Harry and I recently went to Florida for a nice vacation. During that time we were on a c-seafood diet. We ate all of the seafood we could see. Old joke, but people do it every day. We went to the grocery store the first day there and bought some fruit, cheese, nuts, water and healthy snacks. We had a fridge in the room and we kept it full the whole time. The hotel served breakfast everyday. We went out to eat every day during the heat of the day. We enjoyed the beach in the late afternoon and ate our goodies in the hotel in the evening as we watched the ocean from our balcony.
We were there to rest and take in the beauty of the ocean.
At the end of it all, we both gained about 8 pounds. We know we cannot eat with wild abandon like that but it was vacation after all! Now that we are back, we are HUNGRY all the time. Eating like we did proved my point that additives are applied to restaurant and take out food to add to the flavor. We probably ate a LOT of MSG. I think it is addictive.
It proved my final point, that the more you eat out, the more you want to eat.
In spite of it all, we are still taking our brewers yeast-lecithin-protein shake every day as well as our Juice-Plus supplements. We still feel pretty darn good from a diet we were only on for 6 weeks.
We have been crazy busy since that 6 weeks. While we have not completely dropped our new lifestyle of eating healthy, we have challenged it more than we would like. As I said before, healthy eating takes planning and preparation! The first thing that upsets your routine completely unravels the diet. We have so little time at home during the week that we have to spend time on the weekend getting prepared. If we don't, then we go through the whole week trying to eat as good as we can from what is available.
I have to admit, if I cannot follow the plan then it is not a good plan. Everyone else is as busy as we are. I have my grandsons over twice a week and they totally disrupt our routine. So what about the people who have their children all the time? My plan has to work for them too. This has been something I have been thinking about for awhile. How to make it all work!
We have so many things stacked against us. You cannot even buy a sandwich in America without it being made with white flour. Even if it is called wheat, it is just dyed white flour. Exceptions like bread made with sprouted wheat germ and stone ground wheat would certainly be an exception but not available at a sandwich shop. So basically, take out is a negative strike on the diet with very little exception. Any convenience food is a negative strike. Restaurant food may be a rise above, but the food is loaded with extra fat and additives. It is a sure bet that any thing fried was fried in the cheapest oil the restaurant can buy. Even olive oil turns carcinegenic at the normal frying temp of 350, so you know the fried food is not a good thing. That was something we thought about quite a bit in Florida as we munched our fried fish and chips. (Yes, I can hear you!)
Again, I say in spite of our transgressions, we are STILL a lot healthier because of the 6 weeks that we were totally dedicated to the plan. So, even if we cannot do it ALL the time, it is important to strive to do it as much as possible.
I have a challenger. My first guinea pig who approached me with a challenge is going to start on my new plan. Harry and I will start it on 10/3 and I may tweak it here and there, but I think it will work. Guinea, so I don't use her real name, basically lives on the road. She has to be the ultimate challenge because she certainly does not have a kitchen in the truck. She is at the mercy of convenience foods and restaurants. The idea of the plan is to give yourself a fighting chance and then "do it right" as much as you can.
Rule 1 - Have a health shake in the morning. Mix one serving each of Brewer's Yeast, Lecithin granules and protein powder with almond milk, stevia, cinnamon, and a banana. The protein powder should be one without a lot of additives or sugar. A protein shake is 3 points.
Rule 2 - With every meal, eat the protein first. If that is not possible, then take a carb blocker like white bean extract. Try to take it at least 15 minutes before the meal. A carb blocker is 1 point.
Rule 3 - With every meal, END it with a piece of fresh fruit or vegetable. Eating the "bad stuff" raised your pleasure center. So you associate your pleasure to the meal. If the last thing you taste is a bite of crisp apple, then that apple will be connected to your sense of pleasure as well. Furthermore, an apple has pectin which will offset the fat from the meal. My guinea pig is going to eat a small apple after every meal because it will be the easiest to get. Every fruit or vegetable is 1 point.
Rule 4 - I am not ruling out meat, chicken or poultry. However limit the portions to 3 to 6 oz and select from the leanest cuts available. It is best to choose from broiled, poached, grilled or baked and go light on the sauces that accompany them. A 3 to 6 oz portion as described is 1 point. More than 6 oz is -3.
Fried ANYTHING is -5. Count 1 eggs as one serving of lean protein. 1 point.
Rule 5 - Limit cheese to 1 oz a serving. I am still not advocating dairy, but use skim milk and the lower fat varieties. Use butter rather than margarine. Check out almond milk as a terrific alternative. I don't really want to give plus points for this, but I will say -3 for every serving over 3 oz a day total, -2 for margarine. -3 for any high fat serving of dairy.
Rule 6 - Ok, you really have to stick with this one. Limit sugar! Try even to omit it! Looks at the sugar in your dairy products, it is very high which is probably the reason that dairy is not a good choice. -5 for any serving of sugar. Give Stevia a try!
Rule 7 - When you eat simple carbs like pasta and bread, try to turn it into a complex carb by eating beans or nuts with it. Remember to eat it last and protein first. Simple carbs are -3 points per serving. Complex are 1 point per serving.
Rule 8 - Incorporate as many fruits and vegetables as you can. Try every day to eat every color of the rainbow. The color is indicative of the kind of nutrients you are eating. Shouldn't be all green. Each fruit or vegetable is one point.
Rule 9 - Drink water. Every 8 oz is 1 point!
So what is this point system? You want to hit 25 points a day or average 175 a week.
So what does this look like?
Health shake 3
8 8oz glasses of water 8
Breakfast:
2 eggs (poached or boiled) 1
1 slice wheat toast with butter -3
(if this was almond butter,
it would be complex and then
count as 1 point.
1 fresh orange 1
Lunch
Grilled chicken breast 4 oz 1
Green salad with tomato, cucumber,
bell pepper, red cabbage,
radishes and celery 7
Vinegarette dressing with lemon 1
(I will always give 1 point
for vinegar, lemon or lime).
1 apple 1
Iced tea with no sugar 0
Dinner
6 oz grilled salmon fillet 1
Lemon on the side for the fish 1
Steamed brocolli & cauliflower 2
Rice pilaf with almonds, 4
cannelli beans, spinach, 1oz
grated cheese.
1 slice french bread with garlic -3
1 wedge of honeydew melon 1
Total 26 points
I will add more examples as we gear up on this. I am sure there will be questions on the way. I am not including high fat snacks, cokes, etc because I simply don't use them but I am sure guinea will. Probably -5 a pop, but we will see.
