For some time I have been wanting to diet, or just stop eating crap as I do a lot of. I have gone through a dieting/self control anti-fressing stages before and they have worked well. The last time I decided to change my eating habits, I stopped eating bread and pasta and lost 25 pounds in 3 weeks. Please remember that I am an extremely active person who cycles at least 100 miles a week and hikes as well, so for normal people that may not be shayich.
I have always had a small stomach, my buddy Yoel jokes that I am the most out of shape/in shape guy he knows. The only one who can hike 25 miles in a day and ride 80 miles on a bike, not be tired and still look chubby. My arms and legs never get it, just my face and stomach.
I crashed a wedding last week at Ateres Chynka (I only mention the name because the name itself is funny and I am waiting for the ACLU to complain) and a bunch of old buddies said I looked like I was gaining weight, so I went to the scale and almost had a heart attack when I saw 205 pounds.
Ever since I moved to New York I have been quite transient, I don’t actually stay anywhere longer than 2 nights at a time and have no kitchen, I also discovered Carlos and Gabbys and have since been eating out and eating loads of pizza and fast food. Then throw in shabbos and I have really been eating unhealthy, though I could have told you I was gaining weight by how tight I adjust my belt it didn’t hit home until last week.
So I right away went to Heshy’s special diet, which includes no more eating out, no foods with high fructose corn syrup and trying to limit my carb intake to hippie foods, like kashi and quinoa. First thing to notice the change is my wallet, now instead of 7 dollar lunches and 12-15 dollar dinners, I have a huge lunch and rarely eat dinner.
I am not one to believe in diets, for one, I feel that orthodox Judaism doesn’t flow with diets. Diets to me seem restrictive and seem like something people do for a while, quit and then gain the weight back. I am for general lifestyle changes like not eating out and trying to eat unprocessed foods, because I can still eat what I love, but by limiting fast food I really take out a lot of the crap.
Here is what I have been eating a lot of. Bananas, Apples, Raw unsalted almonds and walnuts (Trader Joes sells packages with small one serving bags) Lots of spinach, toamtoes, Tofurkey (Tofu sausage with 29g of protien and 8g of fiber per serving) Cheese – I never really eat cheese, but its high in protien and gives me some good taste, been sampling the gourmet stuff at Pomegranate. I also eat tuna, canned chilli, and other soy products as well. For cycling I stick to energy bars like balance, luna, cliff, lara and gnu bars. For dressing I use olive oil and various vinegars.
I dicovered flas seeds last night which have ridiculous amount of protien and fiber – the two essentials that I want to make my diet high in.
This diet if I may call it that is definitely working wonders for my self control. For instance at this shiur I went to last night they served subsational and I limited myself to one pastrami eggroll, a major feat if you know how I feel about Subsational.
Then this past shabbos, I refrained from white challah and only took whole wheat a mighty hard feat as well. I also limited my kugel intake and my cholent intake. I also ate slower, I was almost a mench, although I wont say I was because that would be selling out my fellow fressers.
But the good news it that I went down in 1 belt loop and all of my pants are loose on me again, 1 week and I am down 7 pounds.
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
mazel tov. do you drink any alcohol on shabbos?
People have to cut out sugar/alcohol/bread/simple carbs and burn more calories than they consume.
They can’t just work out and think that fixes everything. I wonder what diabetes statistics are among frummies.
This is great! its really wonderful. Dieting is a myth…just getting to a consistent varied diet of whole “hippie” foods is the way to go…
M – there are these girls in my office who take diet pills and only eat 900 calories a day – its pretty insane what people do, I am not really doing this for physique, I want to be faster and fit into all of my clothing.
you seem really in the know and good energy nice
The flax seed can really help “clean your system” if you eat to much
When I want to lose weight, I do this:
Breakfast – protein shake
Lunch – salad
Dinner – 6 eggs, vegetables, feta
When I want to save money, I do pretty much the same thing.
B”H
What’s your blood type? More likely than not, you should stay away from wheat all together. Eat spelt or rye on Shabbath. Can’t find such kosher breads? Move to Israel.
If your blood type is “O,” stay aware from cabbage and corn as well.
I was listening to Zorba Paster on NPR a few months ago, and he says the blood type diet referred to in the last comment is a fraud. (of course, he could be wrong)
Heshy, you’re doing great, man. You’ve got the right foods, but lemme give you a bit of advice.
Break up your eating into 5-6 meals. It’s easier for the body to burn calories if it’s digested in small portions.
Fiber is good for keeping yourself not hungry and wanting to eat on a whim. It also helps you digest other foods you eat better. If you’re really serious about losing weight, I’d recommend about 40 grams a day. Edamame beans are personally great for me- tons of protein and fiber.
Eggs- just a great source of protein. It’s ok to have some yolks if you’re interested in building muscle. Also, the more muscle you have, the easier it is for you to burn fat. Maintaining muscles consumes calories by itself.
If you can find some low-carb, high fiber tortillas like I found at Costco, you’re set. Like the edamame, good fiber and a decent amount of protein.
One week and 7 lbs is really impressive though. I’ve just been losing about 6 lbs a month consistently for the last 4 1/2 months (I’m down to 175 from a peak of 200 and I have a lot more muscle than I did before.) With the kind of riding you do, you should be great.
Oh, and OJ can work fine with a diet, so long as you use the concept of a cheat meal right and you really push yourself and don’t go out to eat. Read up on cheat meals, have one really crazy meal a week (kiddush with chulent, etc, like I do) and eat healthy the rest of the time. You need it to keep your body out of homeostasis so it burns fat faster.
“Move to Israel to lose weight” is somehow the most extreme pro-Aliyah argument I’ve ever seen.
Because “America is the next Germany” would be, y’know, a scary and compelling argument if it were true.
“Move to Israel to lose weight” is at once petty and unlikely.
Heshy, I be glad you be able to lose weight. Some people just can’t.
Making changes that are feasible for the long term, combined with moderate doses of “treats” once in a while, is a great recipe for success. Hope you reach your goals, Hesh!
You don’t need to cut carbs, just calories. There is nothing wrong with carbs. Just eat a lot of fiber so that you don’t get hungry. Eating a lot of beans and greens are a good way to eat well and feel full.
tip: grow aloe vera in a small planter..
everyday take a stem/leaf (whatever is the technical name for it) and rip it, inside is this jello-ish thing.. eat it! helps to cleanse the system and it eats away at the fat in the body..i think its safely in the hippy food category…wont u say?
inspiring post…
The whole secret is cooking. And not eating all the carbs, too. You’re goin’ great.
way to go.
Good morning, Hesh! That’s why clothes in frum stores come sized like olives: large, jumbo, and colossal.
ALOE VERA is delicious– the whole plain froyo thing is becoming a big deal in singapore (it came from Cali, I’m told? also saw it in Israel, but who could refuse Dr Lek’s or Aldo?), and you can have the juicy aloe vera chunks as a topping with cookie crumbs. yummy.
also, I think there is something to the whole “move to israel to lose weight” thing, but it has more to do with the weather and availability of fresh produce.
you could also say ‘move to california’, hawaii, VI, or southeast asia.
though the food in israel is more likely to measure up to your kashrut needs.
Though this post and comments are mainly about dieting, the title brings Judaism into it.
I suggest you read the Rambam’s diet and eating tips, as well as the shulchan Aruch. Anyone that follows those diets is guaranteed to remain thin, as most foods we eat today would be out.
The main thing they point out is not whats being eaten, it’s the eating habits. They advocate big breakfast, small lunches and no supper, eating twice a day. Another important espect is excersizing before eating so the body is warmed up.
Million dollar question is why yeshivas and frummies are always worried about little details and strange mihagim, when halachic authorities hold that taking care of your health is a primary comandment? Modern yeshivas shun excersize and promote terrible eating habits to dorm kids, in my opinion, this is totally against halacha.
Hesh, biking a hundred miles a week won’t do anything to adjust your waistline. It’s the one area where men’s bodies store fat. Only way to get rid of it is dieting, but more importantly lots of situps.
In general people equate being thin with being fit, which isn’t necesarily the case. If one diets and is always hungry, you are more prone to get sick or injured , as well as mental issues like depression, anger and even paranoia. Working off a few pounds is good once in a while, but long term starvation diets lead to anorexia and other serious problems.
Phil, I did sit ups for a year and all it did was make my tummy hard.
Hesh,
You gotta stick with the plan and keep doing them. Works great to stretch your back too. Fat will accumulate on parts of the body that don’t get much use, that’s why you’re getting a gut despite all the biking you do.
Obviously, nutrition has something do with it too. Protein and carbs are good when you’re doing lots of excersize. When you’re like me and stuck in front of a screen most of the day, eating less is better.
Once upon a time, fat people were “in”. As poor people usually starved, being fat was a symbol of wealth. It still is in coutries where food is scarce. Anything up to 20-25 lbs over you normal body weight is nothing to worry about, though the chicks might feel differently.
Sit ups won’t make you lose the fat around your waist. You need to reduce your overall body fat — there’s no such thing as spot reduction. Spot reduction is the idea that one can selectively burn off the fat in a certain area by working the muscles in that area. In reality, when you work a muscle the energy to do the work comes from fatty acids mobilized from all over the body.
You need to eat less and exercise more. In addition to your cycling, start a weight training program.
Phil, “Fat will accumulate on parts of the body that don’t get much use, that’s why you’re getting a gut despite all the biking you do.” is completely wrong. There is no such thing as spot reduction of fat. You can do unlimited sit-ups, but it won’t reduce your stomach fat more than other areas. Biking and dieting would reduce fat all around your body, just some people hold onto it in some places more (men most often keep it in the stomach).
I always thought it did, but I’m no expert and have a beer belly as well, sitting on a boat sipping beer often enough will do that.
Anyway, weight training and dieting don’t go together too well. You simply can’t lift weights on a consistent basis if you’re starving. You’re way better off increasing the training level, much the way boxers and MMA guys do.
These guys run and hit the bags most of the day, usually limit weights to 1 hour per day.
Too much weight training and not enough cardio and you’ll end up like those guys on the world’s strongest man competitions, basically, most of them look like polar bears. Stong as hell, very fit, but weigh over 300 lbs.
Good for you. I don’t understand though why you say that orthodox Judaism and dieting don’t mix.
yep, those fad diets that make you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time are stupid. 90% of the time people gain back the weight plus more once they go back to their normal diet- and it messes with your metabolism permenantly.
Sounds like you are making a healthy change for the better. Who cares about what kind of belly you have, what’s more important is your internal health- and the type of diet you are eating now is much better for that than fast food and overprocessed foods. What’s key is also picking the type of diet that you can stick with long term- those fad diets are not sustainable for a long period of time, but eating a relatively balanced and healthy diet while allowing yourself some bad food in very small amounts is ideal. That way you arn’t depriving yourself, so you hopefully won’t just throw away that way of eating once you lose the weight.
Whomever eats 6 eggs a night when dieting…omg ew. Only 2 eggs have more than your daily recommended amount of cholesterol. so you are having more than 3x your recommended amount. You may lose weight that weigh, but doesn’t really count for much if your arteries are filling up with crap and you die earlier.
Also… frum satire I kinda hate you for being able to lose 7 pounds in a week
Why is it that boys can drop an insane amount of weight so quickly like that? (my husband is the same way- if he stops drinking soda for a week he will drop like 5-7 pounds with no trouble, while If I’m trying to lose weight and eat healthily, exercise, and count calories, it takes me 2 months to drop that amount). Also eating several smaller meals a day is better than eating 2 bigger meals a day- that way you are less likely to binge out when eating because you’ve been starving yourself all day, and it also keeps your metabolism burning at a steady rate. Just make sure the smaller meals also have smaller calories. 
Now off to eat my next small meal of the day…350 calories worth of whole wheat crackers, white cheddar cheese and grapes, mmmm.
also some humans just naturally will always have a little belly no matter how much they weigh- i always have one no matter how much weight I lose (even when I was on weight watchers in college and dieted myself down to the point where all my ribs were sticking out, still had the belly). The only thing that ever made it go away, oddly enough, was when I was taking a yoga class twice a week. My stomach muscles got all toned and awesome looking.
Jewish beleifs,
Judaism does advocate a healthy diet as I posted above.
What doesn’t, is yeshiavs that shun excersize and provide cheap and greasy foods the the students. Then you get the insane amounts of overeating and Shabbos, Yom Tov and on Simchas, as all Jewish events are somehow related to food.
Good job with the healthy changes!
And dieting may not mix with the Orthodox lifestyles of yeshiva boys but it certainly mixes with the girl schools, I can tell you that. The obsession to be size 2 thin in the all-girl HS is insane. It’s quite telling that almost all the frum girls at YU’s grad school of psych are doing their dissertations on body image and eating disorders among Orthodox women…
Limit the crap during the week. On Shabbos, eat one and only one of everything and you’ll be fine. Also, stay away from shul kiddush food. It’s LOADED with oil.
When I do that I’m fine… it’s the Rocky Road cravings and pizza during the week that kill me.
AE, I don’t put much faith in the RDAs (or any.) There are a few articles out from the Weston Price Foundation going into the history of how those numbers came to be.
The same foundation also has articles describing research on cholesterol. I can tell you from personal experience that when I went from a vegetarian, high-grain diet to a low-carb diet high in animal fats (which I followed for 3 years) my cholesterol and triglycerides fell, and my HDL more than doubled. The fact is, the body is good at regulating itself. The body controls serum cholesterol levels, and if dietary cholesterol doesn’t put it where the body wants it, it will synthesize more. The trick is to avoid creating states where the body wants a higher serum cholesterol.
A few quotes on the subject from Likutei Eitzot (Rebbe Nachman):
When a person manages to break his desire for food, God works miracles through him.
A person who eats excessively is like an animal. To be human is to eat only what is
necessary.
Greed for food is one of the three lusts which destroy the heart’s capacity for awe and
reverence for God. The other two are the desire for wealth and the sexual appetite.Each of the
three festivals of the year has its own spiritual influence which counters one of these desires.
Pesach counters the desire for wealth; Shavuot the sexual impulse. The greedy desire for food is
broken through the influence of Succot. Celebrating Succot fittingly will bring an illumination which can help one to control one’s appetite for food.
AE – I will always have the belly, I did situps and pushups and weight training for a year and didn’t feel much better – may have been the 3 liters of MT Dew I drank a day back then.
Oh boy, Jewish magic.
three liters! wow. On a hot day, outside all day, maybe two.
Ditch the MTB and join us roadies.
(plus, you get to shave your legs!)
Cut out all soft drinks and replace with water. lift weights. Do not eat out.
Check out costco’s empire chicken breasts, slap ‘em on a george forman, and your suppers are set.
You too can go on, and stay on, a diet while being frum!!
http://www.frumdiet.com