Diet: Does this dude have it right?

[ems]

I eat pasta three times a day followed by one Red Delicious apple. Have done this for years. Lost a lot of weight and now keep my BMI very steady at 24. The doctor said to add the apple because I wasn't getting enough of certain substances from eating the pasta alone.

At breakfast I put a small spoon of grass-fed butter on spaghetti noodles. Lunch is a tiny amount of tomato sauce on penne pasta. Dinner is olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on angel hair pasta. (Some nights I have a very small glass of sweet red wine.)

Works very well for me. Also makes for very simple grocery shopping, easy dish cleaning and an uncluttered cupboard.

If a doctor actually suggested this way of eating, he must have many rocks in his/her head.

[kaiasgram]

I think JNK has it right.

+1 more.

and another +1. The first sentence in the second article that OhHelpMe posted is

What works for one person may not work for the next.

I think that's true. People metabolize medications and foods -- anything we take into our bodies -- differently.

I've been confused and conflicted about which way to go with my diet to improve my blood sugar numbers. Both ends of the spectrum, all plant-based on the one hand, and Paleo-based on the other, have respectable proponents and some solid arguments. I hesitate to say this in this thread (!) but I've decided to try the Fuhrman ("End To Diabetes") approach for a number of reasons. I just had blood work done today and I plan to retest after however many months my doc thinks would be about right to assess any changes. I'll report back down the line. I'll be honest about the numbers, I promise! If I see no improvement or no significant difference I'll consider switching to the more paleo-consistent approach and retest. If on the other hand there is improvement in my blood sugar and cholesterol numbers, I'll stick with that.

[RogerSC]

I eat pasta three times a day followed by one Red Delicious apple. Have done this for years. Lost a lot of weight and now keep my BMI very steady at 24. The doctor said to add the apple because I wasn't getting enough of certain substances from eating the pasta alone.

At breakfast I put a small spoon of grass-fed butter on spaghetti noodles. Lunch is a tiny amount of tomato sauce on penne pasta. Dinner is olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on angel hair pasta. (Some nights I have a very small glass of sweet red wine.)

Works very well for me. Also makes for very simple grocery shopping, easy dish cleaning and an uncluttered cupboard.

If a doctor actually suggested this way of eating, he must have many rocks in his/her head.

Sounds like the bananas and milk diet...you get so tired of bananas and milk you stop eating....

This really does sound like a recipe for various vitamin and nutritional deficiency problems that could really cause some long term damage. But that's just my opinon, I've been eating peanut butter on sourdough toast with a glass of nonfat milk for lunch for a while now...my other meals are different, though *smile*. I kind of get stuck on something for a while, not for years though, maybe for a couple of weeks.

[RogerSC]

I think JNK has it right.

Kind of a "you-can't-know, you-can't-control, if-you-succeed-it-is-random" approach?

You can't know until you start after you do your real research. Then you control it and modify it as needed - just like cpap therapy. Success depends on your particular body and how it functions and your determination to make it work - just like cpap therapy.

In general it is much easier to eat Low carb because meats/fats are more tasty and filling and cause much less sugar crashes. If you eat cereal type meal in the morning you will crave that donut at 11 am.

I often have hot oatmeal for breakfast, and don't crave donuts or other high-fat sweets, myself. I'll eat a donut if someone puts one in front of me and it looks good to me (not all donuts do, maple bars are my favorite *smile*), but I don't crave them or go after them. As they say, everyone is different.

[archangle]

I think there's a lot of truth in what that article said.

However, don't take anything to extremes. A lot of the conventional wisdom of diet is from someone taking some limited data and extrapolating it. For instance, "cholesterol is bad." Yes, cholesterol is bad when it collects in your arteries. However, your body manufactures its own cholesterol, it's not just that a certain percent of what is in your food sticks to your arteries.

For instance, Atkins is anti-carb and pro-protein and pro-fat. There's some wisdom there, but, you shouldn't use that as an excuse to just eat bacon.

[49er]

I think JNK has it right.

+1 more.

and another +1. The first sentence in the second article that OhHelpMe posted is

What works for one person may not work for the next.

I think that's true. People metabolize medications and foods -- anything we take into our bodies -- differently.

I've been confused and conflicted about which way to go with my diet to improve my blood sugar numbers. Both ends of the spectrum, all plant-based on the one hand, and Paleo-based on the other, have respectable proponents and some solid arguments. I hesitate to say this in this thread (!) but I've decided to try the Fuhrman ("End To Diabetes") approach for a number of reasons. I just had blood work done today and I plan to retest after however many months my doc thinks would be about right to assess any changes. I'll report back down the line. I'll be honest about the numbers, I promise! If I see no improvement or no significant difference I'll consider switching to the more paleo-consistent approach and retest. If on the other hand there is improvement in my blood sugar and cholesterol numbers, I'll stick with that.

Hi Kaiasgram,

I definitely agree there is not a one size fits all type of diet. Even my favorite Paleo diet author, Chris Kresser, acknowledges that unlike some Paleo advocates who think you have sinned if you eat certain foods.

I wish you all the luck in the world with the Fuhrman diet and will greatly look forward to hearing how it works out.

I am still convinced a paleo type diet is best for me but of course, until I have blood work, what I say is only conjecture and nothing more. But as I mentioned previously, my cravings for sweets and junk food have completely disappeared. And I lost about 10 pounds without even trying.

[jnk]

. . . BTW, I would have to say that diet threads (including this one) are among the very most valuable topics on this fine forum. There is some excellent info in the above posts.

.

I, too, enjoy reading threads like this one. I find them educational. I learn something every single time.

I also found this little stunt, scientifically valid or not (because of the ridiculous extremes they employed in short duration), to be thought-provoking anyway as well:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... -life.html

[Jay Aitchsee]

I also found this little stunt, scientifically valid or not (because of the ridiculous extremes they employed in short duration), to be thought-provoking anyway as well:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... -life.html

I think their bottom line makes a lot of sense and is pretty easy to follow.

[Janknitz]

I often have hot oatmeal for breakfast, and don't crave donuts or other high-fat sweets, myself. I'll eat a donut if someone puts one in front of me and it looks good to me (not all donuts do, maple bars are my favorite *smile*), but I don't crave them or go after them. As they say, everyone is different.

I had pastured eggs scrambled in butter, sprinkled with cheese, half an avocado, and coffee with real cream for breakfast (I love my "diet food"). If somebody put a doughnut in front of me it wouldn't look good, because I'm not hungry. I'm at the point where the smell of sugar and oil is repulsive, and I don't feel deprived at all when the rest of the office eats the sugary pastries that are a Friday tradition.

After 6 or more hours I might be hungry enough to eat lunch. Today is broiled salmon, asparagus with lemon olive oil, and homemade coleslaw (no sugar!). Yum! Suffering, just suffering to lose weight (70 pounds so far).

[70sSanO]

I have struggled with my weight for decades, gone on diets, lost weight and then put it back on. I have tried all sorts of diets with out any long term success. For me there has to be a better reason to lose weight that simply being more healthy, but if I find an activity that requires I lose weight then I am focused.

I have lost a little over 50 lbs since July on what I like to say is a non-diet. I would like to take off another 10 or 15 lbs but I'm just going to keep doing what I am doing and see where it ends up. It does remain to be seen whether this really works over the long haul.

I try to eat more vegetables, less fast food, and overall eat better, but I don't necessarily have a preset regime of what I can and can't eat. I still go to In-N-Out, Costco for a slice of pizza, etc. but I have throttled that back.

Basically what I do is eat less and I do not snack... period. I eat early and after that I don't eat. Not even celery sticks or carrots or anything "good for me", nothing. On the weekends I try to limit my meals to 2. I am approaching this like CPAP, you get a machine and it is for life so you just accept it and get on with things. So what if I get a little hungry now and then, how much more of aggravation is that compared to air blowing in your eyes while you are trying to sleep.

Is this healthy for me? My weight is down and my apnea is worse so who knows. But I do feel better and have more energy with an AHI of 10 and less weight than an AHI of 4 and fat. I am working on reeling in my apnea with my doc, but adding the weight back on is obviously not in the equation.

I don't know why it has worked but I am thankful it has.

John

PS... Now I sure hope I don't post something a year from now on how all my weight came back!

[College3girls]

For folks struggling to adapt to the low carb lifestyle look at the website http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/. There are tons of free recipes here, including low carb breads, muffins, stuffings, etc. In this way, the craving to have a sandwich can be fulfilled. Need a dessert? I recommend the chocolate peanut butter lava cake- my whole family likes them. There are also numerous cookbooks available to purchase on line- a whole series of books in fact that compile recipes from a variety of low carb diets, including Atkins.

The Atkins diet website is also an excellent resource, and offers a free get started kit. I find keeping the Atkins meal bars in the house helps when I know I will be traveling, or just want that "pastry' kind of breakfast other people have when they grab a bagel and head out the door.

I thought I would really crave breads and things, but with these recipes, I have my own alternatives and I'm a happy camper. As other posters have mentioned, you can not do low carb AND low fat. By the way, I do not use any sugar,instead opting for Stevia which is a natural, plant based sweetener.

[BlackSpinner]

I also found this little stunt, scientifically valid or not (because of the ridiculous extremes they employed in short duration), to be thought-provoking anyway as well:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... -life.html

I was more taken by what happened before the study

At my lightest, I was 9½ st - skinny for someone who's 6ft. But then I moved to the U.S., my life became sedentary and in a few years I was 17½ st.
Chris was back in England at a normal weight of 12½ st and was appalled at my transformation. I was a fat version of him - a walking cautionary tale about what he could easily become.

[teleute]

I've been trying a low carb diet recently, and found that it was definitely working for me to lose weight - better than any food plan or anything I've ever done.

HOWEVER, I found myself incredibly lethargic, unmotivated and very fuzzy-headed. Two days ago I tried putting some carbs back in, but was still careful to stay at the same calorie level, and to watch what the carbs actually were (whole wheat noodles, quinoa, etc...). Mentally I'm feeling *so* much better, after very little time. But, the weight also immediately stopped dropping.

I know it's far too early to tell anything definitively, and there are always too many variables to be sure of anything, but....I thought it was interesting.

[BlackSpinner]

I've been trying a low carb diet recently, and found that it was definitely working for me to lose weight - better than any food plan or anything I've ever done.

HOWEVER, I found myself incredibly lethargic, unmotivated and very fuzzy-headed. Two days ago I tried putting some carbs back in, but was still careful to stay at the same calorie level, and to watch what the carbs actually were (whole wheat noodles, quinoa, etc...). Mentally I'm feeling *so* much better, after very little time. But, the weight also immediately stopped dropping.

I know it's far too early to tell anything definitively, and there are always too many variables to be sure of anything, but....I thought it was interesting.

Try keeping the grain /wheat out of the diet, stick to quinoa, and vegetable carbs and make sure you get enough fats.

[teleute]

That's what I was doing before...lots of veggies, no wheats or potatoes, good amount of fats. Good for weight, terrible for brain. For me. So far. (All the caveats I can put here...<g> )