An extremely sensible diet plan.
Written: Oct 23 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A practical, realistic approach
Cons: you will lose weight
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| gordell's Full Review: Eat More, Weigh Less |
The human body has a wonderful, natural sensor that tells us when we have had enough to eat. Let's consider two different eating scenarios: In case number one, you begin to peel carrots, and eat them until you are stuffed. In case number two, you fry bacon, and eat every piece until you are full.
In both cases, your tummy is quite satisfied. You ate a filling repast. You are satiated. You have no desire to put another morsel into your mouth.
Ahhh! But the fat! In the case of the carrots, you didn't consume any. But the bacon is, well, how can I put this gently? Ready for an understatement? Here goes: The bacon is perhaps a bit on the fatty side.
So the concept of this diet is very simple: Choose foods wisely. You can eat everything you want to eat if it falls above a certain level on the EMI scale. This allows you to eat all you want to of hundreds of foods. You can eat as much of these as you want to. On the other hand, the EMI scale tells you to eat other foods in great moderation, or not at all.
The author of this diet, Dr. Shintani, is a practicing medical doctor in Hawaii. He is a real person, not some Hollywood hype. He put out this information based upon a medical experiment called the Wainae diet. A good friend of mine, who is also a medical doctor, took part in the original experiment.
So here is a little more background...
Native Hawaiian people were extremely healthy prior to contact with Western cultures. They ate things like breadfruit, taro, papaya, bananas, fish and sometimes a bit of extremely lean pork. Please note that MacDonalds didn't arrive in Hawaii until some years after Captain Cook's "discovery" of the Sandwich Isles.
The Wainae diet was an attempt to see what would happen to native people who returned to the diet of their ancestors. Those that adhered to it lost tons of weight without doing any additional exercise. Please keep in mind that people living in Hawaii are used to swimming around in the ocean, hiking up hills to visit family and friends, and parking many blocks away from their intended destinations.
The underlying presumption of this diet is that you are a normally active person, not afraid to parking at the far end of a shopping mall's parking lot and walking to the entrance.
The original Wainae diet is, by standards of Western culture, extremely bland. Most people who taste poi (a food made from the taro plant) for the first time are likely to spit it out, because it tastes like wheat paste. Good poi is usually aged a bit, tastes more like yogurt, and for some reason is rarely served to tourists in Hawaii!
Dr. Shintani decided to expand upon the Wainae diet, attempting to include foods common to Western civilization. He created a method of evaluating foods, called the EMI scale.
By using this scale, you can determine whether or not a food should be eaten with caution, or with abandon. If you enjoy green beans, you are encouraged to eat as much as you can possibly consume. If you are obsessed with bacon, you are directed to other possibilities. Most foods are rated as "good", while some remain on the "avoid whenever possible" list.
Compared to other diets, this one is easy to adhere to. What the heck, you get to eat lots of food. The only "catch" is that you should stick to those foods on the "good list", and only sometimes dip into the other stuff.
How much does it cost to join up on this diet. Well, it depends upon your ability to walk into a public library. Dr. Shintani's book can be borrowed free of charge at most public libraries. Or, you can merely go to his web-site and get a grand tour of the diet. This can be found at: http://www.hawaiidiet.com
You can obtain all of the information you need by visiting his web site or by borrowing his book from the library. You don't need to spend a dime to learn about this diet.
Finally, in closing, I would like to share with you a recipe that I have served to numerous people. It is highly rated by those who enjoy oriental food, is extremely low in calories, unbelievably tasty, and a real joy in my life. This recipe is a variation upon Dr. Shintani's teachings.
<Hot and Sour Soup
By Glenn P. Ordell
¼ to ½ ounce of Chinese Black Fungus or Chinese wood ears (mushrooms), broken into ½” pieces.
¼ cup Chinese Lily flower, also known as tiger lily buds or dried golden needles, cut into 1” pieces.
14 ½ ounce can of fat free, broth (vegetable, chicken or home-made soup stock)
4--6 Tbl. Apple cider or rice vinegar (or 2 Tbl. of each)
2 Tbl. Good quality soy sauce or tamari
½ tsp. Minced garlic or 1 Tbl. thinly sliced scallions (or green onion tops)
½ to 1 tsp. White pepper or white muntok pepper
Allow the fungus and lily flower to soak for a few hours, or to hasten process, simmer over low heat in a covered saucepan for one hour.
Bring ingredients to a full boil, reduce heat and allow mixture to simmer until the fungus is soft and crispy, and the lily flowers are as soft as well cooked noodles.
Add:
4 Tbl. Cornstarch in 2 cups water, shake well in covered jar until dissolved. Bring to boil until soup thickens.
Cube 12 ounces of extra-firm tofu into one-inch squares. Add to saucepan, cover, allow tofu to heat, avoid stirring to preserve integrity of the tofu.
Serve in soup bowls, providing additional vinegar and white pepper as a condiment.
Note: Instead of cutting the lily flowers and breaking up the fungus prior to cooking, you may use kitchen scissors to cut these items prior to serving.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
gordell
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Member: Glenn Ordell
Location: Ka`u Area, Hawaii, U.S.A.
Reviews written: 101
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
I wear numerous hats: computer guru, wood worker, musician, teacher, business owner.
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