Finding Your Natural Weight...A Beginning: I

The third of four sessions of our weight loss group (yet to be named) is coming up this Monday.  My goal has been to sensitize people to the issues involved with eating commercially processed foods and to teach people how to eat in a more joyful, healthful way.

The issues that concern me are: high sugar content, lack of fiber and chemical additives with unknown longterm and cumulative effects.  I have introduced our group to healthful alternatives which can be the basis of a lifestyle change that over time will lead to finding their correct natural weight.  I believe this can be accomplished through eating -- in the paraphrased words of Michael Pollan -- real food, not too much and mostly plants.

Each session has been accompanied by a delicious meal, intended to demonstrate that eating real food, easily prepared in a home kitchen, can be delicious and satisfying .  .  . and help in weight loss and maintenance.

In our first session, we reviewed some of the disease statistics related to the standard American diet.  It was startling to consider that (statistically speaking) of 12 people sitting at the table, four would likely become diabetic or pre-diabetic in the next few years.  The issues around blood sugar fluctuations associated with a standard American diet and certainly with the accompanying weight gain are also implicated in heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and Alzheimer's/dementia (now known as Type III Diabetes).  The first assignment was a kitchen overhaul.

Our meal included a large salad of mixed (dark) greens, quickly assembled at the table and dressed with olive oil, lemon and a bit of salt; red lentil kefta (pictured above - an easy recipe shared with participants), mujadarra (another recipe shared), some salads from the cafe and an avocado and orange salad to provide a slightly sweet and rich end of the meal.

In our second session, we first checked in with each other to see how we are doing, and good news!  Almost all of our participants lost 3-4 pounds during the first week, and one person lost 12 pounds! 

We reviewed basic nutrition and how to construct meals for more efficient metabolic processing.   As participants think about how to structure their day, I suggested three meals and two snacks, each to include protein and fats for satisfaction and carbohydrates for energy.  Statistics show that people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.  Meals at regular intervals with intervening snacks help prevent hunger, cravings and blood sugar spikes.

Although I am not an advocate of calorie counting and believe that all calories are not created equal...we looked at what percentage of calories should come from the three energy sources provided by food as one way of structuring meals and snacks.  Both carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 calories (a unit of energy) per gram, and fats provide 9 calories per gram.  Traditional nutrition based on a 2000 calorie diet suggests the following: 10-35% of the calories to come from protein; 20-35% of the calories from fats (with no more than 10% saturated); and 45-65% of the calories from carbohydrates.

Another way to look at the structure of meals and snacks and the one I prefer is suggested by Dr. Mark Hyman in his website, www.drhyman.com.  50% low starch, low glycemic fruits and veggies (green carbs); 25% lean protein (yellow carbs - a category that includes beans, for the interest of those who are vegetarian); and 25% complex, slow burning carbs (red carbs).  I like this plan because it is visual and makes it easier to follow -- and easier to eat joyfully and be satisfied.  Who wants to memorize or look up numbers and do mental calculations while you're eating? Better to put together a beautiful plate, whether it's a simple meal or a snack that is half-filled with one easily recognized type of food and half-filled with each of two other easily recognized types.

Dr. Hyman also suggests creating an emergency pack for those occasions when wholesome foods are not likely to be available.  This helps avoid that "starved" feeling we all hate, which often leads to eating too much of the wrong things.  That feeling is also an indication that blood sugar levels have dropped too low....and overeating or eating the wrong things is likely to send them too high.  I like to avoid that starved feeling and feel satisfied by the foods I eat when I eat.

 

During the first session, I realized participants were looking for meals that were quick and easy to prepare, so I asked Jame Thompson, my associate, to prepare brown rice, onions and dark red kidney beans in five different ways.  In under an hour he cooked up five different preparations for us, and the samples served as the main part of our meal.  I hoped this would give our group ideas of ways to use these simple basic ingredients.  Both rice and dried beans can be cooked over the weekend and put in the refrigerator for quick use with a different meal each day of the week. 

Again, we began the meal with a quickly prepared salad of greens followed by a beautiful tomato soup (pictured above) -- both in the "green carbs" category, from which we can eat freely. That tomato soup looks like a rich, creamy tomato, doesn't it?  Participants received this versatile and quick recipe, which includes not a drop of cream.

In our next session, we will learn more about how to eat in a way that keeps blood sugar levels in the fat burning range -- and out of the danger zone that is linked to so many diseases and to weight gain. In our fourth and final session, I will provide tools for moving forward and discuss a plan for ongoing support.

Weekday Breakfast ...Quick, Satisfying, & No Sugar!

I love making my Israeli Breakfast on Sunday mornings, and I love serving it in the Cafe.  While it doesn't take all that long to make, it does take a little more time than I have available on a weekday.  Here's what I make on weekdays...a crunchy, very slightly sweet, delicious and satisfying start for my day.  First a handful of walnuts and a handful of almonds go into my bowl.

Next into the bowl is soft plums (formerly called "prunes").  I cut up five into the bowl, and later in the day I eat four more.  In the course of pre-marketing research, prune packagers discovered that prunes have a significant bone-strengthening effect.  It seems that the magic number is 9 or 10.  I used to use raisins and craisins...but since I quit eating sugar, craisins are out.  And prunes have that great bone strengthening effect.

The next layer is the fresh fruit layer.  I'm just enjoying the last of the peach season.  Soon I will move on to apples for most of the winter.  Berries are great in season.  Bananas work almost any time of year.  I've used pears, and I really enjoy them.  I usually keep a bag of non-sugared frozen berries in the house just in case I run out of fresh fruit.

My crushed vitamins are next.  I just can't seem to swallow those pills.  I can take the gel caps, but the non-gel caps just will not go down.  Crushing them and burying them in my breakfast seems to work well.  By the way, vegetarians tend to be low in B-vitamins, and studies show that B-vitamins are good for your heart.  If you are vegetarian, you should check your B level.  I take a Super B-Complex along with my multi-vitamin.

Kefir.  A few years ago, my daughter-in-law persuaded me to try the elimination diet, insisting that she thought I had issues with dairy.  I didn't go through the entire process with all possible allergens, but I did check out dairy and wheat.  Wheat was a non-issue, but I was surprised to find that there was an issue with dairy.  I have reduced my dairy intake, but yogurt and kefir don't seem to have the same effect, so that's what I use with my breakfast.

Finally, I top off the whole meal with two tablespoons of flaxseed.  My associate, Jame, calls it my "sawdust."  On the other hand, I gave him a bag for his own use, and I notice he requested another -- so I guess he must have liked it.  I surely do!  And it helped lower my cholesterol by a significant amount.  I love this mix of nuts, fresh and dried fruits, kefir and ground seeds.  It's a delicious and satisfying start to my day!

Eat Breakfast!

Interested in losing weight?  Studies show that people who eat breakfast are more likely to lose weight -- and keep it off. 

The Israeli Breakfast is famous for its salad.  A typical breakfast spread at an Israeli hotel (or kibbutz) is likely to include a salad of tomato, cucumber, onion and avocado as well as fish, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, cheese, olives and more.

I used to prepare an Israeli breakfast every morning in my home.  Nowadays I save that for Sundays, and on weekdays when I have to start out so early, I prepare something different.  I'll share that with you tomorrow after I get a picture.  In the meantime, check out the Israeli Breakfast we serve up in the Cafe.

L'Chaim...To Life! Finding a Healthy Weight

Several weeks ago, a customer asked if I would be willing to work with her to lose some weight.  It inspired me to organize a group, something I have wanted for some time to do.  Here's the email I am sending out to those who have expressed interest in this project:

Congratulations to each of you who responded to my initial query about interest in a weight loss group!  I’m looking forward to welcoming you to our little experiment…or perhaps “adventure” would be a better word.

After some significant staff transitions, I’m finally ready to set dates.  I am going to keep the café open on Monday evenings, beginning Monday, October 29.  I would like to meet with our group for four weeks of structured conversations and dinner, followed by an invitation to all of you to continue meeting together for dinner informally. 

In Hebrew, letters stand for numbers, and as many of you may know from Fiddler on the Roof or other sources, the letters “chet” and “yud” represent 18.  When read as letters, the word formed is “chai,” meaning LIFE. 

As I think about this project we are beginning together, it seems to me that our main goal is to enhance our health and our joy as we learn to eat more meaningfully.  Our project is about living LIFE to the full…and so I think $18.00/session is an appropriate fee.  This fee includes dinner and is payable in advance, either session-by-session or altogether ($72.00).

At the conclusion of our four weeks together, if you would like to continue meeting to check on each other’s progress and have the support of a group, the only cost will be your own meal.  We will provide a reserved table and interesting bits of information or topics of conversation on an informal basis.

What are my qualifications to lead such a group?  I am not a physician or a chef or a certified nutritionist.  With regard to food and nutrition, I am self-taught.  What I know is based on more than 40 years of reading and observation and experimentation with myself and with my own family. 

Since my grandmother died at age 65 of cancer, just two years older than I am today, I developed a deep interest in health and the relationship between our health, the food we eat, how we eat it and our broader spirituality.  I believe I may have some insights and techniques to share that will be of value.  I am not an extremist in my views, and I don’t believe there is anything in what I will suggest to you that is controversial or will require a doctor’s approval.  I don’t like to rely on self-control (I have little myself), and I am not into asceticism.  My goal for myself has always been to find my natural weight and support my health by eating correctly, naturally and joyfully.   

I have had good results in my own life with the practices I would like to share with you in coming weeks.  The experimental nature of this project is trying it out with a wider group of people.  Each of us is unique, and what works for one may not work exactly the same way for another.  I would like to track how things go during our four weeks together and will ask each of you to keep a daily weight chart.  At the end of the four weeks, I will be very appreciative if you would give me a copy of that chart with a net weight loss or gain.  You need not include your name.  I would just like to observe overall patterns.

What will you need to participate in this group other than your fee?  Just one thing – well, for some, two things: You will need your own commitment to faithfully follow the practices I will lay out in the first session.  That will include a detailed kitchen overhaul and the removal of certain items from your kitchen.  Some may have to remove many items.  If you don’t want to get rid of these items, you can box them and tape them and put them in a place that is difficult to access.  This brings us to the second thing required for some of you – the willingness of others in your household to support you in this process and be part of it for a period of four weeks.  This means that if they wish to continue eating those items, they should do it someplace other than your home.

If you’re still with me, please respond with your check or cash made out to Expressly Leslie Vegetarian Specialties and mailed (100 S. Johnson St., Woodstock, IL 60098) or dropped off at the Café, $18.00 for the first session or $72.00 for the series. 

I’m very excited to welcome you to this journey toward a more joyful, healthier LIFE!  I look forward to greeting you Monday, October 29 at Expressly Leslie Café at 6 PM.

Leslie

P.S. If the time of these four sessions is inconvenient for you but you are still interested in participating, please let me know.  If there are enough people interested in a different time, we may divide this group or gather more people to start another group.

Health and Social Justice

Recently I heard a radio story about health in the Mississippi Delta region of the United States.  You may know that in a national health index, Mississippi comes in dead last among 50 states: America's Health Rankings.  "Dead last" is an expression I use advisedly since the practical expression of that low health ranking is that the average age of death in Mississippi is several years lower than in the rest of the country. 

Several years.  Think about it: would you want to give up several years of health and well-being, several years in which you could experience life and watch children and grand-children grow?  Do you want to be in a situation where government policies and food business practices limit your choices and make that more likely?

A New York Times article titled What Can Mississippi Learn from Iran? reports: "A Mississippi black man’s life expectancy is lower than the average American’s life expectancy was in 1960. Sixty-nine percent of adult Mississippians are obese or overweight, and a quarter of the state’s households don’t have access to decent, healthful food. Adequate grocery stores can be 30 miles away. In one of the country’s most fertile regions, people sometimes have to shop for their groceries at the gas station. Consequently, Mississippians are dying from diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure and asthma. Shirley points out that in the 1960s people starved, and today they die from food."

These appalling and sad facts about Mississippi are reported at a time when "In the last decade, the Annual Improvement in America's Health has declined (a whopping) 69% compared to the 1990s." (America's Health Rankings). 

Scary? Yes! Instructive? Absolutely! Prophetic? I believe it is.  Motivational? It can be. 

Scary: "In the 1960s, people starved...today they die from food."  I do believe this, and it is scary.  An article in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition presents these facts: "In the United States, chronic illnesses and health problems either wholly or partially attributable to diet represent by far the most serious threat to public health. Sixty-five percent of adults aged ≥20 y in the United States are either overweight or obese (13), and the estimated number of deaths ascribable to obesity is 280184 per year (14). More than 64 million Americans have one or more types of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which represents the leading cause of mortality (38.5% of all deaths) in the United States (15). Fifty million Americans are hypertensive; 11 million have type 2 diabetes, and 37 million adults maintain high-risk total cholesterol concentrations (>240 mg/dL) (15). In postmenopausal women aged ≥50 y, 7.2% have osteoporosis and 39.6% have osteopenia (16). Osteoporotic hip fractures are associated with a 20% excess mortality in the year after fracture (17). Cancer is the second leading cause of death (25% of all deaths) in the United States, and an estimated one-third of all cancer deaths are due to nutritional factors, including obesity (18)."

In an early post, I mentioned that my grandmother died at a relatively young age from colon cancer.  That event probably drove much of my lifelong interest in health.  Today I believe her cancer was in large part a "foodborne illness."  I believe that the American diet is at the root of much of the disease I see around me, among people whom I love, and it is a problem that is growing exponentially.  These levels of disease and death, the wasted potential and the cost, are sad and unnecessary and...yes, scary.

Instructive: As we connect the dots between changes that began to occur in the American diet in the early years of the 19th century with results that began to manifest dramatically by the 70s, we learn more and more about the specifics of the relationship between food, lifestyle and health.  The idea that processed foods, "bad" fats, low fiber and over-consumption of salt and sugar damages our health and causes many chronic diseases is no longer an intuition based on anecdote.  It is documented fact.

Prophetic: Classical biblical prophecy not only reminds its constituency of moral imperatives but suggests what the future may hold depending on current behaviors.  From What Can Mississippi Learn from Iran?: "Sixty years ago, Mississippi, the country’s poorest and most racially divided state, was “the standard by which this nation’s commitment to social justice would be measured,” the historian John Dittmer wrote."  Briefly, the case presented in the article is food which is cheap (as a result of government policies and food business practices) is what is primarily available to the poor.  The result of those policies and practices is higher levels of obesity, more chronic disease and a shorter lifespan.  People with money (and who, statistically speaking, are better educated) have the possibility of making other choices -- although other statistics show clearly that they aren't always making the better choices.  The health statistics from the Delta remind us of the imperative to be concerned for the poor, who today "die from food" -- and suggest a grim future for us all if we continue to support, actively or passively, the same policies and practices.

Motivational: I hear or read these things, and I think, "What can I do?" 

When I first heard the radio report, I thought of food and lifestyle.  As Michael Pollan highlighted for me in The Omnivore's Dilemma, political decisions directly impact our health and culture, often in unforeseen ways.  I'm thinking specifically of the way in which corn was so heavily subsidized beginning in 1973 under the Nixon Administration and Agriculture Secretary, Earl Butz. The cost of food had gone up, and corn subsidies were a politically expedient solution.  As growers grew more corn -- and food manufacturers used more of the cheap product -- "food" (more and more corn-based) prices went down, and it took pressure off the current government.  Michael Pollan and others show how this decision drove the increase in diabetes and obesity and what we now know are related diseases.  And yet...corn continues to be heavily subsidized, while tomatoes and yams and spinach, for example, are not.   We all know how political positions are a reflection of our values -- but what about our responses, or lack of response, to unintended consequences of political decisions? Isn't this also a statement of our values?

Increasingly I feel a growing consensus that there is a problem -- and that our diet is one very significant part of the problem.  My grandmother had so much to offer...and like many others lost years of precious time to offer what she could have.  As I make the connection between a diet that leads to disease...and government policies and business practices...and make the further connection between those policies and practices and important values I was taught we hold as a nation, I am motivated to do something. 

My first thought was rather grandiose, a personal project somewhat along the lines of those who flocked to Mississippi to help out after Katrina.  I could go to Mississippi and find a way to provide information and assistance to those who need it.  As the New York Times article suggests, though, non-local people are regarded with some suspicion, not to mention, I have responsibilities here.  Not a realistic option and probably not a terribly helpful option. 

And it's not just Mississippi.  This particular health crisis increasingly affects the whole country:  "In the last decade, the Annual Improvement in America's Health has declined 69% compared to the 1990s." And as other countries and cultures are infiltrated by modern processed foods and move away from traditional diets, their statistics for chronic disease and average age of death are also changing.

Genesis tells us that Adam was placed in the Garden to till it and enjoy its fruits. It seems that in our arrogance and greed, we have in fact poisoned it, and the effects of that poisoning as always are most devastating to those less able to help themselves.

So what to do?  I'm just one person.  As one person, though, I have one vote. I can educate myself, and then I can vote for those candidates who demonstrate awareness of the now known devastating effects of certain government policies and food business practices.  I have purchasing power.  I can refuse to purchase those products which are implicated in the deterioration of the food chain.  I can, within the limits of my budget, make it a point to purchase only wholesome, or at least more wholesome, products.  I can find ways to share what I know with others.  When enough of us are exercising our "power of one," we will have an impact beyond ourselves and our own lives. 

What I most love about my cafe is that it gives me an opportunity -- as one person -- to cook in a way that I know is healthful and offer it to people.  On the grand scale, it is a miniscule contribution to making the world better, but it is what I can do.

The article, What Can Mississippi Learn from Iran? , is excellent, btw, and I highly recommend it.  It describes an important project initiated by the "power of one". I'd like to hear your ideas about what we can each do.

More on the sugar connection...

I love experimenting with my own health, especially when the results are so resoundingly clear and positive!  I have kept sugar and white flour products out of my diet since I began this most recent experiment in November, and the good news is that I not only got rid of my aches and pains, but I lost 12 pounds, completely without effort. 

I'm not a doctor or a scientist -- I just do things with my health that make sense to me and observe the results.  One of the things I observed in this particular experiment with sugar is that I not only lost 12 pounds, I didn't gain it back over the winter this year.  I always crave sugary things in the winter, for some reason, and I have always gained five to ten pounds over the winter.  My cravings seem to diminish in the summer, and I lose the weight.  Since I'm not overweight anyway, I don't pay that much attention to it...I just attribute it to some latent hibernation instinct, laugh about it and live with it.  This year, I didn't crave sweets, and I didn't gain weight. 

The progress of my little experiment suggests a couple of things to me: 1) Sugar creates its own craving.  When I stay away from it altogether, I don't crave it, and 2) When presented with just healthy food items, my body has its own intelligence and finds and maintains a healthy, stable weight.

And here was more good news from my experiment: my blood glucose went down 50 points!  My cholesterol went down 25 points!  And my HDL (good) cholesterol went up 20 points.  Recent reading I am doing tells me that my yearly weight fluctuation was a  warning sign of the type of inflammation that can lead, in time, to diabetes, heart disease, cancer and dementia.  Indeed, my blood glucose was in the danger zone even though I wasn't overweight.  As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, and it appears the science confirms it, sugar-induced metabolic disruption (metabolic disorder and  pre-diabetes) is implicated in the development of the diseases that have become epidemic in our time. 

My experiment was based on an intuition I had, and it brought me great results.  In the meantime, I happened to see Dr. Mark Hyman on a WTTW fundraising drive program and was impressed with what he had to say so purchased his book, The Blood Sugar Solution, to read on my Kindle.  I highly recommend this book if you are interested in the most recent science related to health and nutrition -- and, by the way, weight loss.  I also appreciate a Plan he worked out with Saddleback Church in California: http://www.danielplan.com/.  Take a look -- perhaps its a program you'd like to initiate in your community.

Now I'm trying a new experiment.  My bone density is decreasing.  In part, I believe that's a natural process at a certain age, and I'm not getting too excited about it -- but I will also concede that lifestyle has an impact on that, and I want to do what I can to maintain optimal health, including bone strength.  My (former) doctor prescribed expensive bone pills.  I researched the pills and found the side effects and controversy surrounding these pills somewhat unsettling -- not to mention that I don't want to go down the road of loads of expensive pills as I get older. 

I read that dried plums (formerly known as prunes) have been demonstrated to increase bone density.  I researched it and found that tests have been conducted on both animals and humans, and there is a measureable increase in bone density at a certain "dosage," which I understand is about 10 prunes per day.  I hear the drug companies are working to come up with a prune concentrate (for which they can charge a bunch of money).  I think I'll just eat prunes.  They are delicious on my morning "cereal," a bowl of nuts and dried and fresh fruits with yoghurt and flaxseed.  I'll let you know what happens with this one!