Category — Eating Habits

Step One: Clean Out!

Clean out all the junk food and unhealthy food items from your fridge and cupboard. Choosing what should stay and what should go is easy. Just start reading the labels of every box, can and package in your home. This is a great method for those of you who need to do things in an all or nothing way. If you are loathe to throw away food, or loathe to give away food, just eat the food you have, and then replace it once you have finished it up.

A good place to start the cleansing is by reading the ingredient labels of the food stuffs on your home and throwing out all processed foods which are high in sugar, high G.I., high in fats, artificial colors and flavors, white refined flour and low, low, low in nutrition.  So, get rid of anything “instant”; instant mashed potato, ramen noodles, cup o’soups, packaged noodles–n-sauce, macaroni and cheese, white flour frozen waffles or pancakes, hamburger helper, canned macaroni/ravioli products, instant rice, instant oatmeal with added sugar, items with artificial flavors or coloring, prepackaged flavored rice and rice and bean products (there are some brands like Near East which are healthier to eat sometimes), most frozen microwavable meals, granola and breakfast bars which contain sugar, corn syrup, artificial flavors, and basically anything containing corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors. (It’s ok to eat instant oatmeal without additives). 

Also throw away white pancake mix, cereals which are high in sugar, artificial color, and preservatives, high fat meats, like bacon, sausage, ground pork, picnic roasts, cured meats. Eating high fat meats in moderation is healthy, but if for example, you can’t only eat bacon on Sunday’s then get rid of it. Prepackaged and fresh deli meats which contain high amounts of sodium, fats, MSG and artificial colors. The better brands are naturally raised and or organic often found fresh at health food stores or packaged at grocery stores, and most but not all of Boars Head products. Smoked meats, canned meats, canned chili (canned fish is OK). Canned vegetables tend to be high in sodium and are very low in nutrition. Some canned items such at crushed or pureed tomato, corn and beans are ok. 

Avoid frozen vegetables with sauces (tend to be high in sodium) and veggies with artificial cheese sauces. If it is hard for you to get fresh veggies, chose frozen veggies instead of canned. Of course fresh veggies are the best choice.

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Over the years patients have asked my professional opinion about liquid diets, (which are usually raw) for rapid weight loss. My answer has always remained the same, “Liquid diets are unhealthy. They are considered to be “questionable diets” or “crash diet” to the health care community. Sure, you will lose some weight. You will also lose muscle because once the body burns off the fat for energy it starts to use the muscles for energy.

Your body uses all the fat and muscle for energy because it is not getting enough energy from your liquid diet to sustain your life functioning’s. And then you start eating solid food again, will gain back the weight, plus some more weight. The muscle mass does not come back as easily, you have to exercise regularly to get it back. Loss of muscle equals weakness of the body. Patients who are already in physical pain due to weakness can worsen the condition. Sure you want rapid weight loss. Who doesn’t want to lose weight quickly? But the loss of health that comes with rapid weight loss it is just plain dangerous.

The following material, excerpted from my book Chinese Medicine & Healthy Weight Management An Evidence-Based Integrated Approach, discusses more details about how and why liquid and raw diets are not recommended by most health care professionals.

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Eating quickly leads to becoming overweight or obese according to a British Medical Journal survey of 3,287 adults. The participants of the survey reported that they ate both fast and until they were full. Compared to slow eaters, the fast eaters were more then three times as likely to be overweight then their slower eating counterparts.

Eating until fully satisfied is important, after all who wants to feel starved? But one of the reasons the fast eaters gain more weight is that they likely eat more than slow eaters. You see, a hormone is released from the gut which sends a message to the brain telling us when we are full. However, that message takes about 20 minutes to reach our brain. So the only other way we can know we are full is when we feel it after over eating, the result of which is literally feeling full and bloated. Slow eaters are eating less food in the same amount of time as the fast eater, and in that time, they will receive the hormonal message to the brain that they are full.

Tips for Slowing Down:

1. Avoid the T.V. A variety of studies show that adults and children who eat in front of the set tend to eat 230 (or more) calories per sitting then people who do not eat in front of the set. Let’s do some math with those numbers to calculate how many pounds you will pack on while multitasking between TV watching and eating. 230 calories times 28 days = 6,440 calories per month = 1.84 pounds per month times 12 months = 22.08 pounds per year. How many meals per day do you eat in front of the TV set, or computer? Now do your own math.
2. Chew slowly. Take your time while eating. Really taste and savor your food. Remember what I wrote above about the time it takes for the satiety hormone to reach the brain. Chewing slowly will give you time. Also, the first step to digestion takes place in the mouth where secretion of the enzyme amylase begins the breakdown of food. Chewing slowly is especially important when eating carbohydrates and tofu. (Aiyana, Juliette, New Years Diet Resolutions, 2006. www.amazinghealing.com) [Read more →]