Done with the Pancreas Protocol

Well, I think it's fairly obvious that I'm done with the pancreas protocol. I have been searching for the right diet for some time and I know what I want. Believe it or not, I'm not looking for some diet that offers loads of carbs and sugar while I sit around all day and the fat just melts off me. Though that does sound like the “dream diet”. But no, I have been looking for a diet that is lasting, that melts the fat, but builds strength and heals the body, or better yet, encourages the body to heal itself.

I don't want a diet that I have to take tons of supplements to make up for whatever is deficient because of my diet. I don't want a diet that forces me to drink a gallon of water every day to “flush out my system” and keep me hydrated. Surely our ancestors did not have access to that quantity of fresh water?? I don't want a diet that restricts foods that are known to be highly nutritious and healthy either. I don't want a diet that makes me skinny and the minute I go off of it, I balloon up either.

I've been reading the Eat to Live book and I gotta tell you, if this diet does half of what it says, it may be just what I've been looking for.

Day 4 - Update on Pancreas Protocol

So, I tried the leek soup and...not so much. I ended up making a cocoa shake (which actually tastes great). Because of the various symptoms and whatnot, our wellness coach suggested that we go off the diet until we actually get the supplements that are part of the protocol (Probiotics, enzymes, multi-vitamin, and calcium-magnesium to make up for all the nutients that are deficient because of the diet itself). She also recommended that we get colon therapy to better prepare our bodies for this diet (especially with the constipation) and to do regularly to keep the body working (since when is it natural to have someone else flush one's bowels??? Isn't this the most natural thing that our body should do on its own??).

As it stands, there are a number of things that I have an issue with and I have to get them sorted out quickly. First of all, I do not know how I can eat these processed powdered meals for the next 4-5 months, unless I just go with a shake in the morning as a meal replacement, a shake and a salad for lunch (or the chili which is actually good) and a shake before bed. Then it would work I suppose. However, I find myself craving fruit and I'm having a hard time understanding how it is healthier to not eat some of nature's more perfect and naturally packaged foods (never mind the fact that fruit is loaded with nutrients and anti-oxidants). I guess if you compare the results that I should attain from the program, versus being clinically obese, then that is something to consider as well.

Still, it bothers me that we have to take lots of supplements (to make up for all the ones that are missing in the diet itself), processed foods, additional products to combat the constipation which can occur as a direct result of this program, and tonics. Another part of the problem is that Grant and I never really eat processed foods, which is why I think the packaged meals taste worse to us than someone who eats whatever, whenever. We haven't had MSG in our diet for ages, we never have fast food and we never consume chemical sweeteners, so these packages just taste weird to us (and actually creates a little gag reflex for me).

How can this be the healthy diet when these products were not around when man ate a diet that was more native to him? This really bothers me. Sure, I know I can lose weight, but at what expense nutritionally? Is that worth it to lose weight in a quazi-Atkinsish diet that may cause me to put on even more weight when I go off it later? I don't know. It just doesn't feel right. I can't help but feel that the answer is out there. There is a way to eat healthy and naturally and lose tons of weight and keep it off. I just have to find it.

I have friends who have successfully completed various diets, but most of them either gained back everything they lost and then some, or they gained back some of the weight. What I'm looking for really is something that I can do for the rest of my life and that I can actually live with. I don't think powdered meals and lots of supplements (to make up for all the nutrients my diet has left out) is the answer. I just picked up a book called Eat to Live that a friend recommended. I do believe that knowledge plays a big part in all of this.

Update on Day 3

I just got off the phone with my wellness coach and that was good. I suppose this is why it's important to have a support system in place (so that when I have a melt down, there's someone to pick me up).

So apparently the bad breath and constipation is due to our lack of adequate supplements, specifically calcium-magnesium, omegas and pro-biotics. Plus we are supposed to take enzymes with each meal. Well, we're remedying this.

She's also going to trade out some of the meals for me. I do not mind the vanilla pudding. I like the cocoa drink and I really like the chili. So, I'm getting the supplements and trying some of her ideas on the meals. The point is that the meals are designed to feed the body usable protein and all essential amino acids. She said I could even do the whole program on just a few meals if I need to (which I am willing to do). She also gave me a bunch of her tried and true recipe ideas.

I will try the first one out at lunch when I try the Leek soup. We'll see how that goes, eh?

Day 3 - Pancreas Protocol

Well, I lost another pound between yesterday and today. I know I should be thrilled, but I'm really having a hard time with the "food" packets. The only ones I really don't mind are the cocoa shake and the vanilla pudding, but even the pudding makes me gag a little and I find it difficult to finish it.

Yesterday didn't go so well. We made the chicken "flavored" soup for lunch and I could not finish it. I didn't care for it at all and neither did Grant. I ended up shredding up some lean chicken breast on my salad (that was delicious!).

One of the things the diet is supposed to do is get the body into a fat-burning mode, but not like Atkins (supposedly). However, I noticed that Grant's breath is already not so nice, and we both are a little constipated. I snacked on cucumbers yesterday, drank 85oz of water, took all my supplements and had LOTS of veggies, so this bothers me.

I haven't experienced any significant symptoms (like headaches or nausea - despite warnings that I might). However, I don't know if I can handle this food for 4 or 5 months. Actually, I'm certain that I can not. Even this morning when I made the omelet again, I found myself suppressing a slight urge to gag while I ate it. It just does not taste like real food. I realize that many people think these foods are great tasting, but I don't. I think this is because Grant and I are used to eating lots of real, live foods and when we do eat out, we go to places that are known for creating delicious dishes. We never eat fast foods, boxed meals, frozen meals or things with packaged seasonings. It just does not happen and we haven't eaten those types of foods for years. We never use sucralose (Splenda) or any other type of chemical sweetener, so I think our taste buds are more sensitive because of this. I just really miss real food without all this synthetic tasting blech-ness.

Anyway, the weight loss is great, but I actually cringe when I think of breakfast or lunch or even the stupid snacks. This is only day 3 - how the hell am I supposed to do this for another 5 months????

I called my wellness coach and left her a message. Maybe she has some words of wisdom.

Day 2 - Pancreas Protocol

Good morning. So I weighed myself this morning, and I was happy to find that I had lost 3 pounds! I do realize that this is mostly water weight, but still...

Last night we had our evening snack and we had the mango peach mix (blech!!!!) we both hated it. It was sickeningly sweet and seemed to have a very faint fart odor (at least that's what I thought anyway). We ended up pouring one down the drain, then making a vanilla pudding mix and mixing that with the remaining mango peach to try and make it more palatable. It almost worked, but in the end we each drank our portion just to get it down. So that was not so great.

Then this morning I made "oatmeal" mix. I think I will pass on having it as oatmeal, and in the future will try the cookie recipe for that mix. I opted for vanilla pudding this morning, and I'm still nibbling on it. I really can't stand the taste of sucralose, so this is a big leap for me to begin with.

Still, I am heartened by the weight loss so far.

Day 1 – Starting the Pancreas Protocol

First thing this morning I weighed myself. Wow. That was a shocker. I weighed in at 222 exactly. Whatever. That is precisely what I'm trying to handle with this program. Last week I weighed 217-218 pretty much the whole week (and the week before). However, since we knew we were starting this “strict diet routine”, we indulged a bit over the past few days. Okay, maybe we indulged a lot.

We had a slice of cheese cake on Thursday, shared a danish on Friday, ate at Carrabba's (split a steak marsala with fettucini Alfredo, and shared a crème brulee among 4 people) on Saturday, then yesterday we shared a pastry after breakfast and had some ice cream and organic Newman's Own Oreo-type cookies (I had 3). Well, there ya go, 4 pounds later and I was quite ready to do something about this morning!

So first thing after I weighed myself, I went to the kitchen and took a tablespoon of KM tonic. Not that great tasting, got to be honest. I am excited that the KM tonic will help alkalize my body though, and feed my body at a cellular level. If it really does this, then I don't really care what it tastes like. I took a few minutes to re-review the diet guidelines and saw that I was supposed to have 2 tbs of KM during the Step 1 phase. I took a second serving (brrahhh). I also fed it to my husband. He seems to like it more that me. That's fine, I'm a big girl and I can manage.

Breakfast
I pulled out 2 omelet meals to make for breakfast. They come in these little foil packets, so I was surprised that when I opened it, the powder actually smells like an omelet. I mixed up the first one with cold water and the powder. I don't know what I expected, but so far, so good. I mixed it up in a mixing bottle with a wire ball that when you shake it up, it actually blends it up and gets rid of the lumps (it's called a Blender Bottle) It works, too. Anyway, I heated up my non-stick frying pan, and sprayed it lightly with my olive oil spray. Once nicely heated, I poured in the “omelet mix” and watched. I didn't let it sit long enough, so mine looked more like scrambled eggs, however, my husband managed to make his right and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they actually tasted decent.

I sprinkled my Himalayan salt on it and enjoyed. One of the things I was worried about initially is how these shiny packets were expected to fill me up. After breakfast though, it is so NOT a problem. I actually couldn't quite finish the omelet and neither could my husband. We ended up leaving probably 2-3 bites each. Overall we were satisfied and the prospect of doing this for a while seems a little more possible.

Snack Time

One thing that may or may not be problematic is that Grant and I are both used to having a mid-morning meal or snack and today doesn't seem to be an exception. At about 11:30 we both felt peckish. What to do?? Well, I did read that it's okay to have extra packaged meals as needed. So we grabbed the vanilla pudding/shake mix to share between us (we're used to sharing food as a method of portion control anyway). I poured out 5 oz of cold water (note to self: keep water in the fridge so it's really cold) and we added the mix. Grant shook it up really good and it actually made the consistency of a pudding. We grabbed two spoons and dug in. Not bad either. In fact, Grant was using his finger to clean the sides of the shaker bottle and the lid. The more we ate, the tastier it seemed. Hmm, maybe we can actually do this???

Lunch
We decided to make the chili mix for lunch. It's a little small as a portion, but pretty tasty, especially when you take some romaine lettuce and fill it with the chili (like a taco). We had a big salad with lots of broccoli sprouts and romaine lettuce. Overall it was pretty good.

Mid Afternoon Snack
Okay, by 3:00pm I was hungry. I made another pudding and ate a little more than half of it. I have got to get more snack items I can eat. I also left a message for my “wellness coach” to find out what I can snack on and to see if we are allowed to have nuts on this diet (I don't think so, but Grant wants to know). Hopefully she will call me back soon.

4:29pm
My wellness coach called and apparently I can have unlimited veggies (from the authorized list at least), and it's okay to have up to 5 meal packets a day. So far I have had 3 because both snacks I shared with Grant. I have to have one before bed, too. I need to get some veggies that are more like finger foods! Nope to the nuts (but I figured as much anyway). I have had nearly 62oz. of water today, but I need to more. I add a slice of lemon to alkalize the water and all in all I feel good.

Dinner
For dinner will made cod fish on the grill. Probably not the smartest way to cook it though. It was the first time I had ever had cod and I was worried that it would taste fishy, but it didn't. We has asparagus and a large salad. I just squeezed lemon on my salad and then sprinkled with the Himalayan salt. It was all quite tasty!

So far as follows:
I'm doing okay. I think it's more mental when you think about actually being on a diet, it's like the knowledge that I'm on a restricted diet is enough to make me feel hungry or anxious or whatever. That's fine. This too shall pass. Other than that, I think I'm fine. My husband, Grant seems a little grumpy compared to usual and he mentioned that he has a slight headache. This is supposedly normal in the first 3-4 days as the body goes through its carb and sugar withdrawals. We'll see. I will have to see what we can do to ease it at least.

We're gonna try the mango peach shake for our evening snack.

I think overall today was okay. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Prepping to start the pancreas protocol

I spent the day getting ready for the program tomorrow. I wanted to make sure I understand the program and have everything I need to properly do it. I figure if this program doesn't work, it will not because I failed to follow it. But we'll have to see how well that theory works in the real world.

I started out by reading through the Welcome Packet – Plan. I had a printed version, and I had the same document open on my computer so that I could follow any links that are referenced. This was a good idea because there is a section of testimonials in the printed version, but I looked at the testimonials on-line and there are tons of before and after stories along with some very inspiring testimonials. I think this is important because the biggest barrier I see to completing a program is adequate proof and faith that it works. Like most people, I want to know that I am not wasting my time.

I also took my before pictures today. Wow. That was a bummer. I suppose it will also be my inspiration because I so do not look like I think I look. I took the pictures in my bathing suit (which is a black bikini with boy shorts). I took a front picture, then a side picture and another picture of my backside. It was kind of mortifying really.

It is recommended in the welcome packet to put your before picture on the fridge....yeah, not so much. The last thing I need is friends and family seeing me scantily clad in my 200+ pounds of glory. No thanks. I don't need to look at the picture for motivation, it is burned into my mind. Seriously. I'm sorry, but I am not going to post them here on my blog either, at least not until I've experienced some success so that I can post a progress picture along side it.

I also took my measurements. That was humbling. They are as follows:
Chest: 46” Waist: 42” Hips: 49” R Thigh: 31” R Upper Arm: 16 3/4”

For the record, I really do carry my weight well, and though it may not seem like it from my measurements, the weight is somewhat evenly distributed and subdued by my curves. But still.

I didn't weigh myself because I always weigh myself first thing in the morning after going to the bathroom and before I shower, eat or drink. This way I can expect a consistent weight reading. I suppose other people may do this other ways, but it works for me.

I reviewed the diet one last time before bed and figured out my foods for the following day. It's hard because I've never tried any of the foods and I have no idea what to expect. I've committed myself to this program and purchased a months worth of food and supplements.

I just hope it doesn't suck.

What is this pancreas protocol diet?

The pancreas protocol is a 4 phase program to restore and reset the pancreas so that it can do its job better. At least that's what I understand from it. Whether this is valid or not remains to be seen by me. I am rather skeptical, but what I've learned about the science of it makes sense to me. So with a healthy dose of skepticism and a dash of hope, I am doing this pancreas protocol to see for myself.

I will be blogging about this as I go along, and you can read the overview below to get a better understanding of what it is so you can follow along with me (if you're so inclined). This is my non-biased blog and is where I will share what I think of whatever it is I am going through.

The pancreas protocol I am doing is the Accelerated Plan and is done in 4 stages (there is another version for Diabetics, but I am not Diabetic, so I am doing the accelerated one - and I don't know anything about the other one).

Step 1 is basically done until 80% of goal weight is achieved (which in my case is about 70 pounds) and I can expect to lose about 3 pounds a week, and possibly more initially. With those figures, I should expect to be on this phase for about 5-6 months.

This is the phase where my pancreas rests.

Protocol for Step 1:

BREAKFAST:
1 Diet packet with coffee or tea (1 oz of milk per day & natural sweetener allowed)

LUNCH:
1 Diet packet with unlimited vegetables.

DINNER:
7 oz (200 g) of fish/seafood/chicken or 5 oz (150 g) of lean meat with unlimited vegetables.

SNACK: (MANDATORY)
1 Diet packet between 8 pm and 10 pm or between two other meals.

The Diet packets mentioned above are specially formulated meal packets and are essentially protein isolates that include all the necessary amino acids and nutrition to feed the body, break down fat while preserving muscle mass.

In addition, here are the other rules:
Whole food supplements taken daily, Himalayan sea salt with meals. Minimum 8 glasses water per day, but ideally half my body weight in ounces (which would be 110 oz/day).

Step 2 is done for the remaining 20% of weight loss goal until my ideal weight is achieved. It is nearly the same as Step 1, except that lunch is also a regular meal like dinner.

Step 3 is where other foods such as fruits, healthy carbs and healthy fats and whatnot are reintroduced to the diet. I will still have one diet pack for my evening snack.

Step 4 is the phase where I will eat for the rest of my life. My pancreas is presumably reset and can function optimally. I should have a much better understand of how to feed my body to keep it healthy and vital.

Step 4 is a ways off, so back to Step 1...

A different diet.

A couple weeks ago my husband and I were at my mother-in-laws. We were having tea and chatting. Somehow we ended up talking about weight loss and diets and whatnot. This is not an odd topic to come up in her company because she is very health conscious and I am significantly over weight and battling my own health demons.

Anyway, as we were talking, she brought up a program called a “pancreas protocol”. She was just learning about it, but so far very intrigued. She told us that it is a program which resets the pancreas and gets it functioning properly again. “What's wrong with my pancreas in the first place?” I wondered. To answer that question, I had to look at what a pancreas is supposed to be doing in the first place, then gage that against what my pancreas is apparently doing for me.

As a person who has been pretty preoccupied with “how to lose weight” for a while, I'm pretty familiar with insulin and the role it plays in my body. I also know very well that too much insulin is one of the major reasons people get fat. So, I have done numerous diets and taken various supplements all in an effort to rebalance my hormones or at least get them back under control, especially insulin. That's why I think it's amazing that I have never looked at something like this pancreas protocol before. The pancreas is responsible for producing the insulin that is released in the body. So it might be worthwhile to see if the organ that is responsible for the production of the one hormone that can create the most chaos is actually working right. Brilliant!

So that is why I became intrigued with this “pancreas protocol” and is precisely why I wanted to know more. Have you ever wondered why some skinny little person can consume lots of carbs and not gain an ounce? I know I have. I've also wondered why it is that I can eat well all week and then go out with my husband and have a steak and fettuccine Alfredo with a glass of red wine and share a crème brulee and put on 4 pounds! I'm not naïve. I know that it's a rich meal, but 4 pounds??? Seriously.

One should be able to eat healthy most of the time and still enjoy the occasional treat without too much worry. That's precisely what the pancreas protocol addresses and I'm doing it starting tomorrow.