I "can't" exist on ALL healthy foods and I hate going to the gym

[katharsis]

Thanks for all the recent replies! I am going to start a modified Paleo diet next week unless my doctor tells me otherwise -- I'm seeing her this morning for my Medicare Wellness exam. Btw, I walked five miles yesterday, two one-mile walks and one three-mile walk, mostly slightly uphill, with no bad effects (meaning I wasn't out of breath or had to take frequent stops), so I feel good about that.

Btw, do any of you know of any low sugar breakfast breads recipes that use only almond flour and uses mainly fruit for sweetening (but does use maple syrup, which I gather is a common substitute.). I saw a blueberry banana bread recipe on line, but that was about it. (I posted this yesterday in the Recipes forum, but no responses yet.)

Thanks again!

[Oramasfella]

Originally Posted by katharsis

I hate going to the gym or any kind of exercise besides walking or hiking or leisurely riding my bike when the weather is cool. As I indicated, I do like vegies and salad and limited fruit, but a diet without dairy, meat, bread or "sweets" is simply not do-able for me!

So without having you super-healthy people lecture me (and I do admire you, btw!) and going by the above, do any of you have any suggestions that I might be willing to actually follow, lol?

Thing is, in life in general (not just when it comes to losing weight), you HAVE TO push through things that you don't necessarily love simply because they are good for you.
Not going to sugarcoat it: exercise is not the most pleasant of things to do. It makes one sweaty, it is exhausting, and it makes one's clothes a messy mess. It is not comfortable to wake up at the break of dawn and getting into sweats to run and then come back home a sweaty mess to then get ready to work for eight hours. Of course it is easier to spend that running hour just sleeping.
But... (sorry!) we HAVE TO EXERCISE.
No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I think this is the key factor when it comes to most people not being able to lose weight: their comfort level. They hate going to the gym/exercising/getting tired/moving at a pace that is too hectic, but whether or not you want to admit it, it is necessary for losing weight.
I always keep my eyes on the prize.
I may not LOVE running, walking, exercising, but I have made it a critical part of my life, and I push through it, I push through the discomfort and the sweaty, messy feeling, and the not-pretty-feeling.

And no matter what, I am always grateful for having the will to push through that, because at the end of the day, I would rather be slim and healthy, than dealing with all of the health issues that generally come with being overweight.

[katharsis]

Originally Posted by barb712

I'd like to recommend two books and a website/blog:

Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, 2002 edition. Listen to what the good doctor himself says and not all the erroneous nonsense you find online.

The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. He also has a website/blog, marksdailyapple.com. You can find him on YouTube as well in lots of conferences and interviews. I've extracted a lot of wisdom and inspiration from his info.

Good luck to you!

Well, I wasn't going to write again for a while, but I just wanted to share with you that I did start the Blueprint diet six days ago, and according to my scale, I lost exactly seven pounds in just those six days!!! Although my scale might be off, I am THRILLED -- and thank you so much! (And I have not gone to the gym or increased my exercising!)

Btw, I did go for my wellness checkup 11 days ago, and I was shocked that I had gained about eight pounds in the past year because my clothes fit the same now as they did then, but she said that because of my job, I had probably gained muscle, although not actual size. I was also shocked that my blood pressure had risen from my normal average of about 115/70 to 135/79! (And, btw, it has now, after being on the diet, gone down to 128/77.)

So, although just one week on the diet is too soon to be OVERLY optimistic, I am encouraged to say the least, and thank you again so much, Barb, for recommending that diet to me. I haven't been hungry and I feel great! And I have found that I can eliminate breads and sweets and not miss them nearly as much as I thought I would!


P.S. For those who just want a "quick" guide to the Blueprint diet, it is a low carb diet that eliminates all grains and processed sugars, and basically all processed foods. (However, I do "cheat" in that I just use my normal store-bought salad dressings.) You can eat eggs, almost all meats, some specific kinds of nuts, high-fat dairy including cream (but no ice cream or milk), and vegetables -- but fruit is very limited because most of it is high in natural sugar. (Basically the only approved fruit that I like are strawberries, watermelon and cantaloupe. I also like blueberries, but in the quantities I would eat, those would be a no-no.) Coffee and tea are also permitted, and also wine in limited quantities; I usually have one glass of wine with dinner.

I just ate whatever is on the diet that was already part of my normal eating (so, in other words, I have eliminated a lot from my normal diet, but I haven't added anything). The only concession I made was buying some almond flour. I haven't tried it yet, but I am making biscuits this morning; and the only thing I miss are potatoes, but I substitute cooked carrots for a starchy side like potatoes or rice. (I do have one other "cheat", though, besides the store-bought salad dressings, and that is in my coq au vin recipe in which I use one yam and one potato, but that makes four servings.)

The only real downside for me is that there is a LOT more cooking and prep work (and dirty dishes) involved, which might be a problem for many people. However, I don't mind that, as I normally would cook dinner every night anyway, but having to get up a half-hour early to make breakfast is a bit of a pain for me. (I don't like smoothies, and of course, cereal is also a no-no.) Also, btw, the diet is very "health-nut"-ish, but I just stored my cannister of white sugar along with all the cookies, crackers, etc., and I froze all the leftover bread -- I will be making my usual bread stuffing and enjoying the Thanksgiving turkey, as usual.

[katharsis]

Well, although I apparently lost another pound since posting, evidently it was mostly water weight. (I knew it was too good to be true, but I'm still sticking with the diet, nevertheless, lol).

https://www.thoughtco.com/science-ex...weight-4102879

[Luckyd609]

Originally Posted by katharsis

Well, although I apparently lost another pound since posting, evidently it was mostly water weight. (I knew it was too good to be true, but I'm still sticking with the diet, nevertheless, lol).

https://www.thoughtco.com/science-ex...weight-4102879

Your weight loss was predominantly water. A pound equals 3500 calories so in a weeks time I would say actual fat was more like 1 - 3 pounds. Which is the amount you WANT to lose per week.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Luckyd609

Your weight loss was predominantly water. A pound equals 3500 calories so in a weeks time I would say actual fat was more like 1 - 3 pounds. Which is the amount you WANT to lose per week.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Agreed. Most low-carb diets produce an awesome amount of weight loss at first because eating carbs stores glycogen and water within the tissues. Getting rid of carbs, make that sort of just flush out. But that's okay, keep at it. It's very motivational.