The Good Mood Diet?

[lumpkin]

Has anyone tried this, and if so, did you like it? It seems to be getting great reviews at Amazon, so I''d like to know what you think here at PS if you''ve tried it.

 

[Angel7]

Sorry Lumpkin, I''ve never heard of it! But am looking forward to some responses on it...

 

[Mara]

ha ha fitting into my jeans puts me in a good mood, so i consider any lifestyle eating change that does that (i don''t believe in ''diets'') is a good mood ''diet'' to me!!!

 

[lumpkin]

I''ll be interested to see what everyone thinks, too. I tried to do WW, but keeping a journal is tedious for me and I just kind of fell off that wagon. When I was pregnant a friend of mine loaned me a book on foods that heal during pregnancy and I loved it! It wasn''t so much of "don''t eat this, restrict that" but more of "eating watermelon helps eliminate water retention" and things like that. I did follow the food guide pyramid for a year and had great results with that, but I''d kind of like to supplement that with more ideas on a variety of food and information on how certain foods help with specific problems/challenges. I''m not really turned on by the term "diet" so if that''s what this actually is (sounds like it can be or not, depending on how you apply it) I won''t do it. I''m really looking for a nutritional strategy. I enjoyed Dr. Andrew Weil''s book, maybe I''ll get that back out again, too.

 

[lumpkin]

OH! And any other suggestions for authors/information is more than welcome!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I agree with Mara - I love fitting into my clothes, although I''m preggo so I''m growing out of most of my pants at an alarming rate

Before I never really dieted - I''ve tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I eat a pretty balanced diet and exercised several times a week. My motto has always been everything in moderation. If I want chocolate I have it. I don''t deny myself any food because I don''t think that does any good. I like fruits and veggies and also a good steak so it''s all about balance for me.

Now, being preggo has changed so much. The fatigue that comes with pregnancy is still with me (I''m 13 weeks) so I haven''t done too much exercising lately. Also, my appetite has changed drastically. Around weeks 6-10 of pregnancy my appetite was huge and I ate everything in sight. Around week 11 morning sickness/all day sickness struck so now I eat whatever sounds good - even if it''s not the healthiest choice. I initially gained about 8 pounds and then lost about 2 from not feeling well - which my O.B. assures me is normal and fine for the baby.

My MIL and SIL are really into diets of any kind so I''ll ask them if they''ve ever heard of it though.

 

[Mara]

lumpkin, i imagine everyone has had their successes and failures with diff books/diets/changes whatever...but one thing that i really liked doing this year was when i met with a nutritionist and she put me on a lower glycemic index diet. it's basically just a lower sugar diet. it has all the 'basics' you'd expect in a lifestyle change kind of thing. a lot of this i did already but it was interesting to see how cutting certain things out even more helped or hurt.

bottom line is cut out processed foods for the most part. no white bread, no white rice. complex carbs. lots of fruit and veggies but only ones lower on the GI scale. sweet potato instead of regular potato. no corn. fruits that were only low GI. so no oranges/citrus, no grapes, lots of apples, etc. obviously no sweets. i wanted to make sure i got all my nutrients and i was working out a lot, so i think i was eating like 1600 cals a day. my nutritionist wanted me to eat 1800 but i couldn't make it with all the healthy stuff, i was too full!!

it might be extreme for some but i really liked doing it. people are so funny, they were like OMG how are you going to do it! i was thinking seriously? you can't cut out bad for you stuff for 2 weeks??? it's just two weeks out of your life.

but anyway it was fun for me to do it and see if i felt any different or whatever. i was just trying to lose a few lbs that had crept up on me...and i did lose 3-4 lbs in 2 weeks by doing this. you could def do it a bit less restricted, the low GI chart is somewhere out there online, you could print it out and carry it around with you (i did!!) to help you out on what is okay to eat vs not. it was pretty clear also, like breads with X amount of fiber were better than Y...high fiber and protein cereals. it listed out fruits not to eat, fruits to eat, fruits to eat just one of. same with veggies.

it also made me get more creative with natural foods and cooking, it was pretty fun. and i kept about 90% of what i learned for use in my daily life. of course now i still eat sweets and sometimes sourdough and all that, gotta live...right?!?!! but i would def consider something like this...sugars are really bad for us in general and if you cut out 90% of them you will do so fabulously!!

 

[lumpkin]

Date: 1/18/2008 3:33:15 PM
Author: Mara
lumpkin, i imagine everyone has had their successes and failures with diff books/diets/changes whatever...but one thing that i really liked doing this year was when i met with a nutritionist and she put me on a lower glycemic index diet. it''s basically just a lower sugar diet. it has all the ''basics'' you''d expect in a lifestyle change kind of thing. a lot of this i did already but it was interesting to see how cutting certain things out even more helped or hurt.

bottom line is cut out processed foods for the most part. no white bread, no white rice. complex carbs. lots of fruit and veggies but only ones lower on the GI scale. sweet potato instead of regular potato. no corn. fruits that were only low GI. so no oranges/citrus, no grapes, lots of apples, etc. obviously no sweets. i wanted to make sure i got all my nutrients and i was working out a lot, so i think i was eating like 1600 cals a day. my nutritionist wanted me to eat 1800 but i couldn''t make it with all the healthy stuff, i was too full!!

it might be extreme for some but i really liked doing it. people are so funny, they were like OMG how are you going to do it! i was thinking seriously? you can''t cut out bad for you stuff for 2 weeks??? it''s just two weeks out of your life.

but anyway it was fun for me to do it and see if i felt any different or whatever. i was just trying to lose a few lbs that had crept up on me...and i did lose 3-4 lbs in 2 weeks by doing this. you could def do it a bit less restricted, the low GI chart is somewhere out there online, you could print it out and carry it around with you (i did!!) to help you out on what is okay to eat vs not. it was pretty clear also, like breads with X amount of fiber were better than Y...high fiber and protein cereals. it listed out fruits not to eat, fruits to eat, fruits to eat just one of. same with veggies.

it also made me get more creative with natural foods and cooking, it was pretty fun. and i kept about 90% of what i learned for use in my daily life. of course now i still eat sweets and sometimes sourdough and all that, gotta live...right?!?!! but i would def consider something like this...sugars are really bad for us in general and if you cut out 90% of them you will do so fabulously!!

It''s interesting you mention seeing a nutritionist. I was thinking of doing that when I have my annual physical and get all my labs back. Type II diabetes runs on both sides of my family, so eating things with a lower glycemic index is going to become more and more important. This year I may go ahead and do the full day glucose tolerance test to see if I''m already becoming insulin resistant. I suspect that I am because, for instance, the other day I had cream and sugar in my coffee, which I don''t usually do. I had several cups and didn''t eat anything with them, and I got shaky a few hours later. But then, maybe most people get shaky if they combine sugar and caffeine with no other food. I know it''s a bad idea, but I didn''t plan ahead and definitely paid for it. It won''t hurt to do the test, and I need to get going on this and am having a hard time getting motivated. Maybe that would help. We''ve got some car maintenance due right now and no money for new clothes (which I need!).

But I know I''ll be in the pool with the kids in a few months and I want (don''t need) a new suit. Losing 20 pounds would definitely make shopping for that more fun.

Must. get. off. sofa. and get on treadmill!!! Ahhhh, a new mantra, hehe.

 

[lyra]

Hey Mara, that''s the diet I''m on. Only, permanently.

Basically, that is the recommended diabetic diet. I had to take lessons and have appts. with a dietician too. It really helps you find what works for you. Some things that are recommended may not suit you personally (or if you have allergies or digestive issues), while other things work great. I have learned to embrace brown rice as my preferred sidedish. I never seem to get sick of it. I rarely have potatoes or bread at all now. I got kind of sick of sweet potatoes. Portion sizes are a good way of reducing too.

I also just found this great pasta, Dreamfield''s. It''s very low carb. It worked out better for me than whole wheat pasta, and filled me more. I measured it exactly to make sure I knew my portion size for sure to see how it would affect me. My results (glucose) were much better than with the same portion size of whole wheat spaghetti. I have had to avoid pasta for 2 years mostly, but now I can have it again with this brand. Disclaimer: may cause some gas. I take fibre supplements though, so this is not a big issue for me.

Anyway, just backing up what Mara has said. Small changes can make big differences over time. And remember to eat 3 meals a day, 4-5 hours apart, plus 2 snacks. It may seem like too much food like Mara said, but getting onto a fixed schedule will help your body adjust, and will help you lose weight. Your body won''t think you''re starving it. Good luck!

 

[Mara]

Lyra, I love Dreamfields pasta!!! A friend intro'd me to it and I really like it. I am not a pasta fan at all so when I have it, I love getting extra fiber and protein so it's more nutritious. Plus then I can eat way less than with uber-processed. I actually just bought the lasagna and elbows Dreamfields online at netrition.com because I can't find them in regular stores, I just can find the penne and spaghetti. And I love making lasagna with Dreamfields. Now I can make macaroni and cheese too!

And I actually also do a lot of the same things I learned on that Lower GI diet as a long-term lifestyle change. I choose brown over white rice when possible. I actually LIKE brown better, white is so tasteless and brown has a textured crunch to it. I pick off most of the rice from my sushi rolls...funny I know but it adds no flavor so why eat it. Wheat over white bread when possible or a nutty grain or something. I love wheat crackers. I eat a fair amount of fiber. I do eat all my fruits and veggies now that I am off the lower GI diet thing...but I eat corn less than I used to, and potatoes too. In general I also watch my carbs more and try to eat more lean proteins as well. I do things like egg whites and 1/2 an english muffin for breakfast. High fiber/protein oatmeal for snack. Soup with protein for lunch. Fruits for snacks. Protein wafers for snacks. If I eat a burrito, I tend to not eat 3/4 of the tortilla, because it doesn't add much 'flavor' to the meal. If I can 'leave' anything like that behind, I do. We eat persian and kebabs a lot and I will eat all the meat and about 1/4 of the rice if even that. A bite of pita. All the salad, all the tomato. That kind of thing. Making these changes 'staples' in my life allows me to splurge in other arenas too, like I hardly ever turn down dessert. I'd rather eat my carbs and sugar in CHOCOLATE than bread/rice or something. hehee.

Hahah but since I am on maintenance I definitely have my splurges!! I am a sucker for good sourdough and butter; and things like Oreos and anything chocolatey. But I like knowing that 90% of what I do is the right thing.

 

[lyra]

Mara, I know you can buy the Dreamfield''s full(er) range online. I bought from a low carb store and they shipped it to me the next day (Toronto). I got spaghetti, lasagna, elbows and penne. I figured it would be easier to get 2 of everything since the store was too far and inconvenient to get to, and the shipping was low $ and fast. My husband makes a pasta topping out of fresh chopped tomatoes, endive, onions and mushrooms cooked together in one pan. For a treat he will grate fresh parmesan from a wedge as a condiment. It is *wonderful*, and totally healthy, no salt added or anything. That''s what I like about pasta: you can add just about anything as a topping, add a salad and you have a gourmet meal.

Mmmmm, sourdough...

It''s only a rare treat, but there''s nothing better with homemade veggie soup!

Gah, these threads always make me so hungry!