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how do you feel, superheros?

how do you feel, superheros?

Started by Bretzel on December 8, 2011

18 Comments

amie said #11 Dec 26, 2011 at 10:10am

Hi Beverly,

thank you for your response and for the encouragement! I will be away for a few days and I won't have access to a kitchen. So I will definitely try the overnight oats

Chrissekatt said #12 Oct 21, 2012 at 1:36am

Hi!

The macro diet seems to be great, it's ecofriendly since you include a lot of you include a lot of nice things as well as limiting unnecessary nutrients like refined sugar.

I've searched for studies about the macrobiotic diet and I don't find any good ones, so I can't judge either from a scientific view or a personal view since I've never tried it myself. My concern is; why limit nuts and seeds? Those are rich in minerals and healthy fatty acids and make a great complement of amino acids. Since you already exclude a lot of things as a vegan, why limit yourself on plant-based foods? Of course, I realise that nuts and seeds are calorie dense and you have to limit them if you want to lose weight. Could you give me some awesome arguments why the superhero diet is better than the ordinary vegan diet?

Is it not enough to stick to a well-balansed calorie intake and select whole, plant-based food?

Chrissekatt said #13 Oct 21, 2012 at 1:40am

*In the first sentence "...eco-friendly since you include a lot of grains".

pancake said #14 Oct 21, 2012 at 9:49am

I'm quite a newbie on the superheroside, so I'm definately not a pro, but from what I've learned so far, superhero is about balancing everything. I suppose nuts and seeds are quite "strong", so you may eat them without messing something up, but moderation is key! Alicia wrote "about a cup per week is fine". Personally I'd say that this already is quite a lot.. I use a bit of gomashio and toasted seeds with shoyu or make a superhero-version of the raw balls every now and then, but I wouldn't go crazy on nuts either..
I'm almost 2 weeks into superhero (have been vegan for well over 2 years before) and I'm about 80%superhero atm, results so far: I've lost a bit of weight, my skin cleared up, I feel so awake all day, sleep better at night and the most important thing is, that I feel so calm inside and happy all the time, it's like I lost my moodswings completely!!!
I never ate too much of the processed food before, ate loads of veggies, grains (although not always whole grains), but still ate quite a bit of sweets .. Cutting out sugar really did the trick for me, and I think, cutting out nightshades is good for me too.
I honestly didn't think, superhero would change so much so quickly, .. I encourage you to just give it a try, just one month, if it doesn't work for you, it doesn't, but if it does, you won't wanna give up on it again!!! Like I said, I'm just 2 weeks in, but I can't imagine ever giving up on it again! (of course there will be vegan desserts from time to time, but I'm confident the next meal after it, will be superhero again ;) )

Hope you'll give it a try,wishing you lots of wonderful superhero-experiences along the way! :)

Chrissekatt said #15 Oct 22, 2012 at 5:30am

Thank you for your comment, pancake! I am going to try it since the recipes look so delicious. One thing about rice, you should probably not over-consume it since it's not good for the environment (read it in a swedish vegetarian cook book), but I'm sure you superheroes do great since you probably buy a lot of organically grown brown rice and are saving the world in other ways, or what do you think, am I wrong? I'm just wondering why this diet should be the best option for everyone. The ancient yogic diet for example, included youghurt, cheese and milk but since these foods don't have as good quality today you better exclude it, but otherwise you simply eat everything as clean and whole as possible. The ayurvedic diet is different for everyone, depending on your body consitution. There are also a lot of people who used to be vegans that have been complaining about losing weight, feeling faint and cold. I just think there is a solution for everyone. People in my country (from cold Sweden which can't produce much food in general) also want to preserve the biodiversity on the fields by livestock, which in moderation maybe is more eco-friendly than buying algae from the other side of the world. I mean, there are options and maybe it's not good to stick to one diet. Of course, I still think that a plant-based diet in general is the best thing for overcoming most of cronical diseases, and the most ethical thing for preserving the whole planet and to end the cruel meat industry.

pancake said #16 Nov 4, 2012 at 8:18am

I agree with your point on eating foods from the other side of the world.. It is bothering me a lot, so I try to choose always "the most local" things.e.g. I don't want to buy rice from china, when I can get the exact same thing from Italy (I think the rice I had was from there) (I live in Germany, so Italy is quite close.. And if I have to buy the Asian rice b/c there's absolutely no chance of getting another grain, I go for - at least- the fairtrade product.. I don't like seavegetables and I'm not a fan of miso either, so personally I don't really use a whole lot of the "magic foods". But I still feel like I'm getting the benefits of a superhero-diet..

I was wondering if you could give me more detailled info about why rice is so bad for the environment?! I try to have different grains throughout the whole month (favourites atm are spelt, oats, couscous, brown rice) so I don't rely on rice as my everyday-grain, but I always want to learn more about how to live even more ecological ;) I also always buy as much as I can organic.

I think, what you say about vegans feeling cold and so on, is influenced by how (I suppose) most vegans eat, when they are out and about or on the go. Depending on where you live it's not that easy to find anything else in a restaurant than a salad that is vegan. So of course, if you always "have" to eat cold foods such as salads, fruits or sandwiches and other snack foods it's more likely to feel cold as opposed to having more warm foods like soups, stews or anything else warm that make you feel warm. So I'd say this is not about eating e.g. meat, b/c a salad with cold chicken will still make you feel cold and a soup will make you feel warm, no matter whether there's meat in there or beans as a proteinsource. That sounds quite logical - at least to me.

One more general thought on eating macro: I read somewhere (months ago) that you really build the diet around your very personal needs, depending on where you live, where you (or even your parents) come from, which foods are in season where you live and so on. all diet books always want to give standard recommendations, but people tend to forget, that it's really only a recommendation! Find the foods YOU feel best with to meet your nutritional needs, because you are the one who needs to feel good about it and you need to feel in balance!

Chrissekatt said #17 Nov 6, 2012 at 4:03am

Thank you once again for your response! :D It makes me feel more confident in my choices as well. I will try to back up my proposition! :) The thing about rice; I guess there is a lot emission of greenhouse gases like methane during the production, but the other grains and beans produced in Sweden are about the same (on average 300-500 kg carbon dioxide equivalents). It highly depends on which procedure for rice production you use. According to the literature I found, it varies between 1-6 kg carbon dioxide equivalents per kg uncooked rice, without the transport! For comparison; here in Sweden is meat (varies between 2,5-22 CO2 equivalents and dairy production( between 0,7-1,1 C02 equivalents) responsible for the most carbon emissions caused by food production, way beyond buying apples transported from New Zealand :P. (source; Mobjörk M, Jonsson DK, "Literature review over climate effects from Swedish consumtion", Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Feb 2009) Since I went vegan I'm very proud of what I do and DON'T contibute to. I used to read a lot about yoga and according to the litterature I went through you should adapt your food intake to the climate you live in, like you said, and just like Alicia did when she quit the raw food diet (maybe it isn't good for your body to eat ananas when you live in the north). I guess that "cavemen" seldom found calorie-rich sources like fat and carbs found in nuts and fruits, so their brains got programmed to feel satisfied whenever they finally ate it... I just can't imagine a week without sugar or coffee. But I have to try for a month, like you say, before I reject the thought. That will be the next challenge, since I managed so well with the vegan diet! Hope you don't find my text so boring with all the numbers and stuff, but I enjoy reading and today I learned something new! I will tell you if I try the superhero diet soon! :D Cheers!

Chrissekatt said #18 Nov 6, 2012 at 4:14am

Eh, about beans and grains produced in Sweden; 300-500 g CO2 equivalents per kg, sorry if you hade an heart attack while reading that :P

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