Paleo Pals - Health, Weight Loss & Support

Egads my uncle would get the same reaction from cucumbers. Felt like a heart attack. You might want to just hang with your tribe as far as posts-wink wink.

Map, I buy any plain organic yogurt and add frozen blueberries-mostly because they are reliably sweet but of course any fruit you like will do. I like Stonyfild organic but last time I bought one at costco and it was fine. I gave up dairy for a long time and then I missed it. Funny thing is I am not that much of a meat lover so I adore having cottage cheese or yogurt and cheese as an alternative.

I tried to make yogurt in my instant pot but failed miserably the first try. If anyone knows how to do it , let me know. I would love to just make my own.

Gundry recommends a pressure cooker for lectin containing foods and also deseeding and peeling tomatoes. I read his book but havent tried further restrictions. Still some of it makes sense when you consider traditional cooking methods.

I was good today. I went to lunch at a place that serves burgers, hot dogs, Italian beef etc and I had salad and didnt eat the bread. I totally forgot to eat breakfast I was so busy. Chicken and broccoli for dinner and a little OJ.

Thank you, guys, for your support! Waiting for the blood test before the treatment..

Abraxane is a taxane formulated without the typical solvents used in Taxol and Taxotere, and is usually used in those with sensitivities to either of those drugs. Inna - hope this does the trick for you

Hello Everyone,

I just returned from my trip to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to see about surgery for my vertebrae that had lit up like a christmas tree on my June bone scan/ SPECT CT.

At Mayo they did a new MRI of my Thoracic & Lumbar spine. Then the neurosugeon showed me the films from my June-Bone scan, July-PET scan & new MRI. The tumor in my T11 vertebrae barely showed up on the MRI or PET, despite being so bright on the bone scan. Mayo refused to do the surgery that my local Neurosurgeon had proposed to do on me and I am so very thankful. The reason they wouldn't do the surgery is because it is a massive one, requiring them to open my chest to access the vertebrae from the front, and also because the tumor was still contained within the bone and not affecting my spinal cord or spinal nerves. Instead they offered me Radio Frequency Ablation (which I had done last Thursday) w/ a Vertebroplasty. My vertebrae was cracked vertically and across from front to back. The bone feels better now, but the spinal nerves coming from that area are rather annoyed right now. The docs said this could last a few weeks, but should pass. They have me doing a step-down pack of Prednisone which I start in the morning. Yikes!! Don't look forward to that.

I was kept overnight and discharged at 3 p.m. on Friday, but was back at the ER 4 hours later because my right arm developed cellulitis AGAIN! I was readmitted and put on IV antibiotics for 3 days, then discharged on Monday afternoon. Fortunately it hadn't gotten into my bloodstream and cause sepsis this time. I am now on 10 days of an oral antibiotic.

I flew home on Tuesday and the flight went well, but when I stood up and slightly turned to deboard the plane my back spasmed and nearly put me on the floor. The attendants asked if I wanted medical help anf I refused. I have been in hospital far too much this month and only wanted to get into my own bed.

The doctor who did my Ablation is a Neuro Interventional Radiologist and has done 500 of these procedures before me. He fried that blasted tumor into oblivion, then injected bone cement into the vertebrae. Out of those 500, he has never had a patient experience paralysis (one of the risks), but he has had 3 patients experience the nerve pain initially after surgery, and only one of those required surgery to remove some bone cement that had leaked out onto a spinal nerve. I'd say that those are very good outcomes. Despite the fact that this procedure is not curative, but only palliative, I am very hopeful.

My MO though has told me I will never be able to stop treatment since those sneaky cancer cells are in my bloodstream and we never know where they will take up residence. As soon as this pain subsides, I am ready to get back to LIFE!

Kirby will be home tomorrow afternoon and I am very happy. Although I know he's had a blast playing and running with the dogs at the trainers house for 2.5 weeks.

The volunteer coordinator from where I volunteer set up a meal train for me so anyone who wants to can provide a dish for me over the next 2 weeks, so I don't have to stand and cook, etc. Very helpful! I specifically asked for low or no-carb dishes and the casserole she brought tonight is "Chicken Broccoli Alfredo" (Gluten-free & Dairy-free) I took one bite and it is excellent!!! She even brought me a copy of the recipe, so I'd like to share it here in case anyone wants to give it a try.

Chicken, Broccoli Alfredo

Ingredients:

1- cooked spaghetti squash

3 - cups of cooked chicken - chopped

1- 16 oz. bag of frozen broccoli

1 - 15 oz can of coconut milk

1/2 cup of nutritional yeast

3 tsp. of oregano

3 tsp. basil

1 Tbs. onion powder

1 Tbs. garlic powder

1 Tbs. gluten-free hot sauce (Frank's Hot Sauce, recommended)

2 tsp. Himalayan salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Put mixture in a 9x 13 casserole dish.

Bake for 40 minutes.

I will wish you all a goodnight now and crawl into my comfy bed.

Junie so glad to hear you are home! If you lived closer I would definitely be bringing you prepared meals, I like to cook and bake and unfortunately eat, so sharing would be ideal. haha I bet Kirby will have a ton of kisses for you. Also thank you for sharing the recipe it sounds delicious!

Inna - hope you are feeling well today and the SE's are minimal! I didn't have chemo so I can't even imagine what you are going through. Gentle Hugs xxx

Egads - how the heck do you keep every one of us straight? I try and my brain is mush - I want to blame Tamoxifen - truth is it was crap before, I think it has just gotten worse. Very scary for me, huge fear is being like an Alzheimer's patient at my age if it continues to spiral downwards.

So I did workout yesterday - step with weights 60 minute video and I worked out on Tuesday - 30 minute HIIT step video. Today I work two jobs so maybe no workout - we shall see how I am afterwards. It feels so good to be back at working out, now if I can just get my food cravings under control and back on strict Paleo! Where did that will power go? Why the heck am I craving certain foods? I think hormones are a big part of the problem and believe in a few days the chocolate craving shall pass.

Have a great day all.

Junie glad you are back home and so glad you journeyed to Mayo.

I guess I will have to try instant pot or slow cooker yogurt again. I do have the yogurt button but there are no directions from the manufacturer so will try to google different instructionsthan those I used last time. If you have slow cooker instructions please send. I have one of those too.

Egads007 good luck with new fam. I am guessing you will at least have a soul sister in disease, even if you don't convert her yet.

I’m reading about Ketotarian on Goop. “Mostly plant based”. Isn’t that just healthy Paleo? Rolling my eyes but trying to keep an open mind.

Junie, good luck with your recovery! Happy you found the right surgeon.

Well, Abraxane is no picnic either, it seems. Barely making my 5 miles, then recover for the rest of the day. Everything sucks. On the bright side, only one more chemo left! I would’ve smiled if I could.

Welcome, whateverittakes. Egads has posted tons of links on the main post if you want to start exploring Paleo. From my research after recurrring, its important to maintain a normal weight and reduce the number of carb servings. Women with fasting blood glucose 86 or lower had the lowest rates of recurrence. Exercise also has strong research on preventing recurrence. I would recommend starting by at least reducing grains and sugar. It gets easier and easier with practice.

Inna , chemo took me down, so you are doing amazing in my book.

Vamp, Goop is Gwyneth Paltrows website. They have a lot of wellness topics and “clean” products and discussions -alongside $700 sweaters if you are into that.

I went to an Italian restaurant for lunch on Friday. I ordered chicken parmesan thinking I would eat the chicken part and skip the pasta. Alas I did not follow my own advice. I ate the small salad and 2/3 of the chicken and took home the leftovers. The pasta was homemade and I ended up eating 1/3 of the chicken AND the pasta for dinner. Then I was up 1.6 lbs the next day. Pasta just balloons me up. Down .8 after being good yesterday. Hopefully get the rest gone to

Hello Ladies,

On night 2 a dinner was delivered to me and it included a container of Broccoli Salad. I have never tried Broccoli Salad before and was unsure what to expect. I took a forkful and as I began to chew, the music began to play in my mind/mouth. Can I say "YUMMY!" It was so delish I went to the store the next day to see if they had any more, and they did, but it is like $8.00 per lb. and I spent $12.00 on the 1.5 lbs I got. I can't afford to do that regularly so I just looked up a recipe for what appears to be the same salad and I am sharing it with you so you can share in the enjoyment if you choose.

Broccoli, Raisin, Bacon & Sunflower Seed Salad:

1 lb. bacon

6 cups chopped raw broccoli

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 cup raisins

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup of white sugar - I know, please don't shoot me. You'll need to find an appropriate alternative.

2 Tbs. white vinegar

1 - 3 oz. package raw sunflower seeds

1. Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels and cool. Chop bacon.
2. Mix broccoli, bacon, red onion, and raisins in a bowl.
3. Whisk mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar together in a bowl; stir dressing into broccoli mixture until evenly coated. Cover bowl and refrigerate for flavors to blend, about 1 hour. Sprinkle salad with sunflower seeds.

Yay Susan so glad to hear no mets. Wonderful news! xxx

Junie - How are you feeling? I have tried that broccoli salad with honey instead of sugar, tasted good, but a tad runny.

I love broccoli salad and will eat it as lunch sometimes. I do mayo, touch of vinegar and salt and honey as the dressing. I add mixed dried fruit for fun and variety and use salted cashews, no bacon or onion for me. The other thing I adore is carrot salad using similar dressings and a little dried fruit.

Goop is wacko sometimes in my view but I do enjoy some of the articles. I wont be buying any clothing and dont get me started on my rant about implying to young women that they should spending that kind of money.

Ksusan congrats on your news.

Super rainy day here on labor day. Not fun

Hi Whateverittakes and All,  This is my first post here too.  I actually joined yesterday.  It is a tough thing to change your diet but you are young and more flexible that us oldies on here. LOL  My twin daughters are 32!  I have found changing my diet a bit easier to follow because I have set strict rules for myself.  If eating a particular item or combination of items is breaking any of my rules, then I don't eat it.  Everyone sets different rules for themselves and usually it is according to what they have read on a specific subject or what their Dr./friends have shared.  There is so much information on the internet now-a-days but using some common sense helps you glean what is more believable and what is not.  

I have found that the biggest rule that I have set for myself is "If it is not organic, then don't eat it".  It's a tricky one to follow but it will help detoxify your body and put you in a better position to build up your immune system.  A poor immune system can not fight off disease.  I have found, by Googling, a Certified Organic Farm in my area where I can pick up fresh produce on a weekly basis.  Grocery stores also sell it.  You can also buy Certified Organic Meat if you choose.   I started this in May and feel like a new person!  I'm was a little chunky and lost 25 lbs in the first 2 months and am now holding steady.  There are also organic pastas that you can buy, made from many different grains or legumes, which make for an easy meal.  You can Google recipe's for free and then print off the ones that you like.  No one needs tons of variety.  Have 20 or so meals worth and then stick with them.  It will get easier and easier to make them and you will get used to having the needed ingrediencies on hand.  It also helps in you make extra so that you can take the left-overs to work for the next day or two, so that you aren't rushed in the morning.  Does that sound do-able?  Does anyone else have any suggestions for this young lady?

Junie - I know you want to do it yourself, is there anyone near by that can help you out with the pine needles? Keep listening to your body and rest up, there is nothing wrong with a 2 hour nap, sometimes we need those so we can heal. That was a pretty invasive surgery you just had, so take it easy and let others help out. xxx

L-O-R-I - Those are some pretty good ideas! I try to have a meal plan for the week, less grocery trips and guess on what we are eating that morning! One other thing to add is if you have favourite recipes see if you can't adapt it to be Paleo/Keto/Metditian/etc. I have a go to called Rotuni Noodle Casserole, changed the noodles to Quinoa (they are way better than wheat for staying in shape and not turning to mush the next day!) and now those noodles are cabbage to fit with the Paleo lifestyle I am trying to adapt. It's the cravings lately I need help with, likely hormones causing it. One day I do great, the next I am eating something that is not Paleo friendly.

Just going to share that fatigue does subside - my Polar activity tracker for the month of July was 13%, August I jumped up to 45%, this is a positive and I am hoping to keep it climbing!