Hi Lea,

You might be feeling crummy because you are not eating enough brown... Sounds like you kinda know this already, but I still wanted to put it out there. I know it can be frustrating to find good browns. I certainly seem to be allergic to a lot of things... recently I cut out corn and I'm questioning oats, too. But here are some browns that I do well with. I try to have a good amount of them.

I like brown rice, lentils and beans, which you don't... Have you thought about taking probiotic pills or digestive enzymes? They helped my gut get back to normal... Still taking the probiotics, but no need for enzymes anymore.

Other browns:
Sweet potatoes (so yummy as fries). I like one big one or 2 smaller ones. I weigh 140 pounds.
Potatoes
Millet
Buckwheat
Quinoa (sooo good)
Gluten-free oats (Bob's Red Mill!)

Squash, for instance, wouldn't work as a brown for me. It's not dense enough. Sweet potato does, but I definitely need a good amount.

Good luck figuring all this out. I'm sure many other people will chime in with great ideas!

-Verena

: Hello friends,

: :-) a big smile to everyone, and a
: hand wave!

: I often feel as though I have nothing
: to say, and that if I saw you (so
: many who post here - and others
: who haven't, in a while, too) I
: would like to smile and wave.

: I'm having trouble with my sleep
: schedule. I may be on the verge of
: having a settling into a good
: pattern, or I hope so, because I
: feel the most frustrated now, than
: I have in a long time. I often
: find I change happens soon after I
: feel a huge awareness and
: frustration!

: Anyway, I was thinking of the food
: program, and how it's about
: changing habits and putting good
: food habits into place, that
: sustains good biochemistry. It's
: this approach I would like to
: follow, with sorting out my sleep
: schedule.

: I've come to realize that I have a
: fairly entrenched schedule. I am
: starting to realize it isn't
: random, and it isn't 'the way I
: would like it to be and then
: suddenly not'.

: A bit of background: I'm 37, in
: treatment for metastatic breast
: cancer (bones, liver). I'm taking
: some pretty powerful drugs to mop
: up the estrogen in my system, so I
: have been hurtled into
: (peri)menopause (and I have had a
: hysterectomy/oophorectomy too...).

: I wake at noon. I go to sleep at 2
: am.
: I would like to wake earlier in the
: morning, so I can make it to
: morning appointments and work -
: although waking at 7 am doesn't
: seem realistic, because I also
: don't want to go to bed before 11
: pm.

: The food:

: I have shake when I wake, each day
: within an hour of waking. A small
: sweet potato, 1 cup frozen
: blueberries, cinnamon, a
: tablespoon olive oil, scoop
: microfiltered whey protein powder
: (27 or 30 grams protein - I weigh
: 130 pounds), multivitamin, vit D,
: calcium, potassium, pycnogenol

: Snack: I have a planned snack at 3 or
: 3:30 pm, with my medication:
: almonds and an apple, or a couple
: pieces of dried fruit and almond
: butter, or steamed broccoli with
: olive oil and a chunk of sliced
: ham

: Supper: 7 or 7:45 pm - I have a
: standard 'supper bowl' with 2 cups
: mixed frozen veggies, about a cup
: of either squash or sweet potato,
: and a portion of meat (roast,
: fish, chicken) for about 25-30
: grams of protein, with a drizzle
: of olive oil over, and half a
: fruit for dessert (pear, apple,
: peach, whatever is in season).

: 9 or 9:30 pm I will grab a handful of
: nuts.

: 11 pm, I eat another meal, 1.5 cups
: frozen veggies, protein meat for
: 21 grams (still my protein amount
: but less because of settling for
: bed), with olive oil drizzled
: over.

: 2 am I'll have 1/4 sweet potato with
: olive oil drizzled over, which
: helps me get to sleep.

: I'm celiac, so that is why no wheat.
: I'm allergic to dairy, but the
: microfiltered whey protein powder
: works for me. I've tried adding
: brown rice, corn, beans and
: lentils and my digestive system
: runs it all out and I feel awful.
: So I don't eat those foods.

: I've been trying to go to sleep a
: little earlier each night, and
: just rest there, but any progress
: I have made, has re-set itself
: back to my original pattern. I've
: tried getting up earlier, and that
: seemed to be working, but then my
: original pattern reset again,
: after being stressed and not
: sleeping, being awake until 5 am
: in the morning. But I still wake
: at noon.

: I guess I am here looking for support
: because I feel SO frustrated at
: not being able to change this.
: It's not as if I need 18 hours of
: sleep - I just need to get the
: sleep at a different timing.

: Comments welcome...

: It's a pleasure to visit with you
: here!

: Pleasantly,
: -Lea