The big oak (Quercus) needs to drop some dead limbs!

Good to see you're back up and about and continuing to make some healthy changes. Hope the back continues to co-operate. Injury was the one thing I was most worried about at the start of this, and I've been extremely lucky to have dodged it so far.
 
I had to look up tempeh. From what I read, it's similar to tofu but higher in protein and fiber. Does that sound accurate? That meal does sound delicious, I've never used coconut oil but it's been on the back of my mind for a while now. Maybe it's time to actually buy some!
 
Tempeh is heartier than tofu too. It's more pressed together and less gelatinous. It takes on the flavors you add like tofu, but it has a nuttier taste on it's own where tofu has little flavor plain. It's very filling. I think what I described would be good with wheat berries rather than quinoa. I've also made a tempeh salad for quick easy meals. Think tuna salad with tempeh instead of fish. It's a great summer food. My only tip is that if it's hard it hasn't cooked long enough (think undercooked rice texture). I don't like it if it's undercooked, but I love it if it has been cooked well. I lived off tempeh, tofu, and seitan as my primary proteins for years and lost 100 pounds doing it.
 
Thanks Mr. Vee! It has cooperated for the past 2 days. I just have to reign in my exercise ambitions so I don't hit the reset button.
 
Laura F said:
I've never used coconut oil but it's been on the back of my mind for a while now. Maybe it's time to actually buy some!
Click to expand...

Coconut oil is ridiculously amazing. It tastes great, it's versatile and it's really healthy for you. The only thing that I don't like about it is that where I live, it's both hard to find and fairly expensive. :(
 
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Same here heretic or Rene if you prefer. Enjoy the coconut oil when you can get it, but stay away from the communon wafers.
 
Trying to catch up here. I see your back has been bothering you and I was going to suggest some swimming too, but that's already been mentioned. I hope you're feeling better now. Just take your time getting back into things so you don't cause more damage. It's hard when you want to fight through pain because sometimes it'll make things worst. I ran into that trap with my knees before I joined the forum.

Regarding coconut oil, it's pricey here too, but I've been able to find it pretty easily. I don't use it for myself, but I give it to my dogs. It's great for their coats and their digestive systems. I've heard you can use it as a moisturizer too, but I haven't tried that. I'd think it would be too messy for that. :)
 
You should make your dogs share Mandy. It's very tasty.

The back is a bit tight at the moment as my field assignments for the day were hot and hilly. Hopefully the tightness doesn't amount to anything. I'm trying to rehydrate and hopefully that will rejuvenate me enough for some bike riding this evening. I got about 5 hours of exercise, so no harm no foul if I feel like being a couch potato tonight.

Heretic: I'm glad you enjoyed! It is often that I get to make a Descartes joke. They're quite hard to coordinate.
 
I honestly don't think I'd like it. I'm not a coconut fan. Never liked the taste. They enjoy it though! :)

Sorry your back was tight, hopefully it'll get better soon so you can get back into the normal swing of things.
 
Hi folks! Thanks for checking in Guideon. The back is slow to heal. It is back and forth, but I'm trying hard to develop patience and take it easy. Working in te field is about all i want right now. I need to commoit to being on the bike every evening, but i haven't. I've been doing poorly on calories in the evening, but I'm eating very healthy overall. I'm really in a phase of just adapting to my new diet and not worrying about too much else at the moment. I'm feeling much better with these diet changes and the weight is down a tiny bit. I know eating all of these fruits and veggies is going to help speed the healing process as well.

I'm trying to be done with unsustainable things like counting my calories. It has been a very useful tool, but I want a diet that doesn't need it. Right now the nly flaw in my diet is that I eat cheese and bread or crackers and hummus in big quantities at night. This is something I can fix, but I'm not too worried about it right now. Cooking at home and eating vegan and vegetarian meals made with whole foods and getting lots of raw fruits and veggies is awesome. It's so preferable to eating processed foods and heavy meat based meals.

Positives so far:
Increased energy
Improved mood
Very regular digestion (almost unknown to me in the last few years)
I enjoy eating more
Decreased cravings
Sslight decrease in weight with no thought given to quantity/calories eaten and little exercise

Negatives so far:
It can be challenging and expensive to find good ingredients here.
You have to prepare almost all of your meals/can't eat out much.
Road trips will be a challenge.
Initially gas was an issue, but my body has adapted to the increased fiber already.
Eating healthy, especially excluding meat, carries a stigma in the rural deep fried backwater that I call home.


Overall I can't believe that i ever got away from this diet, but I realize I did it bit by bit. A healthy vegetarian diet can be summed up easily.

1. eat protein at every meal and be aware of what proteins are complete.
2. Don't rely on processed foods.
3. Eat a wide variety of foods.

That summary would also make for a healthy omnivorus diet as well and not eating meat isn't anything magical. For me, being vegetarian is a much easier way to keep vegetable and fruit consumption high while keeping calories low.
 
Go for it sunflower!

I just made fresh cheese for the firsat time. My wife made ricotta which is delicious and I made queso blanco or Mexcan style farmers cheese. It's $4 for a small round of queso blanco when I can find it. Making it gives me control over what goes in it too. I used organic whole milk and white vinegar with very little salt. Now that I know it is easy to make we will start making herbed cheeses. I'm going to make one full of hot peppers. I'll also try using lowfat milk. Without eating meat I have more room for the fat in cheese.

I didn't mention that I am at 318 as of yesterday. I'm going to start back riding my bike daily today. The back is feeling good today.
 
You inspired me into looking into making cheese myself. Hmmm...

Looks like some work, but I have a plan: because it's just me and I don't use it for much, I never use up all my milk before it goes bad. Maybe when it gets to the end I'll make cheese out of the rest...
 
I love the idea of being a vegetarian, but don't think I could ever do it. A big... should I say HUGE... staple here is chicken. My family eats a LOT of it. I'd say once or twice a month we have red meat like steak or burgers, but not very often. Good for you though. I hope this works out for you and I hope your back is feeling better today.
 
I love queso blanco! We use it mostly on fajitas. Sometimes if I don't really love the meat we made on that particular day I'll just make myself a veggie fajita covered in queso blanco. But the only place we can reliably find it is at the wholesale club, which means we have to buy it in massive quantities and inevitably waste most of it. Making it at home sounds like a great alternative!
 
I think you could lose your weight naturally by :
-using enough calories as seen 2000 - 2500 kcal
-add collagen (help ease your pain) and calcium by eating salad, perhaps you could minus the calories if you want beef in the salad
- use strawberry juice to avoid oxidation (use as little sugar as possible, fructose is the best sort)
- do 30 mins of bike riding every morning
- drink enough water (2 litres) and two glasses of weak coffee a day
- use 1 kilo of raw vegetable a day
 
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