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| Seasoned tilapia with tons of green veggies. Yum! |
As part of our adoption process Mike and I were each required to get a notarized letter from our doctor declaring our health to be not something that should interfere with our ability to parent. I’ve had regular physicals every couple years and because of my regular exercise my bloodwork always comes back really good. I’m hyper vigilant because my dad passed away from a heart attack at a very young age.
Mike has not been so careful with his health since we moved to Texas and the results of his physical were predictably bad. He is cursed with bad genes and on top of that here in Houston he has a very long commute and an abundance of great food. The good news is that Mike is extremely self-disciplined when he wants to be and he has reversed bad cholesterol and blood glucose results before with exercise and careful eating. This physical was just the impetus he needed to change things up in a big way.
So now Mike has embarked on a very scientific analysis of what affects his blood sugar. He tests twice a day, goes for long walks around our neighborhood, and has cut his carbs to extremely low levels. His diet is almost paleo, except for some cheese and beer. He can’t give up beer and he has found that it doesn’t seem to have much effect on his sugar.
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| Sausage, asparagus and a foil packet of carrots and snap peas. |
The natural by-product of Mike’s diet changes is eating at home more and me cooking very differently than I’m used to. I relied heavily on pasta, rice and bread as a staple of every meal and now those are completely cut from our dinners. We have discovered some cool helps like Egg Beaters egg whites in a carton, which make breakfasts a little faster and more delicious. We eat more meat and veggies than I ever dreamed possible. Even the kids are eating a ton more vegetables now that there is no pasta and only a tiny bit of bread available to them.
I confess that I still eat grains, especially when Mike isn’t around. On our date night the other night I had an ice cream cone while poor Mike had nothing. Now if he eats something high in refined sugar he feels sick. He didn’t have a huge sweet tooth before anyway. But I am eating a lot less grains and it feels pretty good. Mike is losing weight pretty fast, of course. Sometimes he gets sick of almonds and peanut butter but his habits have changed and the diet is the new normal.
And thank goodness for Pinterest, a visual plethora of awesome paleo recipes!
Now I need your help…any good suggestions for low-carb breakfasts, lunches or snacks?
