Emerging Pattern

After being on this "4 list" idea for a few weeks I've started to settle into a new pattern.

• breakfast smoothie (up to 10 oz of fruit) w/a multi-vitamin
• 8-10 oz of water with 1 tsp flax seed fiber added
• green tea - 16 oz
• usually salad for lunch (2 cups lettuce, w/onions, carrots, cucumbers, tomatos, almonds)
• 3x/week add sardines in salad
• sometime left over home-made soup
• 1 Kashi Honey Almond Flax granola bar either right after lunch or around 3ish
• 8-10 oz of water with 1 tsp flax seed fiber added while preparing dinner - some cocktail
• Dinner - more on that below, trying to stay to 1.5-2 helpings of whatever we're having
• green tea - 16 oz, right after dinner or around 9 PM
• snack around 10 PM or so - either almonds or low-fat, no sugar added yogurt.

I'm doing pretty well on the "eat every day" list with the exception of carrots. If I don't eat a salad I usually don't eat carrots. Occasionally I'll make them with dinner. On the 3x per week list I'm really struggling with broccoli, sweet potatoes and avocados. I may have to try including broccoli in a salad, same with avocados and I'm just not into sweet potatoes. I'll probably look into comparable super food substitutes.

I think I'm most proud of staying away from the "never eat" list. I've had no soda for nearly 3 weeks. I've had only 1 meal containing pre-processed food - some frozen boneless buffalo wing-lets that I warmed, ran through the food processor and made a passable chicken salad sandwich out of. Interesting idea, didn't live up taste-wise. No canned soup, no "diet" anything and no fast food!

I use the no more than 1x per week as my dinner guide. Each week I plan 1 red meat centered meal, 1 pasta centered meal, and at least 1 vegetarian and 1 chicken meal. I have enough on hand to make salads for lunch on the weekends and perhaps a small cheese pizza.

Desserts, well there was that spice cake that I had on 2 successive days, as well as the butterscotch pie, but that's pretty good! But I only prepare 1 dessert for the week and after a couple of days take what remains out of the house - sent it with my wife to where she works. Alcohol - this is were I figured I have the most problems. I love to have a couple of drinks on Friday and Saturday - sometimes more than a couple. So far I've been able to have a single (albit large) Scotch and soda on Friday and sometimes a single beer on Saturday. I don't know that I can get down to 1/week, but that I'm down to 2 for a number of weeks in a row is a good thing.

.. and I'm eating breakfast every day! Monday-Friday it's the smoothie. Weekend I play fry cook - eggs or pancakes/waffles, with a side of either hash browns, sausage or bacon. Occasionally I'll make biscuits and saw mill gravy. Mind you I'm watching the portions but after drinking my breakfast Monday-Friday I look forward to a fry cook breakfast.

I feel better. I can tell I've lost a little around the middle - may be just water wait but who cares. I have more energy and I feel good about what I'm putting in my system . I'm reading the sugar content of things and am more aware of how the sugar cycle effects my eating. I get discouraged at times that I'm not making faster progress but that I'm making a little progress - whether in keeping to the list or in bodily changes -  is keeping me going right now. I really want this to work!

Super Foods

I was intrigued by the contents of those lists and wanted to know more about why those and what traits they shared. Some internet spelunking revealed that a number of them are classified as "Super Foods" 

• Avocado - fiber, folate, potassium, vitamin E, and magnesium
• Broccoli - fiber, folate, calcium, ascorbic Acid
• Low Fat Yogurt - protein, calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc
• Soy - folate, iron, potassium, vitamin E
• Sweet Potato - fiber, potassium, magnesium, 
• Tea - no calories, helps with blood sugar level
• Fish - omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, selenium, potassium, cartenoids

I also went back and watched again the "Live and Let Diet" episode and realized that AB says why they are on (or not on as the case may be). They are nutrient dense as opposed to energy dense. Most sugary foods (well those contained refined sugar and derivatives) have lots of energy but little in the way of substance. The body quickly digests that stuff and stores it as fat - assuming it doesn't need it right away as energy.


Hence while the eating methodology (I'm not going to call it a diet) is naturally low in sugar, not all sugar is outlawed. Sugar from fruits, veggies, and even soy milk are OK. A natural consequence is that the blood sugar levels naturally come down and as a consequence the vicious refined sugar cycle binge is easier to manage.

Is It The Sugar?

While looking up "blood sugar control", I ran across a number of articles that listed either foods to avoid or include in order to help with blood sugar levels. A suprising number of them were on the list in one way or another, e.g:

• herbal tea (Green Tea)
• lots of fiber (whole grains, fruits, veggies)
• limited alcohol intake
• limited pasta
• and on and on

 I do know that when I tried the Atkins diet, sugar intake was limited and that I did loose a bunch of weight on it. Trouble was, I couldn't stay on it and it was harder to get my entire family to buy into it. I wonder if AB's list are an attempt to limit sugar intake? I bet cutting back on sugar intake would be more do-able from a family standpoint than a super restrictive Atkins diet. Adding more fiber (either through supliments and/or natural whole grains) would be easier too. Humm.....

List Progress

I've been trying to introduce AB's "4 lists" into my daily diet. Not all at once mind you but as I discover how they can fit in. The smoothie was pretty easy and fit right in with my eating habits - quick breakfast fare for the work week.

Beyond the smoothie, eating greens every day is pretty easy since I enjoy salads. They are available from a "made to order" shop where I work. I can get them with a variety of add ons - carrots, cucumbers, almonds, etc. and have that for lunch. 

I also decided to tackle the "at least 3 time per week oily fish" item. AB suggested sardines and some web surfing shows them to be good for you. However, I'm not a sardines fan. Still, I figured I'd try adding it to the salad and see how I felt about it. I started off adding 1/2 a can and just today managed to dump in a full can (less the oil) int the salad. Between the lime vinaigrette dressing, the add-ons and the romaine lettuce, I don't notice the fishy taste to much. Truth be told, they are not that bad. I figure at least 3 times per week I can eat a full can in a salad for lunch.

I think I'll tackle the yogurt part next. Since I like to snack in the late evening and like something creamy and sweet perhaps that'll work vs. a bowl of cold cereal or a snack cake.

Smoothie Facts

I've been intrigued by Alton Brown's "4 lists" and how it applies to diet and daily nutrition, in particular his smoothie recipe. I'm sure the entire list works together but I don't think I can digest the entirety of it all at once (if you'll excuse the pun). BTW the liquid measurements in the recipe are by volume not weight.

Right now I'm using a variation on AB's recipe:

• 4 oz (by volume) Soy Milk - the "fat included variety"
• 4 oz (by volume) V8 Fusion Pomegranate and Blueberry Juice
• 3 oz (by weight) mixed berries (blue, raz and strawberry)
• 1 oz (by weight) banana

The FDA food pyramid indicates that as a male I need 2 cups of fruit per day or 4 servings since the FDA considers 0.5 cups to be a single "serving". I measured out 3 oz by weight of the berries and that was nearly 1 cup. Adding in 1 oz by weight of banana and the cup measure looked full. Adding in 4 oz of the juice and that's an additional 0.5 servings of fruit (figuring that a full 8 oz by volume is 1 serving of fruit and veggies each). Doing the math my smoothie contains 1.5 servings of fruit and 0.5 servings of veggies.

The soy milk is new to me (and kinda tasty I might add) and according to the FDA and AHA may have benefits in the cardiovascular and cholesterol areas (soy milk has zero cholesterol). Right now I'm using the "full fat" version but will try the "low fat" kind for comparison.

Adding my variation together for calories I'm at 50 each for the soy and juice, 22 for the 1/4 of a banana, and about 53 for the fruit. Total 175 calories for 12 oz of food. I may try adding another 1/4 of banana to the recipe and perhaps another oz of berries. At that point I think I'm consuming all of my fruit requirements and 0.5 of a veggie at breakfast.

Thanks AB!

AB's Lists

Being that it's cold outside now I've given up walking and I can tell I've put back on some of the weight that allowed me to get into a smaller size. Story of my life - take a little off for a while and then put it back on.

Also being that it's the new year I decided not to make any new years resolutions regarding weight. That said, I was watching one of my favorite cooking shows the other day, Good Eats with Alton Brown, and he looked extremely thin - like he lost about 50 lbs. Amazing! Now I'm not much on diets but this was less about what not to eat than a set of 4 lists about eating. Here they are:

Eat Daily

• Fruits
• Whole Grains
• Leafy Greens
• Nuts
• Carrots
• Green Tea

Eat At Least 3x per week:

• Oily Fish
• Yogurt
• Broccoli
• Sweet Potato
• Avocado

No More than 1x per week:

• Red Meat
• Pasta
• Dessert
• Alcohol

Don't Eat:

• Fast Food
• Soda (soda water is OK)
• Processed meals/frozen dinners
• Canned soup
• "Diet" anything

Primary Rule: Eat Breakfast Every Day!

The "eat breakfast" thing was something I've been told before by a nutritionist I saw for a while. AB suggested a fruit smoothy for breakfast, except he made this huge "by volume/weight" thingie that I'd be consuming all day! I pared it back to what I would consider to be a single serving and used V8 Fusion juice instead of Acai juice. It wasn't bad even with the soy milk. I actually enjoy liquid breakfasts so I may try this for a while. If nothing else I can get more fruit into my diet and not have to eat it as a separate item at meals. It have 4oz of fruit in it plus the V8 Fusion Juice so I may be getting close to my daily fruit servings. That's been a struggle for me.

It might be interesting to see how many of those can be combined into a delicious meal. Certainly the leafy greens, nuts and carrots could be used in salads. Yogurt could be had in a smoothy too. Sweet potatoes and broccoli I am not wild about so I'll have to investigate those for alternatives. Oily fish - meh.. not to wild on that either, but I may give it a shot. Does tuna qualify?

Eating Habits

I'm still trying to eat when hungry, where hunger has physical manifestation (nausea, headache, etc). I'm usually able to skip breakfast and get though most of the work day with out eating anything substantial other than chewing gum and coffee. If I do that, then by the time I get home I'm ready to eat dinner (or anything I can get my hands on). And I will eat. I don't know that I eat any less, but if feels better knowing that I haven't consumed the calories for breakfast and lunch.

Dinner is a social thing. Family time to some extent, where as breakfast and lunch are more solitary pursuits. Also dinner is a creative outlet - I like to cook, bake, etc. If I'm extremely hungry after skipping breakfast and lunch I may snack on peanuts while I'm preparing dinner - not all the time, but in the first 15-30 minutes.

If I've eaten a lot the night before, I may be able to go all of the work day without feeling physically hungry. If not, I've noticed that a light lunch, cup of soup, or a small serving of left-overs, helps get me to dinner. This is instead of a large lunch.

All in all my eating largely revolves around what I eat at home as opposed to being at work or out and about. I've noticed that my late evening snacking has crept back into my routine despite my "desire" to eliminate it. I've started eating breakfast on the weekend, but usually only on 1 of the 2 days.

I still can't see myself on the scale but I have noticed that my pants no longer feel as tight as they did, I have a bit more energy and my belly area isn't protruding so much. I feel better about this route since it matches more of how my life actually is and not how it should be. Trying to stop eating when physically full (basically learning what "full" is) and snacking when not physically hungry (why am I eating then?) are the items I feel I need to work on next.