Stupid diet tricks

[JoeWras]

It seems to be a feature of american, marketing influenced culture that we go for extreme, "no other way to eat" solutions.
Ha

Just like our politics too.

My diet changes over the last few years required a lot of effort due to having to "switch sides" or "be born again" to use your next analogy.

However, the experience has left me open to new ideas, and suspicious of just about everything out there. Ultimately, I think we just have to find our own way.

BTW, if I go to extremes and evangelize about anything, it would be to think twice about eating "predigested" food. Anything that's white (or colored from white), sugary and in a plastic wrapper should be viewed with extreme caution. I.e., just about anything in a convenience store.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I've got to give it a try. I don't do bananas much anymore, so I'm missing some of that potassium intake.

Perfect. You'll only need one a day to get plenty. I like vita coco and naked, some of the other ones are made from concentrate or have a cooked sugar/caramel undertone, although I dont necessarily dislike it. All the canned stuff I've tried was bad, but some people like them.

I was addicted to the sugar blood spike. There I was chowing on my "fat free" cookies, thinking I was doing everything right.

And there I was as well. Now I mutter "Rocks are all natural, fat and gluten free. But don't eat them either."

Lentils are on the list for sure, even though a low-carber would cringe at the thought of them.

See, I eat lentils and beans too. Not every day or even more than once a week, but they're on the menu.

We've substituted baked yams for the old white potatoes and found out we love them! Bad childhood memories of aunt Sue's sugary sweet potato casserole with marshmallows are a distant memory. The food can stand on its own and is chock full of good nutrition.

I've got one for you. Rub sweets with olive oil and salt and bake until done. Split, stick some chopped bacon, green onions, irish butter, some carnitas or barbacoa, a little yogurt and a drizzle of bbq sauce or sriracha. Dress it out like a loaded baked. I get the carnitas or barbacoa premade, and I used a nice locally produced mandarin orange bbq sauce last time I did it. Good nutrition, especially vitamins a and c, tastes great.

http://www.dmagazine.com/~/media/0_...010/BR_3 1.ashx?db=master&20101116T1728374865

It seems to be a feature of american, marketing influenced culture that we go for extreme, "no other way to eat" solutions. If it doesn't have a name and a book and some guy on tv talking it up, it stands little chance.

I think the problem is that most people don't know what is and isnt good for them to eat, and in fact I think its safe to say that most people would say that you shouldn't eat fat and that doing so will make you fatter. That doesn't seem to be true or supported by any actual science.

I think the other problem is that diets are bland and boring and so are most structured exercise programs, and both are pretty unfulfilling. My diet isnt bland or boring, and my exercise program is just getting off my ass and doing stuff I need to do anyhow, only as difficult and as hand-operated as possible.

Internet boards seem to lend themselves to be being dominated by very enthusiastic, verbally prolific but not necessarily subtle people.

Now where the **** will we find someone like that around here?

Nice to see you Ha...

 

[haha]

Nice to see you Ha...

Et tu, Bunny. I congratulate you on coming through a hard time not only intact but rarin' to rumble! Coming out of my divorce I mostly just felt like crying.

Ha

 

[JoeWras]

I've got one for you. Rub sweets with olive oil and salt and bake until done. Split, stick some chopped bacon, green onions, irish butter, some carnitas or barbacoa, a little yogurt and a drizzle of bbq sauce or sriracha. Dress it out like a loaded baked. I get the carnitas or barbacoa premade, and I used a nice locally produced mandarin orange bbq sauce last time I did it. Good nutrition, especially vitamins a and c, tastes great.

http://www.dmagazine.com/~/media/0_...010/BR_3 1.ashx?db=master&20101116T1728374865

Holy cow that sounds good! We're going to give that a try ASAP. Thanks for the idea and pointer.

 

[Tyro]

Then once we have chosen our patented route to salvation, we get out and try to sell it to everyone else.

There's no fanatic like a convert. (self included)

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Et tu, Bunny. I congratulate you on coming through a hard time not only intact but rarin' to rumble! Coming out of my divorce I mostly just felt like crying.

Mike, I did that once for about 3 minutes, stopped feeling sorry for myself and the next day got my wife to sign most everything over to me in a post nup. Then I wasn't anywhere near as sad.

 

[RAE]

CFB, I came to the same conclusion you did about 3 years ago, just before I retired. My health was not the best, even though I thought I was eating pretty healthy (you know, following the standard diet advice (cut back on fats, eat lots of whole grain bread and pasta, etc) that I now know is all wrong. After reading the actual studies and reading lots of information like this:

http://chriskresser.com/9-steps-to-perfect-health-1-dont-eat-toxins

I decided to make some major changes in my diet. Like you, I now eat basically "real food".........almost no processed food (and that includes pasta and bread, since flour is highly processed). Healthy fats (coconut oil, olive oil, pastured butter) are fine, all vegetables are fine (I grow a big vegetable garden), no limits on red meat (especially grain-fed) and seafood. Basically, if it comes in a box or a package, with a list of ingredients on the side, I don't eat it. I don't limit myself at all on the quanitity of food that I eat..........if it's real food, I eat as much as I want (I do not count calories). After eating this while for a while, my weight came down, blood pressure came down, blood test markers all improved.......I feel great, and am healthier than I have been in long time. I take zero prescription meds.

As you say, this is not a "diet"..........it's a healthier way of eating for life. I wish I would have started eating this way years earlier than I did.

 

[kumquat]

Mike, I did that once for about 3 minutes, stopped feeling sorry for myself and the next day got my wife to sign most everything over to me in a post nup. Then I wasn't anywhere near as sad.

How did you do it? .38, .45, 9mm?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

CFB, I came to the same conclusion you did about 3 years ago, just before I retired. My health was not the best, even though I thought I was eating pretty healthy (you know, following the standard diet advice (cut back on fats, eat lots of whole grain bread and pasta, etc) that I now know is all wrong.

I think people would make good decisions if they had the right information, but the information most people have is 100% backwards.

I dutifully stopped drinking full fat milk 25 years ago, but drank more of the fat free because it wasn't as fulfilling. Switched from butter to margarine. Ate "whole grain" and "fat free" products for years. I stopped eating eggs, joined everyone in pooh poohing the coconut oil that was on movie theater popcorn, and avoided red meat like the plague. Stupid.

I actually just followed what I've been feeding my cats and dogs. I buy canned cat food thats basically just fish with taurine and other cat essentials tossed in. I put one cat down at 20+ last year and have a pair of 18.5 year olds still kicking around. I made my own dog food for years out of ground meat with a small amount of vegetables and a little brown rice, and for years I've fed them grain free premium foods. They're all going to outlive their hearing, teeth and knee joints.

So this "diet" is apparently functional cross species!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Beta Blockers Might Not Prevent Heart Attack and Stroke, Says Study in JAMA - ABC News

Appears that the medication I was on to reduce my BP and reduce the chances of a stroke or heart attack does neither, just like statins reduce cholesterol but have zero effect on heart attacks and life expectancy.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I now fit in the same size clothes I wore as a senior in high school, 32" waist and an athletic cut medium top fits me fine. Now I need to buy more clothes again...

I haven't weighed them, but my dogs have all visibly lost weight (a good thing!) since I cut the grains and starches from their food and went back to walking them a half mile a day each, even though their little legs are sore...they enjoy it a lot!

I also have two ~18 year old cats, and the male cat was so fat he didn't even walk, he just dragged his stomach around. After dropping the kibble and switching them to just fish canned food, he lost all of the weight and looks like a regular sized cat now. I also put his food downstairs on the opposite side of the house from where he likes to sleep, so he has to take a little walk to eat.

 

[Chuckanut]

So did you see the study that showed that statins don't do anything other than mess up your liver? The study determined that statins didn't change the rate of heart attacks or help you live longer.

Can you point us to that study? I have heard it mentioned several times but no one has ever been able to show it to me

 

[Tyro]

Can you point us to that study? I have heard it mentioned several times but no one has ever been able to show it to me

I don't know if this is it or not. (Citation at bottom of page)
Statins for Heart Disease Prevention (Without Prior Heart Disease) | The NNT

The consensus from what I read looking for this seems to be that statins are more useful in preventing subsequent heart attacks, but may have little or no value in preventing first heart attacks.

The thing about studies is that there are almost always other studies that refute them, and studies can be as bad as polls, depending on how they're conducted. There's often too much pre$$ure put on finding certain results than in finding the facts & truth.

Edit: Just found this too:
http://adifferentkindofdoctor.blogspot.com/2012/06/statins-dont-prevent-heart-attacks.html

 

[haha]

I don't know if this is it or not. (Citation at bottom of page)
Statins for Heart Disease Prevention (Without Prior Heart Disease) | The NNT

Thanks for posting this. I looked around, it is a very sophisticated site by highly qualified people.

One comment specifically about the statin question. Some doctors claim that the real variable that controls HD risk is LDL particle number. It is possible that if only patients with high LDL partcle number were treated, the benefits of statins might be greater. I don't know the evidence behind this assertion, for or against.

For anyone who has had Drs' questions about their LDL-C, I did an experiment on myself that I think is at least a qualified positive for lifestyle LDL lowering.

My HDL had always been very high, my triglycerides quite low, but my LDL-C had crept up to where statins were being suggested. I got the Liposcience NMR particle test- paid for it my self. My particle number was fairly high- around 75th percentile for risk- according to their information. With this as a baseline, I made one change. I emphasized regularity in my exercise routine, rather than intensity. I got this idea from papers by William E Kraus, et al.

I retested 6 months later, no change in diet, and my LDL particle number had dropped by 18%. Enough to put me in the 50th percentile for risk by particle count. This same regime dropped my small dense particles to a very low level, but the significance of this is disputed.

Currently I have continued the exercise as above, but also am trying one new thing- much less red meat, still in the context of a very low carb, high fat diet. I'll get tested again in a month or two and see what has happened.

Ha

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

One comment specifically about the statin question. Some doctors claim that the real variable that controls HD risk is LDL particle number. It is possible that if only patients with high LDL partcle number were treated, the benefits of statins might be greater. I don't know the evidence behind this assertion, for or against.

Here's another good one. The take-away from this is that high cholesterol simply isnt a problem. While many posit that high cholesterol causes problems, this data seems to suggest the exact opposite, and more or less concludes that your cholesterol level is a huge red herring.

High levels of cholesterol said better for longevity

Be interesting to see how well your lowered red meat experiment works. I eat a freaking ton of the stuff and my blood work is the best its ever been.

The hard part with dietary studies is that unless you have had the "patients" locked up and monitor what they do and don't eat or do, you're taking what they tell the study operators as gospel, and you're not getting the full picture. Couple that with wanting a particular outcome and gaming the data you do have to get there, and I personally came to the conclusion that most of it was bullshit. Reinforced by doing pretty much the exact opposite of what modern dietary guidelines tell you to do, losing weight, and having all of my bloodwork come back perfect.

 

[haha]

Not trying to convice anyone. Just reporting something.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Not trying to convice anyone. Just reporting something.

Same here.

If anything, my primary message in this thread is "Don't listen to anyone else, because they're probably wrong. Do what works for you. This worked for me."

 

[freebird5825]

Excellent thread!

I have posted pics of foods I've made from scratch, using fresh ingredients or canned versions of basic foods (beans & mushrooms for example). Some look pretty decadent.
I've bored you all with photos of my container farm. We get a lot of fresh veggies from that operation. I grow fresh basil and oregano and small amounts of greens, year round. We all know about the ridiculous prices of organic vegetables and herbs at the store. Mine aren't sprayed.
We don't buy processed "full meal" type foods. I avoid all high sodium products or just use less in the recipe. It's all about portion control.
I do not use salt to cook or season at the plate when I've used a canned item.
I use real butter. Not too much, not too little. We both love olive oil.
I don't own a deep fryer.

We love pizza. Pizza is supposedly a "bad" food. Baloney!

Our homemade pizzas are covered with a sauce I made from tomatoes that I or my friends grew. I use low salt tomato paste.
I drain the fat from all meats I use on pizza.
I buy high quality mozzerella cheese in 5 lb bags. It has very few additives.
Every pizza we make has olive oil drizzled all over it (a little trade secret )

Mr B eats cookies...and potato chips...and Twizzlers. Whenever he wants. He orders french fries when we are out. Let him enjoy that.
I will eat a small sample of his junk food perhaps once a week. My junk food is usually cherry tomatoes, honey wheat pretzels, fig newtons, fruits, tortilla chips and cheese.

I compensate by making our home meals well rounded and delicious. Portions are kept small. I do a lot of packaging of leftovers for the freezer.

It ain't rocket science.

 

[Tyro]

Be interesting to see how well your lowered red meat experiment works. I eat a freaking ton of the stuff and my blood work is the best its ever been.

My current doctor is of the opinion that cholesterol is more a factor of genetics than diet. He looks at other numbers, promotes reasonable exercise, not smoking, imbibing in moderation.... are about the best we can do to keep ourselves healthy. So much is out of our control. He's pretty laid back.

 

[eytonxav]

Excellent thread!

We love pizza. Pizza is supposedly a "bad" food. Baloney!

Our homemade pizzas are covered with a sauce I made from tomatoes that I or my friends grew. I use low salt tomato paste.
I drain the fat from all meats I use on pizza.
I buy high quality mozzerella cheese in 5 lb bags. It has very few additives.
Every pizza we make has olive oil drizzled all over it (a little trade secret )

+1 While I generally agree with LCHF type diets and eating non-processed foods, may be there is some life for me afterall on the carb side.
For me, giving up pizza would be equivalent to giving up bacon

 

[donheff]

I did an experiment on myself that I think is at least a qualified positive for lifestyle LDL lowering...(regular exercise)... I retested 6 months later, no change in diet, and my LDL particle number had dropped by 18%.

Currently I have continued the exercise as above, but also am trying one new thing- much less red meat, still in the context of a very low carb, high fat diet. I'll get tested again in a month or two and see what has happened.

Ha

Be interesting to see how well your lowered red meat experiment works. I eat a freaking ton of the stuff and my blood work is the best its ever been.

The hard part with dietary studies is that unless you have had the "patients" locked up and monitor what they do and don't eat or do, you're taking what they tell the study operators as gospel, and you're not getting the full picture.

The nice thing about an N=1 study like Ha is doing is that you control the adherence to the protocol and you are testing the approach in the real target environment - your own body. To the extent that the results of some of these approaches vary among individuals you will find out how it works for you. Readily available blood testing makes this fairly easy.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

My current doctor is of the opinion that cholesterol is more a factor of genetics than diet. He looks at other numbers, promotes reasonable exercise, not smoking, imbibing in moderation.... are about the best we can do to keep ourselves healthy. So much is out of our control. He's pretty laid back.

I completely agree with your doctor. Good food and good exercise and not smoking and drinking moderately is (IMO) 90% of the battle. I'm pretty sure the pills that adjust the blood test results don't actually do much as far as health and longevity, especially when you factor in the side effects.

My doctor feels the same way. I hooked my dad up with the same doctor. First thing he asked my dad was "Why are you taking blood pressure pills? Your BP is actually a little low". My dad quit taking it, and he's like a new man. Used to take 2-3 naps a day and struggled to get through his daily workout, but not anymore.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

+1 While I generally agree with LCHF type diets and eating non-processed foods, may be there is some life for me afterall on the carb side.
For me, giving up pizza would be equivalent to giving up bacon

I eat pizza. Maybe once a week, usually the last slice leftover when I have a houseful of kids playing video games.

One of the best pizza's I ever had, and it'll sound weird, was a whole wheat crust with shredded carrots and raisins and sundried tomato sauce. Second best was a whole wheat crust with a garlic white sauce, carmelized onions and little neck clams. Oh my god, that sauce is full of fat! Yay!

So far this week I dropped my body fat % into the 22% range, while adding several pounds. Here comes the muscle!

 

[bob boag]

Ah maybe this is the thread to post my previous week's adventure. At my yearly physical last July I tipped the scales at a modest 255. I'm 56 yo and 5'10". That may sound like a lot but I'm enormously-boned. Plus I work out at the gym twice a week and do 75 minutes a night on the ellipitical so I'm convinced it's mostly or partially muscle. Anyway my GP had the crazy idea that I should come back in 3 months to make sure I wasn't still gaining weight. I weighed myself on October 5th, a week before my appt. and discovered that I had gained an additional 10 pounds of muscle. I have this phobia about being yelled at by my doctor so I called up and had my appointment delayed by a week. I then proceeded to not eat for a week. Those of you who play this game know that by emptying your colon and avoiding sodium you can drop 10 pounds in a week. Anyway this worked but by Wednesday whenever I stood up I felt like I was going to faint. Went to the Doc and he was pleased that I hadn't gained any weight. The problem was, even after I started eating again, I still felt like I was gonna faint. Feel better now though. Next appt. in 3 months.

 

[haha]

Ah maybe this is the thread to post my previous week's adventure. At my yearly physical last July I tipped the scales at a modest 255. I'm 56 yo and 5'10". That may sound like a lot but I'm enormously-boned. Plus I work out at the gym twice a week and do 75 minutes a night on the ellipitical so I'm convinced it's mostly or partially muscle. Anyway my GP had the crazy idea that I should come back in 3 months to make sure I wasn't still gaining weight. I weighed myself on October 5th, a week before my appt. and discovered that I had gained an additional 10 pounds of muscle. I have this phobia about being yelled at by my doctor so I called up and had my appointment delayed by a week. I then proceeded to not eat for a week. Those of you who play this game know that by emptying your colon and avoiding sodium you can drop 10 pounds in a week. Anyway this worked but by Wednesday whenever I stood up I felt like I was going to faint. Went to the Doc and he was pleased that I hadn't gained any weight. The problem was, even after I started eating again, I still felt like I was gonna faint. Feel better now though. Next appt. in 3 months.

Maybe you should get him to send you for a dexa-scan for fat which gives he gold standard read on what is what in your body composition. Although what you did worked, you might have lost some muscle too, and it surely was not fun.

Ha