Why (i feel) Bread is the DEVIL

[Capcomplicated]

So I expect everyone to take this thread with a grain...of salt, however I will detail my experience with gluten and other grains and how my body has improved 10-fold.

I LOVE PIZZA....a lot. In fact I used to eat whole frozen California kitchen pizzas for dinner and I would have no issues downing an entire dominoes meat lovers. Though every time I knew i'd regret it and I did, but my thoughts were "Man I ate WAY too much greasy pizza" that's like ...4000 calories i'm going to die probably". After eating that I got really bloated and got a headache every time....but it tasted HEAVENLY.

Now I understand that the portion size was ridiculous and no one should do this but it took me years before can say I will never eat a whole pizza again....and hopefully I wont ever eat pizza again. Although pizza is my favorite food I have made a personal decision to not ever eat it again unless the crust is completely grain free. My biggest surprise since I've been on this journey is that I DONT EVEN CRAVE PIZZA anymore and I've turned it down 5 times since I've been on my current diet.

• My fiancé and I have both started the Primal diet and so far she's lost 10 lbs and I've lost 22 lbs in 2 months. The only reason I've lost more is because I was more strict than her.
• I have gastro-intestinal problems but over the last two months they've nearly ceased completely.
• I wake up with more natural energy and actually gain energy after eating! I've never felt a boost of energy after eating, I've always thought you eat when you get hungry and if you eat too much you fall asleep end of story.
• I don't get hungry nearly as often and I can satiate my hunger by eating very little compared to what it took before
• My father also has started doing the diet and he has told me his Diabetes and blood pressure have normalized consistently after the two weeks he's been doing it

"Yea but, bread is awesome, ...who cares?". Bread and other similar grains have been modified too the point that they are completely unrecognizable as their original genetic code. You aren't eating the same grains that we had 200 years ago, plus there are tons of additives that are causing toxic levels of anti-nutrients to be released in your body every time you eat them; which in turn causes you not to gain nutrients and vitamins from other sources. So even if you are eating right most of the time if you consume grains on any level throughout the day you are only getting minimal absorbtion of the natural occurring nutrients and vitamins in your diet.

"What about the food pyramid, grains were always the biggest" If theres anything I've learned through my research its there is more misinformation floating around about food and nutrician than I've found looking anything else up. There are literally thousands of different diets, ways to eat, what not to eats, what to eat if your looking to lose weight,...etc. I believe there is no subset of calories or portion on a daily basis that has to be followed in order to live a healthy lifestyle. Now that doesn't mean you can eat three pizzas a day and say your healthy (there are good calories and bad calories); I just believe that everyones body is too different to have a standard daily value....instead....I recommend looking at your own body for answers. If you feel bloated or get headaches or other ailments after eating maybe you should be more critical of what your eating. Your body gives you all the answers you need. The food pyramid has changed three times over the last 30 years. That alone tells me they don't know what the hell is going on, that and maybe we can keep up with all the junk we are consuming.

My diet is the Primal diet which is different from paleo but similar in most ways and it consists of mostly just eating natural foods that evolution has dictated over the years with some minor modern addendums. This list of foods is essentially what I have to choose from, which is quite a bit. No fast food, no chips, no soda, no junk. Just real food.

"Why are grains so unhealthy then?" Modern Grains in general have been linked to inflammation, diseases, cancers, and neurological disorders. There is absolutely no reason to ingest any grain in your diet. There are no benefits and ONLY makes things worse. Its essentially like smoking or drinking alcohol. Except I believe there is MORE danger to eating grains than the former.

I only write this post as a warning and to keep you updated on my progress without the grain, so you can use me as much as guinea pig as you want lol. My only desire is to inform so that people can start thinking on a more critical level. We only have one body and especially if we have children its important to give them the best life possible. Supply and demand still works in this economy so if we demand more healthy organic foods they will start to flood the market with better choices.

I generally still eat breakfast lunch and dinner. Mostly eggs and avocado for breakfast, salad for lunch and most likely either a salad for dinner or a meat and vegetables. As snacks if I get hungry i'll eat some fruit and nuts. Blueberries, bananas, apples, etc. and Raw almonds, brazil, hazelnut, pistachios, etc. If I don't eat three big meals in a day i'll usually just eat breakfast and dinner. And by big meals I mean i'm probably netting 1600 calories....if that. Most of my daily intake is vegetables which isn't calorie heavy. The important thing i'm trying to do is only eat when i'm hungry, only drink when i'm thirsty. I'm tired of other people making up these plans for healthy living for people to go by and we have the highest epidemic of obesity in history, diabetes, cancers, neurological disorders, and diseases are seemingly in record highs. This primal diet just makes the most sense to me.

The big difference I feel in the losing weight isn't just that i'm losing it, I also feel ten times better. Like I said i'm not having any of normal issues that I've had for YEARS. I don't know I just felt like everybody should have a chance to make their own decisions based on the information given to them.

So there it is I hope I've helped in some way, even if its just answering questions.

 

[Angel]

I've read through that guy's post about grains - don't agree really but more power to him - but that food list caught my eye. My concern with it is his promotion of nutritional supplements.

Don't get me wrong, I have to take some myself as I have malnutrition due to stress and other crappy things, but if one's diet is already "healthy", then supplements are not required, surely? Because presumably the food one is eating is giving one everything you need, as well as the exercise one is doing (vitamin D from being outside, for example).

I'm an "everything in moderation" kind of person. Philosophically, anyway - I eat too much crap to pretend it's what I actually do. But I can see the benefits of the diet in terms of the variety of good foods it encourages you to have and the exercise it advocates. Gotta love that kale...yum! If I do follow a diet, it's the British Heart Foundation one which focuses heavily on portion control and reducing excess sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. And I only follow that because I've had a heart attack-like event and my mother had a heart attack before the age of 60.

Very keen to see the proven effects on mental health, come to think of it. Diet can play a very important part and I know for some in my family it has been a bad diet that makes them a bit cray-cray. For me it's genetic (woo!) but can't hurt to try something that may well help alleviate stresses and what have you.

Be interesting to see how you and your fiancee get on with this one - keep us posted

 

[Capcomplicated]

I've read through that guy's post about grains - don't agree really but more power to him - but that food list caught my eye. My concern with it is his promotion of nutritional supplements.

Don't get me wrong, I have to take some myself as I have malnutrition due to stress and other crappy things, but if one's diet is already "healthy", then supplements are not required, surely? Because presumably the food one is eating is giving one everything you need, as well as the exercise one is doing (vitamin D from being outside, for example).

I'm an "everything in moderation" kind of person. Philosophically, anyway - I eat too much crap to pretend it's what I actually do. But I can see the benefits of the diet in terms of the variety of good foods it encourages you to have and the exercise it advocates. Gotta love that kale...yum! If I do follow a diet, it's the British Heart Foundation one which focuses heavily on portion control and reducing excess sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. And I only follow that because I've had a heart attack-like event and my mother had a heart attack before the age of 60.

Very keen to see the proven effects on mental health, come to think of it. Diet can play a very important part and I know for some in my family it has been a bad diet that makes them a bit cray-cray. For me it's genetic (woo!) but can't hurt to try something that may well help alleviate stresses and what have you.

Be interesting to see how you and your fiancee get on with this one - keep us posted

I will definitely keep everyone posted I feel like i'm experimenting for sure but I cant disagree with the way I feel course it could be a placebo effect the mind works in mysterious ways. But there have been to many positives since I've switched to feel like its just a coincidence.

On the topic of supplements I personally do not like taking them and generally don't. I used to and on occasion take vitamin d3 supplements because I spend a lot of time at my job that I don't get time in the sun. But I do feel like supplements are unnecessary in most cases.

In terms of being active I am extremely sedentary which is why I was so impressed with the progress in weight loss. I haven't changed anything in my lifestyle thus far except the food and drinks I take in. I do walk about 1 to 3 miles every day at work so I could just be naturally burning those calories away while eating naturally.

I am curious though what do you consider unhealthy fats?

 

[Angel]

I will definitely keep everyone posted I feel like i'm experimenting for sure but I cant disagree with the way I feel course it could be a placebo effect the mind works in mysterious ways. But there have been to many positives since I've switched to feel like its just a coincidence.

On the topic of supplements I personally do not like taking them and generally don't. I used to and on occasion take vitamin d3 supplements because I spend a lot of time at my job that I don't get time in the sun. But I do feel like supplements are unnecessary in most cases.

In terms of being active I am extremely sedentary which is why I was so impressed with the progress in weight loss. I haven't changed anything in my lifestyle thus far except the food and drinks I take in. I do walk about 1 to 3 miles every day at work so I could just be naturally burning those calories away while eating naturally.

I am curious though what do you consider unhealthy fats?

Trans fats (artifical ones) and too much saturated fat. To me it's anything the body cannot break down or use for your health. Fats are important, but for someone with heart stuff, I'm supposed to try and avoid anything that will make my arteries cry big fat-drenched tears. I'm a huge fan of rapeseed oil and use it in all my cooking over olive oil. Tried that special oil you can get in supermarkets that's got some sort of carroty, vitamin-D-y goodness to it but it turns everything orange. Like, everything. And tastes gross.

I think with certain diets it can depend on the person too - I mean, I guess you kind of need to know your own body to figure out what works for it. Not everyone could do the diet you are doing but then I'm sure there are people out there who are relieved to know that they can eat well without having to worry about gluten messing them up. I found when I started my heart diet (totally given up since then but that's another story), there was no increase to my exercise plan (I have joint hypermobility syndrome and can't do much exercise other than walking and even then not much of that), but I was losing steady and safe amounts of weight at a sustainable rate per week. I think your body responds better if you switch your diet to something that is not only healthier but makes the brain and stomach feel satisfied. Well, might feel like crap to begin with but after a while it improves.

My main issue with diets like these is the militant attitude it can bring out in supporters. If someone is eating what is required of them for their lifestyle, health and (in some cases) religion/cultural beliefs and isn't harming anyone then let them get on with it. Sure, encouraging people to be healthy is good but when you get those who slam anyone who eats meat or only vegetables or aliens or whatever, it kind of undoes any good that could have come out of it all. Although I do have to admit it is fun to wind up angry vegans. But that's because I'm a bad bad person.

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

Bottom line from what I've seen:
1. We live in a disgusting culture of overconsumption. I don't eat healthy by any means, but I don't overconsume. Literally can't stress enough how important it is to eat all things in moderation, whatever it is you choose to eat.
2. Most all man-made things we eat and expose ourselves to, voluntarily or not, are bad for us. Living in society, aside from having access to medicine, is detrimental to health given that the following have been proven to be linked to cancer, more aggressive behavior, and/or earlier onset puberty in adolescents.
-car exhaust
-bacon
-radio signals (including but not limited to all wireless technology communications)
-anything you have ever cooked in a microwave
-a lot of things that are packaged in plastic
-being in close proximity to a power generator (often they are constructed in low income neighborhoods)
-the list goes on

3. We can't control that we're constantly being bombarded with things that are horrible for us, but we can change our behavior slightly to alleviate the danger. Just as capcomplicated did.We can:
-don't breath car exhaust if you can help it (dear god don't let your kids even in small doses)
-throw away your microwave and learn to cook. it's not that hard.
-be mindful of what you buy. if the nutrition facts look like a MSDS, don't put it in your body.
-stay away from power generators
-don't keep your phone in your pocket because it's been proven to be linked to pancreatic and other forms of cancer
-stay the **** away from power generators
-don't give up bacon. come on. it's just too good.

What does all of this have to do with your diet? Nothing. I'm sorry for veering off topic. All of these things bother me and it's hard to talk about without sounding like an off-the-grid-crazy paranoid psycho. The scary thing is they are all true.
I applaud you for cutting the crap out of your diet and being healthier for it.

 

[Capcomplicated]

My main issue with diets like these is the militant attitude it can bring out in supporters. If someone is eating what is required of them for their lifestyle, health and (in some cases) religion/cultural beliefs and isn't harming anyone then let them get on with it. Sure, encouraging people to be healthy is good but when you get those who slam anyone who eats meat or only vegetables or aliens or whatever, it kind of undoes any good that could have come out of it all. Although I do have to admit it is fun to wind up angry vegans. But that's because I'm a bad bad person.

What kind of aliens lol I feel like a couple of Trump supporters that I've come across would do just that. I get what your saying, its one thing to be passionate about a subject and another thing to be emphatic. Although I am extremely passionate about this ultimately it boils down to you can bring a horse to water; except this time the water could be dangerous but its clear, tastes good, and makes me feel better. I'm also going off personal experience with this bread stuff its not that I have an intolerance (that I know of) its that i'm seeing more and more connections in my life struggle to wheat, rice, and other grain like foodies that were supposed to be good for you turn out to cause complications. Plus for all you conspiracy nuts (CheezMcNasty!) wheat, corn, rice, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, sucralose, etc...how many things in the grocery store do you see with these on it. ALL of those will turn to straight sugar (if it isn't sugar already) in your body because your energy functions turn carbs and sugar into energy....if you don't use all the energy though, turns directly into fat storage. That's why Olympic swimmers and track runners carbo load before their heavy exercise. Which Mark Sisson, the guy who wrote primal blueprint, has said that carbo loading is completely unnessesary if you eat right

The guy is 62 years old now...lol 62. That's why I follow his blog like gospel.

The reason I asked about the fat part of it is because the diet is high fat low carb. So I can have Real butter, Ghee, coconut oil, avocado oil and whatnot to cook with. I feel like hes right about our bodies using fat like its supposed to be used....for energy. So definitely artificial fats or anything artificial is bad. I just thought it was note worthy to address how bad all the junk foods are for you.

What does all of this have to do with your diet? Nothing. I'm sorry for veering off topic. All of these things bother me and it's hard to talk about without sounding like an off-the-grid-crazy paranoid psycho. The scary thing is they are all true.
I applaud you for cutting the crap out of your diet and being healthier for it.

Its funny how when you try to do whats right for yourself and sustain yourself without the government telling us what is right and ONLY right that we get labled crazy, psycho nut-jobs. Well I am one of those nut-job conspiracy theorists. That's why I wrote all that crap in the legalized weed thread. There are TOOOOOO many things trying to kill us and one of those things I believe now is our food. What else in this world can you rely on NOT to kill you if it isn't what KEEPS you alive. Sad to say but I believe it to be true. I appreciate your sentiment it feels good to finally wake up so to speak,, which I've done several times in my life and will probably do it again. It would be nice to live off the grid if I didn't think A: the government would kick me off my property. or B: I'm really scared of chemtrails lol I kinda feel like they are spreading evil **** into our soil worldwide. But I don't know theres a lot of mystery involved with that. What we really need is a damn revolution but i'm afraid itll come about in the wrong ways.

I will say this though. Doing what you can RIGHT NOW could make the difference. I feel like just even cutting out crap food processed food as much as possible would be extremely helpful. I think the mindset of were all going to die anyway is foolish and disturbing. I have really good friends who still say that and slapped one of them in the face as a joke and he said WHY THE FK DID YOU DO THAT?! I said what does it matter your gonna die anyway! I don't know I guess this all stemmed from one of my close friends who recently got diagnosed with Breast Cancer. It was extremely aggressive and she had to have whats known as the RED DEVIL treatment like not even once I think 4 times and now she has another 13 treatments to go that are less invasive. She's already lost her hair and feels miserable....but shes a fighter. I just feel like we all deserve to live our lives free of all this chaos that causes us to be diseased and crippled.

 

[La Femme Fatale]

This was an interesting post, Capcomplicated. I only skimmed some of the links you gave me and I'm happy that this is working out for you and your fiancée.

So I'm going to keep it a bit real - I struggled with weight all my life. In university (just a few years ago) I was eating around 850-950 calories a day to while purging at the same time to maintain a weight of about 115-130lbs. I have the kind of metabolism where I can smell a slice of pizza and gain 8 pounds. Just recently my doctor referred me to a thyroid specialist and I was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism which I've apparently had for a very long time. I feel much better now that I have medication for it - I'm not as forgetful or depressed, I have a lot more energy, and even my menstrual cycles are so much less painful than they were prior to treatment. Losing weight/maintaining has also been much easier.

That said, what I know I need to do is take 'diet' out of my vocabulary and focus rather on embracing a lifestyle change. For me, I don't think this includes having to give up on starches entirely. Of course, anything in excess is bad for you - but I do limit my intake to two servings of about 15 carbs each unless I'm on a cheat day (in which all bets are off). Reducing sugar intake, cutting out fast food, red meat, and BAGELS were the four major changes I made - but starches at this point for me are too much of a staple for me to give up.

I am interested to see how this goes for you - so keep us posted.

 

[Capcomplicated]

This was an interesting post, Capcomplicated. I only skimmed some of the links you gave me and I'm happy that this is working out for you and your fiancée.

So I'm going to keep it a bit real - I struggled with weight all my life. In university (just a few years ago) I was eating around 850-950 calories a day to while purging at the same time to maintain a weight of about 115-130lbs. I have the kind of metabolism where I can smell a slice of pizza and gain 8 pounds. Just recently my doctor referred me to a thyroid specialist and I was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism which I've apparently had for a very long time. I feel much better now that I have medication for it - I'm not as forgetful or depressed, I have a lot more energy, and even my menstrual cycles are so much less painful than they were prior to treatment. Losing weight/maintaining has also been much easier.

That said, what I know I need to do is take 'diet' out of my vocabulary and focus rather on embracing a lifestyle change. For me, I don't think this includes having to give up on starches entirely. Of course, anything in excess is bad for you - but I do limit my intake to two servings of about 15 carbs each unless I'm on a cheat day (in which all bets are off). Reducing sugar intake, cutting out fast food, red meat, and BAGELS were the four major changes I made - but starches at this point for me are too much of a staple for me to give up.

I am interested to see how this goes for you - so keep us posted.

thank you La femme that means alot. I will be posting results good or bad for those who are curious as to the where the diet/lifestyle is taking me.

I know how you feel about grains and what not but I thought this was interesting I read this before you posted because April has eczema and was curious if it would help with it so far it has minor positives nothing substantial yet cause she ate a dang PEACH PIE the other day and donuts when we went on vacation lol. But this lady said she struggled with that and hypothyroidism. So I showed her that and now she's back on track.

Sweet potatoes are ok to eat also on our diet I just don't prefer them she LOVES them so it works out. I have to be careful though because I'm borderline ketogenic now and I'd rather not be but at the moment I'm not feeling any downsides. So I'll also be trying to post what I've been eating and pros and con's that I can see.

I hate to see people struggle through life because of bull**** greed. I could probably write an entire thread on that stupid ****..but I'll keep it to a minimum.

I do have one vice that could complicate things for me and that's my energy drink: Runa clean energy berry flavor. I drink one a day and its because I'm addicted to the high of caffeine... It'll be hard to let go of that I'm sure but I'll also let you know if I can do it.

 

[Capcomplicated]

So I've successfully completed 3 months on this lifestyle change and I've lost a total of 30 lbs and gained a healthier gut in the process. I've had a couple of cheat days but those days I've noticed an increase in metabolism almost as if my body is trying to expel the processed mess as fast as possible, while when I stick to the diet everything kinda normalizes.

I would usually have a lot of stomach pains while eating certain foods and since I've been eating this way I've only experienced stomach pain once in the three months I've been doing it and I've been waking up with more energy.

My goal wasn't even to lose weight and it still isn't. My entire goal was to eat healthier and just make better decisions on what I fuel my body with. The weight loss was completely unintentional. I am still continuing to lose weight and now I've set some small weight goals since i'm currently at 202.5 once I am 180 I am going to make a conscience effort to maintain that body weight. I do not want to go any lower than that for personal reasons.

The negative things that I've come across while doing this "diet" is that even though i'll be hungry at some points i'll go without eating (not often, maybe one day every two weeks) I would rather not eat than eat some fast food or junk food as a quick option so I will wait until after work to cook something. Most days though I have a hearty breakfast and snack on nuts and other things and then come home for voluptuous dinner. I don't always get hungry though is another thing. I've been trying to only eat when i'm hungry and I've generally been netting 1400 to 1800 calories doing that. Most of my calories are from my meats, and fats. i'll fit 4-600 of that at breakfast, nuts and berries about 800 and generally 6-800 calories for dinner. Avocado and salads are my FAVORITE fuc*ing meals there are so many different ways and ingredients you can incorporate.

Also one other negative aspect I've come across is getting really sluggish when I haven't eaten and that's only natural but after I've eaten something I feel a tremendous boost of energy and I feel like my cognitive functions are a direct correlation to what I've eaten and how hungry I am.

Overall I feel like I've been reborn to world of food, and that's not an exaggeration. There are so many natural whole foods you can add to your mix and fully enjoy the worlds natural nutrition. For those still on the fence about this kind of lifestyle I will continue to update with positive and negative effects and will answer any questions about it. After all its all an experiment for me right now