Is Lean Ham Okay?

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SteveM
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: March 6th, 2010, 1:10 pm
Location: Medina, Ohio

Is Lean Ham Okay?

Post by SteveM »

My wife and I started the LDL program about 6 weeks ago and I have lost over 20 pounds and have a goal to lose 80 more (with the Lord's help!). I can't believe how easy it is to lose weight using the LDL program. Ice cream used to be my favorite food group  :) until I started making fruit smoothies!!

The only probelm I have is I LOVE HAM!! I have not seen any recipies regarding lean ham and was wondering (praying actually) that I could add some lean ham into my LDL diet. Thanks to everyone for your inspiring stories and recipies (yummy).

Regards,
Steve
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CodingQueen
Master Member
Posts: 2608
Joined: May 9th, 2009, 10:47 pm
Location: North Tampa

Re: Is Lean Ham Okay?

Post by CodingQueen »

SteveM

Pork tenderloin is OK to use. I have bought the extra lean (5% fat) ham but it's hard to find without all the additives...like nitrates, sugar, etc.

CQ
LittlePrincess
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Joined: August 11th, 2006, 11:29 pm
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
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Re: Is Lean Ham Okay?

Post by LittlePrincess »

Hi Steve,

Congratulations on your weight loss so far!   :thumbsup:  LDL is not a diet but a new way of eating.  It's a lifestyle change really.  You have to make this way of eating work for you and your life.  Now that being said, here are the questions we all have to ask ourselves when we add something to our plan that isn't LDL approved.  

1.  Is this food going to stall my weight loss or worse, make me gain?
2.  If the answer to question 1 is yes, am I willing to live with this in order to have this food once in awhile?

I can totally relate to your love of ham as I have the same love of bacon.  :drool:  But I don't eat bacon because I know it will slow me down or make me gain.  It's just full of fat, as is ham.  We all have to make these decisions for ourselves.  I have so much respect for Roger because of his honesty about his journey.  When you read his story you read about how he added some alcohol back into his diet because he wanted it.  He knew it would slow his loss down but that was his choice.  

I don't believe in the old addage of "YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT!"  because I believe that sets us up for failure.  What is the first thing we want to do when someone tells us we can't eat something?  Well we want to eat it of course!   :D  It's just human nature.  

So this is what I do, I tell myself I can have any food at any time whenever I decide to have it.  The kicker here is that I follow that statement with, but today I choose LDL and health and happiness.  That doesn't mean I don't ever cheat because I do sometimes.  Again, this is a WOE and not a diet.  If you feel to restricted or like you are being deprived, you'll never stay on plan long term.  You should know, however, that this may very well set you up to have horrible cravings again.

So I said all of that to say this.  No, ham is not LDL approved.  If you eat ham it may very well stall your weight loss or even make you gain.  Yes, if you eat ham you may find yourselve struggling with cravings again which totally stinks.  Yes, if you eat ham we will still love you and support you here.  We are all trying to find our best path and for me LDL is the way to go.  I'm sure that you will find the best path for you too.  I hope this helps.  I feel like I'm rambling.   :laughing:


Fit, Happy and Healthy LP
All you will ever be is you.  Learn to love it.
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witheraway1
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Joined: January 7th, 2010, 10:15 am
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Re: Is Lean Ham Okay?

Post by witheraway1 »

GOOD ANSWER!!
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SteveM
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: March 6th, 2010, 1:10 pm
Location: Medina, Ohio

Re: Is Lean Ham Okay?

Post by SteveM »

Thank you Ladies. Obviously not the answer I had hoped for, but none the less I will deal with it. Now I know one of the reasons I gained so much weight over the years!

Regards,
Steve
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tprouty
Master Member
Posts: 702
Joined: May 11th, 2009, 1:23 pm

Re: Is Lean Ham Okay?

Post by tprouty »

Hi Steve.

While ham may not be LDL acceptable because of the preservatives, sugar, chemicals, and everything they put in it for processing, there might be an alternative. How much do you like experimenting with cooking? If you really want the taste of ham from time to time, you could do some exploring on the web and see if you can come up with a way to flavor your own lean pork to taste like ham.

For St Patrick's Day, my hubby and I were going to a corned beef and cabbage potluck dinner with his weight lifting buddies. I know corned beef is full of sugar and chemicals, and even though this would only be a rare occasion, I really didn't want to eat processed corned beef, though I love the flavor. I said I would bring a roast that I can eat. My hubby did a search on the internet, and we came up with a delicious brine and baking instruction for making your own corned beef. We chose a couple of roasts much leaner than the traditional brisket. The soaking brine had some sugar in it (1/4 cup for 10 lbs of roast), but the brine was thrown away before cooking, and the cooking seasoning had no sugar at all. We tried it, and it was delicious! I only ate from that roast, but my hubby tried them all. He said ours was the best one there, and several other people commented on how good it tasted. It didn't exactly LOOK like corned beef because the meat was brown, not pink (I didn't use saltpeter, which is a strong chemical salt), and the flavor WAS slightly different than the pre-packaged stuff -- maybe more authentic because the flavorings were real. But it sure was good! I will definitely cook it again sometime!

So give it a go and see what you find. I would think you could soak lean pork in a brine of water, salt and cider vinegar, with some smoke flavoring and other spices and come up with something that will satisfy your craving and be a thousand times more healthy!

Good luck! You're doing great on LDL so far, so I'm confident you'll make the choices that will bring you success.
Terri
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barrypaxton
Master Member
Posts: 1039
Joined: November 21st, 2009, 2:37 pm

Re: Is Lean Ham Okay?

Post by barrypaxton »

Hey Terri,

Can you give us the recipe? Sounds wonderful.

Ollie
LDL since 10/13/2009.....Reached Goal Weight 2/14/2011.....88 lbs lost

Make everyday an LDL day!!!        

Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point.
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