Diet and finding food.

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Nedlamar, Apr 10, 2012.

  1. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    OK so MA mentioned in another thread about obesity in the US, this prompted me to post about something I have been experiencing.

    My girlfriend and I are going on this diet type thing.
    Basically this diet urges you to stay away from chemicals and sugars.
    Eat normal food at proper times and avoid pre-prepared, chemical and processed foods.
    And drink lots of water.

    It's great, $47 and we got this huuuuuge info pack and links to videos and the like, plus great communication with the author.

    I'm liking this idea, it's fantastic if it works, they actually tell you to eat bacon! :major just not half a pound in one sitting :-o

    So, today I go shopping, basic rules are no sugar in products, breads, yogurts etc.
    Nothing in the ingredients you can't pronounce.

    That's it, pretty simple.

    OMG do you think I can find anything without sugar added or chemicals?

    I am shocked and appalled at the mere fact ALL the bread and wraps and breaddy products have chemicals, things I can't pronounce (no seriously :p ) and added sugar.

    What the hell?

    I managed to find 1 out of 18 types of yogurt that was just plain "add your own fruit" yogurt. .. One.

    Almost all the cereals have this crap in them, in fact the healthier the label, the more bloody chemicals it has in it and is actually worse for you.

    You see apparently (and this makes sense) these low fat and "Zero" type products have the chemicals that allow less fat etc, but your body has to work harder to process the chemicals than if you just ate normal food.
    This extra work means your body doesn't get to properly process the good stuff because it's spending all it's time detoxing the chemicals.

    I may have that slightly wrong but you get the idea.

    But many of these products have been making the products for50, 75 or 100+ years. These chemicals weren't around back then....... why are they here now?

    Well, silly question, I'm sure it boils down to money lol

    So I've found a "Natural Food" store near my work, gonna go have a butchers in there tomorrow.

    But damn, why is all this crap in our foods, and they wonder why people are fat and unhealthy. It's not just MacDonalds ;)
     
  2. LauraR

    LauraR MajorGeeks Super-Duper Administrator Staff Member

    Preservatives. People expect food to last after they buy it and the stores need it on the shelves for longer than a day before going stale.

    You might want to try organic sections of your food store as well. I haven't looked, but I'd suspect that they are not as loaded with all the chemicals.
     
  3. Rikky

    Rikky Wile E. Coyote - One of a kind

    So you lose weight because you can't find anything to eat:-D

    Hehe have you ever been to a health shop before? Your gonna spend your entire salary on a carrot!

    It will be a tasty carrot though:-D

    Jokes aside good luck:) And look on the bright side if you can't stick to the diet at least you'll be single again:p Maybe not that bright though it will be hard to find a wife if your not that easy on the eye.

    Face it Ned,lose weight and lose all your money or don't lose weight and lose everything else! Should I stop typing now? K I'll stop :-D
     
  4. Sgt. Tibbs

    Sgt. Tibbs Ultra Geek

    The answer is to make your own bread. Unless you get bread directly from the in-store bakery (and often not even then), you're not going to find any that doesn't have preservatives, added sugar (even a little...I've never made bread that didn't have sugar in it), or some kind of chemical. Of course, your best answer is always to make your own everything. It's possible, it's just time-consuming and a pretty big PITA, but at least you know exactly what is in everything you eat if you make it yourself from scratch.

    In my opinion, most things from supposed "health food" stores is overpriced, overrated, and really not any better than what you can find in the grocery store. And half the time the "natural" products actually taste worse, because they have nothing added. I realize you're trying to avoid the added stuff, but trust me...that's what makes food taste like you expect it to. Just compare canned vegetables to salt-free canned vegetables to see what I'm talking about.

    I highly recommend local farm stands and/or farmer's markets over health food stores. Not sure how they are where you live, but where I live the baked goods are made fresh every morning, and have no preservatives (which means they last maybe 3-5 days before starting to mold).
     
  5. mjnc

    mjnc MajorGeek

    You do have to spend some time looking, hunting and reading labels.
    I now buy certain things at specific stores.

    I have recently "discovered" Trader Joe's. I had been to one several times in Tucson, but not where I am.
    They are Always busy, and for good reason.

    As for bread, you should look at their Organic Whole Grain Flax and Fiber.
    It does have organic evaporated cane juice, which I suppose is a sweetener, but there are no other sugars or preservatives.

    They also have organic soups, some organic frozen vegetables (easy ;) ) and even organic pasteurized orange juice.

    Earth Fare is another "natural" food store. I like their organic instant oatmeal, although it does have sugar.
    Quaker makes some "lower sugar" instant oatmeal which has much less than the regular stuff.

    I found one variety of Prego spaghetti sauce with no sugar and no corn syrup.

    Steaming vegetables is pretty easy and healthful.

    Something I just discovered recently is quinoa.
    Never had this before a few weeks ago. Easy to prepare, like rice. Lots of "complete" protein.
     
  6. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Thanks for the advice guys, but just to clarify after more researching.
    You can find bread without sugar and chemicals, it's just only available at Natural food stores and is about $5 per loaf lol

    And both Tibbs and Mj are right in that making your own stuff is the way to go.
    The missus has gone at this fairly hard and fast and has dropped several pounds in the first week, I'm not quite as into it as she is but I'm easing into it.

    Although I will stress in reply to Quaker "Low Sugar", not sure of this product but the one thing this diet stresses above almost all else is that you do NOT consume ANYTHING that claims "Low Fat/Sugar" due to added chemicals.

    The only sugar this diet allows is natural sugar, meaning what is found in foods such as fruit etc.

    Our biggest thing is cutting out pop, we pretty much have, I drink on a daily basis around 3-8 cans of pop in some form.... I've had 3 this week and she has had 1.
    Had a bloody headache all week though and both peeing like mutha******s lol

    Although today is sunday and they stress you have 1 "Free Day" per week where you eat whatever you wish, but still in proper portions.

    Hell I even turned down MacDonalds for lunch the other day in favour of a turkey wrap lol
    Although lunchmeat is a no go too :( but better than a Big Mac lol

    The missus is doing really well and she says she's feeling so much better and more energy than she's had for years..... which is boding well for me ;) :-D

    I'm not normally taken in by diets but I have to admit, this one makes so much sense, the whole premiss is basically getting your body to process the correct elements in the correct order, Example: Pop will cause your body to burn sugar instead of fat making you retain the fat etc, same with chemicals.

    If any of you are interested in taking a peek...

    http://www.beyonddiet.com/BD
     
  7. Phantom

    Phantom Brigadier Britches

    Some interesting info and thoughts there.
    ~Cheers for that, Ned.:)
     
  8. BoredOutOfMyMind

    BoredOutOfMyMind Picabo, ICU

    Nedlamar, Gluten Free and Paleo are two of the most popular diets right now. If it becomes a lifestyle, then you have long term success. I have gained about 20 pounds and need to again return to more discipline in my life.

    Best of success in yours and your wife's journey!
     
  9. the mekanic

    the mekanic Major Mekanical Geek

    Heck, we've had a bread machine for years. Whip up some dough, and it does the rest. Sits right on the counter, too.

    Not to toot my own horn here, but I have been on a "healthy" diet for years. My aunt has been into holistics since the '70's, and my sister is a dietician. Now that I see all the flavored aloe drinks on the shelf, I kick myself in the pants. We've mixed fruit juice and aloe juice for decades! I remember when it used to come in a big, brown, "chemlab" style bottle.

    The best way I have found to roll is eating things like whole grain organic pasta, which you can make yourself, fresh/frozen vegetables, fresh fruits, going fishing, snapping up salmon in a can when it's on sale, cous-cous, rice (pick your variety), guinoa, polenta, and GRASS FED meats. Luckily I live on the eastern seaboard, so fresh fish is available if you come away with an empty bucket!

    The most important thing to remember is to keep a reasonable caloric intake. Rats who were overfed in lab experiments lost the telomeres at the end of their DNA more quickly via cell division, than those who were fed a restricted calorie diet. It seems that a low calorie diet turns on a sort of "preservation" survival mechanism from the days of yore, when humans foraged for bark, berries, and the like.

    Also, as an apnea patient, I can't stress enough the value of a good night's sleep. Your body will go haywire without it.

    Good luck, and hope you look 28, at 38!!!!
     
  10. Major Attitude

    Major Attitude Co-Owner MajorGeeks.Com Staff Member

    Honestly, it's all about moderation and lifestyle. I have slowly gone (after gaining weight back) from 196 to 184 and continue to realize it will take a long time to lose 10 more. I also had a vacation, comapny over and a mild back flare up that took me out for a month. I went to Wendys the other day but first fast food for me in months. I'll eat bread, but prefer a wrap. Diets sucks and I hate the word. I think people need to adopt the term "Lifestyle Change". It's about eating right and excercising but knowing you can pig out once a week or so or eat the crappiest thing you can find. My problem last time was I went hard core, starved myself and worked out until I was at 175 and almost had my six pack at 45 years old. It took one summer to completely erase this. One summer.
     
  11. Triaxx2

    Triaxx2 MajorGeek

    Buy local. Farmers don't have preservatives.
     
  12. handygal

    handygal First Sergeant

    Nedlamer, you got it exactly right. I comment all the time that low-fat and non-fat, fake sweetener foods are much worse than the original version, who has gotten healthier since this crap came out 15-20 years ago? Give me full-fat sour cream, at least it's natural, anything else is PROCESSED FOOD. It's not that we are eating twice as much of the altered version, it's that the altered version is barely even a food anymore. The body is not so simple as to work with the simplest of mathematical formulas. One pound = 3600 calories is false and I think most of us have suspected that. The body is so much more complex than that.

    You know what your body does with toxins? When it can't deal with them anymore it stuffs it in the back of a fat cell, packs some fat over top of it so that the toxin is out of the blood stream. Exercise causes sweat and heavy breathing, both of which eliminate some of the toxins that the kidneys can't flush out and that is a contributing factor to why you lose weight. Those that diet only and can't lose belly fat could have toxins that are stored in their belly fat that their body can't handle having released.

    If you are interested in some interesting science about how the body works, the endocrine system and what our western diet does to the natural systems of the body, try http://raypeat.com. When he explains how RDA's were devised and why vegetable and seed oils were added to animal feed, it makes you certain that The Man was smoking some big fat doobies when they made official nutrition guidelines.

    If you read nothing else in Ray Peat's website -- and I wouldn't blame you, it's heavy on scientific talk -- read at least part of http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/gelatin.shtml or http://raypeat.com/articles/aging/tryptophan-serotonin-aging.shtml. It's eye opening.

    Good luck with your changes!
     
  13. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Well we went for our first proper shop for this stuff. I normally go to the small place in town but it's limited.
    So my conclusion is this and odly enough always has been.

    We purchased a lot of fruit, veg and the like, nothing really weird except the bread stuff she got and natural nut butters, peanut and almond.
    Otherwise very little was "Organic" but as I said, lots of nice fresh stuff.

    Normally I buy some veg and some fruit and a couple of frozen pizzas, fries etc.

    A normal week of food I do happily for around $90-$120
    Last night we dropped $248 and this is without meat which we get a 30% discount on 'cos the missus works at a butchers :-D
    Admittedly some of it will be 2 weeks worth or longer in some cases....... but ouch!
    Double the cost to eat healthy, although as I said, variables come in to play here that wont give me a more accurate weekly figure for maybe 3 or 4 weeks, I'll keep a check on it.

    She's coming up with some good stuff though, she even made me eat breakfast the other day, probably for the first time in years, certainly the first time having fruit.
    Banana, Cantaloupe and greek yogurt...... nearly puked roflmao
     
  14. handygal

    handygal First Sergeant

    :-D

    I'm curious how it turns out. Maybe after a few weeks you will find you eat less of the quality foods?
     
  15. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Not sure what you mean by "Quality foods"?.... if you mean like Pizza and fries then yes I will eat less of it :-D

    As for quantities in general, well the wife is eating twice as much food as she was, the idea being you eat 4-5 times per day, breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, dinner, snack.
    Snacks comprise of fruits and nuts or veg etc
     
  16. Triaxx2

    Triaxx2 MajorGeek

    Hey, Pizza is healthy. Homemade is anyway. Pineapple and Spinach with Garlic Breadsticks gets you most of your food groups. ;)
     
  17. mjnc

    mjnc MajorGeek

  18. sikvik

    sikvik Corporal Karma

  19. dyamond

    dyamond Imelda Marcos of Majorgeeks

    Hey pizza is quality, you've got your dairy, veggie & grains :-D

    I've started not dieting (although, I call it that) but slowly changing my eating habits. I started probably 2 years ago with not consuming anything with high fructose corn syrup in it due to the research I've done AND the effects it has on me. So, that in itself eliminated MANY products. Then I slowly started fazing out artificial sugars, other highly processed sugars, fats, etc.

    After watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, that show has also changed the way I eat, in addition to what I already avoid. In result, I eat now mostly whole grains, salads, veggies, fruits, and fresh poultry. That's not to say I don't have a some pizza or ice cream once in a while, I do but it's not nearly as much as I used to and although I'm not losing weight as quickly as I'd like to it's better to do it this way, though changing diet and exercise than to do a strict diet, lose weight quickly but possibly gain it back because nothing has really changed.
     
  20. handygal

    handygal First Sergeant


    I haven't tested this theory but "supposedly" after a few weeks your body realizes that it is going to get more nutrient dense foods and you don't crave as much food? On 180degreehealth they also say not to panic if you gain first for a few weeks. That's just what I want my diet to do!
     
  21. handygal

    handygal First Sergeant

  22. oma

    oma MajorGeek

    Eons ago I read to eat breakfast like an emperor, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Supposed to be a healthy way of eating if incorporating also the right kind of food at those times.
     
  23. Triaxx2

    Triaxx2 MajorGeek

    The idea is this: Eat a big breakfast, to fuel you through the hard work of the day. Eat a medium sized lunch to compliment breakfast and fuel the later part of the day, when a full stomach will weigh you down in the heat. And eat a small dinner because you'll be hungry, but you sleep better on a satisfied stomach than a full one.
     
  24. Dario89

    Dario89 Private E-2

    All nice discussion and thanks for that. As far as breakfast is concerned, you must
    remember that the people who take their breakfast are comparatively more intelligent
    then those who don't.
    Its awesome to fulfill appetite need for the whole day.
     
  25. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Well since this got bumped I thought I would give an update.
    I gave up and went on a MacDonalds diet and am now 483lbs :-D

    Ok seriously it's going well, the missus is still much more disciplined than I am, I cheat a bit here and there. But on the whole it seems to be working, we eat good hearty type meals while watching the sugars and wheats etc, pop has 99.99% gone, water only, which was surprisingly easy to adjust to considering how much I used to drink.
    I eat breakfast very morning the past 10 days, fruit with yogurt and almonds, it's getting easier and I'm sometimes actually hungry when I wake up.
    Takin lunches to work that are mostly salads of some kind, usually pork or chicken cooked up the night before.

    I've had the same belt for 12 years, I moved in a hole last week and again today, been on the same hole for about 8 years now.
    I'm annoying most of the girls at work because they exercise and eat good food etc and have been arguing with me over what helps and what hinders.
    Today I got several comments and jibes like "Thats really unfair, I hate you" etc etc.
    My reply?.... "I told you how to do it, you said I was wrong" :-D

    To be honest I attribute the vast majority of loss to eliminating pop and obviously will not continue at this rate.

    Next up, I got to get me some weights and an Eliptical, been looking into that.

    The missus was doing really well, feeling really good and really happy with her reduction in waist size, I've been paying her many well deserved compliments.
    But today she was all grumpy when I got home and said she's bloated and gained weight and gone from this size to that size (exaggerating as certain species lean towards the dramatic :p ). But I'm not sure, it's more her mood, she doesn't seem so gung ho, don't get me wrong, she's still doing it but doesn't seem to be enjoying it or something.... hell honestly I don't know, she's female, I'm male, for all I know she might just need a really big fart. But it is working. I need to get her spirits back up, she's awesome at this crap, I can't do it without her... me?... I'm cooking bacon as we speak :-D (although bacon is fine in moderation.....ok "Bacon" and "Moderation" should not go in the same sentence :-D )

    So yeah, on the whole it seems to be working :)
     
  26. handygal

    handygal First Sergeant

    :celebrate

    That's great.

    I tell my hubby I hate him too since it is so unfair that he can lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks if he just "watches a little". UGH.

    For the missus, is a little dark chocolate in order? If the blahs continue, sometimes a change in the protein profile can help. People tend to eat too much "muscle meat" like chicken breast which is too high in cystine and trytophan. A good healer is a hearty beef broth soup made with the bone & some veggies.
     
  27. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    :-D I giggled, I'm 35 going on 12

    Yeah so the "blahs" were as I originally thought but din't say..... monthly's.

    But she is stressed because she only lost 1lb last week (which personally I think is too small to register since you can shift more than a pound by eating lol, of course I don't mention that ;) )
    And it kind of miffed her that I appear to have lost 21lbs in 3 weeks :-D
    I told her it's largely due to a massive cutback in sugar, mainly pop and energy drinks.

    So I'm just rocking this thing without much effort although I got to put some exercise down other than work, which is largely standing around talking to people.

    I have every confidence in my girl, especially now I'm starting to feel the buzz of it, it's kind of exciting lol, I'm now 200lbs, I haven't been that light since I was a teenager, need to put some muscle back though. So I'm going to start pulling my weight (so to speak) and be more encouraging and helpful.

    It's all in the mind, if you can set your mind to it, it's much easier... Im starting to :)

    Edit: Also, a fairly large factor I didn't mention, we've both had the crap knocked out of us by a cold for the past 2 weeks, really not helping.
     
  28. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Well it's been over a month since my last update.
    We seem to have entered what I like to call a "norm" phase, meaning what we are eating and doing is starting to feel normal.
    I seem to have plateau'd at 192-196lbs, which I'm fairly happy with.
    My flabby bits are fading and muscle is building. I've put 1.5 inch on my upper arms, starting to show a 4 pack (the bottom 2 are still covered by some flubber lol).
    I bought a set of dumbells and have been working "explosive" 30 minute workouts, 4 times per week.
    I've gone from 15lbs each bell at first with 9 exercises over 2 sets.
    Exercises include sit ups, push ups, curls, squats etc. No rest between exercises and 1 minute between sets.
    I'm now starting to get comfortable with 22.5lbs each bell, 12 exercises and 3 sets, again only resting 1 minutes between sets. Also increased sit ups from 10 to 20 per set and the same with push ups, ending the whole workout with 30 pushups.
    I can actually clap between a few push ups :-D
    That combined with the eating plan, which we have not been so hard at it, I've increased protein intake to help with the exercising.
    The missus faltered there for a couple of weeks or so, but she's started back at it and has got back into her yoga, she did it faithfully for a month and is now getting back to it.
    She also wants to build muscle like I am, but she's confused to what sets would be good for her.
    I'm going to find her a bunch of exercises and I told her to basically choose the ones that work what you want them to work and most importantly that you at least sort of enjoy.
    This is what I've done, there's only 2 exercises I do that I almost dread, one is a power squat combined with a floor to shoulder lift, the other is a butterfly lift (raising the dumbells from sides to shoulder level out to the sides), man that one kills me, it's almost like it's my challenge because it's the one I find hardest.

    So yeah, all in all it's still going well, I highly recommend this type of dietary change.

    Also, anyone who wishes to shoot some exercises ideas for me or the missus, please do so.
    My goal is mainly upper body structure with some lower added in, more weight, less reps, more sets.
    The missus says she would like the muscle, strength and definition of someone like a Tennis player or sprinter.
     
  29. mjnc

    mjnc MajorGeek

    That's a pretty tough workout.
    I'm older and a much thinner build so I do much less.
    For me it's less weight and slowly work up to more reps.

    Be careful with the squats. They can be really hard on your knees and do some real damage if done improperly.
    I was told by a trainer to keep my heels on the floor and don't go down too far.
    I think your thighs should not go to more than a 45 degree angle.
    Maybe you can find some good instructional videos for that.
     
  30. John_geek

    John_geek Private E-2

    US people has this problem. I will go to live in China, because there are slim and thin people.
     
  31. solaris89

    solaris89 First Sergeant

  32. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Yeah the squats are performed with power through the heels, not the toes.
    Basically you start in lowish squat position holding one of the dumbells at arms length, then power up through your heels and pop the weight to your shoulder, then on the way back down you switch hands with the weight. This one not only gets your legs , shoulders and triceps , but increases your heart and lung rate instantly.
    I was also told by a trainer that as I find them getting easier I should power harder, so much so as to lift myself onto my toes and slowly let myself back down to my heels before lowering my body.
    My knees are not in good shape but I have found if I keep the power in my heels it's doesn't have as much impact on the knees.

    I forgot about one of the other ones that kills, although I enjoy it somewhat.
    I get in push up position with my hands on the dumbells, do a push up and as I raise I lift one of the beels up past my ribs in a saw like motion and of course alternate left and right, man 12 of those is a beast workout on your arms, shoulders and especially sides of my stomach.
    I actually found most of these exercises looking up specialist power workouts, a couple of them come from an S.A.S. warm up, yeah what I call killer exercises, these guys call warm ups :-D , I don't want to look like Brock Lesner by any stretch, but I'm chasing that body I had 15 years ago, although that body is faster than this one and I'm not sure if I can catch it :-D
     
  33. Phantom

    Phantom Brigadier Britches


    Go and live in Somalia, then. Heard they are real thin, there.:yum .rolleyes
     
  34. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Missed the edit lol

    What I have learnt is depending on what results you want is dependant not so much on which ones you do, but how you do them in respect to weight, reps and sets.
    Less weight, more reps and fewer sets is an endurance workout similar to that of sportsmen such as runners (not including sprinters), so I went from the 15lbs each and 12-15 reps, to 22lbs with 8-10 reps and 3 sets, which is power training with definition and strength, I'm hoping in about 6-8 weeks to be up to 35- maybe 40lbs per bell. I never go to the point where I lose form, your last rep should be a bit of a struggle, not so much so you have to use your body motion to get the weight where it's going, control is the key, only use the muscles the exercises is meant to use, example and standing curl, nothing should move except your fore arms at the elbow, meaning swinging the weight forward is wrong and is not doing as much as if you decrease the reps but maintain control and form.
    To be honest I always hated exercises, but I seem to be enjoying this mainly because I'm getting results without having to spend hours per week getting bored and dreading the workout.
    See I've learnt that anything over 30-60 minutes, 4 times per week is unnecessary and often detrimental unless you are on a heavy protien diet and training for UFC or some crap lol, the line I was given by a 58 year old who is well jacked and honestly looks about 35 (my age) is "I have finished my workout at the gym and leaving while the other guys (with less results) are just finishing their warm ups"
    Also over exercising speeds up the aging process and weakens muscle, could well define muscle but strength can be lost if not on the correct strict diet.
     
  35. Fred_G

    Fred_G Heat packin' geek

    Dang Ned, that push up barbell arm raise thing is tough. Started my own little 'diet' Monday. No more Cokes, no more fries for lunch... Glad things are going well for you.
     

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