Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The Third Installment From Habits of Health

Today is the third installment from Dr. Wayne Andersenthat he was so kind as to write for us.  It is regarding his book Habits of Health.  Again, we’re not pushing the book - we’re giving you an option if you like what he has to say

Explain your diversified eating plan and how it makes eating a pleasure

Our rushed lifestyle and way of life in general can often make eating healthy an inconvenience and difficult.  My upcoming book Habits of Health will give you the tools you need to make healthy eating easy and enjoyable.  I want to give you diversity, so you the foods you eat compliment and satisfy your taste. This is what Habits of Health is designed to do.

Processed food is not only unhealthy, but also overwhelming to the body.  Aside from that, processed foods have very few intrinsic flavors.  The flavors found in processed goods are loaded with extra salts and extra sugars. My diversified eating plan is designed to provide a full range of foods, with savory flavors and options based on a system of how we should eat, and it is designed to cleanse your palate.

My selection menu includes low glycemic foods that are full of a variety of foods and flavors, including healthy spices, starches, proteins and carbohydrates. Since 95% of our taste satisfaction comes in the first three bites, you want these flavors to be strong and pleasing.  I try to imitate reputable, good restaurants and how they focus on the power of food.  I stick to low glycemic foods like fruits and vegetables, grainy breads, pastas, healthy fats, healthy proteins and overall nutrient dense foods that contain a full range of healthy vitamins and minerals. These foods are not only healthier, but taste much better than processed foods that hardly have any nutrients at all. The chart I have provided in my upcoming book can really help you thrive when choosing what to eat, while making it fun and tasty!

Erin’s Take on This:

As for me, up until I started my very long weight loss journey I was a processed foods kind of person.  Not because I necessarily like them, but because I didn’t look for other options.  Now, I regularly look to see the ingredients in things that I am buying, I always try to eat healthier things when eating out, and I do (contrary to popular belief, lol) try to stay away from fast food restaurants that have processed foods.  I think Queenie will agree, that if you give up the processed foods you will automatically lose weight and feel a heck of a lot better about yourself! 

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Debunking One Myth at a Time

We’ve had such a good conversation lately about theories with weight loss and how we all feel about them, so I thought I would continue this with one particular myth that always had me questioning it. 

Myth #1: Always eat breakfast

Fact: Before you immediately sit up and say “What??” “We don’t have to eat breakfast?”

Yes, you do have to eat breakfast - that part of the myth is actually true - but here’s something you might not have known.  You don’t have to eat first thing when you wake up… you only have to eat some time during the morning.  If you wake up at 7 a.m., you don’t have to immediately eat a big breakfast. You’re probably not even hungry right after you wake up - I know I’m not!. You don’t have to jump start your metabolism right away, but you do have to do it relatively soon but not nearly as soon as they make you think you do. You simply have to structure your eating throughout the day, so you’re not too hungry later on. It’s best to eat within three hours of waking. If you get up at 7 a.m., eat something by 10 a.m. Have some yogurt or a piece of fruit. If you don’t eat in the morning, you will be too hungry when you finally have a meal, and then you’ll likely overeat. Remember, what counts is your total daily calories.

Here’s another one that I find interesting.  I know as a previous Weight Watchers person that we count points which in this case is like counting calories, but for everyone else, here is another popular myth.

Myth #2: You don’t have to count calories

Fact: Counting calories is important

You definitely need to count calories in order to lose weight. People tend to overestimate their physical activity and underestimate their calories. Don’t rely on eyeballing your caloric intake or trying to estimate it. Instead, every day write down what you eat, the corresponding calories, and your physical activity. To make it easier for you to quantify your physical activity, wear a pedometer. Do this every day. Don’t do it just once or twice a week. Consistency is important for dieting. Sure, this isn’t easy. But if you want to lose weight, this is important to do on a daily basis.

And remember that a calorie is a calorie whether it’s fat, sugar, or protein. Still, some foods are more calorie-dense than others. That means that they contain more calories per ounce. Carbohydrates and protein have the same calories per ounce. Fat, on the other hand, has twice as many, so the calories found in fat add up twice as fast. Eat fatty foods — dairy products, skin on meat, fatty meats — in moderation. You want to limit your intake of fat, but you don’t want to stop eating fat. Fat increases your sense of fullness. Your body also needs a small amount of fat to function. Fat is part of our cell structure. The body can’t make some essential fatty acids on its own, so it needs to obtain them from an outside source.

Alright, well I hope I answered some of the most popular diet myths.  What do you think about this - do you think they are myths or fact??

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Is it right …or is it wrong?

Today’s post is my response to a comment that Bethany wrote yesterday. She raised some very valid points about vegetarianism that I want to address here. I also know that a few have emailed me directly to ask questions that I have yet to answer in a post because I get distracted so damn easily. I still have the emails and do fully intend on writing up posts about them. Really, I do. First, you all need to understand that I am new to this whole not eating meat thing. January of 08 to be exact. Secondly, I gave up meat and animal products because I didn’t want to put that stuff in my bod anymore. I call it crap, junk, garbage and any other word that makes it not sound appealing in any way. That is because I still crave it. I still recall how yummy it tasted and if I didn’t talk badly about it, I would most likely still be eating every bit of it. My no meat practice is in no way due to my love of fluffy bunnies. I do love critters but I loved a great steak too. I do still eat fish. If i move away from an area where I can’t get fresh seafood, I will give that up too. I will not eat commercially farm raised, chemically processed meat ever again. With that said....

Bethany brought up the whole human evolution point. Which is a valid point yes however, I don’t agree with the fact that humans are meant to eat meat. Yes, we have forward facing eyes. Most carnivorous critters do have them. It helps for hunting. I get that. However, birds don’t have forward facing eyes. Sharks don’t have them either. Both are also meat eaters. So, that argument is not valid as far as I am concerned. Our teeth are strong yes. But not made to rip flesh from a bone the way a tiger or wolf does. Our teeth, and I think that I have said this before in a post here somewhere, are structurally like an elephant and a cow. Both are vegetarians. So, while we are a dominant species, I don’t feel that alone relegates meat eating. (Bethany, you know how much I loved your comment right? )

So, what is my argument for giving up a medium rare tbone fresh off the grill? Mmmmmmm steak....oh where was I?

The meat industry is a business. They are in this to make money. Can’t blame the people for wanting to have a good life and make a living really. Since the FDA has been involved in our food system, products have been pumped full of vaccines and growth hormones in an effort to keep the meat and veggies “safe”. That chemical make up is in the meat when it is processed and stays in the meat in some forms while it makes its way to your dinner table. Stop and think about this for a minute. Prior to meat packing, how did our country get it’s meat supply? We had farms. Farms that we ran ourselves. We took care of our own critters and those critters provided for our own families. We also didn’t have mad cow, salmonella, cancer or a scary statistic of heart disease. Why is that? 

My theory is that when we had to take care of our families by growing and raising our own food...meat was a privilege. Something that you didn’t have all the time. Cows were much more work and way more expensive to raise than a field of corn, lettuce and tomatoes. By way of practicality, people ate more veggies. Meat was something for special occasions only. So, you have a time when as Americans, we ate less meat and didn’t have the diseases and health issues that we have now. We didn’t have issues with people being immune to vaccines. We didn’t have 10 year old girls growing boobs and 11 year old boys with mustaches. Nope. Is there a link? I will let you make your own decisions. China, India and other countries that I can not think of at the moment, do not have our numbers of population that are suffering from cancer and heart disease, yet their population is at least double from ours. It’s not a lack of reporting the cases. It is a fact of those diseases not being prevalent. The difference between us and them? DIET.

I have study upon study that I have read or been introduced to that has proven that a plant based diet can STOP cancer cells from growing in your body. We all have those cells in our body. It is our immune system that keeps them from taking over. If your immune system is all whacked out, you get cancer. It’s not rocket science. A proven way to keep your immune system functioning correctly? Plant based diet. Cancer runs in my family. My aunt has just recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is undergoing chemo to kill these cells that are growing in her body. She will be losing her hair, her skin will turn funny colors and she will undoubtedly feel like hell during her treatment. Not something that I want to experience. Nope. My choice? I am eating a plant based diet. It’s what I know to keep my body healthy and functioning.

I have seen people, met them in person, who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. They have been on insulin for years to treat their disease. A friend handed them this solution to treating themselves, on their own terms, without drugs that alter their bodies. Within 3 months of being on a plant based diet, they are off insulin completely. Their medical doctors call them miracles. I call them smart.

I have heard of cases where people who have changed their lives over to a plant based diet and they have been cured of Crone’s disease, thyroid issues, cancer of all sorts, heart disease has been completely reversed - not just stopped, but REVERSED, they have had debilitating arthritis that has disappeared. Armed with this information...what would you chose to do?

Yes. I am passionate about my vegetarian lifestyle. I have seen what it can do for people. I am setting by watching my family suffer without them even TRYING the things that I have read about. Why isn’t everyone doing this? Because its hard. It’s against what most doctors tell you. It is not what we know as a society. We have been programmed for decades to think that we need meat to survive. I am setting here, 6 months in saying that we don’t. I have lost almost 50 pounds. Found energy that I didn’t know I had. I have cured myself of panic attacks. I have had 1 cold since November of 2007. ONE. I am not making this post to preach to anyone. I am simply sharing with you all the things that I know. I think most of you who have been here for any length of time as readers can attest to the fact that I do not shove my beliefs down anyone’s throat. I will share the things I know at any moment, with anyone that I can. But I also am realistic in knowing that this lifestyle is not for everyone. It’s not easy to make the changes especially when your mouth still waters when you smell burgers cooking on the grill. Heh.

Yesterday, Bethany came here and commented. She did not attack me. She appreciated the things that I was trying to pass on. For that, I am grateful. Bethany, you fricken rock girlie. Thank you again for firing me up. I am glad you came out of the closet yesterday. I hope that my post today came across in a way that was not yuckie. I do not think that I am better than anyone because I don’t eat meat. It is what is working for me to get me as healthy as I can be. I am excited about making this journey. If I ever come across as a holier than thou type, someone please, I beg of you, smack me in the head with a really big brick. heh.