Hello

by | Feb 26, 2013 | Low carb diet, Weight Loss | 0 comments

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One great way of lowering the size of your belly as you have already discovered is to lower carbs so it’s great that you have decided to take that approach.

One great way you can help yourself understand how low carb works is to get hold of one of the better low carb books such as Dr. Atkins.

A good read through of a book like that will give you a thorough grounding as it goes trough the whys, the wherefores, the what to do and the what not to do in a nice logical order and the great thing is you probably don’t even need to pay a lot of money for one as you’ll frequently find them in second hand book shops for a dollar or less.

Hope that helps,

Mark

Here is a comment made on a forum post about low carb

Talking to Doctor about Weight/BMI

by | Feb 22, 2013 | Exercise, Fat Loss, Low carb diet, Metabolism, Weight Loss | 0 comments

1297680967Xa27j9In my book unfortunately doctors are becoming increasingly weary about discussing a patient’s need to lose weight with the patient themselves.

In my recall not so long ago there was a case that came to the newspapers and television news about a woman who was trying to sue her doctor because he said she was fat and needed to lose weight.

So from that side I understand his caution. From the other side sadly it would appear that many medical practitioners can offer no further advice to somebody who is already successfully losing weight possibly because they know that the advice they’re about to give them just doesn’t work.

So if you’re already losing weight why spoil it? The fact that he went on to talk about cholesterol medication even before you had a blood test just makes me wonder if he either A -Hasn’t got a clue what he’s on about or B- He’s following another agenda.

If were in your position I’ll just keep on doing what you have been doing and let the weight come down with diet and exercise. It seems to work for you so far.

All the best,

Mark

This is a copy of the comment I made on a forum post about weight loss

Trader Joe’s Grass Fed Beef

by | Feb 21, 2013 | Food Choices, High Protein Diet, Low carb diet, Meat Products, Natural food | 0 comments

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Grass fed beef can seem to be a bit tougher simply because these animals take longer to get to their butchered weight and as you have discovered they don’t carry as much fat.

As the others have suggested cooking slowly and with extra fat is probably one of the simplest ways of ensuring that the meat is tender when you eat it.

If you like your meat underdone then steaks can also be cooked in the European way flash fried very quickly either side. It’s only when you cook the meat right through that you will find it starts to get tough as a general rule.

Tenderizing the meat using a marinade is also something you can do. A very simple marinade is to mix together a cup of vinegar, a cup of water and 3 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda and just let the meat marinate in that for at least an hour before cooking as gently as possible.

Lastly a tenderization or tenderizing hammer will work wonders as it will tend to break down the longer fibers in  grass fed beef or any grass fed meat come to that and allow you to enjoy your food without having to cut it with a chainsaw.

Hope that helps,

Mark

This is the copy of the comment I made on a forum post about grass fed beef

Question on creamy soups

by | Feb 21, 2013 | Food Choices, Low carb diet, Natural food, Weight Loss | 0 comments

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Living in Europe and particularly in Northern France where cream is a component of so many dishes, I might be out to offer a little bit of insight and experience.

When adding cream to any dish, take the dish off the heat and allow it to cool for a minute or so before you add the cream. Add the cream all in one so that it further cools the dish and then gently bring the pan back to heat stirring continuously. At the first sign of curdling take it off the heat continuing to stir, turn the heat down and try again.

If you’re going to freeze the dish then don’t add the cream. Cook it right away through just to the point where you add the cream and then set it aside for freezing. When you want to use it thaw it out thoroughly, bring it up to heat and then add the cream in the same manner that you would as if the dish were fresh. It really is that simple.

Hope that helps,

Mark

This is a copy of the comment I made on forum post about cream

Navigating social events

by | Feb 21, 2013 | Food Choices, Low carb diet, Sensible Eating | 0 comments

Whenever I’m invited out I always let my host and hostess know about what I can eat well ahead of time. It saves embarrassment and many do pick it up as a challenge. It certainly provides something to talk about during the meal as many a host will actually look out for something that they’ve never cooked before and  we eating low carb gives them just the excuse they need to try something new often getting out of their comfort zone.

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If I’m going to the restaurant I’ve not been to before I found the best way of dealing with that is to either get hold of the menu to make sure there is something tasty and low carbly nutritious or following that ring up the restaurant and tell them that you will be coming and you have a low carb preference, can they do anything to help you.

I have yet to have a refusal for that as again there are very few restaurants who wish to turn down business. As far as going to something that revolves around the buffet, if the host or the hostess does not seem to be fruitful then I found the easiest way is to take a Tupperware box with food that I can eat and I eat it with everybody else I have to say. Again it does provide an exceptionally good topic of conversation as people not only ask what you’re eating but why are you eating it as well.

The bottom line is to take charge of any situation where you are eating with others. By taking charge of the situation you know you’re going to enjoy the food that you eat, you know that your host or hostess is not going to be embarrassed in front of others because they’ve had time to plan ahead and the net result is everybody feels good and enjoys their time together which is after all why we do come together to eat in the first place.

Hope that helps,

Mark

Here is a copy of the comment I made on a forum post about food preferences on social events