A holiday diet

[cewtwo]

Just to make the season really jolly...

I changed Doctors recently. Just felt the need to.

The new Doctor has me on Lisinopril for hypertension (high blood pressure) and Lipitor for high cholesterol.

It took a while for the Lisinopril to work but I am getting good blood pressure measures now. I know as he has take my blood pressure 2 - 3 times a day and log it.

He diagnosed me as having Metabolic Syndrome.

He also has me on an 1800 calorie a day diet that needs to be low fat, low sodium, low carbohydrate, and low sodium. I do get one "FREE" meal a week in which I can allow myself some latitude.

I also needed a regular exercise routine.

I also track the food I eat and log it daily.

It was quite a shock, let me tell you.

But...

I was 247.5 pounds. I am supposed to set an initial goal of 200 pounds. I am halfway there. Since I started the diet on 11/29, I have lost 25 pounds.

On Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, I always walk/jog for 2.5 miles (I am up to 1.5 miles a day jogging). Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I walk/jog for 1.5 miles and do some strength training. Sundays are "FREE" exercise days.

It has been a challenge. People I don't see all of the time, are telling me how much different I appear. I am pleased with the progress so far.

Now if only I could eat something fun... (I actually had years of doing that, though and it got me on this diet)

[TwistedCU]

25 lbs in less than a month, and during the holidays!?!?!?

Wow... good work man, keep it up!

[LadyJeepFreak]

that is def alot of weight to lose at once. Cheers to doing it! Now, keep it off! lol There is the challenge! Good Luck!

[Sparky-Watts]

Hey, keep up the good work, we want you around here a long time!! I know it's not easy, my mom has battled with her weight all her life. She's on a diet she likes now, has lowered her BP and cholesterol for the last 5 years, and feels better than she ever has. She just turned 65 on Monday, and looks great. It's hard work, but it's worth it to have her healthy again....same goes for you.

[judge09]

Food is just too damn tasty to diet.

[OutOfStep]

Keep up the good work! I fell off the wagon a couple weeks ago, but hope to climb back on next Tuesday

[Joopin]

If you don't mind me asking... how old are you? The reason I ask is I recently got my dad to join my gym and I have been wondering how to get him started. He is in his 50s, and he could loose maybe 50+ lbs... and it looks like your regimine would work for him too!

Joop

[redlightstalker]

GOOD 4 U. stay healthy. i am just the other way around.i have tried everything in the world to gain weight.i'm 6'1'' and have finally got myself up to 185.im trying for 200-210.im not trying to be a muscal head i just want to have mass.ive been at 150 evr sence the 10th grade.strength is not an issue.i just want some size to.

[antsinmypants]

Now if only I could eat something fun

i know of somthing fun... or were you talking more on the lines of somting to eat when your hungry??

[redlightstalker]

ooohhhh thats wrong.now MY mouths watering.

[Joopin]

i know of somthing fun... or were you talking more on the lines of somting to eat when your hungry??

Did I read that correctly

[mingez]

i know of somthing fun... or were you talking more on the lines of somting to eat when your hungry??

Uhhh... marry me?


Okay, enough of that. Cewtwo, good job on the dieting and exercising. I've lost 12 lbs, and I thought that was a feat. I couldn't imagine 25! I was 185 and my target is 167. I'm 173ish.. now. I did the GI diet/exercise thing. Up to 2.5 miles jogging too! Lifting etc.

Abs baby... I want ABS!

[cewtwo]

53 years old.

Now all those years of fun have caught up to me.

Of course, there are other things to eat...

Now see? A thing like that can be contagious (and fun)...

Today I jogged 1.75 miles... Beat my previous time for 2 1/2 miles by two minutes.

Oh well...

[Special_K]

Uhhh... marry me?

Back off buddy, she's mine!!



...Oh, and congrats cewtwo. Keep it up.
.

[Sparky-Watts]

You know, perhaps the most important thing you said in your original post is this:

I changed Doctors recently. Just felt the need to.

I'm a firm believer that if you visit your doctor frequently, you should change every 3-5 years. Doctors have a tendency to get lax in treatment, from my experience. After a while, they get tunnel vision on your most common ailment or complaint, and don't see the big picture. They continue to prescribe the same meds that have always worked in the past, even though there may be newer meds that do a much better job with fewer side effects. Prime example was my neighbor a few years back. He was diabetic, so whenever his wife brought him in when he wasn't acting right, the doc would slam an amp of dextrose into him to perk him up. Last time he went, the first amp didn't work, so he hit him with another. He went into cardiac arrest and died. Autopsy showed a stroke. Sugar (dextrose) is very necrotic, meaning it kills tissue very rapidly. He was bleeding in the brain, and the doc kept shooting more dextrose into his blood, which in turn ate more of his brain tissue. Had the doc not been so used to seeing him in diabetic shock, he'd have done more tests (like a blood glucose level to begin with) to see what the real problem was. I simple BGL test would have saved his life that day.

[judge09]

Ok now I am interested in what diets you guys are on. Let us know which ones have worked for you.

I tried the atkins thing ...it worked great but I couldnt live like that.

[joedirt]

Lots of beer and Taco Bell works for me.

[judge09]

Lots of beer and Taco Bell works for me.

that and a job in which I am in the office 10 hours a day got me into trouble in the first place.

[Sparky-Watts]

Two Big Macs, large fries, and coke every day at work (or sometimes I go for the Double Bypass with Cheese). That combined with a wife that hasn't worked since September has led to me gaining 25lbs in the past few months.

[Special_K]

Ok now I am interested in what diets you guys are on. Let us know which ones have worked for you.

I tried the atkins thing ...it worked great but I couldnt live like that.

I don't believe diets are a good approach. They are typically temporary by design. Atkins was completely ridiculous IMHO. Who can survive without french fries, pizza, etc.?

My two cents worth:

Water. Start with only drinking water vs. other beverages. Try to drink too much water (you can't). Virtually drown yourself in water for a few weeks. Thirsty? Drink water. Hungry? Drink more water. I have read, heard (and experienced) many times that most Americans mistake their thirst signal for a hunger signal. Like an indicator light on your Jeep, when you're hungry first try filling up with water and see if the light goes off and stays off. If you're really hungry, the light will come back on after about 30-45 minutes. In which case drink more water. THEN eat something tasty but healthy and down it with plenty of WATER.

Food. No magic pill here so this may sound somewhat clique-ish. The trick is healthy stuff is hard to find whereas very unhealthy stuff is cheap, easy and always at an arms reach. Go the extra mile to make healthy, nutritious food the norm and bad stuff the exception (as an occasional treat). At first go the extra two miles and limit your whole meal "treats" to once a week (at most)...eventually, as your metabolism increases and you get into a groove, you can increase whole meal treats to two or maybe even three times a week. Leave a little room...don't eat until you're stuffed or completely full. Don't supersize...go for smaller portions...they should actually leave you wanting more for a moment, but you'll forget about it eventually.

Of course, this is all helped greatly with instilling a good, regular exercise habit.

I have an opposite problem. I find myself trying to figure out how to add "healthy" weight (muscle instead of fat). Over the past month or so, my overall level of physical exertion has apparently outstripped my intake and I've lost 20 lbs or so. I've even heard the "S" word from a few different people (skinny, that is). I blew off the first comment as a fluke. After the third comment in 2 or 3 days, I found myself in a vitamin store Tuesday asking about weight gain supplements. I even bought a couple of cans (one chocolate...one vanilla). But apparently just buying them isn't enough...I've actually got to drink the stuff too. I haven't gotten the motivation yet so they've been sitting on the counter since Tuesday and we just eye each other in passing.