So I’m back on the wagon (with my HEP– Healthy Eating plan) after a stretch of stress that just wasn’t going away.
I knuckled down (warned my husband there would be a couple days of withdrawals– I was right), and just started doing what I know works for me: minimal carbs (none of them grains), very little dairy, plenty of protein and good fats.
Image courtesy of typofi via stock.xchng
“They” say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
What is it called when you know what will produce good results, but you don’t do it?
I already knew this works for me. I’ve done it before, and I feel so. much. better. when I eat this way.
But I get stuck on weird things.
Like: if this is so good for me (and many-many others), why is is there so much futzing and quibble (and sometimes meanness) against low-carb/high-fat?
Part of the problem comes from my everything-is-integrated mind, and some from my training/view of Ultimate Truth.
Granted, my Ultimate-Truth category has gotten smaller and smaller as I’ve gotten older, but it’s one of my default matters, and so it’s my position of origin that I have to negotiate (away) from.
If something matters enough for me to rearrange my life for it, how can it not-matter to anybody else? I might lose steam…
My awakening of understanding sort of grew out of this concept: You don’t know what you don’t know (until you know it).
I had no idea how much my body craved fat (in a good way) until I’d been mostly-off it for a while then went back on. Let me tell you: I could feel the difference.
But before that point I had no reason to question what I’d been taught.
One of the best/easiest ways to be patient with people who think differently is to assume they just don’t know yet.
I may have mentioned before I am in a minority (beliefs-wise) at my church. We’re eclectic enough as a group, I’m sure everybody feels this way sometimes, but I’m pretty convinced I get it more than the rest.
One week I asked an older man (who’d just been contradicted, rudely I felt, in a controversial topic) how he managed people who treated him poorly. Especially in relation to what he believed.
His solemn, serious answer made me want to laugh and cry at the same time, “Oh, mostly I just feel sorry for them, that they’re so confused.”
If you can be honest with yourself, and pray strength for others to be honest with themselves, we can come up with things that work for each of us and not be hung up on what we think someone else should or shouldn’t be doing.
And then it was nice to run across this free resource (it’s not actually free-free. You have to “pay” with your email address, but especially since you can choose to unsubscribe, the resource is worth it).
That’s a link to Dr. Mercola’s site and a video clip that introduces the test and his thoughts on it.
the part I found most-useful was when he said that in their practice (where they have everyone coming in for care take the test) the results divide almost equally in thirds.
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One-third does best with little to no meat.
One-third does best with a (tailored) ratio of carbs to protein/fat.
One-third does best with few carbs, and mostly protein/fat (Guess what group I tested into.)
The price of your email addy also buys you a food list and meal plan to get you started, so I believe him when he says they’re serious about getting usable information to as many people as possible.
One other thing Mercola notes, and I found this back-door satisfying, is that the protein type is the one that shows up with the most health issues/challenges.
His explanation for this was that the protein types (of the three) are the ones most likely to be eating off-type, based on what’s culturally/commercially/readily available.
This sits really well with me, seeing how my health (physical and emotional) responds pretty directly to the way I eat.
SO: give it a shot.
Tell me your type if you feel like it. And is it what you expected?
Very interesting, especially about the types! As I age, my body craves fruit and vegetables, especially vegetables, almost as much as protein/fat. I don’t really like bread or flour–even their smell. Sugar is still seductive, but it gives me terrible headaches. My mother in law gave me some coconut palm sugar (it’s unrefined). I made some brownies with it and got a minimal headache. I was pleasantly surprised. I might try making a tiny amount of candy with it.
Absolutely fascinating! I’m looking forward to trying it, and will recommend it to my dad, because he has tried all these variations, and I think this would help him settle on the best one for him.
I’m Protein Type. I’m not eating enough protein because meat is expensive. REALLY expensive here.
@ Kessie I was trying to talk to my mom about eating healthier, and encouraged reducing sugar as a first step. Mentioned (too closely, I guess) that fruit is mostly sugar, and she jumped to, “Oh! So we should give up fruit.”
I felt something like panic in my throat and tried to no-no-no! that idea.
Many people are better off to give up fruit (it is mostly sugar) but if you’re still eating the refined stuff, what’s the point? Fruit is my “compromise” food, e.g., adding a banana to my eggs to get a sweet breakfast. If you started by cutting fruit (even if you cut refined sugars too) I think it would be harder to transition/stick it out.
re: coconut/palm sugar– I’ve liked that too. It’s hard to describe, but it actually feels like a more “mellow” sweetner. Not nearly as, um, stimulating as refined sugar.
@ Becky —
That’s too bad about expensive meat. Do you think it’s because of population density?
I wonder if that’s the setting where raising rabbits (say) would actually be a financially advantageous choice. That is, I wonder if feed-cost there makes raising your own meat more or less expensive.
(There is something wildly ineffable about handling every kit the day it is born, and the day that it dies. I grieve the loss of all those kitcicles, but rejoice in harvest day. And the odd thing is they aren’t the disappointment and delight of the same spectrum, either. They are completely separate scales that are only distantly related.)
Food in general is much more expensive, and I’m not sure why. Our grocery bill is at least double what it was in the US.
I have no idea what the costs of animal feed would be. Cat food is more expensive, I do know that.
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