If you're too fat, you'll lose weight here; if you're too thin you'll gain weight here. That's the balance Chef Davies-Tight, an animal-freer, seeks and finds along with the sublime in all of it. Chef Davies-Tight experiments with popular weight loss methods to develop her own. WHY can wait!
FFC ClipBoard: I don’t smoke, so I’m not taking it for smoking. I was curious about the other benefits – don’t know why, I just was.
As it turns out, cream of tartar is good for weight loss and belly fat due to it’s diuretic properties. That’s just what I need. I’m swelling up agian, and nothing I seem to do is working, so I’m giving it a try.
Something else I didn’t know till now. I bought some recently, because I didn’t want to use baking powder because it contains aluminum. If I combine baking soda with cream of tartar it becomes a baking powder substitute.
What I didn’t know is what it tasted like. It’s a white powder, why would I taste it? Not curious enough I guess. Well, I put 1/4 teaspoon into my coffee, brought it to the desk and when it was cooled down enough to drink, I sipped and became alarmed.
It tasted just like I had poured some red wine into my coffee. How would I know what red wine in my coffee tasted like? Because in the evening now and then, back in my red wine drinking days, when I got too sleepy or to prevent sleepiness I’d pour a little red wine into a cup of black coffee. I’d relax enough but not too much because of the caffeine insertion. I used to do that with diet Pepsi too – guess that makes me Japanese?
I kinda like the taste. So I get my red wine taste back without the alcohol content of wine.
I’ll get back to you when I’ve tested it long enough and tell you if it really did act like a natural diuretic and if it contributed to some weight loss. The belly fat is the worst. The swelling of my legs and feet below the knees – the worst too.
It’s also good for heartburn, which is another irritant in my life, especially when drinking that SUPERFECTA POWER DRINK with lemon juice, vinegar and ginger juice in a glass of warm water every morning.
I hope I stumbled on a solution here.
Always hopeful,
Later gators,
Sharon
P.S. The price these grocery stores get for a small container of essentially WINE POOP is criminal.
ARTICLE:
DR. MARK NEUMANN, D.C., D.O. (734) 847-4700 / (419) 474-4700
February 24, 2020
What Is Cream of Tartar?
Potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogentartrate is what we know as cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is a byproduct of wine-making that precipitates out of grape skin or even wine itself. Although cream of tartar is a pantry staple, its uses remain a mystery to most. Those who bake know that it is an essential tool to add volume and stabilization to meringue, angel food cake, and macaroons. It can also be used as a substitute for baking powder! Like baking powder, cream of tartar can be combined with white vinegar or lemon juice to clean surfaces around the home.
But aside from its household uses, this ingredient has many health benefits. Keep reading to learn 11 ways to make this common household ingredient work for you!
Cream of Tartar Uses
1. Cream of Tartar for Migraine Headaches
Cream of tartar is very high in potassium. Potassium is important to the body and regulates hydration and blood pressure. For some migraine sufferers, potassium may help reduce migraine attacks. In fact, Angela A. Stanton, Ph.D., advocates in her popular book, Fighting the Migraine Epidemic, that hydrating the body with potassium and salt can eliminate migraine pain. It is important to note that those who consume cream of tartar must be aware of its side effects. Due to its high levels of potassium, cream of tartar can become toxic, leading to life-threatening hyperkalemia. It is a good idea to check with your doctor before incorporating cream of tartar into your diet.
2. Cream of Tartar to Quit Smoking
Cigarettes decrease the body’s ability to absorb potassium when consuming certain foods. Several health issues associated with smoking are actually caused by low potassium levels. Natural Health and Healing 4 You states, “Having an ample amount of [potassium] is also important for your digestion, as it helps to eliminate waste products and balance the levels of fluid in the body.”
Cream of tartar is a natural remedy for smoking cessation because it adds potassium back into your system while removing nicotine and eliminating toxins naturally through bowel movements, urine, and sweat. Fun fact: During all this “waste elimination,” your body also pushes out vital minerals and nutrients, particularly Vitamin C. Mixing cream of tartar with one glass of orange juice provides essential vitamins and minerals that are critical to helping you quit smoking. …
In deciding how to approach losing weight, so I could still enjoy the delicious food I prepare, and after gaining 20 pounds from quitting smoking and moving into a small apartment where I don’t get the exercise I did in the big house at Berkeley Road, I’ve come up with what I think is a viable solution – for me. Many years ago in Portland, Oregon where I was assisting Steve as a fill-in for an employee who called in sick to work – at Skipper’s Seafood and Chowder House, I sat down with a guy who trained horses and dogs.
He told me that in keeping his animals at their optimum weight he simply either increased or decreased the amount given and they would lose or gain weight commensurately. ‘Easy’, he said. Same is so for humans, only they don’t know it. They count grams of this and that and never lose or if they do they gain it back.
If you want a dog to gain weight you give it more food; if you want it to lose weight you give it less food, and you do this by measuring out the food by cups and counting the number of cups. So, remembering this method I’ve decided that I can still enjoy all of my delectably delicious recipes, and lose weight or gain weight by simply thinking in terms of cups.
Since I already eat a well-balanced diet, liking a variety of foods and eating the variety that I like, I’m going to start this diet, by restricting myself to four cups of food per day, throughout the day. As long as it’s animal-free and as long as throughout the week I have a good, healthy variety from all the food groups, except animals, which I don’t consider food, I should lose weight.
So, I’m going to try it and see how it works. Now, I made a fresh strawberry pi
I’m not going to get fanatical and measure every crumb, but I’ll call a cup a cup and when it’s overflowing to the point of two cups I won’t claim it to be one. This morning I weighed in at 169. I know, I know…that’s a lot for a 5′ 8′ woman, but due to my dystonia I have a lot of muscle mass. Still…140 is closer to my optimal weight, so that’s what I’ll shoot for. With this cup formula for losing weight I’ll still be able to develop the recipes I love to create and be able to eat what I develop. Can’t lose. I get my cake and eat it too. So, 5/10/02 = 169. I’ll weigh in each Friday – naked in the morning.
That was in 2002. It is now 2021 and I’m still struggling with that twenty pounds.
The dog losing or gaining weight is controlled by somebody else. What and how often the human eats is usually controlled by the person doing the eating as well as many other factors. How much money can one afford to eat healthier food? Some people would rather spend their money on a new clothes rather than a high quality olive oil. Canned soup and bread is a lot cheaper than a large multi vegetable salad, with dressing and veg cheese or meat. And let’s face it, eating fast food is probably the largest contributor to weigh gain around the globe.
However, even though I ate mostly healthy throughout my life it didn’t preclude me nor Steve from gaining weight. We both recently concluded that eating out does put on weight.
People under confinement don’t get to choose what they eat. It’s delivered on a tray and they either eat it or go hungry. Some people think we have too many choices with food companies inundating us with food advertisements trying to coerce us into buying their product. Why not buy them all? We spend inordinate amounts of time thinking about what, when and where we’ll eat.
That four cups of food plan I engineered for myself didn’t last long. Nineteen years later, though, I’m still thinking about it.
The take away here is to limit portions. Don’t go for those second helpings just because it tastes so good.
There’s another factor of living with other people who eat a lot, influencing everybody to eat more. But then you see odd couples where one person is obese and the other person skinny.
There’s something about a measured amount though that still attracts me after all this time.
Allowing myself four cups was too liberal. And it can’t be three or fewer cups of anything. for instance a cup of peanut butter vs a cup of frozen mixed vegetables.
Come to think of it, looking back at times when I lost weight, those frozen mixed vegetables with no oils or margarine filled me up and did lead to weight loss. So I’m thinking of applying the cup formula once again, but not with recipes. I’ve got a load of them begging to be typed and posted; I don’t need to develop any more right now at this particular time.
So, back to the CUP FORMULA it is. I’ll let you know how it worked out. I have an event coming up in five days.
FIVE DAYS OF CUPS. I’m thinking three cups of vegetables per day – or less, nothing on them. See if I drop some fluid anyway. I did start retaining fluid again. Comes and goes like the wind. I need to address it before I end up on diuretics, which I don’t want to happen.
Okay then.
Later gators,
Sharon
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Missions regarding: All of Sharon’s writing, cooking and art sites – free style, editorial, prose, activism
AFC GLOBAL MISSIONS ABSOLUTE
I am on a mission to keep animals out of my food, medicine, clothing, non-food products, science, engineering, art, architecture, entertainment…
I do not have to debate the mission.
I already know where I stand.
Using thought, word and deed I transmit my mission to all beings.
Maybe the world doesn’t want an ANIMAL-FREE CUISINE.
Maybe the world doesn’t want a better life through the application of THE FIVE PRINCIPLES.
When the animals are no longer considered slaughter-worthy and/or the world moves on to new exploits, the world will turn exclusively to plants.
When it does, I will have already spent decades developing a world class MAINSTREAM ANIMAL-FREE CUISINE that has already been shared around the world!
And when that happens, the world will want to MATCH it WITH a plan for a better more peaceful and cooperative future for all. And I will already have spent decades preparing for that tide through my own application of THE FIVE PRINCIPLES TO A BETTER LIFE in my own life, which has also been shared around the world – year after year after year. As a result, I know how it works and understand the pitfalls.
Although my focus has been on animal rights, throughout my career I knew the shortest way to my goals was to keep the human animal relevant at all stages of engagement, so I intertwined all animals including the human animal into one lifelong project.
That was quite a job and the highest mountain any human ever climbed alone and succeeded!
So why do it for free?
To keep my work corruption-free. When someone pays a salary, they dictate the terms, meaning what and how and when I write, and the type of recipes I develop, and the suggestions I give in all areas of surviving and thriving for all life.
In addition, I chose not to put my name on other people’s words who work behind the scenes as contributors.
I take credit and responsibility for all of my art – from writing to cooking to painting to activism. That’s who I am and how I prefer to fly.
Although through the lengthy and arduous developmental stages of development I worked alone, I don’t anticipate that being the case for much longer.
THE AFC BLUEPRINT is absolutely inclusive. The worst, best and all the rest of humanity are welcome to the table.
Sharon Lee Davies-Tight, at your service
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We like cake every now and then, so why not have it and cut the fat and frosting, using jams and jellies? Instead of frosting the whole bread cake, we just tab a bit of topping onto each bite, or not. Lucky Leaf Lemon Topping is my favorite!Plus we add some pecan meal, ground flax seed and bananas to up the nutritional value.Makes an ordinary day seem better!Just don’t eat the whole cake in one day!
A light, creamy, cheezy tasting dressing with no added fat or sugars. Looks like creamy French!Serve cold over traditional salads, or heated over pan-fried veggie meats or side dish vegetables!
There’s s a reason why people like sweet pickles – they taste good.
It’s not the cucumber; it’s the sweet sour vinegar brine.
So why not make use of the pickle juice remaining in the jar after the pickles are gone? Save it up till you have two cups, then strain it and make magic with it! Use as salad dressing or sauce!
You say you don’t want a recipe. You laugh and say we don’t need your crazy dumass recipes. You’re dismissive when you say it’s not helping us.
We need help you say, and all you do is cook.
We have plenty of recipes, you say.
You keep asking God to help you, so naturally that’s where I went. Why go elsewhere? Do you even know what you want? Do you know where and how to get it?
I travelled along your lines to help you figure out what you’re asking God. You know don’t you, that the universe is God and God is the universe – in many forms and continues to grow in all directions including inward.
You say: Forget the damn recipes; we need help not a recipe.
That’s what the universe recognizes and the way in which the universe communicates – through recipes.
Formulas, measurements, combinations, methods, ingredients or contents, interaction.
It’s all about the recipe.
Do you have one to show the God you pray to or the universe from which you expect miracles?
What’s the formula for your success? Individually. Forget the group. One person.
White people are neither the problem nor the solution. You give them too much credit and too much blame and where does it get you?
The universe needs all lives to survive and thrive. And you’re blocking the recipe by making one ingredient more important and leaving out critical ingredients to the success of the recipe.
The universe said no to your mattering formula. All matter matters – all the time – and you told the universe you wanted to change that recipe.
But you didn’t come up with a better one. You made the existing one worse. I’m looking at all the recipes you say you have and they contain the flesh and blood of God’s beloved animals. So that’s the plan? Who do you want God to kill that you haven’t already killed? God sees all of you as killers not peacemakers. You’re eating up all of God’s creatures, even each other.
Animals in the pot is not the recipe for their survival nor yours.
Go back and make the recipe better.
Recipes are the only thing the universe cares about. That’s what the universe is – a recipe.
I was up early while it was still dark at 5ish AM.
I did the scale measurements first this time.
SPRING SCALE = 159 LBS.
DIGITAL SCALE = 164.6 LBS.
FAT = 23.5
VISCERAL FAT = 11
MUSCLE = 31.0
BMI = 25.9
CALORIE/RESTING METABOLISM = 1532
RESULT: I gained two tenths of a pound which was insignificant and everything else remained insignificantly unchanged.
I expected that, since I didn’t consciously increase my exercise or decrease my caloric intake during the ONE WEEK FLATTEN STOMACH CHALLENGE.
I forgot to check my blood sugar, but it’s not something I focus much on.
ONTO THE BODY MEASUREMENTS using the tape measure.
WAIST = 38 sucked in and 40 hanging out
CHEST= 43
HIP = 41
One week ago:
waist = 40/42
chest = 44
hip = 43
RESULT: I lost 2 inches in my waist, 1 inch in my chest, 2 inches in my hips. All three measurements were reduced from one week ago. My trunk, in other words, the main box, showed changes which are probably consistent with a reduction in fluid retention.
I’m good with that.
Remaining Measurements:
NECK = 15
RIGHT THIGH = 18-1/2
LEFT THIGH = 18
RIGHT CALF = 15
LEFT CALF = 13-1/2
One week ago:
neck = 15
right thich = 19
left thigh = 19
right calf = 16
left calf = 15
RESULT: My lower extremities showed the same consistent changes in smaller measurement as did my truncal region. Each showed a small reduction. The neck remained the same. That’s not where I retain water.
Many times people point out that they lose inches not pounds. That’s usually as a result of exercise. Although I felt lighter this morning, it was because I was carrying less fluid. One might think the scale would have recorded a loss, but it didn’t – unless my scale weight was actually higher yesterday, but I didn’t weigh myself yesterday.
So what am I to make of this?
Lots of times when dieting I feel like I lost weight, but the scale didn’t show it. Maybe I lost fluid instead of fat, but a pint of water still weighs a pound. So if I’m losing water, the scale should reflect that in pounds.
During this CHALLENGE I didn’t diet or restrict calories or change exercise habits. My resting metabolism/calories was the same before and after at 1532. Resting metabolism is the number of calories burned when the body is at rest, conducting basic life-sustaining bodily functions.
I don’t know what to make of the scale vs tape measurements.
I ate what I wanted, drank what I wanted.
Had desserts, alcohol beverages, diet soda, black coffee, water, carrot juice. My evening snack consisted of a few Tablespoons of peanut butter and an equal number of jam.
Main courses, salads with fat-free roasted pepper and peach dressing, sandwiches with veggie meats, lettuce and veggie mayo. Lots of veggies, mostly cooked. Lots of green beans whenever I dined out. Pizza too with lots of veggie cheese. Mashed potatoes with corn and mushrooms, barbecue potato chips. New England Boiled Dinner (cabbage, carrots, beets, green beans) and lots of it. Lots of collards and baked beans and kraut. Fresh corn. Beefless tips. Almond walnut smoked crumble. Rumtopf beets. Unsweetened applesauce.
Beer, hard seltzer, a few rusty nails and a couple black Russians, coconut water.
I went back for seconds, almost always, which means I’m making my portions smaller to start. My food just tastes too good.
My Takeaway:
Today’s the eighth day of the one week challenge. Upon rising I drank a full glass of warm water with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and ginger juice. I didn’t measure; I poured from the bottle liberally rather than scantily, which could mean 1-1/2 Tablespoons of each.
I didn’t add any of the other ingredients I experimented with, since it takes too long first thing in the morning to bring out all those containers.
Warm Water/Lemon/Vinegar/Ginger. That’s what I’m continuing till it runs out, then I’ll reassess.
I do believe that the power trifecta drink has merit. The addition of ginger was a personal choice.
I also believe that all food causes bloat. So the more food you have in your system at any given time increases the bloat.
I also noticed that in the beginning with the nausea I didn’t feel like eating, which can be translated to reducing appetite, which it did, but I ate anyway, which probably points to my system using food as an antidote to the nausea. The same with the heartburn.
In the end, I suggest taking the drink with food, or eating shortly thereafter and determining how much of each ingredient is tolerable for you. Do your own dosing. As with alcohol, “DON’T DRINK ON AN EMPTY STOMACH”.
I can see this drink being marketed and sold at restaurants, bars and taverns.
Chef Sharon, the animal-free chef on the move
It’s now 11:16 AM. I had the power drink, then one black coffee, then breakfast of leftovers, then another black coffee and I haven’t had heartburn or nausea yet.
I’ve been working six hours on the computer.
I did get hungry about thirty minutes ago and settled on one teaspoon of dark brown sugar.
The evening peanut butter and jam snacks need to go.
Although I was happy with the 2 inch difference in waist measurement, it could just as easily be 2 inches greater tomorrow.
We’ll see.
The power trifecta drink (superfecta drink with the ginger) is no longer a challenge for me and will become part of a morning routine as long as it’s available.
I’m 72 years old. This is one experience from one senior.
at your service, as always,
Chef Sharon
NO MIRACLE SIGHTINGS. Perhaps the miracle will be if I keep going with this.
My mother made us drink a juice glass of orange juice every day no matter what while living at home. So I have a history of compliance, duty and successful execution. This should be a piece of cake then.
Somehow with independence comes the shedding of ‘have to do certain things’ when you’re dependent and living at home under someone else’s roof.
“You can’t go to school unless you drink your juice”. That was the deal. We all took it. And we’re glad now that we did, if I dare speak for the others this one time.
Mom also added, egg or cereal, not just toast. All I wanted was toast and juice. We all made our own breakfast. Mom made Dad’s.
I can see my slim self as I write this standing at the stove waiting for my fried egg, the yolk smeared to cover the white part, cooked well-done on both sides with no crispies on the edges, smeared with ketchup in order to eat it without seeing any egg part – took a while to accomplish that, given I didn’t like eggs, and disliked cereal even more.
But Mom gave us choices – limited as they were – but they were choices none-the-less. She couldn’t offer us steak, sausage and hash browns for breakfast. She knew how to conserve, budget and stick to it, while satisfying our tastes and curiosities. A taste of many life experiences, that’s what she gave to us – the rest was up to us. She opened many doors as did my father.
Regarding Steve:
He starts tomorrow, maybe.
I’m emailing him DAYS ONE TO EIGHT. He’ll decide if it’s worth it for him.
With one day left I’m scrambling to flatten this stomach. In my mind I’m scrambling, not through my actions.
The acid was too acidic, so I reduced the dose and tolerated it better. I added a few more items in small amounts to boost the energy and nutritional values. Now, I’m going to boost the acid back up and see how I do.
POWER TRIFECTA DRINK
16 oz. warm water
2 T. apple cider vinegar
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. ginger juice
Drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
I drank my drink, all at once. Whew. That wasn’t easy.
I drank my black coffee, with 1/2 teaspoon Matcha Green Tea Powder dissolved in it. Adding Matcha Green Tea is not unusual for me. Although I don’t do it habitually, when I feel the need it’s there for me to use. I probably felt the need, since switching to half caffeine CHOCK FULL OF NUTS coffee for Steve’s benefit.
An hour later I ate a breakfast of COLLARD GREENS AND BEEFLESS TIPS WITH GREEN BEANS, FRESH CORN AND BLACK TURTLE BEANS. VINEGAR & MOLASSES BARBECUE.
Nobody makes collards like I do.
WOW SUPERGOOD COLLARDS!! Even Lilly Belle liked them. That’s fresh basil from my shady window garden.
DON’T FORGET TO VIEW DAYS ONE THROUGH SIX
Enjoy the rest of your day – even through the bad parts – remember you’re in charge of you – nobody else.
Drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
I omitted the baking soda – I didn’t need it – and increased the vinegar by 1 teaspoon. Maybe I’m becoming accustomed to the acid. The reduced amounts cause a light sting to my soft palate, which is a lot better than extreme burn with the higher doses.
Except for this drink I’m eating and drinking and exercising and sleeping however and whenever I feel like it at the time – no other regimented plans while consuming this drink.
No miracles seen yet as instructed by Dr. Mandell, “SEE MIRACLES”.
I’m not sure what a miracle is right now or what a miracle is to him.
Tomorrow is DAY SEVEN. On DAY EIGHT first thing in the morning I’ll measure my waist.
A Sample Of What I Ate Today
Boiled Fresh Beet Rounds – the ones I used in my Deconstructed New England Boiled Dinner
The glistening beets at the top are the ones I served with the dinner. I sprayed a little oil on them to make them shine without much added fat.
I packed them up after dinner and this morning I ate them cold right out of the box. Like a hearty snack. They’re good like that. I chose to boil them this time, since roasting takes so long and our electric bill has doubled and sometimes tripled and quadrupled, since all those employees decided they didn’t want to work at utility companies because of the pandemic.
These too-big-to-fail giants exploited everybody with higher prices, before, during and after the pandemic, even though their overhead shrank considerably due to absentee workers. Truth be told, everybody was conserving contrary to the utility companies’ claims that they were using electricity like drunken sailors. That’s one thing poorer people know how to do well – conserve.
So jack up the price, so they’ll use less? Of course, but they didn’t have to jack up the price; they already were doing it. So give the money back is what I say.
Pickled Orange Rind
The last time I made orange rind strips I did so for drying purposes. When dried I packed them up, stored them at room temperature and saved them for future use. They were good and, in a liquid, reconstituted to a nice chew.
Steve brought a few big oranges home last week and I noticed one morning after he peeled one, it came off mostly in one piece and he left it on the counter – presumably for me?
I cut it into large segments, skimmed the white pith off with a large, sturdy, broad, sharp knife, then stacked them, then cut them into tiny long sticks.
This time I decided not to dry them, but instead placed them in a jar with 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water and a little granulated sugar and salt to taste.
It didn’t take but a couple days before they were pickled throughout – not a strong pickle flavor but a mellow one. Perfect I thought for any dish requiring an orange stick garnish.
The flavor however, of the orange rind was so strong and pleasurable, that now that’s what I’m going to do with any oranges he brings home. PICKLE THEM.
As I was wondering about the orange that produced such a flavorful peel, I asked Steve and he said mini something. I researched them on line and can now identify them as minneolas.
Now it might be that the minneolas have a particularly soft, fragrant and flavorful peel that other oranges don’t sport. I guess I’ll find out the next time he brings home regular run-of-the-mill oranges.
For now, there are two more I’ll be adding to the jar.
They’re so deliciously flavored and textured, that I’m enjoying looking at them in the jar as I walk by.
So yes, a few sticks now and then satisfied my craving for the sublime!
I finished theCollard Veggie Dogs Kraut And Bourbon Beans
This was a low fat dish that shouldn’t be called low fat, because everything about it speaks fat to me. I cleaned the dish out. Breakfast, lunch or dinner it didn’t matter, they were equally good whatever the time of day or night.
Drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
I’m not seeing any results, except becoming more regular in the elimination department and having a bit more energy and a positive outlook in a world where everybody’s dying and we’re continually reminded of it by the media. My stomach didn’t flatten yet, at least not that I can visually see or feel. I’ll wait till the end to use the measuring tape.
With all that in mind I decided to add a few more ingredients.
I kept the lower doses of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and ginger juice.
Because I still got the heartburn, although not as severe, I added 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda.
I then included 1 teaspoon of liquid aminos, 1/2 t. Matchca Green Tea powder and 1/4 t. dark brown sugar. In other words, I’m making a breakfast out of it too.
I almost lost it when adding the baking soda due to the sudden rise in foam. Caught it just in time. In future I’ll use a taller glass to accommodate the rise and fall of foam generated by the baking soda.
The drink was tolerable and I felt it was doing something good for my body, instead of assaulting it.
No miracles yet. According to Dr. Mandell, “SEE MIRACLES”. He didn’t say you WILL see them; he said SEE THEM, which puts the responsibility on you to find them or create them. A little mind trickery or power of suggestion going on there in the video. He also didn’t actually say that you would SEE MIRACLES in seven days. Maybe it takes a lot longer on this MORNING ACID TRIP regimen.
A Sample Of What I Ate Today
breakfast –PIZZA Animal-Free
I had 2 slices of leftover pizza from DEWEY’S yesterday. And a bunch of crusts I hadn’t eaten, which I did now, dipped in a little daiya blue cheeze dairy-free salad dressing. Thirty seconds in the microwave and it warmed the pizza crust to tender again.
leftover –Deconstructed New England Boiled Dinner
Today, instead of pouring the RED PINEAPPLE GRAVY over the reheated veggies, I combined the veggies with the gravy in a skillet, added a squirt of extra virgin olive oil, not much, then sauteed till hot and tender. Ate them just like that. No sides, toppers or unders. That way I figure I can eat more.
Drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
The burning became too much to handle. It didn’t ease up, so I eased it down. Sixteen ounces of fluid is a lot for me to consume all at once and stretches my stomach which I don’t need. That in itself makes me feel bloated. So I reduced the water to 1-1/3 cups from 2 cups.
I kept the ginger juice in play and reduced all ingredients to 1 teaspoon. I kept the water warm and consumed it all on an empty stomach. I feel better about this now. Maybe I needed those three days of heavy dosing, but now I don’t want it.
Yes, I call that MELLOW. Everybody’s different, though the statisticians of the world seem determined to make us all act and think the same.
Proper dosing is critical to success. Doctors don’t seem to realize that. They bombard the patient with high doses of whatever they prescribe to obtain a quicker result. But those high doses are leading to kidney and liver failure. ‘Because it works’ is not a good enough reason to assault a patient with medicine. Smaller doses will get the same result a little slower.
One dose doesn’t fit all. There are differences based on age, gender and size, even race and ethnicity. Why treat a 220 pound man the same as a 120 pound woman? It doesn’t fit. So I suggest you adapt the amounts of ingredients in this power drink to fit your specifications and what you can tolerate. A smaller amount may be more beneficial than nothing at all. So rather than give up on this CHALLENGE I adjusted it to my needs.
Now I feel better about it.
BE SURE TO SEE DAY ONE THROUGH THREE.
A Sample Of What I Ate Today
leftover –Deconstructed New England Boiled Dinner
Dined Out At DEWEY’S PIZZA BYO vegan cheese – brought back comfortable safe memories of my father’s house
The whole pizza was mine. I ordered an 11 inch and Steve a 17 inch. We both brought leftovers home for tonight or tomorrow.
Drank it first thing in the morning. Followed by black coffee sipped for an hour or so, then I ate breakfast. Whatever is leftover in the refrigerator is usually the plan. I’m not big on cereal, so prefer to warm up leftovers. It works for me. As a kid I didn’t like the sulphur smell of eggs and dry cereal smelled like a pasture to me.
Eventually I learned to make the eggs palatable, but not so with dry cereal. Cooked oatmeal with sugar and raisins with melted margarine on top I like, but it takes too much time in the morning. Occasionally I make an oatmeal breakfast pie and eat it through the week warmed in the microwave, but it’s not a regular thing.
In fact, not much is a regular thing for me in the way of food. I rarely make the same salad, soup, sandwich or sauce twice; I’m always experimenting; it’s just in my blood, my DNA, to experiment.
This acid drink is still burning my esophagus and giving me heartburn. Not being able to eat right away to block it is a disadvantage and an adverse side effect. So I take 1/4 t. of baking soda directly to the mouth, mix it with the saliva, swallow and it fixes it momentarily. I’ll be able to eat soon.
I don’t know if this discomfort will discourage me from continuing on this course. I’m trying this today as stated, then I’ll rethink everything tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be the fourth day. I should be noticing something other than a burning throat and heartburn by then.
I’m still not ‘seeing the miracles’ as Dr. Mandell said.
I haven’t changed anything else in what or how much I consume. Maybe this seven day challenge will catapult me into a serious weight reduction routine that I can live with and still eat delicious tasting food.
In an overall, general sense, truth be told, I’m feeling pretty darn good. My energy level is up a bit as well as my positivity – even though it may not sound it here.
We’ll see what happens by tomorrow.
Later gators,
Sharon
A Sample Of What I Ate Today
leftover –Collard Veggie Dogs Kraut And Bourbon Beans
Drink it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
As long as I was burning up my esophagus with this acidic drink, why not add more sting to the brew?
I know it doesn’t make any sense, but as long as I was going to suffer with this, maybe I should make it worth my while. Maybe I’m not going to last seven days with this early morning acid trip. I added one Tablespoon ginger juice by THE GINGER PEOPLE to the mix.
Yesterday I took my body measurements and weighed in just for the heck of it. I have two scales. One spring style that weighs light and one digital that weighs heavy.
If I’m going to get a flatter stomach in seven days, then I should measure my waist now to compare it when I’m seven days done. Here goes – in inches
WAIST = 40 sucked in and 42 hanging out
CHEST = 44
HIP = 43
This says I look like a big box with long arms and long legs.
NECK = 15
RIGHT THIGH = 19
LEFT THIGH = 19
RIGHT CALF = 16
LEFT CALF = 15
I’m not expecting much of a change in any of my body measurements due to my early morning acid trip.
NOW TO THE SCALE
SPRING SCALE = 159 LBS.
DIGITAL SCALE = 164.4 LBS.
FAT = 23.4
VISCERAL FAT = 11
MUSCLE = 30.8
BMI = 25.8
CALORIE/RESTING METABOLISM = 1523
I also checked my blood sugar which was 134 early morning fasting.
A couple weeks ago my blood sugar went down to the nineties, which is the lowest I’ve ever seen it. At the time I was taking a creatine supplement, which has a side effect that lowers blood sugar.
However, the creatine made me retain more fluid and increased muscle cramps. I took it to direct more fluid to my muscles, which it did, but the effects were negative. I read that vegans and old people need it, so bought it, tried it and stopped taking it.
Now I’m back to my normal-for-me blood sugar level. In the fifty years I’ve been going to doctors, it’s always right around 130. Sometimes lower, sometimes higher.
If you take exotic supplements that claim blood sugar changes, you should monitor it. The supplies are through the roof expensive however, which surprised me given the large number of diabetics globally. Those prices need to come down dramatically. You know, the more you sell, the cheaper it should be. Not the case with medicines and medical supplies. That needs to change.
I’m also not expecting any changes on the scale in seven days, so I guess I’d better start looking for miracles.
“SEE MIRACLES”, the doctor said.
WRAP UP: The addition of the ginger juice may have all kinds of benefits, but the sting was greater as well as the heartburn, if that’s even possible. I did again eat less. I ate about two hours after consuming the drink, plus to my coffee I added 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to reduce the total acid effect in my stomach.
I did feel more energetic when I got up in the morning.
A Sample Of What I Ate Today
breakfast, lunch & dinner –Deconstructed New England Boiled Dinner
Drink it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
I renamed this 7 DAY FLATTEN STOMACH CHALLENGE introduced by Dr. Mandell, to the TRIFECTA POWER DRINK CHALLENGE, because honestly, drinking apple cider vinegar and lemon juice first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is the biggest challenge for me.
I mean 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar may not sound like much in 2 cups of water, but it burned my throat all the way to the stomach.
By itself, 2 cups of anything all at once at any time during the day is too much for me.
Not everyone has the same size organs. Years ago after surgery for ovarian cysts, the surgeon told my mother I had a bladder the size of a small child. I’m thinking I have that same small size stomach.
This drink is supposed to get rid of bloat, but for me, I felt bloated all day after drinking it.
Then the extreme heartburn was over the top. It felt like my whole chest was on fire.
So then, when do I eat, an hour later, two hours. I didn’t feel like eating, I felt nauseated. Maybe that’s the reduction in appetite Dr. Mandell claimed it produced.
I decided to do everything as usual, except this drink for the seven day challenge. If for example, I also decided to cut calories, reduce sugar or fat or alcohol beverages and as a result experienced positive changes, I wouldn’t really know to which variable credit should be given.
On this first day I wasn’t even looking for the miracles that accompanied the consumption of this drink. “SEE MIRACLES”, Dr. Mandell said.
TO WRAP UP: On the first day I experienced extreme burning of throat, heartburn, nausea, reduction in appetite. No miracles yet.
Since contracting corona/covid virus back in January 2021, I’ve had dry mucous membranes, which can contribute to the burning by the acidic lemon juice and apple cider vinegar on the mucous membrane lined throat. Although I consume a lot of salad dressings containing both, I don’t do it on an empty stomach.
I consume it with other foods, which lowers the burn factor on the throat. I don’t drink alcohol on an empty stomach either.
The places I frequent don’t like it when I order food first to have with my drinks. They want me to order a couple drinks first, then order the food. It should be my choice. Most big drinkers, and there are a lot of them where I live, don’t eat until they’re drunk at the end of the night. That has never been my style of consumption.
A SAMPLE OF WHAT I ATE TODAY
breakfast –RumTopf Cherry Pie With Smoky Fig Newton Crust
lunch –Mushroom And Corn Instant Mashed Potatoes
dinner –Veggie Collard Dogs Kraut And Bourbon Beans
I already had this food in the refrigerator, so I did the leftovers for my meals.
2 T. LEMON JUICE (fresh is best but bottled is okay as long as sugar-free)
1 T. APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
1- Combine in glass and drink on empty stomach upon rising.
2- I guess the rest is up to me: When and what I eat. When and how much I exercise.
Notes: Since I already ate this morning I’ll start the ONE WEEK FLATTEN STOMACH CHALLENGE tomorrow. RUMTOPF CHERRY PIE – that’s what I ate – only one slice. I know, I know how it sounds. But I developed the recipe over a few weeks while waiting for the cherries to marinate in rum for another cooking site and I just had to have a piece when it was ready (jelled in refrigerator overnight). Wow, it was worth the wait. Yup 5 AM and I was up eating RUMTOPF PIE.
Tomorrow 27 August 2021 I start the challenge.
Day Before PREP WORK:
1- The day before THE TRIFECTA CHALLENGE purchase ingredients: apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.
2- Record the night before THE TRIFECTA CHALLENGE what I consumed 24 hours before beginning the challenge.
3- Record the night before THE TRIFECTA CHALLENGE when and how much I exercised 24 hours before beginning the challenge.
THE START DAY:
1- Rise early as usual.
2- Weigh in naked. Don’t worry, I turn the lights down low so you don’t get sticker shock from this 72 year old WHITE WRINKLY skin I’m sporting. Blame the English, Irish, Scots for that. brits micks scots.
3- Measure my waist with a tape measure. TWICE. First, sucking it in. SECOND, letting it hang.
4- Make the drink.
5- Drink the drink.
6- Whatever happens after that will be recorded Per Pertinency Value. Or, to Satisfy Curiosity.
In the meanwhile, this is the CHERRY RUMTPF PIE I ate this morning. Those were fresh cherries by the way, soaked in rum for a long time, I don’t recall all of it. But I know I’ll do it again. I tasted a lot along the way – two to three weeks. Fresh strawberries and canned peaches too. Didn’t want to leave out the can industry in the development of this spectacular pie.
The crust is made out of fat-free FIG NEWTONS, raw oats, dark brown sugar and some secret ingredients I’ll reveal when I type up the recipe.
But first thing in the morning? RUMTOPF PIE? It made my morning easy-as-pie as they say!!
FOR ADULTS ONLY
I went to YOUTUBE to play some tunes while I long-strided the treadmill. Wanted some oldies to walk by, then thought not to wake up my neighbor, then saw Dr. Mandell and his challenge and the rest is going to be history.
RE: long-strided. I discovered last week that my treadmill experience improved when I took long, slow strides on a low speed, rather than rapid short strides. I could do five minutes in the heat of ninety degree humid temperatures and get a good work out.
A problem arose when I felt so good that I went for a three mile grocery walk to three stores coming back, mostly uphill, with about a hundred pounds of groceries in tow and awoke the next morning with the treadmill bruisin’ blues that lasted till now. Then I went out two more times, WALKING THE TALK. Did I learn a lesson?
Yeah, when you think you can conquer the world, you can.
Expect recovery time commensurate with the effort. Then do it again.
RE: THE TRIFECTA CHALLENGE Dr. Mandell says:
It will BOOST METABOLISM, BURN FAT, LOWER BLOOD SUGAR AND INSULIN PRODUCTION, SUPPRESS APPETITE in addition to REDUCING and FLATTENING STOMACH.
He used the word MIRACLE several times. “SEE MIRACLES.”
I’m going to see if this challenge and the result are MIRACLE WORTHY.
Steve, THE LAST SUPPER GUY, just got up and says he’s in.
“I’m in”.
We’re doing the same challenge.
Except for the morning drink, we’ll be doing it in different ways. Dr. Mandell didn’t say what to do after we drink the drink, so we’re going to fill in the blanks by winging it.
I set up a wordpress.com site where Steve will record his direction. I’ll be recording mine here.
LET’S BEGIN. He’s out shopping now for his FAMOUS LAST SUPPER.
Get the creamy textures of veg mayo absent the fat. Plus more flavor and sing than animal or animal-free mayo. If you love pickles, you’ll love this. Imagine the money saved by finding a use for what you normally throw away. Some will say the juice is bad for you, then I reply, then why eat the pickles. I never heard of anyone getting sick from or dying from eating pickles. The juice is in the pickle. So go ahead, enjoy the pickle and the juice and saving money while you do it!
One lets you off the hook, the other accepts responsibility.
TWO STRATEGIES. WHICH ONE ARE YOU? OR ARE YOU BOTH? ONE IS A NON-STARTER. THE OTHER A GO-GETTER.
Yes, no matter the occasion or the incident we can always say we could have done better. And we can always say it could have been worse and there would be no lies here.
Bourbon beans with mango, roasted pepper and green beans. Ops, almost forgot the sauerkraut. What a pairing! All the way around spells success! And it’s fat-free!Sink your teeth into that one.The chew alone is worth the effort.
Advertisers Controlling Content, thus regulating freedom of speech.
ASSAULT ADVERTISING
FUNGUS FEET AND EAR WAX FEATURED IN YOUR ONLINE RECIPE
If advertisers can control the content of bloggers and opinion websites, then WordPress with whom they’re associated needs to be able to control the content of the ads they place.
Transparency please! Advertisers controlling content. There’s no such thing as free speech in your content, if it offends somebody and frankly all speech offends some people. And some people organize to create a bigger voice than their population ratio proves, often times translating to THE MINORITY RULES in a democracy.
BUT RECIPES? OFFEND PEOPLE?
This sets up a system of CENSORSHIP FOR PROFIT: It’s what advertisers assess as being able to sell their product or destroy another’s product. Companies pay for that. Destroy the competition. The USA government does it using all their surveillance agencies, who work closely with Madison…
You’re not going to lose weight by eating what you always ate even if you eat less of what you always ate.
Those patterns of what you always ate are entrenched in your mind. They are well established and won’t, because they can’t, move. Your eating patterns have become habitual. They’re automatic.
In fact, they’re so much a part of you that they’ve become your culture and as most of us know, culture no matter the source is hard to change. People resist changing culture more than any other behavior patterns.
DON’T TAKE MY COMFORT AWAY
Culture to most people signals comfort and who in this tumultuous, no beginning and no end born to die world doesn’t need to be fed comfort on a regular basis? Tie it to mom and dad or auntie and uncle or grandma and grandpa or brother and sister and you’ve got a recipe for longevity.
To most people their food is their comfort and they don’t care who has to die to provide it.
Well, maybe you’re the one who will die if you don’t change your own personal culture of habitually seeking comfort through food.
Not many death certificates say someone died from eating too much or from fat or from being fat. Yet we all know the diseases caused by over-eating and becoming too fat that kill people.
A death certificate won’t say that seeking comfort through food killed them or that their culture killed them.
Yet we all know that CULTURE KILLS.
Natural death they call it. Natural causes, as opposed to being murdered or death by accident.
There’s nothing natural about being murdered by food.
You can’t change your culture by resisting it. Culture will win every time. It’s comfort. Nobody can turn away from comfort unless they create a new comfort thus a new culture.
Saying no to the old won’t work unless you have something new and better and just as comforting to replace it.
Comfort means safe, basically.
You can’t be losing weight and feeling safe at the same time. Losing weight means deprivation and deprivation puts your body in an alert, uneasy state, so then you eat to stop the unease. It’s natural to do that. Bountiful brings comfort, meaning you’re safe because you have food and will survive.
The problem is when we continuously seek comfort with food, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, exercise et al. All the things that will ultimately destroy us we’ve come to regard as our comfort – our safe place.
MAYBE WE HAVE A DEATH WISH and just want to be in a state of comfort knowing we’re all on our way out. Maybe that’s an instinct we all share. Everybody dies and nobody lets us forget it, so what’s the use of being healthy and fit to look good for the death chambers?
It’s the discomfort of too much fat that eventually turns us away from it. Different people have different tolerance levels. Like too much candy at the fair.
While we’re on this place called Earth, why not breathe and move with ease instead of dis-ease?
That could be a motivating factor. As long as we’re stuck here why not be in a free and easy state of physical comfort?
That’s it: PHYSICAL COMFORT.
Physical comfort brings ease of mind. YES.
A FAT BODY is not comfortable. There is no comfort in being fat. It’s the food that you shovel into it, no it’s the shoveling of the food that brings you comfort, not the food itself.
SHOVEL IT IN. The more the better. It’s the process and the movement of shoveling, feeding, eating – it’s not the food.
Change the food; it won’t resist. It’s dead.
PLANTS ARE BEST no matter how many lies your culture is telling you. CULTURES LIE. They’re built on deception, corruption, enslavement, torture, slaughter, disease, DEATH.
Go to the culture bank and get a new body? They don’t give out bodies; they give out death certificates.
Change the food and change the culture. That way the culture changes itself and you won’t be blamed for it.
Use a smaller shovel. Take your time, nobody wants your food, it’ll still be there if you still want it.
Food comforts the body only when you’re in a state of deprivation. All that other stuff is nothing more than a pile on. A pile onto yourself by yourself acting like ten people are at the table and it’s only you.
Sometimes deprivation feels good, like you’re cleansing your body from the inside out, deep cleaning yourself like a self-cleaning oven.
CHANGE THE FOOD CHANGE THE CULTURE.
Death doesn’t care if you’re fat or skinny or in between. But it does seem to hang out with fat and skinny people. You’ll find death lurking wherever fat and skinny people gather.
If that’s what you want, fine. If it isn’t, then hang out with life, hold onto it as long as you can.
When people say they spit in the eye of death, don’t think death cared, death didn’t. What they really did was spit in the eye of life.
CHANGE YOUR FOOD. Reducing it won’t help if it’s what you’ve always eaten. The temptation will always be there to increase it back to the level it was and you will most always succumb because that’s the route with which you’re most familiar.
A NEW DAY A NEW WAY. Everybody likes new even if they claim not to.
STOP HOLDING OTHER PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU EAT. They’re not, you are.
When you decide you’re in charge, your life with turn for the better.
PARENTS ARE THE BIGGEST PULLS when it comes to food. Spouses the next biggest. It’ll take a few couches to analyze all of that.
I’ll leave that up to each individual since you know your family best. That’s not my territory.
I think I’ve covered everything I set out to cover and unearthed some in the process.
A NEW DAY A NEW WAY.
CHANGE YOUR FOOD. CHANGE THE CULTURE.
USE A SMALLER SHOVEL.
PLANTS ARE BEST. CULTURES LIE.
CULTURES KILL.
USING FOOD FOR COMFORT PRODUCES FAT BODIES.
FAT BODIES ARE NOT COMFORTABLE.
SEEK A COMFORTABLE BODY.
SEEK YOUR COMFORT IN YOUR BODY RATHER THAN IN THE FOOD YOU SHOVEL INTO IT.
People like shovels. They like to shovel even though they pretend not to.
The smaller the shovel the longer it takes to dig your grave.
F-FC ClipBoard: Extra virgin olive oil has been a staple in our home for fifty years. Although I use a variety of oils, extra virgin olive oil is the Davies-Tight house oil. We are rarely without it.
When cooking animal-free it’s important to that the oil you use add flavor to the dish, after all, that’s what animal fats and oils do, and why so many find vegan or plant-based bland.
You don’t need a lot to make a difference.
If cost is a concern, then use a blander oil for the cooking and drizzle the good stuff just before serving. That’s what most high end restaurants that use xvoo do.
Read the article included in this post for the health benefits.
Extra virgin olive oil is loaded with antioxidants and healthy fats and has been shown to offer numerous health benefits. This article explains why extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest fats.
I don’t doubt that chewing gum helps some people to smoke less or to quit.
I also don’t doubt that chewing gum can delay eating when you’re hungry. Or get your bowels moving in the morning. Not for everybody.
What I’ve noticed is that although gum-chewing can delay consumption gratification, it can also elicit hunger pangs when the chewing action doesn’t produce anything of substance in the gut.
My suggestion is that you not chew gum too long – or not long enough so it makes you hungry. Regulate it.
Nicotine gum:
One might think that people who used to smoke shouldn’t use nicotine gum to stave off hunger, but for me it works short term. Chewing nicotine didn’t make me want a cigarette. In fact, it’s a bit uncomfortable. It can make you dizzy and a bit nervous, so use with caution if you choose to use.
If the reason you don’t stop smoking is because you’ll gain even more weight, you might want to give it a try. Follow instructions, or do what’s comfortable for you.
There’s some indication that oatmeal helps with weight loss. I don’t have to overload on it either. One bowl a day can change you for the better.
Fatty liver can be caused by too much alcohol, but also from eating too much, even if you don’t consume any alcohol. By the looks of people globally, there are a lot of fatty livers in the making as I type.
Why not give the oats a try and keep your liver healthy?
I’ve been trying to plan my meals so they’re a little more consistent. Now breakfast is taken care of.
At some point on the calorie continuum you will lose the greatest amount of weight for however many calories you consume.
Find that calorie number which produces the greatest amount of weight loss for you. It’s not the same for everyone. There is some truth to eating more to lose more when eating less leads to dramatic drops in metabolic rate, making it more difficult to lose weight.
Fasting won’t work long term, because it slows your metabolism down too much for too long.
People naturally fast during sleep times and in between meals and snacks. The morbidly obese however consume large amounts of food, in fact so large that the metabolism also slows making it difficult to lose what’s gained.
So, your metabolism will naturally slow when eating too little or too much.
Eating nothing over a long period of time will eventually kill you, but it takes a long time as long as you stay hydrated. Many people eat barely nothing and survive for long periods, but the quality of the physical and emotional existence is poor – and damage can result; whether it’s reversible depends on many factors per individual.
So you think consuming fat, protein, and carbohydrate via solids and liquids are the only means to gain weight, in other words one must eat or drink food that can be transformed into energy.
The stomach and small intestines absorb the glucose in fats, proteins, carbohydrates found in food and transforms it into energy used for all bodily functions.
Calories are a way of measuring the amount of energy that the body can produce by digesting a particular food. Some are high energy and some low and many in between. If you eat a lot of high energy food that your body doesn’t require, then it gets stored as fat for later use.
In other words, when you overload your body with energy that your body can’t use, because you’re not moving around enough, you’ll gain weight.
Synthetics increasing weight. Drugs and supplements contain no calories yet they can significantly increase weight gain.
No calories no gain may be true if eating no synthetics or chemicals.
If you’re loading up with over-the-counter remedies for all that ails you, they may be contributing to your inability to lose weight and your propensity to gain weight. There aren’t many drugs or supplements on the market that cause weight loss. If anything, they cause weight gain.
So, if you’re on a 500 calorie a day diet and not losing weight, try to increase the caloric intake by 100-200 daily for three weeks, then another 100-200 for three weeks. If nothing happens, look beyond plants for the WHY. Synthetics and chemicals in drugs, foods, drinks, supplements, that contain no calories may contain elements that promote weight gain.
Artificial sweeteners, the most studied candidate is only one of many. Most of the many are hidden in over-the counter-drugs in which people consume in astronomical amounts.
It should come as no surprise that not much has been studied in the area of weight gain as a side effect of a myriad of common drugs, especially since lowering food consumption lowers profits for all those companies and businesses selling food, in addition to those selling over-the counter-remedies.
It is my view that the weight gain feature could be factored out of all drugs and supplements with weight gain propensities. Scientists engineer the drugs. They know how to do it. For some reason they’re not allowed, and it probably has to do with money.
What the world needs is transparency in the drug making process, so people know the side effects and adverse reactions. WEIGHT GAIN or WEIGHT LOSS needs to be on labels like the calorie count on food labels, because there are no calories in drugs yet people will gain weight upon consumption.
Obesity is a disease. The government won’t call it one because too many people would end up on disability because they can’t stop eating and it’s killing them.
IFIC: Keto tumbles as basic calorie-counting becomes Americans’ top diet of choice during pandemic
By Elizabeth Crawford 19-May-2021 – Last updated on 19-May-2021 at 16:46 GMT
Despite an uptick in snacking and consumption of indulgent foods and beverages during the pandemic, the number of Americans dieting last year held steady compared to previous years – but their approaches and motivations shifted to reflect changing pressures related to COVID-19, according to new research from the International Food Information Council.
IFIC’s 16th annual Food & Health Survey released today found four in ten of the 1,014 Americans aged 18-80 years contacted in late March reported following a diet or eating pattern in 2020 – with the highest concentration among younger consumers 18-34 years old (52% vs. 33% older than 35 years), women (43% vs 34% of men), Hispanics (50% vs 34% of non-Hispanic whites) and parents with children younger than 18 years (53% vs 34% without children under 18 years).
While there were “no big shifts in the number of people who followed a diet” there were big shifts in the types of diets they followed and why they followed them, said Ali Webster, director of research and nutrition communications at IFIC.
For example, she explained the top diet trend in 2020 wasn’t a buzzy fad with complicated rules about when to eat or what to eat – rather it was old-fashioned calorie-counting.
“Something that has been around forever, super-basic, [was] actually the most popular diet type that we’ve seen this year. That jumped to the top right away, and beat out other options like clean-eating and intermittent fasting, which are in the top three,” she explained.
Notably, the rise in popularity of calorie-counting pushed down other diets that have stolen the spotlight in recent years and dominated product innovation and marketing strategies, including the ketogenic diet or high-fat diet, which fell to account for roughly 5% of the dieters’ choice compared with around 8% in last year’s survey.
However, the slightly broader low-carb diet, which follows many of the same tenets as Keto came in one notch higher in fourth place with just over 5% of dieters, according to IFIC.
Source: IFIC food & health survey 2020 and 2021The percentage of Americans following some type of “cleanse,” which IFIC did not define, also dropped last year to about 1-2%, but as Webster notes “a very small fraction of Americans” have traditionally reported following a cleanse.
While the research didn’t specifically explore what was behind the drop in Keto, Webster hypothesized that the diet may have been too complicated for many Americans in a year filled with so much uncertainty and anxiety related to the pandemic.
“This year involved a lot of stressors and involved a lot of anxiety with people turning toward comfort food, towards things that were familiar to them to feel good – at least for a little while – emotionally and psychologically. And, so I wonder if it was just a lower priority for people to be restricting themselves in such a way … when we were spending so much time at home and had so many other things on our mind,” she explained.
Noting the keto diet is “notoriously” difficult to follow, Webster added that consumers interested in dieting likely opted for something more straight-forward, such as calorie-counting, or even intermittent fasting, which restricts when people eat but not what they eat.
She also noted that the keto diet didn’t allow for participation in other major dietary trends in 2020, including the country’s obsession with sourdough and baking in general.
Long-term health rises as a top diet motivatorWhy consumers opted to diet also shifted last year to reflect the reality of pandemic-living, with more people noting they were motivated for health and wellness reasons, according to IFIC.
While the top motivator for adopting a diet remained losing weight at just under 40%, Webster noted fewer people were focused on this reason than prior years. Similarly, she said dieting to improve physical appearance, which accounted for just under 30%, also fell compared to prior years.
Webster hypothesized that fewer people dieted for their physical appearance because looks weren’t as top of mind in the past year with most people spending the majority of their time at home and with only immediate friends or family compared to previous years when people have been more mobile.
“We’ll see how this shifts next year as we kind of move back toward our normal lifestyles,” she added.
A very close second to wanting to lose weight was adopting a diet to protect long-term health or prevent future health conditions, according to IFIC. Wanting to feel better and have more energy was the third most prevalent motivator followed by wanting to better manage a health condition.
The importance of health as a motivator was particularly high among ol…
Pan-fired cubanelle peppers, sweet onion, yellow potatoes and zucchini, then tossed till coated with a mustard sauce! the zucchini adds a juicy component if done just right – tender, not mushy.
Cook up five pounds of these tender creamy golden thin-skin potatoes and chill till ready to use in various recipes. Today it’s a potato pepper fry. We keep the fat low and the flavor high! Rich!
Newly approved drug heralded as ‘game changer’ in the growing national obesity crisis
ARIELLE MITROPOULOS Fri, June 4, 2021, 3:26 PM
A new weight-loss treatment is being heralded by some health experts as “groundbreaking,” and a potential “game changer” in the growing epidemic of obesity.
Semaglutide, an injectable drug made by the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, was approved Friday by the Food and Drug Administration, for patients struggling with chronic obesity.
“We don’t use those terms lightly,” Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine professor Dr. Robert F. Kushner, an obesity medicine specialist and trial investigator for the drug, told ABC News. “I’ve been involved in the field for 40 years. The reason we think that way, it results in amount of weight loss of an average of 15% or more, which we have not seen before.”
Currently, 42.4% of all adults in the U.S. suffer from obesity, defined as having a body mass index at or above 30, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Today’s approval offers adults with obesity or overweight a beneficial new treatment option to incorporate into a weight management program,” John Sharretts, deputy director of the Division of Diabetes, Lipid Disorders, and Obesity in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.
Semaglutide was approved in 2019 by the FDA to treat Type 2 diabetes, sold under the brand name Ozempic, albeit at a lower dose. At the higher dose of 2.4 mg, the drug acts on centers in the brain to reduce appetite, leading to potentially significant weight loss when combined with increased physical activity, and counseling sessions with nutritionists to maintain a reduced-calorie diet.
The drug targets patients with a BMI over 30, or a BMI over 27 with at least one weight-related comorbidity.
In a recent randomized and controlled phase 3 clinical trial study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at Chicago’s Northwestern University studied the drug’s impact on weight loss for nearly 2,000 individuals in 16 countries.
“Semaglutide is a paradigm shift from other obesity medications, because it targets the gut as opposed to the brain,” said Dr. Anastassios G. Pittas, chief of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Tufts Medical Center.
For 68 weeks, participants injected themselves weekly with either semaglutide or a placebo. On average, over half of those who received the drug itself lost nearly 15% of their body weight, and over a third achieved a weight loss of at least 20% of their weight.
Current anti-obesity drugs on the market result in a weight loss of about 6% to 12%, according to Kushner.
“If someone weighs 200 pounds, or 250 pounds, losing 50 pounds is life-changing,” said Dr. Sriram Machineni, also an investigator in the study, and the director of the Medical Weight Clinic at the University of North Carolina.
PHOTO: In this undated file photo, a person weighs themselves on a scale. (Getty Images, FILE)
Marleen Greenleaf, 58, of Fort Washington, Maryland, a participant in the trial who received the drug, lost over 40 pounds in a year.
“I’ve been working on this weight-loss journey for so long, and I’ve tried so many things,” she told ABC News. “Weight loss has always been a challenge for me. I have basically done the yo-yo dieting where I lose the weight and then it comes back on.”
This treatment was different, said Greenleaf, because it was consistent, not a “quick fix” remedy. The once-a-week regimen made it easier to manage, unlike other anti-obesity medications, which need to be taken daily.
Greenleaf’s significant weight loss allowed her to qualify as a living kidney donor for her husband on dialysis. Although they were not a match, her kidney went to another recipient, and in turn, her husband received a kidney.
“To me, it was the tip of the iceberg … because I was healthy and I had lost the weight, I was able to give him a better lifestyle,” she said.
Kushner said semaglutide could lead the way to a new generation of medications that harness the way the body normally regulates appetite, by using GLP-1 — a naturally occurring hormone in the body that regulates appetite — as a medication.
“We naturally have signals from hormones in our body that cause us to be hungry, and when we eat, we feel full,” Kushner explained.
A growing crisis
Obesity has become a major public health crisis, linked to multiple diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and cancer. Its metabolic implications were evident during the coronavirus pandemic, placing people with obesity at greater risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death.
Given current trends, nearly 1 in 2 American adults will be obese by 2030, according to a 2019 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“There are not a lot of treatment options today, and in a lot of circles, it’s not even considered a disease. There’s a significant unmet need,” Doug Langa, executive vice president North America Operations and president of Novo Nordisk told ABC News.
It is a complicated disease, added Dr. W. Scott Butsch, director of obesity medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, who also consults for Novo Nordisk, and “just telling somebody to eat less or move more is a simplistic solution to a complex problem.”
PHOTO: In this Sept. 14, 2019, file photo, a sign is shown outside of a Novo Nordisk facility in Clayton, N.C. (Kris Tripplaar/Sipa USA via Newscom, FILE)
Although not all experts went as far as to characterize the new treatment as “game changing,” many agreed that semaglutide could lead to the advent of a new generation of drugs, which could change the way obesity is treated.
“I think this could represent a shift in the way we think about the disease of obesity,” Butsch said. “If we give a medication which could be perceived as a more benign treatment option, and it produces significant effects, then you finally have a shift in getting more and more people to their goal of having a normal body weight, or significantly reducing people who have severe obesity.”
The weight loss observed in the trial was often accompanied by health benefits, including improvements in blood pressure, blood lipids and blood sugars.
“With each increment of reduction, you’re seeing, potentially, a comorbid condition also being impacted to the better,” said Langa.
Common side effects of semaglutide were mild to moderate in severity, primarily consisting of gastrointestinal ailments such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, and abated with time.
There were some limitations to the trial, such as the exclusion of individuals with Type 2 diabetes, and the fact that about three-quarters of the participants were white and women.
Additionally, Pittas noted that in these studies semaglutide was paired with comprehensive lifestyle changes aiming at weight loss, which is not always feasible in clinical practice. The medication also requires titration over a few weeks to months for optimal adherence.
“On average, I expect the weight loss in clinical practice to be less than in the studies, probably closer to 5 to 10%,” Pittas concluded.
People suffering from obesity will have to take the drug for life to manage their weight, while ceasing to take it could lead to regaining most of the lost weight, according to one of the trials.
“We think about obesity now as a long-term chronic relapsing disease, just like diabetes or hypertension. … When you think of those chronic illnesses, you think of long-term management. These drugs are approved for weight loss, and maintenance of weight loss, long term,” Kushner explained.
Although the long-term implications of taking the higher dose of the drug are still unknown, there have been relatively few side effects of the lower-dose version of semaglutide treating diabetes.
One notable hurdle to access could be pricing, as weight-loss drugs can be costly and are not always covered by insurance.
According to the Novo Nordisk, the specific list price for the drug will be available to the public in the coming days. However, the company said it expects its price will be similar to that of its current anti-obesity medicine, Saxenda, which retails for $1,349.02 for a 30-day supply.
“The field is still at the mercy of our insurance companies, of Medicare and Medicaid, for coverage and reimbursement. Without these, the drug can be wonderful, but it may never be utilized to its potential,” Butsch noted.
Novo Nordisk told ABC News that they are in active discussions with insurance companies to make the drug as accessible and affordable as possible. The company expects semaglutide to be available in pharmacies later this month.
Canola oil is highly controversial these days. Once beloved by all and used for many a boxed cake mix, it’s now avoided like the plague. Its bad reputation seems to have come out of nowhere, but is it deserved? Is canola oil bad for you? And is canola oil inflammatory? In this article, I’ll address these questions and more, including GMOs and the processing of canola oil.
What is “canola”, exactly? It all starts with the rapeseed plant – a pretty, yellow flowering plant. The rapeseed plant has a very oil-rich seed but also contains high levels of erucic acid – a compound that in large amounts can be toxic to humans.
So, in the 1970s, Canadian scientists set out to create a variety of the rapeseed plant with very low levels of this compound, which they named the canola plant. The name canola came from combining the words “Canada” and “ola” (for oil)….
ANOTHER ARTICLE: THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH ABOUT CANOLA OIL
According to the mainstream media, Canola oil is “heart healthy” and a good source of monounsaturated fats similar to olive oil. Unfortunately, much of what you hear in the mainstream media has been influenced by the heavy-handed marketing tactics of big food companies.
Canola oil is cheap to produce, so they’ve spent a lot of money trying to convince you to think Canola is a “health oil” so that consumers, restaurants, institutions, etc. will buy it up as their main oil of choice.
Here is the inconvenient truth about Canola oil….But rapeseed oil demand plummeted when the war was over, and so began an intensive program to breed a rapeseed edible to humans. Traditional rapeseed oil contains almost 60 percent monounsaturated fatty acids (compared to about 70 percent in olive oil). Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the monounsaturated fatty acids in rapeseed oil are erucic acid, a 22-carbon monounsaturated fatty acid that had been associated with Keshan’s disease, which causes fibrotic lesions on the heart….
If radiation from the sun combines with cholesterol from the skin to form vitamin D, then why wouldn’t radiation from my computer when hitting my skin combine with the cholesterol in my skin to form vitamin D?
Could I be sun-bathing while working at my computer?
This is how baked corn-in-the-husk looks like after it’s done. Wonderfully sweet too.
POTATO AND RED PEPPER CORN CHOWDER – GOAT
That’s a GOAT. WALKOFF HOME RUN GRAND SALAMI, says Steve. He ate six cups of leftovers and enjoyed it as much as when it was fresh. Lots of moans. Music of satisfaction to my ears!
110×10 potato + 350 can corn + 310 fresh corn +240 margarine + 100 SILK milk +114 flour = 2,214 = 170 calories per cup minus the V. ham garnish.
Given the sublime GOAT nature of this chowder, 170 calories per cup is astounding! Go for it. Everybody deserves a taste of this low calorie treasure!
Fruit for dessert is traditional for the Italians. Something about the enzymes in fresh fruit that aid in the digestion of the main meal filled with carbos, meats and fats. I like it for breakfast or lunch or evening snack. You pick. Of course you’re going to get the sweet with it, which means a little jam and maple syrup, but when paired with the fresh fruit it’s like the fresh is simply sweeter.
Go ahead impress your guest with something fresh, crisp, soft and sweet!
Horrors. I had no idea. Of course I had no idea, I didn’t weigh myself. Sure my clothes were a little snug, a lot snug, but that ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ mentality kept creeping in: the old procrastination trick so I can have today what I promise I won’t have tomorrow. THE LAST SUPPER – before the big diet push. Steve and I have done that ad nauseam. We have had so many last suppers that I can’t begin to count how many.
Promises, promises, promises. Now reverse those promises you never kept – every single one of them – and don’t eat today what you think you can take off tomorrow. You’re never right. Here’s a little brain exercise; this is a test. “I already ate” is a good trick every time you think of food, simply say, “I already ate”, which you did, at some point, so you’re not lying to yourself. But so what if you are? Your brain tricks you all the time, so give it back, trick your brain. If nothing else it will let you know how often you think about food or wanting to eat. Every single time you think of food say, “I already ate”.Even if you still eat, say it anyway to develop the habit and train your brain. Your brain is like the Wild West – uncivilized. Tame it, train it. You be its master, not the other way around.
FAT-FREE CHEF™ 