"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
...
> This week on "Good Eats", Alton Brown talked about the diet he followed in
> dropping 50 pounds over a nine-month period. You can Google to find
> remarks about how he's now incessantly snacking on sardines and almonds,
> but here's what the show had to say:

Glad to hear that, I thought he had a dreaded disease or something.

>
> Every day, Alton has the following: fruits, whole grains, leafy greens,
> nuts, carrots, and green tea.
>
> Three times a week, Alton has: oily fish, yogurt, broccoli, sweet potato,
> and avocado.
>
> Only *one* time a week, Alton has: red meat, pasta, dessert, or alcohol.
>
>
> So, a few comments:
>
> 1. The program didn't mention that Alton runs four miles a day these days.
> That's a HUGE omission. If you run four miles a day, you can pretty much
> eat whatever you want and not gain weight.

Umm, not too sure about that. I lost 50 pounds over a year ago by
restricting my intake and walking 4 miles 5 or 6 days a week. Since hitting
goal weight I've loosened my restrictions on which foods I eat, though I
still eat mostly low-fat whole foods and not that much red meat. I've
gained 9 pounds back over the last six months despite working out more than
an hour in the gym every work-day morning. My workout includes 45 minutes on
an elliptical trainer, the readout of which says I'm burning 600 calories
and logging over 5 miles.

It's a bit depressing to know that in 4 years I'll have gained most of my
weight back despite giving up beer, pizza deep-fried anything and sweets
(the things I can't seem to control on my own). I can't be as regimented as
I was when I was loosing weight for the rest of my life.

On the bright side, my resting pulse is 62, my BP is 120/80 and my
cholesterol is lower that it's been in 40 years. Since I do 99% of the
cooking in my house, my wife and kids have lost weight and gotten healthier.

> 2. I wouldn't mind only having red meat, pasta, or dessert only once a
> week, and I wouldn't really mind only having alcohol once a week, but
> doesn't that fly in the face of all those studies which said that red wine
> EVERY DAY is good for you?

My doctor said I should drink a glass or two of red wine every day. Who am I
to go against my MD's orders?
>
> 3. I like a lot of variety. I don't think there are enough ways to cook
> sweet potatoes for me to like them three times a week. At least with
> broccoli, there are different variations, but sweet potatoes all taste
> pretty much the same. Don't get me wrong, I like sweet potatoes just fine,
> but three times a week seems like too much to me.

You can combine sweet potatoes with other foods and give enough variety to
pull off 3 days a week.

> 4. About the only way I'd be happy eating carrots every single day would
> be as a kind of mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. But I guess there are
> people who eat potatoes every day without a second thought, so maybe I
> just haven't given enough thought to all the different ways to consume
> carrots.

I eat them pretty close to every day either to snack on or in a salad.
Jon