Temporary Isolation Can Be The Opportunity to Permanently Transform Your Weight and Health

By Candice P. Rosen, RN, MSW, CHC,

Editor’s Note: Always consult your own physician before embarking on any eating plan.

Not sure how to eat and stay healthy this quarantine season without resorting to your familiar diet of spaghetti, bread, pizza, and sugar? I encourage “trophology,” or “food combining,” which is one of the foundations of my Data-Driven Fueling Plan. As you combine foods, monitoring blood glucose is the key to weight gain vs. weight loss; good health vs. poor health.

1. Make Wednesdays and Fridays Vegan Days.

   Try vegan yogurts, cheeses, and milks. Dairy is inflammatory and will deplete your bones of calcium. (It’s true!). There are unsweetened milks of almond, hemp, cashew, etc., and all are available in grocery stores. A low blood glucose breakfast idea would be a sprouted grain English muffin, spread with a tofu or nut-based cream cheese, some sliced tomatoes, and topped off with sea salt or Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend.

2. Eat Fruits That Are High in Fiber.

   Apples, bananas, oranges, berries  ̶  the list goes on! You will still want to avoid sugary fruit juices, as well as very sweet fruits like pineapples and mangos while trying to lose weight. Fruit is always eaten alone with two exceptions: they can be added to a vegan smoothie and they can be eaten with a nut or seed butter. These healthy fats reduce the chance of a blood glucose spike.

   3. Nothing White.

   To lower blood glucose, do not eat or combine animal proteins with any white potatoes, bread, rice, or pasta… EVER. Sorry! 

    

   4. Eat More Sweet Potatoes.

   Think wholesome, nutritious, responsibly grown, pancreatic-friendly foods (food that doesn’t raise your blood glucose) like sweet potatoes and yams, which are an incredibly nutritious carbohydrate that are low in sugar levels and provide fiber. They’re best consumed baked or steamed, but can also be cooked in a variety of other ways. A great lunch or dinner option (and it is inexpensive) is a baked sweet potato, split down the middle with a large spoonful of black beans, a tablespoon of tomatillo salsa, and a side salad. To lower blood sugar, eat them with veggies and plant-based protein together… NOT MEAT!

   5.  Try Fish.

   Give your body a break from animal protein. Red meats increase inflammation and provide poor sources of fat. However, if you crave protein, try fish! For those who aren’t allergic, fish is a fantastic source of protein that’s low in carbohydrates and contains high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, one of the few consumable healthy fats! If consuming fish raw, remember only sashimi-style – no white rice! To lower blood sugar, combine fish with veggies, not starches or fruit.

Candice P. Rosen, RN, MSW, CHC, is a registered nurse based in Los Angeles, CA. As the founding member of Gilda’s Club Chicago and its first executive director and program director, she created and coordinated a diverse array of wellness-related programs. She was appointed by Mayor Richard Daley to serve as Chair of Healthcare Initiatives for Chicago’s Sister Cities International Program (CSCIP). CSCIP provided an opportunity to advocate for preventive medicine, improve maternal and infant healthcare, stress disability access, promote nourishing diets, and bring awareness to the obesity and diabetes epidemics that now affect populations on a global level. She is married and the mother of four adult children and grandmother to a precious granddaughter. For more information on Candice, please visit  https://candicerosenrn.com.