Pizza casserole

Well, I survived the first weekend on HFLC (High Fat, Low Carb). Even though the flu invaded our house, rendering our children feverish and horizontal, I enjoyed learning as much as I could about this new adventure. I read science, testimonials, and recipes. Lots of recipes.

For the uninitiated, an HFLC diet limits carbohydrates to less than 20 grams per day. Instead, the majority of calories come from fat (its called high fat, not high protein). Briefly running the numbers for Saturday and Sunday, I was eating approximately 70-75% fat. Needless to say, the food has been quite tasty.

Briefly, yesterday I had a t-bone and sauteed onions for breakfast, dried beef and a mixed green salad with blue cheese dressing for lunch, and a hamburger, salad with dressing, and green beans with herb butter. Today, I had a 4 egg spinach omelette and 2 slices of bacon, sauteed cabbage and kielbasa for lunch, and pizza casserole with roasted cauliflower for dinner.

So, about that pizza casserole...

For several years, with very few exceptions, in the Kanz home, Sunday nights have been for pizza and movies. But how does one eat pizza following a HFLC plan? So I decided to throw together a pizza casserole.

Pizza casserole
-1 pound Italian Sausage
-1 pound ground beef
-8 oz tomato sauce (make sure to check for carb level).
-1 T. Italian seasoning
-1 t. salt
-1/2 t. ground black pepper
-8 oz shredded mozzarella
-14 pepperoni

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. While oven is preheating, brown the sausage and the ground beef in a large cast iron pan. When the meat is browned, add the sauce, italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper and let simmer for a minute or two.
3. Turn off the heat and spread the cheese evenly over the top of the pizza (if you are wondering about our uncovered section, my wife doesn't like to eat dairy). Top with pepperoni.
4. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes until cheese is browned.
5. Let cool for a few minutes when it comes out of the oven. It helps the cheese set up.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

In for a penny, in for a pound

Between 2008 and 2013, I sparsely blogged here about "Making the Better Choice," a mantra I had developed while doing Weight Watchers. A quick review of the posts I shared reveals a general commitment to wellness, exercise, and healthy eating. The careful observer will also notice that although I lost 165 pounds at one point, over the years, I struggled to maintain. I played with lots of different diets--Weight Watchers (by far the most successful for me, and an excellent program), the NoS Diet, MyFitnessPal, Whole 30, the MIND Diet, and Intuitive Eating to name the ones I recall trying. I also met with a dietician and a therapist who helped me to explore my eating and my addictive tendencies.

Unfortunately, between 2013 and now, I have continued on a roller-coaster of insanity. I would lose a large amount of weight only to regain it--and more--a few months later. I have attempted Weight Watchers both online and in meetings perhaps a half-dozen times since 2003 never with much immediate success and with no sustained success. It has been frustrating.

This summer, my primary doctor talked with me again about my weight. He is always gentle and encouraging. We talked about my poor self-control when it comes to sugar, which for me, can lead to extreme binges--a pound of M&Ms, a whole box of ho-hos, a few pieces of pie. Unfortunately, once the lid is off the sugar monster, I have a very difficult time getting him back in. Earlier this year, I decided to cut refined sugar from my diet. My binges got better, I lost weight; however, sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I decided to have a little sweet treat, which quickly gave way to mass consumption of sugar.

Anyway, my doctor encouraged me to consider seeing David Usher MD at ReforMedicine, who is board certified in obesity medicine and runs a medical weight loss clinic. I initially tabled the idea, deciding to try it on my own again and, as I said above, failed. In the midst of my struggles, however, a patient of mine mentioned having seen Dr Usher and offered rave reviews, so I decided to call and schedule an appointment. I knew nothing of the program other than two endorsements.

I met with Dr Usher last Friday. He has developed a supervised program of weight loss that follows a low-carbohydrate model. I have always rejected low-carb as ultimately unlivable (without having tried it) and so I was skeptical, but Dr Usher is an enthusiastic advocate of his program. In fact, a student who was observing had already lost 15 pounds in the previous few weeks. I was also encouraged by the help offered to get sugars out of my diet.

So, I'm in for a penny, in for a pound they say, although it cost more than a penny, and I hope to lose much more than a pound. My current weight is 328 pounds, so I have a long way to go, but I am hopeful.

I am posting here at the start, which is a risky move. What if I fail? What if low-carb is ultimately unlivable for me? God knows and time will tell.

But for today, in this moment, I'm in.

A righteous man falls seven times and rises again...and again.