Diet Comparisons

I have tried several diet plans, to include:

• Low Calorie (lose-it) lost about 20 lbs but always felt hungry and found myself eating a lot of carbs, and thinking as long as I stay under calories I can eat whatever...but this does not help me in the least bit to stop eating junk.  
• Weight Watchers - same as the low calorie diet above, only now I have to think harder to calculate points.
• Atkins - last time I did this plan didn't lose any weight.  I don't know why. Another time lost 5 lbs.

Not sure which diet is the best, but can I can tell you, that I really only lost a real good amount of weight in a short time on a juice fast.  Mind you this is a very restrictive diet, but  you will find amazing health benefits!

Yes, I fell of the "wagon" a lifetime of eating behaviors and addictions is not an easy battle.  I am going back on the juice/smoothie fast to lose my target weight.  Then I am going to design my own diet called "Real Food". Over all what I am finding out and learning is it really is about "what" you eat and how many calories daily and about exercise.

Stay tuned to the adventure.

Smoothies

Started smoothie fast today.  Bought a new blender from Amazon. An Oster Fusion ($49.95).  It works very well and I love how easy clean up is.  Eventually I will get a Blendtech or a VitaMix.  But at a price tag of $500 it's a little pricey.  But if you plan on doing it for life, than it's not.  Okay this morning I am having:

• 3 handfuls of spinach
• 2 handfuls of pineapple
• 2 handfuls of strawberries

Spinach...the worlds most nutritious food.  Popeye was right!  Better than a vitamin and there is more in it than we even know about.  Notice it has protein!  Look below and tell me what fast food does this?

• Pineapple fruit contains a proteolytic enzyme bromelain that digests food by breaking down protein. Bromelain also has anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting and anti-cancer properties. Studies have shown that consumption of pineapple regularly helps fight against arthritis, indigestion and worm infestation.
• Strawberries have significantly high amounts of phenolic flavonoid phyto-chemicals called anthocyanins and ellagic acid. Scientific studies show that consumption of these berries may have potential health benefits against cancer, aging, inflammation and neurological diseases.
• Strawberry has an ORAC value (oxygen radical absorbance capacity, a measure of anti-oxidant strength) of about 3577µmol TE per 100 grams.
• Fresh 100 g of spinach contains about 25% of daily intake of iron; one of the richest among green leafy vegetables. Iron is an important trace element required by the human body for red blood cell production and as a co-factor for oxidation-reduction enzyme, cytochrome-oxidase during the cellular metabolism.
• Fresh leaves are rich source of several vital anti-oxidant vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin C, and flavonoid poly phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin and beta-carotene.Together, these compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a healing role in aging and various disease processes.
• Zea-xanthin, an important dietary carotenoid, is selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions. It thus, helps protect from "age-related macular related macular disease" (ARMD), especially in the elderly.

See the table below for in depth analysis of nutrients:
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea), raw,
Nutritive value per 100 g.

(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Energy	23 Kcal	1%
Carbohydrates	3.63 g	3%
Protein	2.86 g	5%
Total Fat	0.39 g	1.5%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	2.2 g	6%
Vitamins
Folates	194 µg	48.5%
Niacin	0.724 mg	4.5%
Pantothenic acid	0.065 mg	1%
Pyridoxine	0.195 mg	15%
Riboflavin	0.189 mg	14.5%
Thiamin	0.078 mg	6.5%
Vitamin A	9377 IU	312%
Vitamin C	28.1 mg	47%
Vitamin E	2.03 mg	13.5%
Vitamin K	482.9 µg	402%
Electrolytes
Sodium	79 mg	5%
Potassium	558 mg	12%
Minerals
Calcium	99 mg	10%
Copper	0.130 mg	14%
Iron	2.71 mg	34%
Magnesium	79 mg	20%
Manganese	0.897 mg	39%
Zinc	0.53 mg	5%
Phyto-nutrients
Carotene-ß	5626 µg	--
Crypto-xanthin-ß	0 µg	--
Lutein-zeaxanthin	12198 µg	--

Update

I'm back to give an update.  Since my juice fast for 8 days, I lost a total of 10 lbs. My joint stiffness has left.  My inflammation in my knee is gone and my hands do not ache. As we can surmise, we don't know all of the nutrients that are available in fruits and veggies.  They are good for us and we have traded them for fast food and junk food.

What I learned:

1. We make food decisions everyday at every meal.
2. When you get ready to eat something, ask yourself "is this real food?"
3. If this food does not have nutrients my body needs, then it's going to harm me.
4. By doing a juice fast, it helped me to brake some addictions to foods. 

You wouldn't put pop in your gas tank would you?

Here is something else I have discovered.  I used to be a believer in nutritional supplements. Because I don't always eat right I should take them.  Why not just eat right and save your money.  A lot of these supplements are not even good for you and can cause serious damage.  Folks, we can't beat the REAL thing!

Read this shocking information from the FTC ... Click Here

At the end of this week, I will be starting another juice fast.  Only more on the smoothie side to incorporate some fiber as well.

Day 9

Continuing on with the modified juice fast.  What I have been doing is having juice/smoothie in the morning and salad for both lunch and dinner.  Today, I will have a smoothie for both breakfast and lunch and large salad tonight.  I can tell you I am very satisfied, I am not hungry or craving something all day long.  The other thing I discovered is that if I do crave something to eat, it is usually a salad with all the veggies I want, plus sunflower seeds, fruit etc.  I feel great and for the first time ever, I feel that when I eat, I am feeding my body what it needs, in return it is working hard at keeping things healthy.

Day 8

Phase 2 Modified Juice Fast: This evening I had a salad with my daughter.  I know that a juice fast is not something you can do over a long period of time, but it's very similar to rebooting your computer when it crashes.  I simply needed a reboot and it worked wonders.  I lost 10 lbs, lost my cravings for junk foods and diet soda, my inflammation is gone in my hand and knee and I just simply feel better!

Going forward, I am going to follow the "Eat to Live" program by Dr. Fuhrman which is an amazing healthy program.  As noted in previous entries how Americans eat a mere 7% of fruits and vegetables and 93% processed foods.  I am going to change that.  I have learned somethings.  The reason I or anybody gets hungry is because your body needs nutrients to perform it's everyday functions.  The only place we get those nutrients from is fruits and vegetables.  Meat and dairy has very little nutrients that our bodies need.  Not to say you can't eat some of it, but it should not be the main course.

If you would like to know more about a re-boot or if you have any questions about this, let me know.

Day 7

Today for breakfast I had a blueberry, banana, strawberry smoothie and it as absolutely delicious! For lunch I tried something a little different.  I juiced an orange, carrots and romaine lettuce.  It tasted pretty good! The orange gave it a very good flavor.  I usually use apple instead of orange.  When you do juice an orange you will want to remove the skin, but keep the white pulp part.  The skin is a little bitter.  However, it's ok to keep it on lemons and limes.

Lost 1 lbs

Day 6

I believe this juice fast is going to make such a big change in my life and help me to be more healthy. My problem before was in thinking that I could just eat convenience foods and/or fast foods and be just fine as long as I count calories.  What good is it to eat a bunch of empty calories??

Did you know that there is now new research that shows that junk foods activate the same areas in the brain as drugs of abuse like cocaine?  No wander we crave these things...but are completely disastrous to our health, just like an addictive drug.

Please read these alarming stories here at Huffington Post. and NY Times.

Day 5

When I started the juice fast my blood sugar was at 145.  This is borderline pre-diabetes.  Today after 5 days I checked it and it was as 88.  My inflammation in my knee was gone and also the pain in my fingers on my left hand.  Maybe early stages of arthritis? I am excited that with 1 1/2 days left for the week, I have lost a total of 10 lbs!  

I want to share what I am going through with you because I think it may help you like it has me.  Are you frustrated with diets? Do you need to lose weight for health reasons? This fast will amaze you and bring astonishing results.  It's just like a re-boot! 

If you have questions or comments, I encourage you to leave some here at the blog.  

lost 3 lbs

Day 4

I am finishing up the week and I am wondering if I should just go for 3 weeks? 1 week was easy.  In fact I am truly amazed at how easy it is.  The only downside to juicing is the cleanup afterwards.  I am thinking of trying to find a juicer that is easier to clean.  I am thinking of a Champion Juicer.  I had one before and don't recall that it was this hard to clean.

Weekly total so far is 7 lbs.  By the end of the week it should be pretty close to 10 lbs.  Not to mention I am infusing my body with nutrients that it probably has not had in years!

Lost 1lb

Day 3

Today was a little different challenge.  What I missed was CHEWING!  On the plus side I am finding my desire for the junk I used to crave is waining and I am actually craving salad, a banana, nuts and seeds.  I just want a big salad with veggies and raisins and sunflower seeds!

I am doing some research on Dr. Fuhrman (Eat To Live) who has started the nutritarian diet and I have discovered a lot of interesting information.  Last year alone 400,000 Americans died from obesity and weight related chronic illnesses. Two thirds of american adults and almost one third of our children are overweight or obese.  The average American diet consist of low-nutrient high-calorie processed foods, animal products and only 7% of those calories are from fruits and vegetables.

Health Complications of Obesity:

• Adult onset diabetes
• Hypertension
• Degenerative arthritis
• Coronary artery disease
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Gallstones
• Fatty infiltration of liver
• Restrictive lung disease
• Cancer

So as you can see, it is quite the motivation to change the way we eat.  I know I am going to.
After the juice fast I will start making salad the main course and finding ways of using vegetable and fruits for every meal.  If you are hungry it could and probably does mean that although have are eating your body is starving.

Day 2

Today, I didn't have much time to juice so I went to the supermarket to see what they had in the form of juice.  There are many brands that are on the market now that offer all natural juice.  I tried Bolthouse Green Goodness.  However upon further investigation I realized it is not as healthy as I thought.  Some of the juices are from concentrate and not fresh pressed.  Lesson learned.  This led me to inspect other juices more carefully and to only look for those that are not using any concentrates. I would just go to a juice bar, but there are not any around my house or work.

I found an article online that was very helpful if you want to buy a juice in the store as I did.  Now I know what to look for. "Don't Fall Victim To These Tricky Juice Labels" by Food Babe.  The best juice that I found is by Suja. It's available at Target and Costco.

Ok, well back to the juicer for tomorrow.  I am thinking carrot, cucumber and apple.  YUM!

If this keeps up I may have to upgrade the juicer.

Lost 1lb

Day 1

I decided to start a juice fast.  Finally tired of weight gain and the threat of Diabetes around the corner, I finally decided to do it!  I have known about juicing for years, maybe too many to admit too. After seeing the documentary "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" It really motivated me to give this a try. (Please watch this if you are wanting to try a juice fast)

On my first day Monday April 13, 2015, I brought out the Jack LaLanne Juicer and started it up.  I bought this a few years ago hoping to use it but ended up putting it in the cabinet.  On my first juice, I used 2 bags of carrots, 2 apples, 2 stalks of romaine lettuce.  Made enough to get me through for breakfast and lunch.  What I was absolutely amazed about was how I was not hungry!  I thought I would be starving all day at work, but I wasn't.  I felt a little more alert than usual, but not peppy at all.  I went to be early that night about 10 pm.  When I got on the scale the next day I was also amazed to see I had already lost 3 lbs.  Usually that is how much I would lose in a week.

I thought to myself this makes total sense.  When you eat food that is NOT nutritious you are always hungry because your body doesn't get what it needs, then you eat more and more and then your body just stores it because it can't use it.  So, you/me get fat.  What I discovered on the very first day is that when my body gets the nutrients it needs...it isn't hungry.  This is what I had that day: (I was not at all hungry!)

• 2 servings of the juice I made in the morning (breakfast and lunch)
• 1 smoothie - coconut water, banana, strawberries
• 1 bottle of coconut water (heard it was good for you, doesn't taste bad)
• water

I'll let you know how tomorrow goes...