Thursday, November 23, 2017

Our Big Fat Kitchen


We are big time fat lovers here on The Poor Farm. Bacon fat, coconut oil, lard or butter is included in most every meal.  And Keith and I feel better than we have in years. This is amazing to me since I was "raised" on the American Heat Associations line of hogwash (but not hog lard) that proclaimed all fat is bad.

Nurses are often given mega loads of misinformation. All part of the anything but, healthcare system. 

Organizations like Weight Watchers jumped aboard this ridiculous fat free train and convinced women that fat elimination and over dosage of fruits and vegetables would save their lives. Often hospitals paired up with WW and offered their classes within the hospital walls, collecting dues through payroll deduction. Women did lose weight, for awhile, but it all came back on. Mostly because these women were always hungry. Minimal fats, and tiny amounts of protein left them unsatisfied. In addition, so much, these WW type companies produced frozen and well preserved premade foods that were low fat, but high in sugar, especially corn syrup. 

They were also expensive. 

It's not fair to pick on one diet fad, I know, being  there are hundreds in this country alone, but they do all share one premise: make the consumer dependent on the company's doctrine rather than teach them the basics of good nutrition. 

I feel qualified to have a solid opinion on all this because I am...fat.

I was not a fat child or teen, far too little food to go around for that, but I lost all control when I got pregnant and gained 50 pounds with baby number one. When baby number two came along just 14 months later I packed on another 30 pounds. I clung to that weight another two decades and then in 2000 I jumped on my own fad train, the Atkins Diet.

It worked really well. I lost 100 pounds in one year and felt fantastic. I also blew out my gallbladder which is a common occurrence in women in their 30's and 40's who lost a large amount of weight. Eventually I tired of the low carb deal and I gained back 50 pounds.

I'm Irish, love my bread and potatoes.

Over the last 15 years I have remained steady at a luscious size 18. Nearing 60 I thought I would never feel motivated again to drop some of that extra load but a sister of mine took The Whole 30 challenge and she felt so much better, motivated to increase her exercise and eat less processed food,  it inspired me.  

So, I'm following her lead as are my other two sisters. We are all seeing results and feeling better. Whole 30 isn't a diet so much as a break from all the processed foods including all sugars and grains. I was not eating that much in the way of processed foods but I sure was eating my share of bread and taking way too much honey in my 8-10 cups of tea every day. 

You're not meant to be on The Whole 30 plan for more than thirty days, thus the name, as  the whole premise is eliminating those processed foods that may have caused you issues such as heartburn, inflammation, insomnia. You give your body break and take the time needed to learn which foods work for you and which clearly do not., then slowly and with reason, you add a little sugar, some grains back to your diet. Hopefully, being much more selective amount the types and amounts. 

What I love about Whole 30 is you don't pay membership fees or have to buy the book. There's always a book isn't there? You are encouraged to eat pasture raised meat, which I already did, and healthy animals fats, but the rest of your food needs to be prepared by yourself. 

Jars always on my counter filled with lard, bacon grease and coconut oil.
I also keep a bottle of olive oil on my stove and butter in various stages like Ghee.
Pig fat all chopped up and in the crockpot for lard making
Seems I am washing, cutting, prepping, cooking  food all the time, which is what a homesteader should be doing anyway, right?

Now, this quinquagenarian is down almost two sizes and up in energy  levels I haven't felt in decades. My main motivation was the addition of two new GK's last month. I want to be around for them, to be able to help their parents when needed, to have the ability to run after them, to play with them, to wrestle with them, to attend their school events and future weddings, to love them and their four older cousins, for a very long time.

I also don't want to wear out my pallbearers when they haul my carcass down to our family cemetery!




















21 comments:

  1. The area in France where I live has very low levels of cardiac problems. as does the extreme south. Here they put it down to the consumption of Duck Fat, and in the south to the high consumption of Olive Oil. Fatty fried Bacon is a real delight.

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    1. Duck fat. Something our kitchen is missing. We have the ducks but have not yet butchered them. Something else to put on the To-Do list!

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  2. Sounds like a great plan! Do people have better success keeping the weight off than they do with WW? A lot of people still believe the old "science" about fats, but it often seems to be an emotional decision rather than one based on true fact. I think feeling good and having energy are two huge selling points for a truly good diet.

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    1. Whole 30 works to reset your body and those foods which may be causing issues, but not meant to be on for more than four weeks at a time. For me, it reminded me again that sugars and too much bread make me sluggish and dull. Now I'm bright and a little faster. At least in my head I am!

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  3. It's refreshing to hear someone from inside, challenge the misinformation the health care sector gives about diet. I'm a 29 year veteran of type 1 diabetes, and have been through the mill of advice. I've seen avocado go from cholesterol felon, to healthy fats, messiah.

    After being sufficiently killed, by following such dietary advice, I gave Paleo a try. It turned my life around. Lost weight, energy levels returned, etc. But like all "diets", I couldn't stick to them. Especially with the amount of physical work I was doing on the property. I'd have a stretch of hypos, and then craved sugar and bread, like an unrepentant sinner.

    The medical advice I was given to eat a lot of carbs (old advice now, that has since changed) was killing me, and the Paleo wasn't working for the amount of activity I was performing. My enemy was actually the insulin I was taking. It saves my life, but it also calls me to crave carbs when my sugar is low enough.

    It's just part of "my" cycle, and something I've had to adapt to. Similar to the Whole 30, I reset my system, by fasting for a whole day, and then only having small amounts of whole foods, the following day. So two days of pain. After that process, I don't crave carbs any more. I'm learning to introduce more fats, when I eat whole foods again, as well.

    As a veteran of insulin management, I know it's the pattern of excess amounts of it (or not enough) which causes the body to crave carb and sugar laden foods, in unholy amounts. I can see the Whole 30 diet, being a way to reset the clock again. So you don't feel the cravings. I'm glad it's working for you, and that you're feeling better.

    Be ready to go whacky on Christmas day though. That's my day of throwing whatever rule book, out the door. I find if I don't, I end up developing bad eating habits for a few months, afterwards. It's nice to give yourself a DAY off, every now and then. Just so long as the days aren't too close together. ;)

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    1. Such hard word you've had to go through to get where you are! Kudos to you for not giving up. Diabetes is, as you know, life threatening and soul wracking. Can't imagine that day to day struggle. I made it through Thanksgiving very well. One bite of pie and it was too too sweet, so really it was not heard to avoid. I am mostly missing POPCORN! Might treat myself to a big bowl of the butter and salt drenched stuff for Christmas. How celebratory is that?!?

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  4. I watched an interesting programme that revealed that the low fat trend was fueled by the sugar industry. I think the bottom line is also that people just generally eat too much. Congratulations on the weight loss. It's not easy, otherwise everyone would be svelte! -Jenn

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    1. We've watched several of the sugar documentaries lately and it is frightening how much sugar usage has increased over the decades. As addictive as heroin I believe but slower in its destruction.

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  5. It'll be hard for you without bread given how much you love it. Good luck. Fad diets like that one don't make sense to me and never have except as a way for author's to fleece a gullible public into buying their book. I'm really thrilled that you won't be buying her book.

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    1. Billions and billions of dollars spent on diets, diet food and diet books and here in the US, we're fatter than ever!

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  6. You know what Donna? I don't care anymore lol...not that I've given up on MY OWN lucious size, :) ...I used to work out like an Arnold or a Stallone...ate little salads, drank only water...now it's whole hog so to speak hee hee...we are REAL eaters here. Butter, bacon, whole milk...nothing "low fat" or "diet" at all. We drink wine and cocktails. We also keep active with the dogs and I do a lot of yoga to help my aching body. Trying my best to be healthy and I hope it works!

    PS: I had a friend who did the "Cabbage Soup Diet" in the 80's...holy gas...ha ha ha...she was hard to be around! :) Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! :)

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    1. I remember that cabbage soup diet! I think Dolly Parton promoted it. I still love all kinds of vegetable soup, especially those with a big hunk of meat or fish floating in it.

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  8. You had posted a picture of yourself back on 10/31 that made me want to suggest that you use for an updated blogger picture. You have obviously lost weight and your complexion looks fantastic....Good For You! I contacted you almost two years ago via personal email (I’m not one for social media) after finding your ‘earlier’ blog in a quest for grass fed beef in the Chicago Area. My wife has long been on a mission to improve the quality and types foods we eat to disqualify the surgeon who wants to perform open heart surgery on her to correct a heart condition. Her Gluten, Non-Dairy and Organic/GMO Free diet has helped lessen the effects of the condition and shed some pounds as well. There is no shortage of beef, bacon or coconut oil in our home. And while I am only a ‘follower’, eating what is placed in front of me after a 13 hour workday, I have lost 40 pounds over the last three years....10 in the past year alone. All makes for a great advertisement....but it really all comes down to diet and exercise. Food preparation from scratch (and cleanup) ain’t the easiest thing either, but if you are committed, you will see and feel those results. Jenn is spot on with regards to the program she saw. I have read/watched several articles/documentaries on the entire food industry....no different from the ‘hogwash’ you refer to above. And while I don’t necessarily believe everything that I read or hear, the beauty of the Internet is you can read and assess at your own pace....making decisions based upon your own opinions. The wealth of information is worldwide, and seemingly never ending. Good luck on your W-30....sounds like you are on the right path!

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    1. Well first off, thanks for the nice words about the change in my appearance. Problem is, as the weight comes off the "mature" skin isn't snapping back like it used to. Oh well, guess I'll just to follow Joan River's advice to have all photos taken while lying flat on your back so the skin puddles off to the side.

      Well done to your wife for changing things herself and well done to you for supporting these changes by eating what she serves. Years ago I was told I had 30% blockage in ONE heart vessel and my MD put me on multiple meds, and then made multiple referrals to other specialists. NEVER was I told to lose weight or offered any other alternative treatments. Mostly because no one makes money that way. After a couple years of feeling worse, I tossed all the prescription meds and have been prescription drug free for over three years. In fact we don't even take motrin anymore. I Feel so much better. If I drop dead tomorrow though, you have my permission to smirk.

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  9. I'm 63 and I just do my own thing, when it comes to eating. Seems the information about what is healthy keeps changing and is confusing. 2 weeks ago, I had a diverticulitis attack, my first. Even that has differing opinions as to what causes it and what NOT to eat. I will just go at it easy- Life is too short to worry now, about what to eat.

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    1. I agree Debby, Life is too short to worry about what to eat. That's why this time is so different for me. I'm not 'dieting" I'm just eating right, which I plan to do the rest of my life. Down almost 30 pounds now (Dec. 12) and I feel so much better.

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  10. Hi Donna, I'm new to your blog. I found you through another blogger that follows you. I found out about the Whole 30 from Pinterest. I love that place. Oh, the great recipes you can find there. I'm also in my early 60's and luscious. I'm working with the paleo and Whole 30 in combination. It seems to work. My doctor loves the idea that I'm not on a yo-yo diet and that this is a much better way of eating.

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    1. Hello Leeanna! Glad you found me. I do often get lost. I am now also working between Whole 30 and Paleo and between the two I have learned what works for me and what doesn't. Bread...not good for my body type but pasture raised pork chops are like my new crack cocaine. Can't get enough of them.

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  11. I started gaining weight after my ankle surgery, mostly because I'm unable to walk as much as I'd like. My love is bread, being raised in my grandmother's bakery , I'm afraid it's in my DNA.
    Congratulations on the weight loss and feeling better, is the diet plan on the web ?
    ~Jo

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    1. My father used to toast up a entire loaf of bread for a "snack" for my siblings and I covered with bad margarine, sugar and cinnamon. It filled us up. He and my mother never had enough money so they learned to feed us as cheaply as they could. Now having gone three months without one single slice of bread I have learned I don't need it. There's enough residual leftover inside me from my childhood to last me until D-day. :)

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Comments are good, as long as you're a real person and not some goof telling me how you were cured of hepatitis by snorting a pulverized neon blue crayon. Your comments don't even have to agree with my viewpoint, I love a good discussion, but civility does matter.