I've just got Dr Bernstein's new book! My head is spinning! OK, this is obviously a huge radical change to my diet, which I am not against making, I am simply worried that any mistakes will be magnified – I know that if I’m trying, the mistakes will be smaller, and therefore the fluctuations will be smaller, but there are still things which are a problem. Now, this isn’t a moan, this is just my initial thoughts whilst I try and get to grips with a new regime.
Firstly, the cost. Whilst Dr Bernstein advocates we eat a large portion of protein (and by large portion, I mean larger than I can afford currently) I think I can fit it in, particularly if I can fall back on fish as a last resort. I don’t mind eating lots of fish. However, looking through some of his recipes, he suggests using simple items which I don’t know about, and I’m pretty sure I don’t have them. I’ll need some time to sort them out. But also money to buy all this new stuff for my kitchen. Also, apparently I’m doing the ‘wrong’ exercise. I need to be doing weight training, but I don’t have any weights. I certainly can’t afford a gym membership right now, although swimming would not be out of the question. But again, this is not the right kind of exercise.
Secondly – I can’t get my head round the fat. I’m trying. It’s just I have been trained all my life to think of fat as being the enemy, and the thought of adding fat to a diet where I have spent years trying to eradicate it (and failing in terms of still eating stuff with it in) is frightening. I will try it, it’s just I am absolutely terrified. Mind you, I still have no energy at all, so I presume my body hasn’t thought to itself, “Hey……I haven’t any carbohydrate, but there’s lots of this fat around”.
Thirdly, bye bye fruit. Having fallen in love with certain fruits – and vegetables too – I now have to get rid of them. I have no idea what I’m going to snack on if I’m desperate (I don’t snack all the time, just when my stomach won’t shut up and I have an important meeting). And tea! Tea is a food group to me. I’m not sure about coping with cream in it (plus water) instead of skimmed milk.
What I’d like is a book which says, “OK, you’re in the supermarket. You haven’t time to prepare anything complicated”. Under those circumstances, I would go for a tiny piece of steak, grated carrots, beetroot, corn on the cob and maybe some raw cabbage. Under this new regime, I basically can’t have any of that (apart from the cabbage), and have to go for bean sprouts, Okra (which I’ve heard of, but never cooked) and some other stuff. Can some of the UK readers suggest a book which will offer a translation for some of the food (like mung beans?)? And the crisp breads? Also, at the moment, some of the foods he’s saying don’t eat actually don’t seem to spike me at the moment. Should I still avoid them, or should I rejoice I haven’t screwed up my body that much and enjoy what is still fairly healthy (in comparison to a slice of chocolate cake)?
Lastly, it seems like sausages are allowed. In the UK, don’t they put sugar in sausages? I’m pretty sure that since they chuck pretty much anything in the cheaper ones, they include sugar (and I think that they spike me – it’s them or eggs, for some peculiar reason). Whilst I am happy to buy more expensive sausages for me, if I were, say, at a restaurant, can I be certain that they aren’t using cheap sausages? Am I wrong about them having sugar in them?
I’m hoping I’m going to be lucky, that I haven’t done so much damage that I can’t stop this slippery slide which is at least a reason to be grateful and happy.
Firstly, the cost. Whilst Dr Bernstein advocates we eat a large portion of protein (and by large portion, I mean larger than I can afford currently) I think I can fit it in, particularly if I can fall back on fish as a last resort. I don’t mind eating lots of fish. However, looking through some of his recipes, he suggests using simple items which I don’t know about, and I’m pretty sure I don’t have them. I’ll need some time to sort them out. But also money to buy all this new stuff for my kitchen. Also, apparently I’m doing the ‘wrong’ exercise. I need to be doing weight training, but I don’t have any weights. I certainly can’t afford a gym membership right now, although swimming would not be out of the question. But again, this is not the right kind of exercise.
Secondly – I can’t get my head round the fat. I’m trying. It’s just I have been trained all my life to think of fat as being the enemy, and the thought of adding fat to a diet where I have spent years trying to eradicate it (and failing in terms of still eating stuff with it in) is frightening. I will try it, it’s just I am absolutely terrified. Mind you, I still have no energy at all, so I presume my body hasn’t thought to itself, “Hey……I haven’t any carbohydrate, but there’s lots of this fat around”.
Thirdly, bye bye fruit. Having fallen in love with certain fruits – and vegetables too – I now have to get rid of them. I have no idea what I’m going to snack on if I’m desperate (I don’t snack all the time, just when my stomach won’t shut up and I have an important meeting). And tea! Tea is a food group to me. I’m not sure about coping with cream in it (plus water) instead of skimmed milk.
What I’d like is a book which says, “OK, you’re in the supermarket. You haven’t time to prepare anything complicated”. Under those circumstances, I would go for a tiny piece of steak, grated carrots, beetroot, corn on the cob and maybe some raw cabbage. Under this new regime, I basically can’t have any of that (apart from the cabbage), and have to go for bean sprouts, Okra (which I’ve heard of, but never cooked) and some other stuff. Can some of the UK readers suggest a book which will offer a translation for some of the food (like mung beans?)? And the crisp breads? Also, at the moment, some of the foods he’s saying don’t eat actually don’t seem to spike me at the moment. Should I still avoid them, or should I rejoice I haven’t screwed up my body that much and enjoy what is still fairly healthy (in comparison to a slice of chocolate cake)?
Lastly, it seems like sausages are allowed. In the UK, don’t they put sugar in sausages? I’m pretty sure that since they chuck pretty much anything in the cheaper ones, they include sugar (and I think that they spike me – it’s them or eggs, for some peculiar reason). Whilst I am happy to buy more expensive sausages for me, if I were, say, at a restaurant, can I be certain that they aren’t using cheap sausages? Am I wrong about them having sugar in them?
I’m hoping I’m going to be lucky, that I haven’t done so much damage that I can’t stop this slippery slide which is at least a reason to be grateful and happy.