Diet Support Thread (Low Carb and others) (vegetables, overweight, system)
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I am wondering if anyone who is or has been on a diet is interested in contributing to this thread regarding tips, experiences and maybe some recipes. I started a modified Paleo diet because after years of reducing overall calories when I needed to lose weight (ten years ago, I lost 47 pounds in nine months by doing this), just reducing my calorie intake no longer worked for me.
My diet consists of vegetables, eggs, meats (including poultry and seafood), coffee or tea, almonds, half and half, hard cheese, cottage cheese, strawberries, Lindt 90 VERY dark chocolate (which we melt and dip strawberries in), and biscuits made with either Almond or Paleo flour, and I use either olive oil or butter for cooking. NO refined sugar, grains or ready-made foods. The only real downside to this diet for me is that I am preparing and cooking everything "from scratch", which is time-consuming, and there are a lot more dirty dishes to contend with. However, I am actually enjoying the diet except for missing bread and pastries and my weekly Sonic "binge" (lol) -- but the weird thing is that although I have always had a sweet tooth, I truly don't miss sugar that much.
Anyway, the challenge for me right now is that I have been on this diet for exactly three weeks, and after a first-week loss of about seven pounds and losing two MORE pounds the second week, according to my bathroom scale, I gained back three pounds this past week. (Btw, my husband is on it with me, and he had the exact same gain and loss experience; we both want to lose 25 more pounds.)
Yes, I do realize the first week's weight loss was mostly water weight, but I just would like an ongoing forum that gives advice and encouragement to all of us struggling to lose weight and/or to stay on a diet. (I realize that some people are on special diets for reasons other than weight loss.)
P.S. My blood pressure has also dropped from 135/79 to 120/73 in just three weeks, so I am definitely going to continue this diet! Also, btw, my current average calorie intake is about 1250 per day compared to my pre-diet of about 2,000 calories per day.
Last edited by katharsis; 10-01-2018 at 07:57 AM..
Look into Intermittent fasting. It perfectly compliments the diet you are on. Basically, it is time restricted eating. There is tons of information on the internet and right here on C-D. I would also recommend Reddit as a resource for related topics.
Intermittent fasting has worked great for me as well. I didn't need to lose a lot of weight, but did need to eat healthier and IF has been perfect for me.
I also support IF. Better blood markers and less sugar cravings. Plus you can like me indulge in stuff like dark chocolate, nachos w/cheese, and steak without gaining an ounce.
Your experience shows me that as we age we may need to modify our approaches to dieting. Age is not our friend when it comes to keeping weight off or losing.
I lost 70 lbs through caloric restriction and exercise, but I admit that I was 40 when I did that. The results may be different for someone 60+ because naturally the body scales back caloric needs (so you'll need to reduce even more to achieve that deficit needed to lose weight) and your body can betray you when it comes to physical activity.
I guess that's why I'm glad that I came to my senses at an age when I was able to do something about it. This isn't to say that losing weight in middle age is easy, because it's not. Losing and maintaining my weight is a constant battle. But as we get older it gets even tougher. Tougher to lose and especially tougher to maintain. I guess every year that goes by that I didn't put the 70 lbs back on is a victory for me. Right now I'm at year 2. we'll see, though I will say that my mindset has changed from my overweight days. That in itself is another victory, regardless of scale weight.
When I was dieting, what helped me was taking each day at a time and not glossing over the small victories. (i.e. increasing gym days from one, to two, from two to three and so on, or making a healthy choice v. an unhealthy one) a lot of time we get caught up on scale weight and forget that our goal isn't just getting the weight off, it's to change our lifestyle/way of thinking. I may never truly think like a thin person - hell, when I was thin I didn't think like one - but I am more in tune with my body than ever before. Because I've made healthier food choices, I can't stomach garbage anymore. I get physically ill if I eat more than a week of garbage. Basically eating the way I used to will make me feel bad, decreasing my energy and performance. this reconditioning took time, btw.
The only thing I restricted when I dieted was calories. Other than that, I ate as I desired (within reason of course). For me, it all came down to having a caloric budget and working my day around that. Obviously an 800 calorie cinnamon bun would be a bad idea if my total calories for the day was 1600. This helped me learn to make better choices so that I would get better bang for my buck food wise. Unfortunately restrictive dieting (for example, cutting out sugars) would trigger undesirable behaviors such as binge-eating. Bingeing is like this little gremlin that rears its ugly head for me. When I restrict, it only encourages food obsession. And when that obsession grows the end result is always a binge that leaves me feeling guilty and miserable. To fight this, I don't remove things - I eat *less* of things. It was hard getting used to moderation (i.e. eating a half of a cookie instead of a big one, taking a sliver of cake, etc.) but ultimately it kept me sane and no binges. Another thing that has kept me on track is having a once weekly cheat day where I eat anything I want basically for a day. I used to have two when I was heavier but once I lost 40 lbs I had to scale the cheat days from two to one. The premise is you eat sparingly other days of the week to compensate for indulgences. I disclaim that I did (and still do) work out, which definitely helps. This has helped because I was able to go out with friends and family and eat high calories meals to my heart's content without any diet penalty.
Also being more attuned to my body means that I am at ease eating under a variety of situations. The worst thing for me is to go through life chained to "my diet", because there's gonna be situations where you're going to have to break "your diet". For example, this week is my birthday. On Saturday there will be friends over and it's a potluck. On Sunday, is a friend's birthday at a family style Italian restaurant. I'll try but I don't think there will be a lot of sensible eating. I'll just eat sparingly throughout the week and maybe work out a little more. I'll probably still gain a few but it's not a permanent issue. I've learned to accept that it's what you do over time, not a few days.
^^ Good for you! I think the above is a very sensible approach once I lose the excess weight. Also, about "cheat days" -- yes, that is what I did during my nine-month weight loss program ten years ago -- and, btw, it did take me nine years to gain the weight back -- five pounds a year. I had told myself that as long as I wasn't "fat" and unhealthy, it would be okay for me to gain some weight in my older years, that eating what I wanted (within reason) was better than always sacrificing and always monitoring -- but I just found that NO, it wasn't worth it when I did not like how I looked, even if I am an old lady.
The weird thing is, though, is that I didn't find myself feeling any worse, physically.
P.S. Thanks for chiming in -- and, btw, regarding fasting -=- yeah, I tried that in the past, but it wasn't right for ME. Again, I realize that people respond to diets differently and what works for one person won't necessarily work for someone else.
P.S. Thanks for chiming in -- and, btw, regarding fasting -=- yeah, I tried that in the past, but it wasn't right for ME. Again, I realize that people respond to diets differently and what works for one person won't necessarily work for someone else.
I only mentioned it because it will help you out of a stall. Also, when I say intermittent fasting it's not going whole days without eating but certain hours. The 16/8 plan is very doable as an example you eat only from 10am to 6pm. Even 12/12 is considered intermittent fasting, how easy could that be? Eating from 8am to 8pm, that pretty much covers the whole day. You said you were doing a carb restricted diet? Maybe it's certain foods that are slowing your weight loss down?
I only mentioned it because it will help you out of a stall. Also, when I say intermittent fasting it's not going whole days without eating but certain hours. The 16/8 plan is very doable as an example you eat only from 10am to 6pm. Even 12/12 is considered intermittent fasting, how easy could that be? Eating from 8am to 8pm, that pretty much covers the whole day. You said you were doing a carb restricted diet? Maybe it's certain foods that are slowing your weight loss down?
Thanks, and maybe this MIGHT be the problem I have had with IF, but for the past ten years (since I have been mostly retired), I almost never eat between about 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., anyway, except on Saturdays and Sundays.* This is because I don't require as many calories as my husband, so eliminating lunch for me solves that "problem". He eats a moderate breakfast before he leaves for work at 6:00, and then I eat mine about 9:00, and then nothing until we eat dinner together about 6:30 or 7:00. Honestly, I have been on that system for so long, I don't even think about it!
* In the past, on Saturdays, we have had a light breakfast (just cereal), a light lunch (soup or salad or a sandwich, except when we have splurged on fast food), and a normal but high-calorie dinner. On Sundays, we have a hearty brunch instead of breakfast and lunch.
So far I’ve lost 25lbs on the paleo diet however my doctor was astonished I hadn’t lost twice the amount given how much I exercise and diet but I have the slowest system ever. So he suggested a quit breakfast for a few weeks and a little less fruit. I can report it hasn’t made a heap of difference. My bod resents giving up anything and I continue to sluggishly lose on average a half to one pound every other week.
Since I’m on the paleo as a lifestyle change there is no going back and I’m as stubborn as my bod is, so I’m hanging in there.
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