This dieting seems to get harder when older!

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58rocker
58rocker Posts: 28
in Motivation and Support
Hi all, I am sorry about this long post but I wanted to fill in all the details to get some help off you good people.

I am in early 50's now and got hit with a few illnesses last year even though I was actually starting to feel much fitter after losing 60 lbs and doing 30 minutes walking on treadmill every day. I had bronchitis, then a DVT which stopped my diet because of taking blood thinners for 6 months. Then while dealing with DVT came a heavy bout of Pneumonia (my first) and then Amoeba from the poor hygiene at eating places here in Cebu (according to my Doctor here) She also told me I need a Mitral Valve repair or maybe replacement further down the line. That just hit me for six (cricket), or outta the park as you say in Baseball!

Ok I weighed in at 300 lbs when originally starting diet end of 2009 and got down to 238. After those illnesses and feeling so down in myself I was back up to 267 when I decided to pull myself together and make a real go of it and try to help myself back to better health. Less weight and some light/medium cardio exercises should make the heart work a little better shouldn't it?

So I started again and during my first week I did good (fluid loss helps get weight off easy first week) and lost around 10 lbs, second week less than 2 lbs and this last 6 days have hit a plateau already, help! Now I am early retired and it is damn hot out here in Philippines so I cannot get out in the humid heat so much (never hot like this in UK). This leads to lack of exercise but this last week I have been feeling genuinely run down and not able to walk on treadmill for even 5 minutes. I have also just bought an exercise bike to help burn calories and started on that today doing 3 lots of 5 minutes but it leaves me a fair bit breathless

I know I cannot expect to just get on the bike for 30 minutes like I did many years ago but is there anything that will help me get some energy boost whilst I am still on this diet. I am only consuming 1,400 calories a day and was on 1,600 as recommended at the start due to my sedentary lifestyle. I just had some Cambridge Diet Shakes delivered from UK and intend to use these for 2 meals a day and have 1 small meal to go with it and maybe bring my calorie intake down to 1,000 a day just for 2 or 3 weeks to kickstart the weight loss. At the moment i am just eating grilled chicken fillet, baked potato, All Bran cereal, Quaker Oats porridge, Apples, 3 poached eggs a week, a little wholemeal bread occasionally but I snack out on some oat fibre crackers mainly in the evening. So my food intake is very low in fat, don't use cooking oil when cooking chicken in George Foreman grill.
Biggest problem is the Veggies, I absolutely hate them and cannot touch salad either. Fruit is fine I like apples here and just bought 2 pineapples to throw in the power juicer, maybe I could mix some veg in with the pineapple - what would you suggest?
Also will Wheatgrass help with replacing the benefits of Veggies? Does it give some additional energy?

Thanks for your help everyone, I need a big shove to get me along the road to health & fitness again so that when I do eventually go for the heart op in a couple of years I will be in a better position. Maybe this could even help delay an op a bit longer.

Thanks for reading and replying

Cheers

Porky Pete, :laugh:

Replies

  • Alayajoy
    Alayajoy Posts: 3
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    If I may offer a suggestion on the exercise side of things; if you are having trouble going for five minutes, break it up into one minute increments. Then, as your body gets used to the idea of exercising again, increase a minute at a time. Remember, it takes time for your body to recover from illness, especially pneumonia. And you've had one thing after another. Slow down, listen to what your body is telling you about it's condition. As someone who has spent a lifetime dealing with chronic illness, I know it's hard to stop and listen, it's hard to be patient, but it is and will continue to get better.

    *as an aside; have you tried putting a cool/cold towel on the back of your neck? It is one of my personal favorite ways to deal with hot and humid environs.
  • MissMaggie3
    MissMaggie3 Posts: 2,464 Member
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    Hello Pete!

    I'm in my early 50's too, and I know where you're coming from. Literally, in fact, as I'm also from the UK, hahaha! I've also lived in a hot country, so I know how debilitating that heat can be.

    It sounds like you have been through the mill a bit with your various illnesses. It's no wonder you're feeling a bit weak.

    My instinct is to say don't cut down your calorie intake from the recommended level. Apart from your body needing the nutrients, you could be sabotaging yourself in the long run. If you have the time to read all about it, there seem to be strong arguments in favour of building muscle in order to increase your metabolic rate. Hence, the opposite is also said to be true - if you cut your calorie intake too far, you risk losing muscle mass, which lowers your metabolic rate so it becomes more difficult to lose weight. And apparently, if you build muscle you may lose less weight on the scales, but you look leaner and generally better (the "muscle weighs more than fat" idea). So exercise-wise, from a weight loss point of view it might be a good idea to buy a set of weights rather than put all your eggs in the CV basket. But in terms of your heart, of course, it is probably a good idea to do CV as well, as long as you don't overdo it. And can't you turn down the resistance level on your bike? It sounds as if it is making you work too hard.

    I don't know the answer to the food question, I'm afraid, but lots of people will tell you to make sure you get plenty of protein.

    By the way, I don't know how long you've been out there, but as you get fitter I know from my own experience that you will be able to handle the heat better; I lived in Turkey for 5 years with no air conditioning, no car (so carrying big bags of shopping up the hill from the market every week in the blistering heat!). In the first year, I thought I would die from the heat, but after joining a gym it got a lot easier.

    Hope this helps in some small way.

    Good luck!
  • luvmybentley
    luvmybentley Posts: 74 Member
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    Congrats for trying to take control Pete, but you gotta change your diet. Chicken and grains is not a good long term diet. Your heart is trying to tell you that. You need more vitamins and minerals than you are getting from your current menu. Yes, apples are fruit, but they are pretty low on the nutrition totem pole. You need fruits and vegetables with more colors. Apparently a lifetime of avoiding them has caught up to you. Do you really hate vegetables that much, or is your experience limited to over-cooked mushy ones? And veggies doesn't have to mean salad.

    Some tips to get more fruits and vegetables variety in your diet:

    Vegetables:
    Vegetable soup, in a beef or chicken broth with maybe some rice or noodles. Make it homemade to avoid the extra sodium.
    Sweet potatoes or yams instead of potatoes.
    Extra lettuce, cucumber and tomato on a sandwich or burger.
    Try grilling vegetables, gives them more flavor.
    Add veggies to a stir fry, even if you can only stand carrots or peas, at least it's something.
    Tomato sauce...1/2 c is a serving of vegetables. You can even hide other vegetables like mashed carrots and peppers in tomato sauce and most people wouldn't know the difference. Try it on your chicken or pasta.
    Add some chopped carrots, peas, corn, celery to rice. The more colors the better.
    Take a supplement like "Super greens" to get some of the benefits of vegetables (but supplements don't have the fiber or fill you up like the real thing)
    Carrots and zucchini taste OK when added to fruit juices or smoothies.
    Try some melted shredded cheese on cooked veggies like green beans, broccoli or aaparagus...works for my picky kids!
    Wheatgrass tastes like crap, if you can choke that down you can eat a salad or a bowl of soup..and get a bowlful in your belly instead of just a shot glass.

    Fruits:
    Add fruit to your oatmeal.
    Berries are full of antioxidants, make a easy handy snack.
    Smoothies are an excellent way to get extra fruit, and you can use frozen fruit so it won't go bad on you.
    Freeze fruit juice/smoothies in popsicle molds for a healthy snack.
    Fruit and berries layered with vanilla yogurt and granola is really yummy.
    Fruit cobblers made with oats and cinnamon and easy on the sugar are a great healthy dessert (I even eat them for breakfast sometimes)
    Make a fruit salad: cut up melons, pineapple, citrus fruits, grapes/berries and toss together.
    Add fruit like oranges and strawberries to a plain salad, and sprinkle on some nuts or sunflower seeds for crunch, may help you to choke it down:)

    There are many ways to sneak in more vegetables and fruit. You really must try if you are serious about improving your diet. Your current diet seems very limited, and personally I wouldn't be able to stick to it for very long. And you may want to add some healthy fats like nuts and seeds to round it out even more, but make sure you measure them as the calories can add up quickly. Also, meats other than chicken.. like fish/seafood, grass fed beef and lean cuts of pork are good for you too.

    I hope I didn't put you off with the veggie and fruit lecture, but you asked!
    Good luck!
  • 58rocker
    58rocker Posts: 28
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    Thanks for your reply Alayajoy

    I will follow your good advice and build the execise up slowly, it is a real shock that I can only do 5 or 10 minutes compared to last year when I did 30 minutes on incline 6 on the treadmill. I always use a cold, wet towel round my neck when riding the motorcycle, helps keep cool and avoid sunburn too.

    Cheers and have a good day

    Pete
  • 58rocker
    58rocker Posts: 28
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    Hi Maggie

    Yes, us brits can't handle the heat so easily can we? I am alright over in New Mexico or Nevada with the dry heat, wish I had a green card!

    As far as building muscle goes I do need to seriously look at that but the heart doctor here said I need to lose some more pounds first and then turn some of what's left into muscle. I was always a large frame type of guy but was strong when having active jobs but since 1999 to 2007 I was in sedentary occupations which led to muscles turning to flab. This was my first day on the bike and I turned resistance down to setting 4 of 8, maybe I try 3 tomorrow or get some pedals fitted to my Harley D motorbike, haha.

    No aircon in Turkey for 6 years, wow I would have been dead! I got used to Aircon on my American trips and even got it installed in the UK, helped me sleep better in the Summer.

    Thanks for your help too,

    Pete
  • nsblue
    nsblue Posts: 331 Member
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    As everyone mentioned before take things slow starting off... small increments then gradually add, that is how I started my walking. remember you have been through alot and takes time for your body to get back to where it was.
    As for diet, I know if anything under 1200 cal you should be supervised by a doc. 1200 cal and under should be on a multivitamin. Drink 8-12 cups of fluids a day, and make sure you are getting in 60-80 grams of protein in a day, keeping salt sugar and fat on the low side.
    I am on a 600-800 cal liquid diet right now for another week. I have lost 12 pounds since last monday (when i started) i then will return to 1200 cal which i have been on since march. and before that was 1500 cal.
  • 58rocker
    58rocker Posts: 28
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    Hello luvmybentley,

    I used to be forced to eat Veg & salad as a young kid but my best buddy (family dog under the table) wolfed down my veggies for me and saved my skin! I have just been out for a ride to the health shop and bought some Wheatgrass then power juiced half a pineapple and added a helping of the Wheatgrass powder (best I can do, I'm afraid). With the fresh pineapple juice it did look a yukky colour but the sweet taste of pineapple dealt with the wheatgrass flavour.

    Vegetables and fruits in Philippines :--- We can get sweet potato but I never was that happy with them, I may try boiling some let them cool overnight in fridge then dry grill them in the George Foreman. I hope that works... and that is what I do with the normal potato or bake them.

    Tomato sauce... hmm prefer ketchup (Heinz of course). I will definitely try and add the peas and corn to some steamed rice, that sounds palatable. Only other veggies I have used is them damn hot chillies and Ginger in a chicken curry but I did not eat them, just like the spicy taste of a Madras or Vindaloo curry.

    I will try and get some Super Greens, but I have not seen them here yet. Maybe i go to the shopping mall tomorrow and look for some, my friend in England said they helped boost his energy.

    Mixing raw carrots with fruit juice should work for me, smell of cooked carrots make me feel ill though as does cheese hot or cold. I am the biggest kid going at 255 lbs, hahaha

    I love fruit but miss my blueberries, strawberries, juicy oranges and all those but all we seem to get here is Mangoes, Melons, pineapple, chinese pears, dried up ponkans (like a satsuma or mandarin but little juice), coconuts and stuff like that. I like Mangoes but they are so sweet, maybe not so good for everyday, hence why i eat plenty apples. There is a new American Food Cash & carry opened up here (membership shopping) so I will join that and hopefully get some of the berries, nice idea for mixing with oatmeal. I should also try eating watermelons too I liked those before when I was stopping in the US.

    Chicken & grains... chicken fillet is the only meat I eat here as I don't eat fatty meats, pork is very fatty here and beef is tough as old boots. In UK or US I do eat those meats though. I need the grains though to help my digestive system, I cut down on bread a lot and have found some All Bran to help in that department...

    Thanks so much for all your tips, sorry you can't teach an old dog new tricks with the veggies but I'll do my best.

    Cheers

    Pete
  • 58rocker
    58rocker Posts: 28
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    Hello nsblue,

    First of all Congratulations for losing 200 lbs, a great achievement and well worth the hunger pangs, I'm proud of you. Had you been on the liquid diet for a long time previously before this last week? 200 lbs is a lot to shift

    I did Cambridge diet 21 years ago and kept weight off for years till I changed to a sedentary boring job and pigged out on the choccy bars and fried food. The liquid diet became easy after 3 weeks but I only intended to replace 2 meals for 2 or 3 weeks and have a small real food meal once a day when I got hungry. My goal was to lose say 30 to 35 lbs quickly and then slow down to 3 lbs a week on 1400 cals a day.

    I started taking the multivitamin and mineral along with CoQ10 and a Vegetarian Wellness Booster, hopefully these will start giving me a energy lift after a few weeks

    Thanks

    Pete
  • MissMaggie3
    MissMaggie3 Posts: 2,464 Member
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    Let us know how you are getting on. :smile:
  • 58rocker
    58rocker Posts: 28
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    Okay Maggie, i'll update on the exercise and food next weekend

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