Total Diet Change

[Rodney Salinas]

Ive researched diet tons (and i mean tons), and there are so many out there that people swear by (paleo, 80/10/10, weston a. price, vegan, organic, etc.). I think all things should be considered in context. What works for one person doesnt work for everyone. Just like jiu jitsu or anything else, there are a lot of misconceptions and oversimplifications when it comes to health. For example. People say drink more water? If you drink too much water, say 100 glasses a day, youd probably get dilutional hyponatremia and could die. You say to yourself, "of course, thats way too much water". My argument here is that there is a certain point when things go south. Maybe 50 glasses were too much. Maybe 20. Maybe 10. As shocking as it might sound maybe even the old 8 glasses a day is too much. Context is everything. If you workout all day, youll probably be thirsty and may need a gallon or 2 of liquid/water, but if you sit in front of the tv with the air conditioning on all day and drink water regardless of thirst, that could be enough to turn on your stress hormones like cortisol/etc and be a burden on your internal system. This might be common sense to you or anyone, but i just want to point something out. Something as simple as "drink 8 glasses of water a day" can be detrimental to your health.
This might sound crazy but the same can be said about fruit, vegetables, junk food, etc. Junk food might not be bad in certain cases. Example - Junk food could lower stress hormones in the body = moving closer towards health. Eating junk food could lower your stress enough so you could fall asleep on a restless night. CONTEXT is key. Im not saying go eat a couple cases of doughnuts. Just remember some things arent so black and white.
Some great sites to visit with detailed health and diet advice are 180degreehealth.com and raypeat.com. Those sites cover misconceptions and flaws in dieting and also discuss preventing and curing disease.

CONTEXT is everything!

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Rodney/Desktop/bruce-lee.jpg[/IMG]

[Rodney Salinas]

Ive researched diet tons (and i mean tons), and there are so many out there that people swear by (paleo, 80/10/10, weston a. price, vegan, organic, etc.). I think all things should be considered in context. What works for one person doesnt work for everyone. Just like jiu jitsu or anything else, there are a lot of misconceptions and oversimplifications when it comes to health. For example. People say drink more water? If you drink too much water, say 100 glasses a day, youd probably get dilutional hyponatremia and would die. You say to yourself, "of course, thats way too much water". My argument here is that there is a certain point when things go south. Maybe 50 glasses were too much. Maybe 20. Maybe 10. As shocking as it might sound maybe even the old 8 glasses a day is too much. Context is everything. If you workout all day, youll probably be thirsty and may need a gallon or 2 of liquid/water, but if you sit in front of the tv with the air conditioning on all day and drink water regardless of thirst, that could be enough to turn on your stress hormones like cortisol/etc and be a burden on your internal system. This might be common sense to you or anyone, but i just want to point something out. Something as simple as "drink 8 glasses of water a day" can be detrimental to your health.
This might sound crazy but the same can be said about fruit, vegetables, junk food, etc. Junk food might not be bad in certain cases. Example - Junk food could lower stress hormones in the body (moving closer towards optimal health). Eating junk food could lower your stress enough so you could fall asleep on a restless night. CONTEXT is key. Im not saying go eat a couple cases of doughnuts. Just remember some things arent so black and white.
Some great sites to visit with detailed health and diet advice are 180degreehealth.com and raypeat.com. Those sites cover misconceptions and flaws in dieting and also discuss preventing and curing disease.

CONTEXT is everything!

[Ryan Boor]

Watch Forks Over Knives on Netflix (or where ever you can find it). A TON of great info. A whole foods, plant-based diet. I switched about a month ago and I feel awesome. People get a little apprehensive when they here the word "vegan" but its actually pretty awesome. You get exposed to SO many foods that wouldn't normally have ate. You can experiment with different recipes and combos of foods and youll develop a better palate and will appreciate all the different flavors, textures and 'layers' in your food. Super high energy, super dumps and better overall mood. At least try it for a week and see how you feel. And you don't have to go "cold turkey" (no pun intended) if you wanna switch for the long haul. Just slowly start phasing things out and replacing them with other things. Get a couple of vegan cookbooks and do some research on your own. I don't think youll regret it. Best of luck. (also the extended interviews for Forks Over Knives has some good info too)

[Brent Smith]

Watch Forks Over Knives on Netflix (or where ever you can find it). A TON of great info. A whole foods, plant-based diet. I switched about a month ago and I feel awesome. People get a little apprehensive when they here the word "vegan" but its actually pretty awesome. You get exposed to SO many foods that wouldn't normally have ate. You can experiment with different recipes and combos of foods and youll develop a better palate and will appreciate all the different flavors, textures and 'layers' in your food. Super high energy, super dumps and better overall mood. At least try it for a week and see how you feel. And you don't have to go "cold turkey" (no pun intended) if you wanna switch for the long haul. Just slowly start phasing things out and replacing them with other things. Get a couple of vegan cookbooks and do some research on your own. I don't think youll regret it. Best of luck. (also the extended interviews for Forks Over Knives has some good info too)

A lot of people see Vegan as a dirty word and instantly shy away from it but that's really based on ignorance. Oreos are completely vegan. Not the best thing to eat as a staple in your diet but shows that just because its Vegan doesnt make it disgusting. I'm not opposed to a more Vegan diet. I've actually already moved towards more of one. Not 100% because I eat eggs but ill take my veggies over a slab of meat anyday. My wife is allergic to all dairy so it's been really easy not eating that.
I started watching both Forks over Knives and Food Matters but with 3 kids under 5 years old there's a lot of stopping and starting. I've gotten some pretty good info so far though. Really interesting that in Forks Over Knives one of the guys was able to completely cut out all the medication and insulin shots that his MD says he would need for the rest of his life completely based on changing your diet.

Ive researched diet tons (and i mean tons), and there are so many out there that people swear by (paleo, 80/10/10, weston a. price, vegan, organic, etc.). I think all things should be considered in context. What works for one person doesnt work for everyone. Just like jiu jitsu or anything else, there are a lot of misconceptions and oversimplifications when it comes to health. For example. People say drink more water? If you drink too much water, say 100 glasses a day, youd probably get dilutional hyponatremia and would die. You say to yourself, "of course, thats way too much water". My argument here is that there is a certain point when things go south. Maybe 50 glasses were too much. Maybe 20. Maybe 10. As shocking as it might sound maybe even the old 8 glasses a day is too much. Context is everything. If you workout all day, youll probably be thirsty and may need a gallon or 2 of liquid/water, but if you sit in front of the tv with the air conditioning on all day and drink water regardless of thirst, that could be enough to turn on your stress hormones like cortisol/etc and be a burden on your internal system. This might be common sense to you or anyone, but i just want to point something out. Something as simple as "drink 8 glasses of water a day" can be detrimental to your health.
This might sound crazy but the same can be said about fruit, vegetables, junk food, etc. Junk food might not be bad in certain cases. Example - Junk food could lower stress hormones in the body (moving closer towards optimal health). Eating junk food could lower your stress enough so you could fall asleep on a restless night. CONTEXT is key. Im not saying go eat a couple cases of doughnuts. Just remember some things arent so black and white.
Some great sites to visit with detailed health and diet advice are 180degreehealth.com and raypeat.com. Those sites cover misconceptions and flaws in dieting and also discuss preventing and curing disease.

CONTEXT is everything!

Great points. I know if for example I say "Im absolutely not going to eat meat!" The first thing that I crave is a big fat greasy steak or hamburger. I've figured this out from past experience. So I'm basically trying not to put a label on it or 100% cutting anything out because in the end I just get super stressed trying to walk a tight line. If in the end I'm able to cut out soda, processed foods, and just eat a whole lot cleaner I feel like I'll have accomplished something.

[VictorV]

I do live in hawaii and let's just say I don't drink milk lol

honestly though, it's not THAT hard to eat healthy for cheap. you just gotta make sure you buy things on sale or in bulk (like at costco or something). I end up paying the same or less for organic foods than conventional. farmers markets have great food for great prices as well.

I shop at the local farmer's market because just walking through you can see the difference. Bigger, riper tomatoes, ears of corn, etc. There's a huge world of difference between milk from the store and milk from the farmers maket. You can taste the difference in the meats as well. But with that said, I spent $150 for two weeks of food. I can go to Wally-world and for less than that, feed myself for a more than a month.

My biggest problem is the same as Jack's: Soda. I've tried and tried to quit, but it's worse than cigarettes. I used to smoke a carton a day (my friends compared me to a chain smoking chihuahua) and then one day I decided to quit cold turkey. The first week was hell, but after that, never looked back. I've gone three weeks without a soda and it was far and away the worse three weeks of my life. Constant headaches, I was nodding off, and I was definitely someone you didn't want to be around. To the point that when I walked into the shop people found reasons to leave the shop. At the time, I was trying to lose weight so I could stay in the navy. Finally, my Chief took me aside and gave me a Coke to drink. Not even an hour later, I was back to what they considered "normal". Right now, I'm really struggling to keep my soda intake down to one a day.

My problem is just sticking to the diet plan I lay out. The Subway diet works well. Just gotta stay away from the double meats. If I can just stay with the one-soda-a-day plan, I can lose the weight. I've dropped 20 pounds in three weeks by doing that.

I eat bananas, apples, and oranges. I get the snack pack carrots. And I've taken to buying V-8 on my way to school. I even walk to school. I live only six blocks away. Which is funny because I have neighbors that will ask me if I need a ride. If I can free up some money I plan on buying a bike this summer.

[VictorV]

I forgot to mention: Learn to cook. When I was working, on my day off I'd cook every meal I was going to eat for the upcoming week. I made everything from scratch and cut out nearly all the processed foods, I ended up losing almost 30 pounds (of course I was a welder as well, so that may have had something to do with it as well). But I felt so much better.

[Greg W]

unprocessed nutrient dense foods.

[Brent Smith]

unprocessed nutrient dense foods.

I got what youre saying. Extra Doritos and Ho Hos

[Aaron Gustaveson]

for you guys who are addicted to soda, force yourself to drink a nice big warm soda. Super warm and super flat 64oz.
Remember caffeine is one the most addictive substances known to man. I had bad head aches and anger when I kicked mountain dew. The disgust of realizing I was addicted was enough to carry me through.

[Rachael Kaulig]

Brent,
I have been a Vegetarian for almost 13 years now (not Vegan). I am a "lacto-ovo", no animal flesh at all - no pork, no fish, no beef, no fowl, no meat anything. I do eat dairy and eggs (hence the lacto-ovo). People assume if one is a vegetarian one eats well/healthly! Wrong. As you said Oreos are vegetarian...Oreos are also very processed. What ever you do, dont get caught in the cycle of processed, vegetarian foods. I did that for a long time but i have broke the habit for the most part.
If you do decide to go this route and have a questions, let me know!

Rachael