Andy/Baldy - feed me

DJ-S1

I'm ready for a change - would either of you guys care to explain your diet/nutrition philosophy and point me in the right direction? I need to drop 20 (30 would be better) and get healthier in general.

I'd appreciate it -


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patch29

I would also be curious to hear what you are currently eating regularly and what you have given up. :eat

dragon300zx

Patch andy gave up meat.

He's on the china study.

http://www.thechinastudy.com/about.html

stirfry

wow - one more reason to love smugmug ... veg*ns!

I've never heard of the China Study, but I'm glad it made such an impact on those who have read it. 8 years of a "mixed" marriage and my husband has gone from wanting meat at every meal, to consuming meat only outside of our home. I haven't weaned him from cheese and milk yet, but baby steps his health continues to improve, beyond just the physical.

Wishing you the best and much success on your healthful endeavor, whichever road you take to get there.

Andy

Lots to read, I recommend

The China Study and
Eat to Live

Feel free to drop us a note and we'd love to send you a copy

Now, as to practical use:

I gave up eating animal products (save for a little half & half in my coffee, and I'm working on giving that up ) 6 months ago. That means, I don't eat: Cheese, Milk, Ice Cream, Butter, Poultry, Fish, Pork, Beef, Venison, Lizard, Snake or anything that is an animal or was an animal.

I do eat: Whole Grains, Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Beans, and Fresh Vegetables. So, here's what I eat:

Breakfasts: Granola with Fruit. Whole wheat toast with 100% real fruit jam. Raw fruits (grapefruit, oranges, berries, bananas, papayas, mangoes, melons, apples). Whole wheat pancakes with real maple syrup. Oatmeal with nuts and dried fruits.

Lunches: Sandwiches? No problem. Whole Wheat pita is my staple, I can jam lots in there I stuff 'em with sprouts, lettuce, carrots, etc. In my fridge are many kinds of hummus - love the stuff. Also edamame salads. Bean salads. Black bean dip. I love veggie burritos (black beans, rice, salsa, onions, olives, lettuce, mmmmm). Lunch can also just be a huge salad, I might have a whole head of romaine lettuce with accompanying veggies. Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat in a pinch works.

Dinners: Ethnic food, ftw! Love Indian - vegetable pekora, samosas, biryani, vindaloo. Mexican (see lunch). Whole grain rices and wraps. Chile! We make 4 or 5 different kinds of vegetarian Chile. One pot bean dishes that are amazing. Italian! Whole grain pastas, with garlic, basil, olive oil. Mmmm. Of course, a huge salad, too. Now that it's summer, been eating a plate of fresh tomatoes, basil, cucumbers with Balsamic vinegar and some kosher salt (a pinch). Fresh corn on the cob. Grilling! Oh we grill corn, zucchini, carrots, portobello mushrooms, you name it.

Snacks: raisins; sesame sticks; raw veggies; dried fruits; whole grain chips w/ homemade salsa.

I eat all day long and I'm never hungry. I have lost 50lbs since January 1st 2007. I feel better than I have in 20 years.

I don't miss much of anything, though I expect I'll add cheese back in my diet eventually (in moderation) because it just goes so well with so many things. We'll see.

I totally stay away from all fast foods, and anything processed. No refined sugars or staches. No white bread, white rice, white flour, no processed carbohydrates.

Does this help?

DJ-S1

Andy wrote:

Does this help?

Yup, that's exactly what I needed. I couldn't remember the China Study so my searches didn't get any hits except for this:



I'm curious about Baldy, I know he eats lots of fish. Does he do dairy as well, or is it pretty much what you do plus fish?

Thanks a bunch -

DavidTO

Andy wrote:

I recommend
Beans, many kinds of hummus - love the stuff. Bean salads. Black bean dip. I love veggie burritos (black beans, rice, salsa, onions, olives, lettuce, mmmmm). Chile! We make 4 or 5 different kinds of vegetarian Chile. One pot bean dishes that are amazing.

:whew

patch29

Andy wrote:

Lots to read, I recommend

The China Study and
Eat to Live

That means, I don't eat: Cheese, Milk, Ice Cream, Butter, Poultry, Fish, Pork, Beef, Venison, Lizard, Snake or anything that is an animal or was an animal.

Does this help?

Wow. I knew it was based on The China Study, which I have picked up from the library and need to read.

I was curious how far the diet goes and it sounds like 100% Vegan, not sure I can give up all of that.

Impressive results though.

How do you manage to eat healthy and vegan while traveling?

dragon300zx

patch29 wrote:

I was curious how far the diet goes and it sounds like 100% Vegan, not sure I can give up all of that.

How do you manage to eat healthy and vegan while traveling?

Both things I'm courious about as well. As much as it sounds good and something I'd be interested in trying, I just can't see myself not eating fish or chicken a few times a week. And seeing as I'm busy most of the time, the eating healthy while traveling is of big interest.

Andy

patch29 wrote:

How do you manage to eat healthy and vegan while traveling?

Most towns/cities have a health foods store or Whole Foods. So, I stop there for portable foods

Going out? Not a problem. Salads are everywhere. Then, I can also do fine at most any ethnic restaurant: Mexican, Indian, Italian, Mediterranean, etc.

It's not hard at all, when you focus on it, and plan for it.

gus

Andy wrote:

Indian,

Hmmmm...butter chicken :eat

DJ-S1

patch29 wrote:

...not sure I can give up all of that.

I'm with you, but I think if I keep fish and a wee bit of dairy... I'm gonna give it a shot.

stirfry

dragon300zx wrote:

And seeing as I'm busy most of the time, the eating healthy while traveling is of big interest.

I do a lot of travelling. It can initially be trying to work ANY new diet into a busy schedule, but before long you'll find a system that works for you .. whether it's locating a HFS in your host city, or just planning ahead and packing stuff to bring with you. Just expect a transition period, and be okay easing into a new way of doing things .

I think for most people, it's an easier pill to swallow if you make a gradual switch from an omnivorous diet to an herbivorous diet. It gives you time to wean off of a staple favorite rather than quitting cold (soy analog )turkey, while also providing ample but not overwhelming opportunity to experiment with new and different foods. Think of it not as a diet, but a lifestyle change ~ it's worth doing slow and steady.

patch29

Andy is your family on your diet?

Andy

patch29 wrote:

Andy is your family on your diet?

Wife yes, though she didn't need to lose an ounce.

Trevor, not so much, though we try

Skippy

DJ-S1 wrote:

I'm ready for a change - would either of you guys care to explain your diet/nutrition philosophy and point me in the right direction? I need to drop 20 (30 would be better) and get healthier in general.

I'd appreciate it -

You should always consult a Dr before you go on "diets"
Also you cannot afford to be a fussy eater if you cut Meat out of your diet, you must suppliment it, and this is were a lot of vegetarians go wrong.

Man if you could see the amount of slips that come through our Pathology Lab that say "vegetarian" you'd be shocked.

If your going to go Vegetarian you have to do it properly.

Nothing wrong with being a Vegetarian if you do it properly
........ Skippy
.

Angelo

Congratulations Andy! Truly inspiring.

Andy

Angelo wrote:

Congratulations Andy! Truly inspiring.

Thanks

I had help - Baldy is sorta influential, yknow?

DJ - and anyone "on the fence" - it's truly a life-changing thing. Holler anytime if you have questions!

dlscott56

Are you talking about Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman?

I'll tell ya, I've lost and gained weight several times and right now am on a gain. The weights starting to bug me a lot! I've been through quite a few tests lately because I haven't felt well and everything seems fine heart and health wise.

Need a change myself!

Andy

dlscott56 wrote:

Are you talking about Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman?

I'll tell ya, I've lost and gained weight several times and right now am on a gain. The weights starting to bug me a lot! I've been through quite a few tests lately because I haven't felt well and everything seems fine heart and health wise.

Need a change myself!

http://www.drfuhrman.com/

To me, It just makes sense. It's not a diet. Not like Atkins, South Beach, or Zone. There's no company behind this. And it's not a "craze" or a "fad."

Baldy

Hahaha, we've actually had great fun doing this. Our weekly Farm Fresh to You order just arrived at SmugMug HQ and we tore into it like a pack of wolves.

In the beginning, we all thought it would mean missing out on yummy foods and having to chew on stuff like celery... But 3.5 of my kids, their 4 spouses, and two dozen of our friends are loving it -- and the results are amazing.

Here are the books I read and loved:

The China Study
Eat to Live
Healthy at 100
The Omnivore's Dilemma
Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease

All are by massively respected authors who provide lots of data and examples.

The bottom line for me is I eat whole plants and some fish.

The unexpected surprise is your tastes adjust and you lose your cravings as long as you don't moderate too much. It's amazing how you can come to love colorful whole fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains when you get the recipes down and your body used to them. And how your weight and blood lipids plunge and how much better you feel.

The key is this formula:

health = nutrition / calorie

An awful lot of nutrition is non-caloric, such as fiber, vitamins, anti-oxidants, etc. An awful lot of foods have those stripped out or are loaded with oils and sugars, which have essentially no nutition.

dlscott56

Andy wrote:

http://www.drfuhrman.com/

To me, It just makes sense. It's not a diet. Not like Atkins, South Beach, or Zone. There's no company behind this. And it's not a "craze" or a "fad."

Thanks Andy, think I'll check into this.

DJ-S1

Skippy wrote:

You should always consult a Dr before you go on "diets"
Also you cannot afford to be a fussy eater if you cut Meat out of your diet, you must suppliment it, and this is were a lot of vegetarians go wrong.

Man if you could see the amount of slips that come through our Pathology Lab that say "vegetarian" you'd be shocked.

If your going to go Vegetarian you have to do it properly.

Nothing wrong with being a Vegetarian if you do it properly
........ Skippy
.

Thanks Skippy! I am not seeing this as a "diet". I did Atkins in the past and I think that's way overboard, and certainly more potentially dangerous if done wrong than what I am thinking about doing. I'm not going to be a strict vegan.

I read some things Baldy said about it elsewhere and it just made sense to me. If I'm at someone's house and they are serving meat, I'll have a bit. Otherwise I'll eat lots of other stuff, and make sure I get lots of protein from other sources. I'm going to go "cold soy" as Stirfry put it , but if I slide once in a while I'm not going to beat myself up about it. And a little dairy mixed in should be okay, too.

DJ-S1

Andy wrote:

I had help - Baldy is sorta influential, yknow?

DJ - and anyone "on the fence" - it's truly a life-changing thing. Holler anytime if you have questions!

Thanks Andy, I will ask lots of dumb questions so be prepared. And it looks like there's a few folks interested in this too so I'll post 'em here. "No PM's" is a good rule - everybody can benefit.

DJ-S1

Baldy wrote:

The bottom line for me is I eat whole plants and some fish.

The unexpected surprise is your tastes adjust and you lose your cravings as long as you don't moderate too much. It's amazing how you can come to love colorful whole fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains when you get the recipes down and your body used to them. And how your weight and blood lipids plunge and how much better you feel.

The key is this formula:

health = nutrition / calorie

Thanks Baldy, I'm going to give it a go following your lead. Although I may skip any sport with "Ultra" in the title.

DJ-S1

Here's a few dumb questions to start with until I can start reading -

1. What do you drink? I imagine my staple (Diet Coke) is pretty much out. I'm not big on teas, and plain water gets old fast. Alcohol would be no biggie for me to skip, though.

2. What salad dressings are decent? Oil and vinegar only would be a tough one for me. (But I'll do it if I have to.)

3. All lettuce's are not created equal, right? I eat romaine and iceburg mainly, but I assume iceburg is worthless and romaine is decent, no?

4. How about a big bowl of Wheaties or shredded wheat or something? Too processed?

(told you they'd be dumb)

Terrence

Baldy and Andy: Bravo on eating so healthily. Did you like veggies and fruit before you started the China Study or did they grow on you as you got into this change in habits?

My biggest problem is I really loathe the texture and taste of most vegetables...especially raw. Even fruit beyond strawberries and pineapple isn't appealing. My pallette is very limited. My best effort to date is replacing bad carbs with good and eating chicken and turkey almost exclusively.

This way of eating makes perfect sense and the vision of snacking on a carrot rather than a candy bar is dreamy. I can't stomach the carrot, so I just dropped the candy bar.

patch29

Baldy wrote:

Eat to Live
Healthy at 100
The Omnivore's Dilemma
Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease

Thanks for the tips, all of these are available from my library. Time to get reading and eating healthier.

Harryb

Look at the happy scenes above and below is a picture of a vegan

Dee

More dumb questions
What about nuts -- aren't they too fatty?

I don't like crunchy or crispy food. So no chips for me, and I'm not wild about nuts either.

What do you drink? I don't mind green tea, and a tea/lemonade mixture, and since I don't eat fruit -- fruit smoothies would be great... I do like melons..

Just trying to think how to fit this in.

I should mention I don't usually eat red meat, and we eat low fat already due to DH's heart condition. I actually don't miss red meat, except maybe every 3 months. But what about my salmon and shrimp?

And I have to give up sushi???? No, not sushi!

I have lactose intolerance so won't miss lots of cheese, or ice cream, or yogurt, or creamy stuff.

The hardest thing would be giving up my Dr Pepper!

Does a vegan diet help with acid reflux?

Will giving up chicken (the only meat I eat regularly) really cause me to lose weight?

What about bread? (I do like wraps and pita bread).

No cake? No sweets?

Dee

Too funny Harry
You know, I rarely eat fries anymore, I ask that they substitute salad!

Thinking about all this, I'm a third of the way there already...