So for the past few weeks, I've been living on nothing but beef jerky, salads (no dressing), water, gatorade, orange juice, cranberry juice, fresh veggies (brocolli, carrots etc), and the occassional orange here and there. Since beginning this new routine, I've found that I've gained more muscle tone and strength, lost about 5 lbs, and have a huge gain in energy every day. I've been trying new diets for a while, not to lose weight (because I don't need to lose weight at all), but simply to live healthier. I can't have most breads because I am allergic to yeast. I also can't have a few other foods due to allergies; strawberries, tree nuts, black eyed peas, lima beans, a few others. But anyways, what do you think of this diet. Is it possible to sustain myself over a long period of time on this new diet?
Considering how expensive beef jerky is, I highly doubt that you are getting enough protein to even maintain muscle mass while losing weight. And if you are consuming that many carbs with little protein and you lost weight, you are actually losing muscle while losing fat. Also, much of that weight loss is water, anyway. I changed my diet to a high fat, high protein, ultra low carb diet and I lost 10 pounds in a week. All water. (for all those that want to scream "Atkins diet," no I am not doing that). This is an admirable goal, my friend. If you eat to life healthy and life a somewhat active lifestyle, in the long run you'll be healthy. But please remember that having a healthy BMI doesn't mean you have healthy levels of body fat. Look up "skinny fat" to see what I mean. The good thing is that you don't need to eat bread to get the carbs you need. Fruits, veggies, oatmeal, etc. is all you need. You can get carbs from nuts, too. In the long run, no. Well, the human body will do whatever it can to survive as long as it can but it doesn't have to be a pleasant life. Looks like too much of your carb intake is sugar. Try throwing in some oatmeal or something. Also, vary your diet... get some steak, eggs, chicken, avocados, etc. It might be helpful to do some research on bodybuilding diets... I'm bring those up because bodybuilders can be very anal about proper nutrition and the ones that know what they are doing support their diets with some hardcore science. One thing I would suggest is to buy a digital food scale and for a few weeks, track exactly how much of everything you eat. You'd be surprised just how much you actually eat. Until I started tracking my food intake, I *thought* I was getting in about 2000 calories a day. Turns out I was eating 3,000 calories a day.
I think you need to purhcase the body fat analyzer weights, and record your body fat every day for weeks.
Why of course you can, but will you add my name to your will so that I can have some of whatever it is you own if you do not make it? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Just eat as wide a variety of healthy foods as possible. If your body starts craving carrots, eat em. That's my plan. I know two people with very strange diets. They are both shamans of some sort. One actual Shuar heritage and the other mixed neo-googoo stuff. But they will both go for years concentrating on very simple diets. The Shuar has gone for months on only fruit, and years away from salt. The other guy has 0 body fat and eats 3 days a week lightly. He has a ton of energy and has been at it for years. I think the body is very flexible with the food it can survive on, and you can really change the whole chemical balance of your system over time.
I hope you aren't serious. Body fat is required to provide energy to the organs and to store fat-soluble vitamins.
Lose the beef jerky (*shudders*) and the gatorade. Replace jerky with lean meat and fish that hasn't been overly salted and dried to a chewy mass. In other words, fresh food. Not dessicated meat products.
even an addict still have more than 3% body fat. thats if he is stil alive. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Where are your stables...grain? Complex carbohydrates will give you longer lasting energy then the simple ones found in fruit, they will also bolster your immune system and are usually very inexpensive. Use the veggies and fruits to season the cooked grains, because eating them unseasoned can be boring, and if that is so then your saliva glands won't function as well, thus the food won't be digested as well. Also, a light dressing on the salad can be good, maybe Italian or so, the oils in the dressing aid strongly in helping the body to absorb vitamins, many simply slip through otherwise. I love beef jerky, a great source of salt and protein. It is expensive, but not without value. You can also use fish meats, beans, tempeys, or tofu as a source of protein. A little variety can keep things interesting, if you get tired of this, that is; and keeping your meals interesting is part of maintaining a healthy diet. Avoid processed foods, they have no electroids and are virtually dead items...fresh...alive...this gives energy. In the macrobiotic view all foods possess yin and yang energies and balancing these energies is an important key to good health. Meats are yang, sweets are yin, and grain is closer to the middle. Western medicine also considers it important to balance the meals, though it does not identify yin and yang as the reason (maybe more along the lines of acidic or alkoline). So or so, the body tends to crave items that will balance itself out, so listen to your body and you'll have no difficulty maintaining balance.
I've always gone on the following simple strategy (whenever I actually follow it) Burn more calories then you take in Eat plenty of protine Take in a balanced diet I've never really got the whole "low carb" vs. "low fat" argument, could someone enighten me? Does it matter what you're taking in as long as you keep the calorie count down?
My main concern is that you're not getting enough variety, and enough good fats, which will keep your skin in good condition and keep you fuller for longer. I'm also wondering about potassium. How about adding some nuts, avocado, and banana?
Look up Atkins Diet. A high protein, low carb diet seems better in the short term but has long term consequences. It is still used under some conditions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-carbohydrate_diet There is no magic diet bullet that works for everyone. Every individual has specific needs and these specific needs should be taken into consideration rather than providing a catch all approach.
why beef jerky? some beef jerky is better than other but i think that is the one item that should go off your list. replace it with an egg every day. i guess you can sustain yourself for 60-100 years that way.
First of all: Thank you everyone for your advice. I'm just trying to find a healthy balance... at a reasonable price. I hate to cook and it's really difficult to find truly wholesome foods already prepared. Has anyone heard of that diet thing where they deliver three meals a day right to your house? It's $15 per day. I'm wondering if it's worth it.
For a company to be able to delivery food to you for a mere $15 a day, I can only imagine how shitty the food is. Plus, that's just being lazy.
Yes, and you still have to supplement it with groceries. It's hardly nutritionally complete. When people suggest doing this, I just want to scream, "NO! I'll cook for you, but don't do that!" What about cooking in bulk and freezing?
