Note to self: it’s a bad idea to book a physical exam right after the Christmas season. Like a lot of other people I went face first into the cookies and the chocolates. Also since we had Covid in November my regular exercise routine has been, shall we say, less than regular. Mostly I’m in good health but today I got the ultimatum: get the cholesterol down or go on medication. My doc was very nice about it prefacing her remarks with, “I know you don’t like to take medication but…” We agreed, I have three months to try to turn down the dial with food and exercise. Apparently I've managed this trick in the past although I don’t think the numbers were quite as high as they are this time. Nothing like a little motivation!
I know the result I need and why I need it. Now the issue becomes how. Hang onto your hats because this may be a long one. First a little background. Mum was a trained dietitian. She made nutritious meals and I don’t remember disliking any of the food she served. I think, as with sewing, I absorbed a lot of information just through our conversations. Forward a bit to the time I moved out to live on my own.
I was in a situation where I had cheap access to a cafeteria which served multiple versions of sticky, gooey, wonderful desserts and I ate most of my dinners there. I’m lucky in that I’ve always liked salads and most veggies but when you're young and there are a lot of pizza parties complete with beer, it’s pretty easy to put on weight. Add to that the fact that I’d always been, ‘chunky,’ ‘solid.’ You can put in your own adjective and you get the picture.
When I went for a check up that time the issue was high blood pressure. The prescription: lose weight. The doc, who was a charming Scot, prescribed some pills to help with that. I filled the prescription but didn’t take any of the pills. In retrospect I’m glad I didn’t as they were more than likely amphetamines. The other part of the prescription was to stick strictly to 1000 calories a day. Well, I was young and scared about the possibility of high blood pressure so I took on the challenge. I logged my food. I calculated calories meticulously. I dropped almost 20 pounds and a clothing size. The blood pressure went down, and I felt hungry and deprived. I remember my stomach rumbling as I sat watching friends down ice cream while I drank mint tea. Now I can’t help wondering if part of the high blood pressure was ‘white coat syndrome.’
It took a while but the weight came back plus a bit more. Then the weight pretty much stayed put for a number of years. During the 80’s it started to creep up a bit more and the prevailing wisdom of the time was ‘fat makes you fat.’ Enter Jane Brody’s Good Food Book. We made spaghetti sauces with lentils and used applesauce in muffins instead of oil. I’ve never been much of a cookie baker. I find them fussy but muffins, quick breads, yeast bread, and fruit loaves? Sign me up. By limiting the fat, my weight again dropped and that lasted for a while.
By the next round I was cycling a lot and had taken up running, registering for 10km and half marathon races. We did some long distance cycling trips during the summers and were active members of a cycling club which had rides every weekend. For some reason I can’t remember now, I decided it would be a good idea to sign up for a course at the University of Calgary that provided training and an entry to the Honolulu marathon. I had a deferred salary leave that year so why not spend a few days in December in Hawaii? A friend and I embarked on marathon training together. The coaches were recommending The Zone Diet at that time so that was my guide but I did eat a fair number of brownies and pieces of pie at the end of long runs. Again, the weight eventually crept back up even though I continued to run half marathons for ten years.
At one point I tried The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet and again lost weight. I remember cycling from the parking lot at Muleshoe to Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies and eating cucumbers and cheese for lunch. Eat lots of protein; fat will help you feel full; stay away from bread, potatoes, grains and most fruit. That worked, for a while.
Then I started to see a pattern. The eating plans seemed to be mostly of two types, the low fat diet, and the low carb diet. There were endless permutations and combinations with lots in the middle of the spectrum. Regardless of the nutritional advice, the structure of the books was very similar. They went something like this, ‘Here are my credentials (the writers were often MD’s of some variety), I was fat, unhappy, and sick. I went on this diet and now I’m healthy and athletic and so are my patients.’ The texts of the books are often sprinkled liberally with testimonials.
The frustrating thing is that you can find two doctors making the same claims but advocating diametrically opposed methods. Since I’m not about to read the individual studies cited, how am I supposed to know which one to pay attention to? There is also a fair amount of mudslinging back and forth between camps. These guys cherry-picked the data. These guys were bullied because their research findings contradicted conventional wisdom. There was a coverup of so-and-so's research. Dr Atkins died of a heart attack and was obese. Dr. Atkins died as the result of an accident and was puffed up because of fluid retention in the hospital. Apparently Dr. Atkins' autopsy results are publicly available, so I'll let you track down the final verdict on that bit of scandal. The food lobby pays for studies so most of the studies find in their favour. The design of the study was flawed. I also found that the famous Nurses’ Study is often cited by both sides. You can find books that tell you anything you want to hear about diet and nutrition. I’ve read so many that I’ve lost count and can’t remember the names of them. I'm not even going to touch on the stuff on the web. At times I've sworn off reading diet books but I drift back because I find the topic interesting. So what do I do now?
A logical person might say to pick a course down the middle and stick to that. That does sound very sensible. The problem is I’m not the sensible type when it comes to food. I like it and I want to eat until I feel satisfied. I’ve been on the calorie counting ride a few times and I simply can’t be bothered with it. When I’m counting calories I feel picked on and cross. Well, just eat less. Right, if only it were that easy. For the folks who say that it probably is. I’m not going to rationalize or get into a discussion about will power. For me, ‘just eating less’ is not an easy thing to do. I could consult a professional and I might.
I think with all the reading I've done I have a pretty good understanding for a lay person. Even though I don't read the studies cited in the books, I check where papers were published and look to see if the ideas appear in reputable journals. There was one book that swore that you could lose weight by eating a teaspoon of sugar two hours before a meal and then taking a teaspoon of olive oil an hour before a meal. Those may not be the exact details but it was something like that. I think that was called the Shangri-la Diet. I admit to buying and reading that book, justifying the purchase under the heading of entertainment or comedy.
There are some other eating plans that don’t fall into the two broad categories. Eat Right for your Type advises that what is good for you to eat depends on your blood type. I didn't try that one either. The Eight Hour Diet is one I did try. Rather than specifying what to eat or how much to eat it suggests you eat within an 8 hour window. I’ve actually been following that one for probably close to 15 years. I like to think that without it I’d be even heavier, but who knows.
I had always been a breakfast eater. I’m up; I’m awake; now where’s the food? For the first few weeks not having breakfast was a struggle and I was always looking at my watch to see when I could finally eat. Now not eating until around noon is just part of my regular routine. I’m not any hungrier at lunch than I used to be when I got up and it sure saves time when you need to get out the door in a hurry. So now I eat two meals a day and I don’t usually snack after supper.
Research is coming out now that suggests the makeup of your microbiome contributes to how you metabolize food. Can I take a pill for that? How easy that would be! Although I find the research in this area really interesting I’m not holding my breath for the microbiome silver bullet.
So what next? Well, once again, I need to drop some weight. Thank you Covid 19 for providing a good excuse to throw any reasonable eating habits out the window. Actually, my current doc didn't specify that I need to drop weight: she gave me 3 months to get the cholesterol down or it’s medication time.
The reading I’ve been doing lately has to do with the nutrient density of food. If you’re in a society where you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, you need to be able to store calories against the times of famine. I’m very grateful not to be in that situation. The next thing I’m going to try is a plant-based, whole-foods diet. I don’t think anyone will have an issue with my eating more fruits, veggies and whole grains. When push comes to shove, I think I enjoy the kinds of foods this diet recommends rather than the low carb diets I’ve been on before. As always, I’m looking for something I can sustain over the long term. I love potatoes and have hardly eaten any over the last few years. Before Covid I was pretty much doing without bread so I know I can do that. Nuke a potato, give me the salt and pepper and I’m good to go. I like porridge, beans, and lentils. The truth is that I’ve lost weight on all of the diets I’ve tried and it took me longer on some than others to fall off the wagon and put it back on. I don’t think I’m ready to give up milk and yogurt yet, and I admit to going overboard on the ice cream lately. It’s actually frozen yogurt so that shouldn’t count, right? Wrong, just as much sugar and maybe as much fat as the real thing.
Ok I’ll give it a go with plain yogurt and milk, no cheese, very little ice cream. I’ll drink more green tea, and mint tea which don’t require milk. I have a tea called North African mint that has pepper and licorice in it. It is very tasty and because my blood pressure is low, I think I can have a cup a day without worrying about the effect the licorice has on it. Some of the chai teas are made without black tea and they taste pretty good, although I do prefer chai with milk. I’ll have to cut out the splash of juice in my sparkling water but we’ve found a brand of organic lemon juice that isn’t bitter and I can use that most of the time. If I have a water bottle with cold water beside me I’ll drink it without thinking so that’s a plus. There are some good sites online that suggest combinations of spices so that the food isn’t bland. Lentils, beans, and rice are a snap in the Instant Pot, one of our favourite cooking implements. Of course, I’ll also cut down on the sugar, honey, and maple syrup even though I don’t think my consumption of those things is excessive.
Rather than trying to untangle who is right and who is wrong, I’m going to be my own guinea pig once again. Maybe this will be the eating plan that will stick, until I go to Scotland on a cruise ship. That is months away from now and if I fall off the wagon then, which I likely will, and have established a diet that I enjoy and that works to keep the blood work in check, I’ll be able to go back to it without too much complaint. Really, I can do without the whipped cream and butter if you offer me potatoes and yams instead. And, yes, that last sentence is partly to convince myself.
For now, it’s ‘back to old clothes and porridge,’ as Mum used to say. I always found it a bit strange coming out of her mouth because she was gluten intolerant, but still, the idea works. I’ll let you know how I’m doing. That will keep me accountable and I won’t be offended if you choose to ignore the dietary navel gazing. Stay tuned.
By the way, all the best in 2023. I had planned to write a cheery and uplifting entry for the first one of 2023. Oh well.
There are some other eating plans that don’t fall into the two broad categories. Eat Right for your Type advises that what is good for you to eat depends on your blood type. I didn't try that one either. The Eight Hour Diet is one I did try. Rather than specifying what to eat or how much to eat it suggests you eat within an 8 hour window. I’ve actually been following that one for probably close to 15 years. I like to think that without it I’d be even heavier, but who knows.
I had always been a breakfast eater. I’m up; I’m awake; now where’s the food? For the first few weeks not having breakfast was a struggle and I was always looking at my watch to see when I could finally eat. Now not eating until around noon is just part of my regular routine. I’m not any hungrier at lunch than I used to be when I got up and it sure saves time when you need to get out the door in a hurry. So now I eat two meals a day and I don’t usually snack after supper.
Research is coming out now that suggests the makeup of your microbiome contributes to how you metabolize food. Can I take a pill for that? How easy that would be! Although I find the research in this area really interesting I’m not holding my breath for the microbiome silver bullet.
So what next? Well, once again, I need to drop some weight. Thank you Covid 19 for providing a good excuse to throw any reasonable eating habits out the window. Actually, my current doc didn't specify that I need to drop weight: she gave me 3 months to get the cholesterol down or it’s medication time.
The reading I’ve been doing lately has to do with the nutrient density of food. If you’re in a society where you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, you need to be able to store calories against the times of famine. I’m very grateful not to be in that situation. The next thing I’m going to try is a plant-based, whole-foods diet. I don’t think anyone will have an issue with my eating more fruits, veggies and whole grains. When push comes to shove, I think I enjoy the kinds of foods this diet recommends rather than the low carb diets I’ve been on before. As always, I’m looking for something I can sustain over the long term. I love potatoes and have hardly eaten any over the last few years. Before Covid I was pretty much doing without bread so I know I can do that. Nuke a potato, give me the salt and pepper and I’m good to go. I like porridge, beans, and lentils. The truth is that I’ve lost weight on all of the diets I’ve tried and it took me longer on some than others to fall off the wagon and put it back on. I don’t think I’m ready to give up milk and yogurt yet, and I admit to going overboard on the ice cream lately. It’s actually frozen yogurt so that shouldn’t count, right? Wrong, just as much sugar and maybe as much fat as the real thing.
Ok I’ll give it a go with plain yogurt and milk, no cheese, very little ice cream. I’ll drink more green tea, and mint tea which don’t require milk. I have a tea called North African mint that has pepper and licorice in it. It is very tasty and because my blood pressure is low, I think I can have a cup a day without worrying about the effect the licorice has on it. Some of the chai teas are made without black tea and they taste pretty good, although I do prefer chai with milk. I’ll have to cut out the splash of juice in my sparkling water but we’ve found a brand of organic lemon juice that isn’t bitter and I can use that most of the time. If I have a water bottle with cold water beside me I’ll drink it without thinking so that’s a plus. There are some good sites online that suggest combinations of spices so that the food isn’t bland. Lentils, beans, and rice are a snap in the Instant Pot, one of our favourite cooking implements. Of course, I’ll also cut down on the sugar, honey, and maple syrup even though I don’t think my consumption of those things is excessive.
Rather than trying to untangle who is right and who is wrong, I’m going to be my own guinea pig once again. Maybe this will be the eating plan that will stick, until I go to Scotland on a cruise ship. That is months away from now and if I fall off the wagon then, which I likely will, and have established a diet that I enjoy and that works to keep the blood work in check, I’ll be able to go back to it without too much complaint. Really, I can do without the whipped cream and butter if you offer me potatoes and yams instead. And, yes, that last sentence is partly to convince myself.
For now, it’s ‘back to old clothes and porridge,’ as Mum used to say. I always found it a bit strange coming out of her mouth because she was gluten intolerant, but still, the idea works. I’ll let you know how I’m doing. That will keep me accountable and I won’t be offended if you choose to ignore the dietary navel gazing. Stay tuned.
By the way, all the best in 2023. I had planned to write a cheery and uplifting entry for the first one of 2023. Oh well.
