New Year, New Diet...

[antda 13]

Sex is also a great way to burn off the calories...

....Yup, that's a great way to burn off the calories too. Except: If you have too much sex, you might just end up on the "weight gain pregnancy diet" instead....

Ant (Still waiting at the VSC, Still waiting for Baby...)

[TheATeam 0]

Hey Reba! I totally understand what you're saying. I'm not doing the Atkins diet per se, but in working at a gym and helping people with their weight I've seen diabetics go from really bad to quite good and even get off their medication completely on a lower carbohydrate diet.

It's too bad that most people seem to be stuck on high carbohydrate white food. I'm one of them, I'll admit it. Or at least I used to be. I've noticed that I feel SO much better if I get my carbohydrates from fruits, veggies, brown rice, lentils, and beans. On top of that, I've found since changing my diet that I've got a wheat intolerance that has either caused or exacerbated my heartburn! I notice a huge difference if I eat wheat products! It's really yucky.

I used to want to be a dietician until I realized that they were teaching the food pyramid which, like you said, is essentially upside down. So, it was a no go for me. I'm seriously thinking about holistic nutrition and health instead though! We shall see.

[Marilyn. 340]

I lost 15 pounds on the hospital food diet over a year ago.. I wouldn't recommend that diet though..lol

I have managed to put all those 15 pounds back on this year though .... I really need to watch what I eat.. lately I noticed I have been snacking and stuff a lot....

Edited January 8, 2009 by *Marilyn*

[Reba 2]

In this mornings news:

Detox product claims are 'legalized lying,' scientists warn consumers

Module body

Tue Jan 6, 8:39 AM

0

What's this

SASKATCHEWAN (CBC) - Some detoxification products touted as a means of cleansing toxins from the body are largely a waste of money, according to British researchers who say the best remedies remain keeping a balanced diet and ensuring a good night's sleep.

The London-based The Voice of Young Science, a team of early-career scientists, set out to explore detox claims attached to a wide range of consumer products.

The informal study examined 15 consumer items including hair-care products, vitamins, beverages, detox patches, a body brush and soap. None of the manufacturers contacted was able to provide evidence that the products actually had a detoxification effect, according to the study.

Researcher Tom Sheldon said he was tasked with examining claims for one shampoo product targeted to busy city dwellers.

"It became clear very quickly that really all this shampoo did was clean your hair and didn't put what they called harmful chemicals back into your hair," Sheldon told CBC Radio's As It Happens on Monday.

"It will clean your hair, I have no doubt. And if you want to call whatever's on your hair that you clean off toxins, then feel free to call them toxins. But really this is soap to remove dirt. We've been doing that for a long time; this isn't anything special."

Sheldon said the study aimed to shed light on how many companies use "detox" as a method of marketing products, though they are in fact no different from other products on the market.

"That's legalized lying really," he said. "I think that if we allow the companies to just get away with making any claims that they like, not only do they cost the paying public — the trusting public — a great deal of money on products that don't work, but they also have a further reaching effect which is to tell people scientific untruths, and I think the public deserves more than that."

The British retailer Boots defended its detox program, saying it encouraged consumers to drink more water, according to the BBC. Similarly, the manufacturer Garnier said it stood behind claims made for its face wash — which was included in the study.

"All Garnier products undergo rigorous testing and evaluation to ensure that our claims are accurate and noticeable by our consumers," a spokesman told the BBC.

Sheldon noted the best advice for people seeking healthier lifestyles is to eat a balanced diet, drink plenty of liquids, stop smoking, drink alcohol in moderation, ensure a good night's sleep and exercise regularly.

"It's straightforward, it hasn't changed," he said. "You will not add anything of value to that process by going on some magic 15-day detox plan with fasting and smoothies; it won't get you anywhere."

Just in case anyone was wondering about detox plans.

ATeam, I've been thinking about some classes for nutrition as well, but would have to find a programme that isn't all upsidedown. I'm not sure if the Atkins Centre has course or not, or if a Naturopathic school would be better. I may need something to fall back on, in case this receptionist gig at the furniture factory crashes

[Carlawarla 1]

I was diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic on October 1st of last year. I'm on medication and a low carb diet. I've lost 23 pounds, my blood sugars are wonderful now, and I'm finally not starving all of the time. I've been walking every day about 2 miles. I'm taking Tai Chi now, I take an aerobic water fitness class on Fridays. Gene bought me a bike last fall, and I was riding 3 times a week for a total of 12 miles. A local church about 2 miles from me has a fitness centre, and you don't have to be a member to use it. It's free. Indoor track, cardio equipment etc. so I'm going to check them out this week. We geocache, so in the nice weather when we're caching, we're hiking about 2-3 miles at a time. I got an MP3 player for Christmas, so I'm really enjoying the walking with music. I just uploaded an audiobook onto my player as well, so I'm looking forward to that.

In the past 25 years, I've tried WW, not NutriSystem( too expensive), the Grapefruit diet, you name it, I did it. I always lost weight quickly, which was a real motivator, but it never stayed off because most of the diets I tried weren't lifestyle changes, it was a lifestyle change only as long as I was on the diet. A really important thing for me, is that how I'm eating now, doesn't preclude me from enjoying anything I really love. I just can't eat it all the time, and I only have a taste. I'm like a child in that if someone tells me I can't eat something, it only makes me want to eat it more. I rebel. Of course the only person I hurt is myself then. However, my diet now, allows me to have the occassional sweet (I'm not a huge fan of sweets), or an extra portion of something if I'm really craving it. It's about moderation, smaller portions, and it HAS to include my exercise.

So now I'm changing so many things about my life. Increasing fibre, exercising, eating smaller portions, watching carbs, and the weight is coming off, slowly. I'm not so anxious now about how fast it's coming off. That's the only way it's going to stay off, slowly but surely. I'm living and eating like I will be able to for many many years to come, not just to "take off some weight".

I've a long way to go, but I've never been more positive than I have been in the last three months. It was a horrible wake-up call to do something to have been diagnosed with Type2, but I'm looking at it as an opportunity to use this call as the beginning to a whole new way of living.

WOW, good for you Carla! That's awesome. Rotten though that you had to be diagnosed DT2 If you stick with the low carbin' though, you should be able to stear clear of meds, and for good!

That link I posted earlier you and anyone else with diabetes would be especially interested in. I'm serious, that book really is an eye opener about the Western diet and how its killing us all slowly, and how the health departments for decades have been telling us to eat the wrong stuff!

I cut the carbs out just before thanksgiving, and I tell ya, I have not felt better since I was in highschool or before probably! (which was some time ago ) And I'm never hungry. I like that part especially! Dieting sux. Eating good wholesome healthy foods is so much better!

Thanks Reba! Yes, not good that I was diagnosed, but nothing can change that now except how I accept the challenge! My Dr. has not been very supportive, actually she's a B*tch with a capital B. I see a new Dr. next Tuesday that I hope will be supportive and helpful. I'm driving this manageability, not the Dr.'s. I did enjoy the article you linked to. I've met with a dietician though, and I think I'm on the right track. No one I have spoken to has suggested no carbs at all. I know when I have a day of very very low carbs, it impacts on my mental functioning, but I do believe we all have to and can eat less of them. Good wholesome food is the way to go...with occassional treats of course.

Who said anything about "no" carbs? Certainly not me, and not the article either. Carbs are essential to health, just as protien and fats are. Just in moderation, and in significantly lower portions and servings than the current Western diet includes, and in significantly lower portions and servings than even the USDA and Health Canada food pyramid suggests. The pyramid is upsidedown basically. If you eat fat and protien, you have fat and protien to burn, you lose weight, and you lower your blood sugars. If you eat more carbs than fat and protien, (which is the most common Western diet, and most often recommended by doctors ) you only have sugar to burn. You store what little fat is consumed, and your blood sugars rise and you end up with diabetes and on meds and overweight. And probably with high cholesterol and triglycerides to boot.

Over 100 years of anthropological, nutrition and food research proves this, and yet doctors and the USDA et al are still for some reason stuck on high-carb, low fat diets. And the populace keeps getting fatter and fatter on their "diets".

All last year I tried everything. I tried the grapefruit diet, I tried counting points with Weight Watchers, I tried low fat, Lean Cuisine, packaged Nutrisystem mixes and etc etc etc...I just kept getting fatter. Then one day when my jeans nearly snapped me in half, and litterally bruised my thighs, I said "that's it, all that's left is Atkins". And I must say, it's the only thing that's worked. There's a guy on the Atkins message forum who started out over 400 pounds, server diabetes and after 2 weeks he's down 24.5 pounds and has been able to reduce his meds. In 2 weeks!

Sorry, I'm not very good at quoting, cutting and pasting here. I highlighted where you said you cut out the carbs, so I guess I took you literally and thought you cut them all out! Sorry Reba.

I also didn't quote, but ATeam, I think you mentioned wanting to be a dietician but that they were taught to use the pyramid food groupings? I've been to an awesome dietician about 3 times now, and she doesn't propose or teach the pyramid way of eating at all. Maybe they're taught one way in school, and then once they enter the workforce they teach what works for them, or what they believe...I don't know. My dietician is very young (mid 20's?) so maybe the schooling is different now.

[TheATeam 0]

Hey Carla....maybe your dietician is different and a good one! Both my mother and teenage brother are diabetic and their dietician is crazy! She's young as well, but has been teaching them the upside down food pyramid. All they eat is carbohydrates and then supplement with extra insulin. My little brother gained 8 pounds in a week when he was in the hospital when he was first diagnosed as diabetic, due to the "diabetic diet" they were feeding him. I don't know, but it's crazy!

That being said, I've spoken to another dietician who would never recommend the food pyramid. So, maybe you're right, they decide what's right for them. That doesn't make all that much sense to me though, as it should be regulated shouldn't it? Also I don't think that they learn very much about helping people with food intolerances make substitutions. Everything I read tells me to eat whole grain products such as bread. I can't though, so I have to make my own products made out of a different grain, or just eat legumes and brown rice as my grain products. It's pretty darn impossible to get 12 servings of those per day!

Hey Reba- from what I've looked into, that naturopathic schools teach much like you're eating now. Atkins isn't necessarily a "bad" diet like you hear all the time. It promotes eating your carbs through fruits and veggies and not eating the "white stuff". I must say that I probably eat a little more carbs than the Atkins diet recommends. I like my legumes and brown rice! I think once I start working and we have a little extra money I will try to take classes part time. Nutrition, health, and helping people is something I'm pretty passionate about, so we'll see!

[Reba 2]

There are lots of alternatives to bread. And lots of alternatives to grains as well. Just because the pyramid says you should eat it, doesn't mean they're right. Humans got along just great without grains for millennia before the invention of agriculture and threshing and grinding of wheat or rye to make bread. There are parts of the world that never saw any milled grains until the Westerners invaded. And its all been downhill, and rounder bellies ever since. Check out some of the recipes here http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/induction_men...tion_menus.html

Sorry Carla, I can see the confusion. I did cut most carbs from my diet, but just the harmful ones. I haven't had a slice of bread, nor potato, or pasta, or rice, or carrott or any high GI grain or vegetable since before Thanksgiving. Nor any sugar of any sort that is not naturally ocurring in low GI vegetables. And I don't miss them at all. After the first few days, the DTs and cravings are gone. Its just like withdrawl from any drug. A few days of discomfort (in the case of carb detox, it is usually headache, dizziness and for some a bit of nausea, depending on your carb dependence and intake beforehand) is worth a lifetime of health. The only thing I eat that is not "natural" is the occasional Atkins snack bar, and some sugarless salad dressing made with whole cream and eggs and lovely seasonings (Marzetti Ranch dressing). Everything else is fresh and in its orignal state (well, except the chickens are plucked and the cows and pigs are fillet'd and whatnot ). Nothing from a package that Mother Nature herself didn't invent. Other than cheese. I like cheese. Cheese is good.

Edited January 9, 2009 by Reba

[SapphireDreams 71]

I started using sparkpeople.com today and WOW it's AWESOME!

It's so user friendly and quick! I had been using mydailyplate.com previously, but it just doesn't compare!!

It's made me realize that I'm on the right track with my eating, but I'm totally not eating enough protein! Anyways, I can honestly say that it took me 5-10 minutes to enter my food for the day and it was well worth it.

[Marilyn. 340]

my "diet" is I try not to eat a lot and I try and drink lots of water.. is it crazy that I love drinking water?.....nothing really beats a nice cold glass of water... mmmm

[TheATeam 0]

Hey SapphireDreams..... sparkpeople.com is pretty awesome huh?! I really love it. I find that it helps a lot to track my food and see how many calories I'm burning!

[SapphireDreams 71]

Hey SapphireDreams..... sparkpeople.com is pretty awesome huh?! I really love it. I find that it helps a lot to track my food and see how many calories I'm burning!

I am really impressed with the site. I work in tech, so I see a lot of random programs and software/sites and this one seriously blew me away! I love the way it analyzes the food I'm eating and doesn't just count calories, but shows me the fat and protein... that is really helping me see where I'm going wrong. I can't wait to play with it more this weekend!

[thetreble 19]

Sorry Carla, I can see the confusion. I did cut most carbs from my diet, but just the harmful ones. I haven't had a slice of bread, nor potato, or pasta, or rice, or carrott or any high GI grain or vegetable since before Thanksgiving. Nor any sugar of any sort that is not naturally ocurring in low GI vegetables. And I don't miss them at all. After the first few days, the DTs and cravings are gone. Its just like withdrawl from any drug. A few days of discomfort (in the case of carb detox, it is usually headache, dizziness and for some a bit of nausea, depending on your carb dependence and intake beforehand) is worth a lifetime of health. The only thing I eat that is not "natural" is the occasional Atkins snack bar, and some sugarless salad dressing made with whole cream and eggs and lovely seasonings (Marzetti Ranch dressing). Everything else is fresh and in its orignal state (well, except the chickens are plucked and the cows and pigs are fillet'd and whatnot ). Nothing from a package that Mother Nature herself didn't invent. Other than cheese. I like cheese. Cheese is good.

So...carrotts are bad for you?

I'm confused.

I love carrotts. I eat them almost every day. I didn't realize there were vegetables that could harm you?

Edited January 9, 2009 by thetreble

[Emancipation 2]

So...carrotts are bad for you?

I'm confused.

I love carrotts. I eat them almost every day. I didn't realize there were vegetables that could harm you?

baby carrots are especially evil

I think when you are counting gycemic index stuff the root veggies (potatoes, carrots etc) convert to sugar (are starchy) and thus are less desirable than the other veggies. If you cut out the root veggies.. it does help with weight loss..

[thetreble 19]

so some vegetables covert to sugar and some don't? Reba, maybe you can explain this one to me.

[Emancipation 2]

so some vegetables covert to sugar and some don't? Reba, maybe you can explain this one to me.

faster.. sorry should have inserted convert to sugar faster blech.