RT001 is underway! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then be sure to click over to my previous post ‘New News’ to be brought up to speed. 

November 9th:

I’m flying to Tampa for the second time for this new trial and I couldn’t be more excited and nervous at the same time! I came down October 25th-27th to get started–blood draws, echocardiogram, EKG, neurological tests, endless lists of questionaires…the typical stuff. Even though these tests have become such a norm for me, this time felt different. I had so many questions that were answered with “we don’t know yet!” But, since this is only a six week trial, I will know the outcome sooner or later!

Don’t forget… there is a chance I get the placebo (the inactive drug), so it’s hard to say whether I’ll notice anything at all. Something to always keep in mind–as much as I would love to get the real McCoy, it is VERY important for researchers to collect data on those who take the drug vs. those who don’t. Which I need to take a minute to give a huge shoutout to all the researchers in the clinic. They bust their ass to collect all this data not only from me, but other participants as well. They even make special trips to my hotel room to draw blood from me in the middle of the night. Yea, maybe I get poked and pricked and pushed around a lot, but it’s the researchers who need to get a lot of credit for making this all happen!
Remember last post I told you I had to start eating a modified diet?!? Whelp, I’m two weeks in and I’m starting to get cranky. All the fatty, greasy, delicious foods that I love soooo much have been eliminated from my diet. What I would do for a slice of pizza right now…or a Reese’s peanut butter cup, or chips or some freaking salad dressing so I can stop eating plain lettuce like I’m a damn rabbit. I’m ‘hangry’ right now, can’t ya tell?? I am sitting on the air plane trying to write this to distract myself from all the passengers chewing and crunching and, ever so slowly, eating their peanuts, pretzels, mixed trail mix….ugggghhh! Such torture!

I cannot have foods that contain oil; if you think about it, LOTS of food is made with oil. That would be processed foods that you have in your pantry. Basically all the yummy snacks. NO type of nut or seed is allowed: Peanuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts…the list goes on…and on…

…and on…

…and on…

…and maybe even one more ‘on’.

Anything that has a label that says “may contain soy” is out too. This diet started out okay–I was eating better, feeling good and even dropped some pounds, which I can’t complain about. But I miss donuts. And chips. And cookies. 

I’m not a big meat or seafood eater (with the exception of the occasional beef consumption; this girl does love her hamburgers and Mexican taco night!) Normally my substitution for meat/seafood would be tofu or veggie burgers and I can’t have those while on this diet; so I am missing out on a lot of protein, which is the big reason why I am always so hungry. I can have egg whites (no yolk) so that has been my main source of protein these past two weeks. I do get some protein from the beans, Greek yogurts and beef I’ve been eating, but probably no where near the amount I should be consuming. 

I sound like a whiny baby. There are many people who have what and how much they can eat on a more strict plan than I do, so no more complaining. 

I have to log everything I eat on my handy dandy supertracker.com app and they so kindly gave some recommendations on recipes I can follow. A friend of mine put her chef skills to work and made black bean vegan chili. So. Damn. Good. Even if you’re not a vegetarian/vegan I HIGHLY recommend trying it. It is black beans, quinoa, sweet potatoes, tomato paste, veggie stock, cumin, garlic and some parsley.

    Try it! You’ll love it!

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November 10th:

I went into the University today thinking I was going to start the drug study, but instead it was a day filled with triple EKG’s (3 done one minute apart), multiple blood draws, a physical, neurological tests and last but not least a breathing exercise test and an endurance test (riding a stationary bike.) All the fun starts tomorrow; I’ll officially start the drug study!

I wish I had some more exciting stuff to tell you about today, but it was more of a day that looked like this… 

 
Come tomorrow, I will have way more juicy deets to share. Stay tuned!

But to end on a delicious note…. I had two great meals cooked for me today…just call me Princess Erin 😉

Because of the modified diet, the University has a chef prepare and cook ALL my meals during my visits. 

Lunch today was two black bean and zucchini tacos–Fire!

For dinner…eggplant meatballs, zucchini pasta with lemon butter sauce, broccoli and a big bowl of chocolate ice cream! I could get used to this lifestyle! 

 

Catch you all in a couple days!