Dissolution's Solution

[fulenn]

Where I live, in Austin, I don't think I've ever seen a fried Spring Roll, in fact, I thought egg rolls were fried and spring rolls were not.

How cool that your cardiologist is an Esselstyn person!

Fulenn

[lmggallagher]

Have fun with the bean threads...they are essential to fresh spring rolls...ooh, now I want me some of THAT...fresh spring rolls...mmmm.

I'm encouraged reading your journal. You are doing terrific! keep it up

Thanks! Can you make no oil added spring rolls? I thought they had to be deep fried?


So went to the cardiologist today. Everything seems good, he was very impressed with the weight loss and cholesterol numbers. He of course what I was doing, and I asked him if he had heard of Dr. Esselstyn? He said yes, had heard him speak before and had even recommended (or gave, I forget exactly what he said) his book to about 10 patients. He said only 1 of them even tried the diet and that person did not stick with it, and that I was the only person he knew of that had followed the diet. He was glad to see the results were as "advertised".

I love it your Doc was "very impressed" and well he should be! And you are the ONE of his patients, nice that YOU will be the guy that can stick with it!

Because your great tests inspired me I got my draw today & I hope I get my results next week. I was going to wait until I hit 200 - which will put me into the overweight BMI's instead of the OBESE. But, I figured why wait, when I can use some good news about now for motivation

Congrats on the good Doc appointment & I think it's SO SWEET your wife took the time and made substantial effort to buy food stuffs for you. It's all good

[Dissolution]

Hmmm...I always thought spring rolls were deep fried, of course I'm originally from Memphis, TN and down there, if it holds still long enough, they will deep fry it. Mom even had deep fried sushi last time she visited down there.

Michelle, good luck with your blood work. Don't forget though that I am still taking a statin. My drop in numbers over statin+SAD is still quite amazing.

I haven't even thought about that switch over from obese to over weight, I might have to look that up so that I have an intermediate goal.

So like I said Friday morning my weight was up 1/2 a pound. Friday evening after going to the gym earlier (first time in a few years), my back was hurting really bad (it has been hurting all week). In general I wasn't feeling all that great so I ate a second dinner of mostly red rice with nutritional yeast and a little braggs. (I had three servings)

I new the scale reading Saturday morning wasn't going to be good, but I was a little shocked it was 1.5 pounds up from Friday. I ate on plan on Saturday, maybe even a little light, or course that never seems to work, don't know why I bother.

This morning, weight is still up 2 pounds over Thursday morning's reading. I would guess that it's probably muscle inflammation. I'm still fairly sore from the workout on Friday.

The gym we tried out on Friday is the closest to our house, but I knew going in that it was a little run down. I would guess that most of the equipment int he weight room is 20+ years old, but the reason we chose this gym is because they have a lap pool and water aerobics are kind of the wife's only option for exercising (she doesn't sweat). While the pool looked nice from a distance, the wife said the bottom was slimey and the sides don't look like they've been scrubbed....ever. She also mentioned that the locker room floor was disgusting. The other problem she had was, the pool is truly a lap pool and is only 3.5 feet deep, making it a poor environment to try and do water aerobics.

The next choice for gyms with pools is very very nice. It's over 30 minutes away and will cost $100 a month (crappy gym was $43). It's on a college campus and looks like they will be free and open to the public for winter break. I guess we will give that one a try.

[MixedGrains]

Hmmm...I always thought spring rolls were deep fried, of course I'm originally from Memphis, TN and down there, if it holds still long enough, they will deep fry it. Mom even had deep fried sushi last time she visited down there.

Yeah. What we've got here is a problem with terminology, made more confusing by variations in regional practice.

A "spring roll" encountered in the wild in the US will usually be a deep fried roll (like an egg roll) with at least some veggies inside.

The unfried product (wrapped in a thinner rice wrapper and served uncooked, like a salad you can grab) is sometimes called a "fresh spring roll" and sometimes a "summer roll". I've also seen places where they just call 'em "spring rolls" but these are rare.

Once you get off the coasts and into the deep heart of red-state America, fresh spring rolls become relatively rare. The further south you get, the more rare. It's easy to get so deep into this zone that the menus won't clear up the confusion by description, because the people writing the menus don't know the fresh sort exists. And asking your waitress which sort is meant by the "spring rolls" on the menu will often get you blank incomprehension: ("Fresh? All of our food is fresh, sir. Has it been fried? I think so; how else would we cook them?)

In coastal cities, or urban enclaves anywhere, there's a bit more hope. Thai restaurants are often a good bet for true fresh spring rolls, though they have a whole other set of names they sometimes call them, and shrimp in the roll is more common. But they can pop up at any Chinese or Asian-inspired place.

[Dissolution]

MG, thank you so much for the detailed explanation. Do the rice wrappers have a named, other than rice wrappers? Still having a hard time picturing the wrapping. I'm familiar with egg roll and won ton wrappers at the grocery store, but don't think either of those would be good uncooked.

Was a little sore this morning and afternoon, still went to the gym, lifted again, less sore now.

I put red jasmine rice and mung beans into my rice cooker before leaving for the gym, just set it to warm. When I got home I turned it to cook and went to take a shower. When I got back to the kitchen, the rice cooker had boiled over. It was a mess to clean up, but everything tasted good int he end.

[MixedGrains]

Diss, I snapped a pic of a package of the wrappers, maybe this will help. We bought these at an Asian grocery, but in some parts of the country (not central/midwest/south) we've seen them in regular grocery stores next to the rice noodles.

They come out of the package as a thin hard translucent disk like a thin flat uncooked rice noodle the size of a small plate (which is basically what they are. You pass them through a bowl of warm water for 30 seconds to soften them up, lay them down on a flat surface, put the fillings on them, and wrap sort of like a burrito. (There's actually a round flat plastic sieve-like mesh plate thing sold in the Asian groceries to use as a work platform, costs about a buck and a half, but wax paper on your counter would probably work almost as well.)

Once stuffed with filling, you can eat right away, but the wrapper tends to be soft and fragile. If you let them sit for an hour or two before eating, the wrapper starts to dry, just enough to still feel moist and not dried out but not so soft/moist that it will tear when you handle it.

These aren't exactly McDougall-perfect foods, being made from heavily processed rice. But three of them (a meal when stuffed full of veggies) are only 80 calories, because they are so thin. It's not something I make very often at home, but as an option in Asian restaurants, they can be among the best.

There's also an awesome fruit roll dessert you can make with these that's very healthy -- cut strawberries, cubes of ripe soft sweet mango, shredded carrot, and fresh mint leaves as the filling.

[Dissolution]

Awesome! Thanks MG! I think I know where to find these. At the same place where the wife got the bean thread noodles...duh. Silly me, I wasn't thinking.

I always liked the deep fried version of spring rolls, I'm sure I will enjoy the healthier alternative. Thanks again for all the information.

Weight has adjusted back down to Thursday's level. We now resume out regularly scheduled program of weight loss....

[bunsofaluminum]

Thanks! Can you make no oil added spring rolls? I thought they had to be deep fried?

You kiddin me? I NEVER have mine deep fat fried.

It takes quite a bit of "mis en place" with setting out warm water (for dipping the rice wraps to soften) and all the ingredients ready to put into the wraps, each in a little container.

The ingredients in the spring rolls I make:

Rice "wrappers" (10" or so circles. You can find them in a lot of stores, in the Asian section)
Fresh romaine lettuce
fresh basil
carrots, grated
bean sprouts
bean threads, soaked in boiling water to soften, then drained.

Set all ingredients out in an assembly line, with a shallow pan of warm water at the "front" of the line.

Soak a rice wrapper in the warm water until soft. Put a little bit of each ingredient into the center of the wrapper, layering them in a line. Then wrap the "ends" in, then roll it.

This is SUPER delicious with Thai Peanut Sauce that comes with Mary's Thai Noodle Salad recipe found here but I also copy and pasted the ingredients for just the salad dressing. it is SO good! And it makes an excellent dipping sauce for these spring rolls.

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup natural peanut butter, creamy
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1-2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce (see hints)
¼ teaspoon sesame oil (optional-see hints)
3 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Mix em all together (I leave out the sesame oil) dip, and ENJOY!

[fulenn]

You kiddin me? I NEVER have mine deep fat fried.

It takes quite a bit of "mis en place" with setting out warm water (for dipping the rice wraps to soften) and all the ingredients ready to put into the wraps, each in a little container.

The ingredients in the spring rolls I make:

Rice "wrappers" (10" or so circles. You can find them in a lot of stores, in the Asian section)
Fresh romaine lettuce
fresh basil
carrots, grated
bean sprouts
bean threads, soaked in boiling water to soften, then drained.

Set all ingredients out in an assembly line, with a shallow pan of warm water at the "front" of the line.

Soak a rice wrapper in the warm water until soft. Put a little bit of each ingredient into the center of the wrapper, layering them in a line. Then wrap the "ends" in, then roll it.

This is SUPER delicious with Thai Peanut Sauce that comes with Mary's Thai Noodle Salad recipe found here but I also copy and pasted the ingredients for just the salad dressing. it is SO good! And it makes an excellent dipping sauce for these spring rolls.

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup natural peanut butter, creamy
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1-2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce (see hints)
¼ teaspoon sesame oil (optional-see hints)
3 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Mix em all together (I leave out the sesame oil) dip, and ENJOY!

This is what is sold as "spring rolls" here in Texas and where I originally came from in Colorado, too. This is how we stuff them here. When I go to the Asian grocery store there is a section right next to the spring roll wrappers with the egg roll wrappers. So there are two different types/shapes of wrappers. We have a lot of Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants in this area, so I don't know how much of what I see is regional to those two areas. Very interesting about the different names in diff. areas of the country.

[Dissolution]

Thanks for the recipe BoA! I'll pick up some of the rice wrappers and try it next time I get to the store that sells them.

Today I had to take the car into be serviced, and had decided I would just occupy myself by taking a walk and checking out the stores in the area. Spent some time looking at mountain bikes and then browsed through a book store. Decided it was time for lunch so I figured I would try something other than Subway. I picked Chipotle, and I must say it was very nice. They had a big sign up saying they now serve brown rice, I had a bowl with brown rice, black beans, 4 different kinds of salsa and lettuce. I enjoyed it very much.

I walked back to the Auto place, car still not in the service bay. I walked in a different direction around the block (it was a BIG block), stopped at a waffle house and had coffee. Went back to the auto place, nope car not ready yet. Walked to the mall and around the mall and back to the car place, it was done. All in all, I had walked over 3 miles, no chest pains, not even tired. Nice...

Next I had to go help a co-worker (we do computer stuff), at a national pizza franchise location (we'll call it D-Pizza). I was there mostly in an advisory role (standing around) and one of the pizza guys says, "Hey either of you want this pizza? We made it by mistake, just came out of the oven." He opened the box to reveal a large pepperoni pizza.

I made a mental check of things I was allowed to eat;

-Fruits
-Vegetables
-Whole Grain
-Free Pizza

I must say I was briefly tempted. But then I decided it would not be worth it, so I politely declined. Then or course they stood around and ate it in front of me...Oh well, all's well that ends well....and I let them live... lol

[fulenn]

Good job resisting that pizza! I used to LOVE fresh hot pepperoni pizza. I think--hope--I would choose one of my homemade veggie ones now, but it would have been hard.

Fulenn

[Dissolution]

I weigh myself every morning. I understand that this is not advisable for many reasons. But for the most part it seems to work for me. One thing I have noticed that I find amusing is is whether or not I "feel" thinner or fatter makes no difference to the scale.

I have had mornings where I felt bloated and watched in shock as my weigh was down 1.5 pounds from the day before. Then I have had mornings like today. Here's what the last few days have looked like.

Thur: 258.2 (Woot! New low!)
Fri: 258.8 (Guess vegan Indian restaurant food is not conducive to weight loss)
Sat: 260.2 (Probably muscle inflammation from lifting weighs Fri caused this)
Sun: 259.8 (Still sore from workout, off to the gym anyways)
Mon: 258.4 (There we go, back on track)
Tue: 259.8 (What the deuce?)

Yesterday was

B: Oatmeal w/ flaxseed meal and maple syrup (as usual)
S: Banana
L: Brown rice, black beans and salsa (Chipolte)
E: Walked 3+ miles
S: Apple
S: Didn't eat free pizza
D: Mashed yam (1/4 cup of silk and 1/2 Tbsp of brown sugar) w/ steamed cauliflower and brussels sprouts
S: 1/2 cup of raspberries w/ no sugar

The two possible conclusions I can draw are either;

1. Walking causes weight gain.

or

2. Being in the presence of free pizza causes weight gain.

Possible solutions;

If #1 is true: Don't walk!

If #2 is true: I should carry a piece of kale around in my pocket all day to counter any possible free pizza I may encounter.

p.s. Have you ever taught a pet something that you later regretted? As rawhide chewies bounce off my shoulder, I'm starting to regret teaching this little dog how to throw. I'm NOT kidding.

[bunsofaluminum]

Watch out for that free pizza! May Kale ever shield you from the Evil Pepperoni!

Weighing every day is good if you want to catch a gain. I've stopped myself from going more than five or six lbs because of weighing every day. It does get discouraging when the scale adjusts upwards or stays the same after a day or more of good, on plan 100% compliance AND exercise. Which I loved your description of the afternoon, waiting for your car to be done!

Keep on going, I love reading your journal.

[Rosey]

Yeah I have noticed it goes up and down all week too but usually by my actual weigh in day it's down.

[Dissolution]

Two steps forward, three step back....

I think I've written about how unsupportive my wife was with this way of eating, in the beginning, and how she has been showing signs of support the last couple of weeks. Well, the good news is, she's been doing what she's been doing because she loves me. The bad news? She thinks it's completely worthless. She thinks genetics has already predetermined everything. She thinks that if I had been eating this way my whole life, I still would have had a heart attack at 38. She doesn't think blood cholesterol levels have any bearing on anything. Then she started pointing to her Mother as an example of how diet has no bearing on health, because her Mother is 84 and still alive. ( 5 foot tall, 250 Lbs, can't walk across the room without a walker)

She's not a stupid woman. She did work as a Certified Nursing Assistant for a couple of years, so she knows how to take pulse and BP and stuff like that. So I'm having a hard time fathoming how she's come to the conclusions she has.

I never thought that she would decide to adopt this WOE, but I had assumed that my weight loss and blood test results would have convinced her that what I was doing was healthy. If she doesn't believe that my cholesterol levels had anything to do with my heart attacks, then there is no evidence I could present to her, that would convince her that diet makes a difference. I'm dumbfounded...