Healthy Living 101

[Tony_SS]

I'm glad to see this thread still going and that all you guys having become quiters hitting up the dunkin donut shops every morning.

I have admit my passion is nutrition. I try to avoid the word diet because that suggest starving yourself. I never do that. I have officially lost 20 lbs since I started my paleo/ancestor eating lifestyle a little over 6 months ago.

I went from 175lbs and pushing a 34" pants down to 32" (which are becoming baggy on me!) and 155lbs! I did this solely on diet alone over the course of 6 months! I'm really happy with the results, and like I said before, I do NOT limit the quantity of my food - I regulate the quality of it.

I examined both "diets" and picked the best parts of each. From a paleo standpoint, I adopted their NO WHEAT mantra based on the fact that wheat is a genetic frankenstein that makes us fat. When I stopped eating it, I stopped craving sugar. And I LOVE sweet foods. It's pretty amazing that lost those cravings. So it was real easy to give up drinking SODA. I think that is the most important aspects of Paleo: No wheat/grains and little to no processed sugar.

The ancestor diet studies what our great grandparents ate. You know, back in the days where heart disease and cancer weren't a household word. This traditional diet embraces animal fats as a source of nutrition. So I eat a dozen eggs a week, 1/2 stick of butter, plenty of pork (bacon!) and beef. I am living proof that saturated fat does not make you fat. Of course I eat plenty of fruit and vegetables too.

Now the dairy question. Many people doing paleo give up dairy. I ended up doing so for a different reason. My kids and I have had chronic ear infections and allergies all our lives. After some unconventional reading, store bought dairy was said to be the number one cause of ear infections. So when I was tired and scared of too much antibiotics, I decided to ban store bought milk in our house. To my surprise we survived the 2012 flu's/colds through winter and 2013 spring with NO EAR INFECTIONS. This in itself was amazing! You will never see a plastic gallon of milk in my house. The stuff is CRAP. Between the hormones, antibiotics and junk they feed factory cows, along with the added sugar, the whole "GOT MILK" propaganda campaign can kiss my ***.

To make things more interesting during that time, I did not give up milk. I drank RAW organic milk from grass feed cows. Which is high in fat and nutrition. So the milk itself was never the problem. It's the CRAP factory farm milk that is making us sick.

I have learned alot about nutrition the past 6-8 months and am still learning. I can tell you now when I go shopping, its like I"m in the Matrix. Everything has Wheat/Sugar/Vegetable oils. So its challenging. The good thing is they sell Gluten free bread so I'm not totally depriving myself of grains. But I am learning that factory farming and processing of name brand food is NOT food, but food like products. They are essentially selling us edible industrial waste.

So if you ever find yourself working out, but not losing any weight, that is why. To start with, stop eating wheat and you'll stop craving sugar. Next stop eating processed anything. Make little changes in WHAT you eat, and you'll see a big change in yourself.

[Vegas69]

Tony, nobody ever wants to hear that nutrition is the major key to weight management and health. You really have to experience the results. I've recently started to cut wheat out of my diet. I haven't had any problems with weight management but I'm hoping it makes me more regular as I've had problems my entire life. I won't likely dump it completely but I'm going to give it some time and see if I notice any difference. I personally believe that our bodies do need saturated fat and cholesterol. It really comes down to moderation. Your blood work (That you need to get your butt to the doctor and have done) will tell you if you need to adjust your diet. Sticking your head in the sand is not advisable. The milk deal is right on the money. Greater than FDA recommended calcium is the number 1 cause of prostate cancer additionally(Look at any men's multi vitamin). I like my greek yogurt but I responsibly source it. I also eat 1-2 hard boiled eggs a day. Fruits and Vegetables are KEY. Not only do they have the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients which scientists no little about, they help control disease and body PH. Blueberries have been found to decrease the likely hood of prostate cancer. I eat them nearly every day.

Bottom line, you are what you eat.

[Tony_SS]

I hear you Todd... I would like to get some blood work done. Except, my doctor is not a nutritionist, I hate needles, and I'm no fan of doctors either. lol

Example, all my life I've had digestion problems. The doctors remedy? Treat the symptoms with TUMS or some pill. WRONG. The problem was that my stomach did not make enough acid. The solution, I started drinking Braggs apple cider vinegar every other day. No more burping, hiccups, and indigestion. I can finally take on some garlic like never before! I drink it now every morning. Plus it helps keep my body in an alkaline state. Just like lemons are very acidic, but when they get to your stomach, the turn alkaline. I also eat an apple+seeds everyday since its one of the most alkaline foods out there. The seeds are loaded with B-17, that has super cancer fighting properties.

Todd, I'm glad to hear about you cutting the wheat out. Try it and see what happens. I would cut as much as you can, if not all of it. It might be what's causing the binding. It's an industrial product now, its not our grandparents wheat anymore. Give it time too, everyone's different. I do still treat myself to things that might have some wheat, but I've cut 90% of it out of my life.

Another result of the paleo diet is that I'm never hungry. Products like wheat (gluten) and corn syrup are designed to increase our appetite. I was always hungry when I ate that stuff, hence being 20lbs over weight!

I eat 3 times a day, normal meals and I'm satisfied each time. I have a bag of nuts or piece of fruit in between. But I don't think we were designed to "graze" all day, eating 5-8 meals/snacks. I think that is a result of gluten and sugar making us hungry all the time.

So for this weekend, I'll being dining on some BBQ RIBS along with red onions, green, yellow and red peppers with plenty of Kerrygold butter (from grassfed cows), salt, pepper, garlic, maybe some asparagus too. Unsweetened ice tea to wash it down and for desert, raspberries, blueberries and starwberries with homemade whipped cream.

[Vegas69]

Doctors are like any other profession, first of all, it's a business. Then they all have different educations, skills, and ultimately, intelligence. That was one of my hurdles when I first went down this road, finding a good doctor. I believe I've done that as she's young and genuinely interested in improving my health.

Kelli and I has a gluten free pizza tonight with goat cheese, spinach, pine nuts and kale salad with figs, feta cheese and the rest I can't remember. I was impressed with the gluten free crust. I am going to keep as much wheat out of my diet as possible to see if I feel the difference. I hope you are right about the binding. My doctor recommended probiotics which I'll try as well.

One area where I have to disagree is frequency of consumption. My metabolism is very active. I prefer lighter meals and healthy snacks and deserts. I can eat 9 times a day and easily maintain my weight. Of course my snacks are apples, raw nuts, grapefruit, hummus, carrots, greek yogurt, blueberries, you get the idea..(And that's all today) Ha

I do agree on high fructose corn syrup which I avoid like the plague.

I'm enjoying our debate Tony.

My mentor Jim Rohn said, "When you think you have all the answers, it's time to start asking different questions".