Well ok, Charcoter’s…the evidence is in. If you put in the hard work, you will be rewarded, and my calorie suffrage has paid off! Last week I lost 5 pounds, and this week I lost a whopping 9 pounds for a total loss so far of 14 pounds! I now weigh less than when I first got diagnosed with Charcot Foot and have been sedentary with non-weight bearing restrictions for nearly 8 months. YAY!!
You’ll probably be wanting to know how I have done this, and it’s basic…about 1000 calories per day. It’s really not as bad as that sounds. I will layout a typical 1000 cal. day below:
- BREAKFAST: I have a small breakfast which consists of a few items I rotate daily. An example is a 225 calorie breakfast of 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese (90) calories, (I like mine with fresh cracked pepper and dillweed!), half of an apple (40 calories…the other half I eat with lunch) and half a slice of whole grain bread, no butter (55 calories) and then there is the creamer in my coffee, which adds 40 more calories. Some substitutions can be half a banana instead of apple, 1/2 cup of lowfat yogurt instead of cottage cheese ( Light & Fit brand yogurt is great , it has no added sugar and only 45 calories per serving…this lets you have the other half of the whole grain bread, if you like!) or you could skip all the other items and have an Atkin’s bar which averages about 200 calories each. Another option is to have a 1/2 cup serving of oatmeal which is 150 calories, with milk it’s about 200. But that would be all you get…which is why I prefer the cottage cheese/apple/bread combo as it seems like more food. This combo also is somewhat low carb…about 25 grams.
- LUNCH: For lunch I will have the other half of my apple from breakfast (40 calories) and a whole slice of whole grain wheat bread (cut in half because it seems like more, 110 calories) and one tablespoon of Jif creamy peanut butter spread on top (90 calories) and a cup of hot chicken broth which is 0 calories, for a total of 240 calories for lunch.
- DINNER: For dinner I do not worry too much about calories…you still have 500 left in the bank, so I eat whatever is put in front of me! But no dessert! I have designated Sunday night as the only night I get to have dessert.
You might notice that I have no snacks listed. You can snack if you feel you just have to, but if you can hold out without, it is best. I personally don’t snack between meals because as a Diabetic I know my body is trying to get my blood sugar back to normal between meals and so I don’t want to risk raising it for a snack. Plus it’s more calories. I am not saying this diet is pleasant at all, but it does deliver the results…and I have found myself motivated enough to want the results more than I want the snacks! And THAT is the key! So good luck fellow Charcoter’s!
-Cassandra, Charcotchacha copyright 2015