I have a confession to make... Mangoes are my weakness! I could live on them, bathe in them, eat them for every meal of the day and not get sick of them! I like them in smoothies, with cream, in fruit salad, on pavlova, in a Weiss bar (as a treat!) and most importantly, by themselves!
There could be worse things to be addicted to. But in the Primal Blueprint frame of mind, mangoes should be a 'sometimes' food. They're definitely not one of the lowest carb fruit options available and because, to me, they taste so moreish, it's often hard to stop at one...
In the move up north, mangoes have become a lot more accessible and a lot tastier (not to mention a lot cheaper)! Bowens are my mango of choice. There's nothing better than slicing up a bowen on a hot summer's day and enjoying every last mouthful (and then sucking the seed dry!)
So it seems I have a choice to make. PB is important to me, but is it as important as going without my favourite food?!?!
There's a lot of pathways I could choose to go down. One would be to avoid mangoes altogether, but I have scratched that off the list. Honestly, PB is about eating food as close as possible to how nature intended, and it's not as though mangoes are a compeltely manufactured food! While it might not mean I see great weight loss results, it definitely would mean that I felt like I was missing out on something, which means I wouldn't be able to stick to it anyway!
The options I'm now tossing up between are either:-
a) Forget PB and eat as many mangoes as desired; or
b) Limit myself to one mango per day and moderate my carb intake.
I'm leaning towards option b, but will see how I go in the build up before Christmas!
We bought a tray on the weekend and so far I've been eating between 1-2 mangoes per day. I've tried to be aware of what else I'm eating and limiting other fruit intake accordingly. It hasn't been difficult but I also haven't been actively denying myself mangoes!
I guess what it comes down to is an informed choice. I know that mangoes aren't necessarily the best food to be eating if I want to lose weight, but I also know that if I try to restrict something in my diet that I absolutely love, I'm setting myself up for failure! Seriously, it would be better for me to allow myself a mango than to hold out and then gorge on something like chocolate-coated peanuts or rumballs!
So, I'm going to eat my mangoes. They're only in season during summer, so I have to enjoy them while I still can! After that, I can go back to berries being my fruit of choice!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Back on Track
It's been a month since my last post, and I'm only just now finding a small window of time to sit and write about my experiences (good and bad) since our big move, starting a new job, and aclimatising to Queensland weather!
As I've said before, moving is hard. It's doubly as hard when you move into accommodation that's not actually 'yours'. We have a beautiful apartment in an amazing area of town until we can move into our house, and although it is perfect in many ways, the fact that it's not ours has interfered somewhat with our way of life (pre-move!). An unfamiliar kitchen with certain essential utensils missing; and not knowing where to get the best, freshest food, has been our major hurdles. Not to mention living just up the hill from some of the best restaurants in Brisbane!
All of this has meant that I've been fairly lax in maintaining my Primal Blueprint eating plan. I've tried, don't get me wrong, but it's been difficult!
I've managed to steer pretty well clear of wheat products, and have been impressed with the gluten free options offered at most restaurants up here. There's certainly a greater awareness of offering gluten free menu options which has been good. My slip-up came recently at my cousin's wedding - a cocktail function with canapes. Not many gluten free options available, and I either had the choice to not eat (which would have been disastrous as there was lots of alcohol on offer) or to bite the bullet and try some of the different choices....
This was not a good decision, let me tell you! At least if I had just stuck to alcohol I would have enjoyed the night and been fairly sick the next morning, but would have bounced back pretty quickly. Because I chose to eat, I paid for it all week. I'm not kidding. It started the next morning with a terribly upset stomach and a week later I was still not well. Lesson learned, I hope!
It has definitely cemented for me the fact that Primal Blueprint is the best way of eating for me, if for no other reason than PB food doesn't make me sick! Everyone at my new workplace knows that I'm gluten-free (it's the best way of explaining it to people who you hardly know!) and I have learnt that if there are no PB friendly foods on offer, I choose not to eat! A bit of fasting does the body good!
As I've said before, moving is hard. It's doubly as hard when you move into accommodation that's not actually 'yours'. We have a beautiful apartment in an amazing area of town until we can move into our house, and although it is perfect in many ways, the fact that it's not ours has interfered somewhat with our way of life (pre-move!). An unfamiliar kitchen with certain essential utensils missing; and not knowing where to get the best, freshest food, has been our major hurdles. Not to mention living just up the hill from some of the best restaurants in Brisbane!
All of this has meant that I've been fairly lax in maintaining my Primal Blueprint eating plan. I've tried, don't get me wrong, but it's been difficult!
I've managed to steer pretty well clear of wheat products, and have been impressed with the gluten free options offered at most restaurants up here. There's certainly a greater awareness of offering gluten free menu options which has been good. My slip-up came recently at my cousin's wedding - a cocktail function with canapes. Not many gluten free options available, and I either had the choice to not eat (which would have been disastrous as there was lots of alcohol on offer) or to bite the bullet and try some of the different choices....
This was not a good decision, let me tell you! At least if I had just stuck to alcohol I would have enjoyed the night and been fairly sick the next morning, but would have bounced back pretty quickly. Because I chose to eat, I paid for it all week. I'm not kidding. It started the next morning with a terribly upset stomach and a week later I was still not well. Lesson learned, I hope!
It has definitely cemented for me the fact that Primal Blueprint is the best way of eating for me, if for no other reason than PB food doesn't make me sick! Everyone at my new workplace knows that I'm gluten-free (it's the best way of explaining it to people who you hardly know!) and I have learnt that if there are no PB friendly foods on offer, I choose not to eat! A bit of fasting does the body good!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Mondayitis
Oh man, did Monday come along way too quickly this week! It probably had something to do with the crazy weekend I had, but still, this morning's alarm was not well received (and consequently snoozed for a good half an hour!)
I'm actually really excited about this week. We're moving back to Queensland (the state of sunshine) on Friday and I'm starting a brand new job next Monday, so there's lots to look forward to. There's also lots to be stressed about, because packing and moving is not the easiest thing in the world to do! Especially if you had a 'blow out' on your last weekend!
Most people would consider that a 'blow out' every once in a while is acceptable, and probably required to maintain sanity. But considering I haven't really had one since I started this journey in April, my body has reacted pretty badly today!
I should clarify that my 'blow out' began on Saturday evening at my beautiful friends' engagement party. I'm one of the bridal party, so figured it was as good an excuse as any to let my hair down. And I did. When hubby questioned me as to how many glasses of champagne I consumed and I couldn't actually remember, I knew it was a good one! I think the figure was probably about 20 glasses, but hey, who's counting?!?!
Of course, all this drinking on what was a somewhat empty stomach would have its downfall. I certainly wasn't strict with PB eating when the canapes came around. Unfortunately there wasn't really enough food for me to feel like I'd had a full meal, and so when the rest of the party guests were announcing their intentions to grab some Maccas on the way home, the golden arches had never looked so good to me!
This was probably the point of the night where there was definitely no turning back. 1 cheeseburger & McChicken burger later and I was feeling good! I didn't even give a second thought to how I might be feeling in the morning, especially considering that the last time I had had Maccas would have been over 6 months ago!
Fast forward 10 hours and I was in pain. My body ached and my stomach growled at me. I knew what I had done but I felt so terrible that I couldn't be stopped. I was never so thankful that the staple PB breakfast is bacon and eggs because that's all I felt would get me through! My beautiful husband made me the most perfect scrambled eggs you've ever tasted, and I was feeling better...
It didn't last though! In another few hours, guess what I was craving?!? More crappy food! Specifically, a sausage roll and quiche from the local bakery. Definitely not primal, but I didn't care! I made a promise to myself that I would have some vegies for dinner...
That promise lasted as long as my full stomach did. Then I was definitely NOT keen to go grocery shopping and pick up some real food, and definitely WAS keen to eat some greasy chinese food, including spring rolls and rice.
Let me tell you, after eating this, it wasn't pretty. My stomach which had been growling at me before was now more in writhing in pain. I knew what I had done. It was as if I'd gone on a 24hr bender, with processed food and grains being my poison of choice!
A sensible option this morning was to fast. This would at least give my stomach some reprive. Unfortunately I've still been feeling terrible. I feel like I have constant indigestion. The most I could stomach at lunch was a salad. That just made me feel heavier. If I could take the afternoon off, I would, but it's my second last day at work! So instead, I'm just going to suffer and remind myself of this experience any time I think "Oh it won't be that bad" in the future. Because let me tell you, it is that bad, and worse.
The positive, if you could see it like that, is that I now understand why I am feeling so bad. It's like my body is rebelling against my food choices! I know why my stomach feels like it's in knots and why I feel like I've got constant heartburn. I've eaten more grains in the past 48hrs than I have over the past 3 months prior, so my body has gone into shock! But if this feeling is not incentive enough to not touch them again, I don't know what is.
I'm actually really excited about this week. We're moving back to Queensland (the state of sunshine) on Friday and I'm starting a brand new job next Monday, so there's lots to look forward to. There's also lots to be stressed about, because packing and moving is not the easiest thing in the world to do! Especially if you had a 'blow out' on your last weekend!
Most people would consider that a 'blow out' every once in a while is acceptable, and probably required to maintain sanity. But considering I haven't really had one since I started this journey in April, my body has reacted pretty badly today!
I should clarify that my 'blow out' began on Saturday evening at my beautiful friends' engagement party. I'm one of the bridal party, so figured it was as good an excuse as any to let my hair down. And I did. When hubby questioned me as to how many glasses of champagne I consumed and I couldn't actually remember, I knew it was a good one! I think the figure was probably about 20 glasses, but hey, who's counting?!?!
Of course, all this drinking on what was a somewhat empty stomach would have its downfall. I certainly wasn't strict with PB eating when the canapes came around. Unfortunately there wasn't really enough food for me to feel like I'd had a full meal, and so when the rest of the party guests were announcing their intentions to grab some Maccas on the way home, the golden arches had never looked so good to me!
This was probably the point of the night where there was definitely no turning back. 1 cheeseburger & McChicken burger later and I was feeling good! I didn't even give a second thought to how I might be feeling in the morning, especially considering that the last time I had had Maccas would have been over 6 months ago!
Fast forward 10 hours and I was in pain. My body ached and my stomach growled at me. I knew what I had done but I felt so terrible that I couldn't be stopped. I was never so thankful that the staple PB breakfast is bacon and eggs because that's all I felt would get me through! My beautiful husband made me the most perfect scrambled eggs you've ever tasted, and I was feeling better...
It didn't last though! In another few hours, guess what I was craving?!? More crappy food! Specifically, a sausage roll and quiche from the local bakery. Definitely not primal, but I didn't care! I made a promise to myself that I would have some vegies for dinner...
That promise lasted as long as my full stomach did. Then I was definitely NOT keen to go grocery shopping and pick up some real food, and definitely WAS keen to eat some greasy chinese food, including spring rolls and rice.
Let me tell you, after eating this, it wasn't pretty. My stomach which had been growling at me before was now more in writhing in pain. I knew what I had done. It was as if I'd gone on a 24hr bender, with processed food and grains being my poison of choice!
A sensible option this morning was to fast. This would at least give my stomach some reprive. Unfortunately I've still been feeling terrible. I feel like I have constant indigestion. The most I could stomach at lunch was a salad. That just made me feel heavier. If I could take the afternoon off, I would, but it's my second last day at work! So instead, I'm just going to suffer and remind myself of this experience any time I think "Oh it won't be that bad" in the future. Because let me tell you, it is that bad, and worse.
The positive, if you could see it like that, is that I now understand why I am feeling so bad. It's like my body is rebelling against my food choices! I know why my stomach feels like it's in knots and why I feel like I've got constant heartburn. I've eaten more grains in the past 48hrs than I have over the past 3 months prior, so my body has gone into shock! But if this feeling is not incentive enough to not touch them again, I don't know what is.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
What's all the fuss about soy?
Thanks to one of my awesome followers, I dedicated some time to publishing this post, which I have been working on for some time. Soy has earned a reputation as a health food in recent years, but does it have the credentials to live up to this title?
The main debate about soy needs to define the difference between fermented and unfermented soy products. And really, this comes back to one of the key Primal Blueprint laws - eat real food! The least processed it is, the better. This goes for soybean products too! It seems that fermented soy products, such as tempeh and miso, could reasonably be put into the 'healthy' category. The issue comes however, when you start to think of all soy products (including the unfermented ones such as many soy milk and tofu products) in the same way.
As Mark explains soy requires preparation to make it safe to consume and that in itself does not instill you with a lot of confidence. When you learn that the process includes acid washing, neutralisation solutions, aluminium tanks and high temperature heating, soy really loses its appeal. For me, my dedication to consuming food that is as close to natural as possible means that soy is definitely off my list!
While the negative effects of consuming soy generally only seem to come into play if someone is consuming A LOT of soy, the fact that there are negative effects should be cause for alarm. We have health authorities telling us that this is a SAFE inclusion in our diets, and, even more alarmingly, safe for inclusion in baby formula. It makes you wonder exactly how much people who consume large quantities of soy products actually understand.
Phytic acid, which restricts the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals, is found in high amounts in unfermented soy products. A further concern is that soy contains high levels of a natural chemical that mimics estrogen, and some studies have suggested that this chemical can alter sexual development. This story about one man's experience with the negative effects of consuming soy milk should be read by all men!
Basically, if you subscribe to the primal blueprint way of living, fermented soy products can be consumed occasionally. Anything else just misses the point of whole, unprocessed, natural food!
The main debate about soy needs to define the difference between fermented and unfermented soy products. And really, this comes back to one of the key Primal Blueprint laws - eat real food! The least processed it is, the better. This goes for soybean products too! It seems that fermented soy products, such as tempeh and miso, could reasonably be put into the 'healthy' category. The issue comes however, when you start to think of all soy products (including the unfermented ones such as many soy milk and tofu products) in the same way.
As Mark explains soy requires preparation to make it safe to consume and that in itself does not instill you with a lot of confidence. When you learn that the process includes acid washing, neutralisation solutions, aluminium tanks and high temperature heating, soy really loses its appeal. For me, my dedication to consuming food that is as close to natural as possible means that soy is definitely off my list!
While the negative effects of consuming soy generally only seem to come into play if someone is consuming A LOT of soy, the fact that there are negative effects should be cause for alarm. We have health authorities telling us that this is a SAFE inclusion in our diets, and, even more alarmingly, safe for inclusion in baby formula. It makes you wonder exactly how much people who consume large quantities of soy products actually understand.
Phytic acid, which restricts the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals, is found in high amounts in unfermented soy products. A further concern is that soy contains high levels of a natural chemical that mimics estrogen, and some studies have suggested that this chemical can alter sexual development. This story about one man's experience with the negative effects of consuming soy milk should be read by all men!
Basically, if you subscribe to the primal blueprint way of living, fermented soy products can be consumed occasionally. Anything else just misses the point of whole, unprocessed, natural food!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Just because I haven't posted, doesn't mean I'm not committed...
Yeah, I've been slack with the posts lately. Sometimes life just gets in the way! I've had such a crazy 3 or so weeks and it's been difficult to get a spare moment... The great thing is though, I can safely say I've stayed on the primal blueprint track. How well? I estimate at least 80/20.
Haven't heard of the 80/20 rule? Basically, it means you're primal 80% of the time. And with my 20%, I try to stay reasonably true to the PB laws so that I don't undo all my good work!
Travelling is difficult when you're following the primal blueprint. We did a LONG drive up to Queensland for my sister's birthday and found it really hard to get good primal food. Here's a run down of our 6 days away...
Night One = 7hr drive. I had packed some boiled eggs, ham, and vintage cheese, plus some fruit and nuts to snack on during the trip. Easy!
Day One = 10hr drive. We managed to get a primal breakfast of bacon and eggs at the hotel's breakfast buffet. Thinking about it now, breakfast is actually an easy meal to do primal - bacon and eggs, hold the toast. Lunch was a bit trickier... We stopped at a highway servo and options were Maccas, KFC, or sandwiches from the cafe! Not exactly full of options. I ended up getting a salad sandwich and just eating the filling! Dinner was fish and vegies at mum and dad's - the vegies were a definite winner!
Day Two - Five = fairly primal eating while visiting family. My 20% cheats included Grandma's scones (seriously, how could I resist) and my lime & soda mixed with Malibu at the 18th party.
Day Six = 17hr drive. This was an effort. We found a roadside cafe for breakfast and it was awesome - the best bacon and eggs I'd had for ages! Lunch options were Maccas/KFC/Subway, so I went for the most primal option - a Subway salad (no bread). Honestly, it was terrible! Seriously, without the bread, cheese, and sauce, subway salad is not at all fulfilling! We stumbled across a cafe that did roasts for dinner, and so really enjoyed a roast beef and vegies (especially after that terrible lunch).
Exercise while travelling is also difficult. I managed to get in some interval sprints on my parents treadmill, and a long beach walk while visiting Gran & Granddad, but apart from that, the exercise was minimal.
The dreaded visit to our personal trainer after 2 weeks 'off' came sooner than we were ready for. Imagine our surprise and excitement then, when we stepped onto the scales and we'd both dropped 2 kilos! Our trainer suggested that the time off actually worked in our favour, so we were stoked that our seemingly 'slacking off' turned out okay.
Although we still have a hectic couple of weeks to get through, I'm committed to staying as close to primal as possible. I just know that it makes me feel better and I still have a way to go to reach my goal weight. So, with changing jobs, moving house and city, I think the primal blueprint will be a welcome constant in my life!
Haven't heard of the 80/20 rule? Basically, it means you're primal 80% of the time. And with my 20%, I try to stay reasonably true to the PB laws so that I don't undo all my good work!
Travelling is difficult when you're following the primal blueprint. We did a LONG drive up to Queensland for my sister's birthday and found it really hard to get good primal food. Here's a run down of our 6 days away...
Night One = 7hr drive. I had packed some boiled eggs, ham, and vintage cheese, plus some fruit and nuts to snack on during the trip. Easy!
Day One = 10hr drive. We managed to get a primal breakfast of bacon and eggs at the hotel's breakfast buffet. Thinking about it now, breakfast is actually an easy meal to do primal - bacon and eggs, hold the toast. Lunch was a bit trickier... We stopped at a highway servo and options were Maccas, KFC, or sandwiches from the cafe! Not exactly full of options. I ended up getting a salad sandwich and just eating the filling! Dinner was fish and vegies at mum and dad's - the vegies were a definite winner!
Day Two - Five = fairly primal eating while visiting family. My 20% cheats included Grandma's scones (seriously, how could I resist) and my lime & soda mixed with Malibu at the 18th party.
Day Six = 17hr drive. This was an effort. We found a roadside cafe for breakfast and it was awesome - the best bacon and eggs I'd had for ages! Lunch options were Maccas/KFC/Subway, so I went for the most primal option - a Subway salad (no bread). Honestly, it was terrible! Seriously, without the bread, cheese, and sauce, subway salad is not at all fulfilling! We stumbled across a cafe that did roasts for dinner, and so really enjoyed a roast beef and vegies (especially after that terrible lunch).
Exercise while travelling is also difficult. I managed to get in some interval sprints on my parents treadmill, and a long beach walk while visiting Gran & Granddad, but apart from that, the exercise was minimal.
The dreaded visit to our personal trainer after 2 weeks 'off' came sooner than we were ready for. Imagine our surprise and excitement then, when we stepped onto the scales and we'd both dropped 2 kilos! Our trainer suggested that the time off actually worked in our favour, so we were stoked that our seemingly 'slacking off' turned out okay.
Although we still have a hectic couple of weeks to get through, I'm committed to staying as close to primal as possible. I just know that it makes me feel better and I still have a way to go to reach my goal weight. So, with changing jobs, moving house and city, I think the primal blueprint will be a welcome constant in my life!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
What's the World Wide Web saying this week?
Could this recent article suggesting that cancer is purely a man made disease finally get the medical professional to take notice. We should be aiming for prevention, rather than cure, and a huge part of that has to come down to our diet.
Yet another reason to supplement with Vitamin D (that's if you don't get enough sun daily!) - a possible link with autism?
This interesting article highlights a study which suggests that sleeping in a lit room might lead to weight gain.
This Aussie study claims that waist circumference, not BMI, is the best predictor of future cardiovascular disease. So, pay attention to your waist, not your BMI!
I've always found that I sleep better after a workout! Now there's some evidence that a good night's sleep can be the result of physical activity during the day.
Rice has always been one of my go-to carb fillers at dinner time (although since going primal, I've only eaten it once, with effects so bad that I haven't gone near it again!) Mark examines whether rice is unhealthy or not...
Yet another reason to supplement with Vitamin D (that's if you don't get enough sun daily!) - a possible link with autism?
This interesting article highlights a study which suggests that sleeping in a lit room might lead to weight gain.
This Aussie study claims that waist circumference, not BMI, is the best predictor of future cardiovascular disease. So, pay attention to your waist, not your BMI!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Friday Fury!!!
You knew it was coming! And I’m sure some of you won’t like it when I tell you who my fury is directed towards today...
Yes, Subway – Eat Fresh! It’s enough to make you go out right now and order a footlong sub isn’t it?! But surely you know by now that the Subway slogan doesn’t have a lot of substance.
I don’t know about you, but pre-packaged meats and vegetables don’t exactly scream “FRESH!” to me. Oh, but their bread is baked daily on premises. Sure, but who really knows what they put into it (HFCS anyone?!?)... Besides the fact that we now don’t eat bread, Subway is certainly not a choice that I would be considering for a healthy lunch.
Seriously, we deserve to be furious because a nifty marketing campaign has led us down the track to believing that eating Subway is a much ‘healthier’ option than Maccas (disclaimer: I am in no way claiming Maccas is healthy, just that Subway is not!)
I can hear you screaming at the computer screen right now. Believe me, I understand! I’ve been a Subway girl for as long as I can remember. Whenever a quick Friday night fast food meal was on the cards, Subway was always the first option. I believed the hype! Hey, that Jarrod guy in the USA lost heaps of weight just eating Subway, so it must be okay – right?! Wrong. I certainly didn’t lose any weight on a ‘subway diet’.
At least Maccas doesn’t try to ‘trick’ consumers into thinking their product is healthy! One look at the nutritional values of most subway sandwiches will have you gasping at the high sodium and sugar content. And don’t get me started on them using HFCS in their bread.
For argument’s sake, let’s examine my two regular choices at Maccas and Subway – a McChicken burger -vs- a Chicken Fillet sub.
McChicken
408 Calories
18.7g Fat (3g Saturated Fat)
698mg Sodium
3.1g Sugar
Chicken Fillet
385 Calories
15.1g Fat (6.2g Saturated Fat)
1050mg Sodium
5.8g Sugar
Fairly similar overall, but certainly not results that would make you think one option is a healthier choice! Lower in calories and fat (but not saturated fat) and higher in sodium and sugar (which PB argues makes you fatter than eating fat), the chicken fillet doesn’t really have much going for it. And, those values don’t allow for any sauce that I have on my sub, and with my usual BBQ sauce addition, I would be adding an extra 31.8 calories, 6.7g of sugar (seriously, a 20g serving of sauce has more sugar in it than the entire sub itself), and 152mg of sodium. Further, if you also consider that I would occasionally buy a foot-long sub (the figures above are for a six-incher) then those nutritional values would be doubled! So next time you’re craving a McChicken and think you’ll do your body a favour by having a Chicken Fillet from Subway, maybe you’ll think twice.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Cavewoman & Caveman come to the party!
My sister's recent 18th dress-up party provided a perfect opportunity to embrace our inner caveman! Conveniently, my sister's name starts with "C" and hubby immediately knew, considering our recent lifestyle change, that dressing as a caveman/woman would be perfect...
We started off the evening fairly primally - with meatballs & vegies for dinner! However as it was an 18th, avoiding the copious amounts of alcohol on offer was a challenge... I chose what I figured was a 'decent' primal drink of choice - malibu + soda water + lime.
Of course, no true party is complete without the token strippers pole, and hubby showed his caveman strength...
So we joined the birthday cow, Clark Kent, cleopatra, cadbury, CSI, cutlery, california girls, cactus, cheerleaders, Confucius, Cat in the Hat, and all the others in celebration of her 18th birthday, and we're pretty sure we're too old for this stuff! Happy Birthday you cow!
 |
| Look at my sexy body! |
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| They had malibu back in cavewoman days, didn't they?!?! |
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| Lucky for those caveman bike shorts hey?!?! |
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Recipe: MmmmmMeatzza!!!
So traditional pizza is definitely a favourite of most people, but how to do it primally?!? There are many different options, but so far, we absolutely LOVE Meatzza!! Meatzza, you ask?!?! Yes, that is a meat-based pizza - it's basically a slice of pure carnivore heaven... I've found a few recipes on the various blogs and PB sites I follow, so thought I'd have a go at it myself for footy night...
Ingredients
Meatzza Base
500g beef mince
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1t oregano
1/2 cup almond meal
4 eggs, beaten
Toppings
I used:-
roma tomatoes
salami
mushrooms
red onion
fresh basil & rocket
mozzerella
grated cheese
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a pizza/baking tray with baking paper.
Combine all base ingredients. Get the mixture as smooth as possible. Spoon half out onto the tray and use a rolling pin to roll flat. Make sure the base is quite thin.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until brown (the mixture will shrink a little in the oven).
While the base is baking, cut up all your toppings. When the base is ready, sprinkle grated cheese onto it, then layer the rest of your toppings. I left off the basil and rocket and added that later.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Slice and serve while hot!
Meatzza Base
500g beef mince
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1t oregano
1/2 cup almond meal
4 eggs, beaten
Toppings
I used:-
roma tomatoes
salami
mushrooms
red onion
fresh basil & rocket
mozzerella
grated cheese
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a pizza/baking tray with baking paper.
Combine all base ingredients. Get the mixture as smooth as possible. Spoon half out onto the tray and use a rolling pin to roll flat. Make sure the base is quite thin.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until brown (the mixture will shrink a little in the oven).
While the base is baking, cut up all your toppings. When the base is ready, sprinkle grated cheese onto it, then layer the rest of your toppings. I left off the basil and rocket and added that later.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Slice and serve while hot!
Monday, October 4, 2010
What's the World Wide Web saying this week?
Check out the latest fitness craze! Hula Hooping is certainly something I could get into, though I do suck at the WiiFit version!
Consumer group Choice is warning on the dangers of sunscreen use... Seems there are some nasty additives in many of our popular sunscreens. Yep, slip, slop, slap is not always best!
Tom Naughton at Fat Head presents his tongue-in-cheek modest proposal for dealing with our growing population!
Mmmm, primal nutella! Is there anything better?!?
Melissa McEwen @ Hunt. Gather. Love examines the whether there is any merit in the statement "Healthy at any size?"
As if you needed any more motivation to do that lunchtime workout, there is now evidence that staying active on workdays is good for you!
Soy in formula... Need I say more???
Consumer group Choice is warning on the dangers of sunscreen use... Seems there are some nasty additives in many of our popular sunscreens. Yep, slip, slop, slap is not always best!
Tom Naughton at Fat Head presents his tongue-in-cheek modest proposal for dealing with our growing population!
Mmmm, primal nutella! Is there anything better?!?
Melissa McEwen @ Hunt. Gather. Love examines the whether there is any merit in the statement "Healthy at any size?"
As if you needed any more motivation to do that lunchtime workout, there is now evidence that staying active on workdays is good for you!
Soy in formula... Need I say more???
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Long Weekend...
Whenever a long weekend comes along, it's always easy to let your healthy lifestyle fall by the wayside. I've made a conscious effort this weekend to ensure that, even if I was a bit more relaxed, I still managed to meet most of the 10 Primal Blueprint Laws. Let's see how I went:-
1. Eat lots of animals, insects, and plants
Hmm, well I've definitely covered the animals and plants thing, though not so keen on the insects part! Friday night started with Meatzza, I've had a fruit smoothie, roast chicken and greek salad, and bacon and eggs... (eggs technically count as animal!)
2. Move frequently at a slow pace
I did a low impact cardio circuit at the gym (combo of walking on an incline for 2km, rowing for 2km, and a 5km easy bike ride), did a 30min spin session, and some Wii yoga. I was planning on going for a walk outside, but the weather hasn't permitted :-(
3. Lift heavy things
A weights sessions at the gym is my only claim to this law... Oh, and a 30 minute bodyweight session (lifting my own weight is HEAVY!!!!)
4. Run really fast every once in a while
Haven't covered this one over the weekend. My interval sprint training usually happens at a PT session on either Tuesday or Thursday - it will be Tuesday this week, as we're travelling on Thursday :-)
5. Get lots of sleep
An easy one over the weekend! I am always guilty of sleeping in a bit, but I figure I'm catching up for any sleep lost during the week. Technically we 'lost' an hour of sleep last night, as daylight savings kicked in and our clocks went forward an hour, but we will get that back when daylight savings ends in April!
6. Play
Not really covered this one, and it's really one that I need to work on. This shitty weather doesn't help! I did play my favourite jet-boarding game on the WiiFit - does that count?!?!?!
7. Get adequate sunlight
Hmmm, another tough one, especially in Canberra and this terrible weather! I did take my Vitamin D tablets though :-)
8. Avoid trauma
I have managed to successfully avoid hurting or injuring myself - bonus, as I usually burn/cut myself when cooking!
9. Avoid poisonous things
We had Indian takeaway for dinner last night. I wouldn't say it's entirely poisonous, it was mainly meat, spices, and vegetables (they thought we were weird cos we didn't order rice or naan bread!), but I'm sure there were some ingredients which my body didn't appreciate!
10. Use your mind
I continued reading Gary Taubes "Good Calories, Bad Calories" - it's a very heavy book that you can't read all in one sitting (like I usually do when reading fiction!)... But it's an amazing, eye-opening read!
1. Eat lots of animals, insects, and plants
Hmm, well I've definitely covered the animals and plants thing, though not so keen on the insects part! Friday night started with Meatzza, I've had a fruit smoothie, roast chicken and greek salad, and bacon and eggs... (eggs technically count as animal!)
2. Move frequently at a slow pace
I did a low impact cardio circuit at the gym (combo of walking on an incline for 2km, rowing for 2km, and a 5km easy bike ride), did a 30min spin session, and some Wii yoga. I was planning on going for a walk outside, but the weather hasn't permitted :-(
3. Lift heavy things
A weights sessions at the gym is my only claim to this law... Oh, and a 30 minute bodyweight session (lifting my own weight is HEAVY!!!!)
4. Run really fast every once in a while
Haven't covered this one over the weekend. My interval sprint training usually happens at a PT session on either Tuesday or Thursday - it will be Tuesday this week, as we're travelling on Thursday :-)
5. Get lots of sleep
An easy one over the weekend! I am always guilty of sleeping in a bit, but I figure I'm catching up for any sleep lost during the week. Technically we 'lost' an hour of sleep last night, as daylight savings kicked in and our clocks went forward an hour, but we will get that back when daylight savings ends in April!
6. Play
Not really covered this one, and it's really one that I need to work on. This shitty weather doesn't help! I did play my favourite jet-boarding game on the WiiFit - does that count?!?!?!
7. Get adequate sunlight
Hmmm, another tough one, especially in Canberra and this terrible weather! I did take my Vitamin D tablets though :-)
8. Avoid trauma
I have managed to successfully avoid hurting or injuring myself - bonus, as I usually burn/cut myself when cooking!
9. Avoid poisonous things
We had Indian takeaway for dinner last night. I wouldn't say it's entirely poisonous, it was mainly meat, spices, and vegetables (they thought we were weird cos we didn't order rice or naan bread!), but I'm sure there were some ingredients which my body didn't appreciate!
10. Use your mind
I continued reading Gary Taubes "Good Calories, Bad Calories" - it's a very heavy book that you can't read all in one sitting (like I usually do when reading fiction!)... But it's an amazing, eye-opening read!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Recipe: Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken
I created this recipe on a whim, as I had some bacon and chicken thighs that needed using! It is so quick, easy and tasty that it has become a regular on our menu... The combination of spinach and feta has always been a favourite of mine, and although I used frozen spinach in my recipe, you could use fresh wilted spinach as well. Seriously, this dish doesn't need any seasoning because it's all in the ingredients - enjoy!
Ingredients
4 x chicken thighs (you could use breasts, but thighs are more fatty and juicy!)
4 x middle bacon rashers
1/2 cup frozen spinach
1/2 cup full-fat feta
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Microwave spinach until thawed and warm (be careful not to cook it too long or it will dry out). Mix the feta into the spinach and stir until well combined.
Lay the bacon rashers side by side on a baking tray. Place the chicken thighs on top of the bacon.
Spoon the spinach and feta mixture into each chicken thigh. Carefully close the thighs around the mixture. Fold each side of the bacon rasher over the thighs so that they are wrapped together tightly.
Place in oven and bake for approx 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through. I recommend turning halfway through to make the bacon crisp up nicely.
Serve topped with sliced avocado and sweet potato wedges with a garden salad (just a suggestion, but it works wonderfully!)
Ingredients
4 x chicken thighs (you could use breasts, but thighs are more fatty and juicy!)
4 x middle bacon rashers
1/2 cup frozen spinach
1/2 cup full-fat feta
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Microwave spinach until thawed and warm (be careful not to cook it too long or it will dry out). Mix the feta into the spinach and stir until well combined.
Lay the bacon rashers side by side on a baking tray. Place the chicken thighs on top of the bacon.
Spoon the spinach and feta mixture into each chicken thigh. Carefully close the thighs around the mixture. Fold each side of the bacon rasher over the thighs so that they are wrapped together tightly.
Place in oven and bake for approx 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through. I recommend turning halfway through to make the bacon crisp up nicely.
Serve topped with sliced avocado and sweet potato wedges with a garden salad (just a suggestion, but it works wonderfully!)
Monday, September 27, 2010
What's the World Wide Web saying this week?
We already know it, but now the mainstream media is catching on - reading food labels is better for weight loss than exercise! After all, 80% of body composition, and therefore weight loss, is your diet!
The blog of Dr Michael Eades is one of the best on the net, and his article about the the pitiful state of medical ignorance is one of best articles I've read! Ask yourself, when was the last time you went to the doctor because you were sick and he/she asked about your diet rather than just prescribing you pills?!? It's time we ask more of the medial profession and question why doctors don't know anything except how to prescribe you a pill for your symptoms!
If you're like me, Chicken Cordon Bleu is a favourite, but how to do it without grains?!? This amazing recipe at Joyful Abode uses ground pork rinds for the coating - OMG! Pork + chicken + swiss cheese!!!
I was excited to read this article about saturated fat in Mens Health! For such a mainstream magazine, it's great that we are slowly getting more information about the benefits of eating fat and the dangers of eating sugar!
Could weight loss really be more of an issue of mind over matter?
This health in a nutshell article highlights the benefits of eating nuts... I don't really need an article to tell me that eating nuts is good for me, but it's nice to have some scientific studies backing me up!
As you know, I'm really interested in children's behaviour in relation to the food that they eat. Emily Deans, MD, at Evolutionary Psychiatry wonders if we could begin to see ADHD like a food allergy in certain children?!?! This is an exciting step in the approach we take towards treating children with ADHD symptoms - and hopefully minimising the need for those children to take drugs to control their behaviour.
The blog of Dr Michael Eades is one of the best on the net, and his article about the the pitiful state of medical ignorance is one of best articles I've read! Ask yourself, when was the last time you went to the doctor because you were sick and he/she asked about your diet rather than just prescribing you pills?!? It's time we ask more of the medial profession and question why doctors don't know anything except how to prescribe you a pill for your symptoms!
If you're like me, Chicken Cordon Bleu is a favourite, but how to do it without grains?!? This amazing recipe at Joyful Abode uses ground pork rinds for the coating - OMG! Pork + chicken + swiss cheese!!!
I was excited to read this article about saturated fat in Mens Health! For such a mainstream magazine, it's great that we are slowly getting more information about the benefits of eating fat and the dangers of eating sugar!
Could weight loss really be more of an issue of mind over matter?
This health in a nutshell article highlights the benefits of eating nuts... I don't really need an article to tell me that eating nuts is good for me, but it's nice to have some scientific studies backing me up!
As you know, I'm really interested in children's behaviour in relation to the food that they eat. Emily Deans, MD, at Evolutionary Psychiatry wonders if we could begin to see ADHD like a food allergy in certain children?!?! This is an exciting step in the approach we take towards treating children with ADHD symptoms - and hopefully minimising the need for those children to take drugs to control their behaviour.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Friday Fury!!!
I was furious when I read this article about the Corn Refiners Association applying to change the name of its extremely unsavoury product, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It’s another example of blatant disregard for the health of the human population and of the greed of the big companies who will stop at nothing to increase their profits.
HFCS is an absolutely terrible addition to any diet. As Mark says, “while there are slightly more terrible liquids out there – liter fluid for example – it’s really a shame that the ‘foods’ available to us are so commonly laced with HFCS.” The coincidence that the rise in obesity over the past 30 or so years parallels the addition of HFCS in many of our foods has not gone unnoticed by many in the health industry. Mark has a link to a graph which displays this beautifully:-
For some science on the dangers of HFCS, check out this Princeton study. And, as if concerns about obesity weren’t enough, further studies have linked consumption of HFCS to liver disease and decreased kidney function. If you have a spare hour and are still not convinced, you might also like to watch Dr Robert Lustig’s video, "Sugar: The Bitter Truth".
Seriously, this is one area where ALL health experts agree. But now, because the health industry, and consequently the general public, is waking up to the true dangers of consuming HFCS, the Corn Refiners Association is trying to get around that by simply changing the name of its product. They’re not changing the actual product, and it will therefore be just as bad for you as before, but I guess they’re hoping if it is instead called “Corn Sugar” consumers might be tricked into thinking it is just like normal sugar.
Don’t get me wrong, you know by now that sugar consumption should be kept to a bare minimum. But if you want some of the sweet stuff, and fruit won’t satisfy your cravings, honey or maple syrup should be your first choices. And only in small doses. My go-to is 85% dark chocolate and a square is all I need!
If anything, this development should make us all aware. Not just of the risks of consuming HFCS, but of the lengths that all major food companies will go to in the name of profit margins. They simply do not care about our health. The $$$$ are their driving motivation. I encourage you to make informed choices and to not fall for their propaganda!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
A day in my life
Today was a good day! I feel really positive about both my eating and exercise today, so thought I would share it with you... I've been a little bit run down this week, and added to the stress of my job interview last week, it has culminated in a cold sore, so have been trying to really focus on clean eating and staying really healthy. I must say though, these Compeed patches are the best treatment I've ever used for cold sores, so if you haven't discovered them yet, and you're an unfortunate sufferer of cold sores like me, you must try them out!
Here's my day...
I woke this morning and had my lemon & water drink with 2 lysine tablets (a must when you have a cold sore outbreak).
Breakfast consisted of 1 soft boiled egg and a smoothie (banana, strawberry, pecan, greek yoghurt & coconut milk). I also took my daily vitamins, Blue Ice Royal (Cod Liver Oil+Butter Oil) and Ferro-Grad (Iron+Vit C).
I had a handful of macadamias at about 11.30am... I find it so hard to just stop at a handful of macadamias, but practising self-control is a really important component of the Primal Blueprint! Because all of the food you eat is SO tasty, you really need to be conscious of how much you're eating, otherwise it's very easy to eat a whole packet of something (in my case, macadamias) in one sitting!
Today was a rare day that I didn't have a packed lunch, so I bought a 1/4 free range chicken, 1 avocado, and a pre-mixed greek salad to eat. Not the most amazing primal lunch, but definitely a reasonable compromise. I've really been focusing on increasing my fat intake lately, so have been adding avocado to many of my salads. I have to say, it's definitely a favourite of mine!
Due to a late lunch (2:00pm) and having personal training at 5:30pm, I didn't eat anything this afternoon. That meant I was really pumped for my personal training session.
And boy, did my trainer work me hard! A brief warm up walking on an incline on the treadmill and then into the weights room for a great, but full-on, workout. Here's a run down of what I did:-
3 sets of:-
15 x squat to press
15 x bent over rows
15 x bicycle crunches
*rest*
3 sets of:-
15 x upright rows
10 x burpees
15 x push ups
*rest*
3 sets of:-
15 x bicep curls
10 x jumping jacks
30 second plank
*rest*
3 sets of:-
10 x medicine ball squats
100 x skips
10 x O-leg crunches
Let me say I was completely buggered by the end of this! And my trainer let me cheat on the last set by only doing 50 skips... I think I earnt it but! Seriously, skipping is not one of my favourite exercises, simply because I always feel un-co doing it and generally can't do 100 skips straight through without at least one trip up. Can someone out there invent a machine that replicates the skipping action, without actually having to jump over a rope ;-p
Tonight's dinner consisted of lamb cutlets and garlic with mashed pumpkin, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, and dutch carrots. And for dessert I treated myself to a cuppa and a fruit & nut bar (home made of course)!
So, today was definitely a great day! How was yours?
Here's my day...
I woke this morning and had my lemon & water drink with 2 lysine tablets (a must when you have a cold sore outbreak).
Breakfast consisted of 1 soft boiled egg and a smoothie (banana, strawberry, pecan, greek yoghurt & coconut milk). I also took my daily vitamins, Blue Ice Royal (Cod Liver Oil+Butter Oil) and Ferro-Grad (Iron+Vit C).
I had a handful of macadamias at about 11.30am... I find it so hard to just stop at a handful of macadamias, but practising self-control is a really important component of the Primal Blueprint! Because all of the food you eat is SO tasty, you really need to be conscious of how much you're eating, otherwise it's very easy to eat a whole packet of something (in my case, macadamias) in one sitting!
Today was a rare day that I didn't have a packed lunch, so I bought a 1/4 free range chicken, 1 avocado, and a pre-mixed greek salad to eat. Not the most amazing primal lunch, but definitely a reasonable compromise. I've really been focusing on increasing my fat intake lately, so have been adding avocado to many of my salads. I have to say, it's definitely a favourite of mine!
Due to a late lunch (2:00pm) and having personal training at 5:30pm, I didn't eat anything this afternoon. That meant I was really pumped for my personal training session.
3 sets of:-
15 x squat to press
15 x bent over rows
15 x bicycle crunches
*rest*
3 sets of:-
15 x upright rows
10 x burpees
15 x push ups
*rest*
3 sets of:-
15 x bicep curls
10 x jumping jacks
30 second plank
*rest*
3 sets of:-
10 x medicine ball squats
100 x skips
10 x O-leg crunches
Let me say I was completely buggered by the end of this! And my trainer let me cheat on the last set by only doing 50 skips... I think I earnt it but! Seriously, skipping is not one of my favourite exercises, simply because I always feel un-co doing it and generally can't do 100 skips straight through without at least one trip up. Can someone out there invent a machine that replicates the skipping action, without actually having to jump over a rope ;-p
Tonight's dinner consisted of lamb cutlets and garlic with mashed pumpkin, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, and dutch carrots. And for dessert I treated myself to a cuppa and a fruit & nut bar (home made of course)!
So, today was definitely a great day! How was yours?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Recipe: Meatballs in tomato & basil sauce with asparagus parcels
I love meatballs and especially remember both of my grandmothers' rissole recipes quite fondly. However, I know that they use breadcrumbs in their recipes, so I set out to create my own! I used their ideas as a basis and then experimented and they turned out so well that my husband requests them regularly.
Ingredients
Meatballs
500g mince (beef or lamb)
250g prosciutto, diced
1 sml onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 t oregano
1/2 t chill powder
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs, whisked
sprinkle salt & pepper
Tomato & Basil Sauce
3 x truss tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup roma/cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 T fresh basil, finely sliced
1/2 cup red wine
Asparagus Parcels
10 x fresh asparagus
2 x cherry tomatoes, halved
2 x slices prosciutto
parmesan cheese
Method
Mix all meatball ingredients apart from eggs until well combined. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the eggs. Mix together. With lightly oiled hands, roll meatballs into desired size.
Bunch 5 asparagus together and rest on slice of prosciutto. Place halved cherry tomato on top and a shaving of parmesan cheese. Wrap the ends of the prosciutto around the asparagus to form a parcel. Put on a baking tray and into oven for 10minutes at 180 degrees.
Heat a frying pan (add oil if desired, we use coconut oil) and once hot, add the meatballs. Fry 5-7 minutes until browned and then flip onto opposite side for another 5-7 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a baking tray and add to the oven with the asparagus (this will ensure any that haven't quite cooked through will fully cook).
In the same frying pan, add all of the tomato sauce ingredients except the wine. When mixed thoroughly, add the wine, stirring well. Bring to the boil and then simmer, ready to serve over the meatballs.
Serve with wilted spinach and some more parmesan!
Ingredients
Meatballs
500g mince (beef or lamb)
250g prosciutto, diced
1 sml onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 t oregano
1/2 t chill powder
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs, whisked
sprinkle salt & pepper
Tomato & Basil Sauce
3 x truss tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup roma/cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 T fresh basil, finely sliced
1/2 cup red wine
Asparagus Parcels
10 x fresh asparagus
2 x cherry tomatoes, halved
2 x slices prosciutto
parmesan cheese
Method
Mix all meatball ingredients apart from eggs until well combined. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the eggs. Mix together. With lightly oiled hands, roll meatballs into desired size.
Bunch 5 asparagus together and rest on slice of prosciutto. Place halved cherry tomato on top and a shaving of parmesan cheese. Wrap the ends of the prosciutto around the asparagus to form a parcel. Put on a baking tray and into oven for 10minutes at 180 degrees.
Heat a frying pan (add oil if desired, we use coconut oil) and once hot, add the meatballs. Fry 5-7 minutes until browned and then flip onto opposite side for another 5-7 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a baking tray and add to the oven with the asparagus (this will ensure any that haven't quite cooked through will fully cook).
In the same frying pan, add all of the tomato sauce ingredients except the wine. When mixed thoroughly, add the wine, stirring well. Bring to the boil and then simmer, ready to serve over the meatballs.
Serve with wilted spinach and some more parmesan!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Primal Plan
Whenever someone has asked me about Primal Blueprint lately, they've always followed up with a "What's the eating plan like?" question. I'm sorry to break it to you, but there isn't one! And that is the real beauty of the Primal Blueprint - it can be tailored exactly to suit your goals and taste buds ;-p How many times have you read over a diet plan which gives you a daily eating schedule and thought, "I could never do that because I don't like eating (fill in the gap here)"... That issue is eliminated when following the Primal Blueprint because you can choose to eat what you like from the allowed foods list! If you're still unsure about the allowed foods, here's a run down:-
Eat:-
- vegetables;
- meat;
- fish;
- poultry;
- nuts & seeds;
- fruit;
- FAT!
Avoid:-
- grains;
- trans-fats;
- anything with an ingredients list ;-p
We also allow dairy in our eating plan. Mark recommends cutting it out if you know you have issues digesting it, but we, thankfully, seem to handle it well. Again with dairy, full fat is the only way to go, raw is even better but difficult to obtain (low fat means it's been heavily processed - and seriously, how much better does full fat cheese, milk, yoghurt taste!)... But, as another example of making the eating plan work for you, if you don't feel 100% when eating it, don't!
Of course, people are still curious about what we eat during a day/week and so I thought I'd give you a look at our plan for the week...
As you can see, we are eating quite well on this 'diet'. I do this plan up on a Friday before our weekly shop and it always works well. And just so you know, we plan to eat this way for the rest of our lives, focussing on the freshest fruit and vegetables, and best sources of meat (grass fed should be your aim). We have been eating like this for the past 2 months and I've lost over 7kg! And I've never felt like I'm missing out! To help you even more, over the coming weeks I'll post recipes for some of our favourite meals so you can try them out too (check out Salmon in Creamy Dill Sauce to get you started).
One thing you will notice is that there are no morning or afternoon snacks in there. Honestly, we've found that you don't need them when eating this way. Particularly after a breakfast filled with eggs and lots of fat, we stay full until lunch time. If we do feel the need to snack, our choices are nuts or fruit. Also, if we're feeling like we need something after dinner, we allow ourselves a square of dark (85%) chocolate with a cup of tea. Mark covers sensible vices quite nicely and dark chocolate definitely makes our list! Warning though, if you've never had 85% dark before, I recommend working up to it by starting at 70%... Initially, to our 'sweet tooth' 85% dark chocolate was quite bitter, but now after having cut out all sweet things, it tastes like pure gold to us! Apparently they can get 99% stuff in the States, so one day we might give that a go. I'll do a proper dark chocolate post at a later date.
So there you have it. I challenge anyone to claim that we are missing out on vital nutrition eating this way... Unlike many other diets, we don't feel restricted in our eating choices, and definitely feel FULL after eating every meal. We have more energy than ever before and that helps us when we're flexing our muscles at the gym. The variety in our food is amazing and we've discovered a love for many new vegetables (which, if we were told that we MUST eat for a diet plan we would probably dislike, but because we get to choose to eat them, we love them!).
Eat:-
- vegetables;
- meat;
- fish;
- poultry;
- nuts & seeds;
- fruit;
- FAT!
Avoid:-
- grains;
- trans-fats;
- anything with an ingredients list ;-p
We also allow dairy in our eating plan. Mark recommends cutting it out if you know you have issues digesting it, but we, thankfully, seem to handle it well. Again with dairy, full fat is the only way to go, raw is even better but difficult to obtain (low fat means it's been heavily processed - and seriously, how much better does full fat cheese, milk, yoghurt taste!)... But, as another example of making the eating plan work for you, if you don't feel 100% when eating it, don't!
Of course, people are still curious about what we eat during a day/week and so I thought I'd give you a look at our plan for the week...
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
1 x soft boiled egg Smoothie with hazelnut, banana, strawberries & greek yoghurt | Bacon & eggs with tomato, spinach & mushroom sautéed in garlic | Intermittent Fasting | 1 x soft boiled egg Smoothie with hazelnut, banana, strawberries & greek yoghurt | Sausages with tomato, spinach & fetta frittata |
Left over roast chicken and vegies | Fish cakes with BAS (big ass salad) | Grilled lamb, pumpkin & fetta greek salad | BAS with ham and avocado | Thai Lettuce wraps with roasted cashews |
Salmon in creamy dill sauce with steamed vegies | Greek lamb cutlets with sautéed mediterranean vegetables | Beef ribs in blueberry sauce with roast sweet potato & spinach | Thai Lettuce wraps with roasted cashews | Cheat Meal (Katie travelling) |
One thing you will notice is that there are no morning or afternoon snacks in there. Honestly, we've found that you don't need them when eating this way. Particularly after a breakfast filled with eggs and lots of fat, we stay full until lunch time. If we do feel the need to snack, our choices are nuts or fruit. Also, if we're feeling like we need something after dinner, we allow ourselves a square of dark (85%) chocolate with a cup of tea. Mark covers sensible vices quite nicely and dark chocolate definitely makes our list! Warning though, if you've never had 85% dark before, I recommend working up to it by starting at 70%... Initially, to our 'sweet tooth' 85% dark chocolate was quite bitter, but now after having cut out all sweet things, it tastes like pure gold to us! Apparently they can get 99% stuff in the States, so one day we might give that a go. I'll do a proper dark chocolate post at a later date.
So there you have it. I challenge anyone to claim that we are missing out on vital nutrition eating this way... Unlike many other diets, we don't feel restricted in our eating choices, and definitely feel FULL after eating every meal. We have more energy than ever before and that helps us when we're flexing our muscles at the gym. The variety in our food is amazing and we've discovered a love for many new vegetables (which, if we were told that we MUST eat for a diet plan we would probably dislike, but because we get to choose to eat them, we love them!).
Sunday, September 19, 2010
What's the World Wide Web saying this week?
Dr Jonny Bowden shares an article explaining another reason why Omega 3s are crucial for good health. So take your fish oil daily!
Over at Zen Habits, Chris Guillebeau urges you to make your own choices in life. Remember what it was like as a kid?!?!?
A quality gluten free beer?!?! Yes, please! Robb Wolf has done the ground work for all you beer lovers (me included!)
Chris Masterjohn at the Daily Lipid writes an amazing critique of the latest poorly executed study linking a high meat diet to heart disease.
As if there was any further need to convey the dangers of drinking diet soft drink, Dr Mercola examines the side effects of aspartame.
Everyone needs to eat more superfoods! We all know the usual superfoods, but give these ones a try :-)
I've always been wary of the plethora of vaccines we are giving to young children (even babies!) Imagine if protecting against influenza was as simple as providing them with enough Vitamin D...
Over at Zen Habits, Chris Guillebeau urges you to make your own choices in life. Remember what it was like as a kid?!?!?
A quality gluten free beer?!?! Yes, please! Robb Wolf has done the ground work for all you beer lovers (me included!)
Chris Masterjohn at the Daily Lipid writes an amazing critique of the latest poorly executed study linking a high meat diet to heart disease.
As if there was any further need to convey the dangers of drinking diet soft drink, Dr Mercola examines the side effects of aspartame.
Everyone needs to eat more superfoods! We all know the usual superfoods, but give these ones a try :-)
I've always been wary of the plethora of vaccines we are giving to young children (even babies!) Imagine if protecting against influenza was as simple as providing them with enough Vitamin D...
Friday, September 17, 2010
Friday Fury!!!
I wasn't going to do a post today as I've been flat out travelling and doing job interviews... But I couldn't help share my story as it fits perfectly with Friday Fury sentiment! It will be a short, but to the point post :-)
I was sitting next to a 'large' man on my flight home this afternoon. When I say 'large' I looked like a stick figure next to him, so you get the idea ;-p He was friendly enough, though had no idea his BO was so offensive (I was thankful at this moment for an exit row seat!)... My issue came when they served our afternoon snack.
I was offered a cookie, which I turned down, and an apple, which I accepted. My neighbour declined the food but asked for a "Coke Zero"...
He then said to me "Trying to be healthy hey?" I'm guessing he was trying to get a rise out of me, but I wasn't in the mood so I just smiled and nodded.
"You know that the apple probably has as much sugar as the cookie don't you?" he sniggered as he sipped on his drink of pure poison!
SAY WHAT?!?!
I was actually stunned. Lost for words... Well no, actually, I wasn't lost for words... There were plenty of things I would have liked to say, but I just didn't have the headspace for it! Did this man actually believe he was taking the healthy option by choosing a coke zero over an apple?!?
Yes, yes he did.
I just mumbled something about the apple having beneficial vitamins and minerals in it, but I think he was too distracted, basking in the glow of thinking he had just given me a lesson in eating!
I could now pull so much information and find studies to show the benefits of eating an apple. I could also find lots of scary facts about the additives they make Coke Zero out of. But I'm hoping that since you're reading this blog, you're educated enough to know that if faced with the decision of an apple or a cookie, you understand that the apple is the MUCH healthier option. After all, it is REAL food, the cookie is not. Out of those 3 options though, even worse than the cookie is the Coke Zero!
So, as Peter Griffin would say...
"And that's what really grinds my gears"
Have a good evening!
I was sitting next to a 'large' man on my flight home this afternoon. When I say 'large' I looked like a stick figure next to him, so you get the idea ;-p He was friendly enough, though had no idea his BO was so offensive (I was thankful at this moment for an exit row seat!)... My issue came when they served our afternoon snack.
I was offered a cookie, which I turned down, and an apple, which I accepted. My neighbour declined the food but asked for a "Coke Zero"...
He then said to me "Trying to be healthy hey?" I'm guessing he was trying to get a rise out of me, but I wasn't in the mood so I just smiled and nodded.
"You know that the apple probably has as much sugar as the cookie don't you?" he sniggered as he sipped on his drink of pure poison!
SAY WHAT?!?!
I was actually stunned. Lost for words... Well no, actually, I wasn't lost for words... There were plenty of things I would have liked to say, but I just didn't have the headspace for it! Did this man actually believe he was taking the healthy option by choosing a coke zero over an apple?!?
Yes, yes he did.
I just mumbled something about the apple having beneficial vitamins and minerals in it, but I think he was too distracted, basking in the glow of thinking he had just given me a lesson in eating!
I could now pull so much information and find studies to show the benefits of eating an apple. I could also find lots of scary facts about the additives they make Coke Zero out of. But I'm hoping that since you're reading this blog, you're educated enough to know that if faced with the decision of an apple or a cookie, you understand that the apple is the MUCH healthier option. After all, it is REAL food, the cookie is not. Out of those 3 options though, even worse than the cookie is the Coke Zero!
So, as Peter Griffin would say...
"And that's what really grinds my gears"
Have a good evening!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Conventional "Wisdom" Part 1
1. Eating fat will make you fat...
This one has so many things wrong with it, it's difficult to know where to start. Just understanding that weight gain (and loss) is a hormonal event and that our body's preferred fuel is fat is a stretch! Get to know your fats and avoid the trans-fats which are terrible for you and your body will thank you for it.
2. Chronic Cardio is the best way to lose weight...
Another biggy and not one that I have touched on in depth yet. A combo of strength (heavy weight lifting) and interval training as well as low impact cardio (eg walking, swimming) will lead to bigger weight loss than hitting the treadmill every day for an hour. Try it, I dare you!
3. Grains should be the staple of our diet. Wrong! Oh, but the food pyramid says I should eat 6-11 serves of them per DAY. Totally crazy!
Learn the Real Truth about grains because it's scary... and not just for people who have celiacs disease. Cut out grains for a month, a week even, and notice the difference.
4. If it's low fat, it's healthy for me and I can eat as much of it as I want!
This one kind of relates to no. 1 but I think it deserves it's own post. Eating low fat but high sugar is much, much, much worse for you than eating full fat, real food. And the proliferation of low fat, no fat, "skinny" options available to us now are doing so much damage to our bodies. Wake up! Have full fat milk or cream in your coffee and don't feel guilty!
5. Be careful in the sun - never go outside in the heat of the day without sunscreen or appropriate covering.
I bet you didn't know that Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to many serious diseases, including cancer. The idea that we're overdosing on the 'sun safe' campaigns is gaining credibility as more studies come out proving that we actually need vitamin d for optimal health. The recommendation is to get at least 15 minutes of sun, unprotected, per day.
These are just some of the myths I will bring you over the coming months... I'm not telling you that you have to believe anything I say, but maybe just think about it and do your own research - you might be surprised!
Final thought - have you ever heard anyone say "I've stopped drinking soft drink, I only drink Diet Coke now, it's much healthier"!!! Consider the logic of this ;-p
Monday, September 13, 2010
Recipe: Salmon in Creamy Dill Sauce
This has become our staple Monday night meal. We buy our salmon fresh from the markets and so need to use it within a couple of days... The creamy dill sauce perfectly complements the salmon and goes well with any type of vegies you care to serve it with. Salmon is an excellent source of healthy Omega 3s, and though a little on the expensive side, is worth it if you can afford it!
Salmon in Creamy Dill Sauce (serves 2)
2 x salmon fillets (skin on!)
1t coconut oil
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup white wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1T chopped dill (if you can't get fresh dill, the dried stuff is just as good)
Preheat oven to 180 degreesC.
Melt the coconut oil in a pan.
When hot, add the salmon fillets (flesh side down) and brown for approx 5mins.
Flip and brown skin side for another 5mins.
Remove from pan and place on baking tray in hot oven (skin side down).
Add cream and wine to pan. Turn heat down so it doesn't boil too rapidly.
Add in garlic and dill and slowly stir.
Cook until sauce thickens.
Serve over salmon fillets with a side of mixed steamed vegies and sliced lemon.
If you have it, avocado is an excellent addition!
Enjoy!
Salmon in Creamy Dill Sauce (serves 2)
2 x salmon fillets (skin on!)
1t coconut oil
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup white wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1T chopped dill (if you can't get fresh dill, the dried stuff is just as good)
Preheat oven to 180 degreesC.
Melt the coconut oil in a pan.
When hot, add the salmon fillets (flesh side down) and brown for approx 5mins.
Flip and brown skin side for another 5mins.
Remove from pan and place on baking tray in hot oven (skin side down).
Add cream and wine to pan. Turn heat down so it doesn't boil too rapidly.
Add in garlic and dill and slowly stir.
Cook until sauce thickens.
Serve over salmon fillets with a side of mixed steamed vegies and sliced lemon.
If you have it, avocado is an excellent addition!
Enjoy!
First Week of Primal Challenge
So one week down in the Primal Blueprint 30 Day Challenge and honestly, it really hasn't felt like a challenge at all! The food we eat on this eating plan is absoultely mouth watering and we never feel like we are missing out... We're also really enjoying our exercise, having increased our strength training and limiting ourselves to one high intensity sprint session per week.
Take at look at how our first week panned out:-
Monday
B'Fast = Walnut, Banana, Strawberry & Blackberry Smoothie with Full Fat Greek Yoghurt & Coconut Milk
M'Tea = Cup of tea with Full Fat Milk
Lunch = Roast Pork and waldorf salad with apples (no dressing)
A'Tea = 1 x corella pear
Dinner = Salmon Fillet in creamy dill sauce with mixed steamed vegies (Recipe coming)
AM Workout = 30min body weights & stretching
Lunch Workout = 30min walk around park
PM Workout = 30min Yoga on Wii Fit
Tuesday
B'Fast = 3 egg omelette with mushroom, tomato, & spinach and 2 chicken sausages
Lunch = Ham & Avocado BAS (Big Ass Salad)
Dinner = Grilled lamb steaks with baked pumpkin and mixed vegies
Lunch Workout = 30min walk down to the lake
PM Workout = 1hr PT session (sprints & abs)
Wednesday
A day of travelling for work still meant No Excuses!
AM = Fasting
Lunch = Mix of caeser (no croutons) and greek salad, filling from 1 mini quiche, assortment of sliced fruit
A'Tea = Handful of nuts and cup of tea
Dinner = Moussaka with greek salad (Recipe coming)
No Workout today :-(
Thursday
B'Fast = Hazelnut, Banana, Blueberry & Strawberry Smoothie with Greek Yoghurt & Coconut Milk
M'Tea = Cup of tea
Lunch = Left over moussaka
A'Tea = 1 x apple
Dinner = Chicken Parcels (Recipe coming) with sweet potato chips and mixed salad
AM Workout = 30min bodyweight & stretching
Lunch Workout = 30min walk around city
PM Workout = 1hr PT (circuit)
Friday
B'Fast = Scrambled eggs with bacon, tomato, spinach & feta
Lunch = Grilled barramundi with chips & vegies (eating out reasonable option)
Dinner = Zucchini base pizzas topped with proscuitto, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, bocconcini, rocket and basil
No Workout today
Saturday
B'Fast = Bacon, eggs, mushrooms & tomato
Lunch = Almond, Banana & Strawberry Smoothie
Dinner = Roast pork with apple and roast vegies
Dessert = Walnut self-saucing pudding & ice cream (a cheat meal as we had guests over!)
No Workout today but put in 2hrs of housework which I figured counted for something :-p
Sunday
B'Fast = 3 egg omelette with bacon, tomato, mushroom, & spinach
Lunch = Roast chicken with mixed vegies and tabouli
Dinner = Beef & pumpkin casserole
Dessert = Pear slices
Overall, eating this week was good! Our workout schedule could have improved, so that will be our goal this week. We do always get in 35-40mins walking daily by walking to and from work, so I know that if I miss my workout, it's not the end of the world!
Take at look at how our first week panned out:-
Monday
B'Fast = Walnut, Banana, Strawberry & Blackberry Smoothie with Full Fat Greek Yoghurt & Coconut Milk
M'Tea = Cup of tea with Full Fat Milk
Lunch = Roast Pork and waldorf salad with apples (no dressing)
A'Tea = 1 x corella pear
Dinner = Salmon Fillet in creamy dill sauce with mixed steamed vegies (Recipe coming)
AM Workout = 30min body weights & stretching
Lunch Workout = 30min walk around park
PM Workout = 30min Yoga on Wii Fit
Tuesday
B'Fast = 3 egg omelette with mushroom, tomato, & spinach and 2 chicken sausages
Lunch = Ham & Avocado BAS (Big Ass Salad)
Dinner = Grilled lamb steaks with baked pumpkin and mixed vegies
Lunch Workout = 30min walk down to the lake
PM Workout = 1hr PT session (sprints & abs)
Wednesday
A day of travelling for work still meant No Excuses!
AM = Fasting
Lunch = Mix of caeser (no croutons) and greek salad, filling from 1 mini quiche, assortment of sliced fruit
A'Tea = Handful of nuts and cup of tea
Dinner = Moussaka with greek salad (Recipe coming)
No Workout today :-(
Thursday
B'Fast = Hazelnut, Banana, Blueberry & Strawberry Smoothie with Greek Yoghurt & Coconut Milk
M'Tea = Cup of tea
Lunch = Left over moussaka
A'Tea = 1 x apple
Dinner = Chicken Parcels (Recipe coming) with sweet potato chips and mixed salad
AM Workout = 30min bodyweight & stretching
Lunch Workout = 30min walk around city
PM Workout = 1hr PT (circuit)
Friday
B'Fast = Scrambled eggs with bacon, tomato, spinach & feta
Lunch = Grilled barramundi with chips & vegies (eating out reasonable option)
Dinner = Zucchini base pizzas topped with proscuitto, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, bocconcini, rocket and basil
No Workout today
Saturday
B'Fast = Bacon, eggs, mushrooms & tomato
Lunch = Almond, Banana & Strawberry Smoothie
Dinner = Roast pork with apple and roast vegies
Dessert = Walnut self-saucing pudding & ice cream (a cheat meal as we had guests over!)
No Workout today but put in 2hrs of housework which I figured counted for something :-p
Sunday
B'Fast = 3 egg omelette with bacon, tomato, mushroom, & spinach
Lunch = Roast chicken with mixed vegies and tabouli
Dinner = Beef & pumpkin casserole
Dessert = Pear slices
Overall, eating this week was good! Our workout schedule could have improved, so that will be our goal this week. We do always get in 35-40mins walking daily by walking to and from work, so I know that if I miss my workout, it's not the end of the world!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Friday Fury!!!
I hope that today’s Friday Fury will give you food for thought, as it did me when I first starting learning about it. I was astounded because I couldn’t believe how the world has been led down the wrong path for all these years, and how one man’s ‘scientific’ studies could change the entire mindset about the world’s nutrition!
I am talking, of course, about Ancel Keys. Don’t know who he is? He was regarded as the “father of dietary science”. His work has had a major influence on the world’s eating regime since the 1950s. I first became aware of Ancel Keys when reading Gary Taubes book "Good Calories Bad Calories". Taubes is a science writer/journalist who examines every scientific study objectively and debunks many of the myths surrounding current day nutritional recommendations. If you’re up for the challenge (it’s quite heavy and scientific) it is the most amazing read!
I’m going to go off tangent for a moment before I discuss the work of Mr Keys, so bear with me. I’m sure most of you remember doing science experiments at school. I was by no means an A+ student, but there were certain basic elements that stuck with me. One was to do with hypothesising. You wrote a hypothesis that could be tested and then set out to prove or disprove it. Generally, you didn’t go in with a pre-conceived idea of what you wanted the results to be, or there was a risk that your results could be biased and become skewed. I certainly wouldn’t have been given very good marks if I had tipped the results one way or the other. And for his “Seven Countries Study”, Ancel Keys gets an F from me!
Keys set out to track the fat consumption and heart disease levels of various countries throughout the world. His hypothesis was that fat consumption causes heart disease. His results were ‘conclusive’. Seven countries saw their levels of heart disease increase in correspondence with their levels of fat intake. Here’s the original evidence that Keys presented:-
You could possibly still argue that Keys was onto something. But remember, this study was done in the 1950s and since that time we have seen obesity and related diseases go through the roof. We have been religiously following the no/low fat diet and people are getting sicker. More people are dying from heart disease. I don’t need a study to tell me that it is obviously not working. If you need some further convincing, watch Fathead's exaplanation.
The further issue with a study like this is that when specifically testing one element of the diet, every other element is ignored. Another reason for the Fail mark! A basic understanding of a scientific experiment is that you need to control the other variables. Therefore, every country needed to be eating exactly the same amounts of protein and carbohydrates, basically exactly the same diet, apart from the fat intake. That was the only way to really confirm the hypothesis, otherwise there’s just too many variables!
Notice that all of the countries included in Keys “Seven Countries Study” are highly developed, Western nations. How do we know what other factors could have contributed to high heart disease rates? I would hazard a guess that you could produce the same, if not more convincing results, measuring the sugar/refined/processed grains consumption of these countries. It's always amazing how statistics can be twisted to produce whatever result is desired by the author.
And so, the final piece of the puzzle that Keys drew out of this study was that it is saturated fat that is the bad guy. Bring on the Times Magazine front cover, and adulation the world over, and Keys becoming the “it” man. Saturated fat was off the menu. The low-fat, high carbohydrate diet craze was here to stay!
Apologies for the highly scientific post! I’ve tried to make it as easy to understand as possible. I’m just hoping that people can start to question why they eat a low fat diet. Is it because you truly understand the science behind it? Is it simply because you relate to the notion “fat will make you fat”? Or is it because you’ve had it rammed down your throat since birth? I’ve been there! I’ve knowingly consumed countless tubs of low-fat yoghurt, faithfully poured no-fat milk on my morning cereal, and meticulously cut off every piece of visible fat from a piece of meat. But as you know, it didn't work for me! The challenge, therefore, has been to refocus my thinking. To accept that conventional wisdom is wrong. To not feel guilty when I hoe into that beautiful chicken breast with the skin on... And I encourage you to do the same!
Further reading:- Mark talks about saturated fat, and fats in general.
ps – please keep in mind that you need to consider your other dietary choices as well. I have done amazingly well on a higher healthy fats diet because I’ve have abolished my sugar intake and kept my carb intake to fruits and vegetables only. If you simply start eating high fat food but don’t change any other areas of your diet, you will get fat and sick.
I am talking, of course, about Ancel Keys. Don’t know who he is? He was regarded as the “father of dietary science”. His work has had a major influence on the world’s eating regime since the 1950s. I first became aware of Ancel Keys when reading Gary Taubes book "Good Calories Bad Calories". Taubes is a science writer/journalist who examines every scientific study objectively and debunks many of the myths surrounding current day nutritional recommendations. If you’re up for the challenge (it’s quite heavy and scientific) it is the most amazing read!
I’m going to go off tangent for a moment before I discuss the work of Mr Keys, so bear with me. I’m sure most of you remember doing science experiments at school. I was by no means an A+ student, but there were certain basic elements that stuck with me. One was to do with hypothesising. You wrote a hypothesis that could be tested and then set out to prove or disprove it. Generally, you didn’t go in with a pre-conceived idea of what you wanted the results to be, or there was a risk that your results could be biased and become skewed. I certainly wouldn’t have been given very good marks if I had tipped the results one way or the other. And for his “Seven Countries Study”, Ancel Keys gets an F from me!
Keys set out to track the fat consumption and heart disease levels of various countries throughout the world. His hypothesis was that fat consumption causes heart disease. His results were ‘conclusive’. Seven countries saw their levels of heart disease increase in correspondence with their levels of fat intake. Here’s the original evidence that Keys presented:-
From looking at the above graph, it is quite obvious that his hypothesis can be reasonably confirmed. But here is where the issue lies. Keys omitted some important information from his original study. Although named the “Seven Countries Study”, Keys actually had data from twenty two countries! Why then, you ask, isn’t the information for all twenty two countries shown in his evidence? Because that information blasts his hypothesis to pieces! Take a look at the graph which plots the results of ALL countries (courtesy of Hyperlipid):-
A bit different isn’t it?!? No respectable scientist could reasonably infer from these results that his hypothesis was completely confirmed. Sure, there might be a slight correlation, but there is certainly not enough evidence to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. Peter at Hyperlipid has also added in another couple of dots to his graph to plot some countries with traditionally high fat diets (the Masai, the Inuit, the Rendile and the Tokelau), countries that Keys conveniently ignored in his study:-
The further issue with a study like this is that when specifically testing one element of the diet, every other element is ignored. Another reason for the Fail mark! A basic understanding of a scientific experiment is that you need to control the other variables. Therefore, every country needed to be eating exactly the same amounts of protein and carbohydrates, basically exactly the same diet, apart from the fat intake. That was the only way to really confirm the hypothesis, otherwise there’s just too many variables!
Notice that all of the countries included in Keys “Seven Countries Study” are highly developed, Western nations. How do we know what other factors could have contributed to high heart disease rates? I would hazard a guess that you could produce the same, if not more convincing results, measuring the sugar/refined/processed grains consumption of these countries. It's always amazing how statistics can be twisted to produce whatever result is desired by the author.
And so, the final piece of the puzzle that Keys drew out of this study was that it is saturated fat that is the bad guy. Bring on the Times Magazine front cover, and adulation the world over, and Keys becoming the “it” man. Saturated fat was off the menu. The low-fat, high carbohydrate diet craze was here to stay!
Apologies for the highly scientific post! I’ve tried to make it as easy to understand as possible. I’m just hoping that people can start to question why they eat a low fat diet. Is it because you truly understand the science behind it? Is it simply because you relate to the notion “fat will make you fat”? Or is it because you’ve had it rammed down your throat since birth? I’ve been there! I’ve knowingly consumed countless tubs of low-fat yoghurt, faithfully poured no-fat milk on my morning cereal, and meticulously cut off every piece of visible fat from a piece of meat. But as you know, it didn't work for me! The challenge, therefore, has been to refocus my thinking. To accept that conventional wisdom is wrong. To not feel guilty when I hoe into that beautiful chicken breast with the skin on... And I encourage you to do the same!
Further reading:- Mark talks about saturated fat, and fats in general.
ps – please keep in mind that you need to consider your other dietary choices as well. I have done amazingly well on a higher healthy fats diet because I’ve have abolished my sugar intake and kept my carb intake to fruits and vegetables only. If you simply start eating high fat food but don’t change any other areas of your diet, you will get fat and sick.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
No excuses!
I had a day of travelling for work yesterday. Not unusual in my job and it will probably get more prolific now that our Government has FINALLY sorted themselves out! It would have been easy to forget all of the commitments I've made to myself over the past few months, and in particular since the beginning of this week with the PB Challenge, but no doubt I would have regretted it later. So, I really planned my day in my head the night before, ensuring that I was fully prepared to keep on track with my eating.
A 5:00am start pretty much ruled out any exercise for the morning... And as I had already planned my 18 hour fast from Tuesday night dinner to Wednesday lunch, I didn't need to worry about breakfast. (I won't go into fasting now, but will post on it at a later date - here's some reading from Fitness Spotlight if you're really keen!)... I would have my usual water with lemon juice first thing in the morning (seriously, who can stomach food at 5:00am anyway!) and planned on getting a cup of tea at the airport.
My day went reasonably well, but I made some interesting observations. Society really does have a warped view of eating, if the food options I saw throughout the day are any indication! I guess we can blame conventional wisdom, but it takes all of my willpower to bite my tongue.
Waiting in the Qantas Club before my flight, breakfast options were various cereals and toast, and some fruit. We were then offered breakfast on the plane. I politely refused of course, but even if I had been eating, the offerings weren't even remotely Primal. Weet-bix, a blueberry muffin, low-fat yoghurt, and orange juice. Morning tea at the meeting was a selection of "flourless" chocolate tortes - catering for the gluten free diet - and a fruit platter. Lunch was a combination of sandwiches, wraps, and rolls, mini quiche and some more desserty cakes (not gluten free this time). The gluten free option was a greek salad, which I could eat, and there was also a caeser salad, which I ate but avoided the croutons. I also scooped out the filling from a quiche! If the salad wasn't offered, the 'grain-free' choices were slim to none. On the way home, we were offered an afternoon tea on the plane - plum strudel cake.
It should be obvious to you by now how carb-centric all of this food on offer was! If I had eaten everything that had been available to me during the day, I would have been left feeling seriously bloated and heavy. I don't even want to think about what it would have done to my digestive system. The other issue you will see is how laden with sugar that food is. The weet-bix was the only breakfast offering with minimal sugar. The tortes might have been 'flourless' but I'm guessing were still made with copious amounts of added sugar. Sauces on the sandwiches and salads, and more desserts only add to the concern. And on the plane, I saw one guy eat his studel cake with a cup of coffee that he'd added 4 sachets of sugar to!
I really do hope that we eventually wake up to the damage we are doing to our bodies by eating all this sugar and a diet that is predominantly carbohydrates. Although I think people are aware of the dangers of eating too much sugar, society still blames excess fat consumption for our obesity. And as for low-carbohydrate diets, many flawed studies continue to feed people the myth that they are unhealthy for you. Without public awareness of just how much sugar is added to our food, and how our bodies process and use carbohydrates for energy (excess carbohydrates are stored in the body as fat!) many will continue on oblivious, thinking they are doing the right thing because their diets are low in fat. If you consider the menu that was on offer for me, it certainly would have been low in fat and that is enough to give most people the green light to eat away, regardless of the ridiculous ratio of carbs to protein and fat.
I was fairly happy with how my day panned out eating wise. By the time I got home though, I was wrecked, and so didn't get my usual exercise in. Still, I managed to maintain a predominatly primal eating style while away from my safe haven of home and work!
A 5:00am start pretty much ruled out any exercise for the morning... And as I had already planned my 18 hour fast from Tuesday night dinner to Wednesday lunch, I didn't need to worry about breakfast. (I won't go into fasting now, but will post on it at a later date - here's some reading from Fitness Spotlight if you're really keen!)... I would have my usual water with lemon juice first thing in the morning (seriously, who can stomach food at 5:00am anyway!) and planned on getting a cup of tea at the airport.
My day went reasonably well, but I made some interesting observations. Society really does have a warped view of eating, if the food options I saw throughout the day are any indication! I guess we can blame conventional wisdom, but it takes all of my willpower to bite my tongue.
Waiting in the Qantas Club before my flight, breakfast options were various cereals and toast, and some fruit. We were then offered breakfast on the plane. I politely refused of course, but even if I had been eating, the offerings weren't even remotely Primal. Weet-bix, a blueberry muffin, low-fat yoghurt, and orange juice. Morning tea at the meeting was a selection of "flourless" chocolate tortes - catering for the gluten free diet - and a fruit platter. Lunch was a combination of sandwiches, wraps, and rolls, mini quiche and some more desserty cakes (not gluten free this time). The gluten free option was a greek salad, which I could eat, and there was also a caeser salad, which I ate but avoided the croutons. I also scooped out the filling from a quiche! If the salad wasn't offered, the 'grain-free' choices were slim to none. On the way home, we were offered an afternoon tea on the plane - plum strudel cake.
It should be obvious to you by now how carb-centric all of this food on offer was! If I had eaten everything that had been available to me during the day, I would have been left feeling seriously bloated and heavy. I don't even want to think about what it would have done to my digestive system. The other issue you will see is how laden with sugar that food is. The weet-bix was the only breakfast offering with minimal sugar. The tortes might have been 'flourless' but I'm guessing were still made with copious amounts of added sugar. Sauces on the sandwiches and salads, and more desserts only add to the concern. And on the plane, I saw one guy eat his studel cake with a cup of coffee that he'd added 4 sachets of sugar to!
I really do hope that we eventually wake up to the damage we are doing to our bodies by eating all this sugar and a diet that is predominantly carbohydrates. Although I think people are aware of the dangers of eating too much sugar, society still blames excess fat consumption for our obesity. And as for low-carbohydrate diets, many flawed studies continue to feed people the myth that they are unhealthy for you. Without public awareness of just how much sugar is added to our food, and how our bodies process and use carbohydrates for energy (excess carbohydrates are stored in the body as fat!) many will continue on oblivious, thinking they are doing the right thing because their diets are low in fat. If you consider the menu that was on offer for me, it certainly would have been low in fat and that is enough to give most people the green light to eat away, regardless of the ridiculous ratio of carbs to protein and fat.
I was fairly happy with how my day panned out eating wise. By the time I got home though, I was wrecked, and so didn't get my usual exercise in. Still, I managed to maintain a predominatly primal eating style while away from my safe haven of home and work!
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