Eating healthy!

[chattius 2,520]

A patient of my wife had heavy overweight. The reason was that he moved from a physical active outdoor job to a desktop job while keeping his old appetit it seems. Diets were of no great use, if you hate them they won't work. So his wife asked my wife what to do.

The next weekend she did a real good meal, but she said that would be the last one ever if he wouldn't answer what herbs, work and ideas she put in. So he had to chew slow and carefully to get all the fine tastes. First it was just weekends at home, then his wife said that with all the money wasted on diets he could also eat something real good at a real restaurant instead the work cantine and he should write down what he thinks how the recipes for the meals there would be so she could reproduce them at home.

Took a year, he is almost his old weight again, they bought a restaurant book with coupons for 2 for the price of one for about 60 restaurants in the area, one coupon per restaurant, price for the bookl is 30 euro. Every Friday they visit another restaurant to get different tastes.

 

So another reason for the bad fast food may be: it is always the same, no reason for slow chewing to get all the tastes.

[gogoblender 3,068]

Wow, there's some serious love/hate relationships going on with McDonald's.

 

When I first got out of law school, I had a clerkship, and was making just barely enough to pay all the bills and eat. I was too proud to call home and ask for any extra money, although I would have been given it and could have eaten like a king.

 

So, instead, I tried to budget my income, and sadly, a lot of the cheapest foods are the worst: packaged things, frozen processed things, dollar menu fast food items. So for several months McDonald's and Wendy's was big part of my diet, not because I liked it, but because I could get a hamburger or chicken nuggets for a dollar, and because they were open 24 hours, so no matter how late I worked I could quickly get a cheap, hot meal.

 

I grew to $^ing hate McDonald's. It's been almost a year now since I've gotten a better job and have enough money to buy whatever groceries I like, and I have not gone back to McDonald's once. I may never again. Not because I'm bravely resisting some craving or temptation, but because I HATED having to eat that crappy garbage food for so long.

 

 

Anyway...maybe I missed it but no mention of cruciferous vegetables yet? They are the king of vegetables IMO. I was reading this article about broccoli and by the third page I wanted some so bad I had to stop and go get some. Literally crunching on some as I type.

Broccoli's Extreme Makeover

 

Really interesting, and highlights a lot of the problems with getting people to eat more vegetables. It's treated as an unpleasant duty, rather something natural and enjoyable.

 

Maybe one of the main problems is that people are always trying to cook it? I like the cool crunch of raw vegetables!

 

 

 

One other dietary habit is that I don't eat 3 big meals. I graze. Every couple hours, I eat something. I guess you could say it's like eating 6-7 very small meals a day.

 

 

Mcd's is a dilemma. I find the pricing absolutely compelling, but variety lacking, and taste tastes soggy and pedestrian after awhile. and btw Law school...! Are you looking to clerk in a firm these days? Mcd's has a deadly priciing on a burger, 1.60 all in that's tax too here in tax-heavy Quebec...two meatish patties, and a smear of cheese... enuff to take the edge off craving, and I hear you about the grazing, yeah that's useful, when I remember, I try to pick up nuts when they're on sale, they fit craving needs as well.

 

Chattius, yah, diets don't work. Thiking about good life choices do, human psychology is a tuff thing, and probably the tuffest thing to work with and very slow to make changes to.

 

 

gogo

[chattius 2,520]

The best diet is often:

Buy 7 of 8 weeks only at farmer markets and a butcher/fisher. At least the markets here don't sell salt, sugar, ... You can buy small pieces for a single person because the food isn't in tins.

Invite a neighbour or friends if your recipe is for 2 or more. Some recipes only taste good if they are done in a big enough amount. But don't do them if you are allone. People often eat less in presence of people who not belong to family.

Use up the leftovers for other recipes This way it is more probable that your body gets all the minerals and proteins because you are not picking just the food you like. Also it is better for environment and it is a good feeling not to waste food if somewhere else people are starving.

Try out as many new recipes and vegs as possible: you eat slower if you try to understand what the recipe for your meal is and how the components work together.

[gogoblender 3,068]

I like the vegs idea Chattius, I've found myself more and more often heading down to the Indian grocery store...these guys know veggies, and at a super lower price than the big stores. I usually get these packs of their "older" veggies, an assortment, very cheap, and it lets me stay on top of eating in a variety of dif ways for veggies.

It's fun going down to their market, I never know what's going to be on special, so it adds that lovely random to the shopping

 

gogo