Brainwashing!

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leehljp

leehljp

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I am into my 5th week of cardio-rehab. The 1 hour of exercising on the machines 3 days a week is not bad at all. The 2nd hour of dietary brainwashing on the Pritikin diet is awful! I KNOW they have my best interest at heart (no pun intended) but it sure takes the quality of life down a few notches. At this age, taste is a major part of the quality of life! 🤪

Last week, we were told that it is OK to eat red meat on occasion - just limit it to no more than 4 ounces to once a month! Me - yelling out in response; "ONCE A MONTH? You are kidding, right? Everyone laughed, but I was serious. :eek: And they were serious! o_O

Pritikin diet - I had never heard of it until cardio rehab started. It is almost vegetarian - skim milk, no fried foods, small portions of chicken, some seafood - but very limited for the ones I like, which are shrimp, crab and lobster. Nuts not salted, lots of natural fruit including those sugar bomb grapes, low/no sugar (but I do not have much of a sweet tooth anyway). I do eat some sweets when presented at a meal, or a candy bar - which will last me a week or two taking one bite at a time/day. No snacks unless a carrot or celery stick between meals, or a single fruit or some unsalted nuts. Very little oil with salads; egg whites but not yokes! WHOLE wheat and whole grain bread, no mayo for sandwiches. Discourage the supposedly healthy nut/grain bars and even cereals. No white rice. ( I asked them why Japanese live longer that most all other people and half of their meals are white rice! They wouldn't answer me! :rolleyes:

At church, a fellow who was a couple of years behind me in school came up to me recently and asked outright: "How is the Pritikin diet going for you?" Me:" How do you know about the Pritikin diet? Him: I have been on it for the past 30 years. My dad had heart issues so I knew I had a predisposition for heart trouble and I started on it way back when I heard about it. He likes it.

Other than that I have not heard of anyone else mention it.

BRINWASHING: While it is not real brainwashing - it feels like it. Every one of the PT guys and ladies subscribe to it. Then the Diet class has a 20 - 30 minute video every week, a 30 - 45 minute lecture on it on another day, and one day a week cooking class in which we eat a serving of a Pritikin diet recipe. Everyone is polite and say how good it tastes (I think they are just being polite like Southerners often do - while lying through their teeth) . . . but without a tad of even low sodium salt, it does not satisfy the palate! :oops: I lived in Japan for 26+ years and ate more than my share of sushi, raw fish, squid and other items (stuff) dipped in a soy sauce and even those had more flavor! Of course, many of their soy sauces are 1/3th salt! 😋

This diet is good for you (me) but it certainly doesn't have much flavor. Most of it tastes like eating cardboard - which does have fiber at least! I just wish they understood that FLAVOR is a major part of the QUALITY of life once you pass 70! 🤪😁

Any one else know about the Pritikin diet?

Any comments? 😁
 
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Hank, it's the first time that I heard of it, but reading down what you will be eating I think that you will hit the 100 ( or die trying )
 
Hey Hank. My father has been on and off of the Pritikin diet for probably 30 years. The driving factors for doing it are that he has struggled with his weight his whole life and his father died of a heart attack at the age of 52. He also completely gave up alcohol about 20 years ago after a pancreatitis scare (his brother died of pancreatic cancer). My father is now 85 and is doing well. For what it is worth my father is a retired physician.
 
leehljp said:
I am into my 5th week of cardio-rehab. The 1 hour of exercising on the machines 3 days a week is not bad at all. The 2nd hour of dietary brainwashing on the Pritikin diet is awful! I KNOW they have my best interest at heart (no pun intended) but it sure takes the quality of life down a few notches. At this age, taste is a major part of the quality of life! 🤪

Last week, we were told that it is OK to eat red meat on occasion - just limit it to no more than 4 ounces to once a month! Me - yelling out in response; "ONCE A MONTH? You are kidding, right? Everyone laughed, but I was serious. :eek: And they were serious! o_O

Pritikin diet - I had never heard of it until cardio rehab started. It is almost vegetarian - skim milk, no fried foods, small portions of chicken, some seafood - but very limited for the ones I like, which are shrimp, crab and lobster. Nuts not salted, lots of natural fruit including those sugar bomb grapes, low/no sugar (but I do not have much of a sweet tooth anyway). I do eat some sweets when presented at a meal, or a candy bar - which will last me a week or two taking one bite at a time/day. No snacks unless a carrot or celery stick between meals, or a single fruit or some unsalted nuts. Very little oil with salads; egg whites but not yokes! WHOLE wheat and whole grain bread, no mayo for sandwiches. Discourage the supposedly healthy nut/grain bars and even cereals. No white rice. ( I asked them why Japanese live longer that most all other people and half of their meals are white rice! They wouldn't answer me! :rolleyes:

At church, a fellow who was a couple of years behind me in school came up to me recently and asked outright: "How is the Pritikin diet going for you?" Me:" How do you know about the Pritikin diet? Him: I have been on it for the past 30 years. My dad had heart issues so I knew I had a predisposition for heart trouble and I started on it way back when I heard about it. He likes it.

Other than that I have not heard of anyone else mention it.

BRINWASHING: While it is not real brainwashing - it feels like it. Every one of the PT guys and ladies subscribe to it. Then the Diet class has a 20 - 30 minute video every week, a 30 - 45 minute lecture on it on another day, and one day a week cooking class in which we eat a serving of a Pritikin diet recipe. Everyone is polite and say how good it tastes (I think they are just being polite like Southerners often do - while lying through their teeth) . . . but without a tad of even low sodium salt, it does not satisfy the palate! :oops: I lived in Japan for 26+ years and ate more than my share of sushi, raw fish, squid and other items (stuff) dipped in a soy sauce and even those had more flavor! Of course, many of their soy sauces are 1/3th salt! 😋

This diet is good for you (me) but it certainly doesn't have much flavor. Most of it tastes like eating cardboard - which does have fiber at least! I just wish they understood that FLAVOR is a major part of the QUALITY of life once you pass 70! 🤪😁

Any one else know about the Pritikin diet?

Any comments? 😁
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So glad you have cause to be having cardio-hab, but I'm sure you are already grateful for a positive outcome. Reading your more-than-justified 'rant', I couldn't help but hear my wife's repeated complaints that I make a "difficult" patient but somehow that Pritikin diet would push me over the edge. Sure hope you find some creative ways to "spruce up" that menu.
Take heart, Hank, we're so happy you're still around to "share"!! 😉😊
 
Never heard of it either. I know I should eat better and I believe we all know we should. But I am a seafood type person and if I had to give up my salmon, shrimp, seabass and other fish I am toast. Also a turkey lover but will have my occasional steak. Good luck with the diet. Moderation is always the key. Along with exercise.
 
It sounds like the choice was this diet or they would have to surgically remove any last trace of enjoyment from you.

You didn't mention cheese (but I can guess 😭) That would be a huge problem for me.

I wish you all the best, and hope you are able to enjoy a morsel of your favorite food from time to time.
 
Yes, that was a rant, but the videos and class lectures were eye openers. Being a logician and a "cause and effect" person, it opened my eyes that the human race's bodies are "programed" to eat for famine situations. It has only been since engine machinization of harvest machines and planting machines - have industrial nations produced more food than was eaten. This is from the early to mid-1900s. Our bodies are genetically geared to hard work and less food. That, plus processed foods, cereals, high calorie, sugar a-plenty - all of this added to fats and less physical work - our bodies were not made for the "horn of plenty" for such little physical work/exercise that we do. Even those of us who are moderately overweight - that fat and processed foods weigh heavy on our heart and liver, among other organs. Our bodies have not yet adapted, and it is killing us.

Still, I hate giving up my multiplicity of flavors to savor!
 
Bumper sticker: Eat right, Stay Fit, Die anyway.
I learned of a gentleman in my former church who lived to be 103. I seriously doubt that a country boy like him worried about his diet. OTOH, there are people in their 20s and 30s who are regular patients at the local oncology clinic.
Observation: How many people in the World Trade Center had a low BMI, low cholesterol, etc.?
Sign in an antique shop: Today is God's gift to you. That is why it's called the present.
Hank, good luck on the diet.
 
I just read my copy of the Medical Journals and they are studying the claim that Pen Making is a huge success in leading to longer life. They find that less stress is applied due to less yelling from wife because we are in the shop. Also that the more tools you buy helps in less stress so you live longer to buy more tools. Also they are looking into this Forum called IAP because they seem to also lower stress in some strange way. It is a very good article and backed by many doctors who seem to be turners. ;););) I think the article was under Brainwashing also.
 
My mom's side of the family (11 siblings) most all lived into their 90's. My dad's side (7 siblings) - into their 60's except dad who lived to 78 with a heart attack. My aunt who passed away 3 years ago at 96 said I had the physiology of mom's side of the family. I believed it until the "one day in and out stint procedure" turned into the "widow maker 100% blocked therefore Bypass surgery".

I do believe all the healthy eating in the world are not going to keep some people from having a heart attack or stroke at an early or middle age. On the other hand, some people are more susceptible to heart disease than others through moderately enjoying the fine flavors of good cuisine like real Cajun cooking (my wife was born in the heart of N.O.), good Memphis BBQ or Good Texas Beef BBQ, and or fine steaks and lobster. 😁 That apparently is me - I have my dad's genes in that sense. But I have enjoyed foods of all kinds. It caught up with me. I will still enjoy them, just less often.
 
I finished my cardio rehab about three months ago, I agree the exercise was OK but the diet stunk. Once a week they had someone cook up a dish from their menu, tasted like tightbond.
 
I'm with you Hank! My doctor told me to lose 10 pounds. I promptly gained four. Although I have not seen the name Pritikin, the sheet they gave me with diet suggestions sure is close to that diet.

I hope you do well.
 
Hank, while I'm glad to hear you're recovering well, I agree with you that the diet would drive me to drink (more than I do now). My wife has been trying for a long time to break me of the habits I learned when I was a kid: eat everything on your plate when it is served to you. Her philosophy (and I have heard of the Japanese too) is to eat only until you're full and then stop. I have trouble getting over the idea that I'm wasting food. She's making some progress.
Hope you can find some taste in what you eat.
 
I have had 2 open heart operations in 2 years and then a week in hospital with aggressive diuretics to lose two and a half stone in fluid created by my heart not pumping efficiently.
My lifespan doesn't concern me but I do not want to end up being dependant on others for mobility, feeding etc. It isn't fair to them for me to be a burden!!!
Glad to hear of your progress Hank. If you are at the ranting stage you are well on your road to recovery
The next stage is shouting back at the television!!

Mike
 
leehljp said:
My mom's side of the family (11 siblings) most all lived into their 90's. My dad's side (7 siblings) - into their 60's except dad who lived to 78 with a heart attack. My aunt who passed away 3 years ago at 96 said I had the physiology of mom's side of the family. I believed it until the "one day in and out stint procedure" turned into the "widow maker 100% blocked therefore Bypass surgery".

I do believe all the healthy eating in the world are not going to keep some people from having a heart attack or stroke at an early or middle age. On the other hand, some people are more susceptible to heart disease than others through moderately enjoying the fine flavors of good cuisine like real Cajun cooking (my wife was born in the heart of N.O.), good Memphis BBQ or Good Texas Beef BBQ, and or fine steaks and lobster. 😁 That apparently is me - I have my dad's genes in that sense. But I have enjoyed foods of all kinds. It caught up with me. I will still enjoy them, just less often.
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Now you went and made me hungry…

My doctor told me that if I would lose 45 pounds I could get off all my meds. I lost 50 and he put me on MORE meds.
 
Hank, I recently went through the same program. I didn't know what the Pritikin diet was either, I had heard the name but that's it. It is very restrictive, I'll bet a lot of people don't follow it to the letter because of that. Like you said, the diet is good for you but the flavor is not there. The cooking class instructor I had said a quick reference for portion size for nuts, unsalted of course, is what fits in your cupped hand, not heaping though. I eat that much going from the kitchen to the couch! I'm just trying to modify recipes I've already used so they have a little less of the bad stuff but I'm not going to try to follow a diet that strict, but I will let it influence how I eat.
 
LouCee said:
Hank, I recently went through the same program. I didn't know what the Pritikin diet was either, I had heard the name but that's it. It is very restrictive, I'll bet a lot of people don't follow it to the letter because of that. Like you said, the diet is good for you but the flavor is not there. The cooking class instructor I had said a quick reference for portion size for nuts, unsalted of course, is what fits in your cupped hand, not heaping though. I eat that much going from the kitchen to the couch! I'm just trying to modify recipes I've already used so they have a little less of the bad stuff but I'm not going to try to follow a diet that strict, but I will let it influence how I eat.
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THANKS Chad! I appreciate your input. Four of the guys in our class of 6 seem to be all in on this. (One confided yesterday that he had some great fried chicken the night before! 😁 ) The other 4 make me feel guilty listening to them! But I'm like you, I am modifying my diet and what I eat. I have cut out regular hamburgers or BBQ for lunch and eating more various kinds of salad which I have always loved as a "part" of my meal. On salads, I have always preferred vinegar and oil while going light on the oil part.

LOML grew up on mostly Cajun food and I love it! But I had to cut that salt back. She has not been helping me much so far, but she this past week she started talking about it. Maybe she will come around and "help" me with this diet.

I have mentioned on a couple of occasions in the class room that the normal Japanese diet contains almost 1/2 white rice and they are HEALTHY having the 2nd or 3rd longest lifespan. That doesn't go over well in the class. I did get the instructor to tell me personally that the Mediterranean diet is almost as good as the Pritikan, but not in the classroom.

Your last line is what I am doing "letting it influence how I eat." Thanks.
 
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