★Jeff's New Diet

Jeff’s New Diet

First off, I ain’t a doctor, I ain’t a nutritionist, at the moment I don’t seek out “free-range” meat or eggs or “grass-fed” beef. I’m sure that is great stuff and well worth it, but for right now I just want to come up with a diet that is easy for me to do that will be WAY more healthy that what I have been doing.

Here is why I think this will be an AMAZINGLY EASY DIET TO STICK TO. Because, I can eat large amounts of all the crap I’m not supposed to eat. I’m talking about the real stuff, not pizza lite, not soy burgers, not no-carb desserts, but the real thing. Here is my list of junk food: Hamburgers, REAL Coca Cola, Pizza, Mexican Food, Chinese Food, Pasta, Fried Chicken, Cornbread, REAL Ice Cream, Snickers Bars (though I am going to start eating more dark chocolate) and on and on. And HERE is why. I’m only gonna eat that crap one day a week. If I know I can eat whatever I want in just a few days I know it will be easy to eat healthy during the rest of the week. Also, don’t ask me about the details, but spiking your metabolism like this once a week can help to keep your metabolism from slowing down. It is hard to stick to some austere diet for a long time, with a diet like this I know I can stick with it. It’s a real life change. Don’t you think you could stick with a diet as good as the one I’m going to lay out below if you knew you could grab a real burger this weekend and not feel guilty about it? I’m going to make Saturday my “sanity/insanity” day. If I fail, I will tell you guys all about it, but I’m going for it. At the end of this post I’m gonna add a few tips that some of you might be interested in – they are things I’m doing.

Main Drinks: Water, Tea, Green Tea, Black Tea (Unsweetened or Sweetened with Saccharin, saccharin is my choice, lots of people advise no artificial sweeteners. This is just MY choice.)
If I drink any coffee I’ll drink decaf and I won’t use sweeteners. I won’t drink veggie juice or fruit juice during week. Basically, DON’T DRINK CALORIES.

Occasional Drinks: Diet Soda. Let’s face it, unsweetened tea and water can get kind of boring. So, I’m willing to risk an occasional no calorie soda.

My Salad:
Lettuce, Broccoli, Tomato, Cucumber, Cauliflower, Oil & Vinegar
Optional: Mushrooms, Fresh Green Beans. I happen to like salads pretty well. Shouldn’t it be easy to eat several salads during the week? This seems pretty easy to me.

Easy Snacks: Tomato, Cucumber, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Fresh Green Beans,
Pickles, Pickled Asparagus. Easy. Easy. Easy. Just keep ‘em in the fridge.

My Main Cooked Veggies:
Spinach, Collards, Turnip Greens, Cabbage, Asparagus, Summer Squash,
Zucchini, Green Beans, Okra. This to me sounds great. I like veggies and they will help to satisfy me.

Flavor: Peppers, Onions, Spices, Artificial Sweetener in moderation, Easy to make Salsas, Mustard, No-Salt

Fish:
Salmon, Herring, Sardines, Mackerel

Meat:
Beef, Poultry, Pork

A Wide Variety of Meals, Most of Which Are Very Easy to Make
Salads
Taco Salad
Grilled Chicken Salad
Turkey
Rotisserie Chicken
Hamburger Patties with mustard, pickles and onions
Chili
Tuna Fish with a side dish
Baked Chicken
Steak and veggies
Bacon and eggs/omelet (Can add all kinds of stuff to eggs)
Ribs wish sugar-free BBQ sauce
Stir-Fry
Pork Loin
Beef Loin
Cabbage w/Sausage
Bean Salad
Slow cooked roast that falls apart in your mouth, can combine with sugar free bbq sauce
Bean Soup
Hot and Sour Soup (Low Carb Version – hence, no corn starch)
If you want to get fancy have a low carb version of Tandoori or Tiika Chicken

Easy Sides:
Bean Salad
Beans
Asparagus
Broccoli
Greens
Cauliflower
Tomato
Steamed Squash or Zucchini
Okra
Roasted or Fresh Tomato with Olive Oil, Ground Rosemary, Basil and Oregano

Sauces
Mustard
Sugar Free BBQ Sauce
(Look online for more sauces)

Here is some info on Super-Foods
Blueberries: Are packed with antioxidants and Phytoflavinoids (Whatever that is.)
They are high in potassium and vitamin C. The Lowdown: They lower your risk of heart disease and cancer and are also anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is a key driver of all chronic diseases. Seriously consider eating a cup or two of blueberries on your “day off” from your regular diet.

Omega 3 Rich Fish: (Wild – Not Farmed) Salmon, Herring, Sardines, and Mackerel
The Omega 3’s you get in these fish lower the risk of heart disease, help arthritis and may help with memory loss and even Alzheimer’s. You can also get Omega 3 from flax seed and walnuts. Walnuts are very high in calories though. These foods can help to lower cholesterol because they are high in monounsaturated fats.

Soy: (Not powdered soy or soy sauce) Can help to lower cholesterol. If you have a family history of breast cancer do some research before increasing your soy intake.

Fiber: A diet high in fiber helps to maintain healthy cholesterol and blood sugar. Fiber helps you feel full longer so it can help with weight management. Whole grains, beans, fruit and vegetables are all good sources.

Tea: Black Tea and Green Tea are good antioxidants. Green tea has something called ECGC that is supposed to be really good for you. The Lowdown: Replace sodas with tea.

Calcium: Okay, basically calcium helps to build strong bones and prevent osteoporosis. If you aren’t eating dairy try to make sure you are getting 1000 to 1300 mg somehow. I THINK this means daily. Will have to check.

Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants and can lower blood pressure.The darker the better. Look for 60% or higher cocoa content. The darker it is the lower it is in fat and sugar.

I will add more stuff on superfoods as I do more research.

Also, I will add some additional thoughts soon.

Okay, so here are some more thoughts. Most of this is my interpretation of info from Tim Ferris’s 4-Hour Body.

Eating something within’ 30 minutes of when you wake up and eating several times during the day will help you have energy throughout the day. When are YOU eating? I am one of those people who NEVER eats breakfast. I am now being conscious of how important it is. Also, by dropping the empty calories like cereals and bread and replacing them with proteins and complex carbs your insulin doesn’t spike up and down. The Lowdown: more energy, steady energy, less afternoon lulls.

Stop eating stuff before you go to bed. If you go to bed at ten, stop eating by seven or eight.

Drink LOTS of water. Try to get in the habit of drinking a big glass of ice cold water in the morning. Keep a bottle of water with you. Make it like your wallet, your cell phone or your purse. Get a brita filter or something. The earth will thank you too.

Consider doing something to spike your metabolism in the morning. A quick walk around the block or maybe high-energy burst on the exercise bike. If you are never exercising one minute in the morning can make a difference.

Did you know that Michael Phelps eats over 4000 calories a day? I think he can do it, NOT SURE ABOUT THIS, but, my understanding is that some people believe it has to do with body temp. Don’t know much about this yet, but you burn more calories when exposed to cold a lot. If you are in the water all day you are going to burn more calories. I happen to have a vest that is made for working in the heat. You put it in the freezer. When you put it on it lowers your body temp 20 degrees. I’m thinking about using this some and see if I can tell any difference.

Okay, another thing you can do. You can keep a food journal. Even if you do it for just a few weeks it has been proven that you are three times as likely to stick to a diet if you use one. It makes you mindful of what you are eating.

Know what has been proven to be even MORE effective than a food journal. Actually taking pictures of your meals before you eat them. You put your food on the plate, hold your hand next to the plate for reference, take the shot and upload the pics to your computer. Do this for two weeks and you will become WAY more conscious of what you are eating. It helps you get a better handle on portion size. It also bring into your consciousness how much worthless crap you have allowed yourself to get used to eating which will help motivate you to eat better. You DO love yourself after all don’t you? You deserve better. Give yourself better.

Track your results: Get a measuring tape and measure your waste at your belly button. Weight yourself. Take a pic of yourself in your undies and put it on your bathroom mirror. Write down your weight and measurements. This is your BEFORE data. You will be glad you have this data so you can measure your progress. For some people creating charts and things can help you stay motivated and keep you on track. Remember this too; your weight on a scale can fluctuate a lot. It is not a good tool for measuring your progress. A tape measure won’t lie.

Here is my plan for weight. I weighed on day 1 and took measurement. Now, I am not gonna weigh again for a couple of weeks. Also, since my cheat day is on Saturday I will weigh on Friday morning. You don’t weigh right after your binge. Why, because when you binge your weight can fluctuate a WHOLE, WHOLE, WHOLE, WHOLE lot. Even a small woman’s weight can jump ten pounds or more after a “binge” day. Most of it is water weight. A large man’s weight can fluctuate as much as 20 pounds or more. I wonder how many people have let this type of thing derail their efforts needlessly. Can you imagine how bad it must feel to diet for two weeks, then step on the scale and not show any loss? How many people give up when it is only a fluctuation in water weight? They may have lost ten pounds of fat and not even realize it because they trusted the scale. DON’T DO IT.

I am so excited with you. You are a very motivating person. Your energy is contagious! great job! I’m sure all of what you do is progression…therefore that is perfect! All any of us can do is aim our selves in better better directions…and then see after we act where we want to tweek things(: This is especially terrific because incorporating these foods in your diet is new for you. Support you 100%

There are lots of reasons why healthy routines fall short for people…

Some people eat the right foods…but eat too much or not enough…or space out their meals too close or too far apart. Though that’s the ticket of finding out what works. You’ve begun and that is the hardest part!

I hope others join in with works for them…for the goals they are trying to reach.