Dropped soda completely .. Pounds not falling off??
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You might want to look into the DASH Diet approach (Dietary Approach to Stopping Hypertension) which is sponsored by both the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. You can find a good description of it at the DASH web site (dash.org). You eat WAY too much process foods and/or meals out. Stew up some chicken on the weekend, shred it and have it available for sandwiches rather than the processed meats. Learn to budget your time to have time to fix your own meals. Pick up some ready-made salad and low sodium dressing. Stock up on fruit and vegetables. Cut back on the simple carbs (bread, potatoes, cereal...) and eat real food in reasonable quantities.0
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Okay, you have a brand new baby, congratulation!
1. Buy a food scale. A lot of you diary entries are cups, etc. Weigh your solids, start now and make that a habit. Only measure your liquids.
2. Read the guide to sexy pants and all of the links in it, twice if necessary.
3. Drink a lot more water. If you can't kick the soda at least get diet, or unsweetened tea, or use crystal light packets and put in water for now. It will also help your body process all the sodium. I drink 130 oz. of water a day.
4. If you want lunch meat, buy reduced sodium. In fact buy reduced sodium everything!
5. Instead of adding salt to your meals, add spices instead.
6. Eats more fruits and vegetables, instead of a 44oz. soda for breakfast grab an apple or banana instead. That will satisfy your sweet tooth and be much more satisfying. Eat salads, instead of dressing squeeze some lemon juice because dressings are high in sodium as well. Or dip your fork into the dressing instead of pouring the dressing onto the salad.
7. Get some protein with every meal if you can. It will help curb your appetite.
8. Don't forget fiber.
This is not about denying yourself in anyway. It's about a lifestyle change and one you can stick to. Like just about everyone has said, 6lbs a week is too much. You may lose that for the first couple of weeks but that will be water weight. And like another person said, use MFP to figure out a calorie goal based on a reasonable deficit, when you start exercising, eat back your exercise calories (or at least 1/2 of them), log your food accurately, and you should start seeing the pounds drop off.
This is also not a race, it's a marathon. It's simple but certainly not easy. Good luck.0 -
It's tough to get started. It's difficult to change habits. Start by making small changes, and above all focus on the things that really matter. Calories matter. You can let other things slide but your #1 priority is keeping the calorie intake at a reasonable level. Let other things slide but don't let that slide.
But yeah, start small. Work a serving of vegetables or fruit into each meal. Replace high-sodium deli or cured meat like ham with baked fish or chicken. Skip the potato chips. Little things. It's about forming new habits. You have to make conscious decisions that go against your regular habits in order to form new ones.0 -
I'm not sure how much you're paying for your deli meat, but look into making your own so you can control the sodium and probably save a few bucks too. I recently found eye of round roast on sale for $4/lb where the deli meats ran $5-$10+/lb depending on brand and if you get it from the deli counter or pre-packaged Oscar Mayer type. It was really easy to season and cook and it's some of the best roast beef I'd had on a sandwich in a long time. I did the same with chicken breast and will cook some turkey breast here soon. When I sliced it, I portioned out enough for a week and froze the rest.
For dinner, do you have time on the weekends to do crockpot meals that can be saved for later in the week? Even if it's only one or two meals, it's still better than nothing. This is how I do most of my cooking for dinners. You can find crockpot recipes out there and make adjustments for no/low sodium items - dry beans instead of canned beans for chili; no sodium/low sodium stock/broth/bouillon, etc.
Try googling for freezer meals and see what you can find. I've seen many blogs/pinterest pins where folks prepped many meals in one day, froze them in freezer bags (for stir fry and crockpot meals type meals) or casserole dishes so that all they had to do in the week is take one out the night before to thaw and then cook/reheat during the week. You'd probably the same amount of prep time for slicing, dicing, measuring as it would be during the week, but instead of turning to take out/delivery when you're exhausted because the baby kept you up the night before, you can put a casserole in the oven and be done. Also another way you can control sodium.0 -
I am taking the advice that people are giving me..
I have tried all this before and fell victim to peer pressure..
My wife is doing a fitness group through a place here in town where they follow a high pace workout program and diet for 6 days a week and then pushes a "cheat" day.. This is the reason for the HORRID choices in food on Saturday. Her group pushes a hard diet for 6 days out of the week as well as a high paced and hard workout and says that on your free or cheat day.. Eat what you want.. "if you want a dozen donuts eat a dozen donuts"
I guess I was following her around on her cheat day and ended up saying screw it.. I too will eat how I want.
I understand that saying dropped soda completely and then putting in for half a two litre worth of Coke (most likely much less than that I tend to spill to the high side of things on here) is misleading but to me that is a helluva step in the right direction..0 -
Have you tried diet soda? Took me a while to get used to it but now I like it.0
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It is surprising what you learn about your eating habits when you start tracking honestly. Tracking for a while will help teach you what things are causing you to gain weight, or not lose weight.
A lot of people diet (I was one for a long time) and don't lose weight, mainly because although they cut a lot of calories (like you when you drop soda) but they are really only cutting enough calories to no longer gain weight, or at least not gain it so quickly, not enough to actually lose weight. If your eating habits were generally good and soda was your only vice, then yes, dropping soda may be enough to have the weight come off, as long as you are replacing it with water and not some other calorie laden item. If you other eating habits aren't already good though, cutting soda may just be enough to help you maintain. You have to cut enough calories to actually be eating fewer calories then you burn each day.
You have to log everything and pay attention to what that tells you. Look for trends and look for foods which cause you to overindulge when you don't realize it. You don't have to cut those foods out completely, but pay attention when you choose to eat them because you know they will be a problem.0 -
Its a learning experience for sure.. I was really disappointed Sunday when I logged Saturday's food.. I will keep up with it and try to get the sodium down.. as well as the calories.. The Saturday / Sunday soda thing was a severe moment of weakness.. I will be sure to stay away from it..
It helps when there isn't any in the house.. which there isn't anymore0 -
Have you tried diet soda? Took me a while to get used to it but now I like it.
do NOT switch to diet soda - it is absolutely HORRIBLE for you.0 -
First, congratulations on your new baby! I have a 4 month old little girl (and a very wild 2 year old boy).
While having a newborn at home is very difficult I have found that cooking one day (Sunday) and eating all week has really helped me to stay on track. Find a solution that works for you! I cook two big meals on Sunday (usually a crock pot and casserole) and weigh/ divide the servings and put them in separate containers. All I have to do is heat them up and enjoy! I usually heat up some steam fresh veggies in the microwave as well. Only a few minutes and I have a healthy, homemade, pre-measured dinner! Of course, it takes me a few hours to cook and prep my food on Sunday (I also wash, cut and divide some fruit and snacks into individual servings) but its well worth it during the week. As I said before- find a process that works for you!
Enjoy- that new baby and the process of becoming a healthier person! While it's a slow and hard journey try to have fun! You will be very thankful you've improved you're health when the little one starts running around!0 -
Have you tried diet soda? Took me a while to get used to it but now I like it.
do NOT switch to diet soda - it is absolutely HORRIBLE for you.
Yes, thank you for your sage advice. It is clearly well-based in science and personal success.
Seriously. Diet soda is 100% fine. Let's not hijack this guy's excellent helpful thread with a pointless argument over soda.0 -
Have you tried diet soda? Took me a while to get used to it but now I like it.
do NOT switch to diet soda - it is absolutely HORRIBLE for you.
Yes, thank you for your sage advice. It is clearly well-based in science and personal success.
Seriously. Diet soda is 100% fine. Let's not hijack this guy's excellent helpful thread with a pointless argument over soda.
x2
OP:
It takes time, once you get into a rhythm and the weight starts melting away you will realize how simple weight loss actually is.0 -
Have you tried diet soda? Took me a while to get used to it but now I like it.
do NOT switch to diet soda - it is absolutely HORRIBLE for you.
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Still eating too much0
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Hi Josh,
Yes.As of now I am not exercising yet.. Plan to start but just haven't yet. Will this help..
Yes. Reduce your sodium intake and increase your potassium. You could have dieter's edema. Drinking lots of water will not correct a sodium imbalance because you will ultimately flush out all of your other electrolytes along with the sodium.Also I am consuming a large amount of sodium in my daily diet.. Can this cause me to hold water / consume alot of water?
It's the excess sodium combined with a lack of potassium.My blood pressure has been extremely high lately (144/99 is most recent reading) , can this be tied to the lack of caffeine? Dietary Change?
Read your nutrition labels. Buy only low-sodium deli products. Eat more high potassium foods. Fresh fruits and vegetables need to be in your diet, but to address the current excess, I would recommend making yourself some tomato soup with a couple of cans of tomato paste, water, and I like to add a frozen soup vegetable mix. It gives you copious amounts of potassium and will help your electrolytes to balance out.How can I lessen my sodium intake?
I usually eat a bowl of cereal for b-fast, a deli meat sandwich and a serving of chips for lunch, and some sort of meat/potato/salad for dinner..0 -
You could have dieter's edema.
[your high BP is the result of] excess sodium combined with a lack of potassium.
Thanks Dr Husky. Most physicians could really benefit from your incredible internet diagnostic skills.
Seriously. Don't tell someone what their high BP is from. You don't know. Don't also provisionally offer diagnoses like dieter's edema when you have no idea.
This stuff does no one any good.0 -
I am a whole food plant based eater - alot of what you eat (meat, dairy, oil and processed food) will give your body a ton of inflammation, even at a reduced calorie intake, not to mention contribute to so many diseases like heart issues, cancer, diabetes and more.
I became certified in WFPB nutrition from eCornell and if you really want to see your body respond, eat only a whole food plant based lifestyle and watch - I switched about a year ago, am launching a business in PA but plan to remote help patients with Skype or any other video means as well and can help guide you to transitioning to much better food while your body responds and lets go of the weight you want to see come off - esp if your pic with that little baby is yours - you want to live a long time for your kids......
Just my 2 cents - try renting the movie Forks Over Knives on Netflix or Amazon Video - it is what got me to change overnight after a lifetime of illness that was getting worse and worse by the day!
:huh:0 -
I am a whole food plant based eater - alot of what you eat (meat, dairy, oil and processed food) will give your body a ton of inflammation, even at a reduced calorie intake, not to mention contribute to so many diseases like heart issues, cancer, diabetes and more.
I became certified in WFPB nutrition from eCornell and if you really want to see your body respond, eat only a whole food plant based lifestyle and watch - I switched about a year ago, am launching a business in PA but plan to remote help patients with Skype or any other video means as well and can help guide you to transitioning to much better food while your body responds and lets go of the weight you want to see come off - esp if your pic with that little baby is yours - you want to live a long time for your kids......
Just my 2 cents - try renting the movie Forks Over Knives on Netflix or Amazon Video - it is what got me to change overnight after a lifetime of illness that was getting worse and worse by the day!
:huh:
Behold the power of for-profit education.0 -
You could have dieter's edema.
[your high BP is the result of] excess sodium combined with a lack of potassium.
Thanks Dr Husky. Most physicians could really benefit from your incredible internet diagnostic skills.
Seriously. Don't tell someone what their high BP is from. You don't know. Don't also provisionally offer diagnoses like dieter's edema when you have no idea.
This stuff does no one any good.
First off, I didn't diagnose anyone. I said "could". I had dieter's edema when I first started. I'm only sharing from my experience.
If you think OP should see a doctor, then by all means, advise him as such. But there isn't any false information in my post.0
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