I have totally changed my diet

ccscarbrough

Over the past several years I have totally changed my diet. I have made some rules for myself and when I stick to them I feel much better, even though I am mostly bedridden.

Some of my rules:

• I eat three meals and a night snack every day. I try to eat no more than 45 carbs a meal and a 25 carb snack. I try not to eat between meals, ever. Flunked that over the holidays and am suffering for it, low energy, hunger and weight gain.
• I eat real food, i. e. fruit, veggies, nuts, small amts of meat and fish, eggs, yogurt, seeds, butter, cheese, hummus, whole wheat pita, sugar, olive oil, plus
• I avoid artificial foods, i. e. anything marked diet or low fat, sweetners, coffee whiteners, Cool Whip, margarine, soft drinks, and most anything manufactured
• I avoid preservatives, artificial colors and flavors
• I am very careful eating out
• I have decreased my sugar intake dramatically but I still have sugar in my coffee. Gotta have some vices, right? I have discovered that when I keep my sugar at a minimum I don't get as hungry. I have also found that a little sugar with a meal doesn't bother me but eating just one bit of sugar between meals sets me up for hunger all day.
• I drink 6-8 glasses of water a day
  
  My goal has been 1 pound a month. For the first two of the last 3 years I have lost 24 lbs, right on goal. Nothing the last year and I still have about 30 pounds to go to be nicely plump. I realize that I have gotten lazy and have gained back about 5 lbs. So I have started MyFitnessPal yesterday, did my arm exercises and got back on my recumbent bike after a year of laziness.
  
  I am 71 years old. I have neurocardiogenic syncope, which is chronic momentary loss of consciousness when stressed, startled, too hot, over stimulated, or standing on my feet longer than a few minutes. It can take minutes or hours to recover from a episode. I walk between chairs in the house and use a wheelchair out.
  
  I am flexible, can place my knuckles on the floor without bending my knees, stretch my legs in bed and use weights to do arm crunches, but I am not consistent. I am satisfied with my diet when I stick to it, but my main problem is exercise. I need encouragement in that area. Any takers?
  
  If you are still reading my tome, how are you doing? What are you dealing with? What encouragement do you need?

SKME2013

Hi ccscarbrough,

Sorry to hear about your problems. It seems like you have a found a way to deal with them which is great.

I am not surprised that changes to one's diet can make huge changes to one's health. While I have my vices (vanilla ice cream with hot raspberries being one of them), generally speaking I try to eat as healthy as possible.

I am fully aware that for weight loss a calorie deficit is the one and only thing that counts, but I strongly believe that there is more to health then just losing weight.

When I started my journey to a better health and better weight, the first thing I did was cutting out sugary drinks such as Coke. In fact, now I am tea and water total. I bought myself a blender with which I make myself spinach smoothies in the morning. This way I can get veggies into my body that I would not eat otherwise, at least not in that amount.

I went from being a couch potato to now being an exercise fanatic and I pay much more attention to the amount of sleep I get.

Do I feel any better? I am not sure. The one thing I know though is that I am definitely looking healthier and slimmer.

I wish you the very best on your journey to health!
Stef.

yoovie

i lost about a hundred pounds. now i have to lose 15. im fighting with pride and fear of leveling up and not being able to sustain it. Sometimes it's also really lonely. Im just coming back to my regular training after some time off after I broke something in my foot in my last tough mudder. I'm also feeling like a crapstain because it's the holidays and i always spend them outside looking in.

Kalikel

I lost 75 pounds. Some see this as a huge accomplishment, but I'm focused on the fact that I have 30-50 more to go. And they're going to be harder!

I did as the doctors told me for a long, long time. Then they gave me an inch and I took a mile, eating things like canned baked beans and many other things I shouldn't.

I tried to take a diet break, but it didn't work. I simply cannot eat bunches of crap anymore, which is probably a good thing. I really would rather have my berries and granola than McDonald's pancakes or Crunch Berries. This has taught me that most of my changes really have stuck, which is encouraging in a way.

If I didn't need the daily reminders that I need less salt and fat and more protein, I could quit logging. Need to get those under control.

Also have to check micros. I want to stop buying multivitamins and that'd be one less pill to swallow. Cannot check micros on MFP, so am going to have to get one of those pay-for-it sites or software. Will ask for that for Christmas.

I was running, but had a small physical issue that brought it to a screeching halt. Am going to try again Sunday or Monday, but will be so far behind now, damn it.

We are all working on stuff, many of us struggling. Sometimes it's two steps forward, one step back. But progress is progress is progress. So, yay us!

RodaRose

Healthier and slimmer counts for a lot. (*) I hope you feel better at some point too.

When I was a kid I swam a lot. About 6 weeks ago I returned to it. I am feeling great.
Because I have lost a few pounds, I can more easily do the Yoga I used to do. For now I am doing it at home with a DVD.