Sugar- another potentially addictive substance

[Jim Naseum]

 

Want to feel 18 again? Give up breads grains!

 

Any good alternatives you can suggest?

 

I grew up on white bread and in recent years my wife has been packing my lunches with different types of 'whole grain' breads in an attempt to be more health conscious but from some of the things I've read here and there I don't know what's good and what's not. I'm still very uninformed on this but that needs to change.

 

 

its very simple. shop only in the fresh food section and load the cart with vegetables and fruits. then go to meat section and get lean beef and chicken. make 90% of your meals just vegetables and fruit as it occurs. don't make recipes out of them, just eat them as found or heat them until soft (green beans, and such). eat no more than 3 or 4 ounces of the meat each day - no deep frying. no skin on chicken. add a few nuts here and there--not too many. add a few eggs per week. no more packaged foods, no bread, no pasta, no cereals, no grains. no prepared foods. no resterants, no fast food. . in 2 weeks you will feel like $1 million dollars. lesson? people make food too complicated for the purpose of having fun with it. the body hates that.

[Jeff Matthews]

 

 

Want to feel 18 again? Give up breads grains!

 

Any good alternatives you can suggest?

 

I grew up on white bread and in recent years my wife has been packing my lunches with different types of 'whole grain' breads in an attempt to be more health conscious but from some of the things I've read here and there I don't know what's good and what's not. I'm still very uninformed on this but that needs to change.

 

 

its very simple. shop only in the fresh food section and load the cart with vegetables and fruits. then go to meat section and get lean beef and chicken. make 90% of your meals just vegetables and fruit as it occurs. don't make recipes out of them, just eat them as found or heat them until soft (green beans, and such). eat no more than 3 or 4 ounces of the meat each day - no deep frying. no skin on chicken. add a few nuts here and there--not too many. add a few eggs per week. no more packaged foods, no bread, no pasta, no cereals, no grains. no prepared foods. no resterants, no fast food. . in 2 weeks you will feel like $1 million dollars. lesson? people make food too complicated for the purpose of having fun with it. the body hates that.

 

 

I agree in large part with this because of one reason:  Most people eat terribly pitiful diets, and there is no way they could actually pull-off a successful attempt at a complete ban of grains and sugars.  If they at least made a real effort, then, they would see momentous improvement in their physiques, as well as the classic indicators of good or bad health such as blood pressure, pulse, cholesterol levels, etc.

 

I have tried a few times to maintain a diet consisting of even less grains and sugars than I eat now.  It makes me very lean (to the verge of skinny), but I think it robs me of energy.  I took up rigorous exercise about a year ago, and I find I perform, feel and look my best when I include fats, sugars and grains in my diet.  Still, I keep daily calorie intake at somewhere around 2,000.  Nowadays, it is rare that I eat 450 calories of meat, slathered in 1,200 calories of gravy, with mashed potatoes and butter, etc.  I go through some small binges here and there on a regular basis, but they are the exception and not the rule.

 

Like Jo56 partly recommends, I do make sure that a larger part (almost all) of my diet consists of whole foods.  Meat, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, breads, rice, beans.  Far, far less chips, granola bars, Twinkies, candy bars and crap in general.

 

Edit:  One thing I forgot to mention is something I find very interesting and good.  Before I began diet and exercise, feelings of hunger were radically different than they were after I achieved some weight loss and fitness.  Before, hunger felt like a dull, gluttonous pain.  After, it feels good, like it was earned and well-deserved.  This is probably purely a psychological thing, but in my case, it feels very real.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Jeff Matthews

[fuzzydog]

Give up wine, bread???? You still won't live forever...it will just feel that way.

[Guest thesloth]

Once again i will use the term "moderation". It's a word most Americans don't know the meaning of. 

 

Junk food is fine, as a treat.

[Travis In Austin]

Want to feel 18 again? Give up breads grains!

Any good alternatives you can suggest?

I grew up on white bread and in recent years my wife has been packing my lunches with different types of 'whole grain' breads in an attempt to be more health conscious but from some of the things I've read here and there I don't know what's good and what's not. I'm still very uninformed on this but that needs to change.

I would start here, an easy to read article that cuts through all of the BS, looks at mainstream diets from a scientific perspective, but in layman's terms.

Edit: Here is the link to the article.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/science-compared-every-diet-and-the-winner-is-real-food/284595/

It is very clear fruits and vegetables are an essential foundation for a healthy diet. As said before here, processed foods shoud be avoided.

We have been trying to follow Mediterranean diet with a lot of success which is mentioned in the study.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the article.

"Among the salient points of proven health benefits the researchers note, nutritionally-replete plant-based diets are supported by a wide array of favorable health outcomes, including fewer cancers and less heart disease. These diets ideally included not just fruits and vegetables, but whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Katz and Meller found "no decisive evidence" that low-fat diets are better than diets high in healthful fats, like the Mediterranean. Those fats include a lower ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than the typical American diet.

"They also found carbohydrate-selective diets to be better than categorically low-carbohydrate diets, in that incorporating whole grains is associated with lower risks for cancers and better control of body weight. Attention to glycemic load and index is "sensible at the least." Eating foods that have high glycemic loads (which Katz says is much more relevant to health outcomes than glycemic index—in that some quality foods like carrots have very high indices, which could be misleading) is associated with greater risk of heart disease."

Edited July 26, 2015 by dwilawyer

[Jim Naseum]

when you eat natural whole foods in original lform, you can stop worrying about carbs, fats, cholesterol, and all the rest. You can simply stop being concerned and you will feel like $1 million dollars. Most people don't believe this. try it, you will fall over backward at the improvement in health.

 

you should have a BMI of 20. if you don't, any you are over 50, you will probably need high blood presure meds, and matybe diebtes meds. OUCH! but if yuo get to a BMI of 20, and you eat natural foods, guess what? no more high blood pressure and no more cholesterol meds and no more dioabetes (in many case).

 

if you are over 50, the most important thing for your health is getting to a BMI of 20. it can be done easily on a natural food plan. maybe it will taker 6 m,onths or a year, but you can easily get there. If you gwet into your 60s and 70s wityh a high BMI you will be on many pills and meds and be unhealthy.

 

stop cooking recipes! stop using spices including salt papper. Stop manufactured foods. eat only tiny amount of cheese and egg and meat. eat whole original natural foods and become a KING! like Jeff M said...your humger will subside to a differnet kind that is feeling much better.

 

the USA is eating all wrong and it shows. the USA is obsessed with manufacturing food for the purpose of "having fun" instead of "good nutrition.' Ferget the FDA pyramids and all that. rubbish, pure and simple. made to promote grains and meat and dairy. GARBAGE. eat raw, eat natural become a god.

[Jim Naseum]

About a year ago I significantly reduced my intake of:

 

1. Sugar

2. Artificial Sweeteners (diet soda!)

3. Salt

4. Caffeine

 

Cutting down helped such a great deal. In my specific situation, I'd would definitely say that artificial sweeteners were having the biggest negative impact on my 'well being'. Blurred vision, dizziness, headaches, anxiety are hopefully a thing of the past.

 

using fake foods like artificial sweetener is almost worst than junk food. It is junk food. chemical food is poison. i advbise no one should eat chemicals as food. it is pure rubbish and it is not needed. if you have a sweet tooth, buy some grapes!! lol - not fake foods.

 

the food you eat should not have a long list of chemicals,. fake flavor enhancers, preservatives. thaty's all rubbish. Buy some apples and eat them. no chemicals needed, no preservatives needed. eat some beans, some broccoli, some bananas, some grapes, some tomatoes. no chemicals or fake flavor needed, no spices needed. no nothing. just eat the food as it grows. youor body is not a robot. it was not designed for chemical additives. it evolved on natural food.

[Guest thesloth]

My junk food addiction is usually 72% Dark Chocolate and some dried fuit. I will never give up chocolate.
 

 

I weigh the same as I did in highschool: 135 @ 5'10"

[Jeff Matthews]

when you eat natural whole foods in original lform, you can stop worrying about carbs, fats, cholesterol, and all the rest. You can simply stop being concerned and you will feel like $1 million dollars. Most people don't believe this. try it, you will fall over backward at the improvement in health.

 

This is true.  I switched, and the difference is clear.

 

you should have a BMI of 20.

I take some issue with this. Using me as an example...

I am 5' 10". I weigh 177. That's a BMI of 25.4. If I had a BMI of 20.1, I would weigh 140. When I got down to about 170 during my dieting, I was told by some that I was beginning to look scrawny. They were correct. My facial features were becoming sunken, etc. It looked kind of like I was drying up. I think my ideal weight is about 175 - 185. I regularly lift weights, do HIIT running/walking, and also, I play basketball on Saturdays. At 47, I am probably close to my peak fitness ever, and I was athletic in high school.

Some people my height might look good at 140 pounds. I know people like that, and they look fine. But my build is different. It is athletic. It needs meat on the bones... a muscular butt and muscular legs, shoulders, etc. I think this feels healthy and strong. I could not see myself ever weighing 140. I'd look very, very sick at that weight, and I might even be very, very sick at a weight like that.

I think people carry weight differently.

 

Edited July 26, 2015 by Jeff Matthews

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Give up wine, bread???? You still won't live forever...it will just feel that way.

 

This is not correct.  I hear this over and over and it is just not true.

 

You have been conditioned to eat bad things and think that it makes you happy.  Once you eliminate this stuff you do not miss it.  I drink water (constantly) and tea (maybe 3 cups a day with a teaspoon of sugar).  Occasionally I will have a beer.  Don't miss sodas, fruit juice (which is sugar water without the fruit fiber) or other drinks. 

 

Jo 56 has given good advice.  Cut all of the crap out of your diet and you will feel better.  I occasioanally eat 100% whole wheat bread for a sandwich and as a treat we but Phillipne sweet rolls once a month.  That is it.  I eat brown rice every day. 

 

My wife and I discuss this a lot.  Once you cut all of the crap out of your diet you feel better and do not miss the junk.  Your life actually gets better and you feel better.  Unlike Jo56, my wife cooks with many spices and she is awesome at it, and I love the food that we eat.  I don't worry about how much I eat and I am 46, 6'1" and 165 lbs. 

 

This is just like anything in life, you put in effort at the beginning and it may be difficult at first, but over time it gets easier and makes your life better/easier. 

[Jeff Matthews]

 

Give up wine, bread???? You still won't live forever...it will just feel that way.

 

This is not correct.  I hear this over and over and it is just not true.

 

You have been conditioned to eat bad things and think that it makes you happy.  Once you eliminate this stuff you do not miss it.  I drink water (constantly) and tea (maybe 3 cups a day with a teaspoon of sugar).  Occasionally I will have a beer.  Don't miss sodas, fruit juice (which is sugar water without the fruit fiber) or other drinks. 

 

Jo 56 has given good advice.  Cut all of the crap out of your diet and you will feel better.  I occasioanally eat 100% whole wheat bread for a sandwich and as a treat we but Phillipne sweet rolls once a month.  That is it.  I eat brown rice every day. 

 

My wife and I discuss this a lot.  Once you cut all of the crap out of your diet you feel better and do not miss the junk.  Your life actually gets better and you feel better.  Unlike Jo56, my wife cooks with many spices and she is awesome at it, and I love the food that we eat.  I don't worry about how much I eat and I am 46, 6'1" and 165 lbs. 

 

This is just like anything in life, you put in effort at the beginning and it may be difficult at first, but over time it gets easier and makes your life better/easier. 

 

 

So, was weight loss a part of your history in making this diet transition?  Just curious.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

 

when you eat natural whole foods in original lform, you can stop worrying about carbs, fats, cholesterol, and all the rest. You can simply stop being concerned and you will feel like $1 million dollars. Most people don't believe this. try it, you will fall over backward at the improvement in health.

 

This is true.  I switched, and the difference is clear.

 

you should have a BMI of 20.

I take some issue with this. Using me as an example...

I am 5' 10". I weigh 177. That's a BMI of 25.4. If I had a BMI of 20.1, I would weigh 140. When I got down to about 170 during my dieting, I was told by some that I was beginning to look scrawny. They were correct. My facial features were becoming sunken, etc. It looked kind of like I was drying up. I think my ideal weight is about 175 - 185. I regularly lift weights, do HIIT running/walking, and also, I play basketball on Saturdays. At 47, I am probably close to my peak fitness ever, and I was athletic in high school.

Some people my height might look good at 140 pounds. I know people like that, and they look fine. But my build is different. It is athletic. It needs meat on the bones... a muscular butt and muscular legs, shoulders, etc. I think this feels healthy and strong. I could not see myself ever weighing 140. I'd look very, very sick at that weight, and I might even be very, very sick at a weight like that.

I think people carry weight differently.

 

 

 

I have an easy indicator.  You should be able to see your ribs.  A woman should have the two dimples above her butt clearly visible. 

 

Now there are times where I can see my ribs and my stomach is not where I like it (like right now) but these indicators do help.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

 

 

Give up wine, bread???? You still won't live forever...it will just feel that way.

 

This is not correct.  I hear this over and over and it is just not true.

 

You have been conditioned to eat bad things and think that it makes you happy.  Once you eliminate this stuff you do not miss it.  I drink water (constantly) and tea (maybe 3 cups a day with a teaspoon of sugar).  Occasionally I will have a beer.  Don't miss sodas, fruit juice (which is sugar water without the fruit fiber) or other drinks. 

 

Jo 56 has given good advice.  Cut all of the crap out of your diet and you will feel better.  I occasioanally eat 100% whole wheat bread for a sandwich and as a treat we but Phillipne sweet rolls once a month.  That is it.  I eat brown rice every day. 

 

My wife and I discuss this a lot.  Once you cut all of the crap out of your diet you feel better and do not miss the junk.  Your life actually gets better and you feel better.  Unlike Jo56, my wife cooks with many spices and she is awesome at it, and I love the food that we eat.  I don't worry about how much I eat and I am 46, 6'1" and 165 lbs. 

 

This is just like anything in life, you put in effort at the beginning and it may be difficult at first, but over time it gets easier and makes your life better/easier. 

 

 

So, was weight loss a part of your history in making this diet transition?  Just curious.

 

 

I guess so.  When I was 26 I had gained weight (hit 190 or so) and decided to make a big change.  I cut all of the crap out and I lost 25 pounds in about 5 or 6 weeks.  I also hit the weights and started to put good weight on.

 

Most recently, a few years ago I went about 98% vegan ( I eat some fish when we go out and will take a bite of meat if someone else orders it).  This was not as much weight loss as food is getting creepy (a 4 lb package of chicken breast is two big breasts, things like that).  This has really helped my allergies and feelings of fatigue.  No milk cheese or yogert.  When I do try meat I always think, nah, I don't miss it. 

 

So it started as vanity when I was young and now it is health as I get older. 

[Jim Naseum]

 

when you eat natural whole foods in original lform, you can stop worrying about carbs, fats, cholesterol, and all the rest. You can simply stop being concerned and you will feel like $1 million dollars. Most people don't believe this. try it, you will fall over backward at the improvement in health.

 

This is true.  I switched, and the difference is clear.

 

you should have a BMI of 20.

I take some issue with this. Using me as an example...

I am 5' 10". I weigh 177. That's a BMI of 25.4. If I had a BMI of 20.1, I would weigh 140. When I got down to about 170 during my dieting, I was told by some that I was beginning to look scrawny. They were correct. My facial features were becoming sunken, etc. It looked kind of like I was drying up. I think my ideal weight is about 175 - 185. I regularly lift weights, do HIIT running/walking, and also, I play basketball on Saturdays. At 47, I am probably close to my peak fitness ever, and I was athletic in high school.

Some people my height might look good at 140 pounds. I know people like that, and they look fine. But my build is different. It is athletic. It needs meat on the bones... a muscular butt and muscular legs, shoulders, etc. I think this feels healthy and strong. I could not see myself ever weighing 140. I'd look very, very sick at that weight, and I might even be very, very sick at a weight like that.

I think people carry weight differently.

 

 

 

 

ok, i am not talking about LOOKS. I am talking about medicine and health. if YOU are BMI 25 and you don't take blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes medicine - then fine...look however you enjoy. But I can tell you that if you are on those meds with a BMI of 28 (lots of people) and you reduce your BMI to 20, you will more often then not lose all those meds!! THAT my fri3end is huge huge news for people. If I look a lillte too skinny, I don't care since I am off all those meds.

 

your point about appearance is fine. I understand you. But, when you get in 60s and 70s you need to be SO CAUTIOUS ABOUT HEALHT!!!LOL - you weant to be healthy? lower your BMI!!!

[SWL]

 

 

Want to feel 18 again? Give up breads grains!

 

Any good alternatives you can suggest?

 

I grew up on white bread and in recent years my wife has been packing my lunches with different types of 'whole grain' breads in an attempt to be more health conscious but from some of the things I've read here and there I don't know what's good and what's not. I'm still very uninformed on this but that needs to change.

 

 

its very simple. shop only in the fresh food section and load the cart with vegetables and fruits. then go to meat section and get lean beef and chicken. make 90% of your meals just vegetables and fruit as it occurs. don't make recipes out of them, just eat them as found or heat them until soft (green beans, and such). eat no more than 3 or 4 ounces of the meat each day - no deep frying. no skin on chicken. add a few nuts here and there--not too many. add a few eggs per week. no more packaged foods, no bread, no pasta, no cereals, no grains. no prepared foods. no resterants, no fast food. . in 2 weeks you will feel like $1 million dollars. lesson? people make food too complicated for the purpose of having fun with it. the body hates that.

 

Sorry.....I was asking about alternatives to 'bread'. I'm crystal clear on everything else.

[Jim Naseum]

My junk food addiction is usually 72% Dark Chocolate and some dried fuit. I will never give up chocolate.

 

 

I weigh the same as I did in highschool: 135 @ 5'10"

 

 

VERY RARE!! LOL - good for you!!!! most people gain mucho weight and get to old age with way way too much weight. You are rare!!! BTW, chocolate is natural and good for you in small amounts.

[Jim Naseum]

 

 

when you eat natural whole foods in original lform, you can stop worrying about carbs, fats, cholesterol, and all the rest. You can simply stop being concerned and you will feel like $1 million dollars. Most people don't believe this. try it, you will fall over backward at the improvement in health.

 

This is true.  I switched, and the difference is clear.

 

you should have a BMI of 20.

I take some issue with this. Using me as an example...

I am 5' 10". I weigh 177. That's a BMI of 25.4. If I had a BMI of 20.1, I would weigh 140. When I got down to about 170 during my dieting, I was told by some that I was beginning to look scrawny. They were correct. My facial features were becoming sunken, etc. It looked kind of like I was drying up. I think my ideal weight is about 175 - 185. I regularly lift weights, do HIIT running/walking, and also, I play basketball on Saturdays. At 47, I am probably close to my peak fitness ever, and I was athletic in high school.

Some people my height might look good at 140 pounds. I know people like that, and they look fine. But my build is different. It is athletic. It needs meat on the bones... a muscular butt and muscular legs, shoulders, etc. I think this feels healthy and strong. I could not see myself ever weighing 140. I'd look very, very sick at that weight, and I might even be very, very sick at a weight like that.

I think people carry weight differently.

 

 

 

I have an easy indicator.  You should be able to see your ribs.  A woman should have the two dimples above her butt clearly visible. 

 

Now there are times where I can see my ribs and my stomach is not where I like it (like right now) but these indicators do help.

 

i say a men should be able to see penis. if not, big trouble ahead!

[Jim Naseum]

 

 

 

Want to feel 18 again? Give up breads grains!

 

Any good alternatives you can suggest?

 

I grew up on white bread and in recent years my wife has been packing my lunches with different types of 'whole grain' breads in an attempt to be more health conscious but from some of the things I've read here and there I don't know what's good and what's not. I'm still very uninformed on this but that needs to change.

 

 

its very simple. shop only in the fresh food section and load the cart with vegetables and fruits. then go to meat section and get lean beef and chicken. make 90% of your meals just vegetables and fruit as it occurs. don't make recipes out of them, just eat them as found or heat them until soft (green beans, and such). eat no more than 3 or 4 ounces of the meat each day - no deep frying. no skin on chicken. add a few nuts here and there--not too many. add a few eggs per week. no more packaged foods, no bread, no pasta, no cereals, no grains. no prepared foods. no resterants, no fast food. . in 2 weeks you will feel like $1 million dollars. lesson? people make food too complicated for the purpose of having fun with it. the body hates that.

 

Sorry.....I was asking about alternatives to 'bread'. I'm crystal clear on everything else.

 

my fault. 

I guess there is no alternative to bread. LOL

[SWL]

I guess there is no alternative to bread. LOL

 

Yeah....there doesn't appear to be. My wife mentioned 'Ezekial bread'....as referenced from the bible. She said it's made from sprouts or something.

 

Oh boy...

[tigerwoodKhorns]

 

I guess there is no alternative to bread. LOL

 

Yeah....there doesn't appear to be. My wife mentioned 'Ezekial bread'....as referenced from the bible. She said it's made from sprouts or something.

 

Oh boy...

 

 

If you must eat bread, buy "100%" Whole wheat.  Not wheat bread.  It must say "100% Whole Wheat."  Then check the label and find a brand with the fewest additives (words that you cannot pronounce).

 

I eat whole wheat tortillas just about every day (1 per day).  I really like wraps (veggie wraps).  You can make your own with whole wheat flour:

 

3 cups whole wheat flour

1.5 cups water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 or 2 tsp olive oil

 

Mix up, roll into flat pieces and put in a dry frying pan (use flour so they do not stick)

 

They are delicious but go stale quickly.  You will eat them right away so don't worry. 

 

 

The reason you want the whiole wheat flour is that the fiber makes your body absorb the sugar/carbs converted to sugar more slowly. 

 

 

The fiber is important.  I do not get "that 3:00 feeling" where you "must have a 5 hour energy drink."  Complete BS.  If you eat a high sugar or processed carb lunch, your sugar spikes and you crash a few hours later.  If you eat a lot of fiber and natural carbs your sugar stays relatively level and you do not crash.