DASH diet to lose covid weight

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by VTsnowbird

It's a good way to eat. Don't think of it as a diet but as a way to live. Going on "a diet" to lose weight, then going back to your regular eating, is a recipe for failure. You need to change the way you think about food.

This. My euphemism after weight loss surgery for the above is "Upend the belief system." Not diets, rethinking the paradigm. In my view that involves being in close consultation with a nutritional doctor too. Not a PCP or surgeon, an ND who understands weight loss challenges.

[Ghaati]

Not something I'd ever try. 6-8 servings of grains every day? Blech. I mean, I love bread. I love oatmeal, with raisins and brown sugar. I love rice, especially basmati rice with tumeric and saffron. I'm not a big fruit eater. I mean, I like fruit, but it's not a daily interest at all and I absolutely loathe blueberries. But I wouldn't be able to sustain that kind of "diet" for more than a couple weeks before I'd switch things around entirely.

It also sounds like WAY too much food. I'd walk around feeling bloated all day if I had to eat that much grain. Also, if I'm going to eat dairy, it will be full fat dairy. I don't even like low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese. The only low fat for me is the 1% in my morning cup of coffee. And the only reason it's 1% is because the frother won't froth full-fat milk.

Check this out:

Eggs, oats, whole-wheat toast, and yogurt with fruits or veggies make up a DASH-approved breakfast.

That is WAY too much food for me. I can have one egg with a little cheese and some sauteed mushrooms in it, one piece of toast with butter, and maybe 2 strawberries and I'd be more full than I need to be. Just the egg with the cheese and mushrooms is enough to fill me up til lunch time.

[Countrysue]

My doctor set the amounts I was to eat each day. Some of the books I read set a certain number of veggies, meats, breads, etc. He worked with me to set the quantities and amounts. My main meal is supper. I can relax and eat slowly. I eat 4 ounces of protein, but it is with 2 carbs and 2 veggies. Breakfast is 4 ounces of protein, 1 carb and fruit. Lunch is usually a salad or sandwich. I do not eat a whole cup of some veggies, it is simply too much; I eat 1/2 cup. Carbs are 1/2 cup except for oatmeal. Snacks are fruit, or soybeans.

I exercise at the Y three times a week.

I try to eat something I have never eaten whenever I can. I also cook at least one new recipe each week. For the record, can't handle raw oysters or octopus. Fried oysters are okay. Octopus - no matter how it is cooked, I don't like it. I liked calamari a lot more before I found out what it was.

I am a firm believer in losing weight under the supervision of a doctor. In my case, when I am finished, I will have gone from 250+ to 140. I will then need surgery to remove the belly flap I have developed. After that, I should be at my goal weight of 130-135.

I am a stress eater so I am also working on letting God run things. Worrying about things out of my control is foolish. Hoarding anger and resentment is equally foolish. I am working at taking life one day at a time and keeping my side of the street clean.

[lubby]

Is the meal plan free? I just did the dash quiz.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

I think DASH is a smart way of eating. Not only for weight control but for heart and blood pressure health, too.

It's not a diet for us, it's a way of eating that is delicious, filling, and not too pricey at the grocery store.

We have a 2004 edition of a Reader's Digest published book: Eat to Beat High Blood Pressure.

The book is filled with terrific DASH recipes. They are not over-complicated with many pricey ingredients. More simple--and yummy.

I like that recipes not only give calorie count but also Blood Pressure nutrients. This helps me get enough magnesium and potassium and calcium--all of which help lower blood pressure. Heart healthy, too!

There's another cookbook that falls in line with this diet that I also recommend.

It's called Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner.

It highlights 100 recipes from the longest lived cultures around the world.

They are also pretty simple and not expensive or overly complicated recipes.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Blondebaerde

This. My euphemism after weight loss surgery for the above is "Upend the belief system." Not diets, rethinking the paradigm. In my view that involves being in close consultation with a nutritional doctor too. Not a PCP or surgeon, an ND who understands weight loss challenges.

Agreed.

Part of that is to understand we all have a diet. Most of us are on diets of heavily processed foods with too much salt, sugar, saturated fat, and little nutritional value.

I had a friend who kept nagging me to stop going to McDonald's in my 30s. He said "that stuff's not even food!". He was right.

Part of upending the paradigm is to realize that much of what we put in our mouths isn't actually food.

The obvious non foods are stuff from fast food places and junk food.

But the less obvious stuff is often things like bread and meat. Most bread in the U.S. isn't whole grain (even if it says it is). Most meat in the U.S. is factory farmed, pumped full of antibiotics and fed a diet of corn. Grass fed beef is much healthier, but much more expensive.

We can either choose to eat real food that sometimes, but not always, costs more; or we can pay with exorbitant health care costs, shorter life spans, and more disability & poor health.

But part of my paradigm shift was not calling fast food and junk food "food"--because they're not.