The challenge for me is eating out on the road. Today was a big test. I brought a cooler full of goodies, but then came dinner at the Olive Garden. I have to say I did well and feel I ate healthy.
Two bowls of salad, no dressing (I think I was cut off from another, since the entree was coming), then whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and even dessert. They have a dessert with sorbet, strawberries, blueberries and custard, but I saved the day asked for no sorbet and custard, but extra berries, my waitress came through for me.
I left feeling energized and not groggy, normally in the past I would over eat the wrong foods and need to pass out. Two more days on the road to go.
I'm on month 18. Nary a piece of animal flesh in all that time. I feel great. Quit smoking a month and a half ago, as well, so my last remaining vice, if Baldy will let me keep it, is my double espressos
Oh and I started exercising again, about time... been doing laps in my pool each day, wow does that ever feel good!
I've been reading a bit of this off and on, and I'm starting to work some into my diet. My wife has been wanting to loose a little weight for a while now, and I could stand to lose a bit myself (although really, it's the fat I could stand to loose, a bit more muscle mass would do me some good). I recently had a blood test done for insurance, and my cholesterol came back high, so I started looking at what I was eating more, and realized that what I thought was pretty healthy (more so than average in this country, at least) could stand some improvement. I'm not going vegetarian, but meat and dairy will be reduced. I'm going to try salads for lunch for a while instead of my traditional sandwich (either turkey & cheese or PB&J, depending on what was around, and I bet that peanut butter was part of my problem). Yesterday was the first day of that at work, and I actually made the salad a bit too big.
So thanks to those who started this thread, and all that have posted recipes to it. You've given me some food for thought, and hopefully some information to improve my health. I've been thinking about this for months, but the blood results were what it took to kick me into real action. Thankfully it was just a regular test that got me into gear, not a serious health problem. And hopefully I'll have some good stuff to add as I try different foods.
I'm on month 18. Nary a piece of animal flesh in all that time. I feel great. Quit smoking a month and a half ago, as well, so my last remaining vice, if Baldy will let me keep it, is my double espressos
Oh and I started exercising again, about time... been doing laps in my pool each day, wow does that ever feel good!
clapclap
Congrats, Andy, on quitting smoking! That is a huge accomplishment.
I've been reading a bit of this off and on, and I'm starting to work some into my diet.
Awesome James! Welcome aboard and congrats on taking the first steps. As you have seen from reading this thread, it's not so difficult. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences -
Fruit mate...fruit. Here is my weekly pile for eating & juicing. I eat it almost constantly all day & it will quickly becomes your 'snack' food. I carry a back-pack of it around at work with me.
Rhubarb......
Rhubarb......do any of you eat it ....use it......I have only cooked it down for pies and such......now trying to get things back into use that I use to use without all the bad for ya crap that was once necessary or so we were taught by our parents and the commercials.....:D:D:D
Alright, I'm a few days into this, and I think I'm noticing a few improvements already. I'm feeling just a little bit better (other than the warned about minor discomfort, which I know will pass). I'm planning to do some cooking and baking this weekend to help out for next week (I hadn't figured this whole thing out early enough to do so last weekend). I'm going to the store to get ingredients for whole wheat muffins tonight, as well as mango sorbet (will make it with just fruit, juice, honey, and water).
Salads for lunch at work have been pretty good, but I'm still hooked on salad dressing. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar yesterday just wasn't as good. Fortunately, I don't use much. Also, I'm enjoying taking a lunchtime walk at work. The office is right next to a large park, and there are some paths through the office complex, as well as a closed off road, plenty of places to walk.
Now, my big question, has anyone done a diet like this without loosing much weight? I'm doing this for health and to lower my cholesterol a bit, but I don't want to loose much weight. And I've already dropped a bit this week. If I go down more than about 5-10 lbs from where I am now, I'd risk being underweight. So, how to maintain weight on a whole foods diet?
James, I'm a couple weeks in and also notice that I just don't procrastinate as much as I used to. I get things done more quickly and without feeling cranky about deadlines.
Oddly, though, I've noticed a change in my temperment. The claim beneath my username is only partly in fun. I can have quite a temper and let annoyances really grind on me, so much so that my chest burns from anger. It's hard for me to let things go. But lately, I just do what I can to address it...and amazingly I don't dwell. I don't fume. I don't grind my teeth and replay the annoyance ad nauseum in my head to rework myself into a tizzy.
I expected the feeling more active part, but the "mood mender" aspect has been a pleasant surprise.
Sorry I can't answer the question about weight loss, as I'm in this partly for that reason. Slipped on a pair of one-size-smaller jeans this morning!
I expected the feeling more active part, but the "mood mender" aspect has been a pleasant surprise.
Sorry I can't answer the question about weight loss, as I'm in this partly for that reason. Slipped on a pair of one-size-smaller jeans this morning!
Good for you! Hopefully I'll have some mood changing aspects, I have issues with worrying too much about things I can't control. I need to stop that eventually.
David,
Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't gone to smoothies for breakfast (I haven't done the shopping for that yet), but have been trying to eat whole grain cereals and the like. I'll try for a few more nuts, but I didn't want to go too heavy on them. As for nut butters, I think that the commercial peanutbutter that I was eating before was part of my problem. Too many trans-fats and too much sugar. I hate wasting stuff, but I should probably dump the rest of a jar that I have for the natural stuff (and I have some of that. ingredients: peanuts, salt).
I'm not worried about losing a bit more weight, but I'd rather gain some muscle. I need an exercise plan involving more than walking for that.
As for nut butters, I think that the commercial peanutbutter that I was eating before was part of my problem. Too many trans-fats and too much sugar. I hate wasting stuff, but I should probably dump the rest of a jar that I have for the natural stuff (and I have some of that. ingredients: peanuts, salt).
I'm not worried about losing a bit more weight, but I'd rather gain some muscle. I need an exercise plan involving more than walking for that.
Unroasted almond butter. No salt. Betterer, IMO, than the peanut variety, and healthier.
Thanks, I'll see if I can find some at the supermarket.
I still have several boxes of granola bars around (they were on sale), how bad are they?
They can be pretty bad, depending on what's in them. I find that sugar and oils are the biggest culprits in pre-packaged granola bars, so check the ingredients list carefully.
They can be pretty bad, depending on what's in them. I find that sugar and oils are the biggest culprits in pre-packaged granola bars, so check the ingredients list carefully.
Good call. I check, and the second ingredient is sugar, the third is canola oil. Some have more sugar in other ingredients farther down the list. So, what to do with several boxes of bars that have more sugar than I really want to eat?
Good call. I check, and the second ingredient is sugar, the third is canola oil. Some have more sugar in other ingredients farther down the list. So, what to do with several boxes of bars that have more sugar than I really want to eat?
Give them to co-workers.
I do that to all the food that I bought that I don't eat and all the goodies that I bake.
Good call. I check, and the second ingredient is sugar, the third is canola oil. Some have more sugar in other ingredients farther down the list. So, what to do with several boxes of bars that have more sugar than I really want to eat?
Unopened - donate to a school lunch program or food bank or soup kitchen. Distributing the less than stellar ingredients over several folk better than eating it all yourself.
By now you probably already know, but the much beloved host of NBC's Meet the Press, Tim Russert, has died. He collapsed from a heart attack at the NBC News studio in Washington, D.C. on Friday. News reports claim that Mr. Russert had passed a stress test on April 29 and had even worked out on a treadmill the morning of his death. This was also reported in the news . . .
"Russert, age 58, was known to have asymptomatic coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis), which resulted in hardening of his coronary arteries," Newman said. "The autopsy revealed an enlarged heart and significant atherosclerosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery with (a) fresh clot which caused a heart attack resulting in a fatal ventricular arrhythmia..."
...Dr. Cyril Wecht, a nationally renowned forensic pathologist, said Newman's description of why Russert died makes sense. "The left anterior descending artery is well known among pathologists as the widow-maker," he tells PEOPLE. "That tells you a lot, doesn't it? It's a classical situation that one encounters with great frequency in sudden unexpected death where you get a blood clot, or a thrombosis, or bleeding and if he had an enlarged heart, that adds to it."
So, he PASSED his stress test, how could that be? If he checked out okay, how could he be dead a couple of months later?
A stress test is not an accurate test for determining the risk of a heart attack. A stress test only identifies obstructions, it doesn't identify vulnerable plaque--the plaque that is likely to trigger a clot. A stress test can only detect a blockage of more than 80% and the propensity of plaque to rupture has nothing to do with the amount of obstruction. You could have a completely normal stress test and then have a heart attack the next day.1 Juvenile plaque, which is thinly laid down, has a higher propensity to rupture then the old plaque that is more obstructive.
Cardiologist's attempt to intervene with cholesterol-lowering drugs hoping that cholesterol-lowering will reduce the thickness of the lipid pool within the plaque, but it only partially reduces risk. Over fifty percent of Americans still die of heart attacks and strokes. About 70 percent of the clots that cause death are formed in areas of the heart with non-obstructing lesions, not visible to cardiac testing and not treatable with stenting or bypass. These softer plaques with a thinner (younger calcified cap) are more likely to rupture and promote a clot, especially if the body is inflammatory-prone from low intake of phytochemicals from produce.
Stress tests are big money-makers for doctors. They identify those people with large blockages who qualify as candidates for costly angioplasty or bypass surgery. However, drugs and medical procedures reduce risk only slightly. There is a more effective option. People who normalize their weight, blood pressure and cholesterol through nutritional excellence and exercise don't have heart attacks.
It's pretty clear that protection against cardiovascular disease will not be found by a scalpel or in a bottle of pills. The best way to prevent heart disease is through aggressive dietary intervention; specifically a nutrient-dense vegetable-based diet.
A high nutrient, plant-based diet is more effective at lowering cholesterol than drugs, but also the weight loss, blood pressure lowering and reduction of oxidative stress from the high levels of micronutrients are all important factors in dramatically lowering one's risk of heart disease.2 Their have been numerous medical studies to document that dietary intervention is more effective than drugs, and that heart disease is preventable and reversible.3,4 That's why my patients with advanced heart disease get well and never have heart disease again.
My goal in my medical practice and on my website has always been to educate the public about the benefits of nutrition as medicine and how unnecessary some of these medical procedures - that only promote a false sense of security - can be. If, as a nation, we had a better understanding of these things, millions of Americans, like Tim Russert, wouldn't die needlessly each year.
2. Jenkins DJ, Kendall CW, Popovich DG, et al. Effect of a very-high-fiber vegetable, fruit, and nut diet on serum lipids and colonic function. Metabolism 2001 Apr;50(4):494-503.
3. Hu FB. Plant-based foods and prevention of cardiovascular disease: an overview. Am J Clin Nutr 2003 Sep;78(3 Suppl):544S-551S.
4. Esselstyn CB. In cholesterol lowering, moderation kills. Cleve Clin J Med 2000 Aug;67(8):560-564. Esselstyn CB. Updating a 12-year experience with arrest and reversal therapy for coronary heart disease (an overdue requiem for palliative cardiology). Am J Cardiol 1999 Aug 1;84(3):339-341, A8.
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Unopened - donate to a school lunch program or food bank or soup kitchen. Distributing the less than stellar ingredients over several folk better than eating it all yourself.
ann
I donated a lot of items I no longer try to eat that were in my cupboard to my local church. They were happy to take it.
Rhubarb......do any of you eat it ....use it......I have only cooked it down for pies and such......now trying to get things back into use that I use to use without all the bad for ya crap that was once necessary or so we were taught by our parents and the commercials.....:D:D:D
I love it. I have some in my fridge right now. I posted some pages back about eating it in oatmeal. I start some pinhead oats on the stove... Cut up rhubarb stalks, some apple, whatever fruit you have around. I like strawberries, apple, and a few raisins for the bit of extra sweetness they have. Microwave the rhubarb and apples (you could also do this in an oven I suppose) for a few minutes, covered (I do this in a corningware baking dish with a lid) stir, add the softer fruit, and cook for a few more minutes, then dump it all in with the oat and a good shake of pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon and such). Now that stone fruit is around, I have some nectarines, peaches and cherries in my fridge along with a bag of rhubarb (which I think is pretty much at the end in my area, though my parents are just getting big harvests now in Minnesota), so we'll see how oatmeal with that comes out.
Also it's good savory-style, we had some with asparagus a few weeks ago at a restaurant, and then I made this, which was pretty tasty:
Asparagus-rhubarb with pasta (free-form from memory recipe...):
2 bunches asparagus
2 stalks (big) rhubarb
1 block tempeh
1/2 large onion
pepper
salt
cup veg stock
1/2 cup red wine
box of fresh, whole wheat vegan pasta (thanks whole foods!)
TB balsamic vinegar
TB soy sauce
tsp sucanant or agave syrup, some sweetener
1/2 onion (other half of above)
couple of shakes of tumeric
1 star anise
1 cup dry white whine
1.5 cups orange juice
orange zest
TB flour
Marinade the tempeh in the sweetener, soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper for a half hr or so.
Smoke/grill the tempeh until quite dry (cooked I suppose though it comes 'cooked') and crubmle up. Saute onion until it starts to get soft (few minutes) add the tempeh, any extra marinade, red wine and stock, cook for about a half hour until the tempeh absorbs the liquid. (burner 1)
Meanwhile (burner 2), blanch the and slice up the asparagus, and slice the rhubarb into matchsticks, so your veggies are all sort of tiny sticks.
Also (to use up all of your burners saute the other onion half with anise, tumeric salt pepper. add white wine and boil. reduce to half. add orange juice and zest and boil again, then whisk in the flour and cook for a couple minutes to thicken. add more salt/pepper until it tastes good.
On your fourth burner you've been heating water for pasta. Cook your pasta and toss orange sauce, veggies, tempeh mix all with the pasta. mmmm... it sounds complicated, but if you're all organised ahead of time it's not bad, and I didn't do the best explaining job, but it gives an idea for savory rhubarb.
I love it. I have some in my fridge right now. I posted some pages back about eating it in oatmeal. I start some pinhead oats on the stove... Cut up rhubarb stalks, some apple, whatever fruit you have around. I like strawberries, apple, and a few raisins for the bit of extra sweetness they have. Microwave the rhubarb and apples (you could also do this in an oven I suppose) for a few minutes, covered (I do this in a corningware baking dish with a lid) stir, add the softer fruit, and cook for a few more minutes, then dump it all in with the oat and a good shake of pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon and such). Now that stone fruit is around, I have some nectarines, peaches and cherries in my fridge along with a bag of rhubarb (which I think is pretty much at the end in my area, though my parents are just getting big harvests now in Minnesota), so we'll see how oatmeal with that comes out.
Also it's good savory-style, we had some with asparagus a few weeks ago at a restaurant, and then I made this, which was pretty tasty:
Asparagus-rhubarb with pasta (free-form from memory recipe...):
2 bunches asparagus
2 stalks (big) rhubarb
1 block tempeh
1/2 large onion
pepper
salt
cup veg stock
1/2 cup red wine
box of fresh, whole wheat vegan pasta (thanks whole foods!)
TB balsamic vinegar
TB soy sauce
tsp sucanant or agave syrup, some sweetener
1/2 onion (other half of above)
couple of shakes of tumeric
1 star anise
1 cup dry white whine
1.5 cups orange juice
orange zest
TB flour
Marinade the tempeh in the sweetener, soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper for a half hr or so.
Smoke/grill the tempeh until quite dry (cooked I suppose though it comes 'cooked') and crubmle up. Saute onion until it starts to get soft (few minutes) add the tempeh, any extra marinade, red wine and stock, cook for about a half hour until the tempeh absorbs the liquid. (burner 1)
Meanwhile (burner 2), blanch the and slice up the asparagus, and slice the rhubarb into matchsticks, so your veggies are all sort of tiny sticks.
Also (to use up all of your burners saute the other onion half with anise, tumeric salt pepper. add white wine and boil. reduce to half. add orange juice and zest and boil again, then whisk in the flour and cook for a couple minutes to thicken. add more salt/pepper until it tastes good.
On your fourth burner you've been heating water for pasta. Cook your pasta and toss orange sauce, veggies, tempeh mix all with the pasta. mmmm... it sounds complicated, but if you're all organised ahead of time it's not bad, and I didn't do the best explaining job, but it gives an idea for savory rhubarb.
Thank you....it gives me some ideas other than fruit pies with rhubarb.....which I have loved most of my life....
So, how's everyone doing? As those that I've seen recently know, I have not adopted the ETL diet, but rather am making an attempt to stick to a plant based diet with occasional servings of fish and rare servings of meat. Clearly this is not enough for me, as I still haven't lost anything more than the first 10 lbs that I lost last year.
I have been dealing with fairly significant shoulder pain for quite a long time. Can't figure out a reason for it, but it finally got bad enough that I went to the doctor. I am a profit center for the cdn health care system, because I rarely use it. Anyway, doc 'doesn't think it is rotator cuff', puts me on anti-inflamatories, sends me for physio and books an MRI!!! The physio did an initial assessment, and is sure it isn't rotator cuff or tendonitis. Cannot differentiate between an inflamed shoulder joint and/or nerve problems in the shoulder. Is actually glad the MrI is happening because he wants to rule out rheumatoid arthritis.
In any case, he asked about other joint pain, so I told him my joint pain issue from pre veg days and that switching my diet made the pain in my hips go away. Told him I switched to loose weight and he was astounded that I hadn't. Suggested that I have that looked into as well.
So I am left - have I made a big enough change that I should be expecting significant results or not?
And to add to todays discomfort, I am having a pretty big allergic reaction to a bug bite - the bite is blistering, is hard for about a 2 inch diameter circle, and is red and inflammed for about a 4 inch diameter.
Had delicious baked beans for lunch and bean burgers and veg for dinner. Yesterdays breakfast was a smoothy with spinach and kale hidden inside. Some days I get the food right........:D
For your shoulder pain BUY THIS BOOK. Read the first three chapters, then jump ahead to the section that describes your pain best. Or the couple of sections. It could be a couple of things adding up to the shoulder pain. But I would bet dollars to doughnuts that I could get rid of or greatly reduce your pain in one sitting. It works really, really well. Try the treatment for scalenes, for one. I had a friend at work complaining about shoulder pain. I did that to him, and he got up cured.
So, how's everyone doing? As those that I've seen recently know, I have not adopted the ETL diet, but rather am making an attempt to stick to a plant based diet with occasional servings of fish and rare servings of meat. Clearly this is not enough for me, as I still haven't lost anything more than the first 10 lbs that I lost last year.
I have been dealing with fairly significant shoulder pain for quite a long time. Can't figure out a reason for it, but it finally got bad enough that I went to the doctor. I am a profit center for the cdn health care system, because I rarely use it. Anyway, doc 'doesn't think it is rotator cuff', puts me on anti-inflamatories, sends me for physio and books an MRI!!! The physio did an initial assessment, and is sure it isn't rotator cuff or tendonitis. Cannot differentiate between an inflamed shoulder joint and/or nerve problems in the shoulder. Is actually glad the MrI is happening because he wants to rule out rheumatoid arthritis.
In any case, he asked about other joint pain, so I told him my joint pain issue from pre veg days and that switching my diet made the pain in my hips go away. Told him I switched to loose weight and he was astounded that I hadn't. Suggested that I have that looked into as well.
So I am left - have I made a big enough change that I should be expecting significant results or not?
And to add to todays discomfort, I am having a pretty big allergic reaction to a bug bite - the bite is blistering, is hard for about a 2 inch diameter circle, and is red and inflammed for about a 4 inch diameter.
Had delicious baked beans for lunch and bean burgers and veg for dinner. Yesterdays breakfast was a smoothy with spinach and kale hidden inside. Some days I get the food right........:D
Ann.....YOU NEED TO SEE A DR. straight away about that bite......could be one of several poisonous spiders.....it the skin starts turning brown and peeling away....then it will mean skin grafts and such......painful and expensive.........I woulda already been in an ER for such a bite............
Ann.....YOU NEED TO SEE A DR. straight away about that bite......could be one of several poisonous spiders.....it the skin starts turning brown and peeling away....then it will mean skin grafts and such......painful and expensive.........I woulda already been in an ER for such a bite............
Thanks for your concern, Art. But ya gotta take into consideration a couple of things:
1. I live far enough north that there aren't documented poisonous spiders here. South of Calgary there are black widows, but not up here. Been a few cases of transported spiders via fruit shipments. Anyway, it may be a spider bite as I had one crawling on me in the yard yesterday. Black garden spider.
2. I have developed a consistent, and nasty, reaction to bug bites. This one is not really any different -> just bigger. Stared with our first trip to the Dominican Republic, where I got hundreds of ?sandfly? bites one day. Each of those little buggers blistered, and I was exremely itchy. Second trip, two years later, and a few mosquito/sandfly bites on my lower legs raised up, blistered and ultimately got infected. Major allergy meds, antibiotics etc. Between the two visits, any local mosquito bite, and I ended up with a big welt. Last summer and then again when we were in Mexico this January, much reduced reaction.
Then yesterday, well, a day in the garden, some time in the grass, and less than an handful of bites. Just this one is nasty.
I am watching it carefully. Tried going to the doc today, but was after hours before I got there.
Or you could try to find a trigger point therapist in your area.
Thanks for the tips, David. I will look into this.
My work benefits plan provides for therapy among other things, and I haven't used it before. So since that counts as part of my salary cacs, I guess I may as well use it!
The therapist I saw seems extremely competent so I will go for the second visit. And I will investigate 'trigger point' as well.
If there isn't a local, what are your hours?
Thanks for your concern, Art. But ya gotta take into consideration a couple of things:
1. I live far enough north that there aren't documented poisonous spiders here. South of Calgary there are black widows, but not up here. Been a few cases of transported spiders via fruit shipments. Anyway, it may be a spider bite as I had one crawling on me in the yard yesterday. Black garden spider.
2. I have developed a consistent, and nasty, reaction to bug bites. This one is not really any different -> just bigger. Stared with our first trip to the Dominican Republic, where I got hundreds of ?sandfly? bites one day. Each of those little buggers blistered, and I was exremely itchy. Second trip, two years later, and a few mosquito/sandfly bites on my lower legs raised up, blistered and ultimately got infected. Major allergy meds, antibiotics etc. Between the two visits, any local mosquito bite, and I ended up with a big welt. Last summer and then again when we were in Mexico this January, much reduced reaction.
Then yesterday, well, a day in the garden, some time in the grass, and less than an handful of bites. Just this one is nasty.
I am watching it carefully. Tried going to the doc today, but was after hours before I got there.
Thanks again, Art. Will keep you posted!
ann
Ok.....understand.....I live in the land of blk widders, brn recluses and small almost transparent scorpions (that do havea real nasty sting)....here in Ks and I have had friends that their bites never seemed to heal.....just rot away.......so i have a great concern over bites from thingys that most of the time ya don't know was there until it is too late....:D
Give a snake any day over buggies and spiders...........:Drofl
Comments
Two bowls of salad, no dressing (I think I was cut off from another, since the entree was coming), then whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce and even dessert. They have a dessert with sorbet, strawberries, blueberries and custard, but I saved the day asked for no sorbet and custard, but extra berries, my waitress came through for me.
I left feeling energized and not groggy, normally in the past I would over eat the wrong foods and need to pass out.
Oh and I started exercising again, about time... been doing laps in my pool each day, wow does that ever feel good!
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HAH!
When's the last time you had only two shots?
(I should add: thanks for inspiring me, Andy!)
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
I've been reading a bit of this off and on, and I'm starting to work some into my diet. My wife has been wanting to loose a little weight for a while now, and I could stand to lose a bit myself (although really, it's the fat I could stand to loose, a bit more muscle mass would do me some good). I recently had a blood test done for insurance, and my cholesterol came back high, so I started looking at what I was eating more, and realized that what I thought was pretty healthy (more so than average in this country, at least) could stand some improvement. I'm not going vegetarian, but meat and dairy will be reduced. I'm going to try salads for lunch for a while instead of my traditional sandwich (either turkey & cheese or PB&J, depending on what was around, and I bet that peanut butter was part of my problem). Yesterday was the first day of that at work, and I actually made the salad a bit too big.
So thanks to those who started this thread, and all that have posted recipes to it. You've given me some food for thought, and hopefully some information to improve my health. I've been thinking about this for months, but the blood results were what it took to kick me into real action. Thankfully it was just a regular test that got me into gear, not a serious health problem. And hopefully I'll have some good stuff to add as I try different foods.
http://jziegler.smugmug.com
Congrats, Andy, on quitting smoking! That is a huge accomplishment.
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Rhubarb......do any of you eat it ....use it......I have only cooked it down for pies and such......now trying to get things back into use that I use to use without all the bad for ya crap that was once necessary or so we were taught by our parents and the commercials.....:D:D:D
Salads for lunch at work have been pretty good, but I'm still hooked on salad dressing. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar yesterday just wasn't as good. Fortunately, I don't use much. Also, I'm enjoying taking a lunchtime walk at work. The office is right next to a large park, and there are some paths through the office complex, as well as a closed off road, plenty of places to walk.
Now, my big question, has anyone done a diet like this without loosing much weight? I'm doing this for health and to lower my cholesterol a bit, but I don't want to loose much weight. And I've already dropped a bit this week. If I go down more than about 5-10 lbs from where I am now, I'd risk being underweight. So, how to maintain weight on a whole foods diet?
Thanks all!
http://jziegler.smugmug.com
Oddly, though, I've noticed a change in my temperment. The claim beneath my username is only partly in fun. I can have quite a temper and let annoyances really grind on me, so much so that my chest burns from anger. It's hard for me to let things go. But lately, I just do what I can to address it...and amazingly I don't dwell. I don't fume. I don't grind my teeth and replay the annoyance ad nauseum in my head to rework myself into a tizzy.
I expected the feeling more active part, but the "mood mender" aspect has been a pleasant surprise.
Sorry I can't answer the question about weight loss, as I'm in this partly for that reason. Slipped on a pair of one-size-smaller jeans this morning!
I would start by adding more nuts and nut butters to my diet. That should keep the weight on.
If you're having a morning smoothie, toss in a handful of almonds and some flax seeds.
It shouldn't take much to keep you good. The diet doesn't make you lose weight forever, but it seems to help you find your ideal weight.
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Good for you! Hopefully I'll have some mood changing aspects, I have issues with worrying too much about things I can't control. I need to stop that eventually.
David,
Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't gone to smoothies for breakfast (I haven't done the shopping for that yet), but have been trying to eat whole grain cereals and the like. I'll try for a few more nuts, but I didn't want to go too heavy on them. As for nut butters, I think that the commercial peanutbutter that I was eating before was part of my problem. Too many trans-fats and too much sugar. I hate wasting stuff, but I should probably dump the rest of a jar that I have for the natural stuff (and I have some of that. ingredients: peanuts, salt).
I'm not worried about losing a bit more weight, but I'd rather gain some muscle. I need an exercise plan involving more than walking for that.
http://jziegler.smugmug.com
Unroasted almond butter. No salt. Betterer, IMO, than the peanut variety, and healthier.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Thanks, I'll see if I can find some at the supermarket.
I still have several boxes of granola bars around (they were on sale), how bad are they?
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They can be pretty bad, depending on what's in them. I find that sugar and oils are the biggest culprits in pre-packaged granola bars, so check the ingredients list carefully.
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Good call. I check, and the second ingredient is sugar, the third is canola oil. Some have more sugar in other ingredients farther down the list. So, what to do with several boxes of bars that have more sugar than I really want to eat?
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I do that to all the food that I bought that I don't eat and all the goodies that I bake.
Unopened - donate to a school lunch program or food bank or soup kitchen. Distributing the less than stellar ingredients over several folk better than eating it all yourself.
ann
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I donated a lot of items I no longer try to eat that were in my cupboard to my local church. They were happy to take it.
I love it. I have some in my fridge right now. I posted some pages back about eating it in oatmeal. I start some pinhead oats on the stove... Cut up rhubarb stalks, some apple, whatever fruit you have around. I like strawberries, apple, and a few raisins for the bit of extra sweetness they have. Microwave the rhubarb and apples (you could also do this in an oven I suppose) for a few minutes, covered (I do this in a corningware baking dish with a lid) stir, add the softer fruit, and cook for a few more minutes, then dump it all in with the oat and a good shake of pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon and such). Now that stone fruit is around, I have some nectarines, peaches and cherries in my fridge along with a bag of rhubarb (which I think is pretty much at the end in my area, though my parents are just getting big harvests now in Minnesota), so we'll see how oatmeal with that comes out.
Also it's good savory-style, we had some with asparagus a few weeks ago at a restaurant, and then I made this, which was pretty tasty:
Asparagus-rhubarb with pasta (free-form from memory recipe...):
2 bunches asparagus
2 stalks (big) rhubarb
1 block tempeh
1/2 large onion
pepper
salt
cup veg stock
1/2 cup red wine
box of fresh, whole wheat vegan pasta (thanks whole foods!)
TB balsamic vinegar
TB soy sauce
tsp sucanant or agave syrup, some sweetener
1/2 onion (other half of above)
couple of shakes of tumeric
1 star anise
1 cup dry white whine
1.5 cups orange juice
orange zest
TB flour
Marinade the tempeh in the sweetener, soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper for a half hr or so.
Smoke/grill the tempeh until quite dry (cooked I suppose though it comes 'cooked') and crubmle up. Saute onion until it starts to get soft (few minutes) add the tempeh, any extra marinade, red wine and stock, cook for about a half hour until the tempeh absorbs the liquid. (burner 1)
Meanwhile (burner 2), blanch the and slice up the asparagus, and slice the rhubarb into matchsticks, so your veggies are all sort of tiny sticks.
Also (to use up all of your burners
On your fourth burner you've been heating water for pasta. Cook your pasta and toss orange sauce, veggies, tempeh mix all with the pasta. mmmm... it sounds complicated, but if you're all organised ahead of time it's not bad, and I didn't do the best explaining job, but it gives an idea for savory rhubarb.
Thank you....it gives me some ideas other than fruit pies with rhubarb.....which I have loved most of my life....
Thank You again............
I have been dealing with fairly significant shoulder pain for quite a long time. Can't figure out a reason for it, but it finally got bad enough that I went to the doctor. I am a profit center for the cdn health care system, because I rarely use it. Anyway, doc 'doesn't think it is rotator cuff', puts me on anti-inflamatories, sends me for physio and books an MRI!!! The physio did an initial assessment, and is sure it isn't rotator cuff or tendonitis. Cannot differentiate between an inflamed shoulder joint and/or nerve problems in the shoulder. Is actually glad the MrI is happening because he wants to rule out rheumatoid arthritis.
In any case, he asked about other joint pain, so I told him my joint pain issue from pre veg days and that switching my diet made the pain in my hips go away. Told him I switched to loose weight and he was astounded that I hadn't. Suggested that I have that looked into as well.
So I am left
And to add to todays discomfort, I am having a pretty big allergic reaction to a bug bite - the bite is blistering, is hard for about a 2 inch diameter circle, and is red and inflammed for about a 4 inch diameter.
Had delicious baked beans for lunch and bean burgers and veg for dinner. Yesterdays breakfast was a smoothy with spinach and kale hidden inside. Some days I get the food right........:D
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For your shoulder pain BUY THIS BOOK. Read the first three chapters, then jump ahead to the section that describes your pain best. Or the couple of sections. It could be a couple of things adding up to the shoulder pain. But I would bet dollars to doughnuts that I could get rid of or greatly reduce your pain in one sitting. It works really, really well. Try the treatment for scalenes, for one. I had a friend at work complaining about shoulder pain. I did that to him, and he got up cured.
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Ann.....YOU NEED TO SEE A DR. straight away about that bite......could be one of several poisonous spiders.....it the skin starts turning brown and peeling away....then it will mean skin grafts and such......painful and expensive.........I woulda already been in an ER for such a bite............
Thanks for your concern, Art. But ya gotta take into consideration a couple of things:
1. I live far enough north that there aren't documented poisonous spiders here. South of Calgary there are black widows, but not up here. Been a few cases of transported spiders via fruit shipments. Anyway, it may be a spider bite as I had one crawling on me in the yard yesterday. Black garden spider.
2. I have developed a consistent, and nasty, reaction to bug bites. This one is not really any different -> just bigger. Stared with our first trip to the Dominican Republic, where I got hundreds of ?sandfly? bites one day. Each of those little buggers blistered, and I was exremely itchy. Second trip, two years later, and a few mosquito/sandfly bites on my lower legs raised up, blistered and ultimately got infected. Major allergy meds, antibiotics etc. Between the two visits, any local mosquito bite, and I ended up with a big welt. Last summer and then again when we were in Mexico this January, much reduced reaction.
Then yesterday, well, a day in the garden, some time in the grass, and less than an handful of bites. Just this one is nasty.
I am watching it carefully. Tried going to the doc today, but was after hours before I got there.
Thanks again, Art. Will keep you posted!
ann
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Thanks for the tips, David. I will look into this.
My work benefits plan provides for therapy among other things, and I haven't used it before. So since that counts as part of my salary cacs, I guess I may as well use it!
The therapist I saw seems extremely competent so I will go for the second visit. And I will investigate 'trigger point' as well.
If there isn't a local, what are your hours?
ann
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Give a snake any day over buggies and spiders...........:D