Guest guest Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 Thank you to everyone who congratulated me on my 108 lb weight loss. Since so many have asked me for ideas on what I did and the changes I made, I will share with you what I sent my dad in the mail. He is also terribly overweight, and asked me what I was doing to lose the weight, so I wrote this up for him....two things you need to know, I am a Christian, so there are definately spiritual overtones in this document, and secondly...I eat mostly vegan, but knew my dad could not, so this has references to milk and cheese. Hope this helps, and I will post recipes soon...been house hunting, so its been kinda busy here lately. Have decided to wait till spring to buy, so hopefully I will be around more! OK..here is what I wrote to my dad..... Things I do to stay healthy: PRAY!! Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, but my average is 45-60 minutes at least 5 days a week. This can be done at 10 minute intervals and still have the same cardiovascular effect. Walking is the best exercise, but it should be a brisk walk with your arms moving. I know this is painful for dad, but as he loses weight, it will get much easier. Consider the Y in Lancaster because water walking is REALLY good for you and much less stress on the joints. Treading water and swimming is a good form of cardio with no joint stress too. If he can do a stationary bike that's great too, and trust me, when you are watching TV or listening to music you won't have a problem going 30-40 minutes of any kind of exercise. Strength training is also very good. Lifting weights will burn more calories than cardio exercise because it takes more calories to maintain muscle than it does fat. I lift those 5 lb. Weights that I brought back today almost the whole time I watch TV, and even carry them from time to time while doing my walking. As long as dad moves in some way for at least 30 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week, he will lose. Practice self control. I wore a bracelet from January to April that said " self control " on it. Self control is a fruit of the Spirit and doing a study on that fruit is helpful. Its very difficult to pull into McDonalds when your wrist, that is turning the car wheel, says " Self Control " . For me, it was a reminder of what I feel God was calling me to do with my life. Get an accountability partner. For me, the eating disorder group I have been attending was a godsend! It forced me to look at the reasons I binged, and they helped me deal with those issues. I also had people calling me almost daily, and assuredly weekly, to hold me accountable to eating enough, the right things, and that my exercise was in balance. I also knew I could call on them if I had cravings, or a real urge to eat. This was a vital part of my success thus far. I think I could do without them now, but I also like being a support to others. Recognize what is an addiction and what is not. For me, sugar is a huge addiction, therefore, I cannot have ANYTHING with sugar in it. Its no different than being an alcoholic for me, and the behavior as well as the results are just as harmful as alcohol or drug addiction. Even a little bit will give me the craving, and start the process of withdrawal all over again. Sugar is a drug and has drug effects if abused. Foods I avoid: Anything processed that is not low sodium Anything with processed sugar and its derivatives: Sugar Splenda Aspartame Saccharin Fructose Lactose Anything that is empty carbohydrates. Use whole grain products and flours when baking. More on that later. Cheese. If you want to continue using cheese, use white cheese. Its lower in sodium and has no added color. Milk, unless organic (I'm now using Rice & Soy Blend) Anything non-organic, it's a personal preference, non-organic is fine if it causes you no problems, however keep in mind, added chemicals and hormones can cause unnecessary joint pain in arthritis sufferers and menopausal women can experience hormone problems. Eating and drinking organic has allowed me to cease my arthritis medicine and my hormone medication. Foods I eat daily: WATER, WATER, WATER Cannot stress enough the importance of water intake. It is the only thing other than smoothies, herbal tea and an occasional coffee that I drink. Follow conventional wisdom-drink at least eight, eight-ounce servings of water each day. The more time you spend outside, the more water you need to replenish lost fluids. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink water. By the time you feel thirsty, you probably have already lost two or more cups of your total body water. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Convenience is a must, so carry a bottle of water with you as you commute to work, run errands or enjoy the day at the beach. Don't substitute caffeinated coffees, teas and sodas for water. Caffeine acts as a diuretic, causing you to lose water through increased urination. Alcoholic beverages have a similar effect. Keep a bottle of water on your desk if finding time to drink water is a problem. Or, visit the office water cooler and take water break rather than a coffee break. Once you start exercising, don't stop drinking. Keep a bottle of water with you and take frequent water breaks. Don't underestimate the amount of fluids lost from perspiration. You need to drink two cups of water for each pound lost following a workout. Start and end your day with a serving of water. Your body loses water while you sleep. So drink a serving before bed and again when you wake up. Don't forget that common maladies such as colds and the flu can frequently lead to dehydration. Keep a large bottle of water next to your bed so you can sip it throughout the day without having to get up. Remember that when it's warm outside, cold water-not carbonated soft drinks or sport drinks-is the best fluid for keeping hydrated. Cool water is absorbed much more quickly than warm fluids and may have a positive effect on cooling off your overheated body. WARNING: Drinking diet soda can, over time make you gain weight. Avoid it, replace with unsweetened tea or better yet, WATER. Just quitting drinking all types of soda and replacing it with WATER alone will make you lose weight, and will drastically reduce if not eliminate the following: Lower back pain Chronic fatigue syndrome Diabetes Headaches Asthma Allergies Colitis Rheumatoid arthritis Depression High blood pressure High blood cholesterol Alcohol dependency Neck pain And more? Cannot stress enough the importance of water. Nonherbal tea, diet soda caffinated drinks and sports drinks will dehydrate you and cause joint pain. Vegetables, the more the better, especially greens (I eat them at just about all meals, plus for snacks) Grains of some type, oats (my first choice due to its ability to lower cholesterol), barely, whole grain brown rice, brown rice pasta, whole grain bread. Oat bran in smoothies for breakfast, usually a wrap or bowl of grains for lunch, and something with grain for dinner. More on this later. Fruit or fruit juice, but only in the morning Non-dairy milk products, Rice & Soy Blend Whole grain multivitamin Foods I eat frequently: Beans, any kind, fixed anyway, 3-4 times a week Tofu, you can skip this, but its worth getting to know <grin> Whole grain pasta, we prefer the brown rice pasta Making changes: Baking flour: use oat flour or brown rice flour instead of any white or unbleached four. Whole wheat flour is ok, but its heavier than the ones I mentioned. I prefer the oat flour over anything else. Its also a whole grain flour so it has the added benefit of the fiber. Pasta: Use rice bran pasta, you will notice no difference from regular pasta. Whole wheat pasta is ok but much heavier and will make you feel bloated (at least it does that for me) Milk: Go organic if you cannot go without it. Rice & Soy blend is really good and good for you too. Milk if fine, but for me, it makes me sluggish and tired, even the organic kind. Its worth spending the extra money for the organic milk Cheese: use white cheese only, if you cannot give up cheese. Swiss, part skim mozzarella, and Monterey jack are ok in moderation. Again, cheese will contain sodium and that makes you retain water, thus causing swelling in the joints, not good for arthritis. Sugar: when something calls for sugar, try using honey, pure maple syrup, or fruit juice concentrate. All things listed are still sugar so use in considerable moderation. Sugar is sugar no matter what way you look at it, but natural sugar is better for you. Brown sugar is just regular sugar with molasses in it, so its no better than regular sugar. Salt: use Sea Salt when possible, it contains all the good nutrients and minerals that have been stripped from regular salt. Use in extreme moderation for joint health. Try seasoning with spices and herbs. Less than 300 mg of salt is considered low sodium and is ok. You do need some salt in your diet Fats and oils: these are essential to good health too. When sir frying use canola oil. Canola oil is NOT harmful to your health, and it can actually help you achieve a better diet. The reason Canola oil is good is because of its fat composition. You should know that there are 3 types of fats: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated... and 2 of the 3 types of fats are actually 'healthy' fats, and they're actually helpful to your health. Saturated fats is the bad type you want to avoid. The other two types actually help control the level of cholesterol! Canola oil has the best fatty acid ratio. Meaning that canola oil has the best fat ratios of the 3 types of fats in all cooking oil. Research has show that the fatty acid composition of canola oil is most favorable in terms of health benefits. It has lowest levels of saturated fat (7% - bad type), high in monounsaturated fat (61%-good type), and about 22% in polyunsaturated fat (also good.) Again, use in moderation as it is still a fat. Margarine: I will us nothing other than Earth Balance Vegan Margarine. I brought you a tub of it. It is the first spread to offer no hydrogenated fat, no trans fat and a natural vegetable oil blend patented to improve the ratio of " good " to " bad " cholesterol, and it tastes GOOD! Dad, the most important thing is support, get it where you can, and tell mom to stop nagging you. You have an eating disorder and she needs to understand your need in that. I will talk to her too. Remember above all else, I love you and God has made you in His image, and no matter what, you are an awsome dad! ...· ´¨¨)) -:¦:- ¸.·´ .·´¨¨)) ((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- ((¸¸.·´ Nancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 Thanks Nancy...... for the info..... I " m not needing to loose anyweight, but what you're doing is much of what in my opinion is a true healthy life style. You may want to look into a soy milk machine (12cents a quart) and also a grain mill to make your own whole wheat flour. One little suggestion in using oil to cook is to mix half with extra virgin olive. It adds a nutty flavor and with canola oil, and wont burn. WATER WATER WATER>>>>> for sure..... with me its about 1.5 gallons a day... heck water even will cure a headache if you drink enough. Tom Nancy Kohn [nkohn] Monday, October 18, 2004 10:52 AM vegetarianslimming My Healthy living plan..long read Thank you to everyone who congratulated me on my 108 lb weight loss. Since so many have asked me for ideas on what I did and the changes I made, I will share with you what I sent my dad in the mail. He is also terribly overweight, and asked me what I was doing to lose the weight, so I wrote this up for him....two things you need to know, I am a Christian, so there are definately spiritual overtones in this document, and secondly...I eat mostly vegan, but knew my dad could not, so this has references to milk and cheese. Hope this helps, and I will post recipes soon...been house hunting, so its been kinda busy here lately. Have decided to wait till spring to buy, so hopefully I will be around more! OK..here is what I wrote to my dad..... Things I do to stay healthy: PRAY!! Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, but my average is 45-60 minutes at least 5 days a week. This can be done at 10 minute intervals and still have the same cardiovascular effect. Walking is the best exercise, but it should be a brisk walk with your arms moving. I know this is painful for dad, but as he loses weight, it will get much easier. Consider the Y in Lancaster because water walking is REALLY good for you and much less stress on the joints. Treading water and swimming is a good form of cardio with no joint stress too. If he can do a stationary bike that's great too, and trust me, when you are watching TV or listening to music you won't have a problem going 30-40 minutes of any kind of exercise. Strength training is also very good. Lifting weights will burn more calories than cardio exercise because it takes more calories to maintain muscle than it does fat. I lift those 5 lb. Weights that I brought back today almost the whole time I watch TV, and even carry them from time to time while doing my walking. As long as dad moves in some way for at least 30 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week, he will lose. Practice self control. I wore a bracelet from January to April that said " self control " on it. Self control is a fruit of the Spirit and doing a study on that fruit is helpful. Its very difficult to pull into McDonalds when your wrist, that is turning the car wheel, says " Self Control " . For me, it was a reminder of what I feel God was calling me to do with my life. Get an accountability partner. For me, the eating disorder group I have been attending was a godsend! It forced me to look at the reasons I binged, and they helped me deal with those issues. I also had people calling me almost daily, and assuredly weekly, to hold me accountable to eating enough, the right things, and that my exercise was in balance. I also knew I could call on them if I had cravings, or a real urge to eat. This was a vital part of my success thus far. I think I could do without them now, but I also like being a support to others. Recognize what is an addiction and what is not. For me, sugar is a huge addiction, therefore, I cannot have ANYTHING with sugar in it. Its no different than being an alcoholic for me, and the behavior as well as the results are just as harmful as alcohol or drug addiction. Even a little bit will give me the craving, and start the process of withdrawal all over again. Sugar is a drug and has drug effects if abused. Foods I avoid: Anything processed that is not low sodium Anything with processed sugar and its derivatives: Sugar Splenda Aspartame Saccharin Fructose Lactose Anything that is empty carbohydrates. Use whole grain products and flours when baking. More on that later. Cheese. If you want to continue using cheese, use white cheese. Its lower in sodium and has no added color. Milk, unless organic (I'm now using Rice & Soy Blend) Anything non-organic, it's a personal preference, non-organic is fine if it causes you no problems, however keep in mind, added chemicals and hormones can cause unnecessary joint pain in arthritis sufferers and menopausal women can experience hormone problems. Eating and drinking organic has allowed me to cease my arthritis medicine and my hormone medication. Foods I eat daily: WATER, WATER, WATER Cannot stress enough the importance of water intake. It is the only thing other than smoothies, herbal tea and an occasional coffee that I drink. Follow conventional wisdom-drink at least eight, eight-ounce servings of water each day. The more time you spend outside, the more water you need to replenish lost fluids. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink water. By the time you feel thirsty, you probably have already lost two or more cups of your total body water. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Convenience is a must, so carry a bottle of water with you as you commute to work, run errands or enjoy the day at the beach. Don't substitute caffeinated coffees, teas and sodas for water. Caffeine acts as a diuretic, causing you to lose water through increased urination. Alcoholic beverages have a similar effect. Keep a bottle of water on your desk if finding time to drink water is a problem. Or, visit the office water cooler and take water break rather than a coffee break. Once you start exercising, don't stop drinking. Keep a bottle of water with you and take frequent water breaks. Don't underestimate the amount of fluids lost from perspiration. You need to drink two cups of water for each pound lost following a workout. Start and end your day with a serving of water. Your body loses water while you sleep. So drink a serving before bed and again when you wake up. Don't forget that common maladies such as colds and the flu can frequently lead to dehydration. Keep a large bottle of water next to your bed so you can sip it throughout the day without having to get up. Remember that when it's warm outside, cold water-not carbonated soft drinks or sport drinks-is the best fluid for keeping hydrated. Cool water is absorbed much more quickly than warm fluids and may have a positive effect on cooling off your overheated body. WARNING: Drinking diet soda can, over time make you gain weight. Avoid it, replace with unsweetened tea or better yet, WATER. Just quitting drinking all types of soda and replacing it with WATER alone will make you lose weight, and will drastically reduce if not eliminate the following: Lower back pain Chronic fatigue syndrome Diabetes Headaches Asthma Allergies Colitis Rheumatoid arthritis Depression High blood pressure High blood cholesterol Alcohol dependency Neck pain And more? Cannot stress enough the importance of water. Nonherbal tea, diet soda caffinated drinks and sports drinks will dehydrate you and cause joint pain. Vegetables, the more the better, especially greens (I eat them at just about all meals, plus for snacks) Grains of some type, oats (my first choice due to its ability to lower cholesterol), barely, whole grain brown rice, brown rice pasta, whole grain bread. Oat bran in smoothies for breakfast, usually a wrap or bowl of grains for lunch, and something with grain for dinner. More on this later. Fruit or fruit juice, but only in the morning Non-dairy milk products, Rice & Soy Blend Whole grain multivitamin Foods I eat frequently: Beans, any kind, fixed anyway, 3-4 times a week Tofu, you can skip this, but its worth getting to know <grin> Whole grain pasta, we prefer the brown rice pasta Making changes: Baking flour: use oat flour or brown rice flour instead of any white or unbleached four. Whole wheat flour is ok, but its heavier than the ones I mentioned. I prefer the oat flour over anything else. Its also a whole grain flour so it has the added benefit of the fiber. Pasta: Use rice bran pasta, you will notice no difference from regular pasta. Whole wheat pasta is ok but much heavier and will make you feel bloated (at least it does that for me) Milk: Go organic if you cannot go without it. Rice & Soy blend is really good and good for you too. Milk if fine, but for me, it makes me sluggish and tired, even the organic kind. Its worth spending the extra money for the organic milk Cheese: use white cheese only, if you cannot give up cheese. Swiss, part skim mozzarella, and Monterey jack are ok in moderation. Again, cheese will contain sodium and that makes you retain water, thus causing swelling in the joints, not good for arthritis. Sugar: when something calls for sugar, try using honey, pure maple syrup, or fruit juice concentrate. All things listed are still sugar so use in considerable moderation. Sugar is sugar no matter what way you look at it, but natural sugar is better for you. Brown sugar is just regular sugar with molasses in it, so its no better than regular sugar. Salt: use Sea Salt when possible, it contains all the good nutrients and minerals that have been stripped from regular salt. Use in extreme moderation for joint health. Try seasoning with spices and herbs. Less than 300 mg of salt is considered low sodium and is ok. You do need some salt in your diet Fats and oils: these are essential to good health too. When sir frying use canola oil. Canola oil is NOT harmful to your health, and it can actually help you achieve a better diet. The reason Canola oil is good is because of its fat composition. You should know that there are 3 types of fats: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated... and 2 of the 3 types of fats are actually 'healthy' fats, and they're actually helpful to your health. Saturated fats is the bad type you want to avoid. The other two types actually help control the level of cholesterol! Canola oil has the best fatty acid ratio. Meaning that canola oil has the best fat ratios of the 3 types of fats in all cooking oil. Research has show that the fatty acid composition of canola oil is most favorable in terms of health benefits. It has lowest levels of saturated fat (7% - bad type), high in monounsaturated fat (61%-good type), and about 22% in polyunsaturated fat (also good.) Again, use in moderation as it is still a fat. Margarine: I will us nothing other than Earth Balance Vegan Margarine. I brought you a tub of it. It is the first spread to offer no hydrogenated fat, no trans fat and a natural vegetable oil blend patented to improve the ratio of " good " to " bad " cholesterol, and it tastes GOOD! Dad, the most important thing is support, get it where you can, and tell mom to stop nagging you. You have an eating disorder and she needs to understand your need in that. I will talk to her too. Remember above all else, I love you and God has made you in His image, and no matter what, you are an awsome dad! ...· ´¨¨)) -:¦:- ¸.·´ .·´¨¨)) ((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- ((¸¸.·´ Nancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 19, 2004 Report Share Posted October 19, 2004 Thank you, Nancy. That is very generous of you. And there's nothing to argue with here ;=) Best love, Pat - and congrats again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 Impressive. Something to work towards. Thanks, Nancy! Nancy Kohn <nkohn wrote:Thank you to everyone who congratulated me on my 108 lb weight loss. Since so many have asked me for ideas on what I did and the changes I made, I will share with you what I sent my dad in the mail. He is also terribly overweight, and asked me what I was doing to lose the weight, so I wrote this up for him....two things you need to know, I am a Christian, so there are definately spiritual overtones in this document, and secondly...I eat mostly vegan, but knew my dad could not, so this has references to milk and cheese. Hope this helps, and I will post recipes soon...been house hunting, so its been kinda busy here lately. Have decided to wait till spring to buy, so hopefully I will be around more! OK..here is what I wrote to my dad..... Things I do to stay healthy: PRAY!! Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, but my average is 45-60 minutes at least 5 days a week. This can be done at 10 minute intervals and still have the same cardiovascular effect. Walking is the best exercise, but it should be a brisk walk with your arms moving. I know this is painful for dad, but as he loses weight, it will get much easier. Consider the Y in Lancaster because water walking is REALLY good for you and much less stress on the joints. Treading water and swimming is a good form of cardio with no joint stress too. If he can do a stationary bike that's great too, and trust me, when you are watching TV or listening to music you won't have a problem going 30-40 minutes of any kind of exercise. Strength training is also very good. Lifting weights will burn more calories than cardio exercise because it takes more calories to maintain muscle than it does fat. I lift those 5 lb. Weights that I brought back today almost the whole time I watch TV, and even carry them from time to time while doing my walking. As long as dad moves in some way for at least 30 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week, he will lose. Practice self control. I wore a bracelet from January to April that said " self control " on it. Self control is a fruit of the Spirit and doing a study on that fruit is helpful. Its very difficult to pull into McDonalds when your wrist, that is turning the car wheel, says " Self Control " . For me, it was a reminder of what I feel God was calling me to do with my life. Get an accountability partner. For me, the eating disorder group I have been attending was a godsend! It forced me to look at the reasons I binged, and they helped me deal with those issues. I also had people calling me almost daily, and assuredly weekly, to hold me accountable to eating enough, the right things, and that my exercise was in balance. I also knew I could call on them if I had cravings, or a real urge to eat. This was a vital part of my success thus far. I think I could do without them now, but I also like being a support to others. Recognize what is an addiction and what is not. For me, sugar is a huge addiction, therefore, I cannot have ANYTHING with sugar in it. Its no different than being an alcoholic for me, and the behavior as well as the results are just as harmful as alcohol or drug addiction. Even a little bit will give me the craving, and start the process of withdrawal all over again. Sugar is a drug and has drug effects if abused. Foods I avoid: Anything processed that is not low sodium Anything with processed sugar and its derivatives: Sugar Splenda Aspartame Saccharin Fructose Lactose Anything that is empty carbohydrates. Use whole grain products and flours when baking. More on that later. Cheese. If you want to continue using cheese, use white cheese. Its lower in sodium and has no added color. Milk, unless organic (I'm now using Rice & Soy Blend) Anything non-organic, it's a personal preference, non-organic is fine if it causes you no problems, however keep in mind, added chemicals and hormones can cause unnecessary joint pain in arthritis sufferers and menopausal women can experience hormone problems. Eating and drinking organic has allowed me to cease my arthritis medicine and my hormone medication. Foods I eat daily: WATER, WATER, WATER Cannot stress enough the importance of water intake. It is the only thing other than smoothies, herbal tea and an occasional coffee that I drink. Follow conventional wisdom-drink at least eight, eight-ounce servings of water each day. The more time you spend outside, the more water you need to replenish lost fluids. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink water. By the time you feel thirsty, you probably have already lost two or more cups of your total body water. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Convenience is a must, so carry a bottle of water with you as you commute to work, run errands or enjoy the day at the beach. Don't substitute caffeinated coffees, teas and sodas for water. Caffeine acts as a diuretic, causing you to lose water through increased urination. Alcoholic beverages have a similar effect. Keep a bottle of water on your desk if finding time to drink water is a problem. Or, visit the office water cooler and take water break rather than a coffee break. Once you start exercising, don't stop drinking. Keep a bottle of water with you and take frequent water breaks. Don't underestimate the amount of fluids lost from perspiration. You need to drink two cups of water for each pound lost following a workout. Start and end your day with a serving of water. Your body loses water while you sleep. So drink a serving before bed and again when you wake up. Don't forget that common maladies such as colds and the flu can frequently lead to dehydration. Keep a large bottle of water next to your bed so you can sip it throughout the day without having to get up. Remember that when it's warm outside, cold water-not carbonated soft drinks or sport drinks-is the best fluid for keeping hydrated. Cool water is absorbed much more quickly than warm fluids and may have a positive effect on cooling off your overheated body. WARNING: Drinking diet soda can, over time make you gain weight. Avoid it, replace with unsweetened tea or better yet, WATER. Just quitting drinking all types of soda and replacing it with WATER alone will make you lose weight, and will drastically reduce if not eliminate the following: Lower back pain Chronic fatigue syndrome Diabetes Headaches Asthma Allergies Colitis Rheumatoid arthritis Depression High blood pressure High blood cholesterol Alcohol dependency Neck pain And more? Cannot stress enough the importance of water. Nonherbal tea, diet soda caffinated drinks and sports drinks will dehydrate you and cause joint pain. Vegetables, the more the better, especially greens (I eat them at just about all meals, plus for snacks) Grains of some type, oats (my first choice due to its ability to lower cholesterol), barely, whole grain brown rice, brown rice pasta, whole grain bread. Oat bran in smoothies for breakfast, usually a wrap or bowl of grains for lunch, and something with grain for dinner. More on this later. Fruit or fruit juice, but only in the morning Non-dairy milk products, Rice & Soy Blend Whole grain multivitamin Foods I eat frequently: Beans, any kind, fixed anyway, 3-4 times a week Tofu, you can skip this, but its worth getting to know <grin> Whole grain pasta, we prefer the brown rice pasta Making changes: Baking flour: use oat flour or brown rice flour instead of any white or unbleached four. Whole wheat flour is ok, but its heavier than the ones I mentioned. I prefer the oat flour over anything else. Its also a whole grain flour so it has the added benefit of the fiber. Pasta: Use rice bran pasta, you will notice no difference from regular pasta. Whole wheat pasta is ok but much heavier and will make you feel bloated (at least it does that for me) Milk: Go organic if you cannot go without it. Rice & Soy blend is really good and good for you too. Milk if fine, but for me, it makes me sluggish and tired, even the organic kind. Its worth spending the extra money for the organic milk Cheese: use white cheese only, if you cannot give up cheese. Swiss, part skim mozzarella, and Monterey jack are ok in moderation. Again, cheese will contain sodium and that makes you retain water, thus causing swelling in the joints, not good for arthritis. Sugar: when something calls for sugar, try using honey, pure maple syrup, or fruit juice concentrate. All things listed are still sugar so use in considerable moderation. Sugar is sugar no matter what way you look at it, but natural sugar is better for you. Brown sugar is just regular sugar with molasses in it, so its no better than regular sugar. Salt: use Sea Salt when possible, it contains all the good nutrients and minerals that have been stripped from regular salt. Use in extreme moderation for joint health. Try seasoning with spices and herbs. Less than 300 mg of salt is considered low sodium and is ok. You do need some salt in your diet Fats and oils: these are essential to good health too. When sir frying use canola oil. Canola oil is NOT harmful to your health, and it can actually help you achieve a better diet. The reason Canola oil is good is because of its fat composition. You should know that there are 3 types of fats: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated... and 2 of the 3 types of fats are actually 'healthy' fats, and they're actually helpful to your health. Saturated fats is the bad type you want to avoid. The other two types actually help control the level of cholesterol! Canola oil has the best fatty acid ratio. Meaning that canola oil has the best fat ratios of the 3 types of fats in all cooking oil. Research has show that the fatty acid composition of canola oil is most favorable in terms of health benefits. It has lowest levels of saturated fat (7% - bad type), high in monounsaturated fat (61%-good type), and about 22% in polyunsaturated fat (also good.) Again, use in moderation as it is still a fat. Margarine: I will us nothing other than Earth Balance Vegan Margarine. I brought you a tub of it. It is the first spread to offer no hydrogenated fat, no trans fat and a natural vegetable oil blend patented to improve the ratio of " good " to " bad " cholesterol, and it tastes GOOD! Dad, the most important thing is support, get it where you can, and tell mom to stop nagging you. You have an eating disorder and she needs to understand your need in that. I will talk to her too. Remember above all else, I love you and God has made you in His image, and no matter what, you are an awsome dad! ...· ´¨¨)) -:¦:- ¸.·´ .·´¨¨)) ((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- ((¸¸.·´ Nancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.