Friday, November 19, 2010

More on Helping Joe Lose Weight: The Plan

As I wrote yesterday, I am working with a new client (“Joe”) to revamp his diet. The goal is make him healthier; weight loss will be just one benefit.

Our plan is simple and doesn’t have the wow factor of the endless regimens marketed by the food, diet and drug industries.

We will increase Joe’s intake of nutrients.


To accomplish this, Joe will eat a varied diet of nutrient-dense foods. By increasing Joe’s nutrient intake, we will give Joe’s body the fuel it needs to perform better. Also, whenever possible, we will avoid foods that contain hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, synthetic additives, refined sugars, etc.


A “nutrient-dense food” doesn’t have to be a magic berry found on only two cliffs in a mountain range in Asia. Joe, like many of us trying to eat well, is eating mostly the correct foods, but the wrong, industrialized versions. This leaves his body wanting.


For example, to fully satiate Joe, we’ll replace his nutrient-poor egg white omelet with a nutrient-rich fried egg. (Gasp! Say it ain't so, Pfizer!)

Let me explain. Instead of eggs from chickens administered antibiotics and fed genetically modified corn and soy, Joe will now eat eggs from pastured chickens, which eat their natural diet of grass, insects, etc. By eating the yolks of these eggs, Joe will—counter to what has been indoctrinated by the drug companies—be doing his body a great service. (Click here for the nutritional profile of a pastured egg compared to a factory egg.)

Joe will start to eat picnic-type lunches that he can easily construct at work. His lunch the other day (instead of sushi consisting of nutrient-poor bleached white rice and farmed fish) was awash in nutrients: sardines, half an avocado, some organic hummus, a chunk of cheese (from raw milk from grass-fed cows), half a red pepper (hydroponically grown without sprays), slices of whole grain bread (from a bakery, not a plastic bag) and some organic string beans.

We are also moving Joe away from eating animal protein at every meal. Either lunch or dinner each day will be vegetarian (dairy and eggs are OK).

Joe’s initial response has been positive. He feels good and he loves the deep flavors of the various foods, an experience our modern food supply often denies us. He is fuller longer after meals, so he isn’t snacking as often. (We are working on ending his habitual snacking, a remnant of the days when his body was rarely satisfied nutritionally.)

I'll describe more about our plan (and update Joe's progress) next week, but here's an e-mail Joe sent me earlier this week:

“What a delicious and nutritious lunch. Did I eat too much? I’m certainly full. Full of nutrients, that is, but full too.”

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The all-fruit "jelly" is dense and delicious.

Love,
"Joe"

WordVixen said...

Any chance that "jelly" is Bionaturae? Their Bilberry is fantastic.

I'm just curious about the hydroponic grown red pepper. Is it not possible to find organic red peppers where Joe lives? I don't object to hydroponics as a safe alternative for a bit of flavor or as a vehicle for something that is nutritionally dense (such as the hummus), but hydroponic grown foods tend to be rather lacking in the nutrition department. So much of the nutrients come from bacterial activity in the soil, not just the minerals. It's one of the reasons that organics tend to be more nutritionally dense- the soil they're grown in is alive.

Chef Rob said...

WordVixen,

The jelly is made by St. Dalfour, a French company. I've been meaning to try the Bionaturae jellies; I'll go get the bilberry now on your suggestion.

Regarding the pepper, I understand your point. We are, after all, only as healthy as our soil. That being said, the available organic peppers are at least $6/lb. and have traveled a long way, which compromises their nutritional content. Joe's peppers (grown by Sunset) are very, very tasty, if that's any consolation.

Rob

WordVixen said...

Chef Rob,

I hope that you enjoy the bilberry! It's currently my favorite. :-) I've not seen St. Dalfour locally, but I'll definitely keep my eyes open now. I've noticed that several health/natural food stores around here have been switching up their stock.

Ouch! Our local stores don't carry organic bell peppers at all, but at that price, I think I'd get the hydroponic grown as well. :-) Thanks for the response!