Interesting article in the NY Times the other day about diet and how our thinking may be outdated. A doctor was actually quoted as saying that “The notion that it’s O.K. to eat everything in moderation is just an excuse to eat whatever you want.”
So that scoop of ice cream… no good? Twinkies are off the map now? (Not that I’ve had one of those since the mid 80’s, but I have had about a million chocolate chip cookies since then. Do you think maybe if I never ate a million chocolate chip cookies I might be thinner? Interesting thought.)
So clearly this doctor, who basically pulled the rug out from underneath us, has a valid point. I’ve definitely fallen victim to that “moderate” way of thinking because it means nothing, NOTHING is off-limits… and who doesn’t like that?
If I eat a twinkle a day I’m being moderate… but I’m also being reckless. Then I might eat a chocolate chip cookie, a frenched fry, a processed meat slice, and a potato chip. All moderate amounts, but all bad choices.
The study brings us to the conclusion that whole grains, veggies and even yogurt are the items we should be consuming since they did not cause such severe weight gain as our potato products did in this study. (Here’s the article if you’d like to take a look-see – nytimes.com.)
So this brings me to my next 5-day challenge. Last time I eliminated added sugar to my diet and I must say it was a great success since I no longer add sugar to my coffee… and those mocha lattes are a thing of the past.
Recently I have been toying with the idea of eliminating bread and pasta for some time and since this article mentions how refined carbs can actually slow down your metabolism, well that’s where I draw the line.
So here are the rules for my 5 days:
1 – No bread. That means no sandwiches, no wraps, no bagels, no rice and nothing breaded (aka, crispy yummy)
2 – No pasta. I’m throwing whole wheat and brown rice into this mix also. They’re not necessarily refined but I’m not an expert and I don’t trust the food manufacturers. (I mean I’m sure they’re looking out for my well being and all but genetically modified anything gives me the creeps! Not that pasta is a gmo’d product, but I’m just saying…)
And there you have it, my new 5-day challenge. What do I hope to get out of it? A well-maintained metabolism, a clue as to how much I actually eat when I’m not eating it (it makes sense to me), and, reaching for the stars here but maybe a dwindling desire to eat really good italian bread at really good italian restaurants.
Anyone else up for a 5 day feast of everything else but pasta and bread?
