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6857. thoughtful - 4/5/2007 5:33:00 PM Oh boy, I have lots of comments on your plan but I will limit myself to 2 comments, a commendation, and 2 helpful hints at this point.
Comment 1) plan is very high in sugar...especially the breakfast. Milk is full of lactose which is sugar. Fruit juice is full of fructose which is sugar. Cereal is loaded with carbs which is sugar. (See post #6780 above for sugar content of 'healthy' american bkfst.) If you opt for cereal, try to find one with less sugar and more fiber like the kashi go lean cereals. If you would be happy swapping out the v8 juice for the oj, you'll be saving sugar and calories. Slimfast alone is 4 1/2 tsp of sugar.
Comment 2) plan is very low in vegetables. Nonstarchy vegetables (green beans, zucchini, spinach, broccoli, etc) are very filling, provide bulk and fiber which is great for avoiding constipation which can happen when you eat less, are very low calorie and provide a huge nutrition boost not only for vitamins and anti-oxidants, but also for trace minerals. They don't know why, but many of the health benefits they've tried to isolate in vegetables don't work in pill form, but do work when eaten as whole food.
Commendation: drinking water. It's so essential for the body systems to work and it's especially important to flush out any chemicals that are released as your body switches to burning fat. Further it helps you feel full (like a glass of water before a meal is a great way to keep from eating too much) and it has zero calories.
Hint 1: When eating out, whatever portion they serve you, divide it in half (or even a third)...eat half and wrap half to go. Keeps you from overeating, lets you enjoy the meal a second time and saves you from cooking for a day.
Hint 2: Keep the changes you're instituting manageable. It takes at least 3 weeks to form a new habit and doing too much at once can lead to feeling deprived or that the program is too stringent to follow. Instead, focus on losing weight for a lifetime, not just for a diet and make changes that you can live with for your lifetime. The benefits of that...never needing to diet again...doesn't that sound good? 6858. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 5:52:33 PM Thanks Thoughtful! (I'm still here, going through the other threads). I already do the Hint 1 on eating out, but even half is too much to do on a regular basis, and I'd been eating out entirely too much. If I limit to once a week and still half it, so it's actually twice a week ;-), I should be able to control my intake a lot better than I have been.
Most of these changes aren't really much change for me, which is why I've got things lined out this way. The main thing I'm trying to do for now is calorie limit+exercise (of which I've done ZIP in the last several months). I want to be able to adjust what I eat with the calorie limit as a base. If I focus on more than that I get frustrated and my stomach goes wack at inopportune times. Teaching school and being prone to IBS I am very limited in how much I can change my diet right now.
The second important thing for me is routine. Not having one is killer for me, because I don't like to cook, Bob has his own diet/exercise down pat and his numbers all excellent, and I keep things as low-maintenance as possible (not just with food, but with everything). I've done this same in the past with quite a lot of success, just because I'm limiting my intake and my eating out so much. I know it is too much sugar and not enough vegetables, and I hope to work to shift that, especially by summer. To try that now would cause me problems. I probably wouldn't give up my oj, but the cereal will probably be oatmeal.
You are right on the lifetime. That's what Bob has done, and it's over three years now for him. The dietician told him he would have to institute a lifestyle change. That was in the afternoon and he told her he was going to eat out that evening and start in the morning. She said, "I wouldn't do that," and he didn't. He started that night and has been going ever since.
And please keep all this info coming! Your knowledge and experience in this area is very helpful! 6859. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 5:55:00 PM One more thing on the milk. Having had a hysterectomy and not really wanting to do a calcium supplement I've increased my milk quite a lot. I don't care for yogurt, but I love cheese. In a day, though, I have two cups of milk. One with cereal and one at night. If I go to oatmeal I will either half the milk or just make it with water. 6860. Wombat - 4/5/2007 5:57:56 PM One of the foods that I have learned to do without is fruit juice. Almost completely empty calories. Considering how much I used to drink, I probably saved 100-200 calories per day not drinking it. I'll have a clementine or two instead.
Arky: if you don't mind being excessively decadent, get out the Reddi-Whip and spritz it in your coffee. You could put 4 tablespoons of whipped cream in your coffee and end up with less calories than your dose of artificial creamer.
6861. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 6:00:26 PM OOOOhhh, I like that idea, Wombat. I'll put it on my grocery list.
I know about the fruit juice, but I LOVE my oj. Y'all are very convincing, though. I'll think about it. I can replace it with an orange. We have fresh fruit for breakfast at school now.
(Dammit!) 6862. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 6:00:56 PM And that would be two fruits in a day and no juice. 6863. Wombat - 4/5/2007 6:08:58 PM Cheese is tough. I am capable of eating 8 ozs. of cheese while in my recliner with a good book. Of course, I like the hard, pungent types as well (which are higher in calories, as well). On the other hand, I use a vegetable peeler to shave thin slices on toast (whole wheat or pumpernickel) or ry-krisps. That makes an ounce go a long way. 6864. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 6:11:50 PM Cheese and nuts are Bob's weaknesses, but they're also pretty much his only significant source of fat and calories in general. He's pretty much quit cheese. I will work any I eat into my supper calories (which is where my veggies will be, as well). I purposely left that part blank, with only a calorie limit. 6865. betty - 4/5/2007 6:12:46 PM oh cheese, you undue every mile I run. 6866. Wombat - 4/5/2007 6:22:27 PM Is anyone using a dietician? 6867. clydefo - 4/5/2007 6:34:28 PM Message # 6840
thoughtful, "Out of Date" is one of my nicknames. Nonetheless, I like Pritikin because it works so good for me both times I've followed his guidelines; first years ago and then last year to lose the beer belly. I got skinny in three months and I'm back to my old High School playing weight of 165 pounds. Pulse rate and BP way down, no insomnia, less Middle Class Stress Disorder, etc. His insights have held up so well over the years as the Nutritional State of the Art has evolved, e.g., his argument that vitamin E supplements do more harm than good is supported by the latest studies.
My guess is that exercise is what makes any plan work. I would quibble over some of your points. To be clear, I assume that "carb" means Complex Carb.
But generally nonstarchy vegetables like squash and green beans and lettuce are not good sources of fat.
This info adapted from tables athttp://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20dw.html
shows that iceburg lettuce is almost 8% fat. And it is far better for you than animal fat.
Nutrients per Serving for Lettuce, iceberg (includes crisphead types), raw
Amounts per 1 cup shredded (72g)
Total Calories10.1(42.3 kJ)
Calories from Carbohydrate7.7(32.2 kJ)
Calories from Fat0.8(3.3 kJ)
Calories from Protein1.6(6.7 kJ)
Calories from Alcohol0.0(0.0 kJ)
Percent of Calories from fat: .8/10.1 = 7.9
...all carbs consumed must be burned immediately...
carbs take a lot longer for the body to register as 'full' than do protein or fats
Conplex carb foods are high water content and so provide a full feeling with relatively few calories. They burn at a steady slow feed, avoiding insulin spikes.
Fat is bad for your arteries and Carbs are bad for your blood sugar
Good arteries need good fat. Blood sugar is food.
...the essential role of protein in the body esp as it comes to building muscle has been greatly underestimated by these high carb diets...
Not at all. Iceburg lettuce is 15% protein calories. The body manufactures most of the amino acids it needs for proteins. Plant or animal, it only needs small additional daily amounts to fulfill its needs. More muscle is desirable but even body builders waste money on protein powder when an extra egg white sandwich will suffice.
6868. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 7:56:06 PM Is anyone using a dietician?
Bob used one at first through his doctor. I don't know anyone who's using one now.
Another clarification on my diet (nothing to do with anything posted, just an fyi) is that I always do Slimfast for lunch at work whether or not I'm on a diet. It's just the easiest, quickest way not to eat in the lunchroom. Next year when I'm not in school or working so frantically on education issues I plan to make a new plan for school lunch. So anything I eat daily outside of school (like today) will not include a Slimfast. 6869. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 8:06:29 PM Clyde, from my own and my family's experience, exercise and lots of water. My parents eat sensibly, eat out when they want but pretty sensibly there, and drink sensibly. I don't know where they went wrong with me. ;-)
Seriously, they both tend to be somewhat nagging and preachy about it--most parents were warning their kids about teen sex and drinking, and mine were nagging me to get off the couch and put down the chips. But at 70 and 75 they're very active and go and do whatever they want. I've said it here before, but I expect Dad to go somewhere in that jungly yard of his or at the bottom of his swimming pool. That's what I worry about most with them--they're so active that they'll get hurt or worse while swimming, hiking, or doing yard work. Dad's also not careful enough about working and/or running when I think it's entirely too hot. But I've figured out you can't do anything with that generation. They're such rebels. 6870. Wombat - 4/5/2007 8:12:21 PM I have found a Dietician most helpful in getting me started, and in providing advice/suggestions/encouragement.
Mine can also round up caloric counts for ethnic fare, which is a major consideration where I live (DC area).
I did Slimfast years ago, slimmed fast, and unslimmed equally fast. I hate the idea missing a meal, and get famished between 5-7 pm.
Ideally, my daily calory range per meal are:
Breakfast: 150-300
Lunch: 600-1000
Snack: 100-200
Dinner: 700-1000
With 4-5 hours of brisk walking and snow-shoveling, leaf raking, lawn mowing, etc. per week, I would lose weight even if I ate along the upper range consistently. 6871. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 8:22:18 PM I generally have to eat smaller meals more often.
I couldn't do a Slimfast diet plan. I tried it before, and wanted to eat the can I was so hungry. 6872. clydefo - 4/5/2007 8:26:37 PM Hi arkymalarky.
First tip: Don't consume all your RDA of caffeine and sugar before you start writing.
Just kidding. I count pots rather than cups per day and sleep like a baby these days.
2. Return to exercise gradually. Anyone who has rushed it in the past knows the reasons for this. Be disciplined about it. Dieting (eating) is the easy part.
3. Read this book.
Pritikin Promise 28 Day Plan
You're welcome. 6873. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 8:35:46 PM I drink a 4-cup pot in the morning and that's it. Thanks for the link! 6874. judithathome - 4/5/2007 8:40:54 PM Don't eat too many. Or less couch time.
Look, I know you're trying to be helpful but for you to assume I spend time on the couch popping bon bons into my mouth is ludicrous. I walk almost an hour every morning, 5 days a week, and consider that to be pretty damned good considering I couldn't walk without great pain AND a cane 2 years ago. And I swim for an hour three times a week at an indoor pool...I do water exercises and swim laps and use weights for strength training in the pool. And during summer months, I do that 5 days a week at an outdoor pool.
I'm no couch potato, trust me.
6875. arkymalarky - 4/5/2007 9:07:25 PM I'm about to log off again, but what are the views among this bunch about male/female and age as factors in planning and succeeding at losing weight and getting healthier? There was quite a heated discussion about it at MSNBC when I looked yesterday, the basic on one side (men) being "consume less+burn more=weight loss" at the same rate for everyone, and the other being that middle-aged women with a different metabolism have effects which make success more difficult and that men don't experience. Which led to the accusations that women are whining and men don't understand women, yaddayaddayadda. 6876. clydefo - 4/5/2007 9:14:03 PM Sorry for the flippancy, judithathome. No offense intended. Change the second remark to "more exercise" or drop it altogether. That is certainly a great exercise program; more than I do.
I will try to be mindful of your sensitivity about bon-bons.
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