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My diet changed dramatically after I got my slow-cooker. I needed to cut down the acidity of my diet after having a bout of GERD, found out from a book I read that the government requires processed/pre-packaged foods must have a certain level of acidity. I use all basic ingredients in the slow cooker (except for fruit and raw nuts obviously); whole chickens, roast beef, rice, potatoes, various non-starchy vegetables, coconut oil, olive oil, salt, pepper and raw un-filtered honey for my coffee; that's about it. When I made the change to this diet the weight started falling off of me, 25 pounds in 4 months. And crazily I was completely sedentary during that period too due to an insane school schedule.
Actually that's quite moderate for a large male weightlifter. I've seen several comments on the size of the meal - all from women who are probably much smaller in size and not doing much weightlifting! Also, cantaloupes don't have as much sugar as their taste would suggest, and they're very low in calories.
I don't think diet has as much to do with health as I once did. I've spent some time looking at lists of healthy countries and high longevity countries, and they all vary widely in traditional foods. Swiss people live about as long as Japanese and are healthy, yet the two have dramatically different diets. I was also intrigued to find out that a few other European countries such as Germany have long, healthy lives on average, even though they eat a large amount of both fats and sugars.
I've taken a turn to the healthy recently, at least to some extent, but I doubt it will make much difference at this point. Some of the goodies I've started eating are: Amy's reduced sodium refried black beans, no-salt-added wildcaught sardines, Bionaturae stone-ground organic whole wheat fusilli (basically a kind of rotini) which tastes much better than whole wheat products from the hippy era, almost as good as white, organic rice, and Organic Valley cheddar cheese and American cheese slices, which are very expensive and very good, even smoother than Gouda (which I consider to be like a superior type of cheddar).
For veggies, I've gone organic on mixed salad greens to replace lettuce, carrots, broccoli, kiwi, olive oil, eggs, humus, store-ground peanut butter, salsa, canned tomatoes, and tomatoes in season. These are only a little more expensive than conventional in California which is a great place to go organic., and some such as the carrots, cheese, and fresh tomatoes taste better.
My meals are a bit simpler now to lessen the stress on my enlarged liver, but not much because I love tinkering in the kitchen with exotic mixes of whole foods.
I'm not scared of the sugar in fruit, but that is just my own opinion.
As you suggested, I'm trying to gain some muscle. Nowhere near a huge weightlifter, but some. I also work 10.5 hours at a warehouse. I could eat 2000 calories a day and still lose weight. Im at around 2900 calories at the moment with the surplus. So a 300 calorie or even a 500 calorie meal doesn't really cut it.
Sugar in fruit is just as bad for you as eating a tablespoon of sugar.
Does a tablespoon of sugar have vitamins, antioxidants , fiber, lower calories, etc. like fruit does?
It doesn't. Sure it is sugar, but we are talking about a healthy sugar that has vitamins, loads of antioxidants depending on the fruit, and fiber which most people don't get enough eating junk food.
Fruit and regular white sugar is not the same. Eating a banana has sugar, but loaded with many other good things for our body.
Does a tablespoon of sugar have vitamins, antioxidants , fiber, lower calories, etc. like fruit does?
It doesn't. Sure it is sugar, but we are talking about a healthy sugar that has vitamins, loads of antioxidants depending on the fruit, and fiber which most people don't get enough eating junk food.
Fruit and regular white sugar is not the same. Eating a banana has sugar, but loaded with many other good things for our body.
It's still sugar. Your body processes sugar from fruit exactly the same way it processes sugar from a candy bar.
Sugar in any form is one of the worst things you can do for your body.
Studies reveal that "teetotalers" are not as healthy and do not live as long.
I'm a teetotaler for cultural reasons, and we were told teetotalers live healthier lives by avoiding liver damage.
I eat my standard 4 meals per day in proper moderation. I'm 22, so there isn't much of an issue with cholesterol yet. I also exercise regularly.
Last edited by Adi from the Brunswicks; 05-21-2015 at 04:46 PM..
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Also, cantaloupes don't have as much sugar as their taste would suggest, and they're very low in calories.