I picked up some books at a yard sale yesterday, and amongst them was "Your Figure" by Jack La Lanne, written in 1950. I am familiar with who he is, but not anything he taught, except that he was an exercise guru!

Anyway, I opened up the booklet and at the end of it he has suggested foods for gaining and losing weight.

Would you like to know what are on his lists?

C'mon you know you do....



Well, his food list for GAINING weight:

100% Whole Grain Products (!)
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Bread
Yellow Corn Meal
Avacado
Ripe Bananas
Raisins
Dates
Figs
Baked Potatoes
Corn
Beans
Peas
Butter
All kinds of Cheese
Lean Meat (all kinds)
Chicken
Fish
Milk and Dairy Products
Honey

Then he says, "Plan your meals to include someof these wonderful weight-gaining foods in your diet each day."

(What is the USDA thinking????)

Now, would you like to know what he recommended to lose weight?

C'mon, you know you would...........

(Now, I'm not going to type it all out, but I'll give you the gist

1. Lean meats and fishes, eggs.
2. He recommended reduced fat dairy products (like the Zone or SB)
3. Generous amounts of all sorts of leafy veggies, like DrA, medium servings of higher carb veggies like beets and carrots, and small servings of squashes and root veggies like parsnips
4. Medium servings of citrus and melons
5. small servings of apples, grapes, pears

it goes on, but that is enough of that. Then he says what to strictly avoid:

1. Fried foods
2. More than 3 thin slices of bread (again, thank our friends at the USDA...)
3. Cream, butter, cheese, except in cooking (think about what DrA says about stalls...?)
4. Sugars
5. All potatoes, pastas, rices and large beans
6. Bananas, figs, avacados, persimmons
7. Cocoa or chocolate of any kind (!)
8. Cooked cereals, pancakes, etc.
9. Cream soups and canned veggies (!)
10. Cayenne and "hot" condiments (my guess is because they increase inflammation -- probably the same reasoning with the chocolate.)

Anyway, I was just amazed at how closely his plan and DrA's compared. The difference is about 25 years there. In between the USDA stepped in (correct me if I'm wrong about the dates, but I believe it was in the 60s?) and then DrA became a "radical"... What Jack was recommending, it seems to me, was the "common sense" of the time. I know when I wanted to lose weight, my mom told me it was the potatoes not the butter that made people fat. I chewed her out. Rotten me -- I was in nutrition class and 'THEY' said it was the butter, not the potato.........

Anyway, that is another soapbox to get upon.

I just thought this was fascinating and wanted to share it with ya'll.

That's really interesting, Sharron! Nothing new under the sun, eh? I remember Jack as a body builder, too, and for his "amazing feats." He's 91 or 92 now, and still going strong as far as I know. A testamony to good eating and exercise if there ever was one, and a fascinating character. Thanks for sharing!

Here's a link if anyone is interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_La_Lanne
It's a great article and makes me smile at some of his feats and comments...

__________________
BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

Thanks for the link, BC. I used to exercise along with Jack when he had his show in the early 70s. Trying to get rid of post-baby flab. It was hard going, too! His exercises were more like we did in gym class in the 60s, more calisthenics, and not a lot of aerobic. He was a very personable presenter, too. And his wife was just adorable. She was quite fit. Sometimes she demonstrated exercises, which was nice, because men have so much more strength than women, and it was nice to work along with a woman. I'd like to be as fit at my age as they are now in their 80s and 90s!!

__________________
Nita

Oh man! Trippin' down memory lane. I remember my mom used to watch his show regularly in the fifties. I remember when we kids were preschoolers, she had us in front of the TV exercising and with her, too. TVs weren't that common yet (our TV was homemade from a kit by my dad ... black and white of course). After we were school age, we still sometimes watched Jack La Lanne during holidays.

__________________
~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Jack La Lanne. Oh my. What a personality. He's certainly one fitness guru who has lived up to his program.

One aspect of health and fitness that's probably underestimated is positivity. Jack LaLanne, Dr. Atkins, and (Lord knows!) Richard Simmons have all demonstrated the power of believing in yourself.

__________________
Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

I just thought it was so fascinating that his recommendations for gaining weight are just what the USDA food pyramid has recommended all these years! That and his weight loss recommendations.

No kidding about being positive. He's amazing!

Mr. LaLanne is so awesome. I read the other day that some Dr (I think) wrote about the dangers of high carbs back in the late 1800's. Does anyone else know who I'm talking about? I can't remember his name. Anyway, he had the same type of plan too and was ridiculed at the time.

edit*
*found it: William Banting's "Letter on Corpulance"

Banting

In the first documented low-carb diet, London undertaker William Banting devises a food plan that includes four meals a day, chosen from protein (meat, poultry or fish), green vegetables, a little unsweetened fruit, several glasses of dry wine and a little dry toast. Banting shuns root vegetables, potatoes, bread, sugar, sweetened drinks and pastries or desserts. He loses 50 pounds at the rate of about one pound per week - by eating in moderation and cutting out starchy extras. Overjoyed at his success, he writes what turns out to be the world's first diet book. It becomes a bestseller.