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...
I ate the way I wanted to on Thanksgiving and now I feel good to be back at the low carb plan today.
I am down from 280 LBS to 240 since July at this point I am still loosing (slowly the healthiest way)The effects of my "binge" will be gone by Sunday.
People this diet is not an extreme thing I eat 50 carbs a day at this point.
If anything is extreme its the high amount of Sugar and Fats combined that make up the "normal" American diet that are extreme.
Combine that with our tendancy to sit at the computer or the TV in our spare time and that is the problem.
If you are one of the lucky ones who eats anything and never gains weight well, good for you!
Our 10 year old son has one of those builds too - skin & bones. I understand my husband was built like that as a kid too. We assure our son that by the time he's in his 30's he'll likely be fighting the spare tire and love handles along with the rest of us mortals.
(donning the mom hat. . . ) Do yourself a favor and maintain healthy eating habits now. When you get older you'll probably have a harder time keeping your weight down. If your habits are healthy, it will be easier for you later in life. My husband's skinny days made it easier for him to develop a love of twinkies and the like. Now he has a harder time giving up sweets.
I am currently very involved in my first year of college and don't have a lot of free time, what time I have I spend a lot of it right here at F.R.
Is he a member too?
I've noticed at every Thanksgiving dinner over the years, participants eat normally....maybe another slice of turkey and dressing or whatever for small seconds, and they just have a slice of pie or another pastry for dessert.
"Low carb" and all that crappioli is designed to make us feel nervous. guilty, and to sell commercial diet books and systems. It's a huge industry.
The average American is an eater, not a glutton. A King Henry the Eighth drumstick pox on all these wet-blanket food lecturers who pop up each holiday for their 15 minutes of infamy.
Bon Apetit!
Leni
I congratulate those who are on diets and are losing weight. Just don't let the boo-birds spoil your holiday dinners.
It's hard enough to worry about all the various dishes for the festive board coming out "done" at the same time, let alone how many carbs and calories are in the finished products.
Leni
My point is, you don't have to "go on Atkins." I didn't go on Atkins and I still lost my weight. There are many ways besides Atkins to cut the carbs from your diet and improve your health (as well as losing excess weight). Whatever way works for you is the only way that matters - so long as it works long term and so long as you eat healthy!
Weight swing of about 10 pounds between winter and summer is not unusual. Your body automatically tries to put on insulation during the colder months to keep warmer as a dog sheds hair during the summer to get cooler. Your metabolism slows down a little to help this happen. I am counteracting that effect this year with a vigorous exercise program. But once I am happy with my weight and am no longer paranoid that I will gain back my 100+ pounds (I have nightmares about this), I guess putting on a few pounds in the wintertime won't concern me.
Don't be scared off by the high fat content you see on the nutrition label. I lost 3-4 pounds a week all summer as I was pouring the stuff over everything at the dinner table. I cook fish in olive oil too. I've also read that having olive oil with your vegetables allows your body to process the vitamins in the vegetables more efficiently. Not sure how that works scientifically but there are articles on the web about it.
I reckon that olive oil accounts for 30% of my total calories each day on average and probably for over 50% of my fat intake.
Do a web search on Google using "olive oil" and "health benefits" as keywords. There are endless amounts of articles raving about how good olive oil is for your body. The health benefits are too numerous to mention here.
I guess I am very fortunate that I like walking so much. If I can't get out for my walk, I go absolutely stir-crazy. Sometimes I'll drive to the mall and walk around there a few times (when it's raining) and I hate doing that. I have a treadmill but it's not the same. I like the change of scenery that walking outdoors provides, as well as all the sounds and activity.
I agree. I used to scoff at salads during my fat days. "Food for rabbitts" I used to say.
That was when I thought salads were for women obsessed about their weight and for vegetarians and the Birkenstock-wearing granola crowd. I was a hunk of bread and bottle of beer type of guy and I'd have that in restaurants while everybody else was having their salads.
Well I've done a 180 degree shift on that in recent months. I now try to have a salad every night at dinner. Drenched in olive oil and topped with bits of bacon, chunks of cheese and various nuts. Sometimes I get so full on salad that I end up eating very little of the dinner - which is the whole point. For the first time in my life, I'm taking doggie bags home from restaurants. Especially when I order that 20oz porterhouse at the Outback! Now I have a meal for the next day too.
Well let's hope you stay that way! When I was 18 years old, I was just like you (except I didn't look like Ann Coulter's sister). I could eat anything I wanted and not lose weight. I'm talking a dozen donuts, or an entire large pizza. Sometimes I would sit at the table with an entire box of Raisin Bran and a quart of milk and polish the whole box off. For snack, I would have a jumbo sized bag of Doritos and a quart of ice cream.
When I got in the Marines (at 18), I was underweight to the point where I was put on double rations in boot camp! But that didn't help me gain weight either. I weighed 157 pounds when I got to boot camp and weighed 151 pounds on Graduation Day (I was 6'3").
At some point during my Marine days, my metabolism changed and I started gaining weight quickly. I weighed 180 when I got out and then was over 200 before my hair grew out! 210, 220, 230, 240...I kept putting on weight year after year. By the time I was 30, I weighed 275 pounds. And still it continued to pile on to the point where I weighed 300 pounds earlier this year.
So all I'm saying is that things can still change. Hopefully it doesn't happen to you but be careful!
Yummmm! That's often my lunch - big bowl of spinach and lettuce with blue cheese, sunflower seeds, flax or sesame seeds, peppers, cucumber, red wine vinegar & olive oil. Very filling and very tasty.
It is but most people don't have the willpower to do that. Especially in a society where processed foods (which are the highest in fats, transfats, sugars and carbs) are so plentiful and cheap and in an economy where the need for manual labor and exercises such as walking are virtually eliminated.
That is the 1-2 punch that has made so many people fat. Once can say simplistic things like "calories in, calories out" all day but it's not going to amount to a hill of beans for most people who don't have the willpower to say no to food when they are hungry.
That is why this normal-carb way of eating is so successful. It takes away the voracious appetite so that you can now have the willpower to say "no" to the foods that are making you fat.
I was overweight for nearly 20 years and I knew all the time that I was taking in more calories than I expended. But I was so hungry all the time that I just couldn't say no to food. If I was at a business meeting and they brought donuts and pastries in as refreshments, I'd be first in line. Everytime food was put in front of me, my stomach would start growling!
So maybe I just didn't have the willpower, like so many other people, to simply "eat less and burn more."
The solution for me (and for others on this type of plan) is simply to eat the protein-rich foods that make you full. For breakfast, I typically have two hard-boiled eggs and a cup of yogurt. That fills me up until lunchtime. Then I have a protein for lunch (usually sardines in olive oil). That tides me over until dinner, by which time I have only consumed about 450 calories!
Conversely, "high-carb" foods make me ravenous. If I had a stack of pancakes and four slices of toast for breakfast instead of the eggs and yogurt, I'd be eating a coffee roll or a donut by 10AM! Then I'd have three slices of pizza for lunch with a chocolate milk and on the way home from work, I'd be so hungry that I'd have to stop at the convenience store for some Twinkies or a bag of chips for the ride home to tide me over until dinner. Then after dinner and just before bedtime, you'd find me snacking on a bowl of pretzels or a slice of pie with ice cream.
It was a vicious cycle. The more sugars I ate, the hungrier I got and the more I'd eat. I'd be out of control. I'd dread opening a bag of chips or cookies because I knew that once the bag was open, I wouldn't stop until the bag was empty. It's a horrible feeling knowing that you cannot control your appetite and that you are destroying your health. That's why I am so enthused about sharing this way of life with others on the board. It changed my life completely and restored my youth, health and vigor. I hope that what I have to say can help effect a similiar change in others who suffer from obesity.
My grandson is more interested in off road motor cycles and Paint Ball wars. His favorite saying is "Quit FReeping grampa...let's ride in the woods". I hope you are able to make a difference in the classes you attend. My wife and I were sending funds to the Young Republicans At Humboldt State but we haven't heard form them in over a year...
Likely a reaction to the carbs you had. Your body isn't used to it.
Carolyn
P.S.Checking the blood sugar level is a good idea, as I'm a five-year cancer survivor, and Lord only knows what chemo does to your body.
If you weighed -2 pounds, we could line 747 wings with Holly_P's and have antigravity airships.
That's me, AlwaysThinkingMataz.
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.
I really wish you wouldn't do that to yourself. You are a very attractive young lady, and if I was 97 years younger, I'd make a pass at ya.
If it was before you maybe should have a few tests run. That is why the books do recomend that you see your doctor before starting your diet.
Your wife is onboard now? Sucess is hard to ignore.
I am happy that low carb or "normal carb" is taking off. I am on maintenence and eat about 100g a day and still lose slowly.
We did make some low carb versions of yams and cranberry sauce. They were excellent. After the meal they were gone and the high carb versions were hardly touched despite the fact that the majority of the people there were not on Atkins. They did not even know they were low carb - they just scarfed them. I ate some garlic mashed potatoes. They weren't even good tasting to me! The Sister Schuberts rolls were a nice treat however.
The turkey bones and scraps are now a nice cajun soup with the addition of some green peppers, jalepenos, shrimp, and crawfish. Yum Yum.
The change on FR is astounding from 5 years ago on diet. I remember being flamed mercilessly when I said I was on Protein Power/Atkins. Again sucess is hard to argue with.
It takes me about 4.5 miles to burn 500 calories on the treadmill and so I know you are getting a good daily workout. Yes, that is the way to lose the weight rapidly! I tried walking 7-10 miles a day during the summer. Recently, I've cut back to about 5-6 miles a day - a combination of treadmill time and walks outdoors. I'm actually enjoying walking in the winter weather. If you dress properly, you can walk outdoors in just about any extreme.
I'm sure you've read some of my other posts on my program so I'm sure you know that I still eat carbs too. It's just that I stick with whole natural foods so the carbs I get come from natural sources such as vegetables, nuts, berries, yogurt, etc. I think the carbs that were harming my health came from all that processed junk I was eating that was loaded with stuff like that high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oils, etc.
Anyway, I am very happy to hear about your program. You must feel fantastic.
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