Good news… I have lost about 8 or 9 pounds, after being on the low-carb diet for a little over 3 weeks.
Bad news… I developed some excruciating pain in my big toe. I can’t think what I might have done to bruise or strain it. What does a painful toe have to do with my diet? Hopefully nothing, but it could be gout. According to wikipedia: Gout is a form of arthritis caused by the accumulation of uric acid crystals in joints. It is an immensely painful disease, which in most cases affects only one joint, most commonly the big toe.
I really hope I don’t have that I hope it’s just a sprained toe… but even if I do, changing to a more normal diet would probably correct it. i.e. it’s a blood chemistry thing, not an infection or cancer-type thing.
I don’t think I will stay on the low-carb plan much longer. I’m probably going to start looking into weight watchers. However, in other good news, I still don’t feel I have taxed my willpower much. I just need to decide what an appropriate diet is, for my goals, and I think executing it should be totally within my power.
The times that have been difficult in sticking to the diet have been going out to lunch with friends, or going to party-like functions where food is served. I think in those situations it would be a good idea to find one thing that I can eat, eat a small amount, and then eat something more appropriate when I get done.
Is it pink and shiny? Did it come on quick? Is there swelling? If not, it’s unlikely you have gout.
However, if you think you do, start taking anti-inflammatories to help. Then you should see your doctor, but if you’re eating high amounts of red meat you might want to cut that back, since it’s one of the foods high in a substance that causes gout.
There’s a small amount of swelling and very slight redness. Other contraindications seem to be that I didn’t have a fever and the onset of the pain was not at night. It could very well be a normal sprain.
I will be cutting down on the meats. Some materials suggest that having dairy helps, but that might be just because people using more dairy tend to eat less red meat.
I think it’s still possible to do low-carb without increasing my meat intake. but, I also don’t necessarily need low-carb to get where I want to go… I am considering dropping the low-carb and going with WW or something similar that is balanced. For the rest of the week I’ll probably stick to low-carb but I’ll go with salads and vegetables and not meat alone.
And yes I did take advil and it seems to be helping.
Thanks for the reply and support :)
Welcome – hope it gets better :)
I dunno about you, but the older I get, the more random joint aches I get that appear, hang around for 3-4 days, then go away. I have one in my index finger, right now, that’s on day 3. Usually these are gone by now.
I think you’d do very well on weight watchers.