Tag Archives: protein

Diets Don’t Work

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Don’t define your eating style as one way and one way only.  Neither low carb, ketogenic diet is really built for the long haul, and neither is veganism.  It’s temporary action which builds temporary results.

The main thing with diet and exercise is, we’re all unique.  In fact, you don’t have to define yourself in general.  No matter how many words you use, you’ll always be missing something and your theory won’t be accurate.

The basic premise a severely overweight person needs to know is that calories in vs calories out is the main thing.  You have to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight.  The easiest way to reduce calories is to reduce sugar.  And if you keep protein high at every meal, your muscles won’t atrophy as you reduce in weight.  My idea of high is like 30 grams at each meal, nothing crazy.

You should also plan your day around regular meals at regular times.  9am, 12 noon, and 5pm is the best.  Sometimes you can sneak  in the mysterious fourth meal at night.  Try not to graze all day long.  That’s not good for your blood sugar or your pancreatic enzymes, which are limited.

In Spain, as in many European countries, people eat and drink light during the day, and on the way home from work, they stop by the food market or farmer’s market to buy what they will cook that night.  This is truly natural living, to integrate work, sleep, rest, play and eating into one cohesive lifestyle.

Americans are not so lucky in that sense.  They don’t get to have a leisurely, harmonious life.  It seems like their priorities need working on.  But I digress.

 

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Worst of the Worst, Dairy Products.

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The first nutritional advice they gave me at my acupuncture school, was, don’t eat dairy!  And the real trick is, the worst part about it is certainly not the fat, nor the sugar, but milk protein.

I know I talk a lot about yogurt and kefir on this blog.  And butter too, which has really been exonerated from being a pernicious, dangerous food.

But it’s not the milkfat which is the problem.  On the other hand, butter and ghee is healthy for the most part.  And it’s not the lactose, or milk sugar, which really hurts people.  You should know that lactose is a disaccharide and causes tremendous problems while being in the human body.

It’s the milk protein.  It is allergenic, creates problems like inflammation in whatever part of you is vulnerable, and is ultimately the worst.  Things like milk and cheese, while being really tasty, are ultimately a cause of great problems.  And the countries that consume the most dairy products have the highest rates of osteoperosis.

I feel like much of my problems, being mental or physical, are inflammed by drinking milk and eating other dairy products for pure indulgence.  Mistakenly, people in the west think milk, sugar, and bread are staples when the opposite is true.  They are the worst foods imaginable.

The best substitutes for cow’s milk is coconut milk, almond milk, and I’m gonna go out on a limb and even say rice milk.  Rice milk is one of my favorite foods even though I rarely have it because I drink the whole container on the first day after the grocery haul.

The one thing people who study Chinese Medicine are told is, dairy is bad.  That is the message of this post.

A Happy Middle Ground…

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I think I’ve finally come to a conclusion about what diet is best for me.  For a long time, I did low carb dieting which was only effective in the short run, since every time a lost a few pounds I’d go back to carbs and gain the weight back.

And since studying LifeFood, I’ve been misled that veganism is the answer.  There is a lot of videos on Youtube about veganism and how to go vegan.  But I find neither two branches of veganism, one is raw vegan and the other starch based vegan, is right for me.

The best diet for me is essentially a low carb vegetarian diet.  You don’t have to get all your protein from meat and milk, and neither should you eat starch all day or eat fruit all day like a gorilla in the jungle.

High protein, High fiber, and low sugar is always the answer, but not all your protein has to come from meat and milk.  There are plenty of vegetarian sources of protein, and there’s also eggs and dairy in the middle.  Almost everyone ingests eggs since it is the ideal protein and they put it into everything in the food processing business.

While some people believe dairy is junk, and largely it is, there are some good dairy products like yogurt and kefir.

But what I am trying to communicate is high protein, high fiber, and low sugar is doable by everyone, regardless of where you get your protein.   There is no such thing as a protein shortage in people who eat regularly, but there is almost no excess when it comes to protein.  More protein means more muscle and energy and strength.

I am satisfied with my current diet, mostly eggs and beans and vegetables, and I still eat yogurt often.  And I’m not against eating meat, but one should see beef as an occasional blood tonic, and other meats as a scarcity food.  Fish was good in the past, but now with the environment polluted, toxicity is a problem.

Humans didn’t evolve to eat other animals.  In the Garden of Eden, man ate fruit and seed.  After the fall, they started eating starchy grain.  And meat entered the human diet later, and man’s lifespan was greatly reduced.

So really, there is no one diet or lifestyle that fits everyone.  I’ve just finally found the right regimen to keep me normal bodyweight, spending less money, and satisfied with what I eat.

 

 

The First Shall be Last…

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And the last shall be first, and the meek shall inherit the earth.  This is a quote from the Christian Bible, Jesus said it to his followers in the sermon on the mount.  And it has tremendous import for this generation, and even this article, which is essentially here to tell you that beans are a essential food.

What Jesus was trying to say, is that the ones who are wealthy, famous, handsome, and young now, will not enjoy the world to come.  The downtrodden, the lost, the outcasts, the rejects, they’re the ones who will be comforted by the messiah and the end of days.

Similarly, in any situation, the sage/rishi/wise man goes to what the masses leave behind, because a sage knows what is popular and loved now will be laughed at in future times.  Don’t change your beliefs to fit in.  Be a rugged individual.  Believe what you want to believe.

I wrote this post thinking of an analogy.  Beans are considered low, humble plebian food, while something like sushi or tempura is considered fine stuff that is worth extra money.  But that’s not the case.

Even in diet, the sage goes to what the masses leave behind.  Beans are essentially vegetarian meat, since their protein content is so high, and they include a lot of fiber and complex carbs and trace minerals too.  In one Taoist manual it says, ‘of the five grains, the bean is the most nutritious.’

Nowadays, I got tired of defining myself as a low carb dieter or an aspiring vegan, or anything in between.  Labels are just tools to oppress you, they’re neither accurate or effective.

The ultimate comfort is knowing that the rich and famous are enjoying their consolation now, and the end of days will prove to be a good thing for good people, and a terrible visitation of wrath on the wicked, the worldly, and the materialistic.

So keep eating your beans and vegetables, enjoy meat and sugar and salt in moderation, and never give in to the majority rule.  The masses are asses, and the usual thing in this world is mob rule.

 

 

Jumping on the Bandwagon

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After a long time of oscillating between low carb dieting and some form of veganism, I have decided that the vegan diet makes more sense than gaining and losing weight on Atkins, Paleo, or Ketogenic.

Don’t get me wrong, there are good animal foods to eat, but there is an inverse relationship between animal foods in the diet and overall health.  The more plant based you are, the better off you are.

The problem with my journey to veganism is that I wasn’t doing it right.  Most vegans don’t eat a lot of vegetables.  They eat mostly grain.  Fructarians eat mostly fruit and seed like they did in the Garden of Eden.

Beans and vegetables don’t taste that good and to make them more palatable, you have to add salt, fat, and condiments.  Fruit is fine the way it is, and whole grains like brown rice and quinoa give you strength.

I am still not completely vegan, I eat eggs everyday and sometimes even a bit of chicken, but most of my diet is essentially fruit and brown rice.  Remember, it is more healthy to be underfed than overfed.  When you are eating very few calories, your body can make up for the deficiencies with air and water.  When you eat too much, you become sluggish and the extra food in the intestines putrifies and makes your body toxic.

There are a lot of advantages to being plant-based.  Number one, the food is cheaper, because high protein foods are expensive.  Secondly, its more hygenic and convenient because meat has to be cooked before it goes bad.  This is a big hassle.

It’s best to be an opportunist with food.  This is the way man was in previous civilizations.  Most of their diet was plant food and on rare times and holidays they slaughtered animals and ate meat.  Still, even with the convenience of animal food everywhere, one’s diet should be mostly whole grains and produce.  Human biology hasn’t changed that much since ancient times, only industrial methods of agriculture and the corrupt media have.

So as you make your way through this world, just remember, both science and religion agree that the original man was an eater of fruit and seed and not just protein and starch.

On the come-back trail…

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I haven’t posted in a couple of months or so because I kind of ran out of things to say and new things to offer.  But now that I am back in the game, I might as well share what insights I have attained.

First of all, it is not so important to be strict with your diet.  Ultimately, it’s about calories in and calories out.  The easiest way to reduce calories is to reduce sugar.

I noticed over this passed time that perfect diet is not really necessary.  As long as you are watching portion size and timing of meals, it’s not really necessary to bother people with your dietary restrictions.

The only two really heinous food groups are dairy and grain, and yet, there are exceptions.  People literally could live off of bread and cheese, and in some countries around the world, they actually do.  But a real healthy diet includes a lot of protein and a lot of fiber and is low in sugar.

Also, I’ve noticed that it’s not easy to eat protein foods all day and never eat anything sweet or starchy.  Carbs should be part of your diet, it’s just choosing the best carbs is the trick.

Vegetables is man’s primary foodstuff, and on a low carb diet, it’s easy to neglect them.  Also, high quality cooking fats are important.  Olive oil and butter come to mind.

So as I continue my health and recovery journey, I will try to strike a balance between exercise and a doable version of the low carb (or Bi-Gu) diet.  Grain really is the first junk food, and health increases when you stop eating starchy grains.

Real Food

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What’s the real justification for eating meat, or for eating anything in general?  Religion, Science, and Reality.  Man is the apex of evolution and creation and every plant and animal is for our use.

I know animals are cute and compassionate, and no one in their right mind wants to kill one.  But man was created to be steward of the land, and some animals are for food, while others are for pets, others are for work, and still others are best left alone.

Veganism is for hippies and I don’t imagine the world becoming vegan.  It’s just not possible.  The reality is, the world produces enough food to feed 10 billion people, yet there are only 7 billion people on earth.  And still, over a billion people are hungry around the world.  This is all because of political corruption and the mal-distribution of wealth.

The ketogenic, or, low carb high fat diet is best.  There are essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, but no essential sugars.  The human being can adapt to glucose or ketones depending on the situation.  It’s only in these artificial times with artificial agriculture, business, politics, and media that starch is abundant and the evil capitalist at the grocery store charges you too much for every type of protein food.

Fish, Seafood, Eggs, Butter, Green Vegetables, Yogurt, are some of the best foods.  Eating all the grain, sugar, and fruit you want is a recipe for disaster, and trying to be vegan has caused me to gain weight not lose weight.  Don’t believe anything until you’ve experienced it for yourself.  What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

But the whole ketogenic vs vegan debacle comes down to a larger issue.  And it touches on the meaning of life and the nature of our times.  If killing animals is perfectly natural and right, and so is warfare and self defense, then nonviolence is just a philosophical idea, and violence is part of the human experience.  This leads me to believe that we are not living in paradise conditions, which should seem obvious to anyone.

If you don’t believe in God or morality, then rock on with yo bad self.  But I believe in the Creator, and that he doesn’t want us to live in these barbaric times.  This leads me to wonder if judeochristianity is right and there was a Golden Age when man lived in harmony with the animals and ate only fruit and seed, and that there will be a return to Grace someday.

This shows you how through moral reasoning and faith, there is some merit to judeochristianity.  It says in the second book of Enoch, a book not included in the official bible, that in the restored paradise, humans will only eat fruit that resemble dates that provide complete human nutrition.  Once the messiah comes, there will be no more need for killing, warring, and fighting.  That is a great hope.

Real food is food that sustains and nourishes life.  Most people today don’t just eat to support life, but to calm down and lower anxiety and indulge in pleasure or feel loved.  This is very unhealthy.  Food is fuel, and one must adapt to live off of what is best for you in this current situation.  If you have a choice, live off of ketones not glucose, thats the way people lived before the advent of agriculture.

It doesn’t matter if you are Jew or Christian, we weren’t supposed to live in these evil times, and without a hope in the resurrection there seems to be no mercy.  There’s no justice in the real world, and since I don’t want to die, the most I can hope for is to survive doing what needs to be done.

 

 

Comparing Different Proteins

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Protein is of primary importance.  While no one who eats regularly is really deficient in protein, the more you eat protein, the stronger and more energetic you feel.  In this essay, I will try to give my view on the best protein.

Beans, peas, and lentils, and other legumes like peanut, are actually really good.  They’re vegan, so no one was injured in their production, they’re cheap, and they’re easy to store.  The downsides are the gasiness one might get from eating too much of them, and the general boredom from getting all your protein from them.

Seeds are a good source of vegetarian protein, but it’s not wise to eat more than a small amount per day, since they’re loaded with fat and calories too.

Quinoa is a pseudo-grain that is actually a flower seed but cooked and eaten like rice.  Quinoa is the best plant protein, containing an optimal balance of all 8 essential amino acids.  The problem is it doesn’t taste like anything.

Then you have the mighty chicken egg.  This is the optimal protein, the best one for human nutrition.  Even vegans sometimes don’t mind compromising their standards and eating an egg or two.  They’re that good.

Then you have dairy, like milk, cheese, and yogurt.  I find that these aren’t the best proteins in the world for a slew of reasons.  For starters, cheese is loaded with salt and fat.  Milk has lactose in it, a sugar that causes digestive discomfort and diarrhea.  Yogurt is good protein, can be found in low fat versions, and has less sugar in it because the fermenting bacteria have eaten away most of the lactose.  But i’ve come to the conclusion that the egg is superior to the dairy product in most respects.  There’s no downside to eating eggs, besides animal rights you might say, but there are tremendous downsides to eating milk/cheese/yogurt.  Some science indicates cheese has opiate effects and is therefore addictive.  Other scientists say that the protein in milk is inflammatory and can lead to autoimmune disease.

The fish is the best animal to eat.  I’ve never seen an old fish.  The reason why fish never get fat, old, and wrinkly, is because they are constantly swimming, eat a sea vegetable and smaller fish diet, and the fat underneath their skin is fluid, not solid like lard.  That makes for a healthy animal and a healthy dinner.

Then you have meat, and it doesn’t matter if it’s chicken, duck, cow, pig, sheep, or goat, or anything else.  Meat can be really good or really bad depending on how the animal lived and how strong and healthy it was.

So really, there’s no point in writing this essay, it’s all common information.  My suggestion is to always go lower down on the food chain rather than higher up.  This is better for everyone, you included.  Animals are above birds, birds are above fish, fish are above unfertilized eggs, eggs are above beans and seeds and quinoa and so on.  The lower down it is, the less toxic it is.  The most toxic animal is the human being, because we are the apex predator.

Human beings in the western world often have a choice about what they’re eating.  With a proper education, one can live quite well.

Progress Update

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I have made significant changes recently in my own health journey.  I’ve decided the ketogenic diet is not for me.  While low carb, high fat does give you short term results, one invariably adds sugar and starch back to the diet and weight fluctuates.

I’ve become pretty much vegan, and I find this diet helps keep the blood sugar low and the weight in check.  I’ve come to the conclusion that starchy foods are the BEST foods not the WORST foods.  Things like beans, sweet potato, corn, carrot, pea, lentil, quinoa are actually the best foods because they contain fiber as well as starch and vitamins and minerals.

Beans are the humblest food, and yet, still the best.  They combine vegetarian protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates in the same food, and there is an endless variety of them.  Beans are a way cleaner fuel source than meat.

I still eat some rice, but I’ve learned that both brown and white rice are high glycemic foods (compared to the above foods).  The glycemic impact of the rice is mitigated by eating other things with the rice.

I am not completely vegan, I still love dairy products like ghee and yogurt, and I’m not against the concept of fish or egg every now and then.  I’m opportunistic and realistic and pragmatic.

It is much cheaper and more convenient to live this way.  Beans are much cheaper protein than any type of meat, and it’s easier to clean up after yourself as vegan.  When you buy meat or fish at a supermarket, you have to cook it before it goes bad.  This is constant stress and labor.  And eating meat in a restaurant, one never knows what quality of meat they use or how it was handled in kitchen.

Ultimately, any food is good food.  That’s what Jesus said, and it’s pretty logical too.  If it’s organic material, it’s food for another species.  Eating living tissue is called vivisection.  All food, whether it be plant or animal in origin, is dead.  The more plant food you eat and the less animal food you eat, the better your health will be.

The Easy Way to Be Fit

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Better than weight training and a low carb diet, which just inflates your muscles and doesn’t build functional strength and doesn’t last as soon as you go off this regimen, is something much better.

And that would be intermittent fasting.  In the end, it’s not so much about what you eat or whether it is organic, free range, or all that nonsense.  It’s about how much you eat and how often.

Most people in America don’t go more than 4 hours without eating, and some ‘graze’ all day or eat a meal every two hours.  This is not good for your digestive organs, hormonal balance, insulin levels, teeth, and a whole slew of other things.

There are many ways to break up the day into periods of eating and not eating.  But the theory is, when the body has a chance to rest from food, insulin levels drop and the organs of digestion get to rest.  The best is to skip breakfast, eat your first meal at 10am, then wait four hours, eat again, wait another four hours, and eat your last meal of the day.  You can snack a little before 8pm, and that’s it.  Nothing fancy.

Fasting before and after sleep is a powerful tonic.  The body gets to rest from digesting food all the time and nourish the brain and organs instead.  It might be necessary to drink black coffee when you wake up to help you get going, but I suggest skipping breakfast and not snacking after dinner.  In addition, don’t graze or snack in between meals.  This is the easiest way to stay fit.

If you do intermittent fasting, the quality of the food you eat is less important.  You can eat meat, sugar, bread, milk, anything in moderation as long as you are not eating too much or too often.  That’s why I call it the easy way to get fit, it’s a no brainer.

Of course, it takes discipline and restraint from snacking all day.  I suggest eating protein with every meal and replacing some of the carbs with fat.  Good fats are good foods.

In general, one should eat to live not live to eat.  Don’t see food as a reward for good behavior.  You’re not a kid anymore.  See food as fuel for your body and lifestyle.  Eat what you need to eat, not what is most tasty and exciting.

Intermittent fasting plus ketogenic diet is the real caveman diet.  Cavemen didn’t graze on sugar and starch all day because they couldn’t afford to.  They went through periods of feast and famine, and were lucky to eat one piece of fruit per summer.  Wheat and all starchy grains were an invention of the agriculturist later on in human development, which doesn’t make them inherently bad, just unnatural.  Brown rice is the most harmless and energetic grain, the starchy fruit of a grass species.

The less often you eat, the more hunger you have for the food and the better it tastes.  This is the original way to live, enjoying the bare minimum with zeal, not sitting around the TV munching on cheetos and soda.