food combinations
- Thread starter aprilary
- Start date
Hello aprilary,
I have a friend who is using the fit for life plan. She has four children and started after her last one was born. She has a very good figure - not sure about her exact weight, but she looks great. While eating the way the fit for life plan suggests she also exercises 6 times a week for 45 minutes. She alternates cardio and weight training on a daily basis. So I guess if you are very committed and don't slack off on the exercise part - it works.
I have a friend who is using the fit for life plan. She has four children and started after her last one was born. She has a very good figure - not sure about her exact weight, but she looks great. While eating the way the fit for life plan suggests she also exercises 6 times a week for 45 minutes. She alternates cardio and weight training on a daily basis. So I guess if you are very committed and don't slack off on the exercise part - it works.
allcdnboy1
New member
Can someone explain to me what this 'food combining' plan is?
not sure on that one, but I think you are only allowed to mix certain meats with certain carbohydrates (either the veggie ones or the bread, pasta, potatoe ones). So you can either have Steak and a Baked Potatoe, but no other veggies or salad, or you have i.e. a chicken ceasar salad and leave out the garlic toast
. Obviously there are a lot more combinations...
. Obviously there are a lot more combinations...I just found some info on the plan. You basically have to change your eating habits to eat mostly fruit and vegetables and limit your dairy and meat products. That gets your digestive system moving and results in weight-loss. Mainly you loose the weight, because you eat foods with little calories and since you can eat as much as you like of those you won't go hungry and feel the need for high calorie foods. So basically you are lowering your caloric intake considerably and thus loose the weight. That's how I understand it anyway.
I follow a modified version occasionally.
Fruits must be eaten seperate from anything else, and typically only in the morning.
Only one type of fruit may be eaten at a time.
Afterwards, you are allowed any carbs within reason without holding back, but mostly veggies.
Dark green vegetables are the easiest to mix with protein, such as chicken ceasar salad.
Once you eat protein, 90% of what you eat for the rest of the day should be protein.
Fruits must be eaten seperate from anything else, and typically only in the morning.
Only one type of fruit may be eaten at a time.
Afterwards, you are allowed any carbs within reason without holding back, but mostly veggies.
Dark green vegetables are the easiest to mix with protein, such as chicken ceasar salad.
Once you eat protein, 90% of what you eat for the rest of the day should be protein.
Tub Cupcake
New member
I did food combining with the Somersize program and lost weight, but was not able to stick with the plan. I think it was too easy for me to overeat and I ended up really missing things like pizza or even a turkey sandwich.
The idea of food combining is to eat mainly high water-content foods... approximately 70% of your diet. That being fruits, and vegetables (raw is best). Also by eating your lightest meal at the beginning of your day, and your heaviest meal at the end, which is opposite to what most people have been taught (enjoy a hearty breakfast, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, etc). This is all in an effort to help your body save energy so you have more energy for living life. Because you are eating the lightest meal at the beginning of the day, your body wont be spending precious energy trying to digest heavy toast, greasy bacon, cheesy eggs, and grainy cereals (sometimes all four at once!)... which does take a LOT of energy. Digesting food takes hours and is no easy feat for the digestive tract.
So by eating fruits from when you wake up until noon, which digest in about 20 minutes and are 90% water, you not only save on calories, but you end up with excess energy freed up for your day.
The theory of Food combining claims that human beings only have one stomach... not five stomachs. There are five food groups... all of which are completely different. The stomach acids required to digest dairy, for example, are completely different than those required for breaking down a big hunk of steak. Say you enjoy a thick steak and then you have a few slices of cheese and a glass of milk. What do you think will happen in your stomach? Your stomach will say, "oh look, here's some steak, I better get to work on that", and send out a surge of meat-dissolving stomach acids to do the job. But wait, "oh no, here's some milk and cheese, better get rid of that too", and in comes another surge of acids specialising in dairy digestion. When the two acids work at odds against each other in the stomach, the stomach continues to pump both acids hoping one will begin to work... the result could be painful indigestion, heartburn, gas, neausea, even if you feel fine which is often the case, the contents of your stomach remain at battle for hours and hours. Meat normally takes at least 8 hours on it's own to digest. When mixed with another food group, this can double. The one exception: Vegetables. The acids that break down vegetables are neutral enough that they can co-operate with the acids used to break down meat, the acid used for diary, and the acid used for grains. However, NOT the acids used for fruit.
Now for the food combinations:
FRUITS
Not to be eaten with any other foods, as they digest at a much quicker rate than anything else, and can rot quickly if trapped in the stomach under some other food.
GRAINS
Grains can be eaten with other grains (eg. croutons in a salad with garlic bread on the side or have some rice and veggies with pita bread). Grains can also be eaten with vegetables (dark green ones are best).
MEATS
Meats can be eaten with vegetables. In theory they could be eaten with other meats, although you may want to think twice about mixing your meats. Also they are the hardest to digest so try not to eat too much of them.
DAIRY
Dairy can be eaten with other dairy, and with vegetables, but no other food groups. Cheese and dairy can also cause stomach upset so take it easy on this group.
VEGGIES
Vegetables are the second easiest foods to digest next to fruits. They take approximately 2-3 hours for raw veggies. Raw is always best because if they are cooked, baked, boiled, frozen or fried they loose a lot of their water content, which is what makes them so great in the first place. That and their nutritional value, which is also depleted when cooked. Try to make veggies about 70% of your diet. Meat and veggies, grains and veggies, diary and veggies, but never fruit and veggies.
North america is so used to improperly combining foods that it is no wonder it has the highest number of people suffering from intestinal distress and digestive problems. These combinations may seem stiff or ridiculous, and it is probably impossible for a person to follow them 100% of the time. The idea is to follow them as often as you can, in order to relieve your stomach and free up some energy. So no one is saying you cant order a pizza once in a while or have fast food or a strawberry sunday. Just make a conscious effort to apply some of these concepts into your daily eating habits and see if it makes a difference for you. (Keep in mind the first few days of starting you may have to go to the bathroom a lot... that is because your bowels get a kick-start! It's a good thing! )
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There in case anyone was wondering
So by eating fruits from when you wake up until noon, which digest in about 20 minutes and are 90% water, you not only save on calories, but you end up with excess energy freed up for your day.
The theory of Food combining claims that human beings only have one stomach... not five stomachs. There are five food groups... all of which are completely different. The stomach acids required to digest dairy, for example, are completely different than those required for breaking down a big hunk of steak. Say you enjoy a thick steak and then you have a few slices of cheese and a glass of milk. What do you think will happen in your stomach? Your stomach will say, "oh look, here's some steak, I better get to work on that", and send out a surge of meat-dissolving stomach acids to do the job. But wait, "oh no, here's some milk and cheese, better get rid of that too", and in comes another surge of acids specialising in dairy digestion. When the two acids work at odds against each other in the stomach, the stomach continues to pump both acids hoping one will begin to work... the result could be painful indigestion, heartburn, gas, neausea, even if you feel fine which is often the case, the contents of your stomach remain at battle for hours and hours. Meat normally takes at least 8 hours on it's own to digest. When mixed with another food group, this can double. The one exception: Vegetables. The acids that break down vegetables are neutral enough that they can co-operate with the acids used to break down meat, the acid used for diary, and the acid used for grains. However, NOT the acids used for fruit.
Now for the food combinations:
FRUITS
Not to be eaten with any other foods, as they digest at a much quicker rate than anything else, and can rot quickly if trapped in the stomach under some other food.
GRAINS
Grains can be eaten with other grains (eg. croutons in a salad with garlic bread on the side or have some rice and veggies with pita bread). Grains can also be eaten with vegetables (dark green ones are best).
MEATS
Meats can be eaten with vegetables. In theory they could be eaten with other meats, although you may want to think twice about mixing your meats. Also they are the hardest to digest so try not to eat too much of them.
DAIRY
Dairy can be eaten with other dairy, and with vegetables, but no other food groups. Cheese and dairy can also cause stomach upset so take it easy on this group.
VEGGIES
Vegetables are the second easiest foods to digest next to fruits. They take approximately 2-3 hours for raw veggies. Raw is always best because if they are cooked, baked, boiled, frozen or fried they loose a lot of their water content, which is what makes them so great in the first place. That and their nutritional value, which is also depleted when cooked. Try to make veggies about 70% of your diet. Meat and veggies, grains and veggies, diary and veggies, but never fruit and veggies.
North america is so used to improperly combining foods that it is no wonder it has the highest number of people suffering from intestinal distress and digestive problems. These combinations may seem stiff or ridiculous, and it is probably impossible for a person to follow them 100% of the time. The idea is to follow them as often as you can, in order to relieve your stomach and free up some energy. So no one is saying you cant order a pizza once in a while or have fast food or a strawberry sunday. Just make a conscious effort to apply some of these concepts into your daily eating habits and see if it makes a difference for you. (Keep in mind the first few days of starting you may have to go to the bathroom a lot... that is because your bowels get a kick-start! It's a good thing!
)----------
There in case anyone was wondering
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