Archive for Healthy eating
Getting Perspective From Jobs Early Departure
Posted by: | CommentsIt is a wonder when someone who occupies the news everyday all of a sudden is gone.
As I explore the soul of Nature in my own way I am in awe of the beauty and complexity of Nature and have respect for the ability to crush life without seemingly a second thought. I do hold that we have eternal souls that enter and leave our bodies with a purpose and so if someone dies early, the soul had achieved its purpose for this round.
But not wishing to tempt fate, I would rather eat and live healthy. Western Civilization has taken a wrong turn in its quest for cheap and plentiful food. Yes its important that everyone have enough calories to exist, but we should examine the consequences of a narrow focus.
At least one third of babies born since 2000 are likely to suffer diabetes 2. It will be the first generation whose life span is not longer than their parents. We spend less on food per capita as a nation and more on medicine than any other population.
What’s wrong with this picture? Netflix has a great documentary called “Ingredients” about buying food local. There are a lot of reasons to encourage farmers who are now less than 1% of the population. It is no longer listed as an occupation.
Half the seed production for the globe is controlled by three companies. That creates concerns for biodiversity. Food production is only profitable in large scale but 20% of our oil consumption is engaged in the production, packaging and transporting of this food.
We do place more emphasis on the “hot” electronics than we do on spending more money on more nutritious food. Saving money on food often becomes the priority after we struggle through the rest our obligations.
It does not cost a lot to eat right. Exercise can be free. Sickness is very expensive.
We are eliminating farm land with suburban growth. Population is increasing and farmland is decreasing. The emphasis to make food production more efficient rather than more nutritious is having dire consequences. Local food saves energy and is more healthy. At a point, food production doesn’t feed the population, but maybe sickness kills off the excess population and people don’t live as long; Efficiency vs Value.
We can influence the choices government, food consortiums, and we as a population are making.
In an article by the National Center for Policy Analysis
“Denmark has imposed what it calls a “fat tax” on foods such as butter and oil as a way to curb unhealthy eating habits. While the country has already implemented initiatives to tax unhealthy products such as sugar and soft drinks, the breadth of the fat tax is largely unprecedented, says the Washington Post.
- Based not only on the presence of saturated fats in the finished product but also on the fats used to make it, the fat tax is set at approximately $2.90 per kilogram of saturated fat.
- It is expected to raise the price of a standard burger about 15 cents.
The purpose of this new tax, says the Danish parliament, is to increase the life expectancy of the Danish population. While above the world average, the life expectancy of Danes lags behind that of their European neighbors. Placing this issue at the forefront, government officials cite the correlation between fat-heavy diets and cardiovascular disease and cancer when justifying the new tax.”
The U.S. is contemplating the same measures but is not likely to tax sugars in sodas. It does show the U.S. is behind other western countries in legislating health for its populations. Unfortunately nations find themselves needing to make citizens more healthy because they have previously chosen to give them a health care safety net.
Shouldn’t the population care as much as the government?
The government has to pay, but the population has to suffer. It is no fun having diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. There is a lot of suffering. People around you have to suffer as well. You can lose body parts, become indigent, immobilized, weak, and pitiful. You don’t live to participate with your kids and grand kids for as long those in healthy cultures.
It costs a lot of money to cure your ailments and may strap future generations with your costs and the burden of taking care of you not to mention the costs born by the public. Living to the end with health and fitness is a wonderful experience. You can lead your family on great adventures and still enjoy hiking, skiing, surfing, and running into your 70’s and maybe 80’s.
The movement has begun world wide to make people healthier. If people learn to eat natural, they will enjoy the benefits without too much prodding or too many taxes.
GMOs to Go on California Ballot
Posted by: | CommentsWe need to raise 700,000 signatures. (Natural News article)
Some people don’t like the idea of GMOs.
What I don’t like is that the big food consortiums in partnership with government law makers and regulators can force small farmers and organic growers out of business with raids and crop confiscations.
The GMO growers also tried to prevent small farmers from growing crops contaminated by GMO seeds blowing into their fields. They lost this battle.
The loser when big money and influenced government law makers get together is the general public and the democratic system that is supposed to be by the people for the people.
If the ballot measure forces food providers to declare when their products contain GMOs, it gives the public a right to vote. It would be one way to put the GMOs in the face of a democratic process.
If the vote is not positive it might force government regulators and law makers to give more consideration to organic growers and small farmers who can provide produce to local markets and street fairs. I like to buy produce locally.
Big business grows corn at a loss made profitable by government subsidies. This provided at a loss product becomes low quality food stuffs that wind up requiring high cost medical coverage.
Instead of subsidizing corn, soy, and oil, why not subsidize high quality fruit and vegetables and reduce the nation’s dependence on the pharmaceutical industry. If Medicaid is breaking our backs, let’s treat the cause. Lets give kids apples instead of French fries.
GMOs stamp out the little guy. This is an instance where big money backed regulators in government are helping. The fact that GMO’s can save the world is a front for putting more control in fewer hands. Let’s have less efficiency and more choice and innovation.
How to Include 5 Healthy Foods in Your Diet
Posted by: | CommentsNatural News in an article touts 5 super foods that are anti inflammatory and strong anti-oxidant. These are two characteristics you want to stress in your daily diet.
Your body produces inflammation naturally on a daily basis. It also gathers free radicals from the environment. If you don’t eliminate them, they lead to debilitating functionality. They lead to dementia, poor eye sight, heart disease, and cancer. Do you need more?
Eating natural foods and getting exercise eliminate both. Animals rarely suffer from dementia or heart disease. There are many cultures in existence that also don’t suffer these maladies and members live to be active to 100 years old.
If you want to create a diet with anti-oxidants and inflammation fighting super foods, you should read Johnny Bowden’s book “150 Healthiest Foods on Earth”. I started my health drive with this book by picking eight foods to include in my diet. I also started eliminating bad foods.
In the Natural News article they list 5 foods that are helpful:
Mustard, Raisins, Nuts, Seasonings, Cole slaw (Cabbage)
Mustard helps fight migraines for which a surprising number of people suffer. Raisins and nuts have anti oxidants as do cabbage and many spices.
In the mornings I have a fruit bowl of apples, bananas, peanuts, raisins, with flax seeds and a half bowl of oat meal. I eat my oat meal dry because I don’t eat dairy. If you put fruit on it or a little syrup (pardon the sugar) it becomes delicious. I add cinnamon and raisins to my oat meal.
I mix mustard in my tuna mix for my wraps. I include tuna, lemon pepper, brown mustard, zucchini, onions, and tomatoes. (notice no mayonnaise). Then I wrap it in wheat tortilla for a great wrap. This is also portable if you want to take it to work.
I put cabbage in my soups. Cabbage and kale are on top of Johnny Bowden’s list of 150 powerful foods as cancer fighters. My soups are meals in themselves. I use three types of beans, brown rice, yams, potatoes, celery, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, kale (when I have it), red peppers, turmeric, and chicken bouillon cubes.
These three meals are great for energy, weight loss, and immune system development. Because of my exercise and recovery needs, I include meat. I eat it in small 3 to 4 ounce portions and have a small steak in the morning with and egg and put a broiled hamburger at night on top of spaghetti with vegetables or on top of brown rice with vegetables.
This is also a very inexpensive diet. Notice there are no canned and few processed foods, no dairy, no sodas, no french fries, no sweet rolls, no bread, and little sugar. Being a dessert freak, I have to admit I make brownies or banana walnut muffins to keep me alive.
Why Doesn’t The Govt Subsidize Skinny Instead of Obesity?
Posted by: | Comments“A new report released this week has found that, among the billions of dollars spent each year in federal subsidies for commodity crops, a steady flow of these taxpayer dollars are going to support high fructose corn syrup and three other common food additives used in junk food.
The report, “Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies of Fresh Produce and Junk Food” by CALPIRG and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, studies the interesting question of whether the nation’s problem with obesity is fueled by farm subsidies.
In another article is a quote from a citizen: “I think that the number one problem that is causing childhood obesity is that it costs so much more to eat healthy,” she wrote. ”It is cheaper to buy a huge bag of frozen French fries to feed your family than it is to buy them each a nice apple. Us lower and middle class people are stuck between a rock and a hard spot.”
At the same time Congress is torn by reducing the entitlement safety nets, it continues to sponsor producers of food that eventually creates the need for safety nets. Is Congress stuck on obesity because it is cheaper to make people fat than make them skinny?
If people are getting all the calories they need rather than starving, does that make the population more stable and therefore more likely to reelect their representatives? The ensuing medical costs can be blamed on the public and their inability to pay for cures can become their problem.
If the government were really here to help, it would confess that most other countries of the world are healthier than we are because their diets have less calories. Rather than spending more money on defense, infrastructure, and entitlements, why don’t we spend more money on subsidizing healthy food and education?
If we are laizzes faire and capitalistic, make the population healthy and smart and they will take us out of our economic doldrums and entitlement heavy budgets. If the government was more like it was at the inception of the constitution, it would give the states and the people more freedom to create their own prosperity.
The heavy hand of government has led us astray and wastes our resources. We, the people, have to see the light and find our own way. This begins with taking back our health and fitness.
Modern Diseases Could Disrupt the Global Economy
Posted by: | CommentsIn an article from Natural News it is reported that “Between now and 2030, the aggregate global cost of treating the five most common, non-infectious diseases — cancer, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, and mental health disorders — will top $47 trillion, according to a new report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). And experts warn that if nothing is done to curb this escalating healthcare crisis, the global economy will most certainly collapse due to insurmountable financial insolvency.”
The World Economic Forum says these five diseases are responsible for 63% of all global deaths.
“In other words, no economy will be able to survive this approaching doomsday scenario, which is why the world’s current course must change as soon as possible. WEF spokesmen and others commenting on the report highlight increasing taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, and encouraging less consumption of “salt and trans fats,” as a helpful solution for reducing such costs. But such approaches are largely simplistic and do not fully address the root causes of non-communicable disease.
Truth be told, modern society in many industrialized nations is riddled with toxic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and pollutants that are wreaking havoc on both environmental and human health. The nature of genetically-modified organisms (GMO) in the food supply, reliance on processed foods as part of the Standard American Diet (SAD), and an overall complacency among many towards exercise, are also some of the primary factors contributing to this modern health crisis.”
These dire warnings support my less catastrophic posts on how to feel better through nutrition and fitness. I might add that my daily intake of digestible clay in liquid form is supposed to cleanse the intestinal tracts of metals, pesticides, and radiation. In other words, digestible clay is one solution to fight the environmental affects you can’t see.
These warnings also reinforce the fact that our modern diet and complacency about exercise have taken us too far away from our connection to nature. Man is an animal and for millions of years, his system through evolution had grown accustomed to natural food and daily labor.
The last few years in geologic time have taken us far afield. Just as we try to raise animals on unnatural foods and in unnatural conditions, we ingest the unhealthy product of these efforts at efficiency and cost reduction.
We don’t consider the cost of getting a new IPhone or big screen TV because we know we can save money on a corn based diet and factory raised meat. The FDA and monopolized food industry are quickly taking us down the same path as the security industry did in 2008.
Just because you are not paranoid, does not mean that someone is not out to get you.
New Study Shows Weight Loss Takes Time
Posted by: | CommentsIn a NY Times article by Jane E. Brody, a study completed by a Dr. Kevin D. Hall and his colleagues at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases debunks the calorie fighting diets.
More success is gained by changing habits and steady exercise. In my own experience I have found that the best weight loss comes over a period of years. The advantage is that by changing your eating style, you don’t have to diet and changes become permanent.
I have also realized that the average sedentary person cannot burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound until they are in strong training. If running a mile burns about 700 calories, the non athletic person is not going to burn enough calories to affect their weight until they are in condition.
However, taking bad food out of a diet is a more simple process with much better results. By instilling a diet with natural foods that the body recognizes, a whole host of processes begin that eliminate fat.
In Dr. Wall’s study, “The model shows that lasting weight loss takes a long time to achieve and suggests that more effective weight loss programs might be undertaken in two phases: a temporary, more aggressive change in behavior at first, followed by a second phase of a more relaxed but permanent behavioral change that can prevent the weight regain that afflicts so many dieters despite their best intentions.”
I found that my weight loss of twenty pounds over a few years was easy to maintain without dieting because I learned to like the new foods I was eating and learned to find substitutes for the bad foods to which I seemed addicted. At the end, I progressed to a raw diet for four months in which I lost another 20 pounds.
When I became tired of the raw diet, I slowly added cooked foods but maintained good habits and lost another five pounds to reach my high school weight of 175 pounds.
“In an interview, Dr. Hall said the longstanding assumption that cutting 3,500 calories will produce a one-pound weight loss indefinitely is inaccurate and can produce discouraging results…”
If you are calorie counting, you are on the wrong track for permanent weight loss. The body encapsulates in fat, food it does not recognize. You can ask yourself whether an animal would eat what you are eating. A second principal is that sugar accelerates calorie storage. If you drink soda or alcohol, you are hurting your chances of losing weight.
If you take food out of cans or packages, chances are you are consuming sugar and refined products the body does not recognize. If you eat everything that is raw or fresh and that has not already been cooked, you will help the body release the fat it has stored because poor nutrition tells it you are starving.
If you have unwanted fat, it is because the body thinks you are starving it with bad nutrition. It holds onto those unwanted calories.
You can lose weight eating the right foods if you don’t exercise, but being active will increase metabolism and fat burning. The hurdle to avoid is eating more because you are exercising.
I have a vigorous interval exercise program in surfing, but I also eat mostly natural products and I eat several small meals a day. Eating in smaller portions helps the body digest without robbing it of energy. Digestion requires blood and oxygen and so does thinking and working. Eat small and have more energy for daily tasks.
Slowly eliminate bad foods and add natural products like fruit, vegetables, grains, and protein. Avoid canned, packaged, fried, and in general restaurant prepared foods.
An Ideal Meal
Posted by: | CommentsGet your protein, vegetables, grains, and anti-oxidants in low calorie, low fat combination.
It is a bowl of meat, vegetables, rice and beans.
I use packaged brown rice and black beans that have to be boiled for about twenty minutes. I boil the brown rice and black beans in separate pots because the black bean water turns the rice black. When I make soup, I might cook them together.
Then I broil a 3 to 4 ounce piece of chuck roast. You can use anything you like. The roast is low fat and I buy meat without anti-biotics or hormones.
I brown garlic and onions in olive oil in a frying pan. Then I add zucchini, broccoli, peppers, and tomatoes. Feel free to add as many vegetables as you like. I season with red pepper, seasoning salt, and pepper.
I mix the black beans and rice and put at the bottom of my bowl. I add my vegetable mixture and then top with my small steak.
Not only is it pretty and delicious with all sorts of tastes mixed in, but it is nutritious and sustaining; makes a great dinner or lunch.
If you are physically active, you will find this is great for fuel and recovery. I now try to surf twice a day and need lots of nutrition and can do it without lots of calories. I have a small portion of meat twice a day and have beans and rice often three times a day.
I have stopped using my protein powders and amino acid supplements to see if I can provide my recovery with better nutrition. If you are a non meat eater, you might not like this routine. If you are a meat eater, a total of 8 ounces a day in two meals is not very extreme. The broiling seems to take the fat out.
I find that I feel better than ever. I usually try to get some grains in my diet with 10 grain cereal and whole grain bread. I also have two or three portions of fruit bowls a day where I combine apples, bananas, peanuts, raisins, flax seed, and maybe a small spoon of peanut butter.
I make a vegetable soup that has a few more ingredients than the above dinner and can have that as a lunch, afternoon snack, or even after dinner snack. Even if you are not physically active, you could probably lose weight on this diet. There is no sugar, no fat, no bleached flour, no processed foods, and no restaurant foods.
A Balanced Meal
Posted by: | CommentsNow that I am fitting in two surf sessions a day, I am trying to get enough fuel and recovery food into my diet without over loading my digestive system. When too much blood goes to digestion, it robs the brain of needed oxygen to perform at a high level.
The best balance of nutrients for appeasing the appetite and fueling the brain is mixing carbohydrates and protein. Protein supports thinking and carbohydrates slows brain energy. Nonetheless, the brain uses a great deal of energy, so like muscles, it needs fuel.
A meal I use for lunch but can also be dinner is a mixture of broiled ground hamburger on top of brown rice and vegetables. I am always looking for the best anti-oxidants in my vegetables and use beef not fed hormones or anti-biotics.
I mix a small portion of ground round, maybe a quarter to third of a pound, with green onions and seasonings. Adding onion soup mix can also enhance flavors. I broil in a thick patty because I like it pink in the middle for five to ten minutes.
At the same time, I brown garlic and onions in olive oil. Then I add chopped zucchini, broccoli, peppers (green, red, or yellow) tomatoes, and pre cooked brown rice. I don’t cook too long or too hot so as not to greatly alter the natural ingredients.
The common accepted rule about altering the chemicals of raw food is cooking under 118 degrees prevents major change. I ate raw without meat for several months and lost 20 pounds, but now I prefer to cook and add some meat. I still maintain my high school weight.
Adding as many healthy foods that you like into a mix stokes your imagination and varies your diet. You can always add and subtract ingredients to make the new mixture interesting and varied. I make a soup with as many ingredients that I can imagine that tastes good and is giving me a wide variety of nutrients.
When the hamburger is broiled, I put it on top of my rice and vegetable ensemble. The balance suppresses the appetite for hours and gives me the fuel for an afternoon work out.
What is Nutrition?
Posted by: | CommentsFor the benefit of the public, our children, healthcare costs, and the planet, we may need to redefine nutrition.
In many countries, nutrition is getting enough to eat. In the U.S. we are clearly over eating. The government is subsidizing the cost of corn so too many foods are disguising meals as nutritious that are unnatural. Restaurants are into palate pleasing more than life sustaining.
The body is extremely content with less food. I think there is a phobia about being hungry. As soon as we have the slightest little pang, we are rushing for something convenient to appease this itch. Generally it is a food that perpetuates the body’s feeling that it is starving.
Our body and digestive system are still living in the past. Early man ate up to 30 or 40 plant items and as much meat as he could kill. The body read the sugar content to determine how much insulin and digestive juices were needed to consume and convert the food to energy.
In modern times, when we drink a Coke, the body thinks we have eaten a whole antelope. It starts producing insulin and toxic digestive juices to prepare for the work ahead. The body then holds onto all the calories we consume. It is now wonder college kids put on weight. After a night of drinking and introducing alcohol sugar into their body, they head for the 2 a.m. pizzas and cheeseburgers.
A whole food diet is translated by the body as nutritious and satisfying. The digestive system easily handles a meal and sends a message of contentment. There is no need to store calories or fat because the body does not fear starvation; it recognizes everything we are eating. Supplying a little whole food every few hours keeps our hunger pangs in check and our body lean.
Eating fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, healthy fats, and lean protein is not as difficult as we think. Even if we eat 85% correctly or 70% to begin, we are going to put the body on an alkaline base which deters sickness and disease.
Fruit in the morning with whole grain cereal or toast is pretty satisfying. Tuna, chicken, or even pasta for lunch with vegetables, rice, beans, and whole grain bread is also satisfying. If we cannot get healthy salads conveniently, we can certainly carry healthy snacks that hold us until we find a good meal.
Dinner is also easy with the basic ingredients of lean protein, greens, rice, beans, and fruit. We can eat more but don’t need to because if we eat slowly and digest, we get a quick message that our stomach is happy.
Health care costs us over a trillion dollars a year. By pass surgery is a $50 billion industry. 1,500 people a day die from cancer in the U.S. Maybe we ought to redefine what is convenient and what is costing us more in the long run. If I use poor gas to save time and money in the short run to find I have to replace my engine or walk home from work later, maybe I haven’t really saved.
We only get one body and if we take the convenient route, it might desert us all too early.
How We Can Cut Healthcare Costs by 80%
Posted by: | CommentsThe U.S. spends over a trillion a year in health costs and we are getting less healthy every year. We spend four times the defense budget on health care. We are ruining our federal budget with health care costs and threatening everyone’s entitlements.
The U.S. spends more than almost any country and we have higher incidences of heart disease and cancer. Healthy people who come from Asia and other countries fall victim to our diseases once they adopt our diet. China is falling victim to our diseases by importing our fast food restaurants.
There are doctors who treating heart and cancer patients by putting them on whole food diets and exercise. Their patients reverse their symptoms, lose weight, and gain energy. In a documentary called “Forks over Knives” you could see on Netflix.com, a list of patients are chronicled who defied their death sentence.
When we closet cattle, pigs, and chickens into a building and nourish them on feed, we have to give them anti biotics to keep them healthy. When we feed humans meat, dairy, sugar, bad oils, and fried foods, we have to give them medicine to keep them alive.
The body produces inflammation on a regular basis. Exercise allows the body to call on cytokines to clear up the inflammation and build new muscle cells in the process. Bad foods increase cholesterol and plaque which shut down arteries.
The U.S. spends $50 billion a year on by pass surgery. Children are getting the diseases of adults and are being prescribed the same medicines. It’s too bad since there is such a simple solution.
Whole foods are what the body wants. We started down the wrong trail when we discovered fast food was convenient, cheap, and satisfying. In our busy lives we saved time by rushing the family in for a quick burger, fries, and coke. Everybody was happy.
We have become addicted to the tastes of sugar, oil, meat, and dairy. “Milk does the body good.” The short term solution has turned into a long term problem. We are sick and it costs money to keep us alive.
Even though I eat meat, I eat it in small portions and I eat meat that has not been treated with hormones and anti-biotics. I don’t eat it in between two buns. I don’t eat dairy. I eat very little sugar. I eat all I want and I eat often. I lost 45 pounds in four years without being on a diet.
At the end, I lost the last 20 pounds in four months with a raw diet. I have since started cooking again and have never put on weight. It is pretty easy to get grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and protein in a healthy diet.
I am a medium exerciser that starts with a warm up of stretching, push ups, stairs and then surfing. In the afternoons I do a mile beach run. I have a fruit bowl with 10 grain cereal and peanuts in the morning, a small 4 ounce steak with a piece of whole grain bread, tomatoes, and sometimes an egg at 11. Around 2, I have a tuna salad pita wrap. For dinner I have salad, soup, and/or spaghetti with brown rice and vegetables.
If everyone ate whole foods we wouldn’t need to spend a trillion on health care. We wouldn’t be having the congressional deadlocks on run away entitlements which consume 50% of our budget. The grain that goes to feed cattle could feed all the poor in the world.
A tremendous amount of oil is consumed bringing meat to the markets from pumping water, raising grain, and delivery. Eating healthy could improve land sustainability and reduce global warming. Eating healthy is a contribution in living green.
Why Oxygen is Our Best Friend and Worst Enemy
Posted by: | CommentsAnimals evolved from bacteria and plants from algae.
They were the life forces back billions of years. When oxygen entered the earth’s atmosphere, bacteria formed mitochondria to burn it. When oxygen became more plentiful about 500 million years ago, life forms absorbed the mitochondria into cells. Now there was plentiful cheap fuel for energy.
This gave rise to an explosion of life forms. Larger life forms could exist because they had cheap available fuel for movement. The oxygen in the cells provided energy, but the oxygen that existed out of the cells were destructive.
Life forms fed on anti oxidants in the forms of vegetation. The greens from vegetables and fruit was nature’s way of protecting living organisms from natural forces. Without anti oxidants, life forms may not have evolved.
Enter modern man. He substituted Big Mac’s for greens and vegetables. He obviously knows more than earlier life forms. Look how healthy he is.
Its the Food We Don’t Eat that Matters
Posted by: | CommentsThere is a lot of money in coming up with the right combinations of foods for people to eat and hitting the magic button between delicious and no calories.
There is no money in telling people what not to eat. The second problem is that people won’t avoid the foods they shouldn’t eat, they just want to cut back. Calorie counting is about cutting back so that you can maintain your life and hopefully control your weight.
I see people trying to exercise their way to lean or losing ten pounds and most of the time it doesn’t work. I know, I tried it for years. I have been an excessive exerciser and a less than excessive exerciser. When I was less than excessive, I thought I was doing enough to take off twenty pounds.
What I found and what I see is that it is usually wishful thinking. The body was conditioned not that many years ago in evolutionary time to not allow excessive weight loss from exercise. Early man did not have the means to consume enough calories to offset the exertion required to hunt and kill. What if it took several days to find meat?
The body is synchronized to store fat for a rainy day. If it thinks you are starving because it is not getting the nutrients it needs, it will hold on tighter. Cutting back on calories while maintaining an American diet sets of the starvation alarm. Exercising in this process doesn’t relieve the body’s sense of security. It thinks you are out looking for food.
Eliminating food the body doesn’t recognize is the best process. It would normally store these foods as fat or encapsulate them in fat. The foods it doesn’t recognize are the foods that didn’t exist 100,000 years ago. McDonalds only had one outlet back then.
I really don’t need to tell you the rest, but just so you don’t feel cheated, one should eliminate flour, sugar (fructose), foods fried or dipped in hot oil, and dairy. Meat is not bad, but you should avoid meats with hormones and anti-biotics, and produce with pesticides.
Where as the meats with harmful ingredients are not making you fat, they are setting you up for problems later. An oncologist told me that fruits and vegetables soaked in a half cup of salty water for twenty minutes will neutralize the pesticides. I have been doing this for years.
If you eliminate the harmful foods, what is left? Food a gorilla or bear would eat. The bonus is you can eat as much as you want because these foods have few calories; fruits, vegetables, natural grain cereals, seeds, nuts, good oils, beans, and some pasta without cheese sauces.
Now when you exercise, the body doesn’t feel it is hunting for meat because it is getting all the food it needs and it will quickly release the bad food encapsulated in fat. It is not beyond reach to lose ten plus pounds a month. I easily lost 25 pounds in four months on a raw diet with lots of exercise. Now I just maintain with good eating habits.
One of my friends has a heavy exercise routine and wants more muscle to show eating the same diet. He says he will exercise the excess fat off. My bet is his body never changes.
Habits That Make You Fat
Posted by: | CommentsWe tend to see things in generalities rather than detail.
We might generalize that we are over weight, have trouble keeping weight off, or can’t for the life of us take off that ten pounds. We accept that the extra weight is just the result of what we do during the day to stay alive.
In a great slide show, an article from Men’s Health printed in MSN.com by Dave Zinczenko lays out 20 different little habits that accumulate to add extra pounds. What to avoid is important for losing those pounds, but when confronted with a long list we are likely to pick and choose.
The list includes the usual habits such as drinking soda, eating too late at night, and ordering combo meals. It also has some tips about choosing smaller plates, don’t face the buffet table, don’t eat the freebies on the table at restaurants, and don’t hang out with fat friends.
It results in slapping your hand for all your violations but doesn’t set out a plan for being proactive and avoiding the bad habits. Results come from eating natural foods and avoiding most combinations of ingredients that come in packages or are prepared in a restaurant. You don’t choose bad ingredients, they are included in the foods you do choose.
You don’t choose fructose or fried fats but they are included in soda, fries, chips, and other foods we crave. Breaking cravings is not easy. It has to be done a step at a time. I lost 45 pounds over four years by selecting the most harmful foods and finding a substitute. I still do that.
The first substitution doesn’t always have to be healthy. If you are addicted to something harmful like ice cream after dinner, find something that you would like just as much and start eating it. After a week move to something more healthy and the habit is then probably broken.
I have found over the years that my healthiest meals are prepared at home. Then I have 100% choice of ingredients. If I have to eat out, then I would have my breakfast and dinner at home and just have to find the best alternative for lunch.
Evolving to a diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, protein, and good fats becomes the food we crave. This means fruit and hot grain cereal or eggs for breakfast; salads soups, chicken, tuna or even spaghetti for lunch; soups, salads, spaghetti, meat, and vegetables for dinner. If your diet is 85% on target, your body will start to release the harmful foods you have eaten that it has encapsulated in fat.
When you start dropping those pounds and inches you become more enthusiastic. You don’t ever have to starve. You can eat all day if you are eating natural non calorie foods. You can drink water and green tea in between and feel satiated and they keep your mouth busy.
If you want to accelerate the process and build your health, add some exercise. Even though walking is great, some aerobics really please the muscles and organs. The amount of time you exercise is almost as important as the intensity. An hour walk can be as good as twenty minutes on the tread mill.
The devil is in the details. Look at what you should be eating in the long run like the list I included above and start substituting now. Consider how fit you would like to be in the long run and start adding exercises now.
The biggest impediment to success is thinking you can reach your goal in 30 days. It’s a much longer life process that will last you the rest of your life.
**
http://fitbie.msn.com/slideshow/20-habits-make-you-fat
By Dave Zinczenko
Cutting Carbs vs Eating Natural; the Weight Dilemma
Posted by: | CommentsCarbohydrates certainly get a bad rap. What’s wrong with them?
Most fruits and vegetables including grasses and leaves are all carbohydrates. See any sick animals falling out of trees?
A good friend about 50 who exercises well with upper body and running on the beach says he wants to thin out a little by eating less carbs. Some diets stress low carbs. If you have an active life, carbohydrates are needed for fuel and recovery.
As a surfer, I would not want to eliminate carbohydrates. Because I eat a mostly natural diet, my struggle is getting enough protein. The carbohydrates I eat are fruit, vegetables, and grain cereals.
I have a fruit bowl in the mornings, a salad during the day, and often a vegetable soup in the early evening before dinner. I like spaghetti and often make my sauce with garlic, onions, zucchini, and broccoli sautéed in olive oil before I drop in the tomato sauce. I have chicken, tuna, and take a high grade amino acid supplement.
What I don’t eat is refined sugar, fructose, bread, dairy, and many processed foods from cans or packages. My body will quickly digest everything I eat and not encapsulate my ingredients in fat to protect my organs.
I have energy, exercise, and don’t think about cutting back on my consumption. I am constantly eating. My foods don’t have many calories and so snacking doesn’t add weight. I don’t drink and follow up with pizza or a hamburger. I frequently have my beer or two in the evenings as I gather with friends.
Losing or maintaining weight doesn’t have to be a struggle if you are eating natural.
