6 Month Fitness Project

My Olive Oil Experiment 2

I made another batch of my super bread, a variation on the first batch, and ate it often with olive oil drizzled over it plus a sprinkling of dried basil and shredded Parmesan cheese. It continued to have the same good effects that I experienced earlier.

However, I think I kind of overdid it, maybe eating more olive oil than my body wanted. So, I've  been off the olive oil experiment for about a week. But, I'm about to make more of the bread that seems to be a good vehicle for it, and I'm getting a desire for more of the oil too. I'll be more temperate in the amount of oil I eat this time, and report on the continuing experiment.

According to an article on the How Stuff Works web site:

"Research indicates that replacing other types of fats with monounsaturated fats, especially olive oil, helps people lose weight without additional food restriction or physical activity (although doing so would further increase weight-loss!). A number of studies showed that when people substituted MUFA-rich olive oil for saturated fat, they ate less food and either maintained their weight or lost weight. Several other studies indicate that monounsaturated fat enhances the body's breakdown of stored fat."

And, an item on Web MD states:

"...one study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that a Mediterranean-style diet containing olive oil helped with weight loss. In this study, one group limited fat intake to 20% of calories and a second group followed a Mediterranean-style diet with about 35% of calories from fats in olive oil, nuts, and other natural foods. Both diets were very low-calorie (1,200 calories a day), and both groups initially lost weight (11 pounds in six months). But after 18 months, the Mediterranean-style group kept their weight off, while the low-fat group had begun to regain the lost pounds. The Mediterranean-style group reported it was easier to stick with the plan because they didn't feel like they were dieting; they could sauté vegetables, use full-fat salad dressing, and curb cravings between meals by snacking on nuts."

The Better Health Channel:

"Research has also found that olive oil may influence body fat distribution, with less fat stored around the stomach."

My Olive Oil Experiment: 1

A few days ago I was reading reviews of books on Amazon and came across one (not sure which one it was now, but I'll try to find it and add the info in a future post) that encouraged readers to eat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil each night before going to bed. It gave several reasons that sounded good, if true, and they said they had research to back it up.

Although I had no intention of trying to swallow a tablespoon of olive oil, I thought I'd try upping my olive oil intake by pouring it on a slice of the super nutritious bread I'd baked a day or so before, and sprinkling a bit of grated parmesan on top, plus a bit of dried basil, just like one gets in some restaurants as a dip for the bread.

It tasted so good that I ate that instead of a sandwich for lunch, and for a before bed snack for about three or four days. I seemed to have a real craving for it, and felt better than I'd felt for some time. Today I ate the last two pieces of bread for lunch, with lots of olive oil, maybe more than I needed. It sort of satisfied the craving and left me wanting to counteract it with some grape juice or a raw carrot.

I felt lighter, and though I avoid weighing often, I was curious to see if I had lost some weight, so weighed myself, and I weighed two or three pounds less than before. And, I think that it has been a mood elevator for me too, just feel more together, more smooth and happy. That doesn't actually describe the difference very well, but the best I can do right now.

This evening, having eaten all the bread I'd made, and having had my fill of olive oil for today anyway, I decided to go to the grocery store and look around since I'd not been to the big one nearby for quite awhile. I wandered the aisles for quite awhile, began getting hungry, filling my cart with things that
appealed to me at the time, including some fresh asparagus, a couple of dessert items, and a bar of chocolate from Germany that I thought I'd taste test.

Well, after I got home I cooked and ate the asparagus. It was delicious. Then I ate an Amy's
burrito, and it was good, and a bit more nutritious food, not much more though. I still wanted to test taste the chocolate, and take a few bites of the other sweet things, just to see how they tasted.

But, I couldn't stand to eat them. I managed a small helping of one thing, and only two bites of another, and could not bear to eat the chocolate bar after the first couple of bites.

I can only attribute this to my olive oil and bread eating for the past few days. Someone else had written about a similar experience with eating more olive oil. They said it satisfied their appetite and they found themselves eating considerably less other foods. I not only ate quite a bit less, but just could not stand to eat the sweet foods. I could have eaten more vegetables or fruits, but the sugary things....ugh!.

Very interesting. I'm going to bake some more of that good bread, and continue my olive oil experiment. I'll be sharing more on what I discover from my own experience, and also my research.