Losing Weight Issues

[Guest guest]

I went for a couple of acupuncture treatments to help me with sciatic,

that worked.

I have a pale, lavendar in color putty and scalleped edges moist tongue

(Con).

I am damp, and my pulse ins deep wiry and slightly wiry and slippary,

(Guan) and deep (Q)

 

as I am overweight can anyone tell me what foods not to eat to lose

weight that works with the condition?

 

thank you

[Guest guest]

Losing weight with your signs and symptoms doesn't seem any different to me

from losing weight for any other reason. I would look at websites that talk

about healthy ways to lose weight, such as diet, exercise, etc...

 

On Thu, Aug 7, 2008 at 10:23 AM, iptarny <ncohenom wrote:

 

> I went for a couple of acupuncture treatments to help me with sciatic,

> that worked.

> I have a pale, lavendar in color putty and scalleped edges moist tongue

> (Con).

> I am damp, and my pulse ins deep wiry and slightly wiry and slippary,

> (Guan) and deep (Q)

>

> as I am overweight can anyone tell me what foods not to eat to lose

> weight that works with the condition?

>

> thank you

>

 

 

--

, DAOM

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

A while back I wrote down some ideas as far as TCM goes that might

help if you're looking for something real general in post #10192

http://health.Chinese Traditional Medicine/message/10192

 

You can also try www.eatright.org which is the American Dietetics

Association or www.mypyramid.gov which is a USDA site.

 

 

 

Chinese Traditional Medicine , " iptarny " <ncohenom wrote:

>

> I went for a couple of acupuncture treatments to help me with sciatic,

> that worked.

> I have a pale, lavendar in color putty and scalleped edges moist tongue

> (Con).

> I am damp, and my pulse ins deep wiry and slightly wiry and slippary,

> (Guan) and deep (Q)

>

> as I am overweight can anyone tell me what foods not to eat to lose

> weight that works with the condition?

>

> thank you

>

[Guest guest]

Al, & others more knowledgeable about TCM, I think there are a few things that

might be helpful for 'iptarny' that you could answer him (her?) in the matter

of losing weight. Because I have no idea what the pulse & tongue mentioned

mean, in regard to TCM, I can't answer anything myself. Just a suggestion, so

please excuse me butting in.

 

A lot of time when people eat to lose weight, they're told to eat more

vegetables & fruit & less starchy, sweet or fatty foods, which certainly

makes sense. For most people unfamiliar with TCM, they'd think 'more salads,

more whole grains' etc. But that isn't the right way to eat for all people.

 

I was thinking of a few things along the lines of these ideas -

1. Does this type of tongue & pulse indicate that they should eat vegetables

cooked or raw? I know for me, most raw vegetables don't agree well with me.

Even my salads consist of lightly cooked foods (not stuff like lettuce, of

course), but a variety of vegetables lightly cooked & then fixed up cool as

salads.

 

2. Does their tongue & pulse indicate that they should eat more cooling foods

or ones that are warming? If their yin is already weak & they were to eat too

many yang foods, wouldn't that make their yin even weaker? If a person

already feels low in energy, wouldn't it make them even more worn out, not to

mention worsen an imbalance?

 

I have no idea of their diagnosis but I know while the basic nutritional

guidelines of western medicine are good, it doesn't address the matter of

foods as medicine or healing, in itself.

 

I can say for a certainty, though, iptarny, that restricting your intake of

fatty or rich foods, only eating those rich foods that are totally natural

(like nuts, avocados, & seeds) is best. Eliminate all added fats, especially

any saturated ones. That means no cookies, pastries, butter (or margarine or

oil) on breads or in cooking. The fat is egg yolks is normally fine but not

sure how that fits in with your diagnosis. For me, eggs are very beneficial

but may not be for everyone.

 

For sugars, those found in root vegetables & fruits is enough. While many

people may disagree with me, when I want some extra sweetness (as in my tea),

I use an artificial sweetener like Splenda. It's just an option I'm

mentioning.

 

Same with starches. Those in seeds, beans, fruits & vegetables are plenty.

Potatoes, root vegetables & grain products have plenty of starches. You don't

need to excessively restrict starches but use moderation or plain old common

sense in how much you eat of starches.

 

And I know this part may seem hard, but stop eating before you're actually

full. By doing this all the time, at least for the first few months, you can

retrain your body to feel full on less. If you normally would eat 3 slices of

bread during your breakfast, only eat 2 with whatever else you'd eat. If 2

eggs, eat only 1. That sort of thing. And if you eat slower, it will give

time for your stomach to signal to your brain that you're satisfied. Eating

fast means we can eat far more than we need to. By the time our stomach sends

the message, we've overeaten.

 

I read that most people truly don't know what a completely empty stomach feels

like any more. I was shocked & didn't believe it but I started asking

friends. It's true. Most people will eat again before they're truly hungry &

their stomach has been empty for long. That doesn't mean you should go for a

long stretch without eating. Eat regularly if possible. Just make sure not to

eat so much that your stomach isn't empty by the next meal.

 

Try to choose foods that need more chewing. Besides generally being healthier

types of foods, it means we take longer to eat & feel full sooner.

 

Choose foods that are as close to their natural state (other than heat cooked)

as possible. Avoid prepared or processed foods. Don't buy such foods. If

they're not in your house, you're not apt to eat them.

 

Fill up on vegetables ( & fruit in moderation) if you still feel hungry after

meals. Don't use sauces or butter on your vegetables. They tend to mask their

flavours anyway & by eating them plain or just with some seasonings & herbs,

you'll find you enjoy their flavour after a while.

 

Changing your eating habits like this will probably have you feeling hungry or

somehow unsatisfied for a while. I've found with myself ( & read about this

later too!) that it takes from 3-4 weeks for a change in our lives to make it

a permanent change. If we last that long, it will now be a pattern or habit

that's been programmed into our brains. Stick out any changes for a month &

then see if it's still that difficult to do.

 

And I know that this goes without saying but can you increase your physical

activity? I don't know how much pain may hamper you or not, but if you can

move more - walking & some exercise is excellent - you'll burn more calories.

That even includes fidgeting & wiggling around or toe-tapping. Put on music

that buoys your spirit & makes your feel more alive or happy. Try not to sit

in one spot for long. If you have a sedentary job & have to sit a lot, get up

to move about every half hour for a minute or two. Find some excuse to do so.

Even if you can't start strong with activity, every little bit helps,

especially if you're determined to slowly increase it bit by bit till you're

truly active.

 

Hope you don't think I'm 'preaching' to you but just offering some suggestion,

not orders. ;-) I hope others who know more about TCM will offer some insight

on how your food is best prepared & which ones wouldn't be good to eat for

you (but that otherwise may be healthy, nutritious foods).

 

Judy

 

On Thursday 07 August 2008 10:23:17 am iptarny wrote:

> I went for a couple of acupuncture treatments to help me with sciatic,

> that worked.

> I have a pale, lavendar in color putty and scalleped edges moist tongue

> (Con).

> I am damp, and my pulse ins deep wiry and slightly wiry and slippary,

> (Guan) and deep (Q)

>

> as I am overweight can anyone tell me what foods not to eat to lose

> weight that works with the condition?

>

> thank you

[Guest guest]

Judy, I liked your post. It sounds like to me that you may be more

towards advanced side of healthy life style choices. I personally

find many of the things you've said to be true and helpful. When I

read what you wrote it got me thinking of a couple more things I could

mention as far as general advice goes.

 

With something like weight loss I've found that those who have the

goal to gain a " healthy lifestyle " usually stick with things longer

and do better. What I notice is that people who have this in mind are

not so attached to the actual weight loss. In my experience weight

loss comes in spurts, loosing more at times and then plateauing for a

while even though the individual is doing the same thing. That can be

really frustrating for those focusing on lbs rather than gaining a

healthy lifestyle.

 

One other reason I find that the healthy lifestyle choice fairs better

is because the individual is choosing what they want, instead of

avoiding it. Most diets end up cutting out what people " want "

(whatever that might be), which in my personal experience is almost

doomed for relapse, whereas on the other hand, the person has decided

that they want this " healthy lifestyle " , and so they are choosing what

they want, and it becomes easier (not to say that it is perfectly easy

though).

 

I find it's also important to choose what " healthy lifestyle " means

personally to you. If you put some lofty expectations of what

society's ideal " healthy lifestyle " is, it may not work. Make the

decisions as far as what you can do in the moment, I'm thinking along

the lines of small sustainable steps.

 

That brings me to the next thing I want to talk about. I've seen many

people fail on diets (and I'm sure you have too), because they tried

to change too much to quickly, or didn't change enough. This is one

of those balance things TCM understands so well. With extreme view

points it can be hard to find balance. If you are a type of person

who doesn't change enough when you try something new, then you might

need to work on a more aggressive mindset towards your goals and/or

your commitment level towards those goals. If you are one who jumps

in and tries to manage everything and change everything at once, then

only allow yourself to change one or two things, and do them well.

Make sure things have become sustainable (meaning you can keep on

doing them fairly easily within your limits) before you move on to the

next step. I've also heard the 3 to 4 week thing about creating a

habit, in my case I heard 28 days to make or break a habit.

 

Another very important thing that I've found, and the last thing that

I want to talk about is commitment level. Find something that you

are very committed to and will keep that commitment. This might be

why when you see some people that have worked real hard to loose

weight, have gained it back. They accomplished their goal and might

have had the mindset that they could go back to what they were doing

before. I find that weightloss can be a great motivator for change,

but has a much harder time creating success when it is the target of

commitment. If the weight isn't coming off, then it's pretty easy to

say this isn't working, and it isn't achieving my goals, it's not

worth my time; However, if a " healthy lifestyle " (again whatever that

means personally to you), is what you are after, then you are going to

be able to keep up your commitment and push through those times when

you are not actually loosing weight. Instead you'll know that you are

still accomplishing your goal, which will keep you feeling proud of

keeping to what you set out to do.

 

Some examples of what I find to be good first steps are, if you drink

a lot of soda, start replacing it with a more healthy choice within

reason as far as to what you can sustain. If that means that you can

cut it out, great. Far more likely it's going to mean cutting out a

bit and replacing it with something else. Sometimes you might have to

replace it with something that you might feel is less than where you

want to be, and that's ok as long as you keep in mind where you want

to be and that the replacement is a temporary situation. This makes

it easier to change when it comes time to change it again. So for

example if soda is a hard thing for you, you might first want to

switch to a decaffeinated soda, or one with less sugar (unless your

diabetic, I personally don't like the artificial sweetner, in some

cases it's been shown to scar the arteries, ect. I feel it's likely

more info will come out as time goes on that they might not be the

best choice), and then make another switch from there to something

like water or whatever you choose as your goal.

 

Another example might be what I like to call conscious calories. I

feel that food is meant to be enjoyed, and with our busy modern lives

we tend to multitask (doing more than one thing at a time) to get

everything done, and that includes eating. I've also noticed that

when someone sits down with a bag/box in front of the TV (or something

else that might distract), they eat a lot more than they would have

otherwise. For many people it's pretty simple to make the rule, when

they eat, they need to just eat and leave the other things out. Focus

on what the food is like, eat slow and enjoy it. Eating slower lends

to eating less because it takes time for your stomach to register that

it's full. A next step after this one might be eating to the point

where you are satisfied, but not full; something like 70-80% full.

 

Another simple starting step could be to eat smaller meals, and eat

more often (for example six 300 calorie meals per day, depending on

your energy needs). Sometimes if you get too hungry your judgment can

be compromised, and it can become easier to eat whatever is around.

 

So basically the bottom line is simple sustainable steps to

accomplishing your goal of what " healthy lifestyle " means to you. Do

what you need to do the way you need to do it.

 

This is based on my experience, and I hope you find it helpful,

Rex

[Guest guest]

thank you

 

 

 

mrasmm <mrasmm

Chinese Traditional Medicine

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 10:38 pm

[Chinese Traditional Medicine] Re: Losing Weight Issues

 

 

 

 

 

 

A while back I wrote down some ideas as far as TCM goes that might

help if you're looking for something real general in post #10192

http://health.Chinese Traditional Medicine/message/10192

 

You can also try www.eatright.org which is the American Dietetics

Association or www.mypyramid.gov which is a USDA site.

 

Chinese Traditional Medicine , " iptarny " <ncohenom wrote:

>

> I went for a couple of acupuncture treatments to help me with sciatic,

> that worked.

> I have a pale, lavendar in color putty and scalleped edges moist tongue

> (Con).

> I am damp, and my pulse ins deep wiry and slightly wiry and slippary,

> (Guan) and deep (Q)

>

> as I am overweight can anyone tell me what foods not to eat to lose

> weight that works with the condition?

>

> thank you

>