Last week, Mhari in our supplements department decided to go on the Skinny Gut Diet. Her inspiration came from the critically acclaimed new book and diet by Brenda Watson, founder of Renew Life, the digestive health company. Mhari decided to document her experience with the book, and started a blog diary. As Mhari says, this is not strictly a diet to lose weight, but to promote a healthy intestinal tract which, in turn, promotes all-over health. Read on...
The Skinny Gut Diary
Tuesday
Read the whole book last night…..and am half way through reading it again…..Lots of info to take in, Brenda made it all very understandable….Thanks, Brenda!
I’ve done gluten free before but will try this new approach to gut health and go completely grain free…..I’ll keep you posted Diary as to how I manage that one!
Wed
I’ve bought the Renew Life Protein Fitsmart and will promise to have a shake every morning…..I’m so NOT a breakfast person….not unless it’s for dinner anyway.I already take a digestive enzyme before every meal. I guess I’m taking them in the morning too. The protein shake tastes really good….it’s very smooth and I love the chocolate taste. It was super easy to blend in just my little shaker cup.
Thursday
I’ve had to switch up the routine a little by adding a scoop of fiber to some water while I make dinner. I found it was pretty effective at cutting down my calories and I'm not sure if it was my brain or the fiber, but I didn’t feel snacky later while I was watching TV like I usually do. That's a bonus for sure!Friday AM
OK Diary, I’m not going to say much on this front…other than the probiotics are working…seems like I’ve developed a morning and evening routine…quite the change from every other day…oops GTG!Friday PM
This was a test….how to go out for dinner and stay within the Skinny Gut lines? To my surprise my waiter was really helpful and suggested I try the Rueben sandwich platter. We replaced the fries with a fresh salad and got rid of the bread, and I found it was great. The sauerkraut was fresh and tangy, and unlike my usual Friday night out I didn’t sit bloated and uncomfortable for the rest of the evening. I even had a little vodka with contreau and a squeeze of lemon in water. I believe that was the waiters best suggestion of the night ;)
Update!
I have been having fun inventing new ways to create my favorite things. I have even found a book on fermentation….I'm going to try making my own sauerkraut….which actually looks really easy!
Wish me luck;)
I can’t tell you how much better I feel….lighter…more energy. And I’ve lost 2 pounds! It’s a start!
I was still in love with the “Skinny Gut Diet” after week one, but I was feeling just a little discouraged that I hadn’t lost any weight! I had to remind myself that weight loss itself isn’t why I was on this adventure anyway.
What really interested me in "The Skinny Gut Diet" was getting a healthy gut balance that would decrease silent inflammation and improve my overall wellbeing and health.
Well, it is definitely working….I can feel that for sure!
Skinny Gut Diary continued
So I know I’ve mentioned that I have really appreciated the ease of Brenda Watson’s Skinny Gut guidelines. But now I realize just how easy and convenient her rules are. I was super unorganized this morning…(shocking I know) so I had to grab lunch at work…which can feel like a big dilemma, but it was easy to make healthy sensible choices using the teaspoon tracker.
Here’s how it went down: I grabbed a brand new edamame with sesame roasted carrot hummus from Sunflower Kitchens in the produce cooler and found a really cool box of crackers (I know I know, no crackers allowed). But these are pea, chickpea and lentil flour, so totally allowed! They are actually called Chickpea & Lentille Un-flatbread.
The breakdown:
Crackers: 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Hummus : 0 teaspoons of sugar.
Oh yes, and the turkey pepperoni: 0 teaspoons of sugar.
So my total for lunch was just 2 teaspoons of sugar and my breakfast that morning was Fitsmart at 1.4 teaspoons of sugar. The best part? I’ve got 6.6 teaspoons of sugar to eat tonight if I want!
Let the party begin! ;)
Skinny Gut Diary
I thought this morning I would mention fiber…My new bestie: in Brenda’s book she suggests 35 grams of fiber a day, and this is the key to sustained weight loss. Fiber does three crucial things:
- It doesn’t break down into absorbable sugar..
- It slows the absorption of sugars from other foods..
- It acts as food for your gut bacteria..
Thankfully there is Renew Life Clear Fiber. One little scoop is 10 grams of fiber, it has no taste…(NONE!)…it has no smell….(NONE!)
And it mixes with water, or juice or tea…(anything) really easily. But it never turns to thick gross wallpaper paste like other fibers…Really….You never even know your having fiber. So I get 10 grams with my protein shake in the morning, 10 grams before lunch, and 10 more before dinner. I just add it to a glass of water while I’m cooking dinner and that leaves me with five to get through my food throughout the day, which I’m sure I’m exceeding anyway.
And I know that all this fiber is feeding my happy gut bacteria, and keeping my blood sugar level under control….but the best part is really that it has made it super easy to cut my calories without feeling deprived or starved.
Come on in and if you ask me about Clear fiber, I’ll give you a sample taste!
Skinny Gut Diary
OK, so I know I talked about Fiber being my new bestie, but I changed my mind. I am a woman of course, and it's my prerogative.
Marilyn, our Fresh, Frozen and Dairy manager has just brought in a brand new wrap! I know, I know, no grains for me, but this one is a miracle, it’s called The Ultimate Raw Wrap…and it’s fantastic!
It has absolutely no grains…NONE!!!!!
It’s got 4 grams of Protein…It’s full of Flax (healthy Omega)
6 grams of fiber…and only 2 grams of sugar…
And tons of fantastic flavor…
So remember our teaspoon tracker? With 9 total grams of carbs - 6 grams of fiber.
That’s just over half a teaspoon per wrap….and a million happy tastebuds….YEA!!!!
I think maybe Marilyn is my new bestie.
Skinny Gut 101
So I thought I should sit down and do a skim of Brenda’s Skinny Gut book again. Yes I am human….And let’s just say this year’s staff holiday party threw me right off trac.
OK…I threw me right off track! A night of yummy appetizers was a great excuse to push the boundaries for a week.
But I’m back on the no grain train. I didn’t stop taking my digestive enzymes or probiotics or anything else, but I did let myself have freedom to enjoy some naughty ingredients. But here is the thing…
I feel absolutely terrible this week! Bloated and distended…I felt horrible the whole time I was enjoying myself. Can you hear that sarcasm? I hate that feeling of wanting a nap after you eat. I swear that’s my body going into shock from what I just did to it.
So no more nonsense for this girl. Gonna go home and have a great big cobb salad. I know I’m gonna be super stuffed and feel like a million bucks afterward. Maybe even put up the last of the Holiday decorations.
Snow Flakes and Holiday Spirit
It’s the time of year when I want to snuggle into a warm blanket and watch the snow fall outside and have a nice cup of tea and a few homemade treats. So when the feeling of indulgence hits I know I have a good sugar-free treat available, cause we all know that making diet plans and staying on them through the holiday season can be a real task!
So I thought I would share my treat with you this season. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
4 egg whites
2 tbsp stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Clean a large bowl with kitchen paper to ensure it is free of grease or oil, otherwise your egg whites won't whisk well. Whisk the egg whites with the stevia, to form stiff peaks.
2. Add the vanilla and the coconut and gently mix to combine.
3. Line a baking tray with a non stick liner or baking paper. Roll a spoonful of macaroon mixture into a small firm ball and place evenly on the baking tray.
4. Bake at 180C (350F) for10 - 12 minutes depending on your oven and the humidity.
This little treat has 1 gram of carbs and 1.3 grams of fibre…
Which, in my little world makes it completely free….YEA!!!!
Mhari, thank you for the diary entries. You make it sound totally doable. Did you lose any weight from your time on the skinny gut diet? How long did you do it for?
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment Kelly,
I have always wanted to try juicing but feel that I am too time crunch right now…and honestly…just too lazy.:)But I am glad that you have embraced it as a lifestyle…It does have fantastic health benefits.
And as for FoodSmiths’s it is indeed on of the best natural health food stores in Ontario…I think the best:) and we do have a fantastic Organic Produce and Grocery Dept…Hope you come back and see us soon….make sure you track me down in the store and say Hi…I’d love to meet you :)
Hey Mahari, glad to read that your gluten free diet is having positive effects.
I too have started a change in my eating habits. It all started with a doc called Fat, sick and almost dead by Joe Cross. It is all about juicing. You can juice for a week, a month or more. Not only will you watch the pounds slip away but I think a lot of people doing this make it part of their routine, I know I have. Because of juicing, I do not drink coffee or tea, no salt, no WHEAT and only gluten free products. As far as sugar goes I do not use it however it is very hard not to consume it for it is in everything so I read labels and go from there. Did you know that 4grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon of sugar. If one needs to stick to gluten free products they now make beer gluten free and true you can eat rice pasta but now Catelli makes a line of gluten free pasta, I like it better than just the rice pastas, it has a better texture, Since juicing I have read the wheat belly book, books about sugar and salt each one stating how consumption of their topic is worse than the other. I believe they are all unhealthy, we do not need processed sugar or wheat to survive. I hope you get to watch this video on juicing it just might change your life. If your place of employment has remained the same since I was last there some ten years ago then you are working in one of the best natural food stores in Ontario. I hope you have organic produce there, I did not see it in your options on your website. Good luck and check out videos on juicing.
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