John

Anyone who thinks keeping to this (or any other) dietary lifestyle is easy is probably dreaming. It is not easy. We are so used to our habits . . . they are so ingrained . . . they keep coming back. But do we want our headstones to read “He was a good eater”? Do you want to muddle through the rest of your life feeling sort of “iffy” and doing little more with it than looking forward to your next meal? Isn’t there more to life?

We who have once reached our weight goal know that fried rice worked for us. So, of course, it will help us lose the weight we gained back, in our inevitably futile efforts to “sort of” return “a little bit” to our former lifestyle. Putting weight back on is so easy….it seems like the little fat cells are just crying for some pig fat rice. And may be they are.

By now we have figured out how to tell when you are losing weight. Occasional hunger spells which, we know, will pass if we don’t succumb to them, hunger spells which will become less and less noticeable over time. We just pick up Marcus Aurelius (again and again) and read a couple of more pages of the Emperor’s Handbook. We are important. We can do it. There really is more to life than eating and drinking. The pure pleasure of just being, looking at a simple quiet landscape, free of electronic gadgets, proud of our physique, knowing that, unlike most, we are in tune with nature, cannot be often surpassed.

As a postscript to all this, regardless of our religion, we have no choice but to recognize that in God’s mind, beauty and function are closely related. For example, God, or the First Mover, or whatever we call God, forces trees to lose their leaves in the Fall, in order that the seeds fall and in order to prepare for the coming freeze, and to rejuvinate in the Spring. But God did not need to make that process so beautiful. And though God gave us a free will, lacking in trees, God’s treatment of trees is instructive of things appreciated.

Probiotics’ controversy (You may have to subscribe to the WSJ to read this)

You need a rice cooker. (We use an old National brand rice cooker – no longer made). Put one cup of short grain organic brown rice into your rice cooker. You can use long-grain, but it won’t form a pancake. Before starting the cooking process, wash the raw rice three times and then put in plenty (about 4 cups) of water. Wait the 45 minutes or so until it finishes cooking. Then, if time permits, unplug the rice cooking machine and let everything cool for several hours. Using a wooden spoon, and without removing the rice from the cooker, divide the cooked rice into 4 quarters.

Then put a smaller than normal heavy iron skillet on the stove, add organic pig fat, coconut or olive oil, and wait until it is very hot. Once steam starts to rise from the skillet, put in one of the quarters of cooked rice, level it with a spatula, and fry it for 10 or 15 minutes, depending on how crusty you like it. You should have some kind of a spatter-guard to prevent unnecessary spattering. When its done, put a spatula under it and, if it will come out as a pancake, lift it onto a plate. If not, and you like it crusty, let it cook a while longer.

After removing the rice from the skillet, add salt and eat it, normally with your fingers or a fork. If you are concerned that your blood sugar may be too high, prick your finger and take your blood-sugar reading with a blood sugar monitor. If it is above 110, wait until it goes down before eating. While eating, if you have a job, consider frying another quarter of the cooked rice for lunch.

If you are over your desired weight, only eat rice for breakfast, lunch and supper. The only way to know this is to get a good scale and weigh yourself first thing every morning. If you are maintaining your weight, you might add a little more rice, add a pint or two of Guinness and sometimes a salad. Every once in a while, if your weight permits, you can add something else. But if your weight gets too high, go back to rice-only until your weight gets down. If you are dining out, eat your rice beforehand and stick to a salad for dinner, or, eat your rice after you get home. Don’t hesitate to read a few pages of Marcus Aurelius’ Emperor’s Handbook if your will power begins to fade.

• This is more of a lifestyle, than a diet. Check with your doctor before changing your dietary lifestyle or starting any diet. Consult your doctor first and if he advises weight loss for better control of your blood sugar, my plan may (or may not) help. It has helped me. Consult and follow up with your doctor before starting any diet. Follow your sugars carefully. If you are taking any medications to lower your blood sugar, the medications may need to be changed as you lose the weight or if your blood sugars gets too low. Symptoms of a low blood sugar include lightheadedness, confusion, passing out, feeling dizzi, shaky, sweaty. This lifestyle is just for Diabetes Mellitus type 2, the insulin resistant type of diabetes, formerly known as adult onset diabetes in individuals who are overweight. There are a few Type-2 individuals who are not overweight, but probably 99% are overweight and respond to weight loss. This advice does not apply to Diabetes Mellitus type 1, the insulin insufficient form of diabetes, formerly known as Juvenile Onset Diabetes. These individuals do not make enough insulin. There are also some people who have had Diabetes Mellitus type 2 for a prolonged period of time who eventually also do not make enough insulin and must be treated more like Diabetes Mellitus type 1. Again consult and follow up with your doctor.

Further comments on cooking rice:

After putting the boiled rice and pig fat into the frying pan, keep an eye on it… You want it crispy, just short of burned, on the bottom. Then turn it over and cook a while longer or just turn off the stove. You will get the hang of it after a while. For another tip or two, see:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/well/eat/coronavirus-cooking-rice-family-mothers-daughters.html?algo=als_engaged_control_desk_filter&fellback=false&imp_id=463905903&imp_id=28535425&action=click&module=editorsPicks&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

Meters are an important part of a diabetic’s life. If your bloodsugar is high, don’t eat. The only way to do this, at least at first, is to wait until your bloodsugars gets down to a reasonable level before eating and the only way to know this is to use one of those testing gadgets. The price has come way down these last few years.

And, in any event, at least at first you should take your fasting blood sugar level first thing after getting up in the morning. As you lose weight, you should find that your blood sugar level goes down.

Yours truly’s fasting level was high before Atkins, reasonable when on Atkins, and great (less than 100) after going on a strict fried rice diet for a few weeks. Whether the same would hold true for you, of course, is unknown.