Are we being myopic?

I'm going to forward the premise that for all of human history until the last ~ 100 years, the presence of some visible body fat was a widely accepted indication of both health and wealth.  And now we elevate for acclaim body shapes that would have (historically) been signifiers of malnourishment.

Don't get me wrong - I understand that there are many robust studies linking high percentages of body fat to increased rates of heart disease and stroke - but there also seems to be ongoing controversy and debate as what the optimal diet is for folks (or even if there is one optimal diet for all folks).

The last three decades of "low fat" diets seems now to have only pushed people to eating other foods with high energy density, such as high sugar and high carbohydrate options.

I know that several of my regular readers will have immediate and strong reactions to this suggestion, but I keep returning to the idea of a diet based on a pre-industrialization supply of foods.  Let me explain:

My theory runs that there is an ideal mix of those three macro-nutrient categories (fats, proteins, and carbs) that in their most "naturally" occurring forms will gives us the best basis for a healthy diet.

Industrialization and science have allowed us efficiently to separate those macro-nutrients into "convenient" and concentrated forms mostly divorced from their original source.  Think of orange juice versus oranges: the amount of fruit sugars a person can consume in a single glass of OJ at breakfast may be equivalent to the juice content of 3 - 4 oranges; had that same person sat down to eat those oranges, the experience of peeling and eating, along with the consumption of the fibrous bits, would likely have limited the overall take of those fruit sugars (also, the fiber consumed would affect the processing of those sugars.)

The same effects appear on the fats side; butter and olive oil and frying oils separate naturally occurring fats from their context, allowing for incredible concentrations at the election of the food prep person.

Proteins seem a little more difficult to separate in this way unless you are willing to drink muscle builder shakes or eat "protein bars", but the idea holds in general that we have attempted to carve out the protein components to dial in to a much more targeted consumption.

It's at this point in the discussion that the "whole foods" folks chime in that their philosophy proceeds from these ideas, that consuming whole and / or minimally processed foods (mostly fruits and veggies) addresses the need for macro-nutrients in context.  And I agree.

But I also wonder sometimes about our modern ability to source any food we want in huge quantities and with relatively little effort.  I think about the current craze for fish proteins and fish oils, and I compare our access at the grocery store to some intense fish diet culture who historically devoted considerable energy resources to finding, catching, cleaning, and cooking those fish.  I think about the pile of avocados at my local grocery, definitely grown and harvested and transported from a great distance, and yet I can take in that concentrated load of healthy fat and fiber in 10 minutes and for an all-in investment of $2-$3.

I'm realizing now that this is going long and rambly...I'll cut it off with a final comment that I want to eat more foods with healthy chunks of naturally occurring fats, proteins, and carbs.

the end of the diet?

However you count it, I've been at this diet plan for at least a month.

Per the 4-Hour Body book, eating only meats, green veggies, and beans for 6 days and then carb-loading for one should result in average weight loss of 1 - 2 pounds per day.  Over the course of the last month (and a few days) I have lost weight, but more or less 5 pounds in total.

And over that same period I found that the diet required (for me, at least) additional lifestyle changes and the introduction of laxative pills and teas to help me along.  Needless to say, I'm disappointed.

Oh, the bread I could have eaten, the beers I could have had...

There has been some discussion outside of this blog as to whether or not I shifted my balance of fat/lean muscle in favor of the latter, and I guess it's possible, but my "measurements" haven't revealed much of a change (another 4-Hour Body promise unfulfilled), and my lovely wife hasn't seemed to notice anything different in my physique.

And I set a specific goal for this week, to lose 5 pounds (from last  Friday's level to today's) and I didn't even come close.  I followed the diet faithfully, and I might have lost 1/2 pound this week.

Where does that leave me?  Frankly, I would like to scuttle the whole thing and just go back to eating what I like.  It's not as though I had an outrageous diet before, by most standards.  We tend to favor whole grains, lean meats, little soda or other sugary treats...

I like to cook interesting meals from whole food ingredients.  I like nuts, and some fruits.  I like avocados, shallots, and mushrooms...argh.

So, if any of you care to vote with your comments in the next 12 - 24 hours: should I continue on with this current diet and see if it somehow "switches on" soon, or ditch and come up with another plan?

**************
Update!  Overnight, I lost another two pounds...it figures, because Friday nights have become the one evening a week I allow myself more than the prescribed 2 glasses of dry, red wine.  Maybe the secret missing ingredient of the diet is really a stiff pour of 4 Roses (thanks for the rec, Scott&Jill!)

update on my quest for lean

This week provided some frustrations (weight gains, each day!) but also some opportunities for insights, into both my diet and my life in general.

If you've been following along with my diet, you know that it calls for eating lots of protein, fiber, and leafy greens for 6 days and then a "carb load" day that is essentially a free-for-all for the carbs I wanted but couldn't eat during the 6 days.  (My carb day is on Saturday, and I CAN'T WAIT)

Well, I have been following the plan like a champ, and I have been experiencing some challenges.

1.  I have been tracking my pounds and inches faithfully, and my inches have not budged (the book suggests I should be dropping inches like Palin drops boneheaded comments).  And my weight?  That deserves its own spot in my outline:

2.  The pattern last week and this week are similar, with a steady rise in pounds coming out of carb day, and continuing into the middle of the week, peaking Wednesday or Thursday and then sliding a bit into the weekend. Last Saturday's morning weigh-in (before the carb-tastrophe began) was my lowest weight I recorded in a VERY long time...but then?  I basically gained it all back, back to my "pre-diet" weight.  Which has led me to this critical insight:

3.  Poop is very important.  4HB doesn't address poop at all.  Reading on a Kindle gives you the ability to search by keywords pretty easily, so I'm pretty sure I didn't miss some critical section on keeping the bowels moving.  The closest the book comes is when it address "gastric emptying" as triage for the carb day...and I can honestly say that I have no problem "going" on carb day.  Carb day is wonderful, even if a bit gross.

Now, I know that several of my readers are well versed in nutrition and exercise and whatnot, and I'm sure that several of you are shaking your heads and saying "what did you think would happen after eating a whole cow's worth of beef in 3 weeks?!"

To which, I respond, "I didn't really know."

no particular reason, just wanted to share.  Cheese, Gromit!

I guess if I had thought about it more, but here's the rub:  as previously mentioned, I'm eating TONS more fiber and healthy greens than ever before in my life, and I would have also thought that these would keep the wheels a-turnin', so to speak.  As it turns out, you also needs massive amounts of water to allow the fiber to do its job...

So I have added water, along with a probiotic (acidophilus capsules) and a daily multi-vitamin in search of a better poop.  Because, again, I have to tell you, poop is important.  As I mentioned before, I can apparently carry well over a pound of pee in me, and now I suspect that my midweek weight gains point to the amount of poo in my trunk (sorry if this is TMI or too gross...I'm sympathetic now to Dooce's fear that people think her blog is poo-centric)

I also tweaked my food consumption on Wednesday and Thursday of this week (and so far for Friday) to drastically reduce the amount of meat...the last two days I've mainly eaten eggs, beans, spinach, and broccoli (I had a little salami last night and a late night bite of chorizo...), and things seem to be loosening up a bit.  And, tellingly enough, the weight has slid lower each trip to the water closet.

I'm still able to follow the diet, as I can get the 20+ grams of protein from 3 - 4 eggs and from the beans, but the lack of variety (and frankly, the missing tasty tasty fatty meat taste) will make this version of the diet less attractive and sustainable for me.

So let's take stock of this diet for a minute, and what else it has led to:

• Basic rules:  don't eat carbs at all for 6 days; eat tons of protein, fiber, and greens; "cheat" one day
• Don't exercise (much) - the book suggests that intense work-outs will affect the results of the bio-chemistry at play
• so I eat lots more veggies than before (unqualified positive, right?)
• I eat lots more fiber (should be good for cholesterol, colon health, etc)
• For 6 days out of 7 I consume no soft drinks, beer, HF corn syrup, cookies, candy...
• I've restarted taking a robust multi-vitamin / mineral supplement (I've been on again / off again on the supplements for years...)
• and I've begun taking a probiotic (should have started a long time ago)
• I'm drinking considerably more water (good for kidney and liver function, complexion, toxin removal, etc)

My point is that the diet has turned into far more than a diet...it's a lifestyle shift.  And that shift has brought both positive and negative externalities to the diet process.  The diet has led to a significant and expanding commitment to new routines...And this point leads to some more general life lessons.

ducks at the mall - again, just breaking things up a little for visual relief

There is a reason that our plans often fail; it's hard for humans to stick to a plan.

My friend knows that yoga will help his back and his mood, but occasionally "forgets" to practice.

Another friend knows she needs to save money consistently, period over period, but struggles to maintain the plan.

The faithful see themselves fail in their struggle with sin, and rededicate themselves to the fight, only to see the cycle repeat.

We resolve each year at the holidays to make a better plan for the next year, a more practical AND loving plan...

I plan every day to manage my family's tiredness in more effective ways...

Heck, New Year's resolutions are probably still fresh on everyone's mind right now, and those jokes provide plenty of fodder for this discussion.

So what is to be done?  We have to plan, right?  Maybe we just need to make different sorts of plans, create a system that allows for slippage and reconsiderations on the fly, a pragmatic approach to the 1 hour - 1 day - 1 week - 1 year - 5 year - 10 year plans...

My bias is to apply the "everything is relative" and "just stoically roll with it" model to this discussion, but I could be wrong.

Carb Day!

I hope this diet works, because both the 6 days of no carbs and then this one day of carb-loading feels so weird.

Today, I had two buttermilk biscuits and some OJ for breakfast; 2 fried chicken sandwiches, french fries, and a coke; assorted carby snacks during the afternoon, and then 6 slices of pizza and a handful of beers...

Ugh.

update on the diet

alternate title:  an ounce of pee-vention

Yesterday, tragedy struck in the land of the no-carb diet...I gained 4 pounds without consuming the first pure carb.  Argh.  I'm not sure what exactly went wrong, but I have some suspicions.

I have realized (belatedly) that the canned beans I've been consuming ad nauseum not only have tons of fiber, but also a considerable amount of sodium...I'm hoping that yesterday's weight aberration can be largely attributed to fluid retention, and with that in mind, consider this:

I weighed myself this evening between meals, then realized I needed to micturate...afterwards I weighed myself again, and registered a whole pound lighter.  A pound of pee.  Who knew?

So I have added more water to my daily diet, hoping to flush more of the sodium, etc, and keep everything moving through my system.  I've also added beans to the breakfast and lunch meals, at least for a few days to see if that changes anything.

Tonight's dinner featured a little break in the routine, with some spicy Italian sausage along with this colorful spectacle:

"Stoplight" peppers and red onion - Yum!

Sunday night steak

I mentioned I'm on a diet?  Here's a little peak behind the scenes, along with some practical "how to" ideas on cooking beef (I've cooked and consumed more steak in the last two weeks than in the prior 6 months, and IMHO I'm getting pretty good at it.)

This beauty is the Cuisinart Griddler; we got it a few years back and it's been in regular rotation since.  For the steak on Sunday evening, I used the "grill plates" but for the Saturday morning pancakes we used the flat "griddle plates" - the top of the press lays back to offer two griddle surfaces for things like pancakes.

I believe my mother-in-law gifted us with this jar of dried herbs.  Maybe it's from Williams Sonoma?  At any rate, I've been experimenting with applying different seasonings to the meat, and at different stages of the prep.  In this case, I convinced myself that heating the herbs along with the meat on the grill would somehow "rob" the herbs of their health benefits, so I melted some butter, stirred the herbs in last minute, and brushed the mix onto the steaks as they cooled.

The finished product looked, smelled, and tasted pretty good.  Exact cooking times and temps vary by altitude, size of the steak, and how relatively freaked out the Wife is about her steak being "too pink"; in this case I set the griddler to the line between "MED" and "HIGH" and cooked my steak for about 4 minutes to medium rare, and hers for about 7 minutes to a touch beyond medium.

lose the fat

As I mentioned in my review of 4-Hour Body, I'm trying out a diet to cut my body fat percentage; the diet is based at least in part on some recommendations from that book.

First, the rationale for cutting the fat:  I've never been especially concerned with carrying around a few extra pounds (maybe a key advantage of not being: a woman, "metro", non-bear gay...), and although my self-image is not really much changed, I have crossed another one of those "getting old" milestones, and I have had a couple of slightly high blood pressure readings, and and and...I want to see if I can lose some fat.

(editor's note: this post ended up getting pretty long and I didn't want it to dominate the front page, so I'm putting the rest under the fold)