Reviving the Diet and Weight Loss discussion

[Tyghress]

I saw an article recently about a fellow who 'dieted' by taking a tablespoon of some oil a few times a day. It may have been in a local paper, the New York Times Sunday paper, or a popular science magazine.

I know its not a lot for you to go on, but I'm looking for the name of this guy...or an article. I know he's writing a book, and he's sure to make the talk show rounds, but I'd like to get some info on him.

Any help in the matter would be sincerely appreciated!

Sincerely,
Tyg -- a Weight Watcher who has plateaued just shy of her goal weight.

[mvhplank]

Might be Jorge Cruise, an Internet/newspaper weight loss coach and author. He's getting some interest recently with his new book 3-Hour Diet, the follow-up to his successful 8 Minutes in the Morning exercise/diet book.

In the 3-hour diet, you allot your food portions by size so you can "see" that you're eating the correct amount and proportion of food. The protein portion is the size of a deck of cards, and the vegetables the size of 3 DVD cases, and so on. The plate should include a bottle cap-size portion of oil--presumably as part of the rest of the meal, as in a salad dressing.

He insists you have a 100-calorie snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon so your body keeps the metabolism revved up.

In the 8 minutes book, he's hot about flaxseed oil.

Yeah, I've got both books and I think I've found a system that makes sense to me and is something I can stick with. He's a little preachy, and pushes the motivational talk a lot, but it seems to be working. The snacks keep me from feeling ravenous by mealtime.

What made me really think he was on to something was an interview I read (a WebMD chat transcript, I think) where he admitted it was "all about the calories." And he's right. It's important to eat right, and we're all trying to figure out what that means these days, but what it all comes down to is if you take in fewer calories than you can burn off, you lose weight and if you take in more, you gain.

The eye-opener for me was discovering what my maintenance calorie level was (or at least as close as an Internet tool can assess). And then reading that to lose weight, I had to eat 500 calories a day less than that.

I've been reading the nutritional labels on everything and it's dismaying to see how little a short, middle-aged woman is supposed to eat to lose weight. And do you have any idea how teeny a 100-calorie snack is? He doesn't list any food as "forbidden," but it takes only two Oreo cookies to constitute one snack. A mini bag of popcorn is a lot more satisfying.

M

[MarkB]

I can't help you with your search but I came across this the other day, the ancient use of bitter vetch to curb hunger in Scotland.

Dieting hope for monastic elixir
A herbal remedy developed by Scottish medieval monks could be turned into a new dieting pill.
The monks of Soutra Aisle, just south of Edinburgh, used the bitter vetch plant as a means of suppressing hunger.

Samples of the plant have been sent to Highland Natural Products at Muir of Ord, Ross-shire, for investigation as a possible slimming pill.

But pharmacists say slimming pills really only work in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.

Archaeologists at the 12th Century monastery at Soutra Aisle have discovered that the Augustinian monks chewed the bitter vetch plant to stave off hunger.


They feel no need to eat and drink and this last for weeks, sometimes into months said Brian Moffat Archaeologist
The area's hospital, set up in about 1160, was one of the most important medical centres in Scotland.

Dr Brian Moffat, the director of the Soutra Aisle dig, said there was evidence that the monks were cutting up the tubers of the plant, lathyrus linifolius, to make a potion.

It is believed this was used to help their patients lose weight or cope with the effects of a failed harvest.

Dr Moffat said: "These tiny tubers are eaten two or three at a time. Chewed, they taste of leathery liquorice.


"Quite simply, according to all the reports we've compiled, around 300, people forget to eat and drink.

"They feel no need to eat and drink and this lasts for weeks, sometimes into months."

He said there was also evidence that the monks treated cryptosporidium food poisoning with blaeberries, could induce women in difficult childbirth and used hemlock as an anaesthetic in more difficult operations.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/s ... 196350.stm

MarkB

[Cynth]

I guess you'd want someone around to make sure you didn't die of dehydration and starvation. If you'd just plain forget to eat and drink. I guess you'd die fairly quickly without water.

[mvhplank]

I guess you'd want someone around to make sure you didn't die of dehydration and starvation. If you'd just plain forget to eat and drink. I guess you'd die fairly quickly without water.

Rule of three:

3 minutes without oxygen, 3 hours without warmth, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food

(Gosh, I love CSI.)

M

[Tyghress]

Thanks, Marguerite. Nice try but not the guy.

If I recall, the fellow I'm looking for is a researcher/scholastic, but not specifically in the nutrition field, and his self-experiment involved ONLY oil...the rest was 'business as usual'. It sounded faddish, but the guy was intriguing and I want to do some research on him. I'm less interested in his nutritional experiment as I am in the guy himself.

Thanks....still searching......

[mvhplank]

Thanks, Marguerite. Nice try but not the guy.

If I recall, the fellow I'm looking for is a researcher/scholastic, but not specifically in the nutrition field, and his self-experiment involved ONLY oil...the rest was 'business as usual'. It sounded faddish, but the guy was intriguing and I want to do some research on him. I'm less interested in his nutritional experiment as I am in the guy himself.

Thanks....still searching......

Oh well. Did you Google News? He might not show up in a straight Google search. You'd know better than I what search words might dig it up.

M

[Lambchop]

I've had modest success (2 clothing sizes) by simply cutting my portions in half. Two pieces of toast? Eat one. Tuna wrap at lunch? Ask them to put only two, not three scoops of tuna, and save half for tomorrow. Or, have just a veggie wrap with half the cheese. Have an apple for dinner, or vegetables, or a small package of sushi (incorporating 2 large shrimp) for a "big dinner."

Eat a cup of cooked whole grains . . . takes so long to chew it that you have time to recognize that you're full. STOP when you aren't hungry any more, then note how much food you have left and don't take that much next time.

Eat a solid breakfast (unsweetened oatmeal or whole-grain toast with a bit of oil, maybe with an egg) to avoid passing out in meetings in late morning.

Part of my problem was the sight of a plate with nothing on it but a tiny portion. It wasn't that I felt deprived, but that I couldn't tell when to stop loading the plate. Moved the dinner plates and soup bowls up in the cabinet and put the bread plates, saucers, and dessert dishes within reach on the bottom. A small portion on a bread plate looks "normal." A cup of soup in a dessert bowl looks "normal."

There is a huge exercise requirement to losing weight. Huge. Thirty minutes a couple times a week is not enough. I've seen studies that say a full hour is the minimum, nearly every day, and I believe this. You have to burn some calories, but you also need to boost your metabolism.

Oh, I also got rid of my fat clothes. Gone. Bye-bye. Went to Target and bought stuff that I could get into, like tops, but which was shockingly tight. Then had to wear a jacket or cardigan over it because it looked obscene. It's too hot here to wear the cardigan or jacket, so either I stop eating or suffer in the heat. Bought lovely new undies, too, in a size too small. If I want to wear them, I have to shrink. I'm on my second set now. The ploy is actually working.

[Jack]

I'm loosing a lot of weight lately and I'm not even trying. I've been here for a month and I've lost close to 10 pounds already. It's kinda scaring me, but I guess it's due to all the walking I do. I literally walk (or bicycle) everywhere I go, but I haven't changed the way I eat at all.

[Lambchop]

I'm loosing a lot of weight lately and I'm not even trying. I've been here for a month and I've lost close to 10 pounds already. It's kinda scaring me, but I guess it's due to all the walking I do. I literally walk (or bicycle) everywhere I go, but I haven't changed the way I eat at all.

It's the exercise and lifestyle disruption, Cran.

P.S. Why are you still awake????????

[Jack]

I'm loosing a lot of weight lately and I'm not even trying. I've been here for a month and I've lost close to 10 pounds already. It's kinda scaring me, but I guess it's due to all the walking I do. I literally walk (or bicycle) everywhere I go, but I haven't changed the way I eat at all.

It's the exercise and lifestyle disruption, Cran.

P.S. Why are you still awake????????

I'm actually laying in bed right now, I'm just really restless and I don't feel good. At all. I'm having really sharp, sudden headaches that last for a few seconds then go away. It's so weird (and frightening, really).

(Now back to your regularly scheduled dieting program...)

[Tyler]

I've gotten beyond that stage where I can eat what I want and still slip into my 36 inch trousers...you know, the stage where your muscles give up, wave a little white flag and suddenly you're fat....
When I was in my early to mid twenties I could eat whatever I wanted and never even had to try to stay in shape...ah, those were the good old days! I hate getting older... Now I actually have to try just to maintain my weight.
Actually, one very good way that I've found to beat the "Old Fat basmati Blues" is I eat this wonderful blend of grain meal (I think it consists of rolled oats, rolled barley, rolled rye and rolled wheat....add some hops and you've got good beer fixins'!) for two meals a day with a yogurt. Sweeten with Splenda and you've got a good healthy meal that will fill and satisfy without loading on the calories and excess fat. (on top of all that, it's dirty cheap! I eat breakfast and lunch for an entire week on less than six dollars)
Another way that I keep my weight in check is to completely cut sugar out of my diet. This has other benefits too...

[mvhplank]

I've had modest success (2 clothing sizes) by simply cutting my portions in half. ...

There is a huge exercise requirement to losing weight. ...

Yep, yep. I had worked real hard several years ago and got down to my fighting weight. But age and changing routines have caught up to me.

When I'm left alone to set my own schedule and meal plan, I do pretty well. But working in friendships, which often revolve around meeting for dinner, can make problems. So, boring as it can be, I'm paying attention to calorie counts. Again, to lose weight, a person needs to eat 500 calories less than they use just breathing and walking around.

If you start paying attention to how many calories you eat as compared to how many you need, as I recently did, you kinda go "Duh!" and realize "no WONDER I'm not losing weight."

Exercise (both cardio and weight training) not only burns calories but boosts metabolism by adding muscle, which is more expensive to maintain, calorie-wise, than fat.

Basal Metabolism Calculator

[jbarter]

Basal Metabolism Calculator

I just read my results.

[mvhplank]

I just read my results.

Tell me about it. And if one pokes around a little on the site and sees where one's weight and height fit in on the "Healthy Weight" vs. "Overweight" table-- !

M