Posted on 08/20/2006 1:59:07 AM PDT by Stoat
Eating everything is the magic bullet, experts say. Variety is the key to not only a good-looking exterior, but a healthy body that can fight disease, according to Ann C. Grandjean, director of Omaha's Center for Human Nutrition, Inc. Grandjean suggests three golden rules for eating: balance, variety and correct servings. Mindful eating that follows these three simple concepts will create healthy bodies.
"Balance. Don't eat all meat one day and then nothing but bread the next day," Grandjean said. "(Include) variety within a given food group -- not just potatoes and green beans. Eat something green, eat something orange, eat something red. (And think of) the right amounts like those three bears -- not too much, too little, but just right." It's the Goldilocks diet, but it isn't really meant to cause rapid weight loss. Grandjean said she's been trying to make nutrition sexy for nearly three decades and she just can't do it.
"Good nutrition is boring as hell. Just saying, 'Make sure to eat five servings of fruit' is boring. So to sell books, (people say you) have to do something mystic," she said. That's how we've become a generation obsessed with counting carbs, cutting fat and eating 3 pounds of bacon in a day in an effort to trim our burgeoning waistlines. But limiting or overloading on any nutrient won't make you thin or healthy. You need healthy servings each of carbs, protein and even fat. Here's why:
Carbohydrates are the human body's primary source of energy. You also get energy from fat, protein and alcohol, but most of the calories we need to live come from carbs, Grandjean said. That makes them essential, so cutting them or severely restricting them is not a good thing. But you should concentrate on getting them from whole grains. A 2003 Harvard study that followed 74,000 female nurses for 12 years found that women who ate the most whole grains weighed less than those who ate the fewest. And a Louisiana State University study of 149 women found that a low fiber intake was linked to higher body fat. Both studies were cited in a Shape.com story.
Proteins, which are made of chains of amino acids, are the foundation of the body. They help create muscles, blood, skin, hair nails and the organs. Athletes need more protein than couch potatoes, Grandjean said, and the Center for Human Nutrition put together an easy questionnaire (PDF format) to help individuals determine exactly how much protein they need for optimum health.
Fat should be kept at 30 percent of total calories each day, unless you're physically active, Grandjean said. Active people can eat up to 35 percent of their diets in fat. But don't avoid it altogether. Fat is in every cell of the body, and in order for those cells to function properly, they need fat from the diet. Fat sources include nearly every protein source, such as fish, meat, chicken and nuts, along with vegetable oil, avocadoes and more.
"You need all kinds of fats, and when you eat a variety of foods, you get all the kinds of fat. You can do harm by concentrating on specific foods instead of concentrating on the total diet," Grandjean said. There's that variety suggestion again. Really -- eat everything, she said again.
The government Web site MyPyramid.gov allows you to tailor a daily menu based on your individual needs, and Grandjean said she loves it because all a user does is enter his or her age and sex and the site spits out specific foods and serving sizes. That brings us to the third leg of Grandjean's diet stool. Instead of eating all carbs or no fat, eat the right amount of each food you consume. In a time when the local homewares store is filled with quart-sized cereal bowls and extra-large, pizza-sized dinner plates, knowing the appropriate serving can be tricky. Start with the nutrition label, then keep these tips from the International Food Information Council in mind or check out our portion size quiz.
Related Item:
I only changed two things:
I walked more. (Not running--walking, from 5-11 miles a day. I used to lift, and hopefully will begin again this week.)
I stopped drinking soda. I'm trying to drink only water, but I use milk and sometimes juice with whey protein for a meal a day.
I mention this because these changes were the very beginning of my attempt to lose weight, and they're things anyone can do. I hope to increase my exercise and eventually return to a regular gym schedule, and make more changes in diet. But in my case, I always tried to do too much, to change more than one thing at a time in terms of diet (cutting out numerous foods) and exercise (doing too many things).
These are very simple changes, and they've given results beyond the few pounds simply losing water retention pounds (I lost those long ago).
BTW, I've gotten numerous suggestions to do the Atkins thing. I don't think the subject of this story cares for that, but as a temporary way to drop pounds, it seems interesting, though I haven't attempted it.
One very good simple thing: don't eat anything 3 hours before going to sleep.
Too complicated. Just eat less and eat well.
I tried Atkins a few years ago. It's just a short term loss and that's it. Last year I went on Weight Watchers and from May to November I went from 252 to 185. Unfortunately I lost the weight too quickly and as a result I lost a lot of muscle. So I hit the weights hard and ate more to put some back on. I'm now at 225 and I'm back to burning fat again only this time I'm going to lose weight much more gradually. I'm aiming at losing between 1-2 pounds a week.
Why is that? I always hear that. What is the difference between eating before bedtime and eating while at a sedentary job in the middle of the day? I've always wondered what the big deal of not eating before bedtime is about.
Three hours less eating?
Can anyone comment on the Isagenix products? I work in a place where everyone seems to be jumping on that bandwagon. I'm curious and skeptical.
bttt
At the outset let me be quite clear that I have zero personal experience with these products, in fact I had never heard of them before....perhaps because I have always used the 'eat everything' diet as outlined in the article that leads this thread, I have never had a weight problem and so have never looked into any dieting products.
What I did was a quick web search with the keywords "isagenix" and "scam"....after the first couple of pages of junk hits, I got to some discussion boards where people were talking about Isagenix. It seems to be sold via a MLM or Multi-Level Marketing arrangement, where people who are selling it and want to make money have to continually recruit new "victims" to also sell the products in order make money....it sounds almost like a pyramid setup, and this explains the 'hype' that you mention where "everybody is jumping on the bandwagon". People selling it HAVE to generate hype in order to recruit and therefore maintain their income. Isagenix has a panel of doctors who rave about it's effectiveness and they have some celebrity endorsements, including, apparently, the Osmonds who also sing it's praises.
After I got this far I lost interest in pursuing it further because it doesn't pass the 'smell test' to me, given those findings.
I would encourage you to do a similar search, as I got the info that I did after less than five minutes.
If someone is hyping a medically-related product to you, find out if there are any articles about it in well-established peer-reviewed medical journals, not advertisements or interviews with celebrity shills.
My advice? Eat everything, eat less, exercise more and live your life.
I lost 135 pounds years ago, and have kept it off. I pretty much did what this article suggests. It does work. Eat what you like, but less of it and you won't get so darn bored.
I would have to pull out my physiology textbooks to get a precise answer for you, but my recollection is that when you are sleeping, your metabolism slows way down (far more so than the example of working a sedentary job) and in this state the digestive process doesn't work in the same way as when you are awake, and foods do not get processed in the same manner, leaving more fat behind than normal.
Congratulations!
Here's some cannoli for you :-)
Lawd, what a pic! The Dumpster-Diver: the heart and soul of the Democratic party.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.