Healthy Cooking

Question: Cheap/healthy/weight loss? Will choose best answer!?
Please let me know if this is ok? I try to learn a lot about healthy stuff and I think I know a lot, but I’d really like some opinions.

After waking up, stretching, and drinking a glass of water.
Breakfast- 1/2 cup of oatmeal (1/4 cup steel cut oats, water, splenda, cinnamon.)
1/2 cup Kefir low fat pomegranate smoothie.
1/2 cup frozen organic strawberries, raspberries and blackberries (I prefer frozen for the long shelf life, cheap price at BJs and the illusion that I’m eating some kind of ice cream or icy, they’re so good!)
Two cups of coffee with just enough splenda to mask the bitterness and a dash of Land o Lakes half and half. I drink another glass of water before each cup. Coffee makes me thirsty.

Lunch- plain tuna sandwich (1/2 can tuna in water with two slices Giant Eagle whole grain bread).
1 cup of fresh raw broccoli, plain.
3 brewed mugs of green tea with lemon and splenda throughout the day.

Second lunch- Turkey sandwich (same bread, 4 thin slices of Hillshire Farms oven roasted turkey, Laughing Cow garlic and herb cheese wedge spread, 6 pickles).
1 cup of raw broccoli (it’s my favorite).

If I’m ever feeling snacky I’ll eat a little bit of raw, unsalted almonds.

Dinner- 4oz. (I think that’s how much? The size of a deck of playing cards) baked boneless, skinless chicken breast with garlic, cayenne powder, oregano and parsley.
1 cup cooked whole grain brown rice.
1 1/3 cups cooked broccoli, carrots, yellow and red peppers in an extra virgin olive oil and herb sauce.

At night a drink a couple mugs of sleepy time or lemon zinger tea with splenda.

Is this an ok “diet”? A snippet of my diet history: I was extremely overweight since childhood until 15 when I learned of the low carb diet. Ate nothing but bacon, egg whites (don’t like yolks), baked cayenne chicken, and eventually when adding more carbs ground beef chunks dipped in tomato juice. I went from around 350lbs. to 250lbs. I dieted on and off for a long time. At 20 I weighed closer to 200lbs. Gained it all back from not having money to afford anything but ramen, and then when I could eat healthier I had a baby, about 6 months back. I think I’m around 250 again. I have really bad skin from the weight loss. I don’t have a lot of money for food but I have enough. I’m very busy with taking care of my family. I like routine in my diet. It makes it easier for me to follow and stay on track. I’ve read a lot about “super foods” and spices that help, like cayenne, garlic, green tea, olive oil, and cinnamon. One of my questions, is that enough fruit? I know it’s recommended to have more but it does get pricey. Might be doable if I need more. I walk a few times a day with my son in his stroller, about an hour and 1/2 total or more if I can. I do stretches for half an hour every morning and sometimes at night. I drink lots of plain, cold water, over the eight 8oz. cups some people recommend. I take a prenatal vitamin and fish oil type combo everyday (I had a lot left from pregnancy and breastfeeding the first few months), along with two fenugreek and one milk thistle pill. I don’t add sugar, salt or butter to anything. I avoid trans fat and hydrogenated oils. I know a lot of people don’t approve of splenda but I am a fan, and it’s pretty cheap at BJs wholesale club. I am open to trying something new. I like a lot of bland foods. The only thing I cannot stand eating are chunks of onions. I hope to lose some weight over time and set a somewhat good example for my son.

Answer:

Answer by Cindy in Texas
Anyone that has been 100+# overweight is more than likely insulin resistant. Anyone that is insulin resistant, their body no longer processes carbs any more. Carbs in a functioning body goes to muscles for burning. Long term, high levels of refined carbs “burn out” the muscles insulin receptors so all your calories go directly to fat cells, leaving muscle cells screaming for nutrition. It becomes a vicious cycle. Exercise forces muscles to accept glucose without insulin & that’s an option, but it requires LOTS of exercise daily. The only other option is to adopt a low carb way of eating – for a lifetime. This is a great option, eat all you want, but only of low carb foods & lose weight.

It sounds like you are avoiding fat. It sounds like you did a low fat, low carb diet at 15 – which is not healthy. Fat won’t make you fat. Fat is totally benign with minimal carbs (less than 9g hour). Fat is required for energy, satiation & fuel calories on a low carb program. Saturated fat is required for the immune system to function properly, for hormone production & 50% of dietary fats need to be from saturated fats for calcium to be effective in the bone structure. Fat is required to make the vitamins & minerals in your foods bioavailable so they can be incorporated into the body structure.

As healthy as fruit may be, fructose, the sugar in many fruits, is the most lipogenic (fat producing) carb. You’ve got a pretty good diet mapped out above (other than the low fat levels) & this would be fine in someone with functioning insulin receptors but I would be very surprised if you were able to eat this carb load & lose weight.

You can lose more body fat eating protein & fat (don’t eat protein alone) than not eating AT ALL. To lose weight fast, eat all you want, but nothing but meat, eggs, healthy oils, mayo, butter & half an avocado a day (for added potassium). Keep the calories high & the fat percentage high, at least 65% of calories. Green vegetables & some cheese will continue weight loss but at a slower pace.

The first 2 weeks eat several cups a day of (mostly) lettuce & celery, cucumbers, radishes, mushrooms, peppers & more variety of vegetables thereafter – add 5 grams per day additional every week (20 grams day first 2 weeks, 25grams 3rd week, 30grams 4th week etc) til you gain weight, then subtract 10grams. That will be your personal carb level (everyone is different & depends on how active you are.)

Start with meat, fats & salads for 2 weeks and then slowly add in more green veg, wk4 fresh cheeses, wk5 nuts & seeds, wk6 berries, wk7 legumes, wk8 other fruits, wk9 starchy veg, wk10 whole grains. You will learn how your body reacts to different foods.

The body won’t release fat stores if you lower calories below what it needs. It will slow metabolism to compensate & store every spare ounce as fat. If you continue lowering calories, it will continue lowering the set point, til it can survive off nothing & store fat on anything. The body will only release it’s fat stores if it knows there is plenty of nutritious food.

Eating carbs while trying to lose body fat is terribly inefficient. When in glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) you have to lower your calories (which slows your metabolism) & exercise heavily to deplete your glycogen stores before burning body fat.

The core of Atkins program is converting the body from glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) to ketosis (burning fat as fuel). Dietary fat levels need to be at >65% of total calories, if not, the body will still remain in glycolysis by converting 58% of excess protein into glucose (via gluconeogenesis).

It takes about 3 days to convert a body to ketosis, (but only one bite to convert back to glycolysis). People feel sluggish the first week but most feel better than ever thereafter.

Carbohydrates trigger insulin (the ONLY fat storage hormone). Protein triggers the fat burning hormone glucagon.

High insulin levels unbalance other hormones. Controlling insulin levels will balance out other hormones & allow human growth hormone to be produced naturally so lean muscle will be gained even without exercise.

Ground flax seed (4 Tbsp) 1/4 cup water, artificial sweetener, mix in a raw egg – let sit 10 min. to absorb liquid, put cream cheese in the middle & nuke 2 min. for daily fiber needs.

As long as you have <9grams carbs per hour, you will maintain insulin control & shouldn't gain weight, no matter the calories because insulin, the fat storage hormone is not activated. Many people gain weight on high carb, do low carb to lose weight & then are shocked when they return to high carb & gain weight.

Most overweight & obese people have blood sugar & insulin dysfunctions and can NEVER eat carbs as someone with a functioning body can. They make the mistake of going back to the way of eating that made them fat and that is not possible and yes they will gain all weight back if they eat what they ate that made them obese original

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!