The official diet and nutrition thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

Switched to the Mediterranean lifestyle after some bad labs earlier this year (March) and really focused on learning to cook because I know I'll get bored unless I learn to have massive variety. I've spent the past 8 months learning new skills and especially how to cook good healthy meals when I get home after a 10 hour day and don't want to cook (I do all the cooking for the family now). For the first time in my life I've made a huge change that doesn't involve extreme measures (which for me ALWAYS result in a yo yo style return to former weight plus some more). I have no idea how many calories I eat, I eat very well and I've discovered a whole new world of spices, seasonings and variety. I ditched processed foods, reduced my drinking to 1-2 a week and the results have been more than I could have dreamed up. I've dropped nearly 40 pounds, my BP is back to normal, I feel so much better and best of all, I feel like I eat better than I ever have in my life. I had tried the Mediterranean lifestyle a couple years back with good initial success but with very limited cooking skills which proved to be my demise on that attempt. Now that I have a new skill set I'm feeling confident in this being my new way of life.

Wow!!! That is impressive.

Funny you should mention this. I did a physical in October and my HDL is low and my LDL is high-ish but in the reasonable range. The bigger problem is that my LDL is dominated by small particles and is way out of range. I have never heard of that before, but it is a thing. Blood pressure is also high. So one of my options is to go on statins, but I am philosophically opposed to taking meds to deal with something you can probably fix through lifestyle. So I am committed to losing 25 lbs. I already workout and exercise at a pretty high level, so I need to improve my diet. I have been too careless with sweets, rich/high-fat foods, snacking, and overeating.

I bought a new set of scales that links to my phone via bluetooth so my daily weight is automatically recorded and tracked. That will really help me stay focused.

I know the broad strokes of a Mediterranean diet, but what are some of your go-to meals? Tonight we did a med bowl with brown rice, chicken, lettuce, hummus, olives, cucumbers, etc.

[beefytee]

Yes. Please point us in the right direction for this. Do you have specific cookbooks? Websites?

And congrats on the lifestyle change! That sounds great! I have aspirations to do something like this.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Nice work, SB! Truly impressive.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Wow!!! That is impressive.

Funny you should mention this. I did a physical in October and my HDL is low and my LDL is high-ish but in the reasonable range. The bigger problem is that my LDL is dominated by small particles and is way out of range. I have never heard of that before, but it is a thing. Blood pressure is also high. So one of my options is to go on statins, but I am philosophically opposed to taking meds to deal with something you can probably fix through lifestyle. So I am committed to losing 25 lbs. I already workout and exercise at a pretty high level, so I need to improve my diet. I have been too careless with sweets, rich/high-fat foods, snacking, and overeating.
...

I shared that philosophy until recently. In Outlive, Peter Attia recommends that healthy adults go on statins earlier than is typically prescribed as it prevents the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques (which even healthy people are developing as they age). Why not get ahead of the game and prevent or retard arteriosclerosis early on. My recent CT scans and MRI's were overall very good, but showed some plaque in my aorta--nothing alarming but I'm 71... My most recent Lipid panel showed total cholesterol of 202, LDL of 105, and HDL of 65, and my doc has said I didn't need to do anything. But after reading the book, I asked if she thought it'd be okay to go on a statin (Lipitor) and she said yes. So I've been taking a pill every night without any side effects. My mom and maternal grandmother had fatal strokes and I'm hoping to avoid a similar fate.

[Scott R Nelson]

So I'm going to see how far I can get on willpower alone, before coming up with a better plan.

Progress report: I was down five pounds right away, in just a few days, but now I'm stuck there bouncing up and down by one or two. Time to get more serious about it.

What I learned about myself, though, is that I was eating everything around me. And too much at meals. I might have to resort to what worked for a while the previous time I lost some weight, write down everything that I eat to give me more incentive to not eat certain things, especially snacks. I don't really want to be on a diet, but I need to be on a diet.

[Copelius]

They finally convinced my dad to go on statins after 4 mini strokes and cleaning out both his carotid arteries (we call it roto rooter surgery). His cholesterol was never that high but the Dr. said the blockage just comes with age and that some are genetically predisposed regardless of cholesterol.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I shared that philosophy until recently. In Outlive, Peter Attia recommends that healthy adults go on statins earlier than is typically prescribed as it prevents the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques (which even healthy people are developing as they age). Why not get ahead of the game and prevent or retard arteriosclerosis early on. My recent CT scans and MRI's were overall very good, but showed some plaque in my aorta--nothing alarming but I'm 71... My most recent Lipid panel showed total cholesterol of 202, LDL of 105, and HDL of 65, and my doc has said I didn't need to do anything. But after reading the book, I asked if she thought it'd be okay to go on a statin (Lipitor) and she said yes. So I've been taking a pill every night without any side effects. My mom and maternal grandmother had fatal strokes and I'm hoping to avoid a similar fate.

That makes sense.

Zero history of heart disease or strokes in my family. But you never know. I am getting the plaque CT scan soon and will reassess.

[BigFatMeanie]

My cardiac calcium scores were off the charts so I’m on a statin. Fortunately Im a statin responder and my bad cholesterol has plummeted. Some people are non-responders.

[SteelBlue]

Funny you should mention this. I did a physical in October and my HDL is low and my LDL is high-ish but in the reasonable range. The bigger problem is that my LDL is dominated by small particles and is way out of range. I have never heard of that before, but it is a thing. Blood pressure is also high. So one of my options is to go on statins, but I am philosophically opposed to taking meds to deal with something you can probably fix through lifestyle. So I am committed to losing 25 lbs. I already workout and exercise at a pretty high level, so I need to improve my diet. I have been too careless with sweets, rich/high-fat foods, snacking, and overeating.

This is almost exactly what I am dealing with. Maybe we're related. My doctor ran some numbers in a formula he uses and told me I had a 9% chance of dying of a heart attack or CVA this year. That got my attention. He is also philosophically opposed to prescribing statins when his patients can make lifestyle changes (and he's known me in my healthy phases) and so he said let's see what you can do in 6 months and re-assess.

[SteelBlue]

Yes. Please point us in the right direction for this. Do you have specific cookbooks? Websites?

And congrats on the lifestyle change! That sounds great! I have aspirations to do something like this.

Thanks. Yes, I have some websites that have helped me immensely. For me the most important thing was to develop variety as quickly as possible. I needed to be able to whip up good food when it's 6 pm and I've worked a full day because historically that's when I've turned to fast food or easy, heavily processed foods at home. Some things that have worked for me:

1) Fully stocking the pantry at the onset of the lifestyle change. The MD isn't complicated at all and there are many ingredients that are common across recipes. If you've been eating a shitty American diet though there's a lot you probably don't have on hand. There are pantry checklists all over the place online. I found one and went shopping and that was a huge help. Once you get going you'll realize what you like and use a lot of and what you don't need to restock much.

2) Finding online chefs who share quality recipes free. What I ended up learning from these people more than specific recipes has been how to freestyle and especially spice combos that make anything delicious. Some of my favorites:

Spain on a fork - Albert is a Spaniard but has lived in America for much of his life. He is a vegetarian but often includes recipes with seafood. Obviously you could add meat as you wish to any of these. His recipes are simple and delicious. I have found his food to be my favorite so far and probably use something he's taught me no less than twice a week.

Unicorns in the Kitchen -She is an Iranian who now lives in the States. Her site has tremendous variety and she shares something new weekly.

The Mediterranean Dish - Anyone starting this lifestyle quickly finds this site because Suzy was smart enough to use the word Mediterranean in the name of her site. She has the most comprehensive site by far and it's the most functional. You just have to get past the influencer vibe with her. She has added a "jump to recipe" button on all recipes so you can skip the essays. Her videos are very well produced and I haven't come across a single dud recipe on her site. Her chicken shawarma recipe is a family favorite. You could eat for a year off of this one site alone.

Chef Akis Petretzikis - Greek chef who is amazing at "greekifying" cuisines from all around the world. His recipes are more complicated than the three I've listed above, but when I use his stuff, I get by far the most compliments. His chicken tikka masala recipe is fantastic and guaranteed to be a family favorite.

I have more to say but am at work and have already spent too much time on this this morning. Will chime in more later if anyone wants to know more.

[Bo Diddley]

This is almost exactly what I am dealing with. Maybe we're related. My doctor ran some numbers in a formula he uses and told me I had a 9% chance of dying of a heart attack or CVA this year. That got my attention. He is also philosophically opposed to prescribing statins when his patients can make lifestyle changes (and he's known me in my healthy phases) and so he said let's see what you can do in 6 months and re-assess.

[Jeff Lebowski]

This is almost exactly what I am dealing with. Maybe we're related. My doctor ran some numbers in a formula he uses and told me I had a 9% chance of dying of a heart attack or CVA this year. That got my attention. He is also philosophically opposed to prescribing statins when his patients can make lifestyle changes (and he's known me in my healthy phases) and so he said let's see what you can do in 6 months and re-assess.

Have you rechecked your lipids after your weight loss?

[SteelBlue]

Have you rechecked your lipids after your weight loss?

No, the 6 months flew by and now I’m at 8. I need to call and get the orders.

[SteelBlue]

A couple more things I wanted to share:

1) I call it the Mediterranean Lifestyle because calling it the Diet gives it connotations of a fad diet which is never what the MD was about. It's simply a descriptor of the way people once ate in the region. People who had no idea they were doing or discovering anything exceptional. Unfortunately there is a whole subculture out there of people who love to check boxes and keep to a very strict notion of what the MD is. Such people drive me crazy, it's also a rocket ship to quitting for many people. I think of it as a philosophy, and have moved steadily toward preferring these foods as I've learned to cook them. but to me ANY movement away from the processed American diet is positive and worthwhile change. So if it's something you're thinking about undertaking, even making it one meal a day to start is a movement in the right direction. I can almost assure you that one meal will become two eventually and that within months it'll be your norm. TLDR: if you want to start just start.

2) The weight came off without intense exercise. Until the past few weeks all I've done was walk 3-6 miles a few times a week. Now that I'm at a healthy weight I've been adding some more intense cardio (just running 5k a few times a week). My point is simply that I was carrying 40 extra pounds that seem to have been solely due to eating like many hard-working Americans who feel too tired to cook at the end of the day.

3) Probably the simplest jumping off point if one feels overwhelmed by info but wants to make a meaningful change fast is to make sure your plate is at least 60% vegetables every time you eat. Start there.

[Jeff Lebowski]

That makes sense.

Zero history of heart disease or strokes in my family. But you never know. I am getting the plaque CT scan soon and will reassess.

Well, shit.