Posted on 11/28/2003 10:59:29 AM PST by SamAdams76
Edited on 05/07/2004 5:21:58 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Thanksgiving exists in the name of gluttony - the one day you're allowed to eat until your stomach hurts, until you must unbutton your pants and take a nap. No one sneers at you for eating yourself silly. It is encouraged, seconds are expected, and thirds, well, you don't want to be rude.
(Excerpt) Read more at azcentral.com ...
Also, with the recent controversy on Free Republic over what belongs in the main forum and what should be shunted to general interest ("chat"), let me make the case for these type of threads for being in the main forum. Obesity is a major, major problem in America and I believe it is a conservative cause to address the obesity problem in a manner that requires individual responsibility and action rather than a plethora of government programs and silly, simplisitic government-sponsored and color-coded "food pyramid" charts, which the liberals love to shove down our throats.
Anyway, allow me to address some of the passages in this article:
And there will be those who, for the past 14 days, have eaten nothing but steak, eggs and cheese, and the sight of mashed potatoes will do them in.
Yet another example of the mainstream media trying to marginalize the low-carb lifestyle by making it seem like the practitioners of it are headed for massive heart attacks as they sit around eating nothing but steaks, eggs and cheese like gluttons day after day.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Since beginning my "normal-carb" lifestyle on April 1st of this year, I have never ate so good in my life. I have doubled the amount of vegetables that I eat. And I now get fresh vegetables as opposed to the pre-cooked frozen type. I have fruit everyday, mostly in the form of berries, but fruit nevertheless. I eat yogurt every day for breakfast. I NEVER ate yogurt before starting this way of eating and yogurt is so good for you, with all the live cultures and such. As for the "steak, eggs and cheese," I really don't eat any more steak and cheese than I did before starting this way of eating. Though the cuts of meat and the quality of cheese I now buy are much improved. For example, I no longer buy steaks frozen and I no longer eat Kraft processed cheese and Cheez Whiz - I prefer the real stuff. As for eggs, I grant that I eat far more eggs than I used to (at least two a day) but eggs are one of the most nutritious foods you can have and consuming them in larger numbers has not increased my cholesterol one bit (in fact, it's gone down).
In addition to the above, I have plenty of nuts in my diet - good wholesome food that are great sources of vitamins. Lots of olive oil which is a mainstay of the "Mediterranean Diet" which even the staunchest opponents of the normal-carb lifestyle must admit is one of the healthiest substances you can put in your body. I have also greatly increased the amount of fish in my diet, especially canned sardines (packed in olive oil) that I bring to work with me each day for lunch. So much for this being nothing but an unhealthy "steak, egg and cheese" diet.
BTW, some might wonder why I use the term "normal-carb" instead of "low-carb." Well I think that the FDA allowance for carbs (about 375g a day) is excessive. Therefore, if you strictly adhere to the government's food pyramid, then you are on a "high-carb" diet. To me, a "low-carb" diet is something like the induction phase of the Atkins Diet (which I never went on) where they limit you to 20g of carb or less over a 14-day period. Well I limit myself to about 100g of carb a day and since that falls in the middle of the two extremes, I call it a "normal-carb" diet. I believe that by restricting my carbs to whole, natural foods like berries, nuts, vegetables, etc., that I am eating a "normal" amount of carbs. By shunning manmade processed foods like Goldfish crackers, Oreo Cookies, Krispy Kreme Donuts, Hostess Twinkies and on and on, I am avoiding the "high-carb" diet that made me so obese.
Okay, on with the next excerpt...
And so nearly 400 years after the pilgrims first broke bread, ate corn and feasted on all manner of carbs without a care in the world
Now I can't let this go unchallenged. That is a ridiculous statement that the author makes here. The Pilgrims did not have access to refined sugar and flour, processed junk foods like those mentioned above, deep-fried potatos, breaded chicken nuggets and so forth. Even if they knew about carbs back in those days, it wouldn't be an issue because the foods available to them at that time didn't have a whole lot of carbs in them. The Pilgrims were simply on a "normal-carb" diet, like the one I am on right now.
On to the next excerpt...
Such strict menu choices, Katz says, "are not at all about family; Thanksgiving does a great job of pointing out the fallacy of eating this way when interacting with other human beings." Aunt Jenny wants her cranberries with sugar, not Splenda, and Grandpa hates cauliflower.
The author makes the assumption that all those who are on normal-carb diets (and even low-carb diets) impose their dietary lifestyles on everybody else at Thanksgiving, in effect ruining the holiday for the other family members.
What hogwash. My wife and I both practice a normal-carb lifestyle yet we cooked for a dozen family members yesterday and made the same things we make year after year. We had plenty of mashed potato, yams, gravy, stuffing, pies, cookies, ice cream, etc. Didn't phase us any. We still had plenty of foods that we could eat such as turkey, peas, carrots, broccoli, nuts, salad, mushrooms, olive oil, bacon bits (for the salad) and on and on. We had plenty of eat and our guests had the same stuff they get every year. In fact, the topic of our "normal-carb" lifestyle didn't even come up in conversation. For all they knew, we ate the same stuff that they did. They didn't notice us munching on cashews while they wolfed down the pumpkin pie. They didn't notice that we didn't put stuffing on our plates this year. They didn't notice any of that. So what the heck is this author yapping about?
Anyway, I feel absolutely great this Thanksgiving. Yesterday morning after popping the turkey in the oven, I did a six-mile walk. I then did a quick two-mile walk just before the guests started arriving and a mile-and-a-half walk after dinner just around sunset to get the digestive fluids flowing. As a result, I never got that bloated and tired feeling I usually get on Thanksgiving. And you know what? I'm glad. That is something I don't miss. I had no feelings of denial whatsoever because I didn't have a slab of pumpkin pie or a glass of egg nog. I didn't even want that stuff. After my turkey drumstick and thigh and the veggies that went with it, I was stuffed to the gills.
This morning, I got up and did a two-hour walk in the state park (before the rains came) and was marvelling at the energy I had. I feel like a kid again. Instead of gaining a few pounds this week, I'm probably going to lose another pound or two when I step on the scales this Sunday for my weekly weighing. I have lost over 100 pounds since April 1 and I probably have about 10 pounds to go before I reach my ideal weight, though most people who see me already say I am getting "too skinny" so perhaps I have already achieved my target weight. At any rate, I feel great and the author of this article can "go stuff it."
Of course, I'm on maintenance, but even if you're in Phase Two, you can still have a few carbs one day a week.
The idiot that wrote the article is obviously NOT anyone who knows anything about either Atkins OR carbs. These articles are still thought of as fluff in most news rooms, so they get assigned to feature writers known more for their style than their dedication to research.
Michael
Congratulations!
I cut back on snacking, eat only three times a day, started eating to my work activity, I never did deserts, I have a weight swing during the winter months of about 10 pounds. You can eat what ever you want but you have to do your pushing away exercises.
Carolyn
Since you've already demoished the author's phony analysis of the low-car diet, I just want to comment on the author's dopey interpretation of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving exists in the name of gluttony
This is the second article I've seen here that makes this idiotic assertion. Thanksgiving is a day of thanks for God's blessings. Why is it so hard to understand that?
100 Pilgrims survived the ocean crossing to the New World. Of those 100, 50 died the first year. Only 4 adult women survived that first brutal year. Of the rest of the survivors, 20 were children and 25 approx. were men.
The first Thanksgiving feast reportedly served 140 people meaning that there were some 90 natives presents.
"We're just all supposed to be reflecting on the bounty in our lives," he says. "And we've got people obsessing about not eating a potato instead of thinking about the joy of getting together with relatives.
The first settlers suffered unbearable deprivations their first year in the New World. Can anybody today imagine what it would be like to bury half of your friends and children and spouses? Despite all their suffering, they didn't complain or whine, instead they held a celebration to give thanks to God for the blessings they still enjoyed. It's almost impossible to imagine our contemporaries doing something similar.
But he believes this holiday is about more than his waistline. Today, he will give thanks to his appetite.
Well, this line is so idiotic it's downright offensive. Nevertheless, I don't think most Americans are as vapid and superficial as the dope who wrote this. Newspapers have to fill the space between their advertisements with something after all.
Our secular society wants to forget about God and his providential mission for America. Fortunately, the majority of Americans aren't as cynical or stupid as the author of this article.
Apart from the obvious benefits of weight loss, I view the Atkins approach as a valuable educational process. By becoming more aware of the sheer volume of refined sugar and carbs in the typical western diet, we can better learn to modify our diets toward a healthful balance. Our children are eating a healthier diet now, even though they don't need to lose any weight. My hope is that once my husband loses the weight he wants to lose, that he'll continue to limit his carbs, and maintain an awareness of the excesses which have caused him problems. Interestingly, he's noticed that the arthritis that was developing in his fingers seems to have improved since starting Atkins. That was an unexpected benefit, and one which will likely help him continue to eat heathily. I hope to see his cholesterol and triglyceride numbers improve as well. That would be a great motivator for him to keep up the discipline.
I really hate to see stupid articles like this one, since they might discourage people who can greatly benefit by these dietary changes. Even those who don't need to lose weight can learn a lot about healthier living.
Yes, you had what is a normal reaction many people get in Induction, and this is one of the main reasons why the first two weeks are so important. The fact that you broke it means that you must now do another two weeks of induction, knowing full well that your body may do it to you again. The fact that your body reacted to all that cabrosugar tells you that induction hadn't yet "taken." Some people take longer than others.
Once it DOES take, you're going to find that your cravings for sweets and starches will dramatically decrease and you won't be tempted into the same pitfall again.
Most people have their biggest challenge about 3 or 4 days into induction - yours just came later.
I'm so far into it that MY biggest challenge when we go out to eat is finding something on the menu I really want - without it also coming with a bunch of stuff on the plate I DON'T want and still have to pay for.
So the suggestion is - start over, and this time, stick to it. If you get hungry, grab some cheese or some nuts. One of my fave snacks is slices of Genoa salami with guacamole. Sounds weird, but it is scrumptious. Or grab a yogurt. Whatever you like that doesn't have bread, sugar, or refined carbs in it.
Michael
BTW....my daughter came down with the flu thats hit our schools and we stayed home alone with no turkey. Waiting for hubby to return from the overnite trip with leftovers!!!!!! :(
Congrats to you! If I lost 100 lbs. I would weigh -2 lbs.
Please don't think I am making light of your situation (no pun intended) It's just that I cannot gain weight no matter what or how much I eat. I am 18 years old and might pass for Ann Coulter's skinnier sister.
May I introduce you to my grandson...
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