Day 1 on the 180-Degree Diet

I've been much frustrated by my lack of weight loss, apathy and depressed mood and tiredness, so yesterday I met with Tracie Hittmann, a fabulous nutritionist in Middleton. She said people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (which is what I have -- my immune system attacks my thyroid, which is why it's giant-sized) need to really watch what they eat, as does anyone trying to lose weight. She has me on a diet that is fairly low in carbs, although I can have lots of fruit, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, oatmeal, quinoa, and occasionally sour dough bread . The meats are all grass-fed to avoid any of those hormones or enhancers. It allo ws olive oil (but not cooked), coconut oil and butter (in fact encourages them), and whole milk that doesn't have any additives.

What I am gleaning thus far is that the diet encourages your body's metabolism to work in a certain way so as to avoid any adrenal overwork, which can further stress your body. It keeps you from getting hypoglycemic, etc. and keeps your body's blood-sugar levels fairly stable. So no more carbing out. So far, so good.

I had oatmeal, blueberries and milk for breakfast with coffee. At my mother's, I had some cheese, hummus and celery, lentil soup and bean salad for lunch and for dinner tonight we are having grass-fed beef, zucchini and cheese for supper. I'm making Tim some wild rice because he loves it.

I'll let you know how the cravings are going. They are supposed to really reduce on this diet.