Chewing the Fat

A while ago I had written a post about a girl who bumped into an old friend in a cafe where I was having coffee. I overheard them trying to catch up while waiting on the long line for their lattes. The one girl looks down at the other woman’s belly and says, “So when are you due?” There was an immediate silence, and then, “I’m not.” Innocent mistake perhaps, but it makes you wonder how many times we have all made that little ‘oops’ before. Obviously, she wasn’t expecting. She had put on weight and embarrassed her friend pointing this out in a not so subtle manner, yet an innocent one. Women are sensitive, vain, insecure, emotional. When do we reel it in when it comes to noticing something on a physical basis? Even if you see your friend has lost a lot of weight, the worst thing in the world in my opinion is to yell out, “Wow, you lost so much weight!” In other words, “Wow, you were so damn fat before!” A similar thing happened over at the same cafe the other morning. Two friends were ordering lattes and you have your option to get the low-fat one without whipped cream. One girl ordered the low-fat and the other said, “Oh just a regular one with whipped cream please.” Her friend looked over at her and said, “You should get the low-fat, it’s really good and it’s healthier for you.” Why even suggest it if she ordered what she wanted? The girl brushed it off as it it was nothing, but I saw the deep stare in her eyes as she waiting for her latte with all the bells & whistles.

I’m also not a fan of people who try to push their new fad diets on everyone. “Oh you gotta try ‘this diet’ or ‘that diet’, it’s great” or vegetarians telling you how inhumane it is to eat meat and of course, the good ol’ gluten-free fanatics. If it’s not someone’s ‘bag’ - then stop pushing your spiel. As they say, misery loves company. I do realize with the gluten-free folks that there are some sensitive palates out there and the occasional allergy-ridden folks, but rare. We’ve been eating wheat products since the beginning of time. I have a hard time believing that people are allergic to wheat. Is it possible? Sure -but for almost 40% of people out there? Gluten-free products are making a bundle off doctors and televised physicians pushing the ‘celiac disease’. In my own personal opinion: it’s all a business. People are not allergic to wheat. We’re getting fed a bunch of bullshit ---that’s what we should be allergic to. What’s even more alarming are the people who go with this celiac disease and ruling out all possibilities of gall bladder problems, digestive issues or even worse, cancer. A woman I know kept pushing the gluten-free gig for years, until she went to a doctor and was diagnosed with stage four cancer of the liver. Some people rule out almost every single ‘known to be bad’ food out there to realize there’s a much larger issue going on.

The other day while I was home watching TV, there was a commercial advertising Dr. Oz’s show. He said, “If you’re a woman overweight, you are at risk of getting cancer.” He’ll even say things that’ll have the healthiest person fearing for their lives. He’s an alarmist and he uses scare tactics to make people watch his show. He has great home remedies that really work, but like the devil, he throws a bit of truth to tell you a bunch of lies. I can’t stand people like this. I can’t tolerate people who grab the vulnerabilities of many hypochondriacs and have them fleeing for the ER. (Yes, that includes myself.) But, this is how he grabs the attention of many of his viewers...and it works. It’s just the same as watching an upcoming news clip, “Man dies in a mysterious way....at ten.” So they keep you tuned in until they tell you that the guy was 95 years old and there was no foul play involved. We’re gullible and we all want to be in the know, when in actuality, there is no “know”.

What’s good for you may not be good for someone else. They say eggs are the perfect food, but it’s not so good for a person running a cholesterol level of 300. They say drink more milk for women over thirty-five, but not so good if she is lactose intolerant. We can’t suggest foods to people if we are not their doctor or allergists. We can make general suggestions: eat healthier, leaner, and what not - but there are other suggestions that have proven that fatty foods are also healthy for us too. Everything has an extreme “yes” and “no” and “good” and “bad” - so what should we believe? It’s like religion almost - people have their own opinions, advice, suggestions, etc., and once that’s pushed in our faces, we become confused and sometimes, even pick the wrong diet that makes us become sluggish or ill.

I have a friend who is an M.D. who gave me some advice about dieting. I find it very interesting as well as alluring...

“Fat is your friend, simple carbohydrates are not. (Don’t conflate this with an Atkins diet although there are similarities.) Do not worry too much about the booze either; just don’t mix fruit juices with it. High fructose, low fiber = very bad. What do I eat? I told you what I eat for breakfast. This includes 9-12 eggs/week. Bacon/sausage. Buy only the omega-3 eggs, they cost more but it's worth it. Lunch, cold cuts in lettuce wraps. I mix it up but it's usually ham, turkey, or liverwurst. Stay away from roast beef unless you cut it yourself from grass fed beef. Most of what you buy is grain fed. The only condiment is mustard. I throw in some coconut, dark (Lind 90% caco) chocolate. Finish with a (small) piece of fruit, usually an apple. Dinner is wild caught fish, pork, chicken (no skin) or beef. If my wife make pasta, I take a cheese grater and "rice" a head of cauliflower and eat the meat and sauce over that. Vegetables, I like brussel sprouts, green beans, (eat no other beans or peanuts) sweet potatoes, acorn squash. Salad, make your own dressing with olive oil and balsamic. Hannaford's sells blue cheese made with raw milk, Great Hill Farms. DO NOT use commercial dressings, they are all made with soybean oil. Soy is not a health food! Avoid it at all costs. This makes eating out difficult but the payoff is better health. If you do this correctly, you will sensitize your body to insulin, go 5-7 hours between meals without snacking. Good luck, if I can be of help, let me know. You WILL NOT get help from advertising, the media, your friends, your doctor, Dr. Oz, etc. I have an entire lecture on why this is the case.”

This really goes against what I was taught as “healthy”. They say having a drink or two is healthy, some people believe differently. I heard that soy was very healthy for you, as this M.D. believes it is not. I’ve been following some of his advice along with getting regular check ups from my physician and my numbers are going down slowly. My cholesterol went down a bit, my weight decreased a smidgen (ha) and of course, I get to eat my favorite foods without the guilt. He also mentions that sport drinks like Gatorade are very bad for someone who isn’t a marathon runner. For a regular workout, sports drinks should not be consumed. Then he says go 5-7 hours without snacking, which goes against most nutritionalists’ suggestions. I was always told the best thing to do is have small meals throughout the day. But as I go along my day eating high protein and less carbs, I’m finding I’m not even hungry or craving a ‘small meal’ every couple of hours. So far, this is what is currently helping me... So Thank you Doc! (You know who you are.) I’ve even debated with him for a few years over his suggestions telling him he’s crazy - this is too good to be true. My point is - never take advice without seeing your doctor and watching all your numbers of your body. Avoid people who are on these new ‘fad’ diets or who have a ‘thought to be’ allergy without checking with their doctor and just want company on the wagon their traveling on. Do what’s right for you.

‎"The first thing you lose on a diet is brain mass." —Margaret Cho

For more of Deb's articles, please visit: www.debrapasquella.com