Losing the Last 10 Pounds

MM wanted to lose the last 10 to 12 pounds. She has been at the same weight for the past couple of years despite already eating quite well (she's a vegetarian). MM is a middle-aged woman who found out she has a small brain tumor recently. Her quest to live everyday to the fullest includes losing the last 10 pounds.

She recently joined 24-Hour Fitness and has been amazed to lose six pounds in the first two weeks already! 24 Hour Fitness has about 400 clubs across the US. See her quest to lose the 10 pounds.

Say Hello to the Kuna

For those of you who haven't been reading the comments, we've been having a spirited discussion about the diet and health of hunter-gatherers here. I brought up the Kuna indians in Panama, who are immune to hypertension, live a good long time, do not gain excess weight, and seem to have less cardiovascular disease and cancer than their city-dwelling cousins.

I was hungry for more information about the Kuna lifestyle, so over the last few days, I've dug up every paper I could find on them. The first paper describing their lack of hypertension was published in 1944 and I don't have access to the full text. In 1997, a series of studies began, headed by Dr. Norman Hollenberg at Harvard. He confirmed the blood pressure findings, and collected data on their diet, lifestyle and kidney function. Here's a summary:

The Kuna are half hunter-gatherers, half agricultural. They cultivate plantains, corn, cocoa, yucca, kidney beans, and several types of fruit. They trade for sugar, salt, some processed cocoa and miscellaneous other foods. They drink 40+ oz of hot cacao/cocoa per day, some locally produced and some imported. A little-known secret: the Kuna eat an average of 3 oz of donut a week. They also fish and hunt regularly.

In the first recent study, published in 1997, the Kuna diet is described as 29% lower in fat than the average US diet (56 g/day), 23% lower in protein (12.2 g), 60% higher in cholesterol, and higher in sodium and fiber. The study doesn't specifically mention this, but the reader is left to infer that 65% of their calories come from carbohydrate. This would be from plantains, corn, yucca, sugar and beans. The fat in their diet comes almost exclusively from coconut, cocoa and fish: mostly saturated and omega-3 fats.

In the next study, the picture is beginning to change. Their staple stew, tule masi, is described as being 38% fat by calories (from coconut and fish), exceeding the American average. In the final study in 2006, Hollenberg's group used a more precise method of accounting for diet composition than was used in previous attempts. The paper doesn't report macronutrients as a percentage of calories, and I suspect the reason is that they aren't consistent with the previous papers. They have retreated from their previous position that the Kuna diet is low-fat and describe it instead as "low in animal fat", leaving plenty of room for saturated fats from coconut and cacao.

I was able to find some clues about their diet composition, however. First of all, they report the meat consumption of the Kuna at approximately 60 oz per week, mostly from fish. That's 8.6 oz per day, identical to the American average. They also reported the fat content of the cacao the Kuna produce locally and brew into their favorite 40-oz-a-day drink. It's 44.2% fat by weight. The low-fat cocoa drinks they used to calculate macronutrient totals are made from imported cocoa (cocoa is defatted cacao powder), ignoring the locally produced, full-fat cacao. If we assume half the chocolate they drank was locally produced, that's about 30 additional grams of fat a day, bringing their total fat intake to 8g above the average American. I suspect the authors chose to ignore the locally-produced cacao to lower the apparent fat intake of the Kuna, even though the paper states they drank both regularly.

By putting together the pieces from the later studies, a new picture emerges: a diet high in fish and moderate in protein, high in unprocessed fat (especially saturated and omega-3), and moderate in mostly unprocessed carbohydrate.

Here's my biased interpretation. The Kuna are healthier than their city-dwelling cousins for a number of reasons. They have a very favorable omega3:6 ratio due to seafood, wild game and relatively saturated vegetable fats. Their carbohydrate foods are mostly unprocessed and mostly from non-grain sources. They also live an outdoor life full of sunshine (vitamin D) and exercise. The chocolate may also contribute to their health, but I doubt it's a major effect. They're healthier than industrialized people because they live more naturally.

Another lesson to be learned from the Kuna and other exceptionally healthy indigenous peoples is that the human body can tolerate a fair amount of carbohydrate under the right conditions. Peter discusses another example of this, the Kitavans, on his blog. 50% carbohydrate while sitting in front of a desk all day, eating corn oil and getting no exercise = bad. 45% carbohydrate while hunting, relaxing and preparing whole, natural food in the sun all day = good.

An Aboriginal Diet for Weight Loss

Greg lost 40 pounds, normalized his blood sugar and no longer requires diabetes drugs.

His route to success? He went on an aboriginal diet. He could eat "all the fat he wanted, and all the seafood and meat and starch-free vegetables. Dairy fats like cream and cheese were fine, but not milk. Everything else with carbs -- bread, pasta, chips -- were off-limits. No ancestor of Wadhams' ever feasted on pasta and rice. Or ice cream bars."

With the urging of the local doctor (in the photo above), many people in his small village also went on a similar diet and experienced success.

It sounds like the Atkins diet, but it is a traditional aboriginal diet.

See the interesting story at The Town that Lost 1,200 Pounds.

Real Food III: Yogurt

Fermented milk is regarded by many cultures as a delicious health food. It has cropped up all over the world in different forms: kefir from Caucasia, laban from the Middle East, dahi from India, creme fraiche from Western Europe, piima from Finland, mursik from Kenya, and yogurt from your grandmother's house. But these same people would scarcely recognize the colored, sweetened gel that passes for yogurt in grocery stores today.

Most if not all dairy-eating cultures ferment their milk. Why is this? There are three main reasons. First of all, unpasteurized milk spontaneously ferments at room temperature, usually becoming delicious "clabbered milk"- whereas pasteurized milk becomes putrid under the same conditions. So fermented milk is difficult to avoid. The second, related reason, is that fermentation prolongs the life of milk in the absence of refrigeration. Fully fermented milk is stable for weeks at room temperature.

The third reason is that these cultures know cultured milk is delicious and nutritious. Fermentation with specially selected cultures of lactic acid-producing bacteria and sometimes yeast work to break milk down into a form that is more easily assimilated. They partly (or fully) digest the lactose, which can be a problem for some people, turning it into tangy lactic acid. They also partially digest casein, a protein in milk that is difficult for some to digest. And finally, the lower pH of fermented milk makes its minerals more bioavailable.

Traditionally, milk was fermented in its unpasteurized state, but raw milk is hard to find in many industrialized countries. Raw milk has its complement of enzymes intact, such as lactase and lipase, which aid in its digestion. It also contains lactose-digesting bacteria that make milk easier for some to digest, and contribute to intestinal health. These are all eliminated by pasteurization. Fortunately, fermentation restores some of the benefits of raw milk. It reintroduces lactic-acid bacteria, along with their digestive enzymes. With that in mind, here's a simple yogurt recipe:


Ingredients/equipment:

1/2 gallon whole, raw or pasteurized, cow or goat milk (add extra cream if you wish)
Starter culture (commercial starter or 2 tbsp of your favorite live-culture yogurt)
Thermometer
Glass jars with lids
Cooler or yogurt maker

Recipe:

1. Heat the milk to 110-115 F (43 C). If the temperature exceeds 115 F, let it cool.

2. Add the starter culture. If the starter is yogurt, whisk it into the milk.

3. Pour the milk into glass jars and keep it at about 110 F for 4-10 hours. 4 hours will yield a mild yogurt, 10 will be tangy. If you don't have a yogurt maker, this is the tricky part. You can use a cooler filled with 100 F water to maintain the temperature and spike it with hot water after a few hours, or you can ferment it in your oven with the pilot light on if the temperature is in the right range.


If you want a thicker yogurt, bring the milk to 180 F (82 C) and let it cool to 110 F before adding the starter. Add fruit, honey or other flavors before fermenting. Enjoy!

As a final note, I'll mention that milk simply does not agree with some people. If you've tried raw milk and homemade yogurt, and they cause intestinal discomfort or allergies, let them go.

Today's food so far:
1 bowl of mini shredded wheat pillows with pomegranate (apparently) in them. Bit strange, but filled a hole. In fact i didn't even have lunch as I was still full.
15 black olives
1/2 apple

This evening I made risotto -
Rice, onion, garlic, lemon zest, rosemary, lemon juice, white wine and peas. Had it with a nice salad. YUM.
I worked out all the calories for the whole meal by making it 'a meal' on my daily plate. The whole thing when you add all the ingredients together was 2200 cals. It divided unusually into a good 7 portions, so that's a pretty good value dinner for me at only 315 cals. Bargain.

Me, DS, Xandra and Maria all had 1 portion and a salad each, and when DH got home from badminton he had 2 portions and no salad. I have just put the last portion into a tub in the freezer for another day.

I like this new me. I like the girl who makes too much food and freezes it for another day. Its well good having a lasagne in the freezer that's home made, or a chilli, or some home made chicken soup all portioned out.

Right now in my freezer I am very proud of the fact that I have:
4 fish pies that I made all in individual used yoghurt pots.
1 beef chilli to serve 5
4 portions of lasagne individually wrapped
1 pot of risotto
7 bags of chicken casserole

...and all the other shop bought stuff.

Also I have fallen in love with a food. Mussels. I have been yearning to go back to our chateaux just so that I can have them! So I was looking on the net to see if I could buy them fresh and live... and you can! £3.50 a kg. I have ordered some and they will be delivered on Thursday. I have my wonderful 'moule' cooking pot ready to go, so yay I am gonna eat some serious mussels! They are a GREAT bandit food. They taste FABULOUS, they are FULL of protein and they are only 1 calorie a gram! WOW. So 100g mussels, all beautiful and tasty are only 100 cals. 100g mussels will totally fill me up ready to go! And the best thing about them is that they are as easy to cook as a lettuce.

Can't wait.

Improving Fuel Economy

OK, you know driving isn't good for the environment, but you're going to do it anyway. Here's how to substantially increase your fuel economy without buying a new car:

1- Drive deliberately; accelerate gradually. A car uses a lot of fuel when it's accelerating rapidly.

2- Drive 55 mph on the highway. This makes a huge difference. It maximizes fuel efficiency by reducing wind resistance, which exponentially increases with speed. This reduces gas consumption by more than 20% relative to a speed of 75 mph. 60 mph is almost as good, if 55 is to slow.

3- Draft a truck. Large trucks with flat, square backs leave a massive low-pressure zone behind them, which you can exploit to save gas. At 20 feet behind a standard 18-wheeler, you will use about 27% less fuel. If that's too close, you still save 20% at 50 feet, and 11% at 100 feet. Be careful because trucks have a blind spot behind them, and some truckers do not appreciate drafting.

4- Keep your car well-maintained. Clogged filters, faulty oxygen sensors and flat tires all hurt fuel efficiency.

5- Lose the cargo. The more weight you have in your car, the more fuel is required to get it up a hill or accelerate it.

6- Turn off accessories. AC is the biggest power drain, but the fan used to circulate air also draws power.

Food for thoughts

I was eating for my mind again...

Breakfast: Banana
Lunch: a yogurt
Dinner: Chicken Caesar Salad with HOME MADE dressing, lashings of red of wine and 4 packets of sesame snaps. Yes, Packets.

The dressing is made thus:
1 cup very finely grated strong cheddar (didn't have Parmesan)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
crushed pepper
1 clove crushed garlic

mix mix mix and it becomes a thin dressing... weirdly... that is AWESOME over chicken salad.
If you like garlic and tang, you GOT to try it. It has got to be an award winner.

Obviously I didn't have much of it, as I feel the need to keep stressing are like a 5 year old's.

I think I consider people who read this blog who don't know about the surgery to think that I am eating the same amount as I used to. In fact I think that's what I think of myself. Because it is so TOTALLY different from what I used to eat, I think I have to explain myself because I don't want people the think I am still eating loads... which evidently I am not.

I have decided too that I am NEVER going to buy a bottle of wine again. 1 glass is fine. More than that means a SERIOUS head thumping headache in the morning. What would be the point in buying a bottle? If I go out, I will have a glass or something, but I am not buying it for the house. I enjoy wine too darn much to throw half a bottle down the sink. Waking up with the mother of all headaches this morning has totally convinced me that I just cant take the alcohol any more.

Its so cool! I mean, its not cool because I really love wine, but I HATE headaches worse. So my diet is obviously seriously affecting my body and this is the good news that is cool! I don't have food in my belly to soak up the booze any more. That equally means I don't have the food in my belly to make me a porker any more.

I really do have trouble expressing what I feel about this band on here... Its like I want to write a whole thesaurus of words to describe the bliss that is having a band (that works!)

So another kind of blow out day for me... I really don't like eating crud any more. I have been really enjoying making meals and stuff for the whole family and enjoying my small portion of it. I am always last to finish so I feel like I have still eaten loads!

One day I might make myself a dinner like I used to eat and see what it looks like. I haven't been out to dinner at a restaurant since having my last fill, so I think possibly the plate size and portion size will shock me. What a shame that I can only eat at those swanky posh places that serve you up 1 pea, a lettuce leaf and some sauce!! HA HA