Mostly recaps of two wheeled rambles through the countryside, but sometimes thoughts on other things.

Friday, June 24, 2011

The China Study Diet

Not really the name of it, but the title of a book by T. Colin Campbell which inspired Sharon to go pseudo-vegan (all unprocessed vegetables all the time, but not the politics, and avoidance of leather, etc). It's plant based eating and purports to provide better defense against cancer and heart disease than eating animal products does. It's also the 1st diet given to us in Gen 2 (before animals were killed following the "fall" in Gen 3) and the one that Daniel and his 3 pals did so well on, when they eschewed the non kosher stuff pushed at them by the Babylonians (The original "10 days to Better Health!" plan). I've done Atkins from 2002 - 2006 and again from 2009 until last Thursday. Generally speaking, I lost 42 lbs on it and maintained good blood sugar and cholesterol #s (with statin medicine help). The vegetable diet also promises good health, and weight control, but with the added benefit of better circulatory system health and anti-cancer effects from the macro and micro nutrients found in natural foods. Sharon is taking online classes via Cornell Univ on the diet and is far better read on it than I care to ever be. And she said she'd cook for me :)

Like Atkins, Campbell says processed carbs, sugary sweets and salty fatty foods are bad for you. You don't eat french fries or white bread on either plan. It's taking me some getting used to but I am starting to get a sense of what, when, and how much I need to eat. My weight jumped up 5 lbs in the 1st 3 days. This was water absorption, since Atkins which is a ketogenic diet, causes you to lose water, and my body just refilled. I'm down 1/2 lb today, the first day of a loss since eating this way. Sharon has lost close to 40 lbs so far in about 6 months herself. I find that I really like the food. Vegetarian chili on brown rice last night was wonderful. Bruschetta on toasted baguettes the day before was also yummy (3 types: mushroom, tomato, and cannelli beans.) I'm getting more confident in tweaking my orders at lunch places too. "Give me the fat free dressing and HOLD the cheese, please."

On the ride last night, I had plenty of energy, which was something I was concerned about. Would low fat plants be able to fuel my legs? Last night at least, the answer was yes. Do I miss meat? Not so far. Earth Fare has a salad bar and lost of fake meat dishes. I tried some curried soy chicken salad and it was exquisite. But the Tabouli was great too. It hit me the other day that I don't need to kill something in order to get a meal now, and I really liked that. Not that I felt any guilt before, because I absolutely did not. Nor do I now. But I like not having to.

Okay, time to go plank and lift some weights. Good ride planned for tomorrow. Bagel thins with hummus, Newman's cereal and almond milk for breakfast. Yum

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