Got my Eye on the Prize

In just two more weeks from today, I will officially be done the research portion of my dissertation project. YAY!

For those of you who don't know what I'm doing to get my PhD, I'll fill you in: I'm determining the difference between a low carb ketogenic diet that is high in saturated fat and one that is high in monounsaturated plus polyunsaturated fat. To do this, I've recruited 9 healthy men between the ages of 35 and 55, and am cooking for them one of these two nutritional interventions for 6 weeks each. Yes, you heard me right: I am the one cooking and preparing all the food to their exact caloric specifications to maintain their current body weight. It's a huge project and I come home smelling like food everyday, but it's a project that not many people can carry out and so, has never been done before. Although I love it, I'm getting a bit tired of cooking and am really looking forward to the end.

The overall purpose of this project is to see if there is a difference in how these two dietary practices affect inflammation, oxidative stress, blood lipids and ketosis. I'm also trying to answer the question, "Should saturated fat really be restricted when one follows a carbohydrate restricted diet, or does it not matter when carbs are absent?"

As I said, I'm almost done with the cooking part and will begin the blood and urine analysis by March 10th. I'm really looking forward to see what's happening and can't wait to share it with the world.

I'll keep everyone posted when I'm allowed to release the data. Very exciting!

Due to all this work that I'm doing, I haven't had much time to think about my upcoming wedding, my next book or my seminar schedule.

First, my wedding is at the beginning of August, and so far I've got the location booked, the dress bought, the caterer picked, and... that's about it. Still so much to do!! I know once this project is over I'll start to freak out a little bit (just a little) and get things done. I'll also start officially blogging about my diet and training schedule to reach my goal of dropping 5 lbs of body fat :) (trust me, no crash diets for this girl).

Then, I've got plans for a new book. It's another book made just for women and I'll be writing it with my good friend Rachel Cosgrove. Not sure when it'll come out, but at the rate I'm going now, it may not be until Jan 09. Hopefully it'll be sooner .....

Finally (well, really, just finally for this post), I've got plans to do some seminars with another friend of mine, Mike Ormsbee. He's another PhD-to-be and we're going to do talks around the East Coast to start. Our emphasis will be nutrition and training. There might be more on the bill, and when I know more details, I'll let you all know too.

There's actually a ton more going on with me, and sometimes I wonder how my life got so busy. I haven't read a book in so long, I haven't been hiking or mountain biking, and I really need to go visit my family in Canada. These will all come, but right now, big things are going on and I got to keep my eye on the prize.

Happy Tuesday!