Diet & Weight: The Real Stuff & Challenge

Continuing with our Diet & Weight Challenge in our MIH Community I posted the following with a challenge...

The Real Stuff...and finding it in anything we buy, food wise these days, is difficult! What exactly is considered real? These are the things I allow myself to have even if it costs a tad bit more because I realize the health benefits vs the fake.

Whole Milk (I don't do low fat or skim...why? See below...)
Real Cheese (not the processed kind...I'm still trying to break some of us, in my home, of the habit of buying the processed stuff. )
Real Mayonnaise (used sparingly but if I am going to have mayo...it is is going to be real and good.)
Real Butter (Again, used sparingly.)
Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil (I prefer Olive Oil but I stick to the veggie fats vs. the animal fats...so much better for you.)

My health and that of my family is more important to me and paying a few more pennies here and there...it is worth it. But what about the butter, whole milk and cheese? Well...I'll tell you.

If you think about how we have eliminated the fats completely out of our diets...we have not only taken out the flavor in our foods but we have taken out a necessary element that our bodies need in order to function. You would not run your car without oil would you? So why do we do that to our bodies?

If you eat the real foods without all the additives...your body can use it and use it all! Nothing will go to waste and what it can't use...it will be able to do away with. It will get used and burned properly and won't just sit there. Let me explain a bit further...

If you continue to feed your body with fake foods...your stomach will be satisfied but your body won't. It's main function is to keep things going and is continually trying to balance everything out. If you do not give it real vitamins and real nutrients it (your body) goes into "starvation mode" and will take what you have given it (fake stuff) and make it into stored fat for the body...because remember we are literally starving it of what it needs...so our bodies will make something and try to hold on to it because it thinks it is being starved.

Now if you are a special low fat diet...stick to that but watch what happens when you start incorporating real foods and don't forget about our previous challenges...adding green lettuce to your diet everyday. You will see a huge change and find that you CAN eat real butter, cheese and whole milk again but only with your doctor's approval. Keep away from the packaged deals...they look and sound good but be sure to read the ingredients carefully!

The other benefit to eating the real stuff that has always been considered a no-no is that you have given back the flavor to your foods...that little bit of flavor will satisfy you and your body, give it the good fat it needs to run properly and you won't be hungry later on! I know this is so contrary to what we have been told but take a look at the French and the foods they eat and then look at the stats for heart disease in their country vs. ours. But...they do everything in moderation.

TIP: Remember that you don't have to fill your plate full. I use the palm of my hand as a gauge. I will cup my hand and what I could fit into that is the portion I will have of each item (meat and side dishes). My favorite saying & best diet reduction tip...

Everything in moderation!

Look for real ingredients the next time you are shopping and while you are in your kitchen...look through the food items you have now and see what the ingredients are. I would recommend slowly purging yourself of these items. Don't do like I did and purge every single thing...that did not go over well with my family who was not quite on board with the whole eating "real" stuff!

You will find that when you incorporate the real stuff you will be less likely to get hungry in between meals (because your body is now satisfied and will still have that full feeling) and you will be less likely to eat in between meals. When we had our French exchange students staying with us...one thing they did not do was eat in between meals...and they did not snack on food just before eating...they waited and made themselves wait to enjoy the meal. Which will bring us to our next challenge next week...

Challenge: Start looking for and buying real foods and incorporating them into your diet this week.



DISCLAIMER: As with any advice or opinion given, please use caution and seek the advice from your doctor. The above is what I do and have done and found to work for me.

Here are just a few of the comments we shared on the board about The Real Stuff...

This is very interesting Cat...I am following the Weight Watchers Diet and I really like it because it does teach portion control and how to eat real whole foods. I guess I've just always been under the impression that less calories is better than whole calorie foods...like whole milk and cheese. So, I guess my question would be this:

For people trying to lose weight, how do you incorporate real milk and real cheese and real mayo into your diet? I'm all for getting rid of preservatives!!

Becca

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Now this is a challenge I can enjoy... being as I started this a few weeks back after reading Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

I have always been of the opinion that everything in moderation is good... yum yum

Oh, and FWIW Becca... I lost weight just eating this way. The truth is, the full fat servings fill you up sooner, so you eat less. Therefore your dinner servings are smaller... and you lose weight.

Cat,
Have you ever read Stormie O'Martian's book "Greater Health God's Way" (7 Steps to Health, Youthfulness, and Vitality)? She encourages you to eat foods the way God made them...(real butter, honey instead of sugar, & etc.) It's a very good book.

The 7 Steps are:
1. Peaceful Living
2. Pure Food
3. Proper Exercise
4. Plenty of Water
5. Prayer & Fasting
6. Periods of Fresh Air & Sunshine
7. Perfect Rest

It would be a great study to do should there be an interest...Blessings, Patty

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I try to remember to get a couple of servings in of each type of food throughout my day. I will give you an example of an evening meal...

I will serve a meat (remembering to keep it in a sizable portion), one or two veggies.

TIP: Eat your food like you are having a 5 course meal...
Meat first...veggie and then the next...remember to eat slowly.

After that I will have salad with homemade vinegar/oil or french dressing.

Dessert: Cheese (cut up wedge or square) with fruit or yogurt with fruit


Real Mayo...used on my sandwich...I take just enough to top my bread...thinly but I still get the flavor.

Real Butter....I use this to cook with and when I have breakfast of toast I will take a skinny square and spread it over both slices of bread...scraping to make it go further. Again...it is to get the flavor in there. Real Strawberry jelly without the corn syrup...I take maybe a tablespoon and split it between the two slices. I will have a small glass of orange juice with this.

Glass of whole milk...I would say I have maybe 1/2 a cup with a sandwich at lunch or dinner...especially if I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast or yogurt and/or cheese.

xoxo Cat

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I just again am so thankful to have like minded sisters. I never had a sister at home, so you girls are my help line!

Thanks so much for sharing what YOU do!

We do "real" here also. I believe that best in moderation is what works for us. I am struggling with moderation, but as I focus on it, my body is shrinking as we speak! lol

hugs hugs hugs
Sweetie

I find this to be so true. All of my family fills up faster and feels more satisfied by eating "the real stuff".
We've also be working on eating slowly and enjoying our food. As a mom, that's hard, I'm so used to shoveling it in so I can help everyone else!!
BTW, way to go Angelena!!


Blessings,
Joy

I can attest that the switch is actually much easier than it seems. I am slowly replacing processed food with whole and natural foods and my picky husband says that the food tastes so much better than before. I try to distract from the smaller portions by setting a beautiful table and making the plates with care including garnishes a la Emeril "Bam" Our DD9 is excited to "eat pretty" and it just makes such a pleasant dining experience that we all take our time and really enjoy our meals.
Try it, I promise that you will fell so much better.
Donna P

Try making the switch and see how it makes a difference in your diet and staving off those hungries we tend to get during the middle of the day.  The diet book I use...

The Bible!

(Cabannes & Ryman Prints and Posters, Bread and butter Poster by Frank Tschakert   & Aromatic Olive Oil Print by Lippman found at Art.com)