Confused

[carlycap1]

So i just finished the cr way, and I'm a little bit confused I'm sure I'll get the hang of it but I have a few questions. So a pretty large goal is to keep my glucose and insulin levels down, correct? And I'm supposed to go for foods with a lower glycemic index, but what if that food has a low GI but high carb? Then what do I do? And if I want to be conscious of AGE am I supposed to just eat the vegetables raw? Because sometimes if a vegetable is raw its GI is different from that of say boiled or baked, etc. and if cook stuff isn't good should I just stick to canned salmon/tuna, etc? Or should I not worry about AGE right away and just focus on the basics? Also I'm a little confused about where I should aim to have my cholesterol level at. then for the proteins should I not eat like chicken or eat non fat yogurt or eggs because im not supposed to cool stuff yet its low carb low fructose high protein low cal? I kind of dont want to make any sudden movements because of fear of picking the wrong foods and spiking my glucose level. Help!!!!

[carlycap1]

Sorry my question about AGE wasnt very clear. I'm mostly wondering how that ties in because it seems like if I focus too much on AGE I wont be able to cook anything and it limits my food options. Then after that I was wondering about protein and how I should eat fish if I shouldnt be using heat because that raises the GI. It all seems like a bunch of oxymorons lol

[Dean Pomerleau]

Carley,

 

I know it can seem confusing. There are a lot of minutia that some CR veterans fret over, including the merits of raw vs. cooked foods, the best types and quantity of protein, toxins like AGEs in foods, glycemic index vs glycemic load, etc.

 

But to get started with CR (after getting your recommended blood tests!) it's really pretty simple. Track what you normally eat for a week or so and estimate calories and nutrition using one of the free online tools like cronometer.com.

 

Then SLOWLY begin to reduce calories by substituting more nutritionally dense whole fruits and vegetables for the more processed/refined foods in your current diet. They can be raw or cooked, whichever you prefer, although lightly cooking (steaming, poaching or brief sautéing) is generally preferable to fried or baked.

 

Continue to track your calories and nutrition. What you'll find is that this simple strategy will reduce your calories and improve your nutrition.

 

Once you master this simple substitution you can worry about some of the other subtleties, or not, depending on how far you want to go.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Dean

[carlycap1]

Thanks so much dean. Big help. Im ready to rock and roll now

 

Carley,

 

I know it can seem confusing. There are a lot of minutia that some CR veterans fret over, including the merits of raw vs. cooked foods, the best types and quantity of protein, toxins like AGEs in foods, glycemic index vs glycemic load, etc.

 

But to get started with CR (after getting your recommended blood tests!) it's really pretty simple. Track what you normally eat for a week or so and estimate calories and nutrition using one of the free online tools like cronometer.com.

 

Then SLOWLY begin to reduce calories by substituting more nutritionally dense whole fruits and vegetables for the more processed/refined foods in your current diet. They can be raw or cooked, whichever you prefer, although lightly cooking (steaming or sautéing) is generally preferable to fried or baked.

 

Continue to track your calories and nutrition. What you'll find is that this simple strategy will reduce your calories and improve your nutrition.

 

Once you master this simple substitution you can worry about some of the other subtleties, or not, depending on how far you want to go.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Dean

[nicholson]

Hi Carley:

 

......  and regarding AGEs, some recent research found that the amount of AGEs resulting from cooking plant products was almost negligible compared with that from cooked animal products.  I am not a vegan, or even a vegetarian, but I don't eat a lot of animal products and certainly not barbecued or otherwise seared.  

 

Many people here, and elsewhere, think a diet that is 'mostly plant based' has many benefits.  Poaching animal products (chicken breast, shrimp, fin fish  ....)   may avoid many problems.

 

Rodney.   

[carlycap1]

Thank you soooooo much for this info. This has been weighing on my mind as to which route to take. Im just starting so obviously im getting a little ahead of myself but i like to at least know my best options. So so helpful!

 

Hi Carley:

 

...... and regarding AGEs, some recent research found that the amount of AGEs resulting from cooking plant products was almost negligible compared with that from cooked animal products. I am not a vegan, or even a vegetarian, but I don't eat a lot of animal products and certainly not barbecued or otherwise seared.

 

Many people here, and elsewhere, think a diet that is 'mostly plant based' has many benefits. Poaching animal products (chicken breast, shrimp, fin fish ....) may avoid many problems.

 

Rodney.