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My doctor put me on the DASH diet since I put on 35 lbs during quarantine. Turned out that this diet was not what I expected. It is actually easy to follow. I am allowed one day a week to eat out. I do miss the sweets I was consuming. Exercising was difficult when I first started. I lost a lot of muscle doing nothing at home. I lose, on average, one pound a week. I would like to lose faster, but doc said that is a good way to set myself up to gain it all back.
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.
I haven't done it strictly, but have learned to eat more healthy, plant based meals as a result of Covid. I had nothing better to do other than impove my cooking skills. I figured I would learn to cook healthy, plant based, Mediterranean style meals. It turned out I actually LIKED eating this way.
I still have issues with soda and junk food. But I definitely eat healthier than before and eat less soda/junk food than I did before.
The only thing I'd add is I also try to do a fast once a week. I never do it that often. But I try doing a 24 hour fast once a week from late afternoon/early evenin Saturdy into Sunday...then something comes up. But I find if I try to do it once a week, I'll actually end up fasing once a month.
More and more evidence shows fasting is good for your health as well as weight loss. I find it also motivates me to eat healthy before and after I fast. Eating healthy before helps me keep the fast for the whole time. You want to eat healthy and moderately after the fast as well.
For the above recipe, I cut the couscous in half, add an extra bell pepper, as well as some feta cheese, kalamata olives, and cashews. Sometimes I add all of those, sometimes not, depending on what I have on hand. But cutting back on the couscous and adding the other ingredients makes it taste even better and it's arguably healthier as well.
Not the healthiest of the bunch, but you can substitute brown rice, and add some chopped celery or carrots if you want.
I also add turmeric and black pepper to most of my soups and salad dressings as turmeric blends well in mos soup & salad dressing recipes. Turmeric is a very healthy spice (good for preventing heart disease, cancer, alzheimers/dementia) and black pepper helps increase its absorption.
Thanks for the recipes. This eating plan is really easy to follow. I find that on my 'day off' I don't go crazy, I just treat myself to something not on the plan.
It's nice that I can still have Kentucky Fried Chicken. I just need to plan for it in my meals.
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!
My doctor put me on the DASH diet since I put on 35 lbs during quarantine. Turned out that this diet was not what I expected. It is actually easy to follow. I am allowed one day a week to eat out. I do miss the sweets I was consuming. Exercising was difficult when I first started. I lost a lot of muscle doing nothing at home. I lose, on average, one pound a week. I would like to lose faster, but doc said that is a good way to set myself up to gain it all back.
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. The idea is to permanently change the way you eat and think of food to become healthier. You're there when you are no longer eagerly anticipating "days off" --- it has become your lifestyle, like second nature.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger
I haven't done it strictly, but have learned to eat more healthy, plant based meals as a result of Covid. I had nothing better to do other than impove my cooking skills. I figured I would learn to cook healthy, plant based, Mediterranean style meals. It turned out I actually LIKED eating this way.
Yes! If you eat whole foods you like, prepared in healthy ways you enjoy, it's an easier transition away from the overly processed American diet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Returning2USA
Was this an MD?
DASH is for hypertension. An MD could have prescribed it for that or to prevent it. Weight loss (if one is overweight) is a side-effect of a whole foods, plant-based eating pattern like DASH.
Some people with hypertension are not overweight but need to change their dietary habits to control it. They should give DASH a try also.
I developed high blood pressure when I put on the weight. During the holidays, I added more weight. I am hoping that the high blood pressure will go away when I lose the weight. I am losing 1/2 to 1 pound a week. I am not hungry although I still want things I shouldn't have. Some foods I don't eat even tho I can because I have a weakness for them (ice cream, potato chips!).
I am doing this under a doctor's care. I check my blood sugar, and my blood pressure three times a week. When I see the doctor, I bring the record with me and he scans it into my records. I have my blood pressure machine checked at the doctor's office periodically to make sure it is still accurate.
So far, my sugar is fine (A1C 5.0). Blood pressure is starting to come down.
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