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Five years ago I lost 20 lbs over a few months (~1/2 lb loss per week). I was SO proud of myself, and yet since then I gained all of the weight back and then some.
I'm 54 years old, 5'0" tall, and weigh 140 lbs. I'm here because my A1C level came back at 6.2, and 6.5 is diabetic.
Fortunately, I have a friend who is all about fitness and health (she is a licensed dietician), and she's going to help me figure this out. There is so much conflicting advice out there; I couldn't make any sense of it! She also got me onto MyFitnessPal, and I'm tracking everything I eat.
I'm depressed that my usual go-to foods are so bad for me - like canned soup. The calories are bad enough, but then the sodium!!! It's also amazing how much sugar is in everything. Cottage cheese has 4 grams of sugar. Why?
I'd like to weigh 115 again and fit into my skinnier jeans, but this time it's more about being healthy and "I really don't want diabetes!" than anything else.
Changing my diet is only part of the equation. I've started walking regularly again, too, which should help.
The struggle is real... I have such a sweet tooth!
I have the same issues as you. I have lost 12 lbs two times now. Age 54 (but I am 5'7"). I am kind of hungry all the time when eating as I should, but it gets better with time. Over the holidays, I gained back everything and now I'm just trying to mentally get myself off the "binge" cycle I have been on.
First off, though, the sugar in cottage cheese is not "added." A lot of foods have natural sugar in them and milk products are one of them. I don't think that is an amount or food item you should worry about.
As for canned soup, I do stay away from it most of the time because soup just doesn't really fill me up. But occasionally I will have a lower calorie Progresso soup. I don't have issues with sodium (no high blood pressure and my regular foods don't have much) so I'm okay with the sodium every now and then.
Make your own soup. You can get low sodium chicken broth, veggie broth or no salt tomatoes to use as a base.
At home minestrone: can of no salt beans (or cook your own), tomatoes, veggie or chicken broth, frozen veggies and pasta. Simmer with some Italian seasoning and chopped onion and garlic. Add your own salt and it won’t be as high in sodium as the processed version.
I'm in the same boat. Done the diet thing before and just hungry all the time, even working with a dietician. Even though I was down to around my "ideal" weight, I just felt sick and miserable all the time. Basically the weight loss was unsustainable. And to really add insult to injury, my FIL has been a healthy eater all his life, total bean pole of a body. His doctor told him he needs to gain and eat more red meat. He wants a salad and has to order the double cheeseburger.
Thing is I love soup and the canned soups are so convenient when I need a quick meal. I love to cook my own soup and make a nice stew when I can, but work just consumes so much of my time that I don't have time for extensive meal prep.
The sugar in cottage cheese is from the lactose in the milk. Just FYI....
"Sugar" isn't bad if it's natural... eating an orange is Never frowned upon and those are loaded with sugar. Added sugar is bad, as are things that become sugar rich through processing, like orange juice.
Anyway, my wife and I noticed we desperately needed to lose weight about 12 years back. We did the 'diet' thing, lost our weight, went off the 'diet' and the weight started to come back. Ah'ha moment at hand, weight loss is one thing, weight maintenance is another. We found a suitable weight maintenance diet that could be our normal, every day, for the rest of our lives diet and settle into that. The weight Loss was slower, but it's stayed off for a decade and I doubt it'll come back.
The bottom line is calories in vs calories out. But it's easy to feel hungry all the time if you choose foods poorly. Fats and proteins take the longest to burn so keep you feeling full longer. Building muscle mass helps with the calories out portion, it'll also help with bone density and osteoporosis.
Pre-prepared foods (things that are heat and eat) do tend to be less than the best in regards to a healthy diet, but there are some options that can be better than others. I opt to cook for myself, usually in bulk so I can freeze extras for later. As a fan of soups, I rarely have fewer than 5 options in my freezer.
Listen to your friend, she'll help you. Good luck!
Make your own soup. You can get low sodium chicken broth, veggie broth or no salt tomatoes to use as a base.
At home minestrone: can of no salt beans (or cook your own), tomatoes, veggie or chicken broth, frozen veggies and pasta. Simmer with some Italian seasoning and chopped onion and garlic. Add your own salt and it won’t be as high in sodium as the processed version.
Sometimes making a soup is too time consuming. Yes it is easy to make, but opening up a can of soup in a pinch is not the worst thing in the world. People with sodium issues need to be careful, but again, every now and then a can of soup is no big deal.
Sometimes making a soup is too time consuming. Yes it is easy to make, but opening up a can of soup in a pinch is not the worst thing in the world. People with sodium issues need to be careful, but again, every now and then a can of soup is no big deal.
I personally do not have sodium issues and once in a while get prepared soup. The tend to have fewer additives than most processed foods. But I also have some friends and family that really have to hardcore watch their sodium. Since my mom has had high blood oressure since she was in her late 20s, I worry about it. But to date I have normal blood pressure. I try to keep the sodium intake a little lower when possible.
I find combining ingredients into a tasty soup - if it is veggies, quick cooking meat (or rotisserie chicken), pre-cooked beans or quick cook grains isn’t too intensive. It tastes better the next day, but you can have a pretty serviceable soup pretty fast. Trader Joes has pre-chopped mirepoixe too. I have totally picked up pre-chopped carrots, celery, onion, low sodium broth, pre-shredded chicken and some noodles to make a really fast soup. I might grab a chili, ginger, garlic too. Quickly sautee the veggies, add the broth, soy sauce and chicken. Simmer for a few minutes, add some noodles. Salt and pepper and made a tasty soup in about 25 minutes from prepared stuff - in a lower sodium way.
It also seems like the boxed and refridgerated soups have less sodium.
My fast food is usually something like Progresso Lite soup. Very few calories, but still lots of salt. I'm not keen on removing everything bad, so the salt stays.
My first go-to is always to make something homemade, but I realize that is not feasible for a lot of people, for a variety of reasons.
I'm pre-diabetic, not over weight, work out 5 days a week. It's just what it is.
For watching my weight and off setting cravings, always have something healthy that will satisfy your craving. Something like sugar free pudding mixed with fat free greek yogurt with lemon (and zest) and vanilla. Tastes like cheese cake. Or protein balls made with protein powder, very cookie like.
I just made a grain free "granola" that I would eat just because it tastes good.
I try to make my meals very high in spice and herbs to off set being low fat and still being satisfying.
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These are all great suggestions! Thank you so much for them, and the encouragement!
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