Tag Archive for my meals

Hop off the Diet Roller Coaster

debbie (43)I don’t know when you’ll be reading this, but I’m writing and posting it right before the weekend hits; it’s supposed to be Weekend Ammunition to Avoid Splurging/Bingeing/Blowing It.  I get a lot of emails about this, but I pull most of my understanding from my own years of weekend-blowing-it experience.  I’d plan my shopping and grocery list to include friday and saturday night treats, and day time treats; I couldn’t wait!  After a whole week of “dieting” / “being good”, I was starving!  Plus, it was a pattern I’d thoroughly established, and nurtured.

Now it’s different.  Now, I just eat well every single day.  My fairly high-fat, high-protein meals have definitely changed the way my brain works.  At 48, I have MORE energy, I’m LESS prone to food whims, and my recovery from workouts kind of amazes me; it’s fast. ( I’ve also added Systemic Enzymes to my supplement routine, which helps a lot.)

I’m finally feeding my body the nutrients it needs to build, repair, and thrive.  Those same nutrients allow my brain to focus on life instead of the next meal.  That’s the opposite of when I lived on high fiber cereal, skim milk, fat free yogurt and bagels, Diet Products, and salads.  Those are the food of death.  (dramatic I know,  but seriously, they’re processed foods loaded with simple carbohydrates, trans fats, and chemicals: the foods of death).

One of the questions I had this week in my Metabolism Class was “can I really lose weight eating high fat foods?”.  My answer:  YES.  Oh My Gosh Yes.  Foods that contain Real, Traditional Fats, i.e clean meats, coconut oils, butter from grass fed cows (Kerry Gold), olive oil, avocados, macadamia nut oil, etc, contain a ZILLION nutrients that make your body and brain run well.  Remember, our brain is 60% fat, our hormones are made from fat and cholesterol, the membrane of EVERY SINGLE CELL IN OUR BODY is made from fat and cholesterol, our bile acids are made from cholesterol, our immune system, our ability to absorb nutrients, these depend on fat and cholesterol.  Deprive your body of fat and cholesterol and see your health, mental and physical, take a nose dive.

Losing weight, feeling good; it’s not a matter of “low cal/low fat/exercise a ton”, it’s a matter of eat Real Whole Foods loaded with Nutrients, get your sleep, and handle your stress.  Hormones Rule; our hormones determine our weight, our moods, our health.  Diet lifestyles make for a horrible hormonal environment loaded with inflammation and one health problem after another.  Besides that, Diets Don’t Work:  studies show that almost 100% of EVERYONE who loses weight by dieting GAINS IT BACK.   Almost 100%.

I’ve got plenty of meals posted on my What I Eat page, but I still get asked about what I eat or why I eat certain foods.  Here’s yesterday’s meals:

Paul Newman Organic Vanilla Coffee w Raw Cream:  cream is LOADED with vit A/D/K, and healthy fats, and I think organic coffee’s a health food:)

B – Smoothie: chocolate whey protein (amino acids)/beets (good for my liver)/kale(loaded with nutrients)/cultured cream (beneficial bacteria plus more A/D/K, good fats like CLA)/blueberries(antioxidants)cinnamon/ginger(loaded with nutrients) water(can’t get enough) fish oil(Omega 3s-can’t taste this), collagen/gelatin (loaded with amino acids, glucosamine, chondroitin, msm: it’s from bones and joints/good stuff)

L- cod (left over from the night before, probably 4 oz, cooked in butter topped with rosemary, S&P),  coconut oil mixed with a little cocoa and stevia, and then frozen (the fats here are great for my brain and metabolism) All my lunches M-F I pack and eat in the car.

D – Mix: venison sausage/tomatoes/shitake mushrooms/onion/basil;  roasted sweet potatoes w/ butter, S&P

I alternate the whey in my morning smoothie with raw eggs (2) and cocoa/stevia.  Eggs are Nutrient Bombs, which when blended into a smoothie, raw, leaves all the nutrients in perfect condition;  you can’t taste the raw egg (you know, raw eggs are added to most homemade ice cream recipes, it just makes the mix “richer”). (ps: I get my eggs from a farm, not the store. I wouldn’t eat raw commercial eggs.)  I go back and forth between spinach and kale, and have even used  “green powders”.  I make sure I use one or two different spices and alternate between cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. When I’m on my period, I add Blackstrap Molassas for the Iron and minerals.   And of course, I use several different fruits, all frozen:  banana, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, or strawberries. Sometimes I use Kombucha (fermented tea) or Keifer (cultured milk) instead of water – you can never get enough good bacteria!

So, after years of riding the Diet Crazy Train, I’ve hopped off.  Now I never count calories, or weigh my food;  I’m rarely EVER hungry between meals ( I love that!), I make Paleo treats and eat them without worrying.  I test my blood sugar to make sure it’s low/healthy, and I plan, shop, cook, and pack.  My stomach’s pretty flat, I don’t PMS, and I don’t castigate myself (anymore) for weekend binges that take 2 or 3 days to undue, because I don’t have weekend binges.  You can feel good too!  You can get off the diet roller coaster, be at a healthy weight, lower inflammation, strengthen your immune system, and have more level moods – HONEST.  Just eat Real Whole Foods: plenty of good fats and proteins, tons of vegetables, some fruit, some nuts and seeds, some whole dairy (if your stomach likes that).  You can change your health and your weight permanently.  I promise.