Real-world Healthy Eating and Cooking

[abadoozy]

One thing that's worked for me is not to concentrate on what I can't have, but waht I *can* have, at least the healthy bits. Face it - most of us can afford to eat more vegetables. You mentioned you didn't like green salads, so figure out what kinds of veggies you do like and load up on them - 3 times a day if you can manage it. I've found that trying to get in veggies at every meal fills me up with things that are both low-calorie and good, and I tend not to go for the ice cream when I'm full of carrots.

Like others here, I'm loathe to give up taste, so I go ahead and add the butter or whatever it is that makes them taste good - I just try not to go overboard, and figure that a big bowl of fresh green beans (or whatever) with butter or a vineagrette or dipped in homemade mayo is still better for me than french fries.

Not that I'm a skinny little thing - I can stand to lose 20# or so - but I'm also far from obese. I run and take long walks and bicycle and all that. And that brings on another thing - making the conscious decision that I'd rather be a bit overweight (not obese) and eat well. I'm the opposite of the Weight Watchers motto ("Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!"). "I'd rather be fat & happy than thin & miserable."

[pamjsa]

If you're doing downward dog you're in better shape than you describe. I sure the helll wasn't doing downward dog when I was 9 months pregnant! 

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Me either, Therese!

In my earlier post, I should have mentioned that yoga was a terrific suggestion for Miz Ducky. My best friend is a yoga therapist; she works with a number of clients who have specific health issues, creating a yoga practice that works within (and eventually challenges, if possible or desirable) whatever health parameters that person is dealing with. I'm sure there are similar therapists in your area, Miz D.

Yoga is a great friend to all of us who would, given our druthers, rather eat than sweat.

[goldie]

MizDucky,

I've been overweight at varying degrees for most of my adult life (well, there were those three months when I was recovering from mono...). I most certainly know where you are coming from. My sister, not a petite flower either, and I have a theory that if one diet works for you once, it won't work again. Of course the punchline here is I've run out of diets. But, I'm not running out of diets- in fact, I'm out of them. Right now I'm all about good foods in moderation. No I won't probably see a single digit on the size tag, but I am feeling a whole lot better. I'm eating less meat (more on that later), watching the salt (mainly because my rings aren't fitting too well and they look so damn nice with a tan), and trying to eat more fruit and vegetables than any other group. I was also exercising a fair amount (40 minutes six times a week, moderate pace with some resistance thrown in an few times a week) but I got two nasty sprains in a row and am trying not to do permanent damage. Anyway, in doing those things, I am looking better and certainly feeling better. I'm trying to avoid the scale because I find it really messes me up mentally and that is the last thing I need.

Exercise is tough- like the Nike slogan you do have to just do it. Like other posters, I was going to suggest swimming. Land's End makes some very kind swimsuits which I feel comfortable in at the beach. My mom is doing pt and they are manipulating her which relieves stress on her joints, you may want to talk to your doctor about that. One on one sessions with a trainer who understands obesity would be valuable if they fit into your budget. I'd start by contacting local universities. You might take a look at the Bob Greene book (he's Oprah's trainer) - I have it and think it is a good exercise plan although the eating program doesn't suit my lifestyle.

Now in terms of meat- I've had an interesting relationship with proteins. At various times I've tried Atkins, South Beach, etc and I've also tried macrobiotics (sans meat) and vegetarianism (can't do vegan). I gain weight with too much meat and feel lousy with no meat. So balance is good for me. I shoot for lean meats- fish, shellfish, chicken (although I get sick of it really quickly), lower fat cuts of beef and pork (although my pork has to have fat or else I might as well be eating chicken). I am currently eating meat once a day. I do eat eggs (although I'm guessing that's a no no for you). The satiety thing is a problem for me. Like others have mentioned, roasted veggies are huge here (actually that is most often my lunch). I also like the rice based veggie burgers in the freezer section. I like lentils, chickpeas, or white beans with onions and other seasonings formed into patties and dry fried in a non-stick pan. Brown rice formed into patties with tamari and scallions is yummy. While I've never tried it with barley, I'm betting that would work,too. Actually, come to think of it, low sodium tamari is a good means for the umami flavoring as are anchovies.

I think macrobiotics is an interesting concept. My mother- in- law has been very strictly macrobiotic for forty years. I've tried it and while it isn't how I want to eat for the rest of my life, I do think that there are some valuable lessons to be gained from it. The idea of eating in balance is central. I think we all have our own, unique balance and that for some people it is easy to find and for others much more difficult. I could never understand how my mom could push a half plate of great food away, saying that was all she needed. Now I recognize that she simply knows what she needs. My kids do it all the time. So I struggle with it and try to recognize what I need for balance. Some days are easier than others.

I read a lot of cookbooks and magazines about food. In terms of healthy cooking, I think the Moosewood series of cookbooks are hard to beat. I really like Moosewood Cooks Low-Fat. Sure, there are plenty of recipes I'd never make (setian, anyone?), but there are good ideas and techniques. If you can put your hands on old Cooking Lights which focus on real foods using lower fat technique, they can be useful. But, I'm guessing since you've tried a lot of diets you've got the preparation methods down pat.

Anyway, you are not alone. Keep on hanging in there and I look forward to more posts on this near and dear topic.

[Bernaise]

Is corn on the list of foods that are purine friendly?

I hope so because polenta springs to mind for satisfying food. Again from my Mother's kitchen -rabbit braised in white wine and sage and pearl onions served with soft polenta. The beauty of polenta is that it does not require lots of fat or cream to make it palatable. The smallest amount of sauce from cooked meat makes it a meal!

Someone mentioned barley- beat me to it but back in 1995 all of Friuli was making risotto with barley. If you like the sticky consistency of risotto the barley will fit right in.

I know it's not winter yet but chesnut and lentil soup is a thing of beauty. another real treat for now and again is the roasted duck leg confit with lentil dinner-peel off the skin for someone else before you tuck in-you will enjoy each and every calorie guaranteed.

Pumpkin\butternut squash+ kale curry- and I understand that basmati rice is the best of the white rices to eat.

[mizducky]

Again, thanks to everyone for their helpful and thoughtful posts.

A few more random responses--forgive me for not quoting individual responses; I fear my already long-winded posts will turn into novels if I start trying to cross reference everything to everyone.

Speaking of which, the post where I said about "downward dog" was already getting huge, so I kind of inadvertently left out that I wound up doing a *highly adapted* version of the Downward Dog, with my hands on a hip-high support. At this point I don't think I could do it the classic way, with my hands down on the floor along with my feet, without causing huge pain in my wrists. But I was just glad find I could do an even vaguely Dog-like move, let alone that one of my PTs knew about it.

Y'all do bring up great points with yoga though. I am hoping that as my body allows (and also my finances, which are tight enough that I have to plan carefully to fit in things like exercise classes even at my local Y), I can pursue that some more. In fact, you've prompted me to make a point of ask that PT some more about her yogo knowledge when I see her tomorrow. I was too brain-fried from keeping up with that session to think of asking her last time--the session, even though adapted, was just at the very limit of what I could handle that particular day, and I wasn't quite thinking straight by the time we were done.

You see, my body condition (like many people's with chronic pain conditions) is weird and unpredictable. On some days, even simple things hurt like the devil. And on some terrific days, I feel so good that I go "Hurrah! Let's go out and do a whole bunch of stuff!" -- and discover the next day that I let myself be suckered into way overdoing it so that I'm back in humongous pain again. Needless to say, as someone who used to be much more active, I have found all of this, especially the unpredictability and the tendency to have even slight overdoing blow up in my face, to be tremendously discouraging, not to mention downright depressing. The fact that I am at last mobilizing for concrete action at this high a level has taken literally months of working up my resolve.

On getting more vegetables and fruits into my diet -- I actually do love lots of vegetables (other than my post-diet-trauma trip about lettuce-based salads ), but have to fight a tendency to "forget" about them. I also came to realize that when I'm in pain, or feeling either physically or mentally fatigued from pain, I've been way too easy on myself about letting the veggies slide--the prep-and-cooking work for fresh ones feels like such a bother when I get in that kind of mood. And frankly, there are very few frozen veggies that I find palatable (and I've tried a bunch). It helped to explore less labor-intensive ways of preparing vegetables--for instance, prior to my arthritis getting really bad, my absolute favorite way of cooking vegetables had been stir-frying. Well, I finally had to admit to myself that some days the simple task of stirfrying feels monumental. That's where learning to roast vegetables turned into such a godsend in so many ways--when I'm feeling poorly, I don't have to stand up and stir in my wok, I can just slide everything in the oven and let it do the work for me.

Other suggestions for low-impact ways of cooking fresh vegetables, or even of perking up frozen vegetables so they don't taste so bleah, are heartily welcome!

Alas, with fruits I am much pickier. Unless my taste buds have also gotten out of whack, it seems like a lot of store-bought fruit has gone down in quality since I was a kid. I keep buying 'em, hoping for the best, and even when shopping the natural-foods store I all too often find I've bought only vaugely fruit-flavored cellulose. I do adore dried fruit--but this time, it's the anti-high-triglycerides regimen that's biting me in the ass, warning me against highly concentrated sweets including dried fruit. There are farmer's markets in town; I just have to plan for the physical challenge of hiking around them to do my shopping. Likewise my food co-op, which for an organo-groovy enterprise has shown itself to be distressingly obtuse about making allowances for disabled members (even if they got an electric scooter, it wouldn't fit through the aisles; and they've also done goofy stuff like putting all the anti-arthritis supplements on the *lowest* shelf of a display!).

Someone brought up about Omega-3 fatty acids. As a matter of fact, a number of fishes high in Omega-3s were among my favorites--but then that danged gout diet spooked me because a number of those same fishes turn out to be high in purines. Again, however, I am cautiously adding said fishes back into my diet, to the limit I can do so without awakening the danged gout. I had also at some point tried fish-oil capsules, but as I didn't notice any significant difference in my condition after going through a bottle or so I let 'em drop. In recent weeks, however, my doctor actually recommended fish oil, so off again I hied myself to the health food store to try and make sense of all the wildly-varying formulas and packaging. I found a likely one, and am giving 'em a go again. (aside on other supplements: I'm also taking a glucosamine supplement, again at my doctor's suggestion; and again I haven't noticed any specific improvement, but I'm staying with it for the time being. On my own I've tried a few of the other supplements touted for relief of inflammation, such as MSM and SAM-e, and just not noticed any improvement, so those got dropped. I find it really hard with supplements to get reliable info on how much to take and for how long to constitute giving them a fair trial.)

As to other fats--I think prior (non-Atkins) diets I've been on were excessively harsh with the low-fat routine, which was hell on me as an animal-fat fiend. Now I'm trying to concentrate not so much on eliminating all fats as a combination of cutting down a bit on fats in general, and substituting healthier fats (olive oil, canola oil) for unhealthy ones (animal fat, butter) where such substitution won't compromise taste. A low-fat fanatic would still, I'm sure, freak out at even the moderate amount of olive oil I use on my roasted veggies, but I've decided not to care about that. I'm trying to stick with the occasional foray into deep-fried foods as a special-treat indulgence only.

Edited July 25, 2005 by mizducky (log)

[KatieLoeb]

This has been my plan of late, as I too am desperately in need of dropping a few. When they re-vamped the food pyramid it only reinforced for me how inadequately I was already eating. I definitely do not eat enough fruits, vegeatables or whole grains. Almost none of us do. It's summer. The bounty of the season is upon us. Eat Meusli (Trader Joe's Blueberry Meusli is delicious) or oatmeal for breakfast, or make a yogurt, juice, fresh fruit and protein powder smoothie. Eat a BOATLOAD of fiber laden vegetables and fruits. Drink 64 oz. of water a day. I've been making lots of different soups - some hot (Cabbage soup), some chilled (Zucchini soup, Cucumber/Avocado Soup). I've been eating lots of cucumber and onion salads dressed simply with rice wine vinegar and pumpkin seed oil. I've been eating a big honking pile of chilled steamed green beans dunked into my favorite dressing. Or tossed with a pesto vinaigrette. Lots of sliced tomatoes with pesto/balsamic vinaigrette. When you fill up on the veggies and fruit it's easier not to overeat on the protein side of your plate. And that's usually where the overly large portions are. There are virtually no portion control issues with veggies and fruit.

[therese]

That's where learning to roast vegetables turned into such a godsend in so many ways--when I'm feeling poorly, I don't have to stand up and stir in my wok, I can just slide everything in the oven and let it do the work for me.

Other suggestions for low-impact ways of cooking fresh vegetables, or even of perking up frozen vegetables so they don't taste so bleah, are heartily welcome.

For me it's not just the effort of cooking (and I'm also a huge fan of the "walkaway roast technique") but the effort of prep. Rinsing, peeling, dicing---it's all a thrash if I'm pressed for time. So I tend to pick things that don't require much peeling or other prep: new potatoes rather than old, jerusalem artichokes rathern than potatoes, asparagus, corn on the cob (I grill it still in the husk). I choose cucumbers with edible peel, and eat the peels of carrots and beets.

If possible I cook a lot at one time and put it aside (in single serving sizes if I'm taking it for lunch) so that I won't have to cook if I'm tired or slammed for time.

Cooking techniques that I use include slow cooking (get a crock pot if you don't have one), grilling (gas grill obviously less work), and steaming (usually as a preclude to some sort of puree or soup---I use a blender, but an immersion mixer's next on my list of cool kitchen appliances).

There are farmer's markets in town; I just have to plan for the physical challenge of hiking around them to do my shopping.

Do you know if there's a CSA program in the area that you could subscribe to? I do have to go pick mine up (on Saturday AM, presenting me with my own physical challenge related to Friday PM imbibing, but never mind my decadent ways) but some will deliver to your home. Even if you do have to go pick it up it's much easier than regular shopping because, well, you don't shop: you're given what's good and abundant on the farm that week, and that's that. You might even be able to drive up and have the pre-packed CSA box deposited directly in the trunk of your car---no need to pay right then, as you've pre-paid (and paid less than you otherwise would in my experience).

When you get home you've got an enormous amount of very high quality veggies and fruits that you pretty much have to eat (or preserve in some way) over the course of the week. You can direct the energy you saved shopping towards food prep.

Edited July 25, 2005 by therese (log)

[sockii]

Doesn't sound dumb at all. WW culture is strange. That silly slogan they have: "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." To which someone on this board replied: "You just haven't tasted my cooking." Exactly! WW tends to promote food that is not good and not even that healthy.

This is one of my beefs with them--too much reliance on foods prepared with artificial sweeteners and the like. But because of the flexibility of the programs I just worked around that to my own tastes.

I agree with you that it's very much a matter of finding a balance and not doing things that are such an effort they become overwhelming.

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Exactly. For me, WW worked beautifully--in fact, in my 33 years, most of which was spent being moderately to heavily overweight--it was the only thing that finally got my weight under control. I was always very stubborn about not wanting someone to tell me what I could or couldn't eat, so the idea that I could eat what I wanted--so long as I budgeted for it--appealed, and it was the only "diet" plan I could ever get to work (I also excercised like a madwoman to earn those "Activity Points" for extra food )

But after a year and hitting my goal, I found I had to step back from the tight WW regimen and figure out how to maintain on my own and not become *completely* food/counting obsessed. Even their maintenance-level programs were too restrictive and I couldn't stop losing weight until I got off plan entirely. Still, it has helped me lose and now maintain my weight and pick up a lot of better eating habits, and realize how sneaky some "bad" foods can be about bloating up your diet with needless calories. Overall it's a program I still recommend to most people looking for a diet/weight loss program, though certainly it won't be the best fit for everyone.

[Bond Girl]

Here's my 2 cents...For many years, friend and colleagues marveled at all the stuff I eat, while remained relatively normal in weight (120 pounds at 5'4"). I am the person who drinks whole milk, eats loads of carbs, orders my own dessert (sometimes 2 desserts) and use real sugar.

I think the trick is to think about what you eat and to fully comprehend the taste of of food that you put in your mouth. What are you tasting? What are the flavor notes? How does it feel? What do you think of the testure? And, do you like it? It's the thought process that slows down the eating and really let you think about if you really really want that extra bite of food. It also train your palate to look for things that are really pleasing to you, rather than settle for the some mediocre tasting meal.

Of course, this is a little impossible when you are starving, so I eat throughout the day, tastiing this and that.

I tend to get bored with food after a few bites, so I stopped eating them, unless the dish is supremely interesting. Also I won't eat what doesn't taste good to me, so badly cooked food is out, microwaved food is out, frozen food is out, and chemically processed foods and substitutes like margarin, saccharin, and iodized salt is out. That leaves just real, whole natural, organic good food. The exception would be when I am really hungry then I'll eat just enough to staff off the hunger.

It's made me a better cook and kept me in good health so far.

[Bernaise]

FitDay.com

This is the online calorie\carb\fat\sodium counting program that me and my friends enjoy using and it's free-although you can purchase it for even more detailed progress...

I find it quite detailed as is.

a nice feature it has allows you to enter nutritional labels on packages and has access to lots of prepared food items. You can even set your various goals and track your progress. Sadly it will not explain why your weight will plateau despite your stellar eating progress!

[Milagai]

alas, portion control is my doom too:

i am prob the only person on the planet who

has gained many kgs eating sprouted salads etc.

my take: i am lucky enough to ahve grown up in a cuisine

culture where tasty and healthy are the same thing

(though indian food has LOTS Of bombs and bad things).

but indian home cooking is basically so yummy and very healthy

that i get really when people start from the premise

that you have to give up taste or sacrifice something or other to eat

healthy.

i know what i eat is very healthy and high in fruits, vegs, grains, etc.

sigh.... if i could only stop with one serving of salad and not 4

i would be better off......

but it tastes so darn good.....

milagai

[DRColby]

I am curious, Ellen, did the thread under the French postings on the The Montignac Method of eating come-up?

I read to the end of this treat quickly.

I was so impressed a year ago I bought both books connected with the The Montignac Method and liked most of the dietary parts but found timing and other aspects a little daunting. Walk before coffee, etc. I would ship them off to you but a friend currently is using them.

Anyhow, I would be curious to learn the gout aspects of diet under the The Montignac Method.

Why don't you post gout issue there and she what kind of answer Lucy comes up with?

dave

[mizducky]

I am curious, Ellen, did the thread under the French postings on the The Montignac Method  of eating come-up?

I read to the end of this treat quickly.

I was so impressed a year ago I bought both books connected with the The Montignac Method and liked most of the dietary parts but found timing and other aspects a little daunting. Walk before coffee, etc.  I would ship them off to you but a friend currently is using them.

Anyhow, I would be curious to learn the gout aspects of diet under the The Montignac Method.

Why don't you post  gout issue  there and she what kind of answer Lucy comes up with?

dave

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Actually, I did research the Montignac Method, partly prompted by Lucy's topic. My impression is that, alas, it still has too much emphasis on low-carb/high protein to be feasible for my gout. As I already said, I have absolutely sworn off ever doing anything even vaguely resembling a low carb diet ever again--I just do not want to risk another acute gout attack. Plus, like I said above, my emphasis is primarily *not* on losing weight, but on eating healthy for my health conditions, for which a low fat/low animal protein/high-complex-carb diet is therefore pretty much a given for me.

[purplewiz]

My husband and I faced the same original question when we went to change our eating habits almost two years ago. My motto when it comes to food is simple: if it doesn't taste good, I ain't eatin' it. And I'm the final judge of taste!

Since like many of the posters on this thread, I've tried and failed at most of the traditional "diets", I decided to turn everything I could on its ear. Instead of food being the problem, I decided that food was the solution.

The first phase was to look at all our favorite dishes, the ones that had become staples, and classify them in one of three ways: dishes that fit perfectly with the new plan, dishes that could be made to fit with some reasonable modifications, and dishes that were going to have to become occasional treats. There was a huge sigh of relief as we discovered that there were many dishes that fit into categories 1 and 2 - we did NOT have to give up everything we already liked!

Second phase was to fill in the gap left by the foods that fell off the map, and that's where I started to rely on my love of food and cooking. I started looking for new recipes, especially with unfamiliar ingredients, that fit in with the new eating plan. Instead of letting this change stifle my love of new and different foods, I made it feed into this love. It not only shook me out of my cooking rut, but led to some fascinating discoveries, like that I really love kale. Who knew?

The upshot is that it's working. So far, the changes have stuck not only because of the results, but because we're eating better. We like what we're eating better than what we ate before. The food is tastier and we eat a wider variety. It's easier to make a change stick when you like things after the change better than before.

Marcia.

[mizducky]

Once again, I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful replies. So far, this has been a very helpful exercise for me, for concrete suggestions, questions that helped me refine my goals, and just general support.

That fitday.com site is turning out to be a very helpful tool. I've been plugging my past few days' eating into it, and it really helps to see where all the nutrients are stacking up. It's one thing to understand that animal protein packs a significant amount of saturated fat and cholesterol, but a whole other matter to see just how much of a bite out of my recommended daily saturated-fat and cholesterol allotment even that proverbial broiled boneless/skinless chicken breast takes. Similarly, it's one thing to realize a fast-food burger is "bad" for you, but a total mind-blower to see how much saturated fat as well as sodium even a "healthy" fast-food entree packs. All I can say is, I've got a follow-up appointment with my primary-care physician tomorrow, and she's just gonna love it when I start burbling about my new-found motivation in getting the saturated fat, cholesterol, and excess sodium out of my life.

I've also been encouraged in my long slow crawl back to regular exercise. So far I've been to three physical therapy reconditioning classes. Twenty-four hours after the first one, I was almost immobilized by pain. I am now 24 hours past the third one and am feeling pretty darn good (other than my left hip, which is only twinging slightly).

Interestingly, one of the PTs totally agreed with me, from her own experience, about not making weight loss the focus. For some of us, just climbing on that scale once can turn into an OCD nightmare, and the next thing we know we're compulsively weighing ourselves eight or nine times a day to try and find that optimum (lightest) moment.

I will observe, with gentle amusement, that despite my numerous previous statements that weight loss was *not* going to be my primary emphasis (and my careful wording of the topic subject to emphasize "healthy" eating with *no* mention of weight-loss dieting), that many posters immediately jumped in with weight-loss tips anyway. This is by no means a criticism nor a show of ingratitude--more an observation concerning the impact of the national obsession with weight loss to, at least IMO, the detriment of other health-oriented goals. Why is "weight loss" and "slenderness" so single-mindedly the first thing that comes to many people's minds when they see the words "healthy eating?" Surely a person can be skinny but still be setting themselves up for heart disease, diabetes, and ghod knows what else through an unbalanced diet loaded with tons of over-refined carbohydrates, cholesterol and saturated fats, and devoid of anything resembling a fresh vegetable or fruit. I'm not saying that body weight *isn't* a factor--but I am saying that the myopic focus on body weight alone as the prime measure of healthy eating is IMO seriously oversimplistic.

Edited July 29, 2005 by mizducky (log)

[Mottmott]

You've had so many good suggestions, I'll try to not duplicate.

I've learned that grapeseed oil is a good neutral tasting monounsaturated fat with similar benefits to olive oil. I've stopped using canola (most of which is GM, anyway), and only use olive oil and grapeseed. Grapeseed, unlike the olive oil, can take high temperatures.

I find some vegetables are great when steamed. It brings out the best in some vegetables. I use the microwave for cabbage which becomes very sweet). Roasting rocks. I also find a squeeze of lemon juice often adds a lot to vegetables as well as fish. Make friends with gremalata (chopped parsley & garlic) which can be added to everything from pasta, soup, stews to some vegetables. Similarly, a little vinaigrette over vegetables gives them zip. Capers, anchovies, olives can be added to all sorts of foods to give the dish more depth. Keep a few pots of herbs around (chives, mint, parsley, basil, sage, rosemary) for a few snips to perk your food up.

[easternsun]

mducky said: "Why is "weight loss" and "slenderness" so single-mindedly the first thing that comes to many people's minds when they see the words "healthy eating?" Surely a person can be skinny but still be setting themselves up for heart disease, diabetes, and ghod knows what else through an unbalanced diet loaded with tons of over-refined carbohydrates, cholesterol and saturated fats, and devoid of anything resembling a fresh vegetable or fruit. I'm not saying that body weight *isn't* a factor--but I am saying that the myopic focus on body weight alone as the prime measure of healthy eating is IMO seriously oversimplistic."

an excellent comment mizducky!

I am a little late to chime in but I also wanted to suggest you look for a registered yoga therapist. We are trained to deal with problems such as gout and arthritis. I would like to suggest that you visit an ANUSARA or IYENGAR certified instructor – there will definitely be yogis of all shapes, sizes and abilities. These two types of yoga are the best fit for someone dealing with PT.

IMHO, yoga CAN help people lose weight, but it's often "through the back door."

Unlike other fitness regimes, the point of the yoga asana practice is to reach Samadhi, not weight loss. But, this deals with physical balance and optimal health, so it certainly reaches to the aspect of weight.

The real way that yoga helps is by tuning us into our bodies. When we're tuned in to our bodies, we learn how to treat those bodies with a great deal of love and respect. We find that we tend to turn away from excess in our diets, and we also find that we want to be more active in general (beyond our yoga practice) which inspires other physical activities that may help us lose weight in addition to the particular asana practice (assuming we practice a style that encourages this).

I know that you did not ask about weight loss and I absolutely agree with the obsession people seem to have with it -- here is my “yogic” take on it:

Weight loss has a large body type component (cultural, image-based concept), a hormonal component, a specialization and assimilation component in regards to food, and a myriad of other factors that may be involved.

The issue of body type, though, is important to mention. Currently, our culture values the pitta or ectomorphic body type for women (this is the thin, model body type). Second to this, our culture values the muscular body type--the vata or mesomorph (this is the 'ripped six pack abs' body type).Currently, our culture highly devalues the kapha or endomorphic body type. As few as 50 or 60 years ago, our culture preferred the kapha to the vata or pitta.

So, what was once considered healthy (kapha) is now considered "fat" and therefore 'Unhealthy.' what was once considered unhealthy (pitta) as 'too skinny' is now considered "thin" and "fit and attractive" and "healthy.' Culturally, women still struggle with the vata body type--getting both compliments and criticism for that sort of body.

So a large part of 'being fat' in our current cultural climate is about perception of what we think a body is supposed to look like. ON average, a five foot, seven inch pitta body type will weigh anywhere from 115 to 125 lbs. The vata of the same height will weigh between 130 and 140.The kapha of the same height will weigh between 145 and 155. Each have different skeletal densities, muscle shapes, muscle fiber, and fat distribution. Each person may be perfectly healthy for their body type, but look drastically different. Similarly, the girl who is 145-155 will be told that she's anywhere from 15-40 lbs overweight. The vata will be told that she's probably 'just about right' or about 5-10 lbs overweight. The pitta will be told that she's 'strong, fit' and healthy' even though she may not eat well or exercise--this would just be based on her appearance of 'thinness' which is culturally valued.

Part of the 'weight loss' scheme is whether or not an individual needs to loose weight. If a pitta body type is 5 ft, 7 inches and weighs 150 lbs, it's likely that she does need to loose weight--about 25 lbs--and find the diet (caloric intake, macronutrient distribution needs, micronutrient needs) and the right kind of exercise that will keep her motivated and lead to life-long fitness. Yet, if a kapha body type is 150 lbs at the same height, this person likely doesn't need to lose any weight, even though culture, even doctors, would tell her that she should. If this young person were to try to loose weight using a pitta dietary and exercise model, it's likely that the body would go into a hormonal 'starvation' mode, which would cause her to either maintain or gain weight because her body would be striving to hold onto nutrients by creating more body fat to suspend those nutrients until the starvation mode ends.

So, it is more complex than 'calories in-calories out." For those who are still dieting, the better question to ask is not 'will I lose weight with this?" but rather, 'will this behavior make me healthy and happy?" If we seek health instead of weight loss, then we will receive health--and a healthy weight.

Edited July 29, 2005 by easternsun (log)

[britcook]

To take your original point of how to make 'good for your body' foods into 'good for your tastebuds' food I found a lot of useful advice and recipes in Sally Schneider's A New Way To Cook where she addresses the problems of how to get taste into food which is inherently boring.

[Zucchini Mama]

Hey Miz Ducky,

I'm glad you started this thread. I think there needs to me more writing done on the subject of pain management with regards to exercise and really great food. I have a couple of types of pain that come and go and affect my ability to exercise. Right now I work on a very gentle type of movement therapy called the Mitzvah technique, which is a development of the Alexander technique. It is a body release technique that helps to ease out some of the muscle tension that creates pain and is also caused by pain.

I've also been thinking of taking up Tai Chi as a form of meditation/movement. Today as I was walking through the park, I saw the Tai Chi class performing some kind of funky Chinese line dancing. It was very poignant to see one older woman who had sought out a patch of shade, doing the steps with a huge grin on her face.

As for swimming, maybe you could use your flamboyant style to help you through the fear of starting. Finding a really goofy bathing cap that says "Here I am, the diva of the pool, " may help you find the joy in a scary situation.

From reading your posts I can tell you're a creative and articulate person, so you need to focus on what foods you can eat and come up with some dishes that turn you on. I am also the queen of protein and carnivorous mouthfeel, so I know the frustration of trying to give that up. If you can do barley, I would say go for the barley risotto. Barley is also a diuretic, so it help to take away some of the inflammation. I find it helps me feel really great. Seeds are good for mouthfeel-sunflower and pumpkin-just don't overdo it or if you're like me you end up getting food aversion, as in "If I see another sunflower seed, I'll puke."

Write down what you can eat and brainstorm. "Health food" cookbooks have come a long way since the seventies. The local alternative health new agey type book store here has a huge selection of the new books that combine the healing idea with the gourmet food idea.

This would be a good opportunity for the eGullet staff to seek out a creative dietician who could do an online workshop for this kind of situation. I'd really like to see that. Dieticians seem to be coming a long way since the seventies, when they were perky ladies named "Debbie" and "Sandy" who religiously followed the Canada food guide with bland and mainstream recipes.

Be gentle on yourself. Take it in small steps. Do it the Ducky way!

Zuke

Edited July 29, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[mizducky]

Be gentle on yourself. Take it in small steps. Do it the Ducky way!

←

Many thanks for that affirmation!

All this writing and thinking about health, diet, and taste has definitely stoked my creativity in a new way. As I'm typing, I've got beside me a bowl of a cucumber/scallion/yogurt salad I just concocted--kind of a little like a raita, but with only a little yogurt and a lot of cuke. The other night I made a big bowl of coleslaw, only instead of a standard mayonnaise/sour cream-type slaw dressing I mixed up a very mustardy vinaigrette for it. Right now the excessive heat and lack of air conditioning is keeping me away from more involved cooking, but when it cools off a bit I am definitely going to give barley risottos a go (I like barley, and I love risottos, so playing with those is sounding pretty intriguing). And I've only just begun to play!