This Week’s Menu: And Yet Another Challenge

Posted on by Laura & Brett
Pork lau lau
Pork lau lau

When I saw my doctor last week for my annual check-up, one of the things we discussed was my weight. In spite of exercise, careful monitoring of what and how much I eat and so forth, I continue to gain weight. My labs are all good, there are no metabolic issues other than I’m an aging female, so he directed me to give up all carbs to see if I can’t turn things around.

Yup. No carbs. That was the only thing he believes will make a difference at this stage of my life.

So, besides eliminating all dairy from YaYu’s diet, I also have to remove all carbs from mine, or keep them as low as possible. The doctor does not want me on a high meat, high fat diet either (like Atkins); rather, I’m to have more fruits and vegetables, and some lean protein, but nothing with added sugar, and no refined starches. I can still enjoy a small drink of wine on Friday and Saturday evenings. But that’s it. Not being able to eat lettuce is going to make things difficult as well as I can’t add in more salad to fill me up.

Next week Brett and I will be doing our monthly Costco Big Shop, and we’re currently going over our list, eliminating some items, and adding others. It is going to be a very interesting (and I believe difficult) month or two while we adjust to the new dietary realities around here.

So, with all that “on my plate” now, here’s what I’ve come up with for next week’s menu:

  • Tuesday (this evening): Slow cooker kalua pork (which didn’t get made last week); rice; cucumber salad (no rice for me, and we’ll pick up a small container of mac salad for Brett at Pono Market)
  • Wednesday: Chicken meatball, pineapple and green pepper kabobs; vegetable lo mein
  • Thursday: Slow cooker chicken with rice soup; bread (I’ll make the soup with regular rice versus brown rice, and will take out my portion before the rice is added as it cooks quickly; no bread for me)
  • Friday: Leftovers (final swim team spaghetti dinner for YaYu)
  • Saturday: Roast chicken; mashed potatoes & gravy; green beans; greens (no potatoes and gravy for me)
  • Sunday: Omelets with sautéed greens & bacon; bread; fruit (no bread for me)
  • Monday: Lau lau (fish, chicken and/or pork wrapped and steamed in ti and taro leaves); rice; coleslaw; fruit (no rice for me)

We’ll be stocking up on veggies at the market, definitely cucumbers and greens, but I hope we can also find broccoli. I also want to buy papayas, to have for breakfast.

Looks like times are going to get even more interesting!

Published by Laura & Brett

Slow traveling the world with a sense of adventure!

19 thoughts on “This Week’s Menu: And Yet Another Challenge”

  1. WOW! All carbs? Do you have a health condition that makes you want to be significantly smaller then you already are? It seems your mother was pretty elderly at her passing. Was she diabetic?
    That is really a challenge. I know when my daughter had gestational diabetes with her second child, cutting the fruits was a tough one for her. She never really liked bread or dairy and most of the other carbs that she ate were the fiber that she needed for digestion. She had about 250 gr of carbs a day with lots of guidance from her aunt, who was a juvenile diabetic.
    I will be interested in your progress.

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    1. No health conditions, just that I’ve been gaining weight at too rapid a pace right now for some reason. I’ve always monitored portion size, get exercise (except for last year, when I hurt my back), so the doctor thinks I should cut w-a-y back on the carbs.

      I also developed a wicked case of GERD at the end of last year. I’m having an endoscopy in a couple of weeks to make sure it’s nothing serious (I have no other symptoms that would indicate something serious), but cutting back on the carbs has already reduced the symptoms, so that’s a good thing.

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  2. There is a book written by a Canadian nephrologist called the Obesity Code. He backs up all his statements with studies so it makes for slow reading but his premise is very interesting. I have followed it (somewhat) since November and during that time I have lost and kept off 8 lbs. I only need to lose another 10. I have been unsuccessful over the years with any other diet so I am happy. He incorporates fasting into your week. i was always one of those who had to eat breakfast but 2-3’days a week I skip it and actually feel better. Eating releases insulin and ultimately you develope insulin resistance and gain weight. Your doctor is heading that way with the no carbs. With fasting you only give up foods for certain days but can eat a controlled menu the other days so it is far more doable. To say no carbs ever is depressing. Just a thought. Good luck on your weight loss.

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    1. I fasted last year and felt very good when I finished. I don’t think I can skip meals, but I can change what I eat. I’m going to check out this book though – sounds interesting.

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  3. This is a reply for a post from last week. I have been thinking about your “no dairy” challenge. Ok, I get it that she doesn’t like tacos even though she likes spicy foods. Another thing I make often is Stir-Fried rice. Rice, veggies, tofu, eggs and sesame oil–from a recipe from AllRecipes.com. The sesame oil is the key ingredient. You can use any veggies-fresh or frozen-that you have in the house. It works in my house since I can add meat to some plates and only tofu to the others. Maybe you already make this dish but I don’t recall seeing it on your menus.

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    1. We are BIG fans here of fried rice, and the way we make it sounds just like the recipe you’re talking about, including the sesame oil. Fried rice is a great way to use up leftover vegetables. But, no more fried rice for me – sigh. I’ll keep making it though for Brett and YaYu.

      YaYu adds heat to everything she eats. She has four different sauces – which one she uses depends on what she’s eating. She has a system (which I don’t understand).

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    1. We eat vegetarian now about twice a week. I’m eating meat again, but in limited quantities. Everyone else likes meat, and it was too much effort to prepare so many different things for myself all the time (and expensive).

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  6. Drat. Losing weight is the worst. Can you first try modifying portion sizes, and adding in a bit more physical activity, including some strength bearing exercises? I know you already work out, but adding strength training builds muscle tone, which of course is more efficient at burning calories.

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    1. That’s what I had been doing, for a long time actually, being very careful with portion sizes. And getting exercise. My doctor wants me to add something else besides the bike riding, so think I’ll try swimming beginning next week. I’d love to walk/hike, but can’t because of the bursitis and my old knee injury.

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  7. My husband is Celiac (no gluten at all) and diabetic. His numbers and my weight were going up. We gave up starches rather than carbs. No rice, potatoes, grain, corn, bread, oatmeal, flour of any type, no quinoa. Yes none. But we eat all protein in reasonable amounts, olive oil, small amounts of hard cheese and Greek yoghurt with no sugar. We try to eat two servings of fruit everyday and a lot of vegetables at every meal. Chocolate mousse, Apple crisp and a little dark chocolate are dessert. We also add in fats like some unsalted butter, olive oil and heavy cream in small amounts. And we avoid sugar especially in the condiments. We have been doing a lot better. Good luck

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    1. Your diet sounds a lot like what the doctor suggested – no starches versus no carbs. That I can do – I’ve already figured out that eliminating all carbs is just about impossible. He warned me too though to not overload on fruit as there are still a lot of carbs in fruit.

      I like the idea of a bit of dark chocolate for dessert or a treat. Same with chocolate mousse.

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  8. I am a type one diabetic who follows a similar plan with no dairy, soy and very low carb. I like cauliflower “rice” (you can finely chop a cauliflower or purchase fresh or frozen already riced) as a sub in stir fry, as a base for curry or chili, and even as a side item all by itself. It is not exactly the same but very similar and I really enjoy it. You might also like to try spaghetti squash as a sib for pasta or noodles in dishes or zucchini noodles for the same purpose. If you do try them let me know what you think.

    Saryn

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    1. The cauliflower and spaghetti squash are right in my wheelhouse, except . . . they’re both almost impossible to find here, and if you do they’re very expensive (or old and on their last legs). I’m going to be on the lookout though for the spaghetti squash – I have seen it around, more than cauliflower. ETA: Just got back from the farmers’ market and there was fresh cauliflower! I snapped up a big head of it!

      For dairy I’m only going to have small amounts of hard cheeses and non-fat Greek yogurt, for now anyway.

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  9. I’m curious as to why no lettuce? I feel like I missed something somewhere.
    Similar to other comments above it sounds more like he’s suggested low-grain/starch rather than strictly low-carb. Another book recommendation that sounds similar to the one above (and was published just a few months before it, I think) is the 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet by Dr. Michael Mosley. There’s a website, too, with discussion forums if you like the support of a group or want to take a look at it without actually gettnig the book (the book is really interesting though, even if you don’t want to follow the eating plan). https://thebloodsugardiet.com/ is the website. I did it last year for a few weeks and felt really good on it so am going to start it again next week and do three weeks again before switching back to 5:2 fasting. My move last year left me all over the place with regard to eating and by the time I was sort of getting a grip again, it was December (birthday and xmas markets for almost a month so I just went with the flow) but it’s time to just get back to normal now.

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    1. I have an intolerance to lettuce – most other than iceberg (which is really just crisp water) upset my stomach terribly, and has ever since I was very little. I can eat raw spinach, but only in small doses, and cabbage doesn’t bother me. Otherwise, all greens have to be cooked.

      I’ll check out the website, although I just had my annual labs done and everything looks very normal.

      I think the starches are the problem though, and my aging body doesn’t tolerate them as well as they used to.

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