book I bought.

I will take another look at it soon. It's been about 4-5 years since I read it, so maybe I can look at the info with "new eyes".

That whole eicosanoids-are-inflammatory thing is the basis for Barry Sears' "The Zone" diet, isn't it? I remember reading an interview with him in a magazine. He really promotes fish oils, too.

Your signature is correct: Knowledge IS power! Thanks for being here.

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