Redirecting myself (a bit long)

[chrisinhouston]

You know, I think controlling carbs is a good thing in the initial plan but I am not in favor of the Adkins or South Beach or Paleo diets as I don't think they are healthy in the long run or really doable for a long period. Plus so many cultures with healthy lifestyles (Asian and Mediterranean to name 2) rely on a broad mix of good carbs as well as fruits and vegetables and protein in moderation.

I typically eat a mix of grains for breakfast ever day, steel cut oats, brown and wild rice, farro, bulgur, and several nuts such as walnuts and cashews, pistachios, pumpkin and sesame seeds and ground up ones like almond and flax and chia. Not all in one meal but this is the variety of what I eat. I know they have helped me turn my cholesterol around and are good for my colon. I usually eat a couple scrambled eggs once a week. I don't eat much bread anymore but if I do it's a fairly robust dark wheat type, sometimes whole wheat tortillas or corn ones. I also eat hummus once a day so that's a good carb and also good fiber.

Cheese is my one vice I still love, not a lot but a slice or 2 or 3. Just trying to limit it a bit more and also move away from the really creamy ones like brie, etc and more hard cheeses or ones lower in fat. I like the thick Greek style yogurt that is 2% or less in fat.

[glatt]

I'm not pushing carb cutting as a thing for everyone. Recent blood tests have shown I'm slightly prediabetic, which means my body isn't responding like it should to the insulin I produce. When I eat a lot of carbs, my blood sugar spikes and takes a while to come back down, and never really gets down to where it should be. I can make my body more responsive to the insulin by exercising more, so I'm trying to do that. And I can also cut back on carbs and sweets so the insulin has less work to do. Ideally, that's all I'll need to do.

Not everybody has some resistance to insulin, but it's more common than most people realize. Something like 20% of US adults, IIRC. And it eventually leads to full blown diabetes, where you need to give yourself shots of insulin and track your blood sugar by pricking your finger all the time and testing the blood. I really don't want that. So I'm moderately cutting carbs now and trying to exercise more. But Wheaties have a ton of carbs. It's dumb that I eat them so much. I need to find a good, quick, satisfying breakfast alternative. Something ready to eat, healthy, and satisfying. I don't want salad for breakfast. Yuck.

[chrisinhouston]

Oh I agree on that and that as we age I think we might just generally build up a resistance to responding to insulin as we do when we are younger. I know various doctors have told me after a fasting blood test that I was pre-diabetic. And they mostly told me to avoid sugary drinks, pasta and sweets, all of which I avoided anyway. I think drinking 3-4 glasses of wine every night and a lack of aerobic activity probably had more to do with it than anything else. Alcohol can really mess with your blood sugar.

I'm supposed to have a complete blood work test done in August as well as a tread mill heart test so I will be interested to see what my numbers and weight look like by then.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by chrisinhouston

I am not in favor of the Adkins or South Beach or Paleo diets as I don't think they are healthy in the long run or really doable for a long period.

It's not for everyone, to be sure, but I don't know what you mean by "really doable for a long period." We've been completely grain-free and sugar-free for over three years now, and I have many friends who have been doing it for a decade or more. Anything's doable if you decide to do it.

[glatt]

Clod what do you typically have for breakfast in your house?

[Clodfobble]

I usually have a cut-up banana with strawberries or blueberries, with homemade granola on top (made from cashews, almonds, and coconut.) Sometimes I'll have yogurt involved in there as well. The kids have small meat patties, a coconut flour muffin, and some kind of fruit. Every once in awhile I'll do eggs and bacon, but I don't like cleaning the pans so it's rare.

[glatt]

does the coconut flour muffin have a strong coconut flavor/smell?

I'm thinking my new routine might be to make some sort of muffin out of fake flour like that and make a big batch each weekend to have the next week for breakfast.

[chrisinhouston]

Clodfobble, no I realize some folks to go carb free or close to it and can keep it going and you and your family are to be commended but from most of what I have read, statistically most people who go on a close to zero carb high protein diet for weight loss do loose weight but gain it back because the eventually revert back to bad food choices. I know that my wife and I did Adkins back when he was still alive and making all the talk show circuits and we lost weight but eventually gained it back either because we ate too many of the wrong things or didn't get enough exercise.

I've followed your food blog off an on and agree that for some people wheat and dairy can be the route of a lot of problems. I was asthmatic as a child and had a doctor tell my mother to limit wheat and dairy to decrease congestion and it did help me. So I think for medical reasons a variety of dietary changes will help.

So to clairfy I'm just not a big believer in the long term benefits of low carb/high protein diets for the average person trying to drop a few pounds. I think that in general eating less and eating better foods coupled with increased activity is probably the healthier way to go and will have a lasting effect it it is kept up to some degree after the goals are reached.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by glatt

does the coconut flour muffin have a strong coconut flavor/smell?

Not to me, but I have notoriously under-sensitive tastebuds. Most people comment on the honey flavor though, not the coconut. You can also use almond flour if you don't like coconut.

Originally Posted by chrisinhouston

So to clairfy I'm just not a big believer in the long term benefits of low carb/high protein diets for the average person trying to drop a few pounds. I think that in general eating less and eating better foods coupled with increased activity is probably the healthier way to go and will have a lasting effect it it is kept up to some degree after the goals are reached.

I agree that many people try to just replace carbs with protein instead of produce, and that's a bad idea. And I also agree that it can't be about specific numeric goals, but I think that's true of all supposed weight-loss plans. Whatever the change is, it has to be a permanent lifestyle commitment, if you expect to keep the results.