Looking for advice and suggestions

Zyphun

I just starting the changes in my life to get my weight under control. But losing weight is really only secondary to getting my blood pressure and blood sugar under control. This started a little over a month ago after going to the hospital for chest pain. Turns out that it wasn't a heart attack, just my blood pressure and pulse being out of control. I decided to use that scare as motivation to start a life change to becoming healthier.

I started with giving up bad habits. That meant no more diet soda, no more fast food and no more empty calories. I started to look at the food I was eating and asked if it had a purpose other then tasting good. I started to exercise. At that point I started to use My Fitness Pal to track my intake and exercise. By then I'd lost at least 20 pounds, but I was working toward using the scale I had and that only went to 335 lbs. I finally got there and I've been tracking my weight ever since.

As good as I feel I am doing; I am realizing I have no real clue if it is healthy. Counting the calories, fats, sodium and sugars isn't enough. I needed to know more. I know I should start reading books on the subject and do research on the Internet, but it easily gets overwhelming. So I am coming here for guidance and a little hand holding.

My biggest questions right now are if 1500 calories is enough for a day? How do I eat more calories with going overboard on sodium and sugar. What are heathy food options are there for someone with a small fridge space and use of a microwave? Is drinking flavored water as bad as drinking diet caffeine free soda?

I am going to go search for answers on my own but any suggestions or criticism is appreciated.

Jewels211

Those are a lot of questions over a broad range. MFP does take into account your height, weight, and activity level and amount of weight you want to lose per week before suggesting a calorie goal, so I felt pretty comfortable with basically sticking with its guidelines. Because all of those factors do influence how many calories you need per day.

As to healthy foods, the closer you stay to natural, the better off you'll be--whole grains, raw or steamed or quickly stirfried veggies, lean meats w/o breading and not fried, etc.

I personally follow South Beach Diet, because I have the same type of issues you do, and it was designed/created by a noted cardiologist for his heart patients, many of whom also had blood sugar issues as well. I'd recommend at least checking the book out of a library and reading it (the part that discusses the whys and wherefores of the foods he suggests is not long; 4/5 of the book is food lists, recipes, and sample menus). It's easy to read and straight forward in its information. Even if you decide not to follow SBD exactly, at least you'll have an idea or what foods are healthy and what are not.

Because I do follow SBD I tweaked my MFP daily goals along the line of percentage of carbs/fats/proteins while leaving the total calories and sodium alone. I know to eat only good fats in fairly small amounts, so I'm not worried if I'm getting a little more fat grams than was initially suggested, b/c I was always coming out over just by eating a serving of healthy nuts and sane servings of lean meats at meals and a little olive oil in a day.

Good luck.

notinvain

First, congratulations on taking control of your life! That is a step that many people never take, so you should be proud of yourself for beginning.
Second, you are right. Trying to figure out a healthy diet is very confusing when you are starting out. I'm not a nutritionist, but I will tell you what I do and give you a couple ideas. I eat lean meats, mostly chicken (organic when i can) whole grains, vegetables and fruits. I stay away from prepared foods and things in the deli and things with artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose. I choose whole wheat past and brown rice.
Now what do you do with those things? I recommend checking out some cookbooks from your library. Look for books from the American Heart Association. You can search in Amazon for heart healthy cookbooks and then check to see if your library has them. If you like them, then you can buy.
Keep up with your exercise every day. I do a lot of home based exercise programs, so if you need a recommendation on that, let me know.
I know this isn't a ton of information, but it's a start. Good luck and please add me as a friend.
Mary

Zyphun

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Unfortunately I don't have access to a real cooking area. I would do a hot plate or something, but keeping the dishes clean would be more then my living space allows for on a regular basis. I do cereal for breakfast, PBnJ for lunch and a lean cuisine for dinner. I use low fat/low sodium/sugar free when ever I can and I've added salsa, low sodium V-8 and frozen steamer vegetable to increase my veggie intake. I am also limited by what I can spend on food in a week. I wish I could go back to my old love of stir-fry. I was really great at using so many different ingredients to make meals.

I've been lucky with exercise. I have a used recumbent bike I use for cardio. It's resistance is broken, but I try to make up for it with speed. I want to add some kind of strength training, but besides push ups I don't have many options. I am so heavy at the moment it's more then my joints can seemingly take at the moment. I am scared I might do myself harm.

Thanks again for the advice and support. And thanks for the invite notinvain.