Why the Campaign to Stop America's Obesity Crisis Keeps Failing
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/06/why-the-campaign-to-stop-america-s-obesity-crisis-keeps-failing.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_afternoon&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_afternoon
This is a smart article, it's what I've been saying all along, but because I'm not well known, most people don't believe me when I tell them how I stay slim. I get asked this frequently.
I don't exercise. I've been through some phases where I did aerobics, but it was more to dance and watch the likes of Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda in their flashy outfits and big hair. It was fun for a while then I got bored. I started kung fu classes, and I liked those, because even though it was hard work, when I managed to do 20 real push-ups, I was super impressed with my scrawny arms. Then I went back to school and then started working weird shifts and I could no longer fit kung fu into my schedule.
I do yoga almost every morning to stretch, I walk as much as I can, even for groceries, I bike when the weather is warm, to run errands, sometimes to explore new neighbourhoods, or just to get out of the house; I don't see biking as exercise, because I enjoy it. I do yard work, I vacuum, do loads of chores around the house, I cook and bake, the only time I'm sitting down is when I'm online, to eat, and to watch a few shows. We don't have TV, I mean we have 2 televisions, but no cable or even basic channels, so I don't have the option of plopping down in front of the tube just cause I don't feel like doing anything else. The few shows we watch, we watch them online.
I only use animal fats - butter, ghee, lard - to cook and fry/ sauté with, sometimes I will use coconut oil or sesame oil for flavour. Vegetables oils I use on salads. I make my own dressings and vinaigrettes. I'll have to do a separate post about those. I like meat, game meats, lamb, a good ribeye, pork, quail, pheasant, tongue, real sausages, tripe, sweetbreads, odds and bits, I love pig skin, bone marrow, and meat that is close to the bone. Meat on bone tastes better, but I noticed when eating apples that the tastiest part is the bit closest to where the flower was. I also like seafood, eggs, nuts and seeds. I sometimes put ground flax seeds in my smoothies.
I eat full fat dairy, sometimes I will have a slice of butter as a snack. People think that's weird and unhealthy, but they're the ones drinking pop and chowing down on chips, fast food, chocolate bars, cookies, and asking me how I stay slim. I like plain yogurt, especially Liberte 10%, it tastes amazing on its own, no sourness or floury taste. Their flavoured yogurts are also yummy, but I mostly go with plain. Sometimes if I feel like a flavour, I pour some maple syrup and throw in a few pecans, and it's an instant dessert. I like Liberte's creme fraiche, at 40%, it can't not taste good. I love it on a piece of rye with butter, instead of cream cheese. There are good quality cream cheeses out there, but your typical supermarket brands don't taste right. I drink organic, pasteurized, non homogenized full fat milk. It is pricier, and has a much shorter shelf life, but I don't drink loads of it, and all that is worth the sweet taste. Because it isn't homogenized, it creates a cream layer each day, which I scoop up and eat :) I like this milk in baking, pancakes, milkshakes, and over my hot cereal or cold muesli. I grew up in the country, we drank milk straight from the cow, even while its as still warm and frothy. It's been a long time, so even if I manage to find a trusty source for raw milk, I will have to wean myself on to it. It doesn't hurt to cook it for a few minutes.
I don't drink pop, hardly ever juice, sometimes I squeeze my own juice, I also make kompot from various fruit. James like cranberry juice, so I make him a home made version without sugar, and it's yummy and cheap; it can be sweetened, but surprisingly it's not necessary. I bought 15 baggies of frozen cranberries last year when they were on sale for 99 cents, one baggie makes a full pot of cranberry juice. I still have a few in the freezer. I drink Brita tap water, tea, and sometimes coffee. When I get headaches or migraines, often times pills don't work, but a nice black Americano does the job, maybe because I don't drink coffee regularly. In the summer I make lemonade from water and lemons and a bit of sugar. All year round I start my day with a glass of lemon water and often drink it throughout the day. I also make iced tea from tea; there are so many teas and herbal infusions that the possibilities are endless.
I eat grains, but not tons and not simple carbs. I like sourdough, rye and pumpernickel breads, egg pasta, which I sometimes buy and sometimes make, wild and brown rice, sometimes basmati, because butter chicken just isn't the same with brown rice. I sometimes make risotto, though last year I discovered an organic short grain brown rice, it takes close to an hour to cook. I eat oatmeal, old fashioned and steel cut, as well as a plain muesli, which includes oats, various other flattened grains, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, raisins, no sugars to hold it together, there is no need for clusters. I also keep a variety of grains in my pantry to keep meals interesting, like quinoa, wheat berries, couscous, manna/ cream of wheat, millet, buckwheat, etc. I do use unbleached wheat flour for a lot of baking. Of course I like my croissants, baguettes, and pastries from time to time. I don't believe in extremes of anything. Life isn't black or white, it's mainly shades of grey, so your diet shouldn't be all junk or all super healthy. Treats are good for the spirit, and if you're happy, that's good for your health.
Vegetables are a big part of my diet. Over the winter I wasn't buying as many vegetables, because most of them weren't local or at least Canadian grown. By March I was literally craving greens. I caved and bought a bunch of kale from Mexico, and ate it all by myself in one sitting, it was my lunch, sautéed in butter with a sprinkle of salt. Usually things like carrots, potatoes, onions, cabbage, leeks, squash, and beets, grown in Ontario or Canada, for the most part can be found in grocery stores all year round. I always freeze pumpkin in the fall, mainly for soups. I also freeze some fruit, and wild mushrooms picked in the fall. I cook them before freezing, and then freeze the water too, and use it as a base for mushroom soup when needed. I like pickles in brine and proper sauerkraut, which I make myself.
I eat fruit, mainly apples, because they're around all year, but when in season, I love pears, which by the way are higher in fibre than apples. I love berries and rhubarb, figs, peaches and apricots, plums and cherries. I regularly get bananas, because it's one of the few fruits James will eat. Sometimes I crave oranges, I like to use them on baked salmon. I always have lemons, and sometimes limes. I love Mayer lemons, but they're only available for such a short period. This year I saved some seeds and planted them, we'll see what happens. I also love avocados, because they're so buttery and good for your health. My parents grow raspberries and my dad bottles them in vodka, I can't even say how amazing that is. The vibrant colour matches the intense flavour. It's not the same with store bought raspberries. They have to be naturally ripened and sweet. I planted some raspberries last year, so hopefully I will have some of my own fruit this year. I make a killer raspberry custard pie. I always salivate when I talk about food; I've had people point that out to me.
There is no trick to staying slim. Eat the right foods in the proper amounts. Don't eat when you're not hungry; it's the easiest rule. Always have breakfast, and consume most calories earlier in the day, so you have time to burn them off. Staying healthy is like staying out of debt, don't eat more calories than you need and don't spend more money than what you have in your account. So easy.
Bon soir.
