Sounds similar to "one food diet" plan. I can see getting rid of processed foods, junk food and heavy sugar foods but the others are fine if you are not allergic. If dairy bothers you than try lacoste free milk and dairy products. My son had a problem as he grew older with dairy but the lacoste free dairy products don't bother him. Remember that old saying, "Everything in moderation."
Clare

Here is a link that might be useful: one food diet

Who is J.J. Virgin and why should we care about her diet advice? This advice sounds as nutty as anything else out there. Oh, wait, are you supposed to eliminate nuts, too?

Eat a well balanced diet and exercise. There is nothing magic to losing weight, though it sure is easy to gain.

No, you are NOT supposed to eliminate nuts, and she makes a point of emphasizing that peanuts are not nuts. She recommends eating more nuts.

I got interested in this diet because she discusses food allergies, and I know that I do have some mild allergies. I am almost finished with Halloween candy, and so I can eliminate sugar pretty soon, although I still have most of a butternut squash pie to get rid of.

Lars

But Lars, Christmas is coming, with all the attendant sugar and goodies. This could be tough.

It's good of you to finish the candy, can I send you our overflowing bowl? Having kids living with me this Halloween makes it tough to resist. And of course, they are all my favorites.

Good luck with this.

Having always been the only one in my family to have a problem with weight, I can say confidently that the ONLY time I have been successful losing weight and keeping it off, is to eat less and exercise more...a whole lot more.

I agree with momj47: why should we care? There's a zillion diets AND MOST OF THEM WORK. What **doesn't** work is KEEPING the weight off. And in fact, recent studies are showing that even when one loses weight, it will always be super-easy to gain it back.

What's really interesting is that losing weight made absolutely no difference in ultimate mortality, in the longest running and most extensive government study. The results were published just a few months ago, in the NY Times. All it did was reduce reliance on prescriptive medications. But the rate of death from stroke, heart attacks and diabetic complications remained exactly the same despite one group striving to maintain ideal weight for three decades, and the other half giving up.

Now, the quality of life was no doubt improved. And the lower cost for medications, plus elimination of side effects, is a real plus. But in the end, losing weight was not the panacea many people have come to believe.

The easiest and simplest way to lose weight is by cutting back on empty calories and increasing your activity by 10%.

You'll feel better, be happier, and can ignore fad diets. What you weigh is not as important as the 'getting up and doing'. Increased physical activity has been shown to help delay dementia, in addition.

Decades ago I read that everybody is allergic, on average, to at least 28 different substances. The trick is that you may never run into 5 or 15 or 25 of them. Or the allergies will be so mild you will hardly even notice. But as we age and our immune systems decline, allergies can become more noticeable. I have a lot of allergies; some food-related, a lot are plant-related (I garden a large urban property). I'm grateful that mine are relatively mild. The few that are more serious, I either avoid the substance (buckwheat, for example) or take an anti-histamine as necessary.

Food hysteria is like financial market hysteria. Both are injurious to your overall well-being.

I don't think anyone who doesn't have a sensitivity or food allergy should need to eliminate anything from their diet. I don't see the benefit.

I think the whole key to that particular weight loss plan is at the bottom of the page where it says:

What to eat: Concentrate your diet on fresh fruits and vegetables, lean cuts of meat, and filtered water.

This is the common denominator in nearly every weight loss plan on the planet. And that's because you can eat a ton of fresh produce and lean meats and still keep your caloric intake low.

You have to burn more than you eat. I honestly believe that's the only way to lose. 1 lb=3500 calories. So if you average a 500 calorie deficit a day, you should lose about a pound every week.

I agree that certain foods bring some issues, but it all contributes to the formula. Sweets and high fat foods usually come in a small portion with high calories, and your body burns them faster. Protein and low GI foods you can usually eat in larger portions, plus they keep you feeling fuller longer.

I have to track my portions and keep a tally of my calories to stay in a caloric deficit, or I gain. I love goat cheese on my salad, but by golly I have to weigh it because if I eyeball the portion, I'm far too generous.

Extra cream in my coffee, or the additional pat or two of butter, (or 3 glasses of wine on a Friday night) could screw up my deficit on any given day, but as long as I'm averaging a deficit at the end of the week, I'm doing ok. :-)

I'd recommend you just throw out the Halloween candy. We had leftover cornbread from some takeout the other night. It was delicious, but I tossed it so that it wouldn't hang around and tempt me all week. I have a bar of good dark chocolate for emergencies. :-) I tell myself that the low-quality chocolate isn't worth the calories I have to burn off at the gym, so if it comes into the house, I throw it out.

My BF's son is on a similar diet, this is very similar to what is called an "anti-yeast" diet, or an anti-mold diet, and peanuts can be contaiminated with molds. However, if you don't have a sensitivity to these things, then no sense avoiding them. I was on a no dairy, no gluten diet years ago because I read that it might help with headaches and menstrual cramps. I was on it for months and it did not help at all. I was also on an elimination diet for acid foods (many of which I did not eat in the first place) and I found out that I am really only sensitive to a few things. Unfortunately, to find out if you have food sensitivities you have to go on one of these elimination diets for at least a couple of weeks. If you suspect that you might have some food sensitivities then it wouldn't hurt to try an elimination diet and see if you feel better, and then add foods back in and see if any particular food sets off your feeling poorly. I found out that while I am not sensitive to fruits and tomatoes, I am super sensitive to alcohol, diet soda, teas and cranberry juice, so there you have a typical example. I am not going on some extreme diet if I don't have to, but I found out I feel better without certain foods. And actually, I feel better without a lot of dairy too, and whole foods, but that is largely due to the lack of chemicals in whole foods and the corresponding increase in fiber and anti-oxidants. Of course you know that the salt in processed foods really does a number on your health.

Wow, I have that PBS presentation on as I'm typing this. I tuned in a little late, but it appears she's recommending removing these foods for an initial 3-wk. period. After that you can add some foods back, depending on your body's reaction to them.

It sounds very restrictive to me. No dairy, no gluten, no sugar, no corn products. I could do this on the short term, but I wouldn't choose such a limited diet for life.

Lars, if you have specific food allergies then by all means eliminate them. I also think it could make sense to eliminate one thing at a time, for a couple of weeks, to see what happens. I do not think it makes sense to eliminate lots of things just because.

If you would like a fairly simple plan to lose weight, I'll offer this one. It is the effective stuff I have done, minus all the stupid stuff I also have done . . .

Estimate your daily calories burned. See the linked calculator. Let's say it is 1900 calories/day.

Eat around 300 to 500 cal/day less than that ("caloric deficit"). For example, between 1400 (-500) and 1600 (-300) cal/day. 1600 is a conservative level, that the doctors and dietians will tell you to do. 1400 is an aggressive level, if you have lots of motivation and plenty of fat reserves.

How do you know how much you are eating? You have to buy a $25 food scale, weigh your portions, and log every single thing you eat and drink. There is no alternative for most of us, because most of us - me, certainly - don't know what a modest portion of food looks like. Blame it on 20 years of supersizing.

So sign up for a calorie counting site like Caloriecount.com and log everything until your eyes are well calibrated. It is a pain at first, but you will catch on quickly. They have an iPhone app too.

It is much easier if you eat stuff you cook yourself, pack a lunch to work, because you know what is in the dish, and you can quickly log the main constituents (pasta with bolognaise: pasta 5 oz, beef 3 oz, tomato sauce 1 oz) and skip the minor stuff (mushrooms, onions, etc - that stuff is calorically irrelevant). If you get a burrito supreme from the food cart, you have no idea what is in it (how much lard? How much oil?). In that case just find a commercial burrito of the same weight in the database and use that.

Now, you are eating let's say a 300 cal/day caloric deficit. 1 lb of body fat is about 3500 calories so you should lose roughly 1 lb every 2 weeks. Roughly and on average. Our bodies are not linear, weight fluctuates for all sorts of reasons, dehydration being one, so you'll go for weeks with no loss then suddenly drop 2 lb, etc.

So where does the exercise come in? See, if you merely eat a caloric deficit while being a couch potato, roughly 2/3 of the weight you lose will be muscle and only 1/3 fat. Our bodies try to hold on to the fat. Fat reserves were precious back in the caveman days. But today, we want to lose the fat and keep the muscle. To keep the muscle, you need to use it, really use it.

If you do resistance training - lifting heavy weights or bodyweight exercises like pushups, chinups, etc - then almost all the weight loss will be fat and only a small amount will be muscle. If you lift little weights - pink 5 lb dumbells - or do cardio exercise - running, stair master, cycling - that will also help redirect the weight loss to fat, but not very much. Maybe half the lost weight will be fat and half muscle.

Cardio exercise does burn calories, but it takes only 3 minutes to eat enough calories to cancel out an hour of cardio exercise. Pop a couple of jelly doughnuts, there goes a hard hour on the bike. Do cardio because it is good for your heart and your lungs, not to "burn calories".

Now we finally get to the topic of what to eat. Strictly speaking, you can lose weight on a diet of 100% jelly donut. All you have to do is eat only, say, 1500 cal/day of donut. Problem is, that's only three donuts. You'll be miserable, your stomach will be digesting itself, you'll be malnourished after awhile, and personally I would develop some psychological problems if my sole food was three jelly donuts a day.

Same problem with other foods that are very dense in calories but very poor in nutrition. While sticking to a serious calorie deficit, you can't eat "enough" waffles, chocolate, bread, fried rice, pasta, etc to be happy or to get proper nutrition. The calories-to-pleasure and calories-to-nutrition of those foods is all wrong.

To have proper nutrition and pleasurable meals on say 1500 cal/day, you will find yourself gravitating to stuff like lean meat, vegetables, raw fruits, fish, and some pastas and grains that are so extravagantly tasty that just a little bit is very satisfying. Which happens to be good for you, and easy to log calories for, and easy to pack for lunch . . . it all works together.

The cool thing is, you get to do lots of fun cooking while losing weight. It might just be grilled meat or ratatouille or steamed fish, instead of homemade jelly donuts. And I never made as much risotto as when I was dieting.

Speaking of, it is time for me to get back in the weight loss mode. So I'll be doing the above along with you, if you decide to start slimming.

Here is a link that might be useful: Calorie Burn Calculator

I think that any fad diet that eliminates good food for no good reason is to be avoided. If you do have a food allergy then you'll know it.
This seems to be all a bit confused. Is this person talking about weight loss or allergies? One is not remotely related to the other. Is your problem weight o allergies?
If it's weight, then you know what to do. Why are you eating candy? :-)

I will say this about the relationship between eating certain foods and weight loss, and that is that certain foods do pack more nutrition into them than others, so eating those and not filling up on carbs/sugar will help with not only weight loss, but overall health. Also, sugar is fairly addictive, and you can help your dieting and health by going off it for a while to break your cravings. Some people are very sensitive to sugar and frankly I think they need to go cold turkey. My mom has diabetes and she is constantly pushing the envelope of what sweets she can eat. She just cannot bring herself to give up the desserts and this means she has less than optimal health. Sometimes you do have to say, "No, those foods aren't for me anymore." And then find things you love that you can eat instead. For example, when I gave up tea, something I absolutely adore, I started drinking hot spiced pear juice. I had to give up diet soda but I can drink an occasional flavored soda water. I can't eat a danish but a small piece of whole grain toast with nonfat ricotta and some dried cherries and almonds is also enjoyable. BF does not eat pork but we found some locally made turkey sausages that we like at the farm market. And so forth.

Also, there is a difference between a true allergy and a sensitivity, and there is a question of amount. With some foods, a little bit will not make you feel bad but a lot will. One example is cashew nuts, which are related to poison ivy, and I have a friend who gets a reaction if she eats a lot of them. A few are OK. and so forth. So if you think it will help, give it a try. That's what I did. But if it isn't helping, don't keep doing it because somebody claims it helps. It may have helped them, or they may just be trying to sell their cookbook, or whatnot, and everyone's body chemistry is not the same.

I have really tried to eat more nutritious whole grain carbohydrates and lots more whole fruits and vegetables, and like I said, that does make a difference in how I feel. Takes a week or so to start feeling the difference. I always find it better to embrace with gusto the things which are good for you rather than force yourself to "eliminate" certain things.

Oh, and despite what the food industry will tell you, what kind of growing conditions and soil and weather conditions make a huge difference in the quality of foods. The very chemicals that cause food sensitivities can vary tremendously in foods depending on growing conditions. What strain or variety of crop you are eating also makes a difference. And I am strongly against genetically modified corn and soybeans. This is not genetic modification for improved plant vigor, the corn is modified to include pesticide chemicals within their tissues and the soybeans are modified to make them resistant to Roundup herbicide, so the farmers can apply tons of the stuff on their crops. This is just not good, and the reasons are multiple, sorry to say. "The FDA" said aspartame was safe, but it wreaks havoc with my health and I think long term use of it excaccerbated my bladder decline. At the very least, it makes me ill almost immediately upon ingestion. So don't buy the Wizard's proclamations all the time, caveat emptor!

If these diets are temporary, like a few weeks, I don't see any harm in them and learning how you feel, esp if they do lead to healthier changes in the longer run. For example, GF just completed a 3 week "cleanse" diet that was very restrictive, but it did teach her to cook more, cook more healthy foods, and to eat a lot more vegetables, all of which is good. She also found it had a very positive effect on her frequent migraines, which is why she tried it in the first place. Additionally, she lost weight.

I have been successful with longer term weight control by using the intermittent diet....2 days a week you eat low carb....less than 50 g per day and of the 50, it must include one piece of fruit. No calorie restrictions. The rest of the week, you eat normally. You get to pick which days are low carb. It is very easy to follow as anyone can give up something they want to eat for a day, knowing you can get it back tomorrow. This has proven to be more effective than calorie restricted low carb or mediterranean diets. See study results. They are not completely sure of why it is more successful, but part of it may be that on the low carb days, you learn to eat better and carry some of that knowledge over to your regular days. Also, it may be that by cutting back only 2 days a week, it's enough to keep your body metabolism from slowing down radically as it does if it thinks you are entering "starvation" mode.

A few comments:

publickman, why do you need to "process" the halloween candy before it goes down the tank, leaving it's remnants on your body. You can get rid of it by throwing it away or giving it away without the "side" effects.

lpinkmountain, not sure why you gave up tea, but beware of fruit juices as they are high in calories and sugar.

johnliu, you hit the nail on the head. I couldn't agree more with everything you said.

I'm back on caloriecount.com after a year's hiatus. I fell off the wagon during the summer, so I want to lose a little bit again before spring. Logging food and activity is the only way to actually *see* the road to your progress.

No, not PBS!

They seem to have gotten sucked in by these carnival side show hucksters - Olivia Newton John, Deepak Chopra, Brenda Watson, Mark Hyman, Dr. Fuhrman, Shawn Achor, Daniel Amen, and on and on.................

I'm sure they make a ton more money doing TV than they could ever make selling books.

I agree with several posters, a food diary is essential to losing weight. I use myfitnesspal.com on my iPhone. With that and portion control (and cutting eggs and red meat) I've lost 40 pounds since January and dropped my cholesterol, and have managed to keep it off. Being face to face with the nutrient content of your food choices can be pretty startling - fat, calories, cholesterol are much higher than you think, in most foods. I do miss cheese and bacon, though I allow myself very small portions once or twice a month.

My food diary gives me a daily calorie, fat, cholesterol, protein, sodium, and carbs goal to lose weight, and now maintain, and tracks it all, in real time, so I can see how I'm doing. And exercise - even a brisk 30 minute walk 3 or 4 times a week makes a huge difference.

Olivia Newton-John is on PBS? I've got to watch more PBS! Gimme Livvy!

Olivia Newton-John on PBS

I gave up tea because I have interstitial cystitis and I went on an elimination diet and found out that tea (which I love and yes I know has anti-oxidants) will give me an immediate flare up, even decaf. Tea is high in tannic acid. I get my anti-oxidants in other ways. And yes I know that pear juice is high in calories, I don't drink a lot of it. I drink it watered down and with cinnamon, which has cholesterol lowering properties. It is one of the few fruits I can enjoy and I eat very little other sugary things during the day. But instead of my afternoon tea I now have my afternoon pear juice. So that's what I mean about balance, finding what foods are good for you and eating a balanced diet, which is what will work in the long run. If I was eating cakes, chips and candy and soda, then no, pear juice would not be a good addition to my diet no matter how healthy it might be, it would probably tip the scales into sugar problems. BF enjoys and apple a day, which is his one treat. This is what I mean about enjoying what foods are good for you, in moderation. It does no good to eshew gluten and replace it with sugar, you are just trading one problems for another. That's why I don't think very restrictive diets are a good idea.

And your body does change over time. I didn't notice lactose intolerance until I hit my 50's, and there have been changes in the way dairy is processed as well as changes in my gut, so it is a continual blancing act. I've developed IBS and I find that eating lots of sticky fiber keeps my gut happy, so I would never go on one of those no carb things. Also a lot of protein just makes me feel lethargic and sick, but then so does a lot of carbs, which is why I am such a believer in balance. We eat a lot of the "super foods" which are high in fiber and anti-oxidants, plus we like them. My biggest diet issues are stress and getting the right kind of exercise, which has just as much effect on health as foods that are bad for you.

Anyway, since I suffer from a lot of biochemical chronic conditions, I have been experimenting with elimination diets for at least 20 years. Migranes, IBS, interstitial cystitis, etc., all have their trigger foods and I have benefitted a lot from finding them out and eliminating them. But having said that, the diets recommended for all of these things, (and other diseases as well) are very broad so as to encompass everything that might possibly cause someone to have a problem. But this one size fits all just doesn't jibe with the way we are as humans, we all have different lifestyles, body makeup, body chemistry, etc. so it is up to the individual to do some experienting and find out what is best for them. It is also a matter of quantity and quality, as I mentioned in my previous post. I went to a migrane diet workshop once and the presenter said that one of her clients put it this way, "He found out he can have beer OR pizza, but not beer AND pizza." So I found out I can eat tomato soup for lunch but then no orange juice for breakfast or vinegar and oil dressing on my salad at dinner, etc.

It takes a couple of weeks for any changes you make to be noticable, so you have to be fairly dedicated to this to make it work. A food diary definately helps.

This is all very helpful, and I'll have to print it out at some point so that I can refer to it at will.

I did not have that much Halloween candy to start with, and so there was not that much of it for me to eat. I will probably be making candy this week-end to give to my boss for her birthday. She wears size 0 and so the calories will not hurt her. She loves the chocolate turtles that I make, although she called them "hippopotomus" last time. Kevin wants me to make extra ones to give to his employees, and I told him he will have to help me clean out the freezer, which we were supposed to do last week-end.

AnnieDeighnaugh's diet plan looks very doable, and so I think I will try that. I'll also have to start a food diary - I've never done that before. My dietician said that I was not overeating, and so I'll have to take John's advice about exercising more. I want to weigh less so that it will be easier for me to do more activities that I enjoy, such as hiking and mountain biking. I think Kevin wants to do more of that as well. We'll be hiking a lot in Death Valley at Christmas, including moonlight hikes at night.

Does anyone else agree with J.J. that GM foods are essentially bad and not easy to digest? I also looked at the diet that suggests eating for your blood type, but it really did not make any sense to me. I do know that people were healthier before agriculture, however, as evidenced by skeletons found of our ancient ancestors. I do not want to eat like a caveman, however.

Thanks very much for these comments! I will study them further.

Lars

I have no idea about GM foods. I don't diet. I eat less, and move/exercise more, when my jeans get tight.

I will NOT diet. I love chocolate, and eat it in moderation, same goes for ice cream.

Most of my food intake is a balanced diet, but with next to no alcohol, and no fried foods.

The only things I have ever eliminated from my "diet", are pickled as well as any other form of pigs feet, fatty pork (my dads fave) and grits don't cross my lips ever again. LOL

Otherwise, I eat in moderation.

When I got married my weight was 115, and now, 40 years later I am at 133.

I like myself where I am, and as long as my jeans fit, I am happy.

Lars, go ahead, and move around more. I don't care if you call it exercise. LOL

Moni

Burning calories/dropping weight through exercise is the biggest hoax ever to torture millions of people. It is extremely difficult to exercise weight off. Can it be done? Sure - look at those poor souls on the Biggest Loser or chubby celebs on Dancing with the Stars. If you are working out strenuously ALL FREAKING DAY, EVERY DAY - then yes, you can lose weight that way. But that is not a regimen that any of us can keep in our lives.

IT'S WHAT YOU EAT! To lose weight quickly - cut the carbs - as much as you can. That is ALL grains, legumes, fruits, starchy vegetables, and of course the Grand Dame of carbs - sugar!

Eat meats (beef, fish, chicken), eggs, good fats (grass-fed butter, olive oil, coconut oil, fatty fish) and colorful vegetables. Nuts and seeds as occasional snacks. Later, you can add in occasional fruits but stay away from dried fruits or fruit juice.

Dairy is high in carbs too, so cut back on that. If you must have it, eat yogurt and kefir.

If you do this and don't cheat, the pounds will melt off your body - WITH NO EXERCISE. I've seen it many times now - first on DH many years ago on Atkins, and since then, anyone who has seriously done a low-carb regimen.

However, exercise is important for your health. It is good for your circulatory and vascular system, for retaining muscles, for practicing balance, etc. So if you eat a low-carb, natural and whole foods diet, and exercise very moderately, you will get results.

After getting the results and deciding what to eat for the rest of your life? That's the hard part. Many people cannot give up on breads and sweet things. But at least ditch the breads and sweets while you are losing weight, and later, try to cut way, way back on these foods.

Oh! I am tempted to turn this post into an Olivia Newton-John slobber-fest, but I will resist.

Lars, you may in fact not be "over-eating" right now. If your weight is stable, that means you are eating the same amount of calories as you are burning, that is, you are eating "maintenance". But if you want to lose weight, you have to "under-eat", by a meaningful amount. Put your body in a caloric deficit, while still demanding all its muscle power, thus forcing it to burn its fat reserves.

As gina said, under-eating is far more effective a way to lose weight than over-exercising. You should do both, the first to lose weight and the second to get strong and keep your heart and lungs fit.

I'm hoping that if I get fit enough, Olivia Newton-John will notice me!

I didn't mention under-eating. That's another myth. If you eat low carb by cutting out grains and sugar, you can eat good portions of the other foods I mentioned. You should never feel hungry.

As far as Olivia, knock yourself out. Ask me how I feel about Tom Selleck or Hugh Jackman...

Okay, how do you feel about Tom Selleck or Hugh Jackman . . . ? :-)

(Gina! Les Miz!)

Not sure I want to know what that means. Something less than chaste, I'm sure.

I agree with Gina on the no carbs thing. I lost 30 pounds that way rather easily, and in the process, changed the foods I eat and ENJOY. It's not uncommon for me to eat a small steak for breakfast or brunch with coffee (and cream) and a whole grapefruit. I love it!

I would like to have a small steak from time to time or even a small pork chop, but Kevin does not eat beef or pork, and so I do not cook it because I do not want to put the smell in the kitchen. I do order it when we go out, however. I'm thinking that I might start buying some ground beef for myself, or grind some meat myself and just make some meatballs or meatloaf that I can have over a 3-4 day period. However, I add a panade to ground beef to make it more tender, and this might not be part of the diet.

Lars

Any diet -- from Pritikin to paleo -- can work, if you eat less, but none of them are miraculous.

Paris judging the most beautiful women in the world:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Enrique_Simonet_-El_Juicio_de_Paris-_1904.jpg

Lars, I don't know about hard to digest, but I do not believe that genetically modified foods are good and I avoid them whenever I can. If the industry would label them it would be easier.

As lpinkmountain mentioned:

"And I am strongly against genetically modified corn and soybeans. This is not genetic modification for improved plant vigor, the corn is modified to include pesticide chemicals within their tissues and the soybeans are modified to make them resistant to Roundup herbicide, so the farmers can apply tons of the stuff on their crops. This is just not good, and the reasons are multiple, sorry to say."

The single reason for the genetic modification of things like corn, soy, canola, is so that the crop/product can survive the holocaust of chemicals and poisons they are barraged with and not die. And then we eat it. (sigh)

Johnliu, our Jessica? Not chaste? Nah, you must be mistaken. Go watch a couple of reruns of "Grease" and sweat off a few extra calories, LOL.

Now, as for that steak or pork chop, can't you grill those outside? If you grilled a steak tonight you could eat part and then use the remainder for something like steak salad or if you sliced it thinly and warmed it carefully in some hot broth, it wouldn't be too bad for a sandwich or maybe in a stir-fry.

Annie

That's a good idea, Annie, I could grill a steak outside on the smaller Weber, and it would not take too much charcoal - or I could use the propane grill, which we almost never use but keep in case of loss of gas. It's dark when I get home, but we do have good lights in the patio area, although none in the pergola. I want to get lights in the pergola so that we can use it in the winter on the days that it is not raining. Today it is raining, however.

I also like the idea of freezing the steak so that I could slice it very thinly and add it to hot broth. I could use my electric meat slicer to cut it. I wonder if I could freeze chicken or turkey breast and cook it that way as well. I also wonder if I need to defrost the meat slightly to be able to cook it or if it would be better just to put it in the freezer for a short time, which would require quite a bit more planning.

Lars

@ momj47

I agree partially with this:

"No, not PBS!

They seem to have gotten sucked in by these carnival side show hucksters - Olivia Newton John, Deepak Chopra, Brenda Watson, Mark Hyman, Dr. Fuhrman, Shawn Achor, Daniel Amen, and on and on................. "

momj47, I'm so glad you "called them out" because I've felt this way, about some of them, for a long time!

PBS does these "infomercials" as if they are doing the "public" a service - when in fact it is mostly about the money.

I think some of these folks may actually be on the right track, but ... IMO - Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra and Gary Null are con-artists and shucksters. I think if you just look/listen a little deeper and get past their "guru-speak" you may come to the same conclusion. As an experiment, turn off the audio and just look at them for a full 60 seconds. If you look at them, eyes wide open, I think you will see that they are not "healthy" - and yet, here they are pedaling - marketing good physical/mental health.

Back on topic - diet and health:

Lot's of great advice has already been given - so I'm probably just repeating.

Here it is in a almond nutshell: Take a holistic approach

Lifestyle - be physically active; realize the value in being strong

Exercise - Not because you want to lose weight! but, because you want to be strong and healthy so that you can live an active and vital life (you do want that don't you?); weight-bearing as well as aerobic; muscle is good (even if it weighs more than fat).

Eat Less - If you want to lose weight (fat) . . . eat less (KIS - keep it simple. You can complicate it with scales, math and fad diets, or you can just eat less - what? still not losing weight (fat)? - eat even less, but keep quality and variety). You should be in this for the rest of your life; not a quick fad diet. Expect weight (fat) to come off slowly (and it may come off quicker than you expected).

Eat a varied and balanced diet (and we've come to know that some foods are really, really good for you - so include more of those and less of the junk).

Listen to your body - if it tells you it finds certain foods "disagree-able" - then why continue putting such things in your body?

Being healthy is complicated - or as simple as you want to make it.

Also, I love seeing muscle toned shoulders in sleeveless gowns - c'mon ladies, you know what I'm talk'n about.

I totally recommend an elimination diet (for a short period of time (up to three months)) and I don't think anyone should tell you to get rid of anything (except modified and processed foods) in your diet without you testing your own body first! I probably tried five books geared to arthritis following their plan, which did an okay job, but after figuring what I reacted to, got me to full remission (yes, it comes back when I get too off course). I (not literally, of course) killed myself two years ago trying to figure out my foods that react to my body in hopes of curing my autoimmune conditions and you what, two years later, I think I got it! Personally, I gave up gluten, cow dairy, soy, fresh tomatoes:(, peanuts, sulphites, coconut flour, eat lower carb and rotate and limit certain foods (chicken, grapefruit, strawberries) or else I get dermatitis. A food journal along with noting any changes in your body along with time of reactions helped me so much. It was a lot of work and I gave up a few times but started up again. The best thing I ever did as I got off my hard meds for my conditions in fact, I haven't taken so much as an Tylenol/Advil in one full year! I also haven't taken antibiotics for two years as I used to get chronic infections (2-4 times/per year since late teens). Very happy with the results and would recommend it to anyone! I also eat very limited process foods, if at all and have stepped back to eat a more traditional diet (fermenting, soaking, gmo free, free range). I am truly amazed at the healing powers of the diet as I did have a healthy diet prior to changing how I ate. I also take a whack of supplements each day.

What is J.J. Virgin's scientific evidence that GMO foods are bad for you or hard to digest? I'm not talking about philosophical positions here. If you don't like GMO foods, fine. But before so-called experts disclaim that GMO foods are bad for you or can't be digested, can we some actual data?

The most recent go round was that eating round up ready corn causes tumors in rats. But when you go to the actual "scientific study" rather the press releases, guess what you discover. The researcher(who is well known as rabidly antiGMO)couldn't find any round up residues on the round up ready corn, so to prove his point he fed round up ready corn and added round up to the rats drinkiing water. Viola tumors.

By this methodology, you could feed the rats an ultra organic diet with round up in their drinking water and prove that eating organic causes the same tumors. I'm pretty sure Round Up already carries a label that says don't drink this stuff.

I have no problems debating whether GMOs are good or bad, and God knows Monsanto is no saint of a company and neither is Sargynta, but how about we actually talk facts and science before you start telling other people something is bad to eat.

kimka, thanks for what seems like a "voice of reason".

I'm no expert, but I think there are some concerns with genetically modified foods - including how they react with the environment, but the key word in my opinion is I "think", but I don't know - so, while I have no plans on becoming an "expert", I'm willing to look at "evidence" on both sides.
But, as you point out, a person has to look pretty deeply, consider the source, and verify.

I caught a bit of JJ Virgin's infomercial on PBS and my impressions:

- Very attractive older woman with fantastic genes
- "JJ Virgin" what a great name for marketing purposes
- Wonderful presentation skills; the total package for this sort of market
- She must be making a very nice profit "helping people" (and that's okay, except is she really helping people?)
- I wonder, if anyone looked into her profile, what she was doing before this gig - and how JJ "really" got into it (not her press clipping explanation - whatever that is).

As for the thinking public - at least, I think her "package" is pretty suspect.

Hi, Use these food in your daily diet , you can loose your weight as soon as.
Soy
Corn
Gluten
Dairy
Sugar and artificial sweeteners
Eggs
Peanuts

I think the point is our food supply is poisoned and it has fundamentally changed our immune systems and metabolism.

My daughters allergist links the 7 top food allergens with pesticides. Look T the explosion of food allergies. Look at our obese nation and especially the children,

Would like to learn more about this. I don't think eating everything in mod is the answer anymore because our food supply has changed.

Just looked up her bio, very impressive and what she says is very sensible and doesn't sound controversial or like a fad diet at all. Can't wait to read more. She is pro coffee and red wine = win win for me :)

I do not believe our food supply is poisoned. We just have too much food available and in our face too often and too convenient. So we eat too much...plain and simple..To lose weight requires that we eat less which is very hard to do. Only someone who has tried to actually lose weight understands just how hard it is to eat less when you are hungry. Just last night I was watching TV for a change and every other ad was for some type of glorious food product...mostly junk type foods...very hard to resist and making me want to eat something every time an ad came on. Every social occasion revolves around food as well. No wonder so many people are overweight.
Joann

I found this article on obesity interesting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Obesity study.

Has anyone heard of "The Plan?" I was in Target the other day browsing the book section & happened to come across it. The copyright is 2013, so it is a newer book. It looked interesting, so I went home & checked the reviews on Amazon; they were largely very positive - I went back & bought the book yesterday. It's about discovering the right foods for YOUR body & how some "healthy" foods may not react well with YOUR unique chemistry.There is a 20 day process that seems to be a variation of a cleanse/elimination plan, where you systemically add certain foods back in to see if YOU react to them. I haven't read the whole book yet, but the Amazon reviews give a good sense of it, and the author has a website - her name is Lyn-Genet Recitas. If I do this & find it helpful I'll report back.

I live the Virgin diet every day. It should be called the Virgin Lifestyle.

This is a good diet for people with intolerances and who have a very difficult time losing weight, but it's great for everyone I think because it makes complete sense and is super natural. It's a ten-week plan to lose weight and discover intolerances. Take out 7 foods for three weeks then reintroduce them one at a time for the next seven weeks. Below I've explained the reasons for taking out these 7 foods.

Gluten: contains lectins that bind to insulin, which creates insulin resistance and can make your blood sugars rise, making it hard to lose weight. Gluten is also an inflammatory.

Soy: a phyto-estrogen, a plant source of the hormone estrogen. It's also heavily genetically modified.

Dairy: like gluten, acts as an isulin resistant. It's nearly impossible to find hormone-free milk. So, hormones and rising blood sugar=acne and fat. There are studies out there that show countries with the highest dairy consumption have the highest levels of osteoporosis. On the contrary, countries that rely on calcium rich foods have a much lower rate of osteoporosis. I've read that the pasturization process of milk breaks down the protein that allows our bodies to absorb the calcium. I believe all this but there is still a huge debate about it.

Corn: inflammatory and a high-glycemic food

Peanuts: inflammatory and high in lectins.

Eggs: inflammatory. If you have sensitivity to corn and soy, eggs might affect you because the chickens are probably fed corn and soy. I have a huge intolerance to fat so another reason eggs bother me.

Sugar: we all know that's bad! And don't be fooled by agave necter...higher in fructose than high fructose corn syrup.

I'm 5'8 and was 148 lbs. I'm now 135 and holding. In two weeks, my injured knee from subluxation over a year before wasn't hurting and felt stronger. My ankles reduced by 1/2 inch, something I thought was genetic but I guess was just excess fluid. I never really had bad acne, but what I did have cleared up and my blackheads reduced significantly. Also, my menstrual cycle went from seven days to three. My head felt clearer and I had more energy. I rarely have wind or bloated belly as well. The cellulite on my legs reduced by about 50%. I made a point to not exercise the first three weeks to see how effective just changing my diet was. ALL these changes happened without exercise, though of course after the three weeks I went back to yoga.

I don't think everyone needs to cut out all of these foods. I also know some people won't have as many changes as I did. But I don't see how it will hurt to try, just to see what changes might happen to you! I think JJ knows what she's talking about. In regards to sticking to it, I cheat every once in a while but I usually feel so bad when I do that I find myself cheating a lot less. Good luck!

HeatherFernandes, welcome to the Cooking Forum.

dcarch

Thank you Dcarch! I'm excited to be here! :)

Since this thread came back & since I said I'd follow up if I did it, thought I'd let folks know that there really is something to "The Plan." If you are experiencing any health issues, it is often a sign of low (or high) grade inflammation, which can be related to the food you are eating. I started the 3rd week of April, but was off of it for a week's vacation. I've lost 16 pounds so far, and 7 months of hives suffering disappeared when I started it. I know this is a cooking forum & not a diet forum, and I don't want to sound like a commercial for it, but if anyone wants more info, there is a website & a Facebook page, and many reviews on Amazon. If you google Lyn Genet, you can find more information. Hopes this helps someone else!

The latest doctor that I saw (the sleep specialist) told me on Tuesday that it is virtually impossible to lose weight if you have untreated sleep apnea. I am therefore committed to starting a specific weight loss schedule as soon as I get my treatment, which will be tomorrow at the latest. While I feel somewhat good about knowing that I can now do something that will make a difference, I am somewhat upset that I was not diagnosed sooner. I think part of the problem was that I had hyperparathyroidism, due to a tumor on my parathyroid gland, and I got the tumor removed only last summer. Therefore it has been less than a year that I have not had that problem, and I guess it was difficult to diagnose sleep apnea when I also had hyperparathyroidism.

I feel now, however, that I should be able to exercise sufficiently to get some results. Up to now, I would have blackout spells when trying to exercise, and so I knew something was wrong but had no idea what it was. I thought perhaps it was diabetes, but fortunately that was not the case.

Lars

She would agree about the sleep problem. From page 125 in the book, "Compromising on sleep can impede weight loss & impair your body's ability to restore homeostasis. The body burns energy & calories best when you are sleeping, and lack of sleep impairs cognitive function, immunity, hormonal balance, and digestion. Several studies have cited inadequate sleep as one of the causes of the obesity problem in America. On The Plan, we have found that for every 2 hours of sleep the body misses, it loses .2 pounds to 1 pound less."
She is also very knowledgeable about thyroid issues, and there are specific thyroid menus in the back of the book. She is currently writing a thyroid book.
Regarding exercise, she is big fan of exercise, in moderation. She says that exercising more than 4 times a week (for 30 minutes) or doing extreme workouts can create a state of inflammation in the body that is counterproductive and stunts weight loss - or even causes weight gain. I believe this, as I joined a gym the beginning of the year, and went faithfully 6 days a week for 2 months straight - did not lose an ounce and was so discouraged. Then I came across this book, and in the last 2 months, I have lost 16 pounds & haven't been to the gym once. I do want to get back, but I've been to busy, and have been getting some exercise with significant yard work. Good luck!