Comments (19)

By kilax, December 7, 2009 3:52 pm

Hi everyone. I had to re-post this because something was wrong with it the first time. I didn’t know – I’ve been in Detroit all day and am currently trying to leave… my flight is delayed and I am frustrated.

Thank you to everyone who notified me of the issue!

Winner announced at the bottom! But first, I wanted to ask for some input…

I overhead an interesting conversation in the gym Friday, regarding the Blood Type Diet. Three people were using treadmills, and the guy in the middle was essentially preaching about it to the other two. I am not sure how it came up (meaning, I doubt they asked, he sounded pushy) but he was explaining how he thinks that is the diet everyone should follow.

I only heard bits and pieces of what he was saying, but I did catch that he was telling the woman that she should not eat tomatoes (he asked her if she liked them, and when she said yes, he said, “but do they like YOU?”), and should eat ground beef instead of steak. Hmm.

So was this guy crazy? What is this diet? I briefly looked at the official website and the wikipedia page. The theory is that there is a specific diet you should follow based on your blood type. Here’s the breakdown of blood types from the wikipedia page:

• Blood group O is believed by D’Adamo to be the hunter, the earliest human blood group. The diet recommends that this blood group eat a higher protein diet. D’Adamo bases this on the belief that O blood type was the first blood type, originating 30,000 years ago.
• Blood group A is called the cultivator by D’Adamo, who believes it to be a more recently evolved blood type, dating back from the dawn of agriculture, 20,000 years ago. The diet recommends that individuals of blood group A eat a diet emphasizing vegetables and free of red meat, a more vegetarian food intake.
• Blood group B is, according to D’Adamo, the nomad, associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. The blood type diet claims that people of blood type B are the only ones who can thrive on dairy products and estimates blood type B arrived 10,000 years ago.
• Blood group AB, according to D’Adamo, the enigma, the most recently evolved type, arriving less than 1000 years ago. In terms of dietary needs, his blood type diet treats this group as an intermediate between blood types A and B.

The wikipedia page also covers some of the scientific criticism of the theory (research evidence, blood type evolution issues, etc.). Interestingly enough, I am blood type A+, which according to above, adheres to a (mostly) vegetarian diet.

But, really? This just sounds like another fad diet to me!

Have you heard of the Blood Type Diet or read the book? What do you think about it?

What is your blood type? Does the description above describe a diet you think would make you feel your best?

I let Data choose!

Just kidding! Steven drew the name. And the winner is…

VICKI!

Congratulations, Vicki! Please send me your address and I’ll send the signed copy of Eating Animals your way. I hope you share your thoughts on the book with us all.

I really want to thank everyone who entered the contest. I wish I had enough copies of the book to give one to everyone, because I think it’s a great read. See if your library has a copy! And do continue to share your thoughts on the topic!

I have fun doing these giveaways. I hope I can do more in the future.

Comments (14)

By kilax, November 23, 2009 6:57 am

This weekend, while the boys were doing this,

Steven working on the Datsun

this,

Dad working on the Datsun

and this,

Data watching over us

my mom, grandma and I were doing this,

Visiting Millennium Park (and downtown Chicago)

this,

Since Christina couldn’t be there, mom talked to her on the phone while she frosted cookies.

this,

Mom wraps the gifts while Data watches

and this,

Posing for silly photos so we won’t lose our minds

with finished products like this

Sample plate of goodies
(We ended up making vegan sugar cookies, vegan chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter kisses, peanut clusters (some vegan), caramel popcorn (some vegan), butterscotch num nums, vegan chex mix, and (pre-made) toffee)

and this.

Mica’s Prize

And now it’s all over! I’m always sad to see family (or friends) go – it’s a fun change of pace to have more people in the house. But I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t looking forward to resting and sitting on my ass tonight!

It’s funny how spending two whole days with my mom and grandma really made our similarities and differences stand out. And you could say that about spending concentrated chunks of time with anyone – not just family. Take college roommates for example. After just a full day or so together, you realize whether or not you have the same methods of doing things and whether you were raised with the same values. It’s things as simple as how you clean, or how often you clean, and how you communicate about it.

Obviously, I have more specific examples from this weekend, but I don’t think it would be nice to talk about them here. It was just interesting to me to see which family traits (or values and methods) I’ve held on to, and which I have modified. Some of it has to do with food choices, like the on-going (for years) butter vs. margarine debate, and some of it had to do with conflicting personality characteristics – not conflicting because they’re different, but because they’re the same. Maybe I can write about that at a later date.

These last two paragraphs make it sound like I didn’t have a great time, when really, I did. It’s just that I don’t see my family very often, and I rarely get them all to myself, so I just feel like our interactions are more intense, because they’re so rare.

Anyway, have you had an experience with someone else that really made your similarities and differences stand out?

And now it’s time to tackle google reader and email. How long will it take me to read 340 new posts? Ha. I’ll get through them, but don’t be surprised (or offended!) if you see me commenting on posts a few days old. I haven’t logged in to reader since Thursday night, or even spent much time on the computer.

Comments (18)

By kilax, April 15, 2009 5:01 pm

I don’t know what is wrong with wordpress, but the first two times I tried to post this, the comments didn’t work. Here we go again…

My office’s Biggest Loser Challenge ended today. It began on January 21st and 22 people participated. There was a $12 entry fee, and $2 fee per missed weigh-in and per each pound gained. In the end, the money pot was $428! Do the math on that one!

First place received 55%, second received 25% and third received 20%.

I came in second place with a total loss of 14.17% and won $107. First place was 14.54% and third place was 13.99% (very close!). I stayed in second place almost every week of the competition, except for a week in third, and a week in first (after I was sick).

Now it’s time to stuff my face again!

Just kidding.*

Participating in this was interesting. It brought on a lot of comments and questions about my weight and appearance, which is not something I am used to. I felt uncomfortable at times, just because I was unprepared to react to that kind of attention. I wonder if that will all stop now, that it is over?

Overall, I think the Challenge was helpful with keeping me on track with my healthy eating. I didn’t feel restricted by it**; it was kind of like a friendly reminder. And I’ve mentioned a few times how this made my relationship with the scale so much better – it taught me that the periodical ups and downs don’t mean that much – you have to look at the big picture!

*Although, I did save myself a homemade cookie to eat on my lunch break, and I was kind of “meh” about eating it. I thought it would be orgasmic or something, after not having sweets since 2/25. Guess not!
**Although a few times, I did ask Steven if we could not eat out.