Living and Eating Healthy be a magnet for abundant health

    I love to bake! At one time I made all my own breads; white, wheat, rye, corn, the works. I've baked and decorated countless cakes, cupcakes, muffins, cookies and brownies, and made all the holiday fudge and chocolates you can think of. I love sweets – what girl doesn't!
    And, I'm quite a cook! I am always inventing new ways to update traditional comfort foods, like tuna-noodle casserole, salmon-rice casserole and mac n' cheese, and going through Mom's old recipes. Friends and family always loved whatever I cooked. My problem was that no matter how “lean” or “diet” I made the meal I still packed on the pounds.
    My family has a tradition of dieting. From the time I was a small girl my mother fought her weight with one diet routine or another, going to “fat farms”, as she loved to call them, and coming home exercised, a bit slimmer and armed with new recipes for our family meals. We counted calories, ate lots of veggies and salads and used margarine instead of butter. But nothing really worked.
    I remember one time in the eighth grade being truly embarrassed by my weight. The entire class had trooped down to the nurse's office, as part of our health and fitness test, to get our height and weight measured. Not only was I the tallest in the class, at 5 feet 6 inches, but I out-weighed everyone at 127 pounds! By the time I graduated high school I had gained another inch in height (our family doctor said that I just finally stood up straight) and weighed 145. Yes, at this point, I had a woman's body. All curves with boobs to match. Only the guys on the football team outweighed me now.
    Today I'm staring down that short road toward 60. Due to one thing and another in my life my weight ballooned up till I weighed close to 250 pounds. And though I still had my curvaceous shape, my waist was thicker, my butt larger and my boobs had gotten out of hand. I had to do something fast!
    I latched on to Dr. Peter D'Adamo's book, Eat Right For Your Type, thought 'what the hell' and followed his formula for a healthy lifestyle. What Mom did not know all those years ago, and what took me forever to learn, is that our blood type plays a huge role in determining which foods are healthy and slimming for our body and which foods simply pack on the weight.
    I have Type A blood. My mother was Type O. I'm supposed to be vegetarian, but Mom needed meat in her diet. Meat packs on the weight for Type A's, while at the same time it's a weight-reducing, protein staple for Type O's. Go figure!
    I had to completely revamp my lifestyle! I had to give up some of the basic foods I lived on, like sweet potatoes, yams and veggie stuffed bakers, give up tomatoes and stuffed bell peppers, and eat more tofu. Tofu?! You're kidding me, right? Okay! I'll give it a month and see what happens. I can do anything for a month – it's just temporary. Ha!
    I did not weigh my food or count calories. If I wanted seconds, I ate seconds. As long as the food was on the list, I allowed myself to consume it. I could have popcorn and chocolate and I was in hog heaven! Within the first two weeks of this new routine I began to hear comments about my weight loss. I did not think I had lost any weight but it was clear that my clothes were getting loose. Okay, so something is changing – I'll keep it up.
    The next two weeks I found that my body naturally regulated the amount of food I consumed. I was content with only one serving at a time, and I began to crave more fruits and veggies and less chocolate and sweets. By the end of that first month I had dropped 10 pounds, but, more importantly, I had lost two dress sizes! This plan was working – and the loss was permanent. Over the course of the next two years I lost 60 pounds and was down to a size 12.
    I still have another 50 pounds to loose to get where I want to be, yet I have learned so much in the process. It's not only the right type of food, but we must consume the proper balance of proteins and fats along with veggies and fruits. I was eating more fruits and vegetables, grains and legumes, I had  switched to butter and olive oil, and though I consumed more soy products than before I was not getting enough actual protein in my diet. The daily recommendation of 4 to 6 ounces of lean meats, poultry or fish per serving (per meal) does not add up to enough consumable protein our bodies require on a daily basis. Depending on our personal weight, we each need to consume 60 to 90 grams of protein per day, from vegetable sources as well as animal.
    Let's takes a look at a 7 ounce can of water-packed tuna. The can states the suggested serving size of 2 ounces (about 3 servings in the whole can) gives you 11 grams of protein. If you ate the whole can at one sitting you would still only get 33 grams of protein. Where are you going to get the other 30 to 60 grams you still need for the day? One whole egg equals 6 grams of protein, a half cup of black beans gives you 7 grams and 3 ounces of tofu yields another 7 grams of protein. That's still only another 20 grams. Okay, so lets add one “BOCA” burger – that's 18 grams of protein. A half cup serving of edamame (soybeans) is another 10 grams, and we are getting closer to our daily required intake of protein, assuming you ate the whole can of tuna.
    I think you are getting the idea. When you plan your meal you need a proper balance of vegetable to animal protein as well as good combination of raw salad materials and vegetable carbohydrates. And, let's not forget, we need to “Eat the Rainbow”!
    Now, here's the thing, the protein you consume is also dependent on your blood type. As an “A” blood type I simply can not consume some of the dense proteins that the other blood types can. Beef, though delicious, is very dense and stays in my belly for days, making me feel sluggish and icky. So, I gave up meat. But, I also had to give up lamb, pork/ham and all its variations, rabbit and all wild game!  I'm left with chicken, turkey and game hens. Good thing I like them...But, I also have lots of fish choices and that makes me very happy.
   So, we need to take a look at the options for each blood type and I'll have some suggestions for substitutions for you in my next article.