After reading Atkins several times through and following the induction diet for 5 weeks, I just read the Andrew Weil book "Eating for Optimum Health". Now at some points in the book, he outright contradicts Atkins. But for the most part you can balance the two philosophies. At least, that is what I am trying to do. He agrees that refined carbs are killer, as are processed fats. While I prefer a higher protein diet than he recommends, I can use his suggestions to make the healthiest carb choices possible.

I am now allowing myself up to 35 grams of carbs a day which I will probably stick with for a month and then gradually increase. I'm still way in ketosis (dark purple) so I won't worry too much about ketosis.

My family is distinctly a non-veggie crowd. But, I decided to give it a shot. Last night I served lime scallop shish kabobs with a plate of broiled shitake mushrooms and parmesan. I also served a bowl of sauteed soybeans with some salt. The first question was "What the hell did you do to the peas?". I explained that soybeans (endamime) are Japanese junk food and they eat it like peanuts. To be honest I didn't expect my family to eat it at all, but they cleared all the plates and asked me to make more soybeans to eat while watching the movie last night. My jaw hit the floor! Today for lunch I served my daughter peanut butter and jelly with a few soybeans on the side. She ate them! I'm in shock. They do taste soooo good and they are so healthy.

Well, I am trying to pay attention to the glycemic indexes and gear my eating toward a mix of new foods. I also started to drink unsweetened green tea which I really love. I think I can develop a healthy lifelong eating plan out of all the information.

That's quite a challenge for an old time tuna casserole kind of gal, but I do believe it can be done!