Friday, August 9, 2013

Today was a good day.

Got in exercise with each meal, though lunch and dinner was after I ate. Still having a hard time getting the food on the table AND exercising before I eat.

I am eating really low on calories. I'm not sure what to think of that. I'm glad to be under and I'm rarely hungry, so I don't feel like I want to work too hard to change it. I was low on protein tonight. I should have worked a little harder to get in some brighter greens and nuts with my meal.

I had half an apple tonight for a little dessert after our evening walk. Not my usual habit, but it was nice to have a little extra something tonight.

We watched a show tonight, Eat, Fast, and Live Longer with Michael Mosley, about how fasting and diet affects health. It was interesting, but even I could see the faulty science in it.  It is streaming on pbs.com right now if you're interested in watching it. 

I thought it was quite interesting that they were pointing out that the IGF (insulin factor) is higher with higher levels of protein in our bodies.  By decreasing the protein, we decrease the IGF, thereby lowering our risk for disease.  Not exactly what we're being told by the medical community. 

What was off to me was his ending theory that by eating whatever you choose for five days a week and "fasting" by eating only one meal, limited in calories, 2 days a week that you will decrease your risk for disease.  Truly, if you eat high fat, high sugar foods five days a week and then don't eat those twice a week, it's pretty easy to see that your blood levels will show a decrease in the effects of those foods in your body.  That doesn't mean you are necessarily healing or preventing disease long term, in my opinion.  If you are vicariously eating unhealthy foods on a regular basis, abstaining from them for any amount of time can certainly help, but it won't bring lifelong healing. 

In short, that fasting pattern is not a habit I'm interested in developing.

I am, however, interested in learning more about the idea of restricting calories and fasting in general. It was intriguing to see some of the scientific research connected to hunger and brain activity.  I also found it fascinating to see the effects of people who eat a restricted calorie diet normally.  They were the ones that were strong, healthy, alert, young, and content with their lifestyle.

On another note, I attempted a new recipe tonight, Saucy Lentil Loaf from The End of Diabetes by Dr. Furhman.  I need to better prep myself for these meals. It took way longer than I planned for.  We ended up reheating some leftover soup to go with our cabbage and green bean stir fry.  The lentil loaf will be used for sandwiches tomorrow at lunch. 

My biggest obstacle was dealing with the artichokes in the recipe. I have never eaten those, never mind prepped them. I'm sure you would have been laughing at me to watch the mess I made.

I'm working on making my menu for next week.  I'm getting it on the computer so it's easier to update each week.  I'll come back later to post the link when it's done.