Drink Vinegar To Lose Weight? Madness…Or Is It?

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vinegar

It’s looking more and more that drinking 2 teaspoons of diluted vinegar before meals lowers blood sugar and insulin spikes.

I’m not a big believer in “super foods,” cleanses, or other weight loss gimmicks. Most of it is either marketing hype by food companies or quacks peddling their latest book. However it looks like drinking 2 teaspoons of diluted vinegar before meals improves insulin sensitivity for the overweight, obese and type 2 diabetics.

As Dr. Jason Fung explains diluted vinegar is a traditional weight loss tonic. The ancients used vinegar for cleaning wounds. It was a tool healers used to cure many ills.

Thankfully researchers are now taking a hard look at vinegar and the recent miracle weight loss claims. Are they just old wives’ tales or is there something more to drinking “sour wine” diluted in water? Read More

Is Fasting The New “Diet” Fad?

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smokey joe burger 2

I keep meals pretty simple and normal in size when breaking a fast.

“There is nothing new, except what has been forgotten” – Marie Antoinette

Well the New York Times’ Well blog has a nice piece on the growing trend in fasting that you should take a look at. However, unlike other  fly by night “diets” on the market, fasting isn’t a fad. It’s been around for ages. Heck most religions include some form of fasting.

Some of the benefits of fasting include:

  • Lowers insulin levels, moving your body into fat burning mode
  • Increases growth hormone for muscle building
  • Repairs your cells and helps eliminates damaged cells that can turn cancerous
  • Lowers blood sugar levels and improves insulin resistance
  • Weight loss

There’s also very promising research on fasting and cancer treatment and possibly prevention.

Of course, the longer you fast, the more your body benefits.

I started intermittent fasting after reading Dr. Jason Fung’s blog series. Rarely do I eat 3 meals a day anymore. Typically I fast for 18 hours before eating my first meal (7:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m). For Lent I attempted a daily 24-hour fast and I did a pretty good job. I’m still going through a learning curve as I work up towards a 48 and 72-hour fast. The longest I’ve gone is 28 hours. Not too shabby.

My goal is to progress towards a 7-day fast twice a year. Seven days? How is that possible. Well the longest fast was 382 days and it was successful (and under medical supervision).

I can’t urge you strongly enough to read Dr. Fung’s series on fasting. While you may think fasting may not be your cup of tea, you’ll learn that it is one of the most healthy and ancient healing tools humans use…and it’s free!

 

Why You & Your Kids Shouldn’t Drink Coke

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H/T to the DietDoctor.com (subscription required) for posting this awesome video demonstrating what a little bit of Coca-Cola can do to a flower in just 2 days.

I know what your thinking: Dot, a human is different from a flower. Very true. But consider this:  The high fructose corn syrup in soda can only be metabolized by your liver, where it is converted to fat for storage. Yes, it’s true it won’t destroy your liver in 2 days…but it will destroy it.

There is a reason why  non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is on the rise. Our carbohydrate-fueled diet (with a heaping side of fructose) is the culprit.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 40 million US adults and 7 million kids have in NAFLD.  NAFLD leads to liver transplants. How? Thanks to the excess build up of fat in the liver’s cells, the organ becomes inflamed. Untreated this leads to cirrhosis. The damage is similar to alcoholism.

It’s estimated that by 2025 more than 5 million Americans will need a liver transplant due to poor diet. But here’s the rub:  there are not that many livers to go around.

Perhaps its time to make the switch to water and a low carb diet.

 

 

 

Skipping Breakfast Doesn’t Lead To Weight Gain

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eating same thing for breakfast to lose weight

I now eat “breakfast” after noon. Why? because that’s when I actually get hungry, not when I first wake up.

Since I was a child I believed in importance of eating a big breakfast first thing in the morning. It helps keep weight off, gave you energy and keeps you focused mentally. But is there any truth to eating in first thing in the morning or is it a myth to get us to keep eating?

The New York Time’s Well health blog recently tackled the question of whether skipping breakfast leads to weight gain. Now lots of studies show that breakfast eaters are leaner than folks who skipped the “most important meal of the day.”

But, as Well points out, the problem is that these were observational studies. Meaning none demonstrated a clear-cut cause and effect. Observational studies by definition cannot state a “finding” as an actual fact.

As with most nutritional observational studies, there are hundreds of other factors that contribute to what makes people thin or fat. You know, like what someone actually eats during the day rather than when they eat. Read More

Diabetes Crisis In California

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Scary piece from the LA Times. Researchers estimate that 55% of Californians are either diabetic or pre-diabetic. While pre-diabetes is preventable (70% of pre-diabetics develop diabetes) more than 90% of pre-diabetics don’t know they have it. This is a wake up call if there ever was one. Too bad the reporter failed to pick up on a significant fact.  The article states: “Rates of diabetes have increased more than 175% nationally since 1980 (emphasis mine), according to federal data.” Sure enough that’s the same time the obesity epidemic started.

Hmmmm…..maybe it had to do with the introduction of this:

Read More

Microwave Experiment Update

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microwave

A relic of our fat past. My 2 week test of life without a microwave is now well into its 3rd month.

Back in December, while trying to make more counter space in my tiny kitchen, I packed up my microwave and lugged it to the basement. The plan was to try going without it for two weeks. A simple test to see how much I really rely on it. Well here we are, nearly half way through March and that microwave is still in the basement.

Do I miss it?

Nope.

Microwaving zaps food of its flavor…but hey it’s more convenient, right?  But if it is more convenient does that mean you’re eating more than you need?

I know our food consumption dropped without it, especially for my husband. It’s too easy to grab something out of the fridge, nuke it, and chow down.

The hubby told me he now thinks about whether he’s really hungry before snacking on leftovers. Why? Eating leftovers now means pre-heating the oven, getting out an oven-safe dish, and waiting  for the food to warm up.

Sure it’s not as convenient as zapping the food, but is it really that much of an inconvenience? I don’t know if there are any scientific studies on this, but I wonder if  households with heavily-used microwaves are more overweight than those households that go without. Something to consider when you think about all the microwavable “foods” are sold as a way to lose weight.

Because that convenience is gone, my husband now has time to think about whether he really is hungry or just bored. That’s a good thing.

I think it is safe to say our love affair with the microwave is over.

Reason #3 Why Workplaces Are Bad For Your Weight

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With all of the bitchin’ and moanin’ coming from corporate HR departments about the cost of health care (and the bitchin’ & moanin’ is quite justified) you have to wonder what companies are thinking when they bring in a spread like this for their employees to see first thing in the morning.

workplace food 2

This was the scene yesterday morning at my husband’s job. A healthy dose of fast digesting carbs — muffins, bagels and croissants. Oh sure there was a small bowl of fruit, but for those employees who are already overweight or obese, the seemingly healthy option just worsens their insulin & insulin resistance. Dear Corporate America, if you’re concerned about the health of your employees, then don’t do this!

Really!

My husband is doing his best to eat healthy, real foods. He’s also joining me in my daily 24-hour fast I’m doing for Lent.  Yet this is what he saw when he walked to his cube (oh and he sits near this stuff too). My hubby, whose favorite food group is “pie,” was pretty miserable that morning. Fortunately he resisted the temptations. Read More

Why Everyone Should Ignore BMI As A Health Marker

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tape measure fork

A new study shows that the Body Mass Index (BMI) is truly crap! More than 54 million Americans classified as overweight or obese are actually healthy. Yet millions of thin people are wrongly labeled as healthy. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net and Mister GC.

A new, major study was just released that actually tested the accuracy of BMI against a range of cardiometabolic health markers. Thanks to our government’s reliance on BMI, more than 54 million Americans classified as either overweight or obese by BMI standards are in fact healthy.

This is huge, as our “friends“ in Washington are looking to use BMI to increase healthcare costs even higher.

My BMI Number Vs. My Doctor
According to my doctor, I’m perfectly healthy. In fact, at my last physical, he didn’t see a need for me to lose more weight. I weighed 185 pounds and he felt any additional pounds I wanted to shed were purely for vanity. As far as he was concerned, my health numbers were awesome.

Why the clean bill of health when I weighed 185? My blood pressure was low but normal for more than a year. My triglycerides were low as was my fasting insulin level. And my HDL rose while my LDL dropped. My waist was clearly smaller than my hips, a physical telltale sign that I was no longer a candidate for heart attack or diabetes. Plus, in just over 3 years I’d dropped 145 pounds and kept it off. Woohoo!

But despite the good news, the federal government and my health insurance don’t share this opinion about my hard work to get healthy. You see, my Body Mass Index (BMI) is slightly under 30. But “normal” BMI is between 18.5 and 25. So I am considered overweight and not healthy because of this number.

But how can that be? My health numbers tell me one thing, yet my health insurance carrier and the federal government say another. Read More

Weekly Weigh In: Down 2

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weekly weigh in Jan 9

Just 2.6 pounds before I finally break into the 170s. Super excited!

What happens when you eat right and take a 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge?  Weight loss!  I’m finally closer to breaking into the 170s after losing 2.1 pounds this week.

But what happens when my no alcohol challenge is over January 31?

Right now I’m eager to continue the challenge  into February.

Since I started my challenge on Jan. 1, I’ve lost 4.1 pounds. Clearly I made a big error by not cutting back on wine sooner. I significantly slowed (heck, stopped) my weight loss progress and was stuck in a plateau for about 7 months.

No use crying over drunk wine. I’m on track now and that’s what counts.

Today’s weigh in puts my total weight loss at 142.5 pounds…nearly 45% of my total weight gone.  Sweet!

So I’m roughly 26 pounds away from goal. Whoa…

 

Weekly Weigh In: Down 1.6 Pounds

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weigh in jan 4

In January 2012 I weighed 325 lbs. As of today I’ve lost over 140 lbs. To continue my quest to optimize my health, I’m giving up alcohol.

I start the new year weighing 184.6 pounds. That puts my total weight loss at 140.4 lbs. since I started this little journey in 2012. I attribute the loss mostly to my January challenge — no alcohol for 30 days.

Alcohol Causing My Weight Loss Stall
As I tracked my food I got suspicious that the cause of my weight fluctuation was my wine. Oh how I do love the Nectar of the Gods, but my intake was much higher than normal over the holidays.

Also I started experiencing heartburn right before bed, something that hasn’t happened since I switched to a LCHF diet. Hmmmm….something was amiss.

While wine is low in carbs it slows or stops your weight loss. And if you’re not careful it packs on the pounds too.

I wasn’t careful. Read More