need...energy...please...helf...

[Fat Bob]

OK, you're asking us to help you change your diet....but aside from not drinking much coffee and drinking quite a bit of coke, then you've not really given us a starting point!

Why not make extra of all that fresh stuff that you make for the little un and enjoy the meal with it?

[Joy]

I used to be a total Coca Cola addict. 1 - 2 litres a day. Cut the Coke out (the first three to four days will be difficult because of the Caffeine withdrawal) and see how you feel after a week or so (as per Canuck's suggestion)

Once you have done that work on revamping your diet to something that is healthier - you might indeed want to cut out wheat and/or dairy and see whether that brings relief. The most common food intolerances (not allergies) are: wheat, egg, dairy, soy

Good luck & feel better soon!

[Possum]

I wondered how long it would be before my name was used!! I will have you know I have had only 3 cokes in the last 4 days Feel like crap

ps Burbs diet is yuk I'd starve to death inside a week

[Burbage]

I will have you know I have had...

There's one for an English lesson.

[skank-la]

Similar to the Burb Diet

SIMPLE DIETS WORK BEST
I explain to my patients that eating carbohydrates is like putting diesel fuel in a vehicle that can only run on gasoline.

I then offer them a simple five-finger diet, saying "There are five things you cannot eat: bread & baked goods, potatoes & root vegetables, rice, pasta & fruit except berries."

Patients who eliminate these items lose weight . Expecting patients to abide by a diet that is difficult to follow causes non-compliance.
Dan Eichenbaun, M.D.
Murphy N.C.

[Burbage]

The diet I proposed is for energy not for dieting. You'll slowly lose any major weight of course.

The point is to avoid the body going into starvation mode. It does this when it detects a drop in blood sugar. Therefore you need to avoid anything that sharply increases blood sugar (which then drops and triggers starvation mode), such as simple carbs and sugar. When your body is in starvation mode it becomes lethargic and stores all the sugar it gets as fat. in effect it is conserving energy. When the body is supplied with complex sugars and carbs the blood sugar level is maintained at a level which the body recognises as normal and the body in return will tell you that it has plenty of get-up-and-go, which will probably result in you exercising more anyway.

It's all about avoiding crap. The simple rule is that if you couldn't find it in the wild (pick it from a tree, shoot it with your bow or dig it out of the ground) and eat it as is, it's worth avoiding.

[baloo]

Similar to the Burb Diet
I then offer them a simple five-finger diet, saying "There are five things you cannot eat: bread & baked goods, potatoes & root vegetables, rice, pasta & fruit except berries."

That doctor is obviously an Atkins spruiker. What does he suggest you do with your kidney stones once they develop ?

[Tas]

I've got all the same symptoms Lili and absolutely know it's my own fault due to diet and lack exercise. I know what to do just need to get over the motivation hump.

Personally I can't eat a lot of fruit, it does something really unpleasant to my stomach I just go acidic, and my teeth hurt big time which adds to the nausea.

But what works for me when I stick to it ...

1. Breakie a half decent highfibre low sugar cereal. (Sometimes porridge, sometimes a poached or soft boiled egg)
2.Lunch good salad sandwich made up of 2-3 different coloured salad vegies including lowesy fat protein choice (lean cut ham, chicken etc). Preferabley with a high fibre, seedy type bread. Alternatively banana on toast (with good brand bread)
3. Dinner - meat and 3 veg, all of different colour! (That simple, and old fashioned and ridicoulously easy to cook in reality. But it just seems boring - until you buy good cuts of steak or fish, and mix up the veggie variety and style of cooking them ). In summer it salad.
4. Snacks mid morning/afternoon - apples, yogurt, small packs of nuts - preferabley a few almonds and pumpkin seeds in there.

Cut out majority of pasta, and I no rice (if rice than a good quality fancy brown rice with high fibre other stuff thrown in to make a chewy side dish for a change)

[Burbage]

That looks a pretty good system. No real need to cut pasta. Since it does break down slowly in the gut (the more al dente the better) it is essentially a slow release food like a complex carb. On the other hand, its only contribution is energy, so easy on the portions.

[baloo]

The diet I was on, which was primarily to reduce weight rapidly yet maintain good health, was fairly simplistic.

3 meals a day. A cut back on carbs, fats and manufactured sugars. Despite drasticly reducing my intake, I felt more alive and full of energy than ever before. A typical day would consist of:

Breakfast: Yoghurt with fruit or a 1 egg omlette with vegies
Lunch: Tuna salad or a beef/chicken/prawn stirfry
Dinner: Grilled Steak/Fish/Chicken and Salad
Snacks: Two pieces of fruit daily and 6 crackers daily.

There were a lot more rules involved which controlled the weight loss, but 6 months of eating nothing but fresh produce (except the crackers for carb intake) certainly made a difference to how I felt. I guess losing 50kg in that time also helped the mental state.

There's at least one other board member now on the diet I was on and by all accounts they too are feeling more alive and healthy then they have in a long time.

[Aliya]

I dont eat fatty meat as a rule - dont eat much meat actually - but had grilled pork belly last night OMG fantastic all those lovely fatty bits and I put lots of salt on it. Feel like shite today of course but it was worth it.

Somtimes bad is Good!

[Lili Von Shtupp]

I'm so happy. Yesterday I managed to find, in my local NTUC Fairprice no less, a good no sugar no preservatives whole grain meusli mix, bags of raw cashews, almonds and sunflower seeds, and a huge tub of plain youghurt. This morning at the market, I bypassed my teh tarik guy and my buddies at the bakery. But I bought bags of good stuff from my fruit guy, three veggies and a lovely piece of fish that I plan to poach/broil (respectively) for lunch.

Burb's got it right for me - I don't want to starve myself. But I like Aliya's suggestion to eat the meat/veggies meal for lunch and the fruit meal for dinner. I'm not much of a dinner eater. Fat Bob, you are so right about cooking extra for the kid - on weekends I usually make a big pot of homemade chicken soup for the family. But normally his meals are prepared seperate with full-fat dairy and meats etc, to suit a growing lad. But there are so many ways I can combine my efforts for myself with my efforts for him, especially now that he's getting older. Also, Joy, I never thought of the possibility of a food intolerance. Very interesting, I will look into this some more.

Yesterday I also bought a women's multivitamin - 90 days supply, and we'll see how that goes. And BTW - yesterday I had no coke - not one teeny tiny corrosive drop.

You guys have been a great source of information and a total KITA for me. Just what I needed to quit my whining and get my crap together. I shall keep you posted of my progress.

[Burbage]

It's my weekly treat tonight. Fish and chips!

[Burbage]

Baloo. 50kg!! Fuck me!

[Tas]

could have won biggest loser and been 200k richer!
(it's a train wreck show but I can't stop myself watching, it's nasty game often full of whiney people, yet strangely inspirational at the same time I love all the 1year on success stories)
((edit: OMG I spelt won as one))

[baloo]

Baloo. 50kg!! Fuck me!

I'd rather not Burb, but thanks for the offer.

[baloo]

could have won biggest loser and been 200k richer!

The difference between TBL and what I did is that I wasn't subjected to 6 hours of strenuous workouts 7 days a week. Actually, on the programme I was on, I was explicitly under instructions NOT to excercise more than a brisk walk and not for that long either.

I've also been able to do it without exposing my life to the reality show junky masses.

It was the ideal couch potatoes diet.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Yeah, I'll own up! I've been on the same program as baloo was on last year (thanks mate for the introduction). I've been on the program since mid January and have lost a bit over 16 kg (in 11 weeks) as of this morning with under 8 kg to go.

I feel more alive and energetic than I have since before I quit smoking 3+ years ago. I'm actually eating more and enjoying my food more than I have done in years. Best part is my HBP has dropped 10/5 points so far, my doc has cut my allipurinol in half and will stop it at the end of the current prescription. Good possibility of the HBP dropping further as well as I get closer to "normal" BMI ranges.

[Lili Von Shtupp]

Wow! Baloo, it just clicked what you'd written. 50kg. That is really an awesome feat. Well done.

You too, SMS. That is just crazy weight loss. But I think the thing that resonates with me is the overall health benefits you two have been experiencing.

Oh, this is just such great inspiration for me. Tas, how can you read these stories and not be inspired to get back on it!?!

[Tas]

cause basically I'm within my healthy normal BMI and my clothes still fit. And when I feel too good and have lots energy I bounce off the walls with hyperactivity and get bored really easy if I'm not filling my minutes with something...low energy is a lot lower maintenance.... but I do like the sound of that healthy feeling again.

[Aliya]

Baloo has gone from a happy looking fat person to a thin person with mafia cheekbones

[canuck]

so he's gone from happy to homicidal in one easy diet?

[Aliya]

No, he just looks scary now

[canuck]

all I have to say is where is the chocolate?

[daffodil]

Work is my big (food) downfall.

Food is a big part of the culture here, and most days I succumb to whatever goodies are left on my desk .

Apart from Durain of course. Thought I'd escaped that when I left Sing but no, someone managed to smuggle some in !