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food
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   Wellness -> Diet and NutritionMessage format
 
zenistaga
Posted 2008-03-16 6:35 PM (#105049)
Subject: food


im noticing that alot of the posts on this forum stress really restrictive diets. what is the reason for this? i want to know how i can get deeper in my yoga through a proper diet. i eat really healthy but alot more than im seeing people on here eating. for a while i ate 100% vegan and mostly raw and started getting depressed and low in energy. now ive started eating fish, is that frowned upon by yogis? i know that yogis are mostly vegetarian but i feel like fish is so good for you but im pretty ignorant about diet and yoga together. i would really appreciate any help. thanks!
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kulkarnn
Posted 2008-03-16 9:40 PM (#105057 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


I have three questions for you.

Q1: You said you went Vegan at one time. Why did you do so? Please be as clear and elaborate as possible.

Q2: Later you went to use Fish. That is because of the situation you expressed. Is that the only reason or there are others as well?

Q3: When you eat Fish now, what is your emotional feeling towards eating it? In particular is it same as before the time you first went Vegan? And, how is it exactly currently?

Thanks.
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zenistaga
Posted 2008-03-16 10:03 PM (#105059 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


hey kulkarnn, thanks for the response. i went vegan before for many reasons, most of them the wrong ones. i still dont eat dairy or eggs, mostly because of health. i saw a video in my philosophy class about how animals are treated (chickens and cows) before their eggs and milk is taken. it was pretty horrible so that was my deciding factor when i became vegan, however, i must admit that i mostly went vegan because i wanted to lose weight and be healthier. i ended up losing too much weight and going a little overboard so when i started adding more cooked foods i really began feeling an overwhelming desire to eat fish so i started. i hate to say it but i really enjoy it when i eat it. i like the taste and texture but i really did love being 100% vegetarian. i still refuse to eat any other meat, i dont know why in my mind fish is ok, i know its meat but for some reason i dont feel negative emotions when i eat it but when i imagine myself or someone eating chicken or beef i just feel ill. i hope that answered your questions.
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kulkarnn
Posted 2008-03-16 10:09 PM (#105060 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


Dear Zenistaga: Thanks for your answers. Considering your answers, this is what I have to say:

1: You went on cooked foods to compensate of excessive weight loss. But, you also added fish because you thought that would benefit and also because you like it.

2. You do not think that fish is as bad as other meat in terms of your emotions regarding killing animals for eating.

So I would say, you should eat Fish. Only when you feel emotionally incorrect about Fish eating, then giving it up would make sense. For some others, trying to giving up Fish just for health or other reasons would make sense, as a Try Out. in your case, you already gave it up once, but now you feel it is OK to eat. So, go ahead and enjoy it. If you later change your mind deeply, think of giving it up.

The above is my opinion. I have never eaten any meat product.
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zenistaga
Posted 2008-03-16 10:16 PM (#105061 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


kulkarrn, thanks alot for your response. i enjoy fish but i also feel like its very good for the health and thats mainly why im continuing. i dont think id be ready to give up fish anytime soon but i do feel like i will eventually. i would really appreciate it if you could give me an idea of what your daily menu looks like. thanks so much for your time!
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kulkarnn
Posted 2008-03-17 8:08 AM (#105073 - in reply to #105061)
Subject: RE: food


Dear ZeniS: To know my daily menu: you have to look at two time frames:

- One that I was in the midst of my peak Yoga Practice: This menu can be obtained by reading my book: Health and Yoga Aphorisms with Commentary. (see www.authenticyoga.org, books)

- One that is current and after Yoga Practice is Stabilized. This is as follows:

- No Breakfast. At times - One single kind of fruit.

- Coffee and Tea - One coffee and two teas. At times an extra cup.

- Lunch - Either - Grains+Veges+Salad OR Only Fruits (not more than 3 kinds)

- Dinner - Almost always: Grains + Veges + Salad.

Note: Grains - Whole unpolished, Brown Rice, Quinoa, Millet, Barley (unhulled), Oats, + Legumes all whole with outer covers.

Salad - Raw, Uncut, Cleaned by water.

Veges - Different Veges each day, spiced with Indian or Non Indian Spices (moderately)


Additional: Snacks of Raw Nuts with Salad, sometimes Dry Roasted Nuts with Salad, At other times Snacks of Dried Whole Sweet Fruits.

And, additional of Raw Oil on food while eating.


Hurray
Neel


zenistaga - 2008-03-16 10:16 PM

kulkarrn, thanks alot for your response. i enjoy fish but i also feel like its very good for the health and thats mainly why im continuing. i dont think id be ready to give up fish anytime soon but i do feel like i will eventually. i would really appreciate it if you could give me an idea of what your daily menu looks like. thanks so much for your time!
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Posted 2008-03-17 9:45 AM (#105081 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


that's how i eat, plus beans, eggs, and dairy.

i eat just fruit, but then my next meal is eggs and salad, then more salad (usually with beans) for lunch, and then a snack of some veg or fruit or nuts (or some combo therein), and then dinner which typically has beans and veg, and then perhaps a late snack of veg, fruit, or nuts.

that's interesting. oh, or cheese. sometimes i'll have a snack of cheese.
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tourist
Posted 2008-03-17 10:39 AM (#105083 - in reply to #105081)
Subject: RE: food



Expert Yogi

Posts: 8442
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I think we have totally over-intellectualized our whole approach to food. We need to eat healthy food, not overeat and relax about it. I get tired of someone who is eating some 100 calorie highly processed and over packaged chocolatey flavoured sawdust food replacement product looking at me eating an avocado and asking if I should be doing it because it has "so much fat." I gather that Michael Pollan's new book (and I have just recently been hearing about the Omnivore's Dilemma - I am so behind the times!) says it all. "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly vegetables."
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Posted 2008-03-17 10:52 AM (#105085 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


OD is a great book. Animal, Vegetable, Mineral is also a good one.

uhm, i like to eat good food. so, i eat it.

yesterday, because it's easter time, i craved a cadbury creme egg. silly thing, isn't it? but i have had one every easter since i was a teen. and so, i bought one. oddly, i haven't eaten it yet. it's just sitting here next to me, keeping me company.

i'm also sitting next to two swiss dark chocolate bars. they're just there. nice things. it will take us weeks to eat them. but we eat them.

ryan finally got his "african mistress" back. it's a very dark roast coffee; his favorite. they were "out" forever! he was devestated! life without his "mistress!" the horror! he survived.

i just love food, is that so wrong?
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Posted 2008-03-17 10:54 AM (#105086 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


right, i forgot to mention my obcession with soup!
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zenistaga
Posted 2008-03-17 3:08 PM (#105098 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


wow, you guys are very healthy. i was just wondering, is there a reason that you guys restrict so much? the reason im wondering is because i figure one would need alot of food in order to have energy to do yoga poses but it seems like most people that are really committed to yoga seem to follow a pretty strict diet. does it enhance the practice? i eat very healthy but quite alot. how do you guys maintain your weight when you eat so little and do yoga? how much nuts do you eat? i really want to be 100% immersed in yoga so anything would help. thanks!
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kulkarnn
Posted 2008-03-17 4:06 PM (#105107 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


I found that I have more energy with the above diet than when I am on less healthy diet. I eat half cup nuts in any single day, NOT each day. It will be 1/4th cup as a snack or half cup as a full meal along with fresh salad.

I do not eat less. I eat until I am satisfied.

I do not feel any restriction except when I was practicing totally raw etc 15 years ago. I am rather UN-restricted. My wife is much more restricted than me: No dairy, no spices, NO sugar. And, she eats more than me.

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Posted 2008-03-18 2:13 AM (#105123 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


zenistaga - 2008-03-16 3:35 PM

im noticing that alot of the posts on this forum stress really restrictive diets. what is the reason for this? i want to know how i can get deeper in my yoga through a proper diet. i eat really healthy but alot more than im seeing people on here eating. for a while i ate 100% vegan and mostly raw and started getting depressed and low in energy. now ive started eating fish, is that frowned upon by yogis? i know that yogis are mostly vegetarian but i feel like fish is so good for you but im pretty ignorant about diet and yoga together. i would really appreciate any help. thanks!


Another's behavior should not be frowned upon by anyone, let alone a yogi. There is a very significant sutra that sheds some light on such things. It is in the first book or pada and it is the 33rd sutra in that book. I will link to a version of it here.

That answers the issue of frowning:-)

An answer for the diet question you have already discovered. While there is certainly a very strong case in classical yoga for a vegetarian diet and it may even be best or desirable, it is NOT so when it is harmful to the practitioner. There are some who might consider moving toward a vegetarian diet and there are others who, for various reasons, should do as you did adding some fish to their diet. How do you know? The diet has to serve the student. We live in times where the food, water, and air supply are tainted at very least. And therefore dietary concerns should fall within that context, not the context of Gujarat 3,000 years ago.

In Purna Yoga we do learn about nutrition and lifestyle. In the former there are things to eat and things to avoid. If you cover your definition of "healthy" I could speak more directly to your particular diet.
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tourist
Posted 2008-03-18 10:31 AM (#105140 - in reply to #105098)
Subject: RE: food



Expert Yogi

Posts: 8442
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Victoria - in fact, what we are saying here so far (others may chime in with different views) is that we do NOT eat a restrictive diet. Personally, I get migraines if I don't eat regularly, so I never allow myself to get overly hungry. I like good food so I tend to buy good stuff (the two chocolate items sitting beside my computer at the moment happen to both be German chocolate) and that tends to be more satisfying. OTOH, when I crave Miss Vickies salt and vinegar chips, I have some. Bad idea right before teaching, though. They create a rather serious dry mouth condition!

Yoga practice tends to help people be more connected to their bodies and that helps you figure out what is needed, how much and when to quit eating. It is a process though, not something that happens overnight. And some people do find that some foods just disagree with them on various levels. Then it is not "restrictive" at all. It is easy to stay away from foods that make you feel ill. A friend is currently having some serious digestive issues and finds she must not eat any grains. Although she used to love pasta and breads, she is finding it very easy to adapt her life so that she doesn't eat them at all now. Before she got sick, it would have been difficult for her so then it would have been "restrictive." Now it is just smart.
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Posted 2008-03-18 10:38 AM (#105142 - in reply to #105098)
Subject: RE: food


i don't restrict at all, honestly.

i think that's kinda part of the confusion. you might look at my dietary habits and say that they are "restrictive" but it doesn't feel that way to me at all!

i LOVE how i eat, it's no hardship, and i eat a lot and everything that i want. I eat probably 1800-2000 calories a day (probably more now that i'm pregnant, i don't really count), and i always feel satisfied and full.

my husband is omnivorous (eats meat as well as veg, etc), and he probably eats about 2500-3000 calories a day. he has very healthy eating habits, and while others look at his diet because he doens't eat the doughnuts that work provides as "restrictive" it is simply "off his radar.

so, it really isn't restrictive at all. i love to eat, i love what i eat.
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Posted 2008-03-18 1:51 PM (#105155 - in reply to #105142)
Subject: RE: food


I eat everything and anything that I want. Once you get used to eating fresh, unprocessed, healthy food, that is all you want. My eating philosophy is:

Drink lots of fresh water. Only eat when you are hungry. When you are no longer hungry, stop eating! Take your time and really enjoy your food. Notice how the foods that you eat taste, but also be aware of how you feel later as a result of eating those foods. Try to eat foods with as much prana (life-force) as possible. This means eating plenty of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. While some Yogis condemn the eating of dairy products, eggs, fish, and meat, others include them in their diet. If you do eat fish or animal products, know how and where the animals were raised and what they were fed. Keep animal fat, salted or smoked foods, excess protein, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar to a minimum. Try to avoid trans fats and unnecessary additives. The important thing is to eat food that has been processed as little as possible. The more processed a food is, the less prana it has. The fresher food is, the better it tastes. Do not smoke! (Burning incense is also smoking as you are breathing smoke just like second hand cigarette smoke.) Don’t get radical or rigid about diet as balance in diet encourages balance in the rest of your life.
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Cyndi
Posted 2008-03-19 12:00 AM (#105191 - in reply to #105155)
Subject: RE: food



Expert Yogi

Posts: 5098
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I agree and do what Jim does. Only, I think lately I've been enjoying my food too much and need to back off. Something about my trip to Italy messed with me, BIGTIME.
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Posted 2008-03-19 1:17 PM (#105216 - in reply to #105191)
Subject: RE: food


Cyndi - 2008-03-18 9:00 PM
Only, I think lately I've been enjoying my food too much and need to back off. Something about my trip to Italy messed with me, BIGTIME.


Cyndi,
May I hazard a guess? You had a REALLY WONDERFUL time in Italy and every time you eat similiar food now, it brings you back and you don't want it to stop, so you keep eating. Did I get it right? (We were in Italy last year and I totally understand.)
Jim
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Cyndi
Posted 2008-03-19 1:48 PM (#105217 - in reply to #105216)
Subject: RE: food



Expert Yogi

Posts: 5098
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Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC
YES, YES and YES!

There's much to be said about environmental eating, I do believe. The mediterranean definitely agrees with me....on ALL levels...BIGTIME,
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zenistaga
Posted 2008-03-19 9:50 PM (#105266 - in reply to #105049)
Subject: RE: food


thanks cyndi and jim for your responses. i love to eat healthy and i eat mostly vegeterian, except for the occasional sashimi dinner or salmon. i do love fish but im noticing more and more that i feel so much better after i eat a vegetarian meal. i feel more energized, stronger, more balanced and just overall happier. when i eat fish, i like the way it tastes and smells and its texture but something isnt quite right after that. for lunch today for example, i had salmon, brown rice, steamed veg's and miso soup. it was quite delicious but i felt out of allignment after that. i didnt think it was because of the food i ate but i did realize that every time i eat fish thats how i feel. i dont feel depressed or anything like that just like something isnt right. for dinner, i had a black bean barley salad with a soy sauce mustard dressing that i made and a tofu soup and i just feel so incredible right now. i dont know if it has anythign to do with that or with the fact that i did yoga again before i ate dinner, but i have been noticing a trend so that is my assumption.
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fechter03
Posted 2008-03-20 12:40 AM (#105272 - in reply to #105191)
Subject: RE: food


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Cyndi - 2008-03-19 12:00 AM

I agree and do what Jim does. Only, I think lately I've been enjoying my food too much and need to back off. Something about my trip to Italy messed with me, BIGTIME.

yeah, italian food tends to have that effect on me too...
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