It all started when I was in a small Russian Town Called Sormova about 15 years ago. (We had pretty much run out of food (at least the good kind) and had to get really creative. I started going through the cupboards and found two things, raw oats and cocoa. So, I decided to try it out, and to my surprise, I really liked it. There are a lot of variations on this, really, any drink that it sweet will work, Ive done it with all kinds of stuff, Crystal Light, Lemonade, Sugar Free Soda, Orange Juice, Grape Juice, Sugar Free Cocoa etc.
Now, every time someone sees me do this, I get all kinds of questions, and it leads to my basic eating strategy:
1. Eat foods that are tasty, healthy and whole type (unprocessed) consistently. (this means trying all kinds of things until you determine a handful that you truly like, ie wont get tired of eating over and over).
2. Whenever I eat out with friends, which is usually 1-2 times a week. I can eat whatever I want.
The result of this has been that my friends always see me eating junk food, so they assume this is ALL I eat, which isnt true. When I am alone I usually eat very disciplined, and its worked good for me. I think 80% of obesity problems can be controlled with proper diet, most of it comes down to discipline. Sometimes I am asked what to do to lose weight, and the first two I always recommend:
– Stop drinking soda (I even made a video on it) Not only are they sugar laden, they are habit forming.
– When eating bread, always eat 100% whole wheat.
What you consistently eat, will effect you most consistently.
So…with that in mind…what would you recommend to someone who was trying to lose weight?
I’m a big fan of "everything in moderation." I truly believe that if we just ate much smaller portions, of anything we want, we won’t have to feel deprived, but we’ll be healthier and lose weight, too. We eat an obscene amount of food in America, and much of it is eaten without even giving conscious thought to the fact that we’re eating! Thanks for the post, but that concoction you eat/drink is truly, gawd-awful disgusting.
ya….I hear this a lot…I still like it 🙂
Hey Michael! Thanks for this Posting as I just started my new eating habits last week, I hate to call it a diet, sounds too restraining. I believe its a matter of smaller poprtions and cutting out the crap that tis alot of times a heart attack waiting to happen. Lean meats, vegetables, fruits, I eat yoplait with ground flacseed and I believe supplements are really important to get what we dont get in our foods. I’m keeping the carbs on the lower side, trying to get more fiber in and plenty of water to keep the metabolism going. I think eating more times in a day and on the lighter side keeps your metabolism going. And oh yeah Will Power- got have! I want to lose 100 to 125 lbs within the next year or two. I WILL NOT GIVE UP OR GIVE IN! I gotta do this! Walking an hour a night. Sorry such a long post but I am excited to shed this off. Thanks again for this posting Michael, Your concoction looks like something I would have.
Good adice Michael, now its the do part that I seem to get stuck on as soo much always changes in my world. Frank good luck and you have a great attitude, you can do it!!!
I agree that moderation is key. I am a beliver in all natural foods. No processed, artificial stuff helps. Stay away from sugar, it truly is so harmful. But once again…moderation. Grains are good, white stuff is bad. I also think that you should work-out at least 3 times a week. Oh and lot’s of H2O. 😉
Fresh, unprocessed, whole grain, excercise, and plenty of sugar. Yes, yes, and yes. If you are not sure what to cook, how to cook or are bored with your cooking routine, try some Mediterrenian (sp.?) receipes. Most libraries have a variety of cookbooks on hand and its a great way to try out a few receipes before buying/committing a certain one. ~S~
I cut carbonation completely from my diet over 15 years ago. Water rocks! I have also cut dairy completely from my diet. (health issues) I am having a harder time cutting the dairy, but my body thanks me. My next step is to reduce sugars.
ok, "plenty of sugar" is of course not what I meant. I meant ‘plenty of water". But on the topic of sugar: I think that the American Heart Association recommends to keep daily sugar intake BELOW 40g a day. My nutrionist tells me to keep it under 20….ideally no more than 13g of processed sugar (natural fruit sugar is ok).
hey Pete, I’m guessing that you are lactose intolerant? Same issue here and been taking lactaid (lactose pills) to help with the issue, cuz I like yogurt, cheese and milk. Anyway, instead of doing the lactose pills, been using disgestive enzymes and they have done more for me in 12 month than the dairy pills in 10 years.
how do you like Michael Phelps the Olympic swimmer calorie intake 12,000 calories a day? Wow! They were saying some of the stuff he eats, thats crazy! Good luck to anybody on here trying to lose weight, stick with it don’t give up on yourself because you are worth it!!! Hey Gary thanks for the compliment, very appreciated, good luck to you too! 🙂 Love michaels blogg here! Awesome, awesome, simply awesome! 🙂
Have you ever read "SuperFoods RX" by Steven G. Pratt and Kathy Matthews. It’s a healthy eating lifestyle book that I highly recommend to a lot of my clients want to get healthy, lose weight, and not break the bank doing it. It teaches you how to eat nutrient dense foods instead of caloric dense foods. It even gives you places to do your shopping that’s easy on your budget.
Oh wow, Ditto!
but try this…
Oatmeal + peanut butter(right out the jar smooth)+cinnamon+Honey= YUMMY GOODNESS!