On A Limb with Claudia

Originally Posted - 01/12/2004 : 11:15:47 AM to our bulletin board
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Last Friday, I had an inteview with Gabe Mirkin, MD. He is the author of the Healthy Heart Miracle. The book promotes diet and exercise as the solution to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease. He says that his SHOW ME diet will lower my blood pressure in 2 weeks.

Hrm… I have my reservations because 1) I don’t believe in crazy diets, 2) I don’t believe in “one size fits all” medicine or health care, and 3) the diet isn’t that different from what I already eat.

But I like him and he certainly knows the research. So, I agree to start the diet on Saturday with NO cheating.

What am I eating?

Breakfast - Oatmeal, raisons, black coffee.

Lunch - What he calls a mix and match salad. Basically almost any vegetable and/or fruit in a bowl with red wine vinegar for dressing. You can also add tuna, shrimp or salmon to your salad.

Dinner - The same mix and match salad.

You can eat as much as you want of the salad and the oatmeal. The goal isn’t reducing caloric intake or going hungry. It’s just to eliminate flour, meat, and eggs.

Saturday we went out to eat and I had the salad bar. For dinner, I had a salad with shrimp on it. Sunday, I tried some salmon on my salad at lunch and had beans on the salad at dinner.

Monday morning I ate my oatmeal in the car on the way to work. Luckily I wasn’t driving!

I am not hungry so far. I feel a vague sense of emptiness. Overall, it seems OK. We’ll see as the week continues.

The biggest minus is that fruit can only be eaten with other food. I love to have an orange around 3 p.m. Not for the next 2 weeks….

Claudia at the Open Grove

–interview with Dr. Mirkin will be in our “Heart” audio magazine March, 2004. To learn more about Dr. Mirkin and the diet, go to www.healthyheartmiracle.com

Posted - 01/15/2004 : 3:03:21 PM
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Ok, I hate salad. I always have. While I am not hungry, and really feel pretty good, I don’t want to eat my salad. BLECK! I am about 1 week into the 2 week SHOW ME! diet. I haven’t cheated at all. Overall, it’s been pretty easy.

I ordered 5 boxes of Girl Scout cookies on Monday. I am wondering now if that was in response to no flour, no sugar, and all salad all the time.

To be honest, I feel deprived. I think I would quit if I thought it was for more than 2 weeks. I think I can do this for one more week. We’ll see!

I see the doctor tomorrow for more blood work. I am taking my bp every day and taking my meds. Can you see the halo??

Claudia at the Open Grove

Posted - 01/23/2004 : 1:43:31 PM
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Today is d-day - did the diet actually lower my blood pressure?

Well (drum roll) it did. I was completely shocked when it happened. Tuesday - 124/84
Wednesday - 147/98 (post enraging interaction with my doctor)
Thursday - 132/81
Friday - 131/83

It’s coming down! So I decided to not take the medication and keep on the diet. Tomorrow it expands with more food options and 2 “free” meals.

I am really thrilled and amazed. No one truly is more surprised than me! YEA!!

My blood pressure is coming down!

Oh ya, and I lost 10 pounds. Now granted it’s probably water weight from the diuretics, but still 10 pounds is 10 pounds. Oddly, it seems fairly localized to my belly. I wonder if that’s supposed to happen….

Claudia at the Open Grove

The diet continues to go well. I honestly feel great while I am eating it.

I have found that it’s tough to stay on the diet during “celebration” times. Hey, I am your typical American - I eat to celebrate! Yesterday was my 40th birthday, so we had cake and pasta. I will tell you that I felt awful and feel awful today.

So it’s back to the DASH plan today! I guess it’s good to go off the diet every once and a while to confirm that I feel so much better while I am on it.

Now what to do with the left over cake…..

Claudia at the Open Grove

Filed under: First Diet