Cost and Logistics of the SCD

This is everything I purchase for a two-week supply. Let me break down the picture into more detail to give you an idea of how relatively inexpensive this diet really is.

For regular groceries, I shop at Woodman’s. I’m aware the store is absolutely huge and it takes a good hour to get in and out of there, but I know where everything is and I have it pretty much down to a science. 

Eggs and Veggies:
Three-dozen eggs lasts two weeks if I’m eating a 3-egg omelet every morning for six days. I purchase frozen green beans, peas, broccoli, and mixed vegetables. I initially tried to do canned, but could not stand the taste and texture after about two days. 12 bags @ 1 pound each lasts me a full two weeks (1 entire bag of veggies per day.)

Beans:
I’m not sure if it is the bland taste or the pasty texture I hate the most. I once dated a girl who wouldn’t let me put kidney beans in my Grandma’s Chili recipe because of the texture. After starting this diet, I understand where she’s coming from. I am still trying to develop a way to get around eating beans for every single meal. To bypass the bland taste of the beans, I’ve been purchasing Bush’s Best Chili Beans (Red Beans in Chili Sauce) and Bush’s Best Black Beans (Seasoned recipe.) Tim suggests an incorporation of legumes into the diet. More experimentation will continue. 

Protein: (1- Chicken, 2 - Grass-Fed Beef, 3 - Fish)

1) By far, the most expensive category. Of course, I can’t shop at one place for everything and make it easy on myself. I do, however, like to buy in bulk so I’m not running all over hell’s half acre every week. I buy chicken from Festival Foods. I absolutely love their deli – I can buy fresh chicken for usually around $3.50 per pound and get it pre-marinated/flavored, which also saves me time in the long run. I refrigerate what I’m going to use for the week and freeze the rest. 

 

2) It’s hard to find organic grass-fed beef at a regular grocery store – I found it at Cedar Creek for $5.99 a pound. http://www.cedarcreekmarketplace.com It sounds expensive for ground beef, but the nutritional benefits of consuming grass-fed vs. corn fed far surpasses the cost. It tastes 1000 times better also.

 

3) Finally, for fish, I shop at Niemuth’s Southside Market. http://niemuths.com I purchase frozen cod loins for $4.99 per pound, and they’re usually sold at close to 1-pound per package. I usually eat ½ pound of fish per meal – got to love those Omega-3’s!  

I’ve done my research – and this diet does not cost any more than eating a traditional meal made from scratch. The most difficult part of the SCD is planning ahead so there is enough time to purchase and thaw the meat and vegetables. Also, since the SCD is significantly organized, you’re always eating the freshest food and nothing goes to waste. 

How to Liven up the SCD!

I obviously use salt and pepper. I can put pepper on anything to give something more flavor – I use it on my eggs every morning. However, I try to use salt sparingly... it is one of the things that contributes to a higher blood pressure. Since the SCD is basically eating all authentic, unprocessed food, there is generally less sodium content in everything so I don't feel as guilty.

Coffee:

I wish coffee tasted as good as it smelled. To me, black coffee tastes like heated up rainwater filtered through dirt. I know... horrible analogy. I used to drink coffee with lots of cream and sugar – but that kind of defeats the purpose of drinking it in the first place. It took me about a week to wean myself and I have since replaced the combination with another combination: Ground Cinnamon and Imitation Almond Extract. It's not exactly the same as using sugar/cream – it tastes like there's “something missing.” Nonetheless, it works to fill a void.

Veggies:

When I started the SCD, I used to microwave veggies and eat them plain or seasoned with pepper. Now I switch between raw vegetables, especially if I'm eating peas (my favorite) to adding Salad Supreme seasoning by McCormick. It adds a bit of salty zest as well as a Parmesan cheese flavor. I've been spending more time in the spice aisle lately so it's possible I might find a new concoction soon. I'm always looking for new ideas to switch things up.

Fish:

My most favorite “protein.” I can broil up a mad filet in around 8-minutes flat. I season with oil and McCormick Lemon Pepper and parsley flakes. Simple, and mouth-wateringly delicious. I like to brag about my fish because it's almost too good to be considered diet food.

Grass-Fed Beef:

I have to get creative when working with Grass-Fed Beef because I can only eat so many hamburgers without the condiments and bun. Usually 1-pound of hamburger makes three decent sized burgers, one for each meal. If I make hamburgers, I season with Weber N' Orleans Cajun Grill Creations, Salt, and Pepper. 

Otherwise, I make a casserole. The recipe is below.

1-pound organic grass-fed beef

1-15 ounce canned seasoned black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1-teaspoon oregano

1-medium sized red or green pepper, chopped

1-10 ounce can of Ro*tel OR petite diced tomatoes

1-16 ounce bag of frozen green beans or mixed vegetables

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a lightly greased 9 X 13 X 2 casserole dish, layer the frozen vegetables on the bottom. Follow with the layer of uncooked ground beef. Sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Add onion, red or green pepper, and beans in separate layers. Sprinkle with oregano. Lastly, top with canned tomatoes.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until hamburger is fully cooked.

Restaurants Suited to Fit the SCD

On occasion, I have a friend who calls me up for lunch. Or sometimes, I want a change in the regular monotony of the SCD. Not to fear – I've thought long and hard about how to manipulate and change almost any meal to conform to the SCD. Unless you're going to eat at Burger King, McDonalds or any other 'sinful' fast food establishment, the vast majority of restaurants can substitute vegetables for a less healthy option. It's not as fun, but remember to save your desire to purchase 17 orders of french fries until your cheat day. The thought has (sarcastically) crossed my mind. Chipotle is probably one of my favorite restaurants. Their fresh ingredients, flavorful spices, and the ability to conform a meal to fit the SCD has made this establishment a weekly hotspot. Let me lay out exactly what I order, with the calorie values as an addition.

Chicken Burrito Bowl (No Tortilla - Pictured below)

Fajita Veggies – 20 calories

Chicken – 190 calories

Two Types of Salsa – 60 calories

Black Beans – 120 calories

Lettuce – 5 calories

Total= 395 calories

Leaving out the Tortilla, White Rice, Cheese, and Sour Cream saves you a whopping 640 calories! Adding the less-healthy ingredients turns a relatively healthy meal into a 1,035-calorie gut bomb. Sticking with the high-protein, low-carb ingredients will give you the same satisfaction of 'feeling full' for the same length of time as including the other ingredients into the burrito.  

My all-time favorite sub shop is Jimmy Johns. 99.9% of the time, I would always get the #9 Italian Night Club – until I started this diet. Nutritional information, according to Jimmy John's website, places this sub at 948 calories ordered as is. Talk about a depressing fact, considering that I sometimes I eat less calories than that in an entire day. I now order the #11 Country Club. I heavily customize the order so I can leave out the Cheese, Mayo, and Bread, thus avoiding about 638 calories in the process. That doesn't mean it has to be boring – I order the sub as an Unwich (ingredients wrapped in lettuce versus bread) that includes Smoked Turkey Breast, Smoked Ham, tomato, hot cherry peppers, cucumber, and the Italian Vinaigrette. It turns out to be a nice, filling, 235-calorie meal. In other words: just be smart about what you're eating on the SCD. Follow the rules and all will be well. 

This particular Unwich has cheese on it, but this just gives a visual representation of what one actually looks like. 

Why SCD and Initial Benefits

I’ve had so much preliminary success that I made my decision to blog about my experience at about 16 days in. Bear with me as I try to recant from memory, the chronological order of the events leading up to the beginning.

Backtrack to before Christmas: For me, this diet required about two weeks of preparation. 1) I had to rid all the junk food from my pantry – so let’s just say I pretty much ate myself out of house and home. Anything and everything that had the possibility of tempting me during the week was either consumed, or given to my housemates. 2) I knew I wanted to start the diet shortly after the New Year started. This also gave me a chance to splurge one last time on amazing-tasting food at family functions (I know, I’m horrible.) I may have gained a few extra pounds during those few days.

Some of you may be wondering why I need to go on a diet, as I am not at all overweight – it is just more my desire to ultimately live a healthier lifestyle. I do not look overweight, but all of my excess body fat is stored as visceral tissue around my abdomen. This type of fat is extremely difficult to get rid of and can pose a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other various health hazards later in life. 

I took a Biology class where I had the opportunity to see a human cadaver lab. The attending professor showed the class exactly what visceral fat looked like around an organ, and what kind of stress it can have on the body as an entire system. It was one of the more disturbing events I’ve experienced thus far in life. Lastly, I had a blood pressure scare in the fall of 2012. My highest recorded blood pressure was 160/106. That is stage two hypertention. I was warned to change my diet or get on medication... It was a rude awakening. I don’t like to take pills as it is – so here I am, writing this blog.

There are some (almost) immediate benefits I've noticed from starting the SCD.

1)    I have a more even amount of energy throughout the day.

2)    Though I had a very difficult time adjusting at first (I had cravings. I know... I'm such a girl...) After about a week to week and a half, for the most part, the cravings subsided.

3)    A week in, my subsequent blood pressure was a comfortable and desired 126/80.

4)    My skin has become unbelievably clear since the diet drastically eliminates or reduces the consumption of sugar and dairy products – both of which I've realized are my triggers for acne flare-ups and breakouts.

Lastly, I wanted to share this gem. I guess you could call it a “before” picture – it was taken on January 2, 2013. 183.4 pounds.

Rule #4

Rule #4 – Take One Day Off Per Week

Tim recommends taking one day off per week as a “dieters gone wild.” I take my cheat day every Saturday. In order to prepare and thaw meals, it is just easier to take a day off on one of the weekend days since my Monday through Friday schedule is rigidly structured. It is also nice to be able to go out to dinner with friends, etc. and be able to enjoy myself on Saturdays – it makes me look forward to the weekends that much more. Though the cheat day initially sounds amazing, and I look forward to them all week long, there are some pros and cons. Yes, you’re able to consume whatever, and I mean WHATEVER you want and in as much quantity as you would like. 

                 Thank you, Google for the lovely picture.

However, since my body has grown accustomed to eating healthy, unprocessed, low sugar food all week long, splurging on Saturday often leaves me feeling sick to my stomach with a short-lasting sugar high. At first, I was skeptical of the cheat day because I did not want to ruin everything I had just done for myself for the last six days prior. However, Tim addresses this concern by stating, “paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction.” To give you an example of how much I go food crazy every Saturday, here is a list of everything I ate on my January 19 ^th cheat day:

• 4 strips of bacon
• 2 glazed doughnuts, one of which was Bavarian-filled
• Amaretto-flavored pancakes - thanks to my roommate, Jason! =)
• Slice of Deluxe Pizza from Sal’s
• Two Diet Cokes
• 1/2 bag of Crunchy Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos 
• Loaded Baked Potato Griller from Taco Bell
• Orange Juice
• Burnin' Love Burger and Fries from Red Robin

I go out of my way to purchase as much candy, chocolate, ice cream, chips, and fast food as possible on my one day off per week. I have to make sure I don't have the desire to consume even a single chocolate morsel until the following cheat day. I'm sure if you ever tried the SCD, you’d probably have a fairly similar list of items.