Simple Diets

[Luann]

"Just got me thinking if simplifying your diet wouldn't be a smart thing for most people to try. Just try to find one animal protein you tolerate well. Whether it be fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, cheese, meat. Find one starch you tolerate well such as: potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, wheat, rice, corn, oats. Then supplement with one plant food such as: fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, coffee, cocoa, etc... Just try to keep your diet to 3-5 food items and nothing more."

It is a very smart thing for people to try! With the added bonus that you can keep tabs on your diet better and notice any bad effects from adding foods into it. I'm pretty happy on skim milk, liver, greens, and palm kernel oil. (OH AND VERY SWEET COFFEE.) Seems like a lot of smart people have said things to the effect of the simple solution being the best one, in the long run.

 

[Braveheart]

"Just got me thinking if simplifying your diet wouldn't be a smart thing for most people to try. Just try to find one animal protein you tolerate well. Whether it be fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, cheese, meat. Find one starch you tolerate well such as: potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, wheat, rice, corn, oats. Then supplement with one plant food such as: fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, coffee, cocoa, etc... Just try to keep your diet to 3-5 food items and nothing more."

It is a very smart thing for people to try! With the added bonus that you can keep tabs on your diet better and notice any bad effects from adding foods into it. I'm pretty happy on skim milk, liver, greens, and palm kernel oil. (OH AND VERY SWEET COFFEE.) Seems like a lot of smart people have said things to the effect of the simple solution being the best one, in the long run.

Yes!

 

[DDK]

Yes, but there is plenty of berries full of vitamins - like seabuckthorn, blueberries , cranberries etc - and this berries were often preserved for winter times. Also sauerkraut was often made with cranberries and lingonberries. And it was awailable the whole winter! Apples were also preserved...

I think if we will analyse carefully traditional diets we will actually find out that they were quite rich of varied food. Wild herbs were extremely popular - in Russia and Scandinavian countries people used to eat early nettle and fiddlehead fern...and plenty of different mushrooms of course! they drink birch juice and so on and so on.
Basically all things that are not poison were eaten!

How do you know that these people ate what you say they ate? Do you know of this personally, or did you just read about it or hear it on television? I have some relatives from Georgian Russia, and what they told me contradicts what you are saying. I also have spoken with Scandinavians, I'm talking older ones and most told me they subsisted on milk and fish, no mushrooms or ferns, or herbs or birch juice.

 

[DDK]

It's been 30 years since I have eaten SAD, and after these decades I can't give anyone any advice really, other than saying, yeah, keep your diet simple and what you don't eat is more important than what you do it.

So true. Just avoiding SAD and you'll be far better off.

 

[DDK]

"Just got me thinking if simplifying your diet wouldn't be a smart thing for most people to try. Just try to find one animal protein you tolerate well. Whether it be fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, cheese, meat. Find one starch you tolerate well such as: potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, wheat, rice, corn, oats. Then supplement with one plant food such as: fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, coffee, cocoa, etc... Just try to keep your diet to 3-5 food items and nothing more."

It is a very smart thing for people to try! With the added bonus that you can keep tabs on your diet better and notice any bad effects from adding foods into it. I'm pretty happy on skim milk, liver, greens, and palm kernel oil. (OH AND VERY SWEET COFFEE.) Seems like a lot of smart people have said things to the effect of the simple solution being the best one, in the long run.

Couldn't agree more. Plus you don't have to worry/obsess about your diet. What to cook, what to eat, food preparation, checking Cronometer constantly, etc... Keeping it simple, keeps you relaxed because you don't have to constantly obsess about food. Also, you get your body used to a routine by putting in the same types of food, and this gives you better digestion in the long run. Milk, liver and vegetables seems like a reasonable diet to me.

 

[raypeatclips]

Milk, liver and vegetables seems like a reasonable diet to me.

What kind of diet is that haha.

 

[DDK]

What kind of diet is that haha.

What do you mean? Even Ray has suggested a milk & fruit based diet for optimal health. But milk & vegetables is bad? Cooked vegetables are far easier to digest than raw fruits/fruit juices for the majority of people. When I was on a diet of milk & honey I did very well, certainly better than everyone else around me. May seem like a dumb diet to you, but I was very healthy eating it, and it couldn't of been any simpler.

 

[Pompadour]

Do you know of this personally, or did you just read about it or hear it on television?

Well, i am russian. I know it from my grandparents and old cooking books, there are traditions and traditional receips, that go from one generation to another.
But i am from Moscow and all my grand- grands are also from these area and closer to Finland. We still make a lot of family food according to ancient traditions in our area.
Even for birch juice (birch sap) - it is every year reason to go to the birch forest on late april. Now it is not maybe so popular but it is always interesting for kids and a part of a culture.
In late spring and early summer we eat nettle, ground elder and dandelion greens. In summer come berries - first wild strawberries , then raspberries.... Late summer and early autumn - come mushrooms (if there are too much of them it is poplular to dry them or make preserves for using in winter). And with first autumn frost we have cranberries , lingonberries, seabuckthorn (from this is very popular to make oil also), rowan...
It seems that now my food supply is much less diverce...and less seasonal.

So i can't tell for Georgia - they have different nature there and different culture. But traditional diet there is also famous by lots of greens (and wild greens) . But this culture i know only from traditional restaurants and some not so close relatives - so here i can't be sure of course.

 

[Waynish]

Back when the taste of foods had a predictable and consistent nutrient profile, it was easier to eat what you crave - and for eating those foods to have the proper therapeutic effects. It isn't so much of an issue of, "now we eat too much energy because the craving system is hijacked," or "we crave the wrong things because diets used to have a certain ratio of macronutrients," but rather, "it's beneficial to have more than the build-in cravings system to navigate a more depleted and unpredictable environment."

 

[Kartoffel]

Basically all I eat is potatoes, cheese+milk, orange juice, coffee, and eggs. Combined with liver and seafood once in a while, there is absolutely no need for supplements since such a simple diet provides all the nutrients you need, even with an intense metabolism. What might be even more important is that most of the "simple" diets are free of toxins, allergens, and irritants that are in so many "healthy" foods and supplements.

 

[DDK]

Basically all I eat is potatoes, cheese+milk, orange juice, coffee, and eggs. Combined with liver and seafood once in a while, there is absolutely no need for supplements since such a simple diet provides all the nutrients you need, even with an intense metabolism. What might be even more important is that most of the "simple" diets are free of toxins, allergens, and irritants that are in so many "healthy" foods and supplements.

+1

 

[DDK]

Well, i am russian. I know it from my grandparents and old cooking books, there are traditions and traditional receips, that go from one generation to another.
But i am from Moscow and all my grand- grands are also from these area and closer to Finland. We still make a lot of family food according to ancient traditions in our area.
Even for birch juice (birch sap) - it is every year reason to go to the birch forest on late april. Now it is not maybe so popular but it is always interesting for kids and a part of a culture.
In late spring and early summer we eat nettle, ground elder and dandelion greens. In summer come berries - first wild strawberries , then raspberries.... Late summer and early autumn - come mushrooms (if there are too much of them it is poplular to dry them or make preserves for using in winter). And with first autumn frost we have cranberries , lingonberries, seabuckthorn (from this is very popular to make oil also), rowan...
It seems that now my food supply is much less diverce...and less seasonal.

So i can't tell for Georgia - they have different nature there and different culture. But traditional diet there is also famous by lots of greens (and wild greens) . But this culture i know only from traditional restaurants and some not so close relatives - so here i can't be sure of course.

Okay. Then I guess you don't agree with my OP. I was specifically referring to people who have health issues and are struggling with diet and spinning their wheels. I think simplifying things can help to reset the body/digestion and take a lot of mental stress off of the person by allowing them to relax about food. Yes, I'm sure their are many cultures who eat varied diets like the one you mentioned, but that wasn't the point of my post to debate about what cultures eat what. I used my grandparents as an example and some other cultures around the world to show that you can in fact eat a very simple diet (3-5) food items, and live a long healthy life.

 

[Pompadour]

Then I guess you don't agree with my OP.

I wouldn't say so. I just added some info about russian traditional diet (i couldn't sit quietly because i know this area very well ).
But i think that there are examples with less diverse diet but excellent health...Maybe that is not the question of diversity but the question of quality of this food supply.

 

[FrenchKiwi]

I absolutely love the ideas in this post, especially as nutrition information gets more and more complicated and conflicting. Does anyone have an update on what their simple diet looks like and how it's working

Basically all I eat is potatoes, cheese+milk, orange juice, coffee, and eggs. Combined with liver and seafood once in a while, there is absolutely no need for supplements since such a simple diet provides all the nutrients you need, even with an intense metabolism. What might be even more important is that most of the "simple" diets are free of toxins, allergens, and irritants that are in so many "healthy" foods and supplements.

 

[Cloudhands]

I absolutely love the ideas in this post, especially as nutrition information gets more and more complicated and conflicting. Does anyone have an update on what their simple diet looks like and how it's working

All i eat is white rice and skim milk

 

[FrenchKiwi]

How is this working for energy, satiety, body composition? Do you have cravings?

 

[Cloudhands]

How is this working for energy, satiety, body composition? Do you have cravings?

I want to incorporate white button mushroom and bamboo shoots as well i just havent gotten to it. I put a little bit of maple syrup on my rice as if it were soy sauce and it tastes really good along with about 1-2 tsp of salt per meal. Each meals 1/3 cup of white rice (dry) and 1gal of skim milk throughout the day. At first i didnt really like the skim milk, but then i added more salt and now i really find myself craving it. I drink milk before and after i eat the rice (5meals a day). I have coffee in the morning with maple syrup, i wanna switch to espresso. I eat oysters a few times a week and liver a few times a week. I keep the rice made in a rice maker and order the 400 oz bag of lundham farms california grown basmati white rice seeing as its got a good arsenic level and lab tests. I feel energized, happy, i look ripped, i workout 3 times a week, bike and walk all day, and use red light and sperti light. I get all my micros in and a good amount of micros. My poops are fantastic. I practice buteyko breathing and wu style tai chi and would like to start practicing headstands at night to increase melatonin via blood flow to pineal gland. I choose white rice because its hard to get ripe fruit in michigan. It works. High salts important for lots of liquids. I dont think any diet is good enough to make u feel good if youre life is very stressful.

 

[FrenchKiwi]

That is awesome, sounds like you have found your groove. I could do that with some bananas apples and potato. Simple and delicious

 

[FrenchKiwi]

I want to incorporate white button mushroom and bamboo shoots as well i just havent gotten to it. I put a little bit of maple syrup on my rice as if it were soy sauce and it tastes really good along with about 1-2 tsp of salt per meal. Each meals 1/3 cup of white rice (dry) and 1gal of skim milk throughout the day. At first i didnt really like the skim milk, but then i added more salt and now i really find myself craving it. I drink milk before and after i eat the rice (5meals a day). I have coffee in the morning with maple syrup, i wanna switch to espresso. I eat oysters a few times a week and liver a few times a week. I keep the rice made in a rice maker and order the 400 oz bag of lundham farms california grown basmati white rice seeing as its got a good arsenic level and lab tests. I feel energized, happy, i look ripped, i workout 3 times a week, bike and walk all day, and use red light and sperti light. I get all my micros in and a good amount of micros. My poops are fantastic. I practice buteyko breathing and wu style tai chi and would like to start practicing headstands at night to increase melatonin via blood flow to pineal gland. I choose white rice because its hard to get ripe fruit in michigan. It works. High salts important for lots of liquids. I dont think any diet is good enough to make u feel good if youre life is very stressful.

Can I just check something. Are you generally someone who can eat intuitively and never gain weight no matter what the diet composition? Also, how does this compare to other ways of eating you have tried on all those factors I mentioned (energy, body comp, satiety, cravings...). I appreciate you keeping us updated

 

[Cloudhands]

Can I just check something. Are you generally someone who can eat intuitively and never gain weight no matter what the diet composition? Also, how does this compare to other ways of eating you have tried on all those factors I mentioned (energy, body comp, satiety, cravings...). I appreciate you keeping us updated

I actually had a gut on intuitive eating, though the rest if my body was skinny, who knows why. Right now my mood and energy are very chill but good. My moon face is starting to slim out too. It is technically a fat free diet btw. It has good satiety seeing as i can make more and eat whenever i feel like it