Losing Weight, the real way, no gimmicks.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

My youngest daughter loves to cook, and loves to eat. She also loves to be in shape and maintain a healthy weight. Currently, she is completing her first year of university study is sports medicine. She has learned an enormous amount of information about what makes diets work, how the body reacts to foods, and how to exercise properly. This is the stuff that personal trainers learn, you know, the people the stars use to help them attain their weight goals.

To some up what she has shared with me; both low carb, and low fat diets work. They both give you daily calorie levels of about 2000 calories and encourage regular exersize.

The average male sedentary body requires about 2000 calories to maintain itself at an even level. Consume more than this and you gain weight. Consume less and you generally lose weight. Women need fewer calories than do men, as a general rule.

The types of food you eat play an important role in health. Though dietary cholesteral isn't as significant as is genetic disposition, limiting cholesterol rich foods does help prevent heat failure. Also, fats are contain more calories per unit volume than any other food source, including sugar.

Veggies and fruits, especially those with bright colors, contain vitamins, minerals, phyto-chemicals, isoflavones, and a host of anti-oxidents and other nutrients vital for proper body function, and to help it naturally fight cancers, viruses, bacterial infections, and repair damaged tissue and bone.

Processed foods usualy contain excessive sodium, simple starches, and fats, all of which stress the body. It is best to cook fresh veggies, meats, and to use whole grains whenever possible.

Including foods that are rich in soluble fiber, like beans and whole grains helps maintain a healthy digestive tract, reducing the chances of developing nasty things like colon cancer, and help maintain healthy blood glucose levels.

Most diets, and diet suplements address only the calorie issue, and don't give you complete and healthy nutrition.

The best, and easiest way to lose weight, and my daughter is proof, is to adopt a lifestyle that includes movement, and healthy eating habits. When you learn to control protions, and get off the couch to change the TV channel, you are half way there. She gets up every morning and does Pillotes before school and work. She also maintains a running and wieght-room schedule. She mightl not always have enough time in the day to get it all in, but when she does have time, she doesn't waste it. And yes she does get in time to watch her favorite TV shows, and still getw to bet about 10 p.m each night.

We know the right answers are there. We usually try to find an "easy" method to control weight, and frequently, it doesn't work.

The diet industry is making millions by telling us they have the magic bullet for weight control. It's in their best interest to mislead us into buying their products. And they do a lot of advertising toward that end.

We are only kidding ourselves thinking we can change our bodies without effort, or intelligence. As long as we let others do our thinking for us, then they will keep on taking advantage of us.

I say it's time to put the quick-fix diet makers into retirement and eat and live as God intended. we know how to do it, but as with every worthwhile thing, it takes effort.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[middie]

thank you for sharing this goodweed.

 

[In the Kitchen]

Question?

Thank you for your time and information. I agree with everything except I doubt if any way of eating will give you the full advantage you so desire. Who knows what we are eating? The fruit and vegetables don't taste the same. The meat surely doesn't smell right. At least making the effort to eat what is supposedly good for you is worth the try. I know for sure my meals never taste as fresh as the ones my mother fixed. I don't like to doctor something up to make if taste like it should. My chicken soup is good example. Never seems to get the gelatin it should no matter what I do. The only gelatin I get is when I cook the feet of chicken. We are so bomboarded with trying to do so much in so little time that it is like a sad joke. Holding down full time jobs, taking care of the home and the family, it just will not work. There is no balance. Most of the important things in life are neglected. Many are finding out that work and family need attention. Instead of preparing a meal for the kids when they come home from school they grab something that doesnt need to be peeled or cooked. I have seen how young kid blow up from eating the wrong things. Of course, their parents go to the gym and stay fit. They have to in order to remain acceptable in their workplace. I am sorry if I got off the track here except young children need consistent direction. Money is NOT everything. I guess I voiced my opinion and maybe should be deleted.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

NO, Kitchen, your opinion is shared by many. And I can add other facts to your opinion. Children don't have the same opportunities to run free, without the worry of violent crime or molestation that I had growing up. Or at least, that is what we as a society have come to believe.

I never stayed at home. From the age of about 7, I was walking a quarter of a mile, past a cemetary, to a best freind's house, and staying there most of the day. We played outside and ran in the woods, which were substantial in size. Those woods may have been only a quarter-mile wide, but they stretched for a couple of miles. And by the time I was 9, I could take my bike literally for miles, to play with cousins and freinds. There was no worry that I would be harmed by anything other than my own stupidity. There was no fear of human predation. I had trees to climb, forts to build, a very large river to swim and fish in, or skate on in the winter. I was always running, or sledding down the huge and steep slopes of nearby gravel pits, etc.

Time spent in front of the TV was very little compared to time spent outside. The kids of my generation had more opportunity to play off those excess calories. In fact, I played, or worked so hard that if I skipped a meal, I was literally shaking from low blood sugar by the time the next one rolled around, and I ate substantial amounts at every meal. I didn't slow down until I got married.

Compare that to today, video games, numerous "reality" shows, that are far from reality, brutality is everywhere, and made known to everyone so that we are afraid of our neighbors and of our communities. It used to be that the adults of my parents generation all helped look out for the kids. If I did something wrong, or dangerous, my parents heard about it from somebody and discipline was meeted out.

As far as cooking goes, I still get my chicken and meat stocks to gell beautifully. But we don't eat until at least 7 p.m. My food is usually fresh, and cooked with care. I refuse to lose quality of life, though my work demands too much of my time (I'm on call every other week, for a week at a time, with no renumeration unless I'm actually called in, and am tethered to a 15 minute radius to work in that period. Have to have a pager on my hip at all times. Pagers are evil.).

The world and our society have changed, and not for the better. I agree that we are so caught up in having every little gadget, or big gadget out there, that we have sacrificed our trust, our spirituality, and some of our humanity. Those aren't opinions, they are facts.

There is a group that was started in Italy called "The Slow Food Movement". They also recognize these facts and urge others to slow down, enjoy life, and smell the roses, so-to-speak. I have told my boss, more than once, that there are numerous studies showing an increase in productivity when workers are allowed 2 hour lunch breaks, and when certain types of music are allowed in the workplace. He skoffed at the idea and showed raw facts showing that at least in the world of computeres and intellectual work, the U.S. leads the world in productivity. I believe that we are literally working ourselves to death. If I want a two hour lunch, that's fine. I just won't be working at my current job.

I love life, and have raised my children to love it as well. I encourage them to eat well, play hard, work hard, and to do as Crewsk says, to treat others nice, not because they are, but because you are. Honor, integrity, and high personal standards by each and every person are the only things that can bring our society back to what it once was.

The world is pressing us down. But we don't have to let it win. I truly hope this post isn't seen as political. I'm so tired of having to worry about being in trouble for any little thing. If this is wrong for this forum, let me know and I'll stay off of my soap box. I just truly believe we all need to pull ourselves back from a direction too easily taken, and turn to a better road, and I'm not espousing any religeon or politicle agenda, merely a call for humanity to start acting human.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[In the Kitchen]

Goodweed

I do appreciate the time you took to respond to me. Sorry I haven't had time to look at many of the posts that are always here. As you said, the clock is always ticking and people are always wanting to keep up. I am going to print out your response and keep it for all to read. It is so valuable at this time. I cherish things that are so true and effective. Having to visit my brother in nursing home only proves that life does fly by and we must be the ones to stop the clock when we can. Life is not meant to provide everything. Priorities have to be made and family is one of them. You have stated that so clearly in your message. Like reading a verse out of the bible to me. I will consider this a priceless gift. Thank you.

 

[buckytom]

goodweed, thanks for a well written, informative, and sincere post. you are dead on about so many things.

the only thing i have to disagree with is that the world is not becoming a better place, and is becoming more brutal. that all depends on your point of view. civil rights is a fairly recently enforced ideal. i don't think you would have liked to ride the back of the bus, or have to find another restaurant because they don't serve your kind there, not too long ago. and the world is a far less brutally violent place than it used to be, considering all of history.
that's not to say the world is a bed of roses, but at least, with improved communication and education, we might be heading in the right direction. how slowly, very slowly...