Posted on 10/21/2003 7:14:49 AM PDT by carlo3b
THE DIET WARS, a Battle of the SEXES
That guy who wrote "Men are from Mars Women are from Venus", the book that no one ever read, ...( a Sleepless in Seattle... sigh), had a great concept, but he had it all wrong.
Never fear, I have straighten it all out for everyone.. :)
*** REMOVE ALL LIQUIDS FROM MOUTH ALERT ***
I, your Natures Sex Chef.. sigh , who knows exactly everything a man needs to know about women, has the answers to the age old questions separating the genders, even where food is concerned... Really!
Women, would prefer Mars, the milk chocolate bar, over a Schwarzeneggered guy most days of the week!
Men, would choose Venus DeMilo, hands down (no pun intended), a naked chic in a bed sheet 10 to 1 over anything else.Any Questions yet, .. lets see hands.... none? Good... I thought so.. There's more!
Men and women folk do have other less startling differences in their eating preferences. For one thing, women have no problem eating a selection of raw fauna and grasses and topped by a bland sour concoction, and littered with potpourri, with a side order of gooey soft curdled stuff, with a teaspoon of boysenberries!
Men would poke a plate of that stuff with a stick to see if it was a nesting area for pheasants before they'd think of eating it!
Women find it acceptable and even somewhat amusing to count things and keep a journal or diary. If a man has to do anything with numbers or instructions that total 3 or more, it won't happen twice. It may not the first time as in travel directions.
For ions we have attacked excess body weight using the intake of calories as a gage. Since an average women can count better than the average guy, counting calories favored the fairer sex.. Further, women get absolutely giddy when they are offered salads, vegetables and tasteless accruements. All of which are low or lower in the dreaded caloric content. So women should have no reason why they should ever worry about eating or carrying FAT! Right? Perhaps not.
Men are mostly meat and potatoes kind of guys. Vegetable are what meat producing critters eat, salad and vegetable stuff, so why should someone eating them, have to do it too. But Fats, not the jazz singer, the blubber stuff, is what is found in the meat products so preferred by Guys. Ergo, Guys should have a significant disadvantage over Dolls in the battle of the bulge. Right?
MORE? Surprise, surprise, there are a great deal more differences between the genders, and some of them are even anatomical! Where the fat accumulates also differs between genders.
When it comes to losing weight, women really do face a disadvantage compared to men. More than a few scientific studies have now shown that women accumulate fat faster than men and lose it at a slower pace.
When we are born, both the sexes are about the same weight. Each gender has a body fat totaling up to 12% of body weight. Things stay about the same all during adolescence. However during puberty girls get fatter, and unbelievably, boys become leaner. Girls by the age of 18, have 20-25% body fat and boys have 15-18%.
It gets even more ominous for girls just because they are girls. We also know that adult women have a build in genetic code that is designed carry extra weight, because of pregnancy, she would be able to cater to the additional supplies of nutrition to her baby. A women has a lower resting metabolism than men. This means that they burn fewer calories to maintain basic life functions. The differences can be quite significant. A small framed woman may need only 1000 calories to maintain normal body functions and a large framed woman may need about 1600 calories. Conversely men may need anywhere between 1400-2000 calories to carry out normal bodily functions.
Fat also settles differently on men and women. Men usually tend to store fat around their bellies whereas women store fat on their hips and thighs. Research on obesity indicates that fat deposit on the hips and thighs is more difficult to lose. Women's hormones favor depositing fat in that region and not removing it from there except during breast feeding which burns approximately 800 calories a day.
Diet & Nutrition expert Anjali Mukherjee explains:
We all can see that men have an apple shaped body with a large waist-to-hip ratio and are known to be at an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Normally, women develop a pear-shaped body with less fat deposits around the abdomen and more in the lower body parts. Such bodies even if obese do not stand a high risk for heart disease. This goes to show that two people with the same amount of body fat may have different health risks. Since excess fat in women is a part of the cosmic plan, they can gain weight even with healthier eating practices. But since fat in men was never meant to be, most men gain weight due to a rich diet or lack of adequate physical activity. Hence, obesity in men is associated with a greater likelihood of health problems than obesity in women. A point to note here is that women who have male type fat distribution (apple shaped bodies) also share the same increased health risk as men.Men lose weight faster because abdominal fat is easy to burn than fat around the hips and thighs (the place where women tend to store fat.) This also explains why women who add on considerable weight to their lower body during pregnancy have a much harder time losing it after childbirth,... breast-feeding is an excellent way of losing weight around the hips and thighs. (mark that down guys) All this obviously means that many women who are counting calories, suffering hunger pangs and regularly following work-outs are still likely to put on extra weight or even face a tough time losing weight. This often causes anxiety and confusion.
Soooo, where does all of this fantastic information finally get to a bottom line, more aptly the waistline?I believe the different genders being so inherently different, should attack weight loss much differently. For most men, the Dr. Atkin protein diet is a natural, especially in the early or "Induction phase". How much easier it is for the average Guy for instance, to go on a diet where torture starts with a main course of charred RED MEAT? Later it has everything a man loves including some limited pastas and breads.. hold the potatoes!
The method I would recommend for girls is a diet called, the South Beach Diet, a modification of the Atkins Diet. The South Beach Diet was written by and designed by Miami cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatson. I can not help but think this entire concept is a knock-off of the Atkins, but it does have a few significant differences that really favor women in my opinion. It still has most of the same restrictions in the early phase, but early and later stages allow for the more vegetables and fruits. This I believe is healthier for anyone, especially women.
This will not make die-hard Atkins Diet gurus happy, but I have watched too many folks fail after trying so hard.
I want women and men to stop counting everything, calories or carbs and everything else. I have found that the thinking and counting food and it's components, keeps the laboring thought of diet, dominating too much of their thought. Thinking about eating, and fretting about it constantly, is IMHO, why so many people fall off the wagon and eventually return to their old bad habits. Thinking about food all the time, makes you hungry, all of the time!These two diets are not so restrictive in what they ask of the dieter to lose and maintain weight, therefore counting things is not, in my opinion, as necessary. Following the book will tell you what you what you can and cannot eat. A public school dropout knows the consequences of eating the wrong foods will reverse all the successes. The Atkins diet says you must count carbs, South Beach is not so stringent. However, here is my disclaimer, those following the letter of the law with these diets will enjoying better results, and a faster weight loss. Use your best judgment.. Men usually don't count anything anyway, I am just removing the guilt.. :)
I believe the differences between genders will also have an effect on the continued success of maintaining a safer diet. Choosing a diet that is more compatible with your own lifestyle assures a fair chance for an on going lifelong modification to your eating habits. The dramatic weight loss enjoyed by both Atkins, and SB in "The Induction" will slow appreciably in later stages, and so be it.. I want you to find a comfortable diet that will alter your eating habits that is sustainable, and therefore a successful healthy life.
What I can help with, and what I want to do for everyone, aside from solving all gender differences between the sexes, (ahem) is I will assist you in your planning a long term (bi-weekly) menu for success. By preplanning a menu which has been thought through, so thinking about food, and what to eat is solved, and the only thing left is shopping, warming/cooking and dinnertime.
If I can get you to set aside a couple of hours every week to prepare the foundations of your menu, I can show you how to solve the only pitfall in dieting, whichever one you choose. I give you my word. http://www.click2asia.com/lounge/index.php?y=tothepoint&id=23
I think I will use banana flavoring next time. These are dark muffins..like a bran.
Mmmmmmmmm! Is it lunch time yet?
since I had no idea what mascarpone is - I decided to look it up - for those of you who were also wondering! Sounds like a great dessert.
This Godiva Was No Lady Tiramisu
1) Mix 3 oz. of Godiva Liqueur with coffee, and set aside.
2) For each serving, trim 4 ladyfingers to fit along the sides and bottom of a 1 cup souffle dish.
3) Pour 1 oz. of the reserved coffee into each souffle dish and set aside.
4) Beat together the mascarpone cheese, egg yolks, sugar and remaining 2 oz. of Godiva Liqueur until smooth.
5) Whip the egg whites until stiff, and fold into the cheese.
Divide the filling evenly among the souffle dishes; sprinkle with chocolate and refrigerate overnight.
Yield: 4 Servings
I love it. Thanks so much.. :)
You devil, it's people like you that encourage me.. :)
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