Health for life

Hi, again,

I am within 25 minutes of breaking my fast and I feel great about having done it. My body feels good and energetic especially since I tossed out the unfinished half cup of green tea and made a cup of "Plantation Mint" instead. The PM has always set a little better on my stomach. I do feel slightly tired but not enough to take a nap or anything -- I am really not ready for sleep. I feel awake and fine but Im not ready to run a marathon, for sure.

The one big visible result I have noticed is that my normal every-day edema is greatly reduced. I actually record my edema by observing the size of my ankles every morning, giving it a number between 1 and 10, and have recently noticed that by the end of the day they are really swollen. Not today. The fast has done something in that area that I am really pleased about. My ankles are still at "morning levels" meaning they are not completely without edema but they are not as swollen as they usually are by this time of day. I think that is excellent and I am very happy about it and the fast.

I spent most of today reading "Eat Stop Eat" again because I needed to resh my "reason tank" and be reminded of all the health benefits that are possible from giving my body a rest from eating. My body seems to have liked the rest. And I do too.

I wish I could share all the stuff from ESE because I am so excited about it. Really I think anyone who is concerned with their eating habits or excess body fat should at least consider it. It is simple, you dont really have to change what you eat the rest of the time so much as simply be sensible about eating the rest of the time.

The fasting accomplishes the weekly caloric decrease in a simple, direct, unfussy, way. My experience of it is that it does take a decision to do, and you have to keep your eye on the goal and reasons for doing it, but the actual doing is not at all as scary as I might have thought a few years ago.

I remember the fear that would slip in when I considered fasting. I really did not believe that I could go without food for a whole day and felt anxious about it. I worried and wondered if I could eat just a little something and still call it a fast. I worried that I would get sick or feel really bad from it. Oddly enough it was way easier than I used to fear. In fact, I discovered that there really does not need to be any fear at all!! The fear and worry were way worse than the actual experience of skipping a few meals for a short time period -- from dinner one day to dinner time the next.

The fact that I have experienced some immediate results (reduction in edema) is really quite amazing to me. Get the book. Read it. Try it. What have you got to lose?

www.eatstopeat.com


Much love,


Be back soon,


Marcia

This week’s question comes from a student. Man, havent we all been here?

Q: One thing I have always struggled with is having a good breakfast, especially on the go. Im a college senior (class of 2010!) and my time is very limited in the mornings (probably because I get up at the latest I can). I have come to hate buying breakfast from the food carts or spending money (college/intern=broke) and would like to know any suggestions for any nutritious (and quick) meals in the morning. I have long commutes to Manhattan and usually have to eat on the go. Normally I try to eat fruit and a yogurt, or some sort of "cereal bar."

Anyway hope you can help with some suggestions!

A: Good question, sweet reader. You’re definitely moving in the right direction with fruit; portable, cheap, and healthy, it beats the everloving crud out of Go-gurt and its rainbow-colored kin. If you can pack a big ol’ fruit salad, it would provide a little variety, too. Sprinkle nuts on it for kicks.

Since you’re eating on the subway, I assume oatmeal and/or cereal are poor options. Do you mind baking? If you can set aside an hour or two every other week, you can do granola bars, muffins, or banana bread. It’d set you up for the whole month, and each piece will probably run you between $0.15 and $0.35. These Cranberry Zinger Muffins from Cooking with Amy are wonderful, and I remember digging Everybody Likes Sandwiches version of Chai-spiced Apple Oatmeal Bread very much.

Readers, beyond that, I throw the question to you. What are your favorite portable breakfasts? How do you eat on the go?

Want to ask the interweb a question? Post one in the comment section, or write to Cheaphealthygood@gmail.com. Then, tune in next Tuesday for an answer/several answers from the good people of the World Wide Net.

Hi,

It has been a week since I last fasted and I am preparing for another one to begin today at 5 p.m. I have been really excited about the results of that one 24-hour fast. My weight has been trending downward each day to a total lost for the week of 1.5 pounds. Not earth shattering, but, after what had been happening in the weeks leading up to it, I consider the fast a total freaking success. What a pleasure it was to wake up to a smaller number on all but one morning. I was not really expecting that!

The one major noticeable result is still the edema which did not begin to resume until about three days later. When it did come back it also remained much smaller, too. It has only been in the last two days that it appears to have begun to swell to almost (not quite) my pre-fast condition, again. I am hoping that starting at a slightly less swollen state will make my post-second-fast ankle size even smaller.

Looking at my food journal I see that I ended the first fast with a large bowl of curried chicken to which I added one nine-ounce package of angel hair Konjac shirataki noodles. I still remember the experience. I had a real feeling of true pleasure when I simply held the warm bowl of noodles in my hand and sniffed the scent of the curry and chicken. That was at about 5 p.m. At 8 p.m. I put half of a pound of hamburger in the convection oven, then ate it with spicy brown mustard. At about 8:30 I got hungry again and had 3 scrambled eggs. The next morning I had lost 1/4 of a pound!!

For the next three days I noticed I was satisfied with smaller meals and enjoyed the actual feeling of my tummy telling me, "I cant eat another bite" after having eaten much smaller amounts than usual. That was a nice change from the usual lusting for food. It was an actual eye-opener for me. I saw that my body can act in a normal way around food when the addiction is turned off. It seems that the fast turned the addiction off for a space of time.

During the week I wanted to stick to the snack/meal/snack program but was mentally a little lax since I had done the 24-hour fast and knew that the "Eat Stop Eat" program does not include extremely rigid diet rules during the rest of the time but strongly suggests being "sensible" -- and we all know what that means.

I have noticed that my snack size is now creeping to a little larger than a true snack size, but it is still smaller than a meal. To keep myself on track without getting fanatic I began to measure with the bowls I serve my snacks and meals in. The snack bowl is about a cup smaller than the meal bowl, and I use the two sizes to gauge how much food I am eating at a sitting because on about day four my "familiar" eating habits wanted to surge back, again.

Yesterday I even had an additional snack in the evening but made it purely raw vegetables. I cut up a bowl of raw broccoli, added a few grape tomatoes and put dressing and seasonings on it. Afterwards, I still felt hungry so I had an avocado after which I ate a teaspoon of coconut oil. The high oil content of the avocado and the CO seemed to quench the desire for more food.

My final observation yesterday was to realize that I am, after all, doing more of small meal/medium sized meal/small meal. So the meal is not as large as before, but the snacks are not as small. Over all I lost weight. I am happy with that so feel as though I am moving along successfully. I can see the goal ahead of me.

Be back soon,

Marcia

Mint green-tea is famous among North African countries where it has a longstanding history; this traditional beverage is normally consumed all the day long, by all people regardless of their social status. Whether they are members of the royal family or just ordinary commoners, Moroccans’ love towards this reshing and unifying beverage is unshakable.

Mint green-tea is an ordinary green tea prepared along with fresh spearmint and some sugar. What makes this beverage so exceptional is that it comprises synergetically two fabulous herbs: green tea (Camellia sinensis) and spearmint (Mentha spicata). Both of them have a howling array of beneficial properties
With about 2,500 studies in its capital, green tea is surely the most studied food-beverage so far. No other food can even come close to its firm standing in the face of a myriad of skeptical studies. I don’t think if there is anybody who still needs further proof to embrace this new green tea-mania.
Nevertheless, some people may still ignore the full range of green tea’s health benefits. Some of them have already been known for centuries by religious monks and healers while others have juts been discovered lately by up-to-date science.
Green tea has been scientifically credited to cure a lot of illness, such as reducing high blood pressure, preventing and treating diabetics, lung protection for smokers, preventing and treating cancers, rejuvenating body from heart strokes, clearing obstructed arteries, boosting immunity, losing weight and preventing tooth decay.
Besides its pleasant aroma and freshness, Mentha spicata can add more healthy proprieties to your cup of tea. Spearmint is an excellent antioxidant. It has also some unique anti-androgenic properties suitable to treat hirsutism in women. Spearmint is used to treat gastrointestinal ailments, as well as gas and fungal infections.
1.Wash your fresh spearmint
2.Put about 2 whole stems in a glass.
3.Put your tea bag and some sugar.
4.Pour hot water and wait 5 minutes.
5.Enjoy it.
PS: this is the most basic method, and the best-known, normally some people would add some absinthe.

Moroccans do not add peppermint; they use a local cultivar closely related to spearmint but has a more pungent aroma. In other words, classical Moroccan green tea contains spearmint and sometimes they add another kind of local "peppermint" which is related to spearmint with some sort of peppermint aroma. But they never add the "western" well-known peppermint.
_http://only-healthy-ideas.blogspot.com/2011/07/mint-green-tea-is-famous-among-north.html

But an hours walk every day makes no difference: Intensity rather than duration is what counts

The findings indicate that it is the intensity, rather than the duration, of exercise that counts in combating the impact of metabolic syndrome - a combination of factors, including midriff bulge, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, higher than normal levels of blood glucose and abnormal blood fat levels - say the authors.

Genes, diet, and lack of exercise are thought to be implicated in the development of the syndrome, which is conducive to inflammation and blood thickening.

The authors base their findings on more than 10,000 Danish adults, between the ages of 21 and 98, who were initially assessed in 1991-94 and then monitored for up to 10 years. All the participants were quizzed on the amount of physical activity they did, which was categorised according to intensity and duration.

At the initial assessment, around one in five (20.7%) women and just over one in four (27.3%) men had metabolic syndrome. Prevalence was closely linked to physical activity level.

Among the women, almost one in three of those who had a sedentary lifestyle had the syndrome whereas only one in 10 of those who were very physically active had it. Among men, the equivalent proportions were just under 37% and just under 14%

Of the remaining 6,088 participants without metabolic syndrome, just under two thirds (3,992) completed the fourth and final survey and assessment, by which point one in seven (15.4%; 585) had developed it.

Again, the prevalence was higher among those leading a sedentary lifestyle, with almost one in five (19.4%) affected compared with around one in nine (11.8%) of those who were very physically active.

It was not only the amount of exercise, but also the intensity which helped curb the likelihood of developing the syndrome.

After taking account of factors likely to influence the results, fast walking speed halved the risk, while jogging cut the risk by 40 per cent. But going for an hours walk every day made no difference.

"Our results confirm the role of physical activity in reducing [metabolic syndrome] risk and suggest that intensity rather than volume of physical activity is important," conclude the authors.

Limit vigorous exercise to 30 to 50 minutes a day max, say researchers

Vigorous exercise is good for health, but only if its limited to a maximum daily dose of between 30 and 50 minutes, say researchers in an editorial published online in Heart.

The idea that more and more high intensity exercise, such as marathons, can only do you good, is a myth say the US cardiologists, and the evidence shows that its likely to more harm than good to your heart.

"If you really want to do a marathon or full distance triathlon, etc, it may be best to do just one or a few and then proceed to safer and healthier exercise patterns," they warn.

"A routine of moderate physical activity will add life to your years as well as years to your life. In contrast, running too far, too fast, and for too many years may speed ones progress to towards the finishing line of life."

"Chronic extreme exercise appears to cause excessive ‘wear-and-tear’ on the heart, inducing adverse structural and electrical remodelling, which offsets some of the CV benefits and longevity improvements conferred by moderate physical activity. Thus, even though chronic extreme exercise may not kill you, it may erase many of the health advantages of regular moderate exercise. "