I'm going nuts

[Bobalong]

No, it's not what you think.

About 3 years ago, I had a doctor's appointment with the nurse in the UK, who told me that I was prediabetic. To be honest, I hadn't heard the expression before. She told me that I should lose some weight, as I was over 100 kilos. So, as a person that always does as he's told, I thought that I should comply.

Well 3 years  down the line, I now weigh 87 kilos (that's over 2 stones lost, in old money.) So what's my secret you might ask. Apart from walking a friend's dog last year, I haven't changed my sedentary lifestyle. I haven't purchased any dietary products, I've just started to eat healthier than before. Nobody likes their food more than I do, so changing habits wasn't easy.

I stopped eating pork many years ago, not because of any religious beliefs, I just didn't like the idea of eating microscopic worms, which are not killed in the cooking process. The next time you buy some fresh pork, pour some coca cola on it and let it stand for a few minutes and you will see what I'm talking about. As you can imagine, it's not easy to avoid eating pork, it's in almost everything here in Thailand.

I started to eat just one banana for breakfast and as you know bananas in Thailand are not very big. (No sniggering please). Then one day, I was shopping in Big C, and noticed some Morrisons Choc and Nut Granola marked down 50%. Now being a Welshman by birth and brought up in Yorkshire, how could I resist? I know we have a reputation and we're proud of it, well I am at least. I also pushed the boat out by buying some chocolate milk to put on it. The next morning I changed my banana for a bowl of the granola with chocolate milk on it. It was delicious, destined never to have a banana for breakfast ever again.

Now there is one more thing that I add to the granola and that is 2 or 3 moringa seeds. The trees, often called the Tree of Life, grow here in Thailand and so the seeds are readily available. They have lots of health benefits, the leaves can also be eaten, which are well documented on the internet. My doctor had put me on all sorts of medication, Statins etc which I have totally stopped taking. I believe the moringa seeds can also help to lose weight.

I only eat when I'm hungry, not at set times of the day. I eat chicken, fish and lots of vegetables and fruit from the local markets and I never go hungry. I still eat ice cream, chocolate an sweets sparingly. Personally, in a hot climate, I find that keeping hydrated is very important and food takes second place.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to buy anymore Morrisons Choc and Nut Granola because they're out of stock here in Ubon Ratchathani. Maybe some members know where to find it. However, there are many others to choose from.

In conclusion, I have never felt better or fitter for my age, so I will continue along the same path in the future.

 

[Faraday]

4 minutes ago, Bobalong said:

The next time you buy some fresh pork, pour some coca cola on it and let it stand for a

 

"First, the worms-in-pork myth: Once upon a time there was a real concern that we would all get sick from eating undercooked pork that was infected with a parasite — the larvae of the Trichinella worm. But these days, according to the CDC, trichinellosis is no longer such a threat due to legislation"

 

Read More: https://www.mashed.com/128269/the-craziest-food-myths-debunked/?utm_campaign=clip

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/gen_info/faqs.html

As always, meat needs to be cooked correctly.

 

[dj230]

Congrats on your success, as someone who was in the fitness industry and then went on to study dietetics, you've already done more than most which is change your lifestyle. Lots of people are stuck talking about it and never end up doing it.

If you have the time, calculating caloric intake helps a lot with weight loss. 

Lots of conflicting information with weight loss and it probably isn't completely figured out yet, try everything out and see what works for you.

[gummy]

11 minutes ago, Faraday said:

"First, the worms-in-pork myth: Once upon a time there was a real concern that we would all get sick from eating undercooked pork that was infected with a parasite — the larvae of the Trichinella worm. But these days, according to the CDC, trichinellosis is no longer such a threat due to legislation"

Read More: https://www.mashed.com/128269/the-craziest-food-myths-debunked/?utm_campaign=clip

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/gen_info/faqs.html

As always, meat needs to be cooked correctly.

Anyway as a side issue, Coke is nothing like it used to be fortunately.  When you had a dirty penny  (an old penny that was) we used to put it in a saucer of milk overnight. Like new in the morning.  Coke these days does nothing like that.

[Bobalong]

Your congratulations are very much appreciated, thanks. I would just add that counting calories never worked for me, but a low carbohydrate one did. I suppose people's metabolism is different and no one course of action works for everyone.

[Pongo]

Congrats on the weightloss and change of lifestyle @Bobalong I have always tried to keep my weight down and fitness levels relatively decent. Recently I just switched from running on the treadmill to the cross trainer, as my knees are giving me a lot of gyp, plus for some reason I started to get shin splints.

Like yourself, I've tried to cut out all refined sugar as much as possible and also reduced my salt intake, but still fall foul of the occasional apple pie. The biggest contributor for me has been cutting down the booze intake, I watched a powerful doco (Louis Theroux drinking to oblivion - can't find a source for it now though) which really hit home on some levels, and since then my booze intake is down to 4 bottles of beer a month, or about a beer a week (on a Saturday night usually). Now I'm down to 72 kg from a high of 83 during Covid lockdown the first time around, which is when I gave up the heavy boozing.

The hardest thing for me is staying motivated, sometimes after doing tons of stuff around the house or after work, going to the gym can take a lot of will power. Same goes for not reaching for another pack of beers on the shelf.

There is a lot to be said for waking up with a clear head, higher energy levels and a generally better feeling of wellness.

[Bobalong]

15 hours ago, Pongo said:

Congrats on the weightloss and change of lifestyle @Bobalong I have always tried to keep my weight down and fitness levels relatively decent. Recently I just switched from running on the treadmill to the cross trainer, as my knees are giving me a lot of gyp, plus for some reason I started to get shin splints.

Like yourself, I've tried to cut out all refined sugar as much as possible and also reduced my salt intake, but still fall foul of the occasional apple pie. The biggest contributor for me has been cutting down the booze intake, I watched a powerful doco (Louis Theroux drinking to oblivion - can't find a source for it now though) which really hit home on some levels, and since then my booze intake is down to 4 bottles of beer a month, or about a beer a week (on a Saturday night usually). Now I'm down to 72 kg from a high of 83 during Covid lockdown the first time around, which is when I gave up the heavy boozing.

The hardest thing for me is staying motivated, sometimes after doing tons of stuff around the house or after work, going to the gym can take a lot of will power. Same goes for not reaching for another pack of beers on the shelf.

There is a lot to be said for waking up with a clear head, higher energy levels and a generally better feeling of wellness.

Thanks. Believe me it isn't easy to lose weight, but I'm determined to lose at least another half a stone. What most people forget is that you put weight on gradually and, therefore, you have to take it off gradually by changing your lifestyle.

I only drink occasionally, never on my own. But the first hurdle to get over, is to be serious about changing your lifestyle. It's the same with those that smoke, you can't stop unless you're really serious about wanting to.

I have recently watched some excellent videos on Youtube by a Dr. Sten Ekberg, a former Olympian, who, amongst many topics, states the top 10 most harmful foods to eat and some of the best foods to eat. His talks are easy to understand and well worth watching.

Personally, I do much of what he suggests, but, in addition, I eat 2 or 3 Moringa seeds with my breakfast every day. The seeds are easily obtained here in Thailand, as the trees grow here.

Hope that helps, but drinking beer will seriously prevent you from reaching your goals.

Good luck.

[Smithydog]

Ever since I stopped playing competitive sports 20 years ago, weight has been a challenge. My earlier lifestyle and volume of fitness work seemed to counteract the effects on my body (hey, I was young and enjoying life). Now I understand the consequences!

My body has tried to kill me off with different ailments and weight has been the hardest to deal with. I tried so many different methods, nothing keeping it down.

Last year I decided to go on a 4 week retreat and learnt a lot about the value of regular fasting, why we feel hungry, exercise etc. The fasting did worry me being type 2 diabetic (just one of the ailments) but I was surprised how doing it didn't affect my blood sugar.

I am down 40kgs now with 10kgs to go to my ideal weight target. The most I had ever dropped before was in the 10-15 kg range. Blood sugars are all good and other ailments are well controlled.

What it taught me was just don't give up. Learn and understand different ways and how the methods affect your body not others.

Sometimes you just haven't yet found the one way the suits your body. 

[Bobalong]

Wow. Congratulations on losing 40 kgs. What an achievement that is. I agree that you have to be serious about wanting to lose weight to achieve your goal. One has to be persistent and change one's lifestyle forever.

24 minutes ago, Smithydog said:

Ever since I stopped playing competitive sports 20 years ago, weight has been a challenge. My earlier lifestyle and volume of fitness work seemed to counteract the effects on my body (hey, I was young and enjoying life). Now I understand the consequences!

My body has tried to kill me off with different ailments and weight has been the hardest to deal with. I tried so many different methods, nothing keeping it down.

Last year I decided to go on a 4 week retreat and learnt a lot about the value of regular fasting, why we feel hungry, exercise etc. The fasting did worry me being type 2 diabetic (just one of the ailments) but I was surprised how doing it didn't affect my blood sugar.

I am down 40kgs now with 10kgs to go to my ideal weight target. The most I had ever dropped before was in the 10-15 kg range. Blood sugars are all good and other ailments are well controlled.

What it taught me was just don't give up. Learn and understand different ways and how the methods affect your body not others.

Sometimes you just haven't yet found the one way the suits your body. 

 

 

[Pongo]

4 hours ago, Smithydog said:

Ever since I stopped playing competitive sports 20 years ago, weight has been a challenge. My earlier lifestyle and volume of fitness work seemed to counteract the effects on my body (hey, I was young and enjoying life). Now I understand the consequences!

My body has tried to kill me off with different ailments and weight has been the hardest to deal with. I tried so many different methods, nothing keeping it down.

Last year I decided to go on a 4 week retreat and learnt a lot about the value of regular fasting, why we feel hungry, exercise etc. The fasting did worry me being type 2 diabetic (just one of the ailments) but I was surprised how doing it didn't affect my blood sugar.

I am down 40kgs now with 10kgs to go to my ideal weight target. The most I had ever dropped before was in the 10-15 kg range. Blood sugars are all good and other ailments are well controlled.

What it taught me was just don't give up. Learn and understand different ways and how the methods affect your body not others.

Sometimes you just haven't yet found the one way the suits your body. 

@Smithydog Mate I'd be interested in hearing more about the regular fasting and the advantages you got from it, plus any drawbacks.

I've tried fasting before, but always ended up with a huge headache towards the end of the day, but I'm eager to give it another go and it would be awesome to maybe learn a method or system that works.

Cheers :)

[BigHewer]

6 hours ago, Smithydog said:

Last year I decided to go on a 4 week retreat and learnt a lot about the value of regular fasting, why we feel hungry, exercise etc. The fasting did worry me being type 2 diabetic (just one of the ailments) but I was surprised how doing it didn't affect my blood sugar.

Congrats first of all Smithydoy. Making the commitment and following through, awesome. It’s one of the hardest things a person can ever do, period. I know this because I’ve been through it. Respect!

I went on a fasting regimen 8 years ago. I’d made a few half-heated tries with other things before that, but took the fasting seriously. Basically a strict pattern for when to eat and drink and a modest daily walking target. Initially for a month but then ended up doing it for four months because of the results. Lost just over 23 kilograms in the end, which was my end target. In the last 8 years, I’ve regained only 8 kgs, so still doing okay. Actually, I’m planning a three-month “campaign” to blast away those 8kgs from August 16th. Reading your post was great inspiration!

 

[BigHewer]

On 7/24/2021 at 1:49 PM, gummy said:

Coke is nothing like it used to be fortunately.  When you had a dirty penny  (an old penny that was) we used to put it in a saucer of milk overnight. Like new in the morning.  Coke these days does nothing like that.

Right on. I used to soak burner grates and drop pans from my gas ovens in coke overnight before washing them. They came out like new. Coke worked better than any cleaning product 20 years ago. It doesn’t work anymore.

[gummy]

11 minutes ago, BigHewer said:

Right on. I used to soak burner grates and drop pans from my gas ovens in coke overnight before washing them. They came out like new. Coke worked better than any cleaning product 20 years ago. It doesn’t work anymore.

I had thought at one point that whatever the chemical was that they removed from the original coke, may still be put into Coke sold in the third world given their less stringent health controls and large companies such as Coke taking advantage of it presumably because whatever it was they used was cheaper then something less caustic ( if our old experiences were but a small example).  But no, even the coke here 20 years ago and up 'till now cleans nothing.

So I wonder what the ingredient was and what effect did it have on our bodies in those days, if anything ?  Or was it just our imagination and coke is just the same ?

But this was interesting article I just found 

https://greencleaningproductsllc.com/mythbuster-science-of-cleaning-cleaning-with-coca-cola-effective-green-cleaning-products/

[BigHewer]

Interesting article, and after reading it, the whole thing makes sense. The article states how sticky the residue is when Coca Cola is used as a cleaning product. 

I think something changed in the mid 2000s. I was definitely using coke to clean the gas range components when the 2002 World Cup was on. I can also remember losing faith with Coke. A couple of times in a row, it didn’t work overnight and then I had a job getting rid of the stickiness on all the parts. Never tried it again.

So what happened to coke and likewise just as you say, what was the mystery ingredient doing to our insides?

[Blogosopher]

Weight loss is almost always a good thing but 13 Kilos in 2 years? If serious about weight loss, a person should be able to achieve that in 6 months or less pretty easily if a person's physical situation allows them to walk. Eat 1,500 calories a day, walk briskly for 20-40 minutes each day and an average male can lose a Kilo+ every 2 weeks. 3,500 calories is about 1 empirical pound (2.2 in a Kilo). An average male needs about 2,000 calories per day. Eating 300-500 less per day (not a big sacrifice) is a 2,100-3,500 calorie deficit per week. Add in walking and your net intake is probably 1,000-1,200 calories per day, resulting in a daily deficit of 800-1,200. Anyway, slower is better than never...congrats. Oh yeah, I've eaten Pork all my life and never in any of my occult blood tests (poop) have parasites been present. People wouldn't eat any food if they knew what is permitted to be in it by the various food regulatory agencies. Pot pies have the highest rate of rodent hairs, etc.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Blogosopher
Added about eating pork.

[BigHewer]

10 hours ago, BigHewer said:

Congrats first of all Smithydoy.

That should be of course, “Congrats to Smithydog” not your bro Smithydoy.

My bad. Sorry. Don’t know how to edit posts.

[BraveNewFahrenheit]

I did most of my 14 days in ASQ just fasting on snake juice. Its tough but once you get into and get into ketosis it gets easier.

No money to made promoting fasting so mainstream health ignores it. Going to be doing rolling 48 hour fasts this month and getting back into daily Yoga. Would like to be running in the park every day but the f8ckwits closed for "health and safety".

Edited August 3, 2021 by BraveNewFahrenheit

[Smithydog]

13 hours ago, Pongo said:

@Smithydog Mate I'd be interested in hearing more about the regular fasting and the advantages you got from it, plus any drawbacks.

I've tried fasting before, but always ended up with a huge headache towards the end of the day, but I'm eager to give it another go and it would be awesome to maybe learn a method or system that works.

Cheers :)

Hi Pongo, I'll PM you.

[dj230]

15 hours ago, Pongo said:

@Smithydog Mate I'd be interested in hearing more about the regular fasting and the advantages you got from it, plus any drawbacks.

I've tried fasting before, but always ended up with a huge headache towards the end of the day, but I'm eager to give it another go and it would be awesome to maybe learn a method or system that works.

Cheers :)

If you're interested, David Sinclair, harvard professor/researcher at harvard for anti aging/longevity has some videos talking about fasting and also has a book called lifespan

[Pongo]

On 8/3/2021 at 5:14 AM, dj230 said:

If you're interested, David Sinclair, harvard professor/researcher at harvard for anti aging/longevity has some videos talking about fasting and also has a book called lifespan

Watched his interview with Joe Rogan last night, very interesting and food for thought on the logic behind why fasting works.

[dj230]

1 hour ago, Pongo said:

Watched his interview with Joe Rogan last night, very interesting and food for thought on the logic behind why fasting works.

He's been studying aging at Harvard for a while so I trust his research.

I've been taking his daily supplement regimen as well which is pretty simple, just vitamin d, vitamin k2, metformin and resveratrol. He makes no money from it since he doesn't recommend any brands and doesn't even recommend anyone takes it, as he's a researcher and not a medical doctor as he likes to say. He just says what he's taking publicly and if people choose to follow they can. I was taking vitamin d and k2 for a while already anyways.

[gavi]

On 8/2/2021 at 2:09 PM, Bobalong said:

Dr. Sten Ekberg

I agree that the videos from Ekberg are really well done and make a lot of sense.

They do go against the prevailing paradigm in some points, so one has to keep an open mind and try to get the full picture of his message.

Personally, I am super healthy and I adhere to the way of thinking divulged by Dr. Sten Ekberg, among others.

I also want to mention the videos and audio-books of Jason Fung as being very effective in preventing illness.

[gavi]

On 8/2/2021 at 2:27 PM, Smithydog said:

Last year I decided to go on a 4 week retreat and learnt a lot about the value of regular fasting, why we feel hungry, exercise etc. [...]

I am down 40kgs now with 10kgs to go to my ideal weight target. The most I had ever dropped before was in the 10-15 kg range. Blood sugars are all good and other ailments are well controlled.

Brilliant, massive lifestyle change, and great learning to make fasting regular.

I am 100% with you on regular fasting (and on time-restricted eating) for illness prevention.

[gavi]

On 8/3/2021 at 8:38 AM, BraveNewFahrenheit said:

I did most of my 14 days in ASQ just fasting [...]. Its tough but once you get into and get into ketosis it gets easier.

No money to made promoting fasting so mainstream health ignores it. Going to be doing rolling 48 hour fasts this month [...].

I did the exact same: 14 days of water (and some minerals) fasting during ASQ quarantine.
But, I would not recommend to most people because doing so many days in a row is quite extreme.

It actually becomes surprisingly easy after about 6 days, but there are some risks when re-feeding, after such long time, if one is not careful when eating again.

The 48 hours fasting is very doable and very healthy for almost everybody.
Even fasting for 16 to 23 hours on some days is already very very beneficial.

Very recommended!

[Smithydog]

3 hours ago, gavi said:

I did the exact same: 14 days of water (and some minerals) fasting during ASQ quarantine.
But, I would not recommend to most people because doing so many days in a row is quite extreme.

 

Yeh, that would be a bit extreme for most people. I only personally know a few who have done. It certainly gets easier a you do it. 

Iam 24 hours into a 72 hour fast and learnt a valuable lesson yesterday. Stay off writing anything on the forum if you can! My writing yesterday was all over the place, and stuck into a theme. Probably all the toxins coming out!

Much clearer mind today.