If eating causes us to store fat, when do we use the fat, and what is its purpose?
The purpose of fat is to save up for a rainy day when there is no food available, so we don't die if we have to skip a meal. Problem: when was the last time you skipped a meal?
The body never wastes anything. It is always on. If you are always eating, your body is always storing. Every time you binge eat, your body stores. You cannot "fudge" on your diet or program and expect your body to not notice. It notices. It uses every single drop of whatever you put in it. It has to. It has no alternative. You are the master and your body is absolutely obedient.
Fasting is the ancient solution to the modern day problem of never having a rainy day. If you simply choose to fast intermittently, you are choosing to give your body a rest from all the packing things away in various places in your fat storing freezer, and begin to unpack the freezer.
If you live in America and you have a standard of living that allows you to eat every day, you don't miss meals. Why would you? Wouldn't that be unhealthy? Turns out fasting is actually one of the healthiest things you can do for an overstocked body!!
Fasting is how the fat is used. So, ultimately, fasting is how we use the food we've already eaten. So we have two food supplies always within reach. The food we buy at the store and put in our mouths, and the food we have already stored away in our bodies. Fasting is how we switch to the food supply that we have already processed in our body. It is how we can finally begin to use up the fat stores. Body fat is food for the future.
So we can eat food by mouth, or we can eat fat by body!! Either way is nourishing to a human body. Intermittent fasting is how we switch food sources and begin to use up the fat that is stored. What a realization!!
I've been following the McDougall Program since the middle of January 2016. It is now near the end of September 2017 and I have been struggling with all the same issues I struggled with when I was doing low carb. I started off well, but somewhere alone the line I began, once more, to put on weight. Of course it was because I was not following the plan perfectly. Same old, same old. I've also talked about fasting before and it worked but I did not stick to that either.
Most recently I had some major involuntary changes occur in my life. My brother, Forest, died suddenly of a heart attack in November. His wife, Becky, my friend for nearly 60 years, died two weeks later to the day. He had been her caregiver and without him, her whole world fell apart in an instant. Even though her death was shocking, I was not surprised. They had been together for 60 years, since they were teenagers, and they could not stand to be apart.
Then a few months later, my close friend whom I saw two or three times a week suddenly got married to a man she had met one week before and moved to another state. When she left I wondered if my Bible study class would remain active. It did not. The other two students had to take jobs to support themselves better and our class disappeared.
I began binge eating and watching TV. I cut out attending the prayer group, too. because I just wanted to spend time alone. I could not bring myself to go swimming so I just stayed home. Through it all I remained vegan, but I had trouble staying on the weight loss track. Veganism does not guarantee slimness. There are fat vegans. I am one.
I am just now beginning to wake up again from my cocoon. I was worried that I would not be able to halt the weight gain. I began to pray that the Lord would help me, because I could not help myself.
Then I watched a weekly youtube video of a woman I admire. She used to weight over 400 lbs but has gotten herself down to about 150 by eating whole food plant based low fat vegan and following Chef AJ's progam... but she mentioned that she had also used intermittent fasting twice a week and I had not been aware that she had also been doing that. With the two together she lost about 3 lbs a week.
This revelation got me thinking so I looked on youtube for some motivation to fast and I found Jason Fung MD. As I listened to him teaching I noticed that along with fasting he was talking ketogenic and low carb, but I listened anyway. Then I heard him say (not sure which video, I watched a few) that a WFPB or vegan diet along with fasting would work, too. The particular diet did not matter as much as the fasting did. He advocates eating whole food and cutting back on processed food, simply because this is healthier.
It was kind of a relief to hear. In a nut shell, he says that the culprit in diabetes and obesity is excess insulin (and not me). It made no sense to him to add insulin to an insulin resistant diabetic's protocol because that only made them fatter and did not actually help their real problem which is excess insulin. He shares how he came to his conclusion and started using intermittent fasting with his patients and began to finally have success in helping them. He just made so much sense as he talked that I decided to try it out and see if I could do an intermittent fast for three days, as a kick start for me.
So, on Sunday I did my first fast. I got up and skipped breakfast. No problem, I rarely eat breakfast. I began keeping a water bottle handy and kept drinking from it every so often throughout the day. I did my normal activities and every once in a while I would look at the clock to see what time it was. I had decided that I would wait to eat until midnight, and then go to bed at my usual time of 5 a.m. The last hour from 11 to 12 was tough, but I decided to not fold and I went until midnight. Then I cooked up a pot of vegetables and oatmeal and had three large bowls. I then had a small bowl of frozen cherries, watched some videos, played some games and then went to bed. I had completed my 19 hour fast.
The next morning (today) when I woke up, I wondered if I would be able to do it again. I was happy to discover that it was actually easier on day two than on day one. Today I went for a swim and drank water, but did not seem to need as much water today. I waited until midnight and made a big pot of tomato vegetable soup. I had three bowls and put the last bowl in the fridge because I just did not have any room in my belly. That completed a 20 hour fast.
I am hoping I will be able to do it again tomorrow. I think I will, but I will hold off my judgment until I have the opportunity to try. After that I will decide how to go forward from there.
The ideas I expressed about switching the food source came to me as I listened to Jason Fung talking again in another video. I also bought his book (kindle version) and read most of it. It is well written and easy to read. I recommend it if you are interested. (Just follow the links.)
Anyway. That's where I am today: Grateful to God for leading me to this.
May you be blessed,
Marcia
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Friday, May 20, 2016
It's Different Now!
Things have been turned around in the weight loss department. I have found the program that works for me and it feels great to be successful once more! Thank God!!
I had gotten tired of not being successful with my weight loss efforts, and gave up. I had worked hard and lost a little weight and that was the problem. I wanted more results. It was especially disheartening when I worked hard and lost nothing. I knew I had done things before that worked but now that I had reached my sixties it just seemed the goal was too elusive and I wanted to hide.
The other part that was disheartening to me was that I was rarely able to stick to a program one hundred percent. I would be doing low carb, but find myself craving chocolates, or ice cream, or candy in general. I would break down and eat what I was craving once a week, and then twice a week, and then every couple of days. Of course, I always felt guilty afterwards and would resolve to begin again and end up in the same place a short while later. It seemed that I was flawed and could do nothing about it.
I gave up on blogging, too, because I was tired of reporting a lack of success over and over again. Blogging no longer seemed to help keep me on track, it only served to shove my failure into my face, yet, again. It felt like a supremely useless effort so I turned my attention to other things. My last post was in July of last year, which is about 10 months ago. I was tired of writing about my failure and excuses and I was sure that no one else was interested in reading about my lack of willpower, too.
By October I had put back on all the weight I had lost over the past three years and I really had no idea what to do about it. I had changed my medical insurance and could no longer go to the doctor I loved because she does not take Medicare. I tried several new doctor's but did not find one that I liked as much as my old one. I was able to continue my medications for blood pressure that I needed, but never seemed to get the kind of support and coaching I needed.
My turning point came in October. I remembered how I started this blog following Dr Ripich's program which begins with a ten-day sugar fast. I remembered that the first few days were hard but by the tenth day I had broken the sugar hold, so I started there, once more. The same thing happened. I muscled through the first two days of no sugar, but after that, it just seemed normal and easy to do. When the tenth day arrived, I simple continued in the "no sugar" vein. I then added "no refined grains" to my list, too.
Right about that time Ty Bollinger came out with his "The Truth About Cancer" videos and I began watching them. There were nine episodes over nine days and I was getting inspired to begin to include more vegetables in my daily eating. As I listened and watched I began to want to make the kind of changes that would bring me better health. About the middle of January I decided to drop out meat and dairy and become a vegan. Right away I lost eighteen pounds with no effort on my part. I was thrilled, to say the least.
During that time I began listening to Dr. Micheal Gregor's short videos on nutrition and veganism and was trying out some of the things he suggested, too. He had a few videos that talked about some research that had been done on nuts not interfering with weight loss and I got on board the band wagon. But, you know me, I went overboard with the nuts and started to put back on the happy pounds that I had lost.
I think I did that because just eating vegetables and fruit was simply not enough food. When I added in the nuts, I felt better, but began to worry that I was eating way too many of them. Soon at every meal I was adding nuts. I began to recognize that my behavior around the nuts revealed to me that I was acting like I was addicted to them. Before I knew it I had put on six pounds of the eighteen that I had lost. That did not sit well with me.
As I pondered this I remembered that the only time in my life that I had effortlessly lost weight was when I was doing "The McDougall Program." way back in the 90's when I was living in Houston. So I looked that up again. This program now seemed "dangerous" to me because it was the exact opposite of "low carb" which I believed in, but was never successful with.
How could eating as much potatoes and rice as I want, help me to lose weight? It seemed impossible. But I had that nagging memory of doing exactly that and effortlessly losing weight in the past. My belief in "low carb" or "high protein" was very strong but it had been anything but "effortless." I had so much trouble with that style of eating that it brought me to dispare. Against what seemed like "my better judgment," I, once again familiarized myself with Dr McDougall's program and began to follow it. Thank God, I had already crossed the threshold of "vegan" so this was simply a kind of "tweak" to what I was already doing.
On April 1, 2016, I swapped the nuts for potatoes and rice and suddenly I was back to my happy eighteen pound weight loss, again. It just seemed like magic. I had to keep going to YouTube and watching the McDougall videos to keep reassuring myself that I was doing the right thing. Especially his new program and book which he calls, "The Starch Solution."
Yes, I had permission to eat as much as I wanted. Is that for real? Yes, it is. As much as I wanted of potatoes, rice, veggies, fruit, and beans, which also means: no oil, no dairy, no meat. Since I had already dropped out the dairy and meat, dropping out the oil was a minor step. That meant no more avocados, no more olives, and especially no more nuts. It also meant no more oil based salad dressings, and no more frying in oil, but without meat on the menu there is not much else to fry, anyway.
Can you believe it? Eating steamed potatoes and onions, steamed veggies and rice, and in no small quantities!! I am once again losing weight. I have now lost twenty-six pounds and find it very easy to do this program because I am eating the things I love!!
I did have one more stumble that I need to mention. Dr. McDougall has two programs. One is "The Starch Solution", for ordinary human beings, and the other one is his "Maximum Weight Loss Program" for obese people like me. Once I noticed that and made the necessary adjustments things started moving along nicely once again.
Where I stumbled was with the bread. If you don't have a lot of weight to lose you can eat bread like you eat potatoes, but for people like me the bread will slow the weight loss to a stand still. So I had to step aside from the bread. Pasta can also cause a weight stall if you eat it for every meal. So, I have to be careful with pasta eating it only once or twice a week, and I rarely eat bread at all. Other than that, I have no trouble with the program. I am losing weight at a nice clip and I am happy with my results.
A major side effect of veganism that I noticed was that I am no longer constipated. What a relief to go to the bathroom with no effort at all!! Things are no longer "tubular," if you get my drift, and they literally slide out on their own and fall apart in the water. Nice. And so much faster and easier to accomplish!!
I am happy that my "big clothes" are baggy on me, now and it feels easier to walk because I no longer have pain in my knees. My feet still bother me sometimes, but I'm used to that. Most of the other pains are no longer there. The amount of stiffness I feel in my body when I first wake up has been reduced. I'm still stiff but not as bad as I was. So, overall, I just feel better.
I feel more able to accomplish small tasks that used to be hard for me to do, like standing to wash my dishes (I don't have a dish washer) and moving laundry from the washer to the dryer. My seat belt fits around my belly and I don't have to struggle with that anymore. Even going up and down stairs is easier. My skin is smoother and while I still use Lubriderm on the rough patches, it seems to work better now. It lasts longer, too.
I'm glad I had this to share and hope you click on some of the links so you can see what I am talking about. I don't know how much blogging I will be doing, but I wanted to share where I am right now, so that is what I have done.
Hope you are well!!
Marcia
I had gotten tired of not being successful with my weight loss efforts, and gave up. I had worked hard and lost a little weight and that was the problem. I wanted more results. It was especially disheartening when I worked hard and lost nothing. I knew I had done things before that worked but now that I had reached my sixties it just seemed the goal was too elusive and I wanted to hide.
The other part that was disheartening to me was that I was rarely able to stick to a program one hundred percent. I would be doing low carb, but find myself craving chocolates, or ice cream, or candy in general. I would break down and eat what I was craving once a week, and then twice a week, and then every couple of days. Of course, I always felt guilty afterwards and would resolve to begin again and end up in the same place a short while later. It seemed that I was flawed and could do nothing about it.
I gave up on blogging, too, because I was tired of reporting a lack of success over and over again. Blogging no longer seemed to help keep me on track, it only served to shove my failure into my face, yet, again. It felt like a supremely useless effort so I turned my attention to other things. My last post was in July of last year, which is about 10 months ago. I was tired of writing about my failure and excuses and I was sure that no one else was interested in reading about my lack of willpower, too.
By October I had put back on all the weight I had lost over the past three years and I really had no idea what to do about it. I had changed my medical insurance and could no longer go to the doctor I loved because she does not take Medicare. I tried several new doctor's but did not find one that I liked as much as my old one. I was able to continue my medications for blood pressure that I needed, but never seemed to get the kind of support and coaching I needed.
My turning point came in October. I remembered how I started this blog following Dr Ripich's program which begins with a ten-day sugar fast. I remembered that the first few days were hard but by the tenth day I had broken the sugar hold, so I started there, once more. The same thing happened. I muscled through the first two days of no sugar, but after that, it just seemed normal and easy to do. When the tenth day arrived, I simple continued in the "no sugar" vein. I then added "no refined grains" to my list, too.
Right about that time Ty Bollinger came out with his "The Truth About Cancer" videos and I began watching them. There were nine episodes over nine days and I was getting inspired to begin to include more vegetables in my daily eating. As I listened and watched I began to want to make the kind of changes that would bring me better health. About the middle of January I decided to drop out meat and dairy and become a vegan. Right away I lost eighteen pounds with no effort on my part. I was thrilled, to say the least.
During that time I began listening to Dr. Micheal Gregor's short videos on nutrition and veganism and was trying out some of the things he suggested, too. He had a few videos that talked about some research that had been done on nuts not interfering with weight loss and I got on board the band wagon. But, you know me, I went overboard with the nuts and started to put back on the happy pounds that I had lost.
I think I did that because just eating vegetables and fruit was simply not enough food. When I added in the nuts, I felt better, but began to worry that I was eating way too many of them. Soon at every meal I was adding nuts. I began to recognize that my behavior around the nuts revealed to me that I was acting like I was addicted to them. Before I knew it I had put on six pounds of the eighteen that I had lost. That did not sit well with me.
As I pondered this I remembered that the only time in my life that I had effortlessly lost weight was when I was doing "The McDougall Program." way back in the 90's when I was living in Houston. So I looked that up again. This program now seemed "dangerous" to me because it was the exact opposite of "low carb" which I believed in, but was never successful with.
How could eating as much potatoes and rice as I want, help me to lose weight? It seemed impossible. But I had that nagging memory of doing exactly that and effortlessly losing weight in the past. My belief in "low carb" or "high protein" was very strong but it had been anything but "effortless." I had so much trouble with that style of eating that it brought me to dispare. Against what seemed like "my better judgment," I, once again familiarized myself with Dr McDougall's program and began to follow it. Thank God, I had already crossed the threshold of "vegan" so this was simply a kind of "tweak" to what I was already doing.
On April 1, 2016, I swapped the nuts for potatoes and rice and suddenly I was back to my happy eighteen pound weight loss, again. It just seemed like magic. I had to keep going to YouTube and watching the McDougall videos to keep reassuring myself that I was doing the right thing. Especially his new program and book which he calls, "The Starch Solution."
Yes, I had permission to eat as much as I wanted. Is that for real? Yes, it is. As much as I wanted of potatoes, rice, veggies, fruit, and beans, which also means: no oil, no dairy, no meat. Since I had already dropped out the dairy and meat, dropping out the oil was a minor step. That meant no more avocados, no more olives, and especially no more nuts. It also meant no more oil based salad dressings, and no more frying in oil, but without meat on the menu there is not much else to fry, anyway.
Can you believe it? Eating steamed potatoes and onions, steamed veggies and rice, and in no small quantities!! I am once again losing weight. I have now lost twenty-six pounds and find it very easy to do this program because I am eating the things I love!!
I did have one more stumble that I need to mention. Dr. McDougall has two programs. One is "The Starch Solution", for ordinary human beings, and the other one is his "Maximum Weight Loss Program" for obese people like me. Once I noticed that and made the necessary adjustments things started moving along nicely once again.
Where I stumbled was with the bread. If you don't have a lot of weight to lose you can eat bread like you eat potatoes, but for people like me the bread will slow the weight loss to a stand still. So I had to step aside from the bread. Pasta can also cause a weight stall if you eat it for every meal. So, I have to be careful with pasta eating it only once or twice a week, and I rarely eat bread at all. Other than that, I have no trouble with the program. I am losing weight at a nice clip and I am happy with my results.
A major side effect of veganism that I noticed was that I am no longer constipated. What a relief to go to the bathroom with no effort at all!! Things are no longer "tubular," if you get my drift, and they literally slide out on their own and fall apart in the water. Nice. And so much faster and easier to accomplish!!
I am happy that my "big clothes" are baggy on me, now and it feels easier to walk because I no longer have pain in my knees. My feet still bother me sometimes, but I'm used to that. Most of the other pains are no longer there. The amount of stiffness I feel in my body when I first wake up has been reduced. I'm still stiff but not as bad as I was. So, overall, I just feel better.
I feel more able to accomplish small tasks that used to be hard for me to do, like standing to wash my dishes (I don't have a dish washer) and moving laundry from the washer to the dryer. My seat belt fits around my belly and I don't have to struggle with that anymore. Even going up and down stairs is easier. My skin is smoother and while I still use Lubriderm on the rough patches, it seems to work better now. It lasts longer, too.
I'm glad I had this to share and hope you click on some of the links so you can see what I am talking about. I don't know how much blogging I will be doing, but I wanted to share where I am right now, so that is what I have done.
Hope you are well!!
Marcia
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Results of My Alternate Day Fasting Experiment, and What I Did to Solve It
Hi,
Well THAT didn't work!! Not because there is anything wrong with ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) but because my eating machine was on and I could not accomplish the fasts!! I know that I can turn the eating machine off with a three-day carb fast so I started looking for motivation. This is what I wrote on the lowcarbsite.com forum that I joined:
I wondered if I had lost any weight so I got on the scales and kept my fingers cross. Five days in and I've lost 2.75 pounds. That is a step in the right direction. One of my friends said she thought I looked like I had lost weight. This kind of surprised me, because, as big as I am, most people don't notice that I've lost any weight until I've dropped about 30 pounds. She pointed out that my face was not as "swollen" and my neck seemed narrower. I checked it out in the mirror and she was right. I could actually see the difference myself. Man this LCHF seems to be really working.
My blood sugars have dropped from an average post meal 124-130 to 105-111 when I checked. That is so nice to see those numbers again! Thank you Lord!!
The eating machine has completely calmed down and I'm eating sanely again. I do seem to be craving water though. Cold filtered water from the fridge just tastes so delicious and refreshing that I am drinking more of it. I'd say I average about three 32-oz bottles per day -- some days more, some less and I am happy with that.
As soon as I feel I am completely adjusted to this new way of eating, I'm hoping to begin doing intermittent fasting but maybe not ADF. I think I'll return to "Eat Stop Eat" methods from Brad Pilon's book -- which, by the way, is the method that Butter Bob recommends. This would be fasting twice a week on separate days for a 24-hour time period each time. One of them suggested that it actually takes two weeks for the body to settle into the new program so, for now, I'll observe and decide at the proper time.
(If you're sqeamish about lavatory talk, you might want to skip this next paragraph.)
I've got one other improvement this time from all the other times I've done LCHF and that is in the bowel department. I've not (yet?) experienced the hard as a brick and equally hard to pass stools as in the past. This time, I seem to have something more akin to the runs. That does now seem to be slowing down but they are still easy. I'm thinking that may be a result of my having consumed a double dose of pro-biotics twice a day for the last year or so which completely relieved my former constipation. It seems to be carrying over to the protein, too. I'm actually kind of glad of that. That is much easier to deal with than the former "slow down." Sorry if that is TMI.
Well, at least I now have some overall good news to report and I'm pleased with that.
Praying for God's continued grace!!
Be back whenever,
Marcia
Well THAT didn't work!! Not because there is anything wrong with ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) but because my eating machine was on and I could not accomplish the fasts!! I know that I can turn the eating machine off with a three-day carb fast so I started looking for motivation. This is what I wrote on the lowcarbsite.com forum that I joined:
This time: LCHF by the book
Hi all!!It has now been five days since I started the LCHF and I am amazed that this morning I woke up and was not stiff. I could actually simply get out of bed without sitting on the edge for from 10 to 20 minutes, then standing, holding on to the dresser, and then slowly beginning to walk until the stiffness sorted itself out. I simply woke up and got up. I felt young again! Since I've done LC in the past I knew this would happen but it always took six days, not five, which surprised me.
I feel like I am beginning fresh. I now have one day of LCHF under my belt and I am psyched. Yes, I'm craving a little, but, I'm OK with drinking lots of cold cold water. It is only day one. I know I am going to be compliant this time because I can see that all of my "doing my own thing" has only caused me to put on weight.
I got discouraged the last time I was doing "my version" of LC because it took so l-o-n-g to accomplish even the smallest weight loss. It took me three years to lose about 50 lbs. My blood sugars did improve and my blood pressure did get a tiny bit better. I did at one point even reverse my pre-diabetes -- at least my physician's assistant told me I had because I got my A1c down to 5.4. But later I was so discouraged about it taking so long and being so hard to do, I threw up my hands and quit.
I recently was trying to use fruit, veggies and nuts (per instructions from an internet guru)... I loved eating all the fruit, dropped out the veggies and powered down on the nuts. But it did not work for me, like it worked for the guru. I could feel my body getting fatter. Oh no, the tell tale signs were telling tales. The blobs under my arms were getting bigger. My stomach began to wrap around the bottom of the steering wheel in my car. I knew that if I did not find a way out soon, it would be really uncomfortable and maybe dangerous to drive my car!! So I found a better solution. You know: one that works.
So... I was all primed and ready to start ADF (alternate day fasting), I shared in a blog about it. My first fast day was a bust. At the end of the day I was ready to eat everything I could get my hands on -- and did. OK. Next day eat regularly and just go on. Second fast day was a smaller repeat of the first and then it dawned on me that I was battling "the eating machine."
"The eating machine" is what I call the non-stop food craving/eating that I was experiencing from eating all that fruit. It came over me so slowly I didn't notice it. But eventually I got to the point where I just couldn't stop eating. Nothing filled me up. I would eat and within an hour or two I would be ready for another meal. It is puzzling and pushy and compulsive at the same time. That is the eating machine!!
Fortunately I was praying for God's help and visiting the ADF group on facebook and someone posted a link to Butter Bob Briggs video called "Butter makes your pants fall off."
Here was this guy just a few years younger than me who had conquered his obesity by eating LCHF and making sure he ate lots of butter and other fats, like lard for cooking. I was glued to his story. He had a unique way of explaining how the body used fat (I had never heard his perspective before) and, he himself was evidence that it worked.
As I listened I began to remember about LCHF. I took his suggestion and watched another video by Dr. Eric Westman called "Implementation of Plan of LCHF Eating". I also bought and read his book: "Low Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet Manuel." After that I had the tools I need to get back on the LC train but this time I'm doing LCHF and following the plan as outlined (by both of them).
I think my unwillingness to follow any LC plan to a "T," before, may be what got me in trouble. I ALWAYS thought I knew better and could get away with my own little "adjustments." I was always looking for the way out of the discipline!! Let me tell you.... that is the HARD way to do things, even though at the time it seemed like it made things easier for me. Looking back, I can see it did not work.
I'm hoping to get support here in this group as soon as I figure out how all the posts on this site work. I'm used to FB but this setup is not exactly clear to me. I'm also hoping to give support to others having "been there and done that" on a lot of this stuff.
Sometimes I just need to be reminded that it really is possible for obese people (like me) to lose weight. It really is possible for me to follow someone else's plan -- meaning I can be obedient/compliant -- but mostly I need the help of my Lord, for the strength to do this -- and the support of others. I'm used to DIY but I finally figured out, "that don't work." Period. I need to get the program in mind, and just stick to the plan.
One thing that is really helping me right now is knowing that if I do LC for three days, by the third day the cravings (the eating machine) will turn off. I know this because I've done it many times before! But this time I'm sticking to the plan. Then I can do the IF (intermittent fasting) combined with LCHF and really start losing this weight (just as Butter Bob suggests in one of his companion videos). I now weight 355 lbs. But not for long.
I wondered if I had lost any weight so I got on the scales and kept my fingers cross. Five days in and I've lost 2.75 pounds. That is a step in the right direction. One of my friends said she thought I looked like I had lost weight. This kind of surprised me, because, as big as I am, most people don't notice that I've lost any weight until I've dropped about 30 pounds. She pointed out that my face was not as "swollen" and my neck seemed narrower. I checked it out in the mirror and she was right. I could actually see the difference myself. Man this LCHF seems to be really working.
My blood sugars have dropped from an average post meal 124-130 to 105-111 when I checked. That is so nice to see those numbers again! Thank you Lord!!
The eating machine has completely calmed down and I'm eating sanely again. I do seem to be craving water though. Cold filtered water from the fridge just tastes so delicious and refreshing that I am drinking more of it. I'd say I average about three 32-oz bottles per day -- some days more, some less and I am happy with that.
As soon as I feel I am completely adjusted to this new way of eating, I'm hoping to begin doing intermittent fasting but maybe not ADF. I think I'll return to "Eat Stop Eat" methods from Brad Pilon's book -- which, by the way, is the method that Butter Bob recommends. This would be fasting twice a week on separate days for a 24-hour time period each time. One of them suggested that it actually takes two weeks for the body to settle into the new program so, for now, I'll observe and decide at the proper time.
(If you're sqeamish about lavatory talk, you might want to skip this next paragraph.)
I've got one other improvement this time from all the other times I've done LCHF and that is in the bowel department. I've not (yet?) experienced the hard as a brick and equally hard to pass stools as in the past. This time, I seem to have something more akin to the runs. That does now seem to be slowing down but they are still easy. I'm thinking that may be a result of my having consumed a double dose of pro-biotics twice a day for the last year or so which completely relieved my former constipation. It seems to be carrying over to the protein, too. I'm actually kind of glad of that. That is much easier to deal with than the former "slow down." Sorry if that is TMI.
Well, at least I now have some overall good news to report and I'm pleased with that.
Praying for God's continued grace!!
Be back whenever,
Marcia
Monday, June 22, 2015
Alternate Day Fasting -- starting
It has been 2.5 months since I last blogged and that usually means that whatever I was trying did not work out that well. This is not an exception to that rule: It did not work out that well.
I liked the fruit and nuts more than the salads and the salads soon disappeared. I struggled to get things back in balance and added meat back into the mix. No sense going into the details of what did not work.
So why are you blogging now? I am going to try something else: Alternate Day Fasting by Krista Varady. She has written a book by that title (click the link on her name) and I bought the kindle version so I could read it immediately. I like reading on my kindle app on my computer (free download from Amazon) but I cannot print things out to look at them, make notes and take it with me to the grocery store.
Fortunately this program is extremely simple to remember. All I have to do on the fast day is eat 500 calories of food, preferably 400 at lunch or dinner and a 100 calorie snack to finish it out. The other day I can feast -- she says I really can eat whatever I want on the feast day, because the next day I will be doing a low calorie fast. You simply alternate these two days back and forth until you reach maintenance.
It sounds simpler, I think, than it will be to actually put into exercise but I've really got to do something and this sounds intriguing and fun. Krista Varady was one of the people that Michael Mosely interviewed in his documentary "East, Fast, Live Longer" which is what started the 5:2 diet craze in England and beyond.
When I was reading her work she answered the question of why I should eat the 500 calories on the fast day, rather than simply fast on that day. She said that a complete fast on the alternate day would result in muscle loss, but if you eat the 500 calories on the fast day, it helps to keep your muscle loss to a minimum, increases fat loss, and makes you feel better, too.
I really liked her suggestion of buying "ready meals" from the frozen food department based on their calorie count. She pointed out there are hundreds of meals that are less than 400 calories, and lots of 100 calorie snacks available, too. So one meal and one snack make up the fast day, and on the alternate day, you simply eat whatever you wish. Really.
She's been doing research on this idea for quite a while and there is actual scientific proof that it works.... so I'm going to try it.
She also said that the first two weeks are the hardest because it takes some time for the body to adjust to the changes. But... after that it gets much easier.
Ok. I'm going to try it. You will know that it is working because I might be blogging more. If you don't hear from me, I may be trying to hide that it is not working for me. I hope it does work. I'd really like to find the method that works for me. I've liked fasting in the past but was not able to keep up the "no food" rhythms, so perhaps the 500 calorie fast will be easier for me to do and to repeat.
OK. Here goes. Pray for me.
Be back soon, maybe.
Marcia
I liked the fruit and nuts more than the salads and the salads soon disappeared. I struggled to get things back in balance and added meat back into the mix. No sense going into the details of what did not work.
So why are you blogging now? I am going to try something else: Alternate Day Fasting by Krista Varady. She has written a book by that title (click the link on her name) and I bought the kindle version so I could read it immediately. I like reading on my kindle app on my computer (free download from Amazon) but I cannot print things out to look at them, make notes and take it with me to the grocery store.
Fortunately this program is extremely simple to remember. All I have to do on the fast day is eat 500 calories of food, preferably 400 at lunch or dinner and a 100 calorie snack to finish it out. The other day I can feast -- she says I really can eat whatever I want on the feast day, because the next day I will be doing a low calorie fast. You simply alternate these two days back and forth until you reach maintenance.
It sounds simpler, I think, than it will be to actually put into exercise but I've really got to do something and this sounds intriguing and fun. Krista Varady was one of the people that Michael Mosely interviewed in his documentary "East, Fast, Live Longer" which is what started the 5:2 diet craze in England and beyond.
When I was reading her work she answered the question of why I should eat the 500 calories on the fast day, rather than simply fast on that day. She said that a complete fast on the alternate day would result in muscle loss, but if you eat the 500 calories on the fast day, it helps to keep your muscle loss to a minimum, increases fat loss, and makes you feel better, too.
I really liked her suggestion of buying "ready meals" from the frozen food department based on their calorie count. She pointed out there are hundreds of meals that are less than 400 calories, and lots of 100 calorie snacks available, too. So one meal and one snack make up the fast day, and on the alternate day, you simply eat whatever you wish. Really.
She's been doing research on this idea for quite a while and there is actual scientific proof that it works.... so I'm going to try it.
She also said that the first two weeks are the hardest because it takes some time for the body to adjust to the changes. But... after that it gets much easier.
Ok. I'm going to try it. You will know that it is working because I might be blogging more. If you don't hear from me, I may be trying to hide that it is not working for me. I hope it does work. I'd really like to find the method that works for me. I've liked fasting in the past but was not able to keep up the "no food" rhythms, so perhaps the 500 calorie fast will be easier for me to do and to repeat.
OK. Here goes. Pray for me.
Be back soon, maybe.
Marcia
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Back at it, finally
It has been nearly a year since I posted anything on this blog. Probably because I just threw up my hands and gave up. I'm not even ashamed of that, this time. Nothing worked the way I was told it would. The last thing I kind of tried was Joel Fuhrman's approach but could not carry it off. I still have bags of beans in my cupboard that I have not eaten and don't really plan to.
I also put on at least 32 pounds (from the giving up and eating anything I wanted). I am now back up to my biggest recorded numbers once again. Even when I was working hard for nearly three years to lose weight I never got under 300 pounds; although I did get really close. I am about 55 pounds above that mark now.
The tell tale areas on my body that I notice always happens underneath my arms first. When I began to feel those pads under there again, I knew things were heading up and not down. Now my belly has gotten bigger again and I'm ready to begin a new program before it keeps me from being able to drive my car. Not joking. It is right up under the steering wheel and any bigger will be a painful hindrance.
This time, I'm trying the mostly fruit, some vegetables, nuts and seeds approach to a low-fat vegan diet. The thing that is different about this one is the "low fat" part and the addition of fruit.
I went out with my friend, Dottie, to the farmers market yesterday and loaded up on fruit and veg with some roasted peanuts and sun flower seeds too. Yeah, I know, the nuts and seeds are supposed to be raw, but I'm in transition and need something a little heavy and familiar in my belly to feel comfortable so I chose the roasted and salted ones that I like. Besides, the raw ones may or may not be better for you and they are difficult to find in a regular store that is close to my house.
I've been reading and have begun to adopt the methods of Andrew Perlot. If you click on the link (on his name) you can go to his website and read. I bought a couple of his e-books, plus his weight loss book on kindle, and have been reading.
I just started doing it yesterday and so far, it is kind of cool. Yesterday it was fun to eat four bananas for a meal and then later have about six big strawberries. I also chowed down on some of the nuts and seeds but was craving a large salad later on at night. I was not in the mood to make a salad so very close to bed so just continued eating fruit. When I checked my blood sugar it was 124 which is about what it should be after a meal. I was really surprised, but very glad, to see that my results matched his promises. I had watched a video of him eating three large bunches of over ripe bananas and he showed the same kind of 20 point jump that eating a meal often causes. This was a good thing.
He also says that it is not so much the sugar we eat as the fat that we eat that causes high blood sugar. I've read that before but could not believe it. My one-day experiment seems to verify that, but I know that things can change in just a few days, so I'm not going to make any positive statements until some time has passed and I've given it a good try.
I also remembered that the only time in my life I ever got under the 300 mark was on a low-fat vegan program but it was starch-based and I began to have health issues with that. I figured the "low-fat" must be the trigger for me to lose weight, so I'm trying it.
My present goal is to try this fruit-based, low-fat, vegan way of eating for 10 days and see how it goes. I want to know if it works for my body, and if I can operate well within that framework, too. I've not always been able to follow the particular plans that different eating gurus have proposed, so I just want to see if I can (or will) do it, too.
Today I made a big salad to eat on during the day, picking out fruit to munch on, adding sun flower seeds to the green salads and so far, so good. I've never tried this combination before. I've usually gone with a mix of animal protein and veggies and skipped the fruit as I believed it had too much sugar and would make my blood sugars go too high, but my own personal test (which I will continue to do) has, so far, proved they may be right. I know that "time will tell" so that is what I'm heading towards.
I doubt I'll be blogging every day about it, but I'll be sharing my journey from time to time.
Hope all is well with you,
Be back maybe soon,
Marcia
I also put on at least 32 pounds (from the giving up and eating anything I wanted). I am now back up to my biggest recorded numbers once again. Even when I was working hard for nearly three years to lose weight I never got under 300 pounds; although I did get really close. I am about 55 pounds above that mark now.
The tell tale areas on my body that I notice always happens underneath my arms first. When I began to feel those pads under there again, I knew things were heading up and not down. Now my belly has gotten bigger again and I'm ready to begin a new program before it keeps me from being able to drive my car. Not joking. It is right up under the steering wheel and any bigger will be a painful hindrance.
This time, I'm trying the mostly fruit, some vegetables, nuts and seeds approach to a low-fat vegan diet. The thing that is different about this one is the "low fat" part and the addition of fruit.
I went out with my friend, Dottie, to the farmers market yesterday and loaded up on fruit and veg with some roasted peanuts and sun flower seeds too. Yeah, I know, the nuts and seeds are supposed to be raw, but I'm in transition and need something a little heavy and familiar in my belly to feel comfortable so I chose the roasted and salted ones that I like. Besides, the raw ones may or may not be better for you and they are difficult to find in a regular store that is close to my house.
I've been reading and have begun to adopt the methods of Andrew Perlot. If you click on the link (on his name) you can go to his website and read. I bought a couple of his e-books, plus his weight loss book on kindle, and have been reading.
I just started doing it yesterday and so far, it is kind of cool. Yesterday it was fun to eat four bananas for a meal and then later have about six big strawberries. I also chowed down on some of the nuts and seeds but was craving a large salad later on at night. I was not in the mood to make a salad so very close to bed so just continued eating fruit. When I checked my blood sugar it was 124 which is about what it should be after a meal. I was really surprised, but very glad, to see that my results matched his promises. I had watched a video of him eating three large bunches of over ripe bananas and he showed the same kind of 20 point jump that eating a meal often causes. This was a good thing.
He also says that it is not so much the sugar we eat as the fat that we eat that causes high blood sugar. I've read that before but could not believe it. My one-day experiment seems to verify that, but I know that things can change in just a few days, so I'm not going to make any positive statements until some time has passed and I've given it a good try.
I also remembered that the only time in my life I ever got under the 300 mark was on a low-fat vegan program but it was starch-based and I began to have health issues with that. I figured the "low-fat" must be the trigger for me to lose weight, so I'm trying it.
My present goal is to try this fruit-based, low-fat, vegan way of eating for 10 days and see how it goes. I want to know if it works for my body, and if I can operate well within that framework, too. I've not always been able to follow the particular plans that different eating gurus have proposed, so I just want to see if I can (or will) do it, too.
Today I made a big salad to eat on during the day, picking out fruit to munch on, adding sun flower seeds to the green salads and so far, so good. I've never tried this combination before. I've usually gone with a mix of animal protein and veggies and skipped the fruit as I believed it had too much sugar and would make my blood sugars go too high, but my own personal test (which I will continue to do) has, so far, proved they may be right. I know that "time will tell" so that is what I'm heading towards.
I doubt I'll be blogging every day about it, but I'll be sharing my journey from time to time.
Hope all is well with you,
Be back maybe soon,
Marcia
Friday, June 27, 2014
Still Vegan, but No Longer Starch Based
It has been one month since I last posted having good results with the "calorie density" McDougall/vegan approach to eating. But things did not stay that way.
I continued doing the program but soon my blood sugars were back to where they were before I started. It was more than a little scary and a lot frustrating to see this happen.
As I began to analyze what the problem might be I realized that I had been thinking about that "20-potato-a-day" diet guy and the good results he had, so I had increased my potato consumption. I don't think I was doing 20-a-day, but I was eating them for perhaps 2 out of 3 meals a day. I never fried them. I was still eating low fat, so I steamed them with some onion and applied some herbs and low sugar/no fat ketchup to the top layer and plunged in. In doing that my vegetable intake also plummeted. I was eating the potatoes alone -- like he did.
I like potatoes but my blood sugars went back to what they had been before. And I was even beginning to have anxiety and panic attacks. What the heck? After I had gone through that about three or four days, with sleepless nights and pacing, I drove to Walgreens and wildly purchased some double chocolate dipped peanuts and ate half a bag. Oddly enough all the anxiety went away. I also stopped eating potatoes. I still don't know what happened there, except I had noticed that some of the potatoes I had were sporting small sprouts that I was cutting off. It might have been the sprouted potatoes but, never the less, I'm not eating them like that anymore.
I finally had to admit that the "20-potato-a-day" regimen might work for a middle aged healthy man, but it was not working for this post-menopausal pre-diabetic woman, so I got rid of the unopened 5-pound bag of yellow gold potatoes by giving them to a friend, and moved on. I have two small red ones in the fridge and am not sure whether I will throw them out or eat them with some sauerkraut.
I was also having brown rice meals. Sometimes by itself, and sometimes with veggies. As I continued the experiment I could see that my blood sugars never again went down to normal and I felt very frustrated. I had been following the advice but it was not working for me. I had even begun to notice that my stomach was having a lot of "burning" which, in the past, has been associated with too many starches.
I continued to consume about two servings of fruit during the day. I continued having either oatmeal or rice with every meal with a few vegetables to add variety. My blood sugars did not get better.
I even had an "I am so discouraged with this that I'm going to binge" episode, for a few days too. I ate a whole bag of corn chips with beans or refried beans. That was a monumental disaster. The good BM's I was having disappeared and I was suddenly constipated again which of course meant the scale was now going up again. Eye. Yi. Yi. After a few days of that, I utilized some magnesium to help get things moving again. In a few days, things were finally back to normal -- more or less.
So in looking it over I'm thinking I've got to forget about "starched-based veganism" and head towards something better. I don't want to go back to being a meat-eater, although I think a little meat now and then should not be a problem.
I am now going to try out Joel Fuhrman's vegan approach which is not starch-based but vegetable-based. I had previously found a graph of his that I had downloaded and it suddenly showed up on my background screen. As I looked at it, I realized that this should be my adjustment to the experiment. Here is the chart:
I had already made the decision to reduce the grains and increase the beans but had not been thinking about the vegetables. I felt odd in the produce department at the grocery store as I realized I am a vegan who does not like or eat a large amount of vegetables, so I might need to make an adjustment.
I am aware that on this chart the percentages do not add up to one hundred but will make the effort to remember these pictorial proportions throughout the day. I'm single so I usually prepare a meal with two of the sections from the chart at one meal and then at the next I may repeat or alternate choosing from two other sections.
A note on the beans: they give me horrific gas so I had previously reduced my intake just for the noise reduction. But as I continued reading and finding out how well beans go hand in hand for a diabetic I wanted to know how to cook them so I do not get such horrible gas.
I found some advice from a fellow vegetarian who already experimented and found the following guidelines produce cooked beans with less gas -- although, so far, in my experiment the gas is not totally gone but it is somewhat better than it was and I don't have it for such a long period of time using just the first 4 guidelines:
1. Soak -- this is imperative. Even if you cook them in a pressure cooker (like I do) you still need to soak them over night in plain water. Soaking is said to actually get them to "sprouting" stage which produces some enzymes that pre-digest the fibers that cause the gas.
2. Change the water 2 or 3 times. -- It also helps to then, the next day, cover them with fresh water and bring them to a rolling boil for about 5 minutes and watch the gas foam up to the top of the pan. Pour this water off, rinse the beans in a colander, and then cover them with water and do it all over again. After that then cook the beans.
3. Do not cook the beans in salted water. -- This one was a surprise to me but I decided to try it out. They are not actually too bad that way. They said it was OK to add salt AFTER they are cooked so that is what I do. Of course I use "Real Salt" which is unprocessed and has lots of minerals.
4. Add some gas reducing herbs to the cooking water. -- I used cumin, dill seed, and curry powder because I had that on hand. They also recommend: ginger, cloves, coriander, and a squeeze of fresh lemon. I don't know if they help but the beans I tried cooked this way did seem to be less gas producing -- although not entirely gone. Note: If you like onions and garlic in your beans do not add them until the beans are already cooked. After the beans are cooked you can add any thing you like to make your final recipe.
5. Kombu in the water is supposed to magically remove the gas from the beans. -- This is a sea weed product. I have just cooked my first pot of navy beans with a six inch strip of the stuff in the water. I have just tasted them and they are not bad at all. When I was reading up on this stuff I noticed that it is 100% iodine as listed on the label and I thought that was a good thing. I had been worrying that I was not getting enough iodine so had started mixing my good salt (Real Salt) half and half with some iodized sea salt. Perhaps with the Kombu in the beans I may not have to continue that practice.
My new-found adviser (Alex Picot-Annand, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Life Coach) said that after the beans are cooked you can either remove the sea weed or cut it up small and just leave it in the beans. When I brought the steam down and removed the lid on my pressure cooker to view the beans I stirred them around a little and noticed the sea weed was being broken up, so I decided to encourage that and leave it in the beans. I don't see where it would hurt anything. After my first tasting of the kombu/beans I'm enjoying them. So, this is a good taste addition, at least. I'll have to see if the gas problem is reduced and will get back to you on that one. I think the next time I might use my scissors and cut up the strip rather than putting it in whole.
I have just ordered Dr. Fuhrman's book, "End of Diabetes" (Paperback) and also his cooking DVD called: Secrets to Healthy Cooking
His web site gave me the opportunity to also download one of his past newsletters for free, so I chose the one on diabetes from September 2003. Right there on page four the head line reads: "Starch-Based Diets No Answer for Diabetic" -- which I had just found out -- the hard way. Well live and learn.
In the mean time, I also have read about water intake and have attempted to keep my water consumption up to 64 oz (at least) per day. Although some days I have a little less. I am still drinking more water than before.
So that is where I am. I am down a few pounds but not enough to be memorable. My blood sugars are not dangerous (100 to 134) but they are not yet improved -- like they were in the first 11 days (80-95). I want those blood sugars back.
Love you. Hope all is well with you.
Be back soon,
Marcia
I continued doing the program but soon my blood sugars were back to where they were before I started. It was more than a little scary and a lot frustrating to see this happen.
As I began to analyze what the problem might be I realized that I had been thinking about that "20-potato-a-day" diet guy and the good results he had, so I had increased my potato consumption. I don't think I was doing 20-a-day, but I was eating them for perhaps 2 out of 3 meals a day. I never fried them. I was still eating low fat, so I steamed them with some onion and applied some herbs and low sugar/no fat ketchup to the top layer and plunged in. In doing that my vegetable intake also plummeted. I was eating the potatoes alone -- like he did.
I like potatoes but my blood sugars went back to what they had been before. And I was even beginning to have anxiety and panic attacks. What the heck? After I had gone through that about three or four days, with sleepless nights and pacing, I drove to Walgreens and wildly purchased some double chocolate dipped peanuts and ate half a bag. Oddly enough all the anxiety went away. I also stopped eating potatoes. I still don't know what happened there, except I had noticed that some of the potatoes I had were sporting small sprouts that I was cutting off. It might have been the sprouted potatoes but, never the less, I'm not eating them like that anymore.
I finally had to admit that the "20-potato-a-day" regimen might work for a middle aged healthy man, but it was not working for this post-menopausal pre-diabetic woman, so I got rid of the unopened 5-pound bag of yellow gold potatoes by giving them to a friend, and moved on. I have two small red ones in the fridge and am not sure whether I will throw them out or eat them with some sauerkraut.
I was also having brown rice meals. Sometimes by itself, and sometimes with veggies. As I continued the experiment I could see that my blood sugars never again went down to normal and I felt very frustrated. I had been following the advice but it was not working for me. I had even begun to notice that my stomach was having a lot of "burning" which, in the past, has been associated with too many starches.
I continued to consume about two servings of fruit during the day. I continued having either oatmeal or rice with every meal with a few vegetables to add variety. My blood sugars did not get better.
I even had an "I am so discouraged with this that I'm going to binge" episode, for a few days too. I ate a whole bag of corn chips with beans or refried beans. That was a monumental disaster. The good BM's I was having disappeared and I was suddenly constipated again which of course meant the scale was now going up again. Eye. Yi. Yi. After a few days of that, I utilized some magnesium to help get things moving again. In a few days, things were finally back to normal -- more or less.
So in looking it over I'm thinking I've got to forget about "starched-based veganism" and head towards something better. I don't want to go back to being a meat-eater, although I think a little meat now and then should not be a problem.
I am now going to try out Joel Fuhrman's vegan approach which is not starch-based but vegetable-based. I had previously found a graph of his that I had downloaded and it suddenly showed up on my background screen. As I looked at it, I realized that this should be my adjustment to the experiment. Here is the chart:
I had already made the decision to reduce the grains and increase the beans but had not been thinking about the vegetables. I felt odd in the produce department at the grocery store as I realized I am a vegan who does not like or eat a large amount of vegetables, so I might need to make an adjustment.
I am aware that on this chart the percentages do not add up to one hundred but will make the effort to remember these pictorial proportions throughout the day. I'm single so I usually prepare a meal with two of the sections from the chart at one meal and then at the next I may repeat or alternate choosing from two other sections.
A note on the beans: they give me horrific gas so I had previously reduced my intake just for the noise reduction. But as I continued reading and finding out how well beans go hand in hand for a diabetic I wanted to know how to cook them so I do not get such horrible gas.
I found some advice from a fellow vegetarian who already experimented and found the following guidelines produce cooked beans with less gas -- although, so far, in my experiment the gas is not totally gone but it is somewhat better than it was and I don't have it for such a long period of time using just the first 4 guidelines:
1. Soak -- this is imperative. Even if you cook them in a pressure cooker (like I do) you still need to soak them over night in plain water. Soaking is said to actually get them to "sprouting" stage which produces some enzymes that pre-digest the fibers that cause the gas.
2. Change the water 2 or 3 times. -- It also helps to then, the next day, cover them with fresh water and bring them to a rolling boil for about 5 minutes and watch the gas foam up to the top of the pan. Pour this water off, rinse the beans in a colander, and then cover them with water and do it all over again. After that then cook the beans.
3. Do not cook the beans in salted water. -- This one was a surprise to me but I decided to try it out. They are not actually too bad that way. They said it was OK to add salt AFTER they are cooked so that is what I do. Of course I use "Real Salt" which is unprocessed and has lots of minerals.
4. Add some gas reducing herbs to the cooking water. -- I used cumin, dill seed, and curry powder because I had that on hand. They also recommend: ginger, cloves, coriander, and a squeeze of fresh lemon. I don't know if they help but the beans I tried cooked this way did seem to be less gas producing -- although not entirely gone. Note: If you like onions and garlic in your beans do not add them until the beans are already cooked. After the beans are cooked you can add any thing you like to make your final recipe.
5. Kombu in the water is supposed to magically remove the gas from the beans. -- This is a sea weed product. I have just cooked my first pot of navy beans with a six inch strip of the stuff in the water. I have just tasted them and they are not bad at all. When I was reading up on this stuff I noticed that it is 100% iodine as listed on the label and I thought that was a good thing. I had been worrying that I was not getting enough iodine so had started mixing my good salt (Real Salt) half and half with some iodized sea salt. Perhaps with the Kombu in the beans I may not have to continue that practice.
My new-found adviser (Alex Picot-Annand, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Life Coach) said that after the beans are cooked you can either remove the sea weed or cut it up small and just leave it in the beans. When I brought the steam down and removed the lid on my pressure cooker to view the beans I stirred them around a little and noticed the sea weed was being broken up, so I decided to encourage that and leave it in the beans. I don't see where it would hurt anything. After my first tasting of the kombu/beans I'm enjoying them. So, this is a good taste addition, at least. I'll have to see if the gas problem is reduced and will get back to you on that one. I think the next time I might use my scissors and cut up the strip rather than putting it in whole.
I have just ordered Dr. Fuhrman's book, "End of Diabetes" (Paperback) and also his cooking DVD called: Secrets to Healthy Cooking
His web site gave me the opportunity to also download one of his past newsletters for free, so I chose the one on diabetes from September 2003. Right there on page four the head line reads: "Starch-Based Diets No Answer for Diabetic" -- which I had just found out -- the hard way. Well live and learn.
In the mean time, I also have read about water intake and have attempted to keep my water consumption up to 64 oz (at least) per day. Although some days I have a little less. I am still drinking more water than before.
So that is where I am. I am down a few pounds but not enough to be memorable. My blood sugars are not dangerous (100 to 134) but they are not yet improved -- like they were in the first 11 days (80-95). I want those blood sugars back.
Love you. Hope all is well with you.
Be back soon,
Marcia
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Good Results for the First 11 Days
OK. I am surprised. I've been trying out the McDougall/Calorie Density ideas that I shared about in my last post and they seem to be working. No one is more surprised than I am based on the fact that it kind of goes against all the "low carbohydrate" ideas that I've been attempting to live by for the past few years. Unsuccessfully, I might add. That's why I tried out the new programs, I wanted something that worked and that I could stick to.
"So, what have you been eating?" I've been eating potatoes, rice, oat meal, vegetables and some fruit. I've been eating on the top side of the below chart (where the big red star is) and leaving out the things on the bottom (where the big red X is):
I've also been eating beans but the gas is monstrous and unwelcome so I'm not eating them as much as the other things.
"How do you know it is working?" I've been randomly checking my blood sugars and they are much lower than they were. In fact I've even had one fasting blood sugar reading of 86 -- which is smack dab in the middle of normal!! I've never had a normal blood sugar reading before in my life!! This morning's reading was 96 after having eaten a whole cup of dry brown rice cooked up a couple of hours before going to bed. I had two small sweet potatoes before that, too.
"Are you losing weight?" Yep. For the first six days I did not lose any weight. I also did not gain any. I stayed at the weight I had been at a couple of weeks before. Then on Wednesday I checked and suddenly, in one day, I had gone down 2.75 pounds. I weighed myself again this morning (three days later) and I've lost another 2.25 pounds for a total of 5 pounds in 11 days.
That is why I am posting today. It is so nice to finally have good news to share.
"What has the process been like?" If I compared what I am doing now to what I believed I should be doing before I heard about this method, I would have to say I fell off the deep end. It has been even a little scary to try out, because it goes so far against the low-carb directives.
Here is how my eating day goes: I now eat within an hour or two of rising because I am hungry. I used to wait as long as six to eight hours until I actually ate anything.
I eat whatever I feel like eating. I might choose to put some frozen hash brown potatoes (with no oil and as few additives as possible) into my steamer pan. On top of that I like to cut up an onion, because I like the mixture of flavors and the onion makes it easier to eat the potato with no butter or other oil or dairy toppings. On top of that I put on a layer of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans), and fill up the rest of the steamer pan with shredded cabbage, right up to the rim. I salt and pepper the layers as I add them, and dump on some curry powder which is my favorite spice. I steam them for about 10-15 minutes and then fill up my deep cereal bowl with food. I eat that bowl and usually have another. I still seem to be attached to the "clean your plate club" and I eat whatever is in the pot, even though I often think I am over eating.
Another meal I like is to cook some Bob's Red Mill whole rolled oats. I like my oatmeal stiff and thick so I use slightly less water than is called for in the recipe on the bag. Sometimes I just eat the oatmeal. I do not put any sugar in it and I'm not doing dairy so I just eat it plain, right out of the pot. It is salted and is one of my favorite things. I often feel like I'm cheating when I have my oatmeal because I love it so much! If I eat any fruit in the day, this may be one place I add it. I just put some frozen blueberries, or strawberries right out of the freezer, right on top of my bowl. I stir them in and the hot oatmeal thaws them and they cool down the oatmeal to eating temperature. Mmmmm. Good.
I also love brown rice. I cook it in the bottom of my stove top steamer pan and near the end of the rice cooking time, before the water is no longer visible, I put some veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) in the steamer pot above the rice. Every thing gets cooked at the same time. I salt the rice and add some curry powder to the water. I salt and pepper the veggies and put some curry powder on them, too. When the rice is done, I ladle them into my deep cereal bowl in layers with the rice on the bottom and enjoy! I usually have two bowls of this, too. I do sometimes just eat plain brown rice.
I like my rice sticky so I use three cups of water for every cup of brown rice. It takes longer to cook, but I don't like the rice to be like soft rocks, so that is how I adjust it to my tastes.
I have been worried that I am eating too much. Turns out, I'm losing weight, so, I guess it is not a problem. I suppose a little lesser on the eating would put a little more in the weight loss camp, but I am so enjoying the eating. That may come along a little later as things progress. We'll see.
"So how is the plumbing department?" I'd like to cover this delicately so let me say that things are moving along nicely. Even surprisingly well. When I first started I was going up to four or five times in the day, but now it seems more like two or three.
I made the mistake of making my first meal on the program a pot of split peas with veggies and the plumbing really had a bit to deal with on that one. The gas and the go was almost overwhelming, but since I knew what caused it (my stupidity and the beans) I just weathered the storm and learned my lesson.
I did make another pot of beans (13 bean soup) which again caused gas, but I did not eat them alone, that time. I ate them with rice so the experience, while not perfect, was somewhat better than the split peas had been. I had used some Herdez salsa for flavor in my bowl and really liked the addition.
When I have plain potatoes (with onion) I sometimes put some Kroger Simple organic ketchup on it (lo sugar, no oil) and like the punch of sweet flavor.
I don't know if this had anything to do with not losing any weight in the first six days but I had originally purchased a bag of mixed unsweetened fruit (peaches, mango, grapes, blue berries, etc.) and was trying to stick to two servings of fruit per day. It made me feel guilty to be eating so much fruit so when the bag was empty I did not replace it. I'm thinking that was from the old mind set still holding on, so I might try another bag in the future, to see if the weight loss stops or continues.
One thing I've noticed is that I really gravitate towards the starches in the program and have to remember to include the veggies which are nutritious and low cal, and also add good flavor to the starches.
I've not been eating any bread (processed food) and am still leary of including it, because I can really get carried away with bread. It is less tempting, though, because of the lack of butter (high calorie density). For now, I am sticking to the whole grains (brown rice, whole rolled oats) which I am cooking myself, and white and sweet potatoes. Mostly white, some frozen, some fresh, always with onion.
"Did you notice anything that was not positive about this program?" Well, the first thing I noticed, after the split pea incident, was that I had gotten some very dark circles under my eyes. I've seen this before, and simply watched to see what happened there. They are no longer as dark, now, but are still there, just not as bad.
Also: the skin on my hands seems to be a bit dryer. In the past I chalked that up to the carbs stealing water from my tissues, which I suppose could be happening again. But I've also noticed I have to really pay attention to drink my water or I just drop it out.
The really odd thing is that I "feel" like I'm binge eating. I think I'm kind of "over eating" on quantity. But the blood sugar readings and the weight loss are evidence that I must be fine. I guess I'll have to just keep my eye on things and see how it goes.
So far, I am excited at the results, enjoying eating again, and hoping to leave my fears behind.
So. I'm off to have some oatmeal.
Have a good one!!
Be back soon,
Marcia
"So, what have you been eating?" I've been eating potatoes, rice, oat meal, vegetables and some fruit. I've been eating on the top side of the below chart (where the big red star is) and leaving out the things on the bottom (where the big red X is):
I've also been eating beans but the gas is monstrous and unwelcome so I'm not eating them as much as the other things.
"How do you know it is working?" I've been randomly checking my blood sugars and they are much lower than they were. In fact I've even had one fasting blood sugar reading of 86 -- which is smack dab in the middle of normal!! I've never had a normal blood sugar reading before in my life!! This morning's reading was 96 after having eaten a whole cup of dry brown rice cooked up a couple of hours before going to bed. I had two small sweet potatoes before that, too.
"Are you losing weight?" Yep. For the first six days I did not lose any weight. I also did not gain any. I stayed at the weight I had been at a couple of weeks before. Then on Wednesday I checked and suddenly, in one day, I had gone down 2.75 pounds. I weighed myself again this morning (three days later) and I've lost another 2.25 pounds for a total of 5 pounds in 11 days.
That is why I am posting today. It is so nice to finally have good news to share.
"What has the process been like?" If I compared what I am doing now to what I believed I should be doing before I heard about this method, I would have to say I fell off the deep end. It has been even a little scary to try out, because it goes so far against the low-carb directives.
Here is how my eating day goes: I now eat within an hour or two of rising because I am hungry. I used to wait as long as six to eight hours until I actually ate anything.
I eat whatever I feel like eating. I might choose to put some frozen hash brown potatoes (with no oil and as few additives as possible) into my steamer pan. On top of that I like to cut up an onion, because I like the mixture of flavors and the onion makes it easier to eat the potato with no butter or other oil or dairy toppings. On top of that I put on a layer of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans), and fill up the rest of the steamer pan with shredded cabbage, right up to the rim. I salt and pepper the layers as I add them, and dump on some curry powder which is my favorite spice. I steam them for about 10-15 minutes and then fill up my deep cereal bowl with food. I eat that bowl and usually have another. I still seem to be attached to the "clean your plate club" and I eat whatever is in the pot, even though I often think I am over eating.
Another meal I like is to cook some Bob's Red Mill whole rolled oats. I like my oatmeal stiff and thick so I use slightly less water than is called for in the recipe on the bag. Sometimes I just eat the oatmeal. I do not put any sugar in it and I'm not doing dairy so I just eat it plain, right out of the pot. It is salted and is one of my favorite things. I often feel like I'm cheating when I have my oatmeal because I love it so much! If I eat any fruit in the day, this may be one place I add it. I just put some frozen blueberries, or strawberries right out of the freezer, right on top of my bowl. I stir them in and the hot oatmeal thaws them and they cool down the oatmeal to eating temperature. Mmmmm. Good.
I also love brown rice. I cook it in the bottom of my stove top steamer pan and near the end of the rice cooking time, before the water is no longer visible, I put some veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) in the steamer pot above the rice. Every thing gets cooked at the same time. I salt the rice and add some curry powder to the water. I salt and pepper the veggies and put some curry powder on them, too. When the rice is done, I ladle them into my deep cereal bowl in layers with the rice on the bottom and enjoy! I usually have two bowls of this, too. I do sometimes just eat plain brown rice.
I like my rice sticky so I use three cups of water for every cup of brown rice. It takes longer to cook, but I don't like the rice to be like soft rocks, so that is how I adjust it to my tastes.
I have been worried that I am eating too much. Turns out, I'm losing weight, so, I guess it is not a problem. I suppose a little lesser on the eating would put a little more in the weight loss camp, but I am so enjoying the eating. That may come along a little later as things progress. We'll see.
"So how is the plumbing department?" I'd like to cover this delicately so let me say that things are moving along nicely. Even surprisingly well. When I first started I was going up to four or five times in the day, but now it seems more like two or three.
I made the mistake of making my first meal on the program a pot of split peas with veggies and the plumbing really had a bit to deal with on that one. The gas and the go was almost overwhelming, but since I knew what caused it (my stupidity and the beans) I just weathered the storm and learned my lesson.
I did make another pot of beans (13 bean soup) which again caused gas, but I did not eat them alone, that time. I ate them with rice so the experience, while not perfect, was somewhat better than the split peas had been. I had used some Herdez salsa for flavor in my bowl and really liked the addition.
When I have plain potatoes (with onion) I sometimes put some Kroger Simple organic ketchup on it (lo sugar, no oil) and like the punch of sweet flavor.
I don't know if this had anything to do with not losing any weight in the first six days but I had originally purchased a bag of mixed unsweetened fruit (peaches, mango, grapes, blue berries, etc.) and was trying to stick to two servings of fruit per day. It made me feel guilty to be eating so much fruit so when the bag was empty I did not replace it. I'm thinking that was from the old mind set still holding on, so I might try another bag in the future, to see if the weight loss stops or continues.
One thing I've noticed is that I really gravitate towards the starches in the program and have to remember to include the veggies which are nutritious and low cal, and also add good flavor to the starches.
I've not been eating any bread (processed food) and am still leary of including it, because I can really get carried away with bread. It is less tempting, though, because of the lack of butter (high calorie density). For now, I am sticking to the whole grains (brown rice, whole rolled oats) which I am cooking myself, and white and sweet potatoes. Mostly white, some frozen, some fresh, always with onion.
"Did you notice anything that was not positive about this program?" Well, the first thing I noticed, after the split pea incident, was that I had gotten some very dark circles under my eyes. I've seen this before, and simply watched to see what happened there. They are no longer as dark, now, but are still there, just not as bad.
Also: the skin on my hands seems to be a bit dryer. In the past I chalked that up to the carbs stealing water from my tissues, which I suppose could be happening again. But I've also noticed I have to really pay attention to drink my water or I just drop it out.
The really odd thing is that I "feel" like I'm binge eating. I think I'm kind of "over eating" on quantity. But the blood sugar readings and the weight loss are evidence that I must be fine. I guess I'll have to just keep my eye on things and see how it goes.
So far, I am excited at the results, enjoying eating again, and hoping to leave my fears behind.
So. I'm off to have some oatmeal.
Have a good one!!
Be back soon,
Marcia
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Calorie Density Trial Run
Hi,
In the last two weeks I've been doing a lot of reading and searching as I have investigated the Calorie Density approach to weight loss. In my last post I was not at the place yet where I had given myself over to this approach but I am now at the stage where I have begun to try it out.
I am incorporating the ideas of Jeff Novick, a nutritionist, and Doctor McDougall and his wife, Mary, with some input from the 20-potato-a-day guy, Chris Voight who is the executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission. I've also found a lot of other useful information as I searched around the web following my questions on this subject.
As I read and studied I have become convinced that I should try this approach once again, but carefully. For three days now I have been eating in this style and checking my blood sugars which, surprisingly, seem to be very good. Better in fact, than I expected.
I am eating on the upper "starred" portion of this calorie density chart that I found on the net:
Jeff says that eating in the less than 800 calories per pound category, the upper part of the chart with the star on it, will give you a lot of low calorie food to eat. The foods that should be reduced or eliminated are in the 1000 calories section on the lower portion of the chart with the big X on it. Those foods are high in calorie density and if you eat them and remain within your desired calorie range your body will not be satisfied with the small portions. It is hard to eat low calorie with high calorie foods. You simply get to eat less in volume and have to hard knuckle it to continue doing it. I have always hated the hard knuckle approach to eating, so this is a blessing to me.
I was worried that my blood sugars would go sky high but they are well within normal ranges and are often lower than I was expecting. So I am relieved about that. My ankles still seem to be swelling up, but that may be from sitting at the computer for long periods of time. The county pools that I usually exercise in three times a week were closed today for spring spruce up, so I won't have the opportunity to exercise in that way for the next week. I should probably find some alternative that my knee will allow me to do.
I had not planned on starting on Wednesday but I was on my way home from the pool and wanted something to eat. As I cast about in my head figuring out what I could do it dawned on me that I could stop at Panda Express and get a large side of vegetables and a large side of brown rice and I could try out the new program. I was worried that the bland brown rice would be unpalatable to me for my first meal so I also stopped at Popeye's Chicken and got a side of red beans and rice. I knew this side was not fat free but I remembered that in the past I had liked it and decided I could dilute it with the sides from Panda. Jeff talks about diluting your high density calories with low density calories so that was what I was doing.
I brought it all home and mixed some of the brown rice with a portion of the red beans and rice in a bowl and put some of the veggies on top. Wow, it was delicious! It turned out to make three meals for me that I really enjoyed. I checked my blood sugar an hour after I ate and it was 142. This was a little higher than I would have liked but it was not too extreme so I accepted it as OK.
I had enjoyed the meal so much I decided to go ahead and try out the program for at least 10 days and see how it goes. The next day I made up my shopping list using the guidelines of the program and purchased everything I would need to immerse myself in this style of eating.
The first home made meal I made was split pea soup with an onion, two cloves of garlic, a cup or so of frozen corn (ignoring the GMO issue), spices and a pound of split peas. The pot I had originally chosen ended up being too small to accommodate so I got out my big pressure cooker pot and used it as a regular pot. As it cooked it began to smell good. I kept testing to see if the beans were done but it took 30 minutes or more for them to become soft cooked and edible. Finally when it was done I ladled out enough of the soupy broth and soft beans to fill a deep cereal bowl and enjoyed it. It was very good and I wanted more.
Knowing there was no fat and nothing in it of a high calorie nature, and also knowing the instructions are to eat until you are full, I ate another bowl. I was still not satisfied so had a third one, after which I was completely satisfied -- and maybe a little overfull. I left the pot on the stove for later knowing that as split pea soup cools down it thickens into a kind of paste, which I also enjoy eating. Later that night I finished off the last remaining paste-like bowl and was completely full with the one serving.
Of course, I had gone overboard and with gas-causing beans! My goodness, the next morning and well into the afternoon I had so much gas I think I could have blown up a bouncy house!! Ha ha! But it was unique in one way. It did not have a detectible odor to it. This was new. Gas explosions with no bad odor!!
When I checked my blood sugar an hour after the first three bowls it read 123. Well within an acceptable range, especially for something that was a carbohydrate. I was really pleased with that. I checked it again an hour or so later and it was 95. Wow! That was great! I think I'm going to like this way of eating.
Today I started the day with a large pile of hash brown potatoes and onion that I tried to brown in my cast iron skillet but I did not want to add a lot of fat to the pan so I put in about a tablespoon and when that dried up I used water to continue cooking them. I also seasoned them with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and curry powder. They ended up sticking to the bottom of the pan but they were not burned or anything. They were not browned the way I usually like them but I am willing to let things be different this time around. I had purchased some low sugar no fat ketchup and squirted the top layer with that. My gosh they were good! I ate the whole bowl full and did not want anything more for the next eight hours, at least! My blood sugars were also good after this meal but I don't remember the actual numbers to share.
Later in the evening I cooked up some oatmeal and put in some frozen blue berries. It was so good, I had another one. Blood sugars, still good! This is amazing to me, as I had believed if I ate this way it would sky rocket my sugars. I think the difference may be the whole food versus refined food, thing, and also the resistant starch which does not feed me but feeds the good bacteria in my gut.
I got the idea to try this from "Mary's Mini-McDougall Diet" which is potatoes for every meal with a little fruit and veg on the side. After doing some research on the potato thing I was willing to try it out for myself and see.
The potato meal was the most filling, and stayed full the longest of anything I've so far tried so I shall not be reluctant to try them out further.
If you'd like to see where I'm getting my ideas, here are some links to the stuff I used to guide me:
20 Potatoes a Day interview
Mary's Mini-McDougall Diet
Jeff Novick on Calorie Density to Lose Weight
So that's where I am right now.
Be back soon,
Marcia
In the last two weeks I've been doing a lot of reading and searching as I have investigated the Calorie Density approach to weight loss. In my last post I was not at the place yet where I had given myself over to this approach but I am now at the stage where I have begun to try it out.
I am incorporating the ideas of Jeff Novick, a nutritionist, and Doctor McDougall and his wife, Mary, with some input from the 20-potato-a-day guy, Chris Voight who is the executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission. I've also found a lot of other useful information as I searched around the web following my questions on this subject.
As I read and studied I have become convinced that I should try this approach once again, but carefully. For three days now I have been eating in this style and checking my blood sugars which, surprisingly, seem to be very good. Better in fact, than I expected.
I am eating on the upper "starred" portion of this calorie density chart that I found on the net:
Jeff says that eating in the less than 800 calories per pound category, the upper part of the chart with the star on it, will give you a lot of low calorie food to eat. The foods that should be reduced or eliminated are in the 1000 calories section on the lower portion of the chart with the big X on it. Those foods are high in calorie density and if you eat them and remain within your desired calorie range your body will not be satisfied with the small portions. It is hard to eat low calorie with high calorie foods. You simply get to eat less in volume and have to hard knuckle it to continue doing it. I have always hated the hard knuckle approach to eating, so this is a blessing to me.
I was worried that my blood sugars would go sky high but they are well within normal ranges and are often lower than I was expecting. So I am relieved about that. My ankles still seem to be swelling up, but that may be from sitting at the computer for long periods of time. The county pools that I usually exercise in three times a week were closed today for spring spruce up, so I won't have the opportunity to exercise in that way for the next week. I should probably find some alternative that my knee will allow me to do.
I had not planned on starting on Wednesday but I was on my way home from the pool and wanted something to eat. As I cast about in my head figuring out what I could do it dawned on me that I could stop at Panda Express and get a large side of vegetables and a large side of brown rice and I could try out the new program. I was worried that the bland brown rice would be unpalatable to me for my first meal so I also stopped at Popeye's Chicken and got a side of red beans and rice. I knew this side was not fat free but I remembered that in the past I had liked it and decided I could dilute it with the sides from Panda. Jeff talks about diluting your high density calories with low density calories so that was what I was doing.
I brought it all home and mixed some of the brown rice with a portion of the red beans and rice in a bowl and put some of the veggies on top. Wow, it was delicious! It turned out to make three meals for me that I really enjoyed. I checked my blood sugar an hour after I ate and it was 142. This was a little higher than I would have liked but it was not too extreme so I accepted it as OK.
I had enjoyed the meal so much I decided to go ahead and try out the program for at least 10 days and see how it goes. The next day I made up my shopping list using the guidelines of the program and purchased everything I would need to immerse myself in this style of eating.
The first home made meal I made was split pea soup with an onion, two cloves of garlic, a cup or so of frozen corn (ignoring the GMO issue), spices and a pound of split peas. The pot I had originally chosen ended up being too small to accommodate so I got out my big pressure cooker pot and used it as a regular pot. As it cooked it began to smell good. I kept testing to see if the beans were done but it took 30 minutes or more for them to become soft cooked and edible. Finally when it was done I ladled out enough of the soupy broth and soft beans to fill a deep cereal bowl and enjoyed it. It was very good and I wanted more.
Knowing there was no fat and nothing in it of a high calorie nature, and also knowing the instructions are to eat until you are full, I ate another bowl. I was still not satisfied so had a third one, after which I was completely satisfied -- and maybe a little overfull. I left the pot on the stove for later knowing that as split pea soup cools down it thickens into a kind of paste, which I also enjoy eating. Later that night I finished off the last remaining paste-like bowl and was completely full with the one serving.
Of course, I had gone overboard and with gas-causing beans! My goodness, the next morning and well into the afternoon I had so much gas I think I could have blown up a bouncy house!! Ha ha! But it was unique in one way. It did not have a detectible odor to it. This was new. Gas explosions with no bad odor!!
When I checked my blood sugar an hour after the first three bowls it read 123. Well within an acceptable range, especially for something that was a carbohydrate. I was really pleased with that. I checked it again an hour or so later and it was 95. Wow! That was great! I think I'm going to like this way of eating.
Today I started the day with a large pile of hash brown potatoes and onion that I tried to brown in my cast iron skillet but I did not want to add a lot of fat to the pan so I put in about a tablespoon and when that dried up I used water to continue cooking them. I also seasoned them with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and curry powder. They ended up sticking to the bottom of the pan but they were not burned or anything. They were not browned the way I usually like them but I am willing to let things be different this time around. I had purchased some low sugar no fat ketchup and squirted the top layer with that. My gosh they were good! I ate the whole bowl full and did not want anything more for the next eight hours, at least! My blood sugars were also good after this meal but I don't remember the actual numbers to share.
Later in the evening I cooked up some oatmeal and put in some frozen blue berries. It was so good, I had another one. Blood sugars, still good! This is amazing to me, as I had believed if I ate this way it would sky rocket my sugars. I think the difference may be the whole food versus refined food, thing, and also the resistant starch which does not feed me but feeds the good bacteria in my gut.
I got the idea to try this from "Mary's Mini-McDougall Diet" which is potatoes for every meal with a little fruit and veg on the side. After doing some research on the potato thing I was willing to try it out for myself and see.
The potato meal was the most filling, and stayed full the longest of anything I've so far tried so I shall not be reluctant to try them out further.
If you'd like to see where I'm getting my ideas, here are some links to the stuff I used to guide me:
20 Potatoes a Day interview
Mary's Mini-McDougall Diet
Jeff Novick on Calorie Density to Lose Weight
So that's where I am right now.
Be back soon,
Marcia
Thursday, May 1, 2014
More Food, Less Calories... Naturally
Hi,
I have not posted here for a long time. I got off track and did not want to continually share with you about my "always" doing the wrong thing. I have put back on more than half of the weight I had taken off and that is so discouraging to live with and have to admit.
I recently stumbled across a guy named Jeff Novick who is a humorous nutritionist. Listening to his video on Youtube was easy because he has such a logical and simple approach. He is a vegan who endorses the McDougall Program. I've had a problem with the McDougall Program ever since I did it in the mid '90s. It was while I was on that program that my feet started to daily swell up. I concluded that it was from his "starch based" approach.
After I discovered that I am a carbohydrate addict, it began to make sense. I know that if I sit for too long at the computer in conjunction with eating junk food, or even healthy food that has starchy carbs in it, my feet will become the size of posts. In listening to Jeff Novick I became tempted to try out some of what he says without actually going vegan, again. I think I need some animal protein in my diet. It helps to keep my blood sugar stable.
I am feeling motivated to try out his calorie density theories. He talks about the volume of a food in relation to the number of calories for that food. It is a way of reducing your calorie intake without limiting or reducing your actual volume of food. On one of his charts he shows the different calorie counts of a pound of certain foods. On the left he has broccoli and on the right he has olive oil with fruits, meats and unrefined carbs in between the two extremes. Even though it would be ridiculous to actually try to consume a pound of olive oil, the numbers on the chart let you know whether a food has a low or high caloric density which is useful information.
Some food, like the broccoli, has a much lower calorie count for one pound than others. He points out that vegetables whether cooked or raw continue to have the same calorie density. Meaning that if you were to eat a pound of broccoli you would end up being very full because it has a lot of volume, but it would not put fat on your body because the calorie count would still be low.
His presentation reminded me about the volume of vegetables and how you can eat more and suffer no conscience or remorse because it has lots of nutrients and will not make you fat. He also lists fruit which has more calories than most vegetables but way less than, say, olive oil or oreo cookies. The foods that are calorie dense and therefore to be avoided are processed foods (i.e.: oreos) and meats or animal proteins.
I found his DVD called "Calorie Density, How to eat more, weigh less and live longer" and ordered it. He has no qualms about cooking his veggies, which I like. I know I used to be married to the idea that my veggies needed to be raw to be of benefit but have since found that my blood sugars don't go up when I eat cooked veggies and I like the fact that I can buy them frozen and they don't go bad so fast as raw does.
I was also tempted to try to eat grains again, because he says that "whole grains" while being more dense than veggies are not as dense as oil. But this time, I went back in my blog to my previous "grain experiments" and after re-reading them, decided to not go through that again, so I am back to the tried and true: veg and meat approach. I'm going to do a lot less protein, this time, though. I don't need to eat half a pound of hamburger in one sitting. This will reduce the number of calories per meal and allow for more vegetables, meaning larger meals with fewer calories which should, hopefully, allow for a loss of actual weight.
I guess I'll try it out and then let you know how it goes.
Be back soon,
Marcia
I have not posted here for a long time. I got off track and did not want to continually share with you about my "always" doing the wrong thing. I have put back on more than half of the weight I had taken off and that is so discouraging to live with and have to admit.
I recently stumbled across a guy named Jeff Novick who is a humorous nutritionist. Listening to his video on Youtube was easy because he has such a logical and simple approach. He is a vegan who endorses the McDougall Program. I've had a problem with the McDougall Program ever since I did it in the mid '90s. It was while I was on that program that my feet started to daily swell up. I concluded that it was from his "starch based" approach.
After I discovered that I am a carbohydrate addict, it began to make sense. I know that if I sit for too long at the computer in conjunction with eating junk food, or even healthy food that has starchy carbs in it, my feet will become the size of posts. In listening to Jeff Novick I became tempted to try out some of what he says without actually going vegan, again. I think I need some animal protein in my diet. It helps to keep my blood sugar stable.
I am feeling motivated to try out his calorie density theories. He talks about the volume of a food in relation to the number of calories for that food. It is a way of reducing your calorie intake without limiting or reducing your actual volume of food. On one of his charts he shows the different calorie counts of a pound of certain foods. On the left he has broccoli and on the right he has olive oil with fruits, meats and unrefined carbs in between the two extremes. Even though it would be ridiculous to actually try to consume a pound of olive oil, the numbers on the chart let you know whether a food has a low or high caloric density which is useful information.
Some food, like the broccoli, has a much lower calorie count for one pound than others. He points out that vegetables whether cooked or raw continue to have the same calorie density. Meaning that if you were to eat a pound of broccoli you would end up being very full because it has a lot of volume, but it would not put fat on your body because the calorie count would still be low.
His presentation reminded me about the volume of vegetables and how you can eat more and suffer no conscience or remorse because it has lots of nutrients and will not make you fat. He also lists fruit which has more calories than most vegetables but way less than, say, olive oil or oreo cookies. The foods that are calorie dense and therefore to be avoided are processed foods (i.e.: oreos) and meats or animal proteins.
I found his DVD called "Calorie Density, How to eat more, weigh less and live longer" and ordered it. He has no qualms about cooking his veggies, which I like. I know I used to be married to the idea that my veggies needed to be raw to be of benefit but have since found that my blood sugars don't go up when I eat cooked veggies and I like the fact that I can buy them frozen and they don't go bad so fast as raw does.
I was also tempted to try to eat grains again, because he says that "whole grains" while being more dense than veggies are not as dense as oil. But this time, I went back in my blog to my previous "grain experiments" and after re-reading them, decided to not go through that again, so I am back to the tried and true: veg and meat approach. I'm going to do a lot less protein, this time, though. I don't need to eat half a pound of hamburger in one sitting. This will reduce the number of calories per meal and allow for more vegetables, meaning larger meals with fewer calories which should, hopefully, allow for a loss of actual weight.
I guess I'll try it out and then let you know how it goes.
Be back soon,
Marcia
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Beyond the Lust: Christ in Me
While reading: “Humility”
by Andrew Murray (published by Hendrickson Christian Classics) the Lord gave me
this illustration in my mind:
Arrogance is one side of the self coin. It can be
illustrated like this: On one side of the coin is Arrogance which states “I am
in charge, I am right, I know best.” This is the side which contains conceit,
egotism, superiority, pride, overconfidence, self-importance and condescension.
This is recognizable to others and is often felt as being offensive to others,
but the person who is exhibiting it, is usually blind to it.
The other side of the self coin is the opposite or negative
side of the same thing which is best illustrated with the words “I am not in
charge, I am not right, I do not know best.” It is self denigrating, a
personality that feels bad about itself. It makes attempts to be modest. It
appears altruistic but it is, at best, an act. It relishes its inferiority. It
tries to be humble but ends up still being self-important and condescending. This
side of the coin is much more “acceptable” to people in society but, when you
realize what it really is, you recognize that it is still offensive to God and
is simply the opposite side of the very same coin.
One side feels very good and superior about itself and the
other side of the same coin feels very bad and inferior about itself but it is all
the “self coin.” These are the two sides
of pride.
Humility is not the negative side of the self coin.
Humility is not focused on the self. Humility is the space in which God is
given room to be Who He Is. Humility is grace towards God.
I have a friend who refers to the self coin activities as “navel
gazing.” That is not what being a Christian is about. I’ve been struggling for
a long time in my attempts to overcome my own nature and not until I had the
above revelation and then read the following did it finally become clear what "putting myself under the hand of God" truly means.
From the above mentioned book under subheading: “The need”:
“It is pride that made redemption needful; it is from our pride
we need, above everything, to be redeemed. And our insight into the need of
redemption will largely depend upon our knowledge of the terrible nature of the
power that has entered our being.
“No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang.
The power that Satan brought from Hell, and cast into man’s life, is working
daily, hourly, with mighty power throughout the world. Men suffer from it; they
fear and fight and flee it; and yet they know not whence it comes, whence it
has its terrible supremacy. No wonder they do not know where or how it is to
be overcome. Pride has its root and strength in a terrible spiritual power,
outside of us, as well as within us; as needful as it is that we confess and
deplore it as our very own, is it to know it, in its Satanic origin. If this leads
us to utter despair of ever conquering or casting it out, it will lead us all
the sooner to that supernatural power in which alone our deliverance is to be
found – the redemption of the Lamb of God. The hopeless struggle against the
workings of self and pride within us may indeed become still more hopeless as
we think of the power of darkness behind it all; the utter despair will fit us
the better for realizing and accepting a power and a life outside of ourselves
too, even the humility of Heaven as brought down and brought nigh by the Lamb
of God, to cast out Satan and his pride.
“The Nature. No tree can grow except on the root from which
it sprang. Even as we need to look to the first Adam and his fall to know the
power of the sin within us, we need to know well the Second Adam and his
power to give within us a life of humility as real and abiding and overmastering
as has been that of pride. We have our life from and in Christ, as truly,
yea more truly, than from and in Adam. We are to walk “rooted in him,” “holding fast the Head from whom the whole
body increaseth with the increase of God.” The life of God which in the
incarnation entered human nature, is the root in which we are to stand and
grow; it is the same almighty power that worked there, and thence onward to the
resurrection, which works daily in us. Our one need is to study and know and
trust the life that has been revealed in Christ as the life that is now ours,
and waits for our consent to gain possession and mastery of our whole being.
“In this view it is of inconceivable importance that we
should have right thoughts of what Christ is, of what really constitutes him
the Christ, and specially of what may be counted his chief characteristic, the
root and essence of all his character as our Redeemer. There can be but one
answer: it is his humility. What is the incarnation but his heavenly humility,
his emptying himself and becoming man? What is his life on earth but humility;
his taking the form of a servant? And what is his atonement but humility? “He
humbled himself and became obedient unto death.” And what is his ascension and
his glory, but humility exalted to the throne and crowned with glory? “He
humbled himself, therefore God highly exalted him.” In Heaven, where he was
with the Father, in his birth, in his life, in his death, in his sitting on the
throne, it is all, it is nothing but humility. Christ is the humility of God
embodied in human nature; the Eternal Love humbling itself, clothing itself in
the garb of meekness and gentleness, to win and serve and save us. As the love
and condescension of God makes him the benefactor and helper and servant of
all, so Jesus of necessity was the Incarnate Humility. And so he is still in
the midst of the throne, the meek and lowly Lamb of God.
“If this be the root of the tree, its nature must be seen
in every branch and leaf and fruit. If humility be the first, the
all-including grace of the life of Jesus – if humility be the secret of his atonement
– then the health and strength of our spiritual life will entirely depend upon
our putting this grace first too, and making humility the chief thing we admire
in him, the chief thing we ask of him, the one thing for which we sacrifice all
else.
“Is it any wonder that the Christian life is so often feeble
and fruitless, when the very root of the Christ life is neglected, is unknown?
Is it any wonder that the joy of salvation is so little felt, when that in
which Christ found it and brings it, is so little sought? Until a humility
which will rest in nothing less than the end and death of self, which gives up
all the honor of men as Jesus did, to seek the honor that comes from God alone;
which absolutely makes and counts itself nothing, that God may be all, that
the Lord alone may be exalted – until such a humility is what we seek in
Christ above, our chief joy, and welcome at any price, there is very little
hope of a religion that will conquer the world.”
And this also: “Humility is the only soil in which the
graces root; the lack of humility is the sufficient explanation of every defect
and failure. Humility is not so much a grace or virtue along with others, it is
the root of all, because it alone takes the right attitude before God, and allows
him as God to do all.
“God has so constituted us as reasonable beings, that the
truer the insight into the real nature or the absolute need of a command, the more ready and much fuller will be our obedience to it. The call to humility has been
too little regarded in the Church, because its true nature and importance has
been too little apprehended. It is not a something which we bring to God, or
he bestows; it is simply the sense of entire nothingness, which comes when we
see how truly God is all, and in which we make way for God to be all. When
the creature realizes that this is the true nobility, and consents to be with
his will, his mind, and his affections, the form – the vessel – in which the
life and glory of God are to work and manifest themselves, he sees that
humility is simply acknowledging the truth of his position as creature, and yielding to God his place.”
Take the focus off of
your self, and put it on God!!
Matthew 6:33 But seek first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be
added to you.
Philippians 2:6-8 who,
being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the
form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled
Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the
cross.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and
learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
John 16:33 These things I
have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will
have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
1 John 5:3-5 For this is the love
of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not
grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the
world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who
is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son
of God?
Philippians 4:12-14 I know both how
to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am
instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Colossians 1:26-28
(NASB) that is, the mystery which has
been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested
to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what
is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ
in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching
every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in
Christ.
1
Peter 5:5-7 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your
elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed
with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore
humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time, casting all your care upon Him, for He
cares for you
Be back soon -- I've got a new plan which I will try out and then report on!! Today is day one.
Marcia
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