Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Friday, January 10, 2020
Nutrition and the Plant Paradox Diet
I've been on the Plant Paradox diet for 18 months now, and I will be staying on it! For at least a year before I started this diet, I had been slowly gaining weight, and the weight gain started to accelerate in those last few months. This prompted me to look hard for a better diet. It didn't make sense that I was teaching Zumba 5x's a week and sweating like crazy but still gaining weight! Plus I was hiking with my husky for miles each day! Everything was leaving me bloated and leaving my clothes too tight on me. People said that I was getting older, so it was natural that my metabolism would slow down. I didn't want to accept this answer. Right when I was starting to get desperate, a friend started reading The Plant Paradox by Steven Gundry and kept talking about it and asking me to read it. I hesitated at first because I didn't want to read anything that said I shouldn't eat beans or brown rice. I was sure those were healthy. Even so, with her persistence, I started to read. What I learned resonated with me. Everything Dr. Gundry wrote about human evolution, how different societies ate and how long particular plants had been available to humans made sense to me. I liked that he does clinical research and has an office, full of patients with past diagnoses, who are thriving on his diet, without their old medicines. I even went to his office and spoke with some of his patients in the waiting room. He is really changing lives. I especially liked how there was a clear plan to follow, so I took the yes/no list to Whole Foods and scoured every aisle, reading labels. I jumped for joy when I discovered I could eat paleo pancakes and date syrup!
I started losing weight immediately and lost it at the rate of 4 pounds a month until it was all gone. I do notice that if I go out and splurge with my diet for a special occasion, the scale will reflect it the next day. and if I splurge 2 days in a row, the scale will doubly reflect it. Thankfully, each time I go back to the strict Plant Paradox diet, I lose it all quickly again. This gives me control over my diet. I know how to keep the weight off, and if the weight looks good, I can treat myself to something on the No list every now and then. When I do break from the list, which isn't often, I bring Lectin Shield with me (sold by Gundry MD.) In fact, I always have some in my purse, just in case. Lectin Shield is Dr. Gundry's natural concoction to shield you from dangers of items on the No list. Dr. Gundry is against a number of lectins, which cause leaky gut and a number of resulting diseases. Critics misunderstand Gundry and think that he believes all lectins are bad. If you read his book more carefully, he does not ban all lectins, but he makes a clear list of which foods have undesirable lectins. Even the No list is not a total ban. Many of the items can be peeled, deseeded and/or pressure-cooked and then removed from the No list. Plus, after several weeks of Phase 2 of the program, you can introduce one NO list item at a time and see how your body reacts. I've introduced cucumbers, pumpkin and sunflower seeds without any problem (no bloating whatsoever). I still don't eat a lot of those foods, but I know that if I do have some, I'll be fine!
I have plenty of energy for Zumba, and what's amazing is that I didn't get my usual bout of colds or flu the first winter I was on the diet! Even though I was around sick family members, I caught nothing! The second winter, when I became more relaxed with holiday sweets, I caught a short 3 day cold, probably because of all the extra sugar. Once I caught the cold, I quickly steered away from sugar, and the cold went away soon after. What I love about the diet is that I'm protecting myself from all sorts of diseases. I feel like I'm cultivating a rainforest in my gut that won't let disease grow!
At first it was tricky finding everything on the Yes list, but I quickly learned that I can find everything between Real Foods Bay Area (pastured meat and eggs (soy and corn free), any Asian grocery store (Korean sweet potato noodles), Sprouts (sugar free So Delicious coconut milk ice cream) Grocery Outlet (good deals on goat cheddar and coconut yogurt,) Trader Joes, Costco, Whole Foods and Amazon! I order supplements such as Vitamin D, Vital Reds, and Primal Plants from Gundry MD. I started out making most of the recipes from The Plant Paradox Cookbook , but now I can freestyle and adapt other recipes or invent my own.
Here are some of my eating habits: (also see this video for more shopping ideas)
1) on the way to morning Zumba: a green banana and Quest Bar, or if I have more prep time, a green apple smoothie made from (Gundry's Primal Plant, coconut milk, blanched almond butter, green apple slices, frozen green banana, inulin powder, date syrup or a couple dates)
2) after Zumba: a one egg omelet with goat or manchego sheep cheese and tons of mushrooms, onions, broccoli and kale cooked quickly in EVOO, algae oil or avocado oil on top of a tiny piece of high quality sourdough toast with whole fat cream cheese and sliced avocado and sprinkled with dried seaweed.. Sometimes I'll have a Birchbenders Paleo waffles, with So Delicious coconut yogurt (some varieties have 1g of sugar!) sprinkled with inulin powder, date syrup, freshly ground flax seeds, hemp seeds and and fresh berries.
3) snack: barukas or macadamia nuts with a piece of dark chocolate. Or try Siete grain-free tortilla chips with guacamole or home-made salsa (tomatoes skinned and peeled).
4) lunch: There are so many lunch possibilities, but a simple one is a Hilary's millet burger on top of arugula or spinach - in EVOO and balsamic vinegar. To the salad add whatever you have (radishes, sliced fennel bulb, green onions, cooked sweet potato from the previous night, canned artichokes or hearts of palm... Or try a salad or millet with sardines on top! Or add EVOO, balsamic vinegar and a variety of vegetables to rinsed out Eden brand beans, which are already pressure cooked.
5) snack: a handful of pistachios. Or spread some blanched almond butter and a teaspoon of manuka honey or more date syrup on a Siete cassava flour or almond flour tortilla.
5) Dinner: How about baked wild salmon? If you have a pasta fix, try goat cheddar cheese with either miracle noodles or pressure cooked quinoa pasta. Dr. Gundry says we can't pressure cook wheat, but you can pressure cook quinoa! Baked sunchokes are amazing! Or try baked brussel sprouts mixed with toasted blanched almonds and dates and tossed in balsamic, EVOO and lemon juice. Alternatively, you could stir fry wild shrimp with sesame oil, coconut aminos, fresh ginger and lots of vegetables, such as bok choy, cauliflower, celery and garlic. Then toss it with Korean Sweet Potato Noodles (cheaper at any Asian market) and MCT oil.
6) dessert: Sugar-free So Delicious Coconut ice cream with chopped walnuts, sea salt, coconut and cacao nibs! or Tigernut flour dark chocolate chip cookies!
7) For a satisfying warm drink, try Golden Milk. Mix warm coconut milk with turmeric, ginger, coconut oil and stevia or monk fruit sweetener.
If you can't or don't want to follow the diet completely, just do the best you can do. Everything helps! For ideas for getting your family involved in the diet, try The Plant Paradox Family Cookbook. Dr. Gundry also recommends a specific fasting schedule in The Longevity Paradox, which I've read, but admittedly, I haven't yet fully implemented it. Perhaps I'm doing so well with the Plant Paradox diet that I've haven't felt the need to do the fasting. Make as many changes as you can and see if you feel better and look better!
For Gundry MD Products , such as Lectin Shield and Primal Plants, here
I started losing weight immediately and lost it at the rate of 4 pounds a month until it was all gone. I do notice that if I go out and splurge with my diet for a special occasion, the scale will reflect it the next day. and if I splurge 2 days in a row, the scale will doubly reflect it. Thankfully, each time I go back to the strict Plant Paradox diet, I lose it all quickly again. This gives me control over my diet. I know how to keep the weight off, and if the weight looks good, I can treat myself to something on the No list every now and then. When I do break from the list, which isn't often, I bring Lectin Shield with me (sold by Gundry MD.) In fact, I always have some in my purse, just in case. Lectin Shield is Dr. Gundry's natural concoction to shield you from dangers of items on the No list. Dr. Gundry is against a number of lectins, which cause leaky gut and a number of resulting diseases. Critics misunderstand Gundry and think that he believes all lectins are bad. If you read his book more carefully, he does not ban all lectins, but he makes a clear list of which foods have undesirable lectins. Even the No list is not a total ban. Many of the items can be peeled, deseeded and/or pressure-cooked and then removed from the No list. Plus, after several weeks of Phase 2 of the program, you can introduce one NO list item at a time and see how your body reacts. I've introduced cucumbers, pumpkin and sunflower seeds without any problem (no bloating whatsoever). I still don't eat a lot of those foods, but I know that if I do have some, I'll be fine!
I have plenty of energy for Zumba, and what's amazing is that I didn't get my usual bout of colds or flu the first winter I was on the diet! Even though I was around sick family members, I caught nothing! The second winter, when I became more relaxed with holiday sweets, I caught a short 3 day cold, probably because of all the extra sugar. Once I caught the cold, I quickly steered away from sugar, and the cold went away soon after. What I love about the diet is that I'm protecting myself from all sorts of diseases. I feel like I'm cultivating a rainforest in my gut that won't let disease grow!
At first it was tricky finding everything on the Yes list, but I quickly learned that I can find everything between Real Foods Bay Area (pastured meat and eggs (soy and corn free), any Asian grocery store (Korean sweet potato noodles), Sprouts (sugar free So Delicious coconut milk ice cream) Grocery Outlet (good deals on goat cheddar and coconut yogurt,) Trader Joes, Costco, Whole Foods and Amazon! I order supplements such as Vitamin D, Vital Reds, and Primal Plants from Gundry MD. I started out making most of the recipes from The Plant Paradox Cookbook , but now I can freestyle and adapt other recipes or invent my own.
Here are some of my eating habits: (also see this video for more shopping ideas)
1) on the way to morning Zumba: a green banana and Quest Bar, or if I have more prep time, a green apple smoothie made from (Gundry's Primal Plant, coconut milk, blanched almond butter, green apple slices, frozen green banana, inulin powder, date syrup or a couple dates)
2) after Zumba: a one egg omelet with goat or manchego sheep cheese and tons of mushrooms, onions, broccoli and kale cooked quickly in EVOO, algae oil or avocado oil on top of a tiny piece of high quality sourdough toast with whole fat cream cheese and sliced avocado and sprinkled with dried seaweed.. Sometimes I'll have a Birchbenders Paleo waffles, with So Delicious coconut yogurt (some varieties have 1g of sugar!) sprinkled with inulin powder, date syrup, freshly ground flax seeds, hemp seeds and and fresh berries.
3) snack: barukas or macadamia nuts with a piece of dark chocolate. Or try Siete grain-free tortilla chips with guacamole or home-made salsa (tomatoes skinned and peeled).
4) lunch: There are so many lunch possibilities, but a simple one is a Hilary's millet burger on top of arugula or spinach - in EVOO and balsamic vinegar. To the salad add whatever you have (radishes, sliced fennel bulb, green onions, cooked sweet potato from the previous night, canned artichokes or hearts of palm... Or try a salad or millet with sardines on top! Or add EVOO, balsamic vinegar and a variety of vegetables to rinsed out Eden brand beans, which are already pressure cooked.
5) snack: a handful of pistachios. Or spread some blanched almond butter and a teaspoon of manuka honey or more date syrup on a Siete cassava flour or almond flour tortilla.
5) Dinner: How about baked wild salmon? If you have a pasta fix, try goat cheddar cheese with either miracle noodles or pressure cooked quinoa pasta. Dr. Gundry says we can't pressure cook wheat, but you can pressure cook quinoa! Baked sunchokes are amazing! Or try baked brussel sprouts mixed with toasted blanched almonds and dates and tossed in balsamic, EVOO and lemon juice. Alternatively, you could stir fry wild shrimp with sesame oil, coconut aminos, fresh ginger and lots of vegetables, such as bok choy, cauliflower, celery and garlic. Then toss it with Korean Sweet Potato Noodles (cheaper at any Asian market) and MCT oil.
6) dessert: Sugar-free So Delicious Coconut ice cream with chopped walnuts, sea salt, coconut and cacao nibs! or Tigernut flour dark chocolate chip cookies!
7) For a satisfying warm drink, try Golden Milk. Mix warm coconut milk with turmeric, ginger, coconut oil and stevia or monk fruit sweetener.
If you can't or don't want to follow the diet completely, just do the best you can do. Everything helps! For ideas for getting your family involved in the diet, try The Plant Paradox Family Cookbook. Dr. Gundry also recommends a specific fasting schedule in The Longevity Paradox, which I've read, but admittedly, I haven't yet fully implemented it. Perhaps I'm doing so well with the Plant Paradox diet that I've haven't felt the need to do the fasting. Make as many changes as you can and see if you feel better and look better!
For Gundry MD Products , such as Lectin Shield and Primal Plants, here
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