meat, flax, coffee, success
Hi All
New to this list and ready to post. I’ve been eating right since last
Thanksgiving and very happy I found the book. I lost about 8lbs without
trying and am steadily loosing more. The first thing I noticed was an
immediate gain in energy. Instead of sleeping 12 or more hours a night
(and taking naps to boot) I now feel rested with just 8.
I’m off the prescription allergy meds and getting pretty good results
with Stinging Nettle. (found a cheaper source at GNC, 500mg, 90
capsules, two bottles for about 14 bucks.)
Off zoloft too and getting good results from the catechol O but haven’t
found an affordable substitute yet (any tips greatly appreciated.)
My constipation is gone, might be due to stopping the antihistamines
and/or the diet. I am not bothered by indigestion any more (unless I
cheat and have dairy or coffee.)
When I first started the transition to eating right, I had to give up a
serious coffee habit first. I used to drink about 20 ozs every morning,
with equal, coffeemate, and flavored lightener. It was a several
hundred calorie substitute for a real breakfast! I switched to green
tea so I didn’t have to completely withdraw from caffeine. For several
weeks I had to have an afternoon cup too or I got a powerful headache.
Now I just have a 20 oz cup of Gun Powder Green tea with stevia every
morning. (It’s good for me and I love it!)
I still have the occasional coffee. A soy milk latte if I’m feeling
more compliant, or a breve if not (made with half and half.) I try to
limit my coffee to a couple cups per week since I know how easy it
would be for me to slip back into addictive coffee consumption. I’d
like to give up coffee for good, but don’t think that’s realistic since
I enjoy it so much. At least now when I drink it, it’s because I choose
to have some for the pure pleasure, not because I can’t face the world
without it. I’m thinking of printing that list of bad things about
coffee and reading it before I go for a latte since it was a rather
compelling list.
My hair, skin, and nails are much healthier. (I take daily flax oil.)
I have energy to exercise every morning. The only exercise I used to
perform was procrastination! I’m due to get some blood tests done and
can’t wait to see how my cholesterol is doing. It was never very high,
but the type O diet does challenge the conventional wisdom regarding
dietary vs. serum cholesterol. I’ve struggled with anemia too and am
hoping to see a lack of that in the blood test as well. And thyroid . .
. (am I starting to sound like a classic “O”?) for the first time in a
long time I don’t feel like I need my synthroid dose increased. I’m not
quite ready to try withdrawal from it yet, but who knows; maybe I will
in the future.
That’s more than enough by way of introduction (sorry for the length but
I figure there are some newbies out there trying to decide it this way
of eating is worth the trouble and I hope by example you will be
convinced to give it a go.) I wanted to comment about meats since my
brother used to be a butcher . . . .
snip<<<<<<<<<<This may sound like a silly question.. but here goes.
What kind of cut of
beef should I buy? What is good… What is not? Should I be buying
different cuts for different dishes? What should I buy say.. for stir
fry. Since I am cooking for one, it seems hard to buy the right
portions. Sure would appreciate some advice if you have the time.
Thanks, Terry
My feeling is you should buy the best quality, lowest fat meat you can
possibly afford. I mostly get filet mignon because every bit of it goes
into my stomach and not the cats or the fat jar. I’d like to buy 100%
organic beef but I usually get cost-co steaks since they are much
cheaper than regular store prices. (I freeze them individually) I try
to only eat 3 to 5 ozs so my daily cost isn’t that much. I like grilled
steaks because they take the least amount of time and work to prepare
and we all know how much work is involved in following this diet.
T-bone steaks are a nice alternative but I hate paying for bones. If
you do buy a T-bone, try to get one with the small side of the T as big
as possible. A T bone is just a filet mignon on the small side of the
bone and a new york strip on the other. Most stores sell T-bones with
the filet side trimmed down to practically nothing. If that’s the case,
you might as well buy a boneless new york strip and save some money by
not paying for a bone.
Rib eyes are my second choice for steak buying. They have more fat as a
rule, but they sure are tasty. I usually only get them when they are on
sale.
I like ground beef for burgers since they are low work too. I usually
get the leanest beef I can find (at costco, I wish they sold organic!)
and freeze it in burger shaped or 1/2 lb. portions. I bought one of
those plastic burger shaper thingys and have been so glad I did. It
makes shopping day go so much faster since I can freeze up 3 lbs of beef
into patties in no time.
If I’m not having steak or burgers, I buy really cheap meat, what ever
is on sale at the best price, and lowest in fat. Round steak works
great in stews, soups, and stir fry (top round is better quality than
bottom round if I am not mistaken.) Stew meat is fine too if the price
is close to round steak but they usually charge more because it is
already cut up. I bought a dehydrator recently (another fantastic
investment for type O’s) and I get the lowest fat beef roast or large
steak and slice it for beef jerky. I bought some London Broil on sale
last time I made jerky. It came out great. I use my cuisinart to slice
it for the most consistent results. (Another investment since ER4YT,
and well worth it.)
I work full time and before ER4YT I was a junkfood junkie and cooked
most meals from a frozen box in the microwave. (Pasta garbage….. no
wonder I felt lousy.) My cooking time during the work week is pretty
limited, that’s why I depend on single portion steaks and burgers. I
save the creative cooking for weekends. (And always freeze half of what
I make for mid-week.) I buy the convenience salad stuff because I know
I will eat it if I only half to open the bag and pour. I get broccoli
flowerettes too. A steak on my grill and some broccoli in the microwave
and I’m eating right after a hard day at work in about 15 minutes or
less. Sure, I pay more, but the money I am not spending at Burger King
and so on makes up for it.
I don’t eat any bread, rice, pasta, etc. as a rule. I have to make a
point to have a serving now and again, but the less of that I eat, the
better I feel. I discovered I had a wheat allergy so it’s easy for me
to comply with that avoid. I never would have thought I could go an
entire year (almost) without eating any cake, cookies, brownies, chips,
popcorn, potatoes and so on, but here I am. I can count the number of
times I did cheat on these items on one hand. I don’t seem to miss them
much. (My downfall is dairy.)
I have a question now (if anyone is still reading this) . . . I recently
got some high lignan flax oil (spectrum natural) and can’t stand the
taste. I love the taste of regular flax oil and so I can’t tell if
maybe I got some rancid oil or not. Has anyone tried both kinds of flax
oil by spectrum naturals? Does the high lignan variety have a different
taste? And does it always have those funny looking yellow flecks in
it? I’m tempted to take it back to the store and get an exchange but
I’m afraid it’s not the oil and I will just dislike the taste of a new
bottle too. Any help from experienced flax oil drinkers is much
appreciated. (I have a rule for myself . . . no chocolate until I’ve
had my daily dose of flax and the taste of the high lignan is really
turning me off!)
TIA
Diane
(wine country)
P.S. please trim this message if you reply to it, the digest subscribers
will really appreciate it.
January 27th, 2003 at 10:32 am
“Hi, Diane from Wine Country! I really enjoyed your post! You give me hope!
I have not been as faithful to the diet as you have been, and I have not
had good results. I am convinced that this diet and way of life is the way
to go for my body, but I am having some trouble implementing these changes.
One of the reasons is one you expressed also, working full time and junk
food junkieism! I don’t know your age, but I think my age works against me
also (59) because I have been doing the wrong things for so long a time.
What I am trying to implement right now is some structured changes. I
do better with structure. I want to figure out a 30 day plan for exercise,
menus, and so on. I am sure I will feel much better by 30 days and then
can go on. I am so busy that it’s difficult to devote much time to setting
up a schedule like that, and I need to convince my husband so he will
partner with me on this. What you mentioned about the steaks and salad is
perfect for me to fix after work. I knew that but I guess I forgot about
it. I am going to buy some steaks today!
You mentioned lignan flax oil. I went to the frig to see what I have,
since I just bought some yesterday and hadn’t opened it yet. I bought
Barlean’s Lignan Rich Flax Oil. Cost $11.25/12 fl. oz. (Midwest prices). I
took a spoonful and found it to be pretty much what I’m used to. I didn’t
notice any yellow flecks. Are you sure yours is supposed to have flecks?
Maybe you should call the store.
I also have a serious coffee habit to overcome. I was off coffee a few
months ago and on to green tea, but I can’t seem to drink it without a
spoonful or two of honey. I don’t know if that’s bad or not. But I’m back
on the coffee now. I am going to try to get rid of that habit. I always
carried a tea bag or two with me and just asked for hot water in
restaurants. They don’t usually charge you for hot water. But if they did,
I figured, oh, well, at least I wasn’t putting their tea in my body. I’ll
look for that Gun Powder Green tea you mentioned. That sounds pretty good.
I loved your meat tips, too. I didn’t know those things about the different
cuts, but now I know! That will help with meat selection. Thanks a lot!
I also used to eat microwave meals after work. Since I got married 4 years
ago, I don’t do that any more. My husband says that microwave ovens take a
lot of nutrients out of the food. Do you know if that’s true?
You have so many good ideas that refresh my memory that I am going to tack
your post up on my refrigerator. Thanks so much! Carol ”
When I first started the transition to eating right, I had to give up a
serious coffee habit first. I used to drink about 20 ozs every morning,
with equal, coffeemate, and flavored lightener. It was a several
hundred calorie substitute for a real breakfast! I switched to green
tea so I didn’t have to completely withdraw from caffeine. For several
weeks I had to have an afternoon cup too or I got a powerful headache.
Now I just have a 20 oz cup of Gun Powder Green tea with stevia every
morning. (It’s good for me and I love it!)
I still have the occasional coffee. A soy milk latte if I’m feeling
more compliant, or a breve if not (made with half and half.) I try to
limit my coffee to a couple cups per week since I know how easy it
would be for me to slip back into addictive coffee consumption. I’d
like to give up coffee for good, but don’t think that’s realistic since
I enjoy it so much. At least now when I drink it, it’s because I choose
to have some for the pure pleasure, not because I can’t face the world
without it. I’m thinking of printing that list of bad things about
coffee and reading it before I go for a latte since it was a rather
compelling list.
My feeling is you should buy the best quality, lowest fat meat you can
possibly afford. I mostly get filet mignon because every bit of it goes
into my stomach and not the cats or the fat jar. I’d like to buy 100%
organic beef but I usually get cost-co steaks since they are much
cheaper than regular store prices. (I freeze them individually) I try
to only eat 3 to 5 ozs so my daily cost isn’t that much. I like grilled
steaks because they take the least amount of time and work to prepare
and we all know how much work is involved in following this diet.
T-bone steaks are a nice alternative but I hate paying for bones. If
you do buy a T-bone, try to get one with the small side of the T as big
as possible. A T bone is just a filet mignon on the small side of the
bone and a new york strip on the other. Most stores sell T-bones with
the filet side trimmed down to practically nothing. If that’s the case,
you might as well buy a boneless new york strip and save some money by
not paying for a bone.
Rib eyes are my second choice for steak buying. They have more fat as a
rule, but they sure are tasty. I usually only get them when they are on
sale.
I like ground beef for burgers since they are low work too. I usually
get the leanest beef I can find (at costco, I wish they sold organic!)
and freeze it in burger shaped or 1/2 lb. portions. I bought one of
those plastic burger shaper thingys and have been so glad I did. It
makes shopping day go so much faster since I can freeze up 3 lbs of beef
into patties in no time.
If I’m not having steak or burgers, I buy really cheap meat, what ever
is on sale at the best price, and lowest in fat. Round steak works
great in stews, soups, and stir fry (top round is better quality than
bottom round if I am not mistaken.) Stew meat is fine too if the price
is close to round steak but they usually charge more because it is
already cut up. I bought a dehydrator recently (another fantastic
investment for type O’s) and I get the lowest fat beef roast or large
steak and slice it for beef jerky. I bought some London Broil on sale
last time I made jerky. It came out great. I use my cuisinart to slice
it for the most consistent results. (Another investment since ER4YT,
and well worth it.)
I work full time and before ER4YT I was a junkfood junkie and cooked
most meals from a frozen box in the microwave. (Pasta garbage….. no
wonder I felt lousy.) My cooking time during the work week is pretty
limited, that’s why I depend on single portion steaks and burgers. I
save the creative cooking for weekends. (And always freeze half of what
I make for mid-week.) I buy the convenience salad stuff because I know
I will eat it if I only half to open the bag and pour. I get broccoli
flowerettes too. A steak on my grill and some broccoli in the microwave
and I’m eating right after a hard day at work in about 15 minutes or
less. Sure, I pay more, but the money I am not spending at Burger King
and so on makes up for it.
I never would have thought I could go an
entire year (almost) without eating any cake, cookies, brownies, chips,
popcorn, potatoes and so on,
I have a question now (if anyone is still reading this) . . . I recently
got some high lignan flax oil (spectrum natural) and can’t stand the
taste. I love the taste of regular flax oil and so I can’t tell if
maybe I got some rancid oil or not. Has anyone tried both kinds of flax
oil by spectrum naturals? Does the high lignan variety have a different
taste? And does it always have those funny looking yellow flecks in
it? I’m tempted to take it back to the store and get an exchange but
I’m afraid it’s not the oil and I will just dislike the taste of a new
bottle too. Any help from experienced flax oil drinkers is much
appreciated. (I have a rule for myself . . . no chocolate until I’ve
had my daily dose of flax and the taste of the high lignan is really
turning me off!)
<< File: ATT00010.html
January 28th, 2003 at 1:59 am
Hi Diane - rather than trim I just deleted. For an antidepressant I use 5 HTP.
I have Fibromyalgia so my seratonin levels are low. I also have low thyroid and
refused to start drugs for it and brought it up by using Kelp and then this
stuff called T-100. Basically its a glandular supplement with bladderwrack,
etc. in it. Maybe eventually you can find a similar supplement or you can buy
the T-100 at www.ldfr.com Its $12.
Never had the coffee habit but my husband does. May see if he will try the
green tea to wean with.
I guess I’ve been on this diet for several months and do feel a difference.
Haven’t been as good as you. Have been going to spelt pastas, etc. Have a beef
allergy so eating more chicken, fish, etc. instead. Anyway - enjoyed your
intro. Twas inspirational. I’m hurting a lot for some reason so am not real
enthusiastic right now. Don’t know if this Alaskan weather is so good for me.
Anyone have any experience that way of those of you with Inflammatory type
problems? Cold bother you? Jeanie
January 28th, 2003 at 6:06 am
Hi Carol, I’m 39 so you have 20 years on me, but I still have some powerful
health problems to overcome. It takes time. I have to remind myself of
that too. I was inspired by what Diane said too. Do any of you notice pain
correlations with corn? I cheated recently. It throws my blood sugar off,
so I guess its a spiral effect. Better shape up. Whats the deal with flax
seed anyway? Jeanie
January 28th, 2003 at 11:14 am
Hi again. I find that damp and cold together seem to bother my achy, breaky
joints. When the weather gets like that here, I want to stretch out in my
recliner with an afghan, a hot cup of tea, and a good book! This isn’t
Alaska, but here in the Midwest it feels like it sometimes. Carol
January 28th, 2003 at 3:21 pm
Hi, Jeanie. I live in the Chicago area but I think southern Illinois is the
beautiful area of the state. I don’t like all the traffic and congestion
around here. Did you say you live in AK? Carol
January 28th, 2003 at 6:58 pm
In a message dated 10/15/1999 2:48:12 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
jverner@… writes:
<< Whats the deal with flax
seed anyway?
Hi Jeannie,
Flax seed and oil is supposed to be very good for your heart, cholesterol,
etc. It is loaded with omega oils.
Regards,
Sharon
January 29th, 2003 at 3:31 am
I was finally getting around to checking those web sites about green tea
and the thyroid and now I can’t find that message. Can anyone provide
those sites again?
Thanks
Eddie
January 30th, 2003 at 8:29 am
Carol,
Where in the Midwest are you? I am in KCMO
Rochelle
January 30th, 2003 at 12:36 pm
I didn’t know about maltodextrin either…aaaaaack! I did pick up a bag of
marshmallows to read the ingredients the other day. To the person who asked
if they were okay…no….the first ingredient on the pkg…regardless of
brand…is CORN SYRUP!
Rochelle
January 30th, 2003 at 4:35 pm
Thanks for sending me the green tea info. I wonder why you can take a
capsule but not an infusion of green tea? Or did I miss read that?
Eddie
January 31st, 2003 at 12:57 am
where does one find carob chips that don’t have milk???? All the ones I’ve
looked at have something to avoid in them. I love carob though,..
Rochelle
January 31st, 2003 at 9:05 pm
In a message dated 10/16/1999 2:43:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
jverner@… writes:
<< This recipe used peanut
butter,
Try using almond butter to replace peanut butter. It is a neutral and tastes
almost like peanut butter.
Sharon
February 1st, 2003 at 1:12 am
In a message dated 10/16/1999 7:13:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
aikya@… writes:
<< Do carob chips have corn syrup in them?
Some might, but a lot of carob chips have milk powder in them. It is hard to
find ones that do not have avoids in them.
Sharon
February 1st, 2003 at 9:26 am
In a message dated 10/16/1999 11:08:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
jlowrey@… writes:
<< What nutrition value does almond butter have?
Probably the same as almonds, but I don’t really know.
Sharon
February 1st, 2003 at 6:08 pm
The palm kernel oil is something else I did notice. That seems kind of
contradictory when you buy carob chips as a ‘healthy’ alternative to
chocolate and they are dense with saturated fat…ugh.
Rochelle
February 1st, 2003 at 10:15 pm
I’ve also found Soy Nut Butter in my health food store. It’s really good and
it’s hard to tell the difference between it and Peanut Butter. I’ve been
eating a lot more soy with this food plan, too. Soy milk, etc. This helps
with the menopausal thing in my case. I have refused to take estrogen because
it makes me sick. The lowest dose raised my BP to 144/88 when it’s normally
about 90/60.
Rochelle
February 16th, 2003 at 10:33 pm
In a message dated 10/15/1999 12:35:53 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
jverner@… writes:
<< Don’t know if this Alaskan weather is so good for me. Anyone have any
experience that way of those of you with Inflammatory type problems? Cold
bother you? Jeanie
It is the low pressure that comes with the cold front. I am suffering now
too, as the low is just coming in. However as it becomes more regular (in
the winter) it is easier to deal with. I find the first month to 6 weeks of
coming winter very painful. But I would rather have the cold most days than
the 95′ heat or high humidity. That just sucks the energy out of me. Dress
warm, especially your hands and feet. And eat spicy foods if you enjoy them
and can tolerate them. This O has a cast iron stomach, except for coffee
which I never liked much until latte’s and cappchino became the fad. So it
was not hard to give up for me. But peppers, curry and ginger help me and
seem to make the pain easier. Of course I do not necessarily recommend them
all in the same dish…….or maybe. Hummm, I will let you know. LOL
Pam