Lin Carson, Author at Eat Bread 90

April 12, 2017May 9, 2017 by Lin Carson

Diet and Exercise During EB90

Now that I’m adding a loaf of bread daily to my diet, the main comment has been something like, “OMG! You are gonna get soooo fat!” So, I have asked the experts in the health and nutrition fields to take a look at my diet and exercise plan and provide feedback. They all harp on the importance of exercise during the 90 days I am eating a loaf of bread.

Though this does not qualify as a high risk diet, I will be monitoring well beyond the 90 days should anything change with my health. The experts have recommended a regime of intense exercise in the evenings lasting a minimum of 30-40 minutes.

Sticking with what works

Since the ideal form of exercise is something you will actually do, I plan on running, swimming, cycling and walking. A recent study published on JAMA provides some encouragement. The researchers found that “weekend warriors and other leisure time physical activity patterns characterized by 1 or 2 sessions per week may be sufficient to reduce all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality risks regardless of adherence to prevailing physical activity guidelines.” Because my calorie intake will be on the high side of recommended daily levels I will be a full-time exercise warrior!

My target calorie intake including 1 lb (11-13 slices) of bread every day with other foods from the vegetable, fruit and protein categories should equal 2,000 calories a day. I may have to make the occasional exception for my mom’s curry; she really is a bad influence!

Staying on top of the calories

With the 2000 calorie intake I have figured a basic exercise regimen to include:

45 minutes of running to burn 340 calories
20 minutes of swimming to burn 200 calories
70 minutes if cycling to burn 767 calories.

My initial observations after a few days of my East Bread 90 diet have been positive. I am really happy with the diet. It is keeping me on track with exercise and I have lots of energy and drive. The bonus of eating so much bread is that I am not hungry at all!

I hope you all will follow my journey and join the conversation about the health benefits of eating bread!

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April 12, 2017May 9, 2017 by Lin Carson

Eat Bread All Day, Anywhere: Day 10

Franz® Organic Nine Grain

I figured how to make my jams and spreads portable. I must spread them on the slices every day before I leave the house. Today I dug into my bag of wholesome Franz® 9 grain bread. It’s loaded with different seeds and grains, yet it is not overly dense. Its slight sweetness makes it an easy bread to eat all day.

So, I used various jams and spreads to create my sandwich pile this morning. This is what it is going to look like from now on—says this bread bag lady.

My bread pile for the day. On-the go-bread, anywhere, everywhere!

I’ve found it is easier to fold the bread into halves because I can take it out and eat it without any mess during meetings. The people around this office are so used to me eating and talking all the time, so something would seem amiss if I don’t do this.

Tonight, we cooked pork bulgogi with vegetables and rice. I didn’t consume the rice, but I did place some sriracha sauce over it and made a sandwich out of it. Yummy!

Franz® Organic Nine Grains made a delicious Pork Bulgogi Sriracha sandwich.

Here’s what I ate on Day 10 of EB90:

Food	Portion	Calories
Franz® Organic Nine Grain	12 slices (43g)	1440
Tillamook® Salted Butter	2 Tbsp	200
Kroger® Whipped Greek Cheese Spread	1 Tbsp	22.5
Justin’s Nut Butter	2 Tbsp	190
Nature’s Hollow Sugar Free Strawberry Jam	4 Tbsp	80
Orange	1 orange	45
Nutella	1 Tbsp	100
Kelp soup	1 C	10
Pork Bogulgi	4oz	250
Calcium Supp
Total		2337.5

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April 11, 2017May 9, 2017 by Lin Carson

Raisins and Water: Day 9

Klosterman Organic Raisin Bread.

The pain in my finger seems like a distant memory, now that I drink at least 8 cups of water a day. Hydration is key.

While I continue to keep a close eye on my sodium intake by not consuming too much deli meats, I try to stay away from high sodium spreads like cream cheese and peanut butter as well. Over the last two days, I realized that if I stayed away from sodium, I replaced it with sugar instead. This is not easy. Sugar-free jam, you’re my next best friend.

The fruit breads do not have as much sodium as their non-fruity counterparts. So I had no problem eating buttered raisin toast all day. Good raisin bread is best eaten this way, and the Klosterman’s brand had so much raisins in it, it tasted so good! I could have eaten the whole loaf itself, but I had to pace myself.

Buttered Raisin Toast from Klosterman’s.

I also had to watch my sugar, so I had to eat half a loaf of the Organic whole wheat. This paired well with the savory items I had on my menu today like the tri tip steak. Thanks to my friends at Klosterman’s, this day was very enjoyable! I love your raisin bread!

Caramelized onions and steak sandwich on whole wheat bread.

Caramelized onions and steak sandwich on Klosterman’s whole wheat bread.

Here’s what I ate on Day 9 of EB90:

Food	Portion	Calories
Klosterman’s Organic Raisin Bread	6 slices (40g)	660
Klosterman’a 100% Organic whole wheat	6 slices (40g)	600
Tillamook® Salted Butter	2 Tbsp	200
Almond Breeze® chocolate almond milk	1 C	40
Steak	3oz	158
Ham	1oz	30
Salami	1oz	50
Brussel sprouts		38
Squash soup	1 C	20
Flan		200
Papaya	1C	67
Total		2063

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April 10, 2017May 9, 2017 by Lin Carson

Bagels, Baguette and Coffee Flour Bread: Day 8

I love bakers. Have I said that lately? Today I had the honor to try bread made for me by three companies. The first one was a bagel from Bagels on Bartow, a family-owned business dedicated to the art of perfecting and preserving the tradition of New York old-fashioned, hand-rolled bagels. I was so excited to get bagels shipped to me from the Bronx. I made a cream cheese, lox and capers sandwich with this delicious bagel. It was heavenly!!!

Hand rolled bagels delivered fresh from the Bronx, New York City.

Look at that gorgeous shine on this kettle boiled bagel! Awesome with cream cheese, lox and capers.

The delicious baguette came from the O-tentic line of Puratos. They used a dried sourdough ferment that gave this baguette a crispy and aromatic bite to it. It was just wonderful toasted and eaten with butter.

Last but not least was the Sprouted Wheat and Coffee Pumpkin Berry bread, a truly outstanding loaf from Alvarado St Bakery. I expected a dark roasted coffee aroma and taste, but was surprised with the light texture and fruity aroma. Like any fruit bread, it paired well with jams and jellies. It is also heavenly eaten toasted with butter.

Sprouted Wheat and Coffee Pumpkin Berry bread with butter.

I will buy this bread any day to support coffee flour farmers. Did you know that the fruit that produces the coffee bean is discarded? Yes, every year, millions of tons of coffee fruit is discarded because we have no use for it. Well, the Coffee Flour Company patented a process at the farm level to harvest these fruits and make them into coffee flour. It allows farmers an extra income stream and benefits the local farm economy. Coffee flour is a sustainable food ingredient, and it clearly tastes great in this bread.

Here’s what I ate on Day 8 of EB90:

Food

Portion

Calories

O-Tentic Baguette	2 slices (64g)	370
Bagels on Bartow	130g	318
Alvarado St Bakery® Sprouted wheat coffee pumpkin cranberry bread	6 slices (32g)	600
World of Chia® Blackberry Fruit Spread	1 Tbsp	30
Biscoff® Cookie Butter	1 tbsp	85
Lox	2oz	120
Siggi’s® Skyr Vanilla	1 C	120
Orange	1 orange	45
Sauteed Spinach	1 C	48
Peach spread	2 Tbsp	100
Capers	1 tsp	5
Walk	45 min	48
Total		1884

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April 9, 2017May 9, 2017 by Lin Carson

Week One Weigh-in

While I’m tracking my diet over the whole 90 days, I’ll also keep you updated on my weight once a week. Our body weight usually goes up or down 1-2 lbs every week. My weigh-in before I started my bread-eating journey was unfortunately after spring break, when our family went on vacation. The fancy restaurants at our vacation spot, and my weakness for foreign sounding desserts appeared on my weigh-in. So instead of 145lbs, I started this journey with 149lbs.

I should be targeting around 2,000 calories/day to maintain my weight at about 145 lbs. It seems that my average for the week was about 1,500 calories. Therefore a drop in weight didn’t surprise me at all.

My weight at the start of 90 days.

My weight at the end of the 1st week.

Now, I hope you know that my goal for this journey is not to gain a single pound while eating large amounts of bread everyday. I have safely consumed over a pound of bread everyday this week. I am proud to say I have accomplished my goal for round one.

As for losing weight, I don’t think I’m going to lose that, at the amount of calories I am consuming a day, with the same amount of exercise per week. My body will eventually find its comfortable weight range after getting used to eating a pound of bread a daily.

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April 9, 2017May 9, 2017 by Lin Carson

Could Sodium be the Culprit? Day 7

I woke up today telling myself that I need to drastically cut sodium and drink more water to flush out the excess sodium I consumed yesterday. So, I removed deli meats from my diet today, and went with just a fried egg sandwich. I got my sodium down to a reasonable level (about 2,600mg) and I drank a truck load of water. By the end of the day, the pain in my finger was gone.

I wonder if many people felt the same way I did, and self-diagnosed themselves with gluten inflammation. Could eating products containing gluten (sandwiches, hamburgers and pasta), also mean that you are overloading yourself with sodium? Could this reaction to too much sodium in the body give the ‘bloated’ feeling that some people feel after consuming gluten containing products? I really think so. If a healthy person like me reacted this way to sodium, I can’t imagine how other people would react. Especially those on medication, and/or a higher stress life.

Analyzing my diet

I analyzed my diet again, and realized that the sodium source came from bread, deli meats and soup. I had overdosed on sodium and sugar every day. Therefore, I really need to keep an eye on these as I go along this diet, whether I reach my target weight or not.

Now, this is really challenging, as not only do I need to count the calories, I need to look at both sodium and sugar. I mean, I should be able to do this. It’s like raising three boys, you just can’t take care of one, and leave the other two alone. I’m good at juggling. I can do this.

Dave’s Killer Bread® 21 Whole Grains.

Today, I chowed down on Dave’s Killer Bread® 21 Whole Grains: the loaf that made them famous. I had no problem eating the 21 Whole Grains bread by itself. It was so delicious, I ate all 6 slices without any spreads.

I also rewarded myself at the end of the day with my homemade strawberry cake. OK, I did bust my sugar intake with that cake, but that was worth it!

Here’s what I ate on Day 7 of EB90:

Food	Portion	Calories
Dave’s Killer Bread ® 21 whole grains	12 slices (45g)	1,440
Egg	1	78
Favorit Cherry Preserve	1Tbsp	50
Nature’s Hollow Sugar Free Strawberry Jam	4 Tbsp	80
Skippy ® Peanut Butter	1 Tbsp	95
Justin’s Almond Honey Nut Butter	1 Tbsp	190
Kale and mushroom Soup	1 C	48
Strawberry Cake		300
Run		-100
Swim		-200
Total		1,981

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April 8, 2017May 9, 2017 by Lin Carson

What is This Pain? Day 6

Whole Grain Double Fiber bread by Oroweat®.

I want to sleep last night with an ache in my finger. This morning, it was worse, and by the end of the day, the finger was throbbing. Could this be what people refer to as gluten inflammation? I would think by day six my body would be used to this diet, and that it would have indicated any kind of symptomatic reaction to gluten earlier. I would need to rethink this diet, if this is the case.

Sara Lee’s Artesano bread.

Nevertheless, I continued my diet with Orowheat® Whole Grains Double Fiber and Sara Lee’s Artesano. Both breads were delicious and easily paired. I had a great day just eating Artesano by itself. It has all the makings of white bread, but it is not gummy and has a good structure to it. It was good with sandwiches, and great by itself as buttered toast.

Maybe there’s another reason…

I took a look at my diet log later in the day and realized something shocking. I overdosed almost every day on sodium (>2,400mg) and sugar (>25g). I’ve also realized that I have not been drinking enough water, therefore I was not moving things along in my system. Maybe that’s where the problem is.

Tonight, I drank two whole glasses of water before bedtime. This is really not a smart thing to do. But if there is excess sodium in my system, it needs to be flushed out. Tomorrow, I will change my diet.

Peach, Nutella® and Skyr on an Artesano® toast.

Turkey with Artichoke Bruschetta.

Berry Cream Cheese with Pine Nuts on Oroweat® Whole Grains.

Here’s what I ate on Day 6 of EB90:

Food	Portion	Calories
Oroweat® Whole Grains	8 slices (38g)	640
Sara Lee® Artesano	6 slices (38g)	600
Applegate herb turkey breast	2 oz	30
Siggi’s® Skyr Vanilla	1/2 C	60
Orange	1 orange	45
Sauteed Spinach	1 C	48
Nutella®	2 tbsp	200
Artichoke Bruschetta spread	2 Tbsp	67
Berry whipped cream	2 Tbsp	50
Pine nuts	0.5oz	90
Kale and Kelp soup	1 C	48
Peach spread	2 Tbsp	100
Almond BreezeÂ® Almond Milk	1 Cup	100
Total		1830

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April 7, 2017May 9, 2017 by Lin Carson

What the Doctor Said: Day 5

The reason I started this journey is because I heard all this talk about how unhealthy bread is.

“Bread will make you fat.”

“I get bloated all the time after eating bread.”

“I heard bread is bad for you.”

“I’m on Paleo because carbs are bad for you.”

Bread has been painted as an all-around bad guy.

Even today, the people who come up to tell me that I am doing harm to myself and I need to check my blood work, have no idea about how harmless bread is. People are consistently inundated with information that put bread in the worst possible light.

A couple of people even compared my journey to the Super Size Me documentary. There is no comparison ladies and gentlemen. Bread is a much superior food compared to fast food. I don’t blame you though, the recent literature on bread has made bread look just as bad.

Therefore, I’m on this journey to convince you that bread is a very safe food to eat, and that I won’t be harmed from eating so much bread. You should feel safe eating a few slices of bread a day. It’s okay!

Checking in with the Doc

I did go to my Doctor to obtain pre-diet blood work. He looked at me all weird when I explained my diet to him. Before he waved me away, saying that I have nothing to worry about because this is not a high-risk diet, he told me to keep exercise as part of my lifestyle. I could see that he was irritated by me taking his time to ask for a simple blood work for a non-high risk diet. I had to listen to his lecture on exercise, as a respect for his time.

I need to share this with you because I believe it. He referred to exercise as sanding a door. If you sanded the door with the same force and tool for 60 seconds, vs. sanding it for five minutes over a period of 12 hours, you will find a deeper hole in the first scenario. Why? This is because of the heat generated from friction that makes the sanding more efficient over an extended period of time.

He then emphasized that I should be doing my exercise all at once during the day, and not spread out my exercise routine throughout the day. Got it, Doc!

All my vitals were normal (except that my sunshine vitamin was a little low – that’s Portland weather for you). He even gave me a smiley face.

My daily loaf

Today, I continue my journey with Dave’s Killer Bread’s Power Seed. Among all the breads I’ve eaten so far, this must be the only loaf that has THE BEST nutritional profile. Not only is it packed with nutrition, it’s done so with lower amounts of sodium and sugar. I’ve been watching my sodium and sugar levels the last few days, so this loaf finally gave me a relief.

Dave’s Killer Bread’s Power Seed.

It is also very high in protein. Since my slices already gave me over 60g of protein (our daily intake should be no less than 53g), I didn’t feel the need to add anymore protein to my intake for the day. Lastly, because it is a multigrain bread packed with fiber, I felt extra satiated all the time! This is a wonderful bread to have in my diet, and I wished more bread were nutritionally comparable to the Power Seed.

Here’s what I ate on Day 5 of EB90:

Food	Portion	Calories
Powerseed	12 Slices (504g)	1200
Weight Watchers® Whipped Cream Cheese Spread	1 Tbsp	30
Almond Breeze® Almond Milk	1 Cup	100
Biscoff® Cookie Butter	1 Tbsp	85
Barney® Almond butter Vanilla + Espresso	1 Tbsp	95
World of Chia® Blackberry Fruit Spread	1 Tbsp	30
Berry whipped cream	2 Tbsp	50
Orange	1 orange	45
Kale and Kelp soup	1 C	48
Justin’s Nut Butter	2 Tbsp	190
Total		1873

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whole wheat bread- eat bread 90-gluten myth-blood sugar-diet

April 6, 2017August 7, 2017 by Lin Carson

Setting the Gluten Myth Straight: Day 4

I have met many concerned individuals these days. Some of them keep telling me the gluten myth: if I consume to much, I’ll develop an allergy. Really guys, if you studied my numbers, the amount of gluten (which is protein) in a pound of bread would be no more than 68g or about 2oz.

That is much less protein than a beef patty in a hamburger. Proteins are made of amino acids, and they all get digested the same way. I believe the likelihood of me developing celiac disease from eating 2oz of gluten every day is slim to none. So that deals with one gluten myth.

Klosterman Whole Wheat Organic_gluten myth

Organic 100% Whole Wheat from Klosterman Organic Bakery

The gluten myth aside…

Someone asked me yesterday if I felt hungry during the day, since bread is known to cause spikes in blood sugar levels. I explained to that person that I had to eat at least a slice of bread every hour. So no, my body will never have that opportunity to be hungry.

This is because my blood sugar will not rise or fall since I am eating all the time. Was that part of my intelligent eating strategy? No. As I said, my strategy is simple: eat bread regularly all throughout the day so that I don’t suffer in the evening stuffing my face.

Today, I opened a loaf of Organic 100% Whole Wheat from Klosterman Organic Baker y. It is a tasty whole wheat, with a great aroma. Compared to many other breads, this bread was much lower in sugar and sodium. That is a great plus in my books. Why? Because I can plaster on more spreads, silly! No, I’m really kidding. I had to actually stop myself from putting on more spreads because my caloric count would be compromised. This is a bread diet, not a jams and spreads diet.

bread with curry-eat bread 90_gluten myth

Curry with my bread.

This bread was such a versatile bread, it went well with curry. I enjoyed my curry tonight, but I don’t think I will do it soon again because the fat from the coconut milk in the curry took away from my total calorie count. “But coconut fat is good for you…” ladies and gentlemen, fat is fat in my books. I’ve heard people commenting that avocado and coconut fat is superior to other fats. What is the source of that B******?

If you’re measuring and comparing the quality of fat, you are consuming too much fat.

Fat should be consumed in small amounts, regardless of source. Yes, I’d rather eat lard than coconut fat, but that’s another conversation for another day. No more curry for the next 86 days please.

Here’s what I ate on Day 4 of EB90:

Food	Portion	Calories
Klosterman 100% Whole Wheat Bread	11 slices	1100
Weight Watchers Whipped Cream Cheese Spread	1 Tbsp	30
Almond Breeze Chocolate Almond Milk	1 Cup	100
Boar’s Head Smoked Ham	2 oz	60
Nutella	2 tbsp	200
Kale (cooked)	1 C	33
Strawberries	1C	47
Caramels	2	100
Curry	1 C	400
Orange	1 orange	45
Calcium Supp
Walk		-152
Total		1963

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April 5, 2017May 9, 2017 by Lin Carson

Shitting Rainbows: Day 3

My bread for today was Franz’s Organic Honey Chia.

After my dry bread binge, I went shopping yesterday. I went down the jams and jellies aisle, just expecting plain ol’ jellies and preserves but HOLLY LOLLIPOPS! Chia blackberry spread! Almond butter vanilla espresso spread! Hot pepper peach jam! I couldn’t make up my mind. You mean there’s more to this than Nutella® and cookie butter? Why didn’t anyone tell me? I was so happy, I was having a:

My favorite socks.

Before you get envious, I need your empathy. Just think, “Poor Lin, poor thing, she’s just been eating boring butter, cream cheese, Nutella and cookie butter. She needs something else”. You bet I DO! So I bought a whole bunch of spreads, and salad toppings, more than I could hold in an armful. I was so happy that I found all these, I made Ana take a picture of me.

My new collection of spreads and toppings.

My bread for the day

And to top this off, I dug into a loaf of Organic Honey and Chia from Franz Bakery. OMG! What heavenly texture! I have not experienced a textured bread like this before. The subtle crunch from these little chia seeds were delightful surprises with every bite. I love this bread! I could eat it the whole day…oh wait. I have to. Man, my work makes me shit rainbows.

Grilled pork with tomato pesto.

Almond honey nut butter with glazed pecans.

Cream cheese topped with fried jalapeños.

Here’s what I ate on Day 3 of EB90:

Food	Portion	Calories
Franz Honey Chia	12 slices (480g)	1080
Tilamook Butter (Salted)	1Tbsp	100
Egg	1	78
Kroger Whipped Greek Cheese Spread	1 Tbsp	22.5
Tomato Pesto	1 Tbsp	130
Strawberries	1C	47
Almond breeze milk	1/2 C	30
Justin’s Honey Almond Nut Butter	2 Tbsp	190
Fresh Gourmet Crispy Jalapeno	1 tbsp	40
Glaced pecans	1 Tbsp	50
Grilled Pork	4oz	252.5
Calcium Supp		30
Run 5K		-420
Total		1630

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