Ancient Amish Secret Ingredient

Well friends and neighbors I have just come back from a week of vacation, err, intensive research that is, in Lancaster County PA. And I am here to tell you the real secret of the Amish. Now lets not kid ourselves, the Amish do live with out many of the modern conveniences most folks consider necessities, like electricity and cars. And yes, the do travel about on bicycles, scooters, foot, and horse and buggy. The Amish also eat, a lot. I personally witnessed a petit young woman eat a rather large sausage, potatoes, cabbage, a couple of large rolls with butter and jam, a large whoopee pie and a quart of home-made root beer. She didn't even burp. After which she promptly went back to work. Had I eaten that much I would have needed a nap. Rather than approach the young woman I asked an Amish Matron, who was not so petit, what made Amish cooking so good. At first she looked at me with the kind of look a woman gives a man when he has said the wrong thing, then she softened, a little. "Young English", she said with a bit of accent, "Care we, for them that our cooking eat". After which she turned her attention to things far more pressing then my questions. (PA Dutch Grammar can be exemplified by the following sentence. Johnny run the stairs up, looked the window out, and saw the street coming down with the soldiers.) Like most things Amish there were no frills, or fancy explanations, just the simple truth. The people who are providing the food, care about what it is they are feeding the people who eat it. A quick glance at the ingredient list of Amish goods is a lesson too. I am a big fan of the potato chips, Ingredients; Potatoes, lard, salt. Pretzels, Ingredients - flour, water, salt. The bread - flour, milk, butter, salt. All made daily. You won't find any polysorbate, red dye number 6 or any other unpronounceable ingredient. Just real food, made by people who care.

Beans and Biscuits

My great-grand parents, Henry and Mena Bennett, whom I called Poppy and Mom-mom, observed most of the twentieth century. They survived two world wars, the great depression, Korea, Vietnam, Water-Gate and disco. Even in my earliest recollections of them, they were already old. Intellectually, I know they were once young, I just never knew them that way. Most of my memories of them revolve around Fishing, working in the garden, and making home made ice cream. I did as a matter of course stay with them, particularly in the summer when I was out of school. The garden had all sorts of vegetables, and a bean patch that would have made Thoreau proud. They were not fat, and actually would probably be considered skinny by todays standards. I can still recall what they ate for breakfast every day, Corn flakes with milk and sugar, biscuits with butter and jam, coffee with cream and sugar. Every day. Being a woman of her generation, my great-grand mother used real butter and cream, real sugar, lard and gold medal flour to make her biscuits, and made her own jam. Lunch, especially this time of year as berries and other fruits become available locally, was often a piece of freshly baked pie or short-cake. I can still picture in my mind, Mom-mom standing at the sink in a plain house dress capping and slicing strawberries with the smell of short bread in the oven. How eagerly I waited for the cast iron skillet containing the short bread to be pulled from the oven. And the still warm biscuit to be topped with a generous scoop of sweetened strawberries and topped with clotted cream. Few things can match such childhood memories. The dinner I remember most often was biscuits and beans. Might great grand father loved lima beans. From a big pot with a big piece of fat pork came the beans served in blue agate bowls. My great grand mothers biscuits ( My grand mother has commented that my great-grand mother made biscuits every day for more than 60 years) and stewed tomatoes rounded out the meal. They would cut small pieces of the pork and mix it with my beans, and butter my biscuits. The stewed tomatoes were not my favorite, but I ate what was in front of me and didn't complain. Perhaps it was the love with which she made everything, but nobody could cook like my great-grand mother. The most simple foods had a flavor and a comforting effect that no gourmet meal can touch.

By current standards they did everything wrong. They ate butter and pork fat. They ate sugar and white flour. They ate fried foods, remind me sometime to tell you about her clam fritters. And in spite of all that they lived to ripe old ages with out succumbing to heart disease or diabetes. They lived quietly and with a deliberateness seldom seen today. How much did they know about how to live that we failed to learn?

Average Guys Guide #8

Avoiding Stupid New Years Resolutions

We are at the second most dangerous time of year, New Years. During this time many people, including tons of folks who should know better, make ridiculous resolutions for the new year. Often these resolution come in the form of promises of diet and exercise. I am here to tell you that if you have been doing the Average guys eating and exercise plan, to avoid the impulse to jump into something radically different in hopes of some fast transformation into a leaner and more muscular you. Now, if you have been going along and think you would like to step it up a notch thats fine, just wait a week or two after Jan 1, to make sure its not some passing fancy that you will abandon. Its way too easy a trap to fall into. Right now your total time commitment to exercise is about 90 minutes a week, max. Your eating guidelines are quite flexible. Many, however, have probably already gotten complacent. Rather than jump into something completely different, tighten up on what you are already doing. Examine your diet, are still eating the recommended amount of meat, vegetables and fruits? Are you still eating breakfast everyday? What about your workouts, are you still adding weight when the exercises get too easy? Are you still faithfully working out twice a week every week? Are you still doing any conditioning work? If you can answer yes to all of these questions, then you are ready to step up to the next level if you wish. If you are not doing all of these, and haven't been able to keep up with the basics, why would you make an even larger commitment? Yes, its bloody hard to resist the sirens call of all the advertising and marketing out there. Remember tho', all these people really care about reducing, is the money in your wallet. If you really feel compelled to spend money and try something new then let me recommend going to your favorite used book store and buying either A Week in the Zone or Mastering the Zone . For people that have trouble with my eating recommendations due to their lack of sufficient structure, these are a good way to go. Next time I'll address how to take your training a new direction.

clue bat

Sometimes we all need to be smacked back into reality. Despite good intentions, and knowing better, most of us will do things, that after coming back to reality, will cause us to scratch our heads and go, "WTF was I thinking?". My most recent post prior to this one, is one of those things. At the time I started down that happy path, it all seemed so logical. I even lost weight. Must be a good thing right? Sometimes too much knowledge is worse than not enough. When I read things, especially new studies, or different twists on old ideas, my mind goes off on these tangents and starts coming up with ways to improve or alter what I'm doing to incorporate this new information. Sometimes these things can take weeks to play out. This latest episode was relatively short lived. In the case of nutrition, Pareto's principle still holds true. All the complicated answers and formulas and ideas and all the new and novel plans, still come down to the basics. Get enough protein. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables everyday. Minimize refined sugar and sweeteners. Be active. It really is that simple. For reasons I can't understand, I, like countless others, seek to make it so much more. The hardest thing about all of it is to keep it simple. Is it because we live in a world of such startling complexity that simple answers seem so unacceptable?

Passing Between Scylla and Charybdis

So there I am, on Good Friday, shopping at my local Costco to get items for the up coming Easter Dinner. Ham, check. Yams, check. Veggie tray, check, Fruit Tray, check, Eggs, check. When lo and behold there it was. As I rounded the corner from the dairy case there was one of them there sample tastings of the dreaded Tiramisu. As I struggled to get by my cart found itself caught in the tempest of Costco traffic, compounded by the sirens call I like Odysseus crew, floundered, and washed upon the shore of temptation and sampled the forbidden. The marscapone topped The lady fingers soaked in espresso and marsala. It was mahhhvuhluhs. One bite was not enough, and yet to much. So I bought one to take home. Upon arrival at mi casa, Mrs D noted the the Tiramisu was not on the list I had been sent to the store with. I swore that it had jumped into the cart and refused to get out until I reached the check out line, and then it leaped out of the cart and into the hands of the cashier. What was I supposed to do? I got "the look", that all husbands know to well. We had our gathering of kith and kin on Saturday, and a good time was had by all, including yours truly. In fact I enjoyed myself all the way till Sunday morning when upon testing my Fasting Glucose was greeted with a glaring 120. Reality sucks. No Easter candy for me. I cut my carbs to a net of 70 on Sunday, and Monday I was back down to 104. Better, but still not great.


Progress Report

Well Friends and neighbors, In the first 3 months of the year, I have managed to lose 5 lbs, and one inch off my waist. Slow and steady may win the race but I think this is a bit too slow. My eating has been mostly in line with a healthy diet, but no real efforts made at losing. My exercise has been consistent, but again, no efforts made at any real progression. In retrospect, I haven't been as dedicated as I needed to be to really see any significant results. So, on Monday, I started a four week concerted effort at fat loss. After Zero results from Weight Watcher for several weeks, Mrs D. started back on a 40-30-30 diet about 3 weeks ago, and is down 3 lbs, and 1.5 belly inches in just those 3 weeks. This has in no small way got my attention. Her efforts at managing her diet and consistent exercise are paying off. I, on the other hand, have been, well, somewhat less focused.


Etcetra

In the chalk one up to experience dept, I've recently determined that when my sugar is out of whack, I need to really tighten up on my carbs and calories to get it back down. All those formulas that calculate caloric needs, don't mean diddley squat, and what may be reasonable advice for a person with normal blood sugar could harm a person with impaired fasting glucose.

I've been tagged

Five things about Me that are fit for public consumption.

1. I have a degree in nursing though I've never worked as a nurse or taken my board exams. When I first got off of active duty Army, I went to college to get a nursing degree. I actually changed majors two classes shy of finishing my ADN. Between then and Graduating I had four different majors. I ended up with a BA in liberal studies, with minors in Biology, English, Economics, and Psychology. Later I went back and finished my ADN. As it stands now, I have a BA in Liberal Studies, and Ass in Nursing, an Ass in Computer Science, and a Graduate Certificate in Project Management.

2. I was a state champion Archer, and tried out for the Olympic team. I didn't qualify for the Olympics, but it was fun trying and, Being in that level of competition was rather intense.

3. I met my wife in Mr Anders Intro to Physical Science class. I was in ninth grade, she was a sophomore. Of course at the time she would have nothing to do with me. I was a skinny runt, and she would only date upper class-men. She eventually saw the light, but not until after we had both graduated from High School. In a chance meeting on AOL, back when AOL was cool, we decided to go to lunch. And that as they say was that, we've been together ever since.

4. I was a professional Chef for several years. Having been a cook in the service, I worked in a number of restaurants while in college. By the time I graduated, I was a working chef, and running a kitchen. At the time I was making more money doing that then any of the entry level jobs I was qualified for were paying. I eventually became a corporate chef for Sara Lee, they mad me mad, I quit, and never went back to cooking.

5. I can Drive a tractor - trailer. Growing up in my family means working on and driving all types of vehicles that are used on farms. Even now, I sometimes drive a load to or from the farm. I still like honkin the air horn WOOT WOOT!!

Of Mice and Men

And so begins a New Year and a new set of goals and plans. A new set of challenges, as of yet unknown, to navigate. Opportunities to rise to the occasion, or succumb to circumstance. There will of course be successes and setbacks. In order to know when we've successful in the endeavors of physical fitness, and health, measurements must be taken. Yes, this is no existential pursuit, but a quantifiable set of goals. So, with out further ado, the opening salvo.
BF based on 3 site Caliper test 23%
Waist Circumference 42"
And all 23% is affixed to my belly, and upper body. Just a few weeks ago my waist as 39" so I am sure that much of it is sugar bloat from my holiday over indulgence. My Fasting glucose over the past week has bounced around between 94 and 111. Oddly enough pumpkin pie and chocolate cake make it go up, especially when accompanied by stuffed shells for dinner. On those days when my food choices were low GI, my sugar on the following day was down. Coincidence?


Mrs. D is still on weight watchers and doing quite well. Despite my misgivings about certain aspects of the system, she has been very successful, she’s lost 8 lbs, and who am I to argue with success.


My Diet and training plans for the first six weeks will be focused on normalizing my blood sugar and fat loss. I will be using a protein adequate, low GI diet combined with full body circuit training 3 times a week. I’m going to use PHA training as described by John McCallum in “Keys to Progress”. This is “old school” circuit training, a little more volume than normal, and will be a good change up from my usual routines.

This will be followed by 6 weeks of “X-Rep” based training. This is different twist on High Intensity training, and something I’ve never done before. So I thought I would give it a try. I’m not expecting comic book results, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. This will take me to the end of March, and based on results I will either focus on getting leaner or stronger. My plan at this point is to move back into my standard routines and diet pattern and manipulate them based on where I need/want to go. We shall see what happens.

Lets blame Reagen

Is it just me, or is there a trend here?!?!?

	Average daily per capita calories from the U.S. food supply, adjusted for spoilage and other waste
Year	Meat, eggs, and nuts	Dairy	Fruit	Vegetables	Flour and cereal products	Added fats	Added sugars	Total
1970	380	267	63	124	429	428	402	2,093
1973	364	266	62	121	431	438	411	2,094
1977	371	256	66	121	447	435	414	2,108
1983	386	253	73	120	468	481	402	2,183
1988	408	262	79	124	555	510	439	2,377
1993	410	256	79	136	599	546	469	2,496
1998	415	256	79	133	616	511	502	2,513
2004	447	263	78	133	609	660	475	2,665

Insulin is your friend

OMG!!!!
Lock up the women and Hide the children, the boy has lost his mind. He is using the "I" word, and he thinks its our friend. Go get the Holy fat of Atkins and douse him good. Every LCer knows that insulin is evil.
WELL, no, insulin is not evil, and it really is our friend. Despite all the rhetoric on the LC boards and blogs, with out insulin we would die. If our body stopped making insulin we would have to inject it into our system, thats called Type 1 diabetes. The problem is that most people have a fundamental misunderstanding of the role insulin plays in our metabolism. The scary story that usually surrounds insulin goes something like this- we eat carbs, insulin is realeased, bad things happen. The problem here is that insulin is not the problem. One of the primary functions of insulin is to lower our blood sugar, which is a good thing. Glucose doesn't belong in our blood, it belongs in our cells were it can be used in a things called glycolysis and the Krebbs cycle to create energy for our cells to do their cell work. The problem we run into is when we keep stuffing our pie hole long after we've met our energy needs. When we repeatedly over eat, the cells that take up the glucose become immune, or resistant, to the effects of insulin.
So then how do we make the receptors more sensitive to insulin? Excellent question, I'm so glad you asked. Calorie restriction and exercise are the two most effective ways of increasing insulin sensitivity, short of medication. For example, Cutting carbs combined with full body strength training routines. Eliminating carbs btw, will not eliminate your need for insulin. Protien digestion, also stimulates insulin secretion. One of insulins other functions is to stimulate protien synthesis. Which if you strength train, helps to restore any muscle mass that may have been lost from disuse and aging. Fat is the only macronutrient not to stimulate insulin. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to eat a meal of just fat. Besides, you must eat protein. Protein is used up everyday in normal metabolism as part of tissue repair and immune functions, among other things.

So how did insulin get such a bad name? Well in short, insulin stops you from burning fat for energy, and promotes fat storage. So yes, it does have a downside. The trick here is to manage the amount of insulin you secrete, and to increase your sensitivity to the insulin you do secrete. Over time if you increase your sensitivity to insulin, your body will produce less insulin to do the job we need it to do.

[NOTE to the Science Nerds out there: I know that each glucose becomes 2 pyruvate prior to entering the krebbs cycle, so save it]