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Cabin Fever said:
Veganism is a philosophy, almost a religion. WFPB is like a healthy version of vegan. A vegan that eats potato chips and beer all day is compliant. The attached PDF explains a whole-food, plant-based diet (it's not a weight-loss diet, it's a lifestyle) better than I can.
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Thanks for the info . I don't want to eat that way LOL. We have a sheep and goat farm....we eat what we grow
I was a vegetarian for a few years but got anemic and didn't feel well Definitely will not ever cut out dairy .
I think if you (general not you personally) eat less chips, candy, junk and less calories overall you will lose weight. To me, I want to eat all different types of food, meat, veggies, fruit, dairy , grains, chocolate, I do not want to cut out any whole group of food
 
So today didn't go exactly to plan. I had no time to make soup. So we had grits and eggs with a few slices of bacon around 10, and just had dinner, Thai red curry with chicken , peppers, bamboo and pineapple with rice. 2 small pieces of chocolate for dessert. That's it for today.
 
havasu said:
Ok,

a quick sidetrack on scales to measure your weight. My other half will weigh herself just once a month, and will go by how her clothing fits. Me, I am a fanatic on weighing myself daily. She said I will get discouraged when it jumps a pound, or happy when it drops a pound. My biggest issue is I have an old spring loaded scale, so depending on how I stand on it, I can manually adjust 5 pounds in both directions. This is not good. I went out and purchased a glass plate electronic digital scale, that lights up in big, bright numbers, and should be pretty spot on. It gets delivered on Saturday, so I will let you all know how bad my old scale was with my true weight.

Carry on, this was just a side topic but really enjoy how it seems many are jumping on this thread and I love all the input.
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I tend to weigh myself every morning as part of my shave & shower routine. I also record it in my little black book.
Every morning I record everything on one line:
....... Date: Weight: BP xxx/xxx - pulse: Blood sugar#
Then in the evening before dinner on the next line I record just the BP : Sugar #s

Sometimes I jump on the scales fully clothed (shoes and all) just to compare with what I see at the doctor's office.
 
sonya123 said:
Day 2 went well, I didn't eat anything after that substantial lunch. The lamb ribs turned out really good.

Day 3: today will be tough, we have to go shopping ( plus I want to go swimming but not sure we have time)
So I will make grits and eggs early before we go and then cook later when we get back. It needs to be something fast.
I think if I put my mind to it, I can resist eating at night. I did feel a little actually hungry around 9 pm last night but just had some water
I am not going to weight myself until a week is up.
Click to expand...
Good job! Keep it up.
For evenings - I think you like teas, don't you?
Sometimes tea can be that something with flavor in the evenings.
 
Back in July my blood pressure and diabetic numbers were just off the charts bad (A1C 13). I started taking my readings 4 times a day and recording what I was eating... I was shocked at what I learned. I had to cut back on my starches and carbs.. Little things like chips were put on the naughty list after I saw how they pushed up my sugar #, but the salt pushed up my water weight gain ta boot. I had gotten in the habit of eating prepared foods that came out of the frozen food isle (I liked sweet and sour, fried rice, and fish sticks) and I think that they were a big source of both sugars and starch, which really didn't help

Breads can also sneak in problems for me.. We went to having lettuce wraps instead of actual sandwiches.. The results were amazing, for the first three weeks as I was dropping pounds every week (I dropped 15 pounds in 3 weeks). But after that progress has been painfully slow, and I have been guilty of relapses.

By September I had got my A1C down to 8 and weight down by 19 pounds, but the Doc added cholesterol to the list of problems on my table, so that was added to my list of issues to address. My blood pressure was just slightly into the hyper tension range, which was a big improvement as in July I was just below the Crisis Hyper Tension Level!

Today, I am holding steady at 25 pounds below my high, but 20 pounds above my goal... I need to add in some exercise. For a while I was doing planks in the morning (only 2 sets of standard, with 2 on each side) and that really helped with the waist line, going from 42+ to 38, but I have slacked off on that need get back on it.

3 years ago I was walking 4 miles a day and that seemed to help lower my blood pressure a bit (kept the high number below 150), but it didn't do a thing for my weight. I would like to get back to walking every day, but that actually takes more time than I have available right now....

I have a follow up visit scheduled for late December, I am hoping to have my numbers for all into a reasonable (normal?) range in my lab work next week.
 
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I was going to meet my wife on way home from work yesterday. We usually have a salad and then go work out. I called her from the pizza place at 5 and said where are you? She said I thought you said 6? I probably did. So I just got salads and came home. When I got home she reminded me she had fallen off the hay the day before and hurt her knee. So she wasn't really looking forward to it anyway. Some days it just isn't meant to be. 🤷
 
Sadly, I am going to have to join you. I deplore even attempting to diet this time of year, but I just had bloodwork done , and my A1C is way to high. Sweets have to be eliminated and carbs reduced. Oh well. Sucks getting old.
 
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Day # 4
It's not as hard as I thought to not eat junk in the evening. The cup of herbal tea seems to be working. This makes me wonder if I will actually lose weight doing just that. We'll see, I will weight myself when the week is up

today : sushi , I put in smoked salmon ( fresh from Aldi lol, I have to still smoke it) , cucumber, avocado and spicy mayo
Will make either miso soup with it or the soup from day 1

Evening will be some sandwich and fruit , got apples , oranges and bananas at the store yesterday. Actually went to Kroger to get the bananas since ALdi was out. What?? How can they be out of bananas?

So sorry so many of you have health problems , yeah getting old sucks. I never had weight issues before menopause. My mother was like that too, she was relatively skinny and then she just ballooned up in a few years . ( then she got sick and ended up at the end like a skeleton, that was very sad to see, the other extreme)
At this time I have no diabetes, and my BP is just on the edge of high. I take a low dose of a pill for that, but think I can probably stop if I lose that weight. My panic attacks are now in control, so there shouldn't be too many spikes of BP

I refuse to count calories, way too tedious and time consuming. Plus the kind of stuff I cook is sometimes hard to find numbers for, plus I don't even know how many calories I burn a day. My life doesn't fit into " average" somehow. I start the day by carrying wood and starting the stove like some third world woman hahahaha! There are no apps for calories used in wood carrying....

Looked up how many calories swimming burns up , did my 22 laps yesterday. It says anywhere from 270 to around 600 calories per hour. So no idea

edit for my own record: I had 1 slice of bread with turkey and swiss around 11 AM and yogurt with granola at 6pm plus apple and orange
 
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I'm with you on counting calories is a waste of time.

So is calories burned during exercise.

People that raise livestock can get this: the human body is designed to be efficient. Humans are remarkably gifted for endurance! It's more effective to concentrate on the human body inefficiency?

The human body is grossly inefficient at building and maintaining muscle mass. This is why evolution has made the mesomorphic body type so rare. They couldn't survive the times of attrition? The endomorphic body type is the vast majority because they are the best suited for survival.

If you train to constantly tear down and rebuild muscle tissue, you will burn more calories in your sleep than that runner out there doing a 10k. Brain power is another inefficient exercise. This is why the ectomorphic body type is so skinny. They burn unreal amounts of energy by learning and thinking all the time.
 
UrbanHunter said:
We went to having lettuce wraps instead of actual sandwiches
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I use low carb tortillas instead of bread.
They have 4 carbs net.
My doctor asked me how I had lost 55 pounds and I told him I don't eat carbs.
He said that would explain it.
My A1C, and BP numbers are way down because of what I don't eat.
Sweets don't have much effect on my blood sugar level but carbs have a huge effect.
I try to keep carbs to less than 15 per day.
I also keep my calorie count under 1500 per day.
I eat 6 times a day.
I log everything I eat. That's the only way I can keep on track.
I eat very few salads.
I eat NO potatoes, rice, bread, fruit, or pasta.
I'm never hungry or have cravings after the 3rd day.
Every one is different so just do what works for you.
 
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Yesterday was an exhausting day for me. Started the day with a 4 mile walk. Came home and trimmed up my pomegranate tree, helped other half wash her car, I washed my truck, cleaned the pool, mowed the front lawn, and took all 4 trash cans out to the curb. I was working from sun up to sundown. I was rewarded with a small bowl of spaghetti and one piece of toasted bread. Man, those carbs are so bad for you but that little piece of bread last night was my reward. I'm still 229 but on a downward trend.
 
FarmOR said:
I'm with you on counting calories is a waste of time.

So is calories burned during exercise.

People that raise livestock can get this: the human body is designed to be efficient. Humans are remarkably gifted for endurance! It's more effective to concentrate on the human body inefficiency?

The human body is grossly inefficient at building and maintaining muscle mass. This is why evolution has made the mesomorphic body type so rare. They couldn't survive the times of attrition? The endomorphic body type is the vast majority because they are the best suited for survival.

If you train to constantly tear down and rebuild muscle tissue, you will burn more calories in your sleep than that runner out there doing a 10k. Brain power is another inefficient exercise. This is why the ectomorphic body type is so skinny. They burn unreal amounts of energy by learning and thinking all the time.
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https://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness/do-you-know-your-body-type/
I had to look that up, never heard of it before. So I am a mesomorph mostly with a few endomorph characteristics.
I do eat a lot of food and I have quite a bit of muscle but also large boned. I didn't get the fat around my midsection until after menopause :(
 
sonya123 said:
I think I would rather be fat than eat that way LOL
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Once you get used to it you would find it's not that difficult.
It's not a life long diet.
I don't think very many people could stick to such a restrictive diet forever.
I usually last around 6 months and if I'm careful I won't put the weight back on and I can start over again in another 6 months.
I was not careful last time and I put about 20 pounds back on.
I used to live to eat and now I try to eat to live.
I won't eat just to eat. My cravings will end in less than a week and from then on it just normal.
I mentioned myfirnesspal.com and I highly recommend it.
You can go to the website or to the phone app and enter food and they will sync so it's pretty easy to stay focused.
If I don't track food then I will over eat.
 
some of yall use some big words i tell ya !....lol...i dont know what you even said...

my body type is bulldozer !

i have heard fellow crew workers say follow elk out he will blaze a path for us to follow through the thick stuff....slow and steady and all day long type.....lol...i dont push through the heavy stuff like i did when younger...dozer needs a rebuild maybe...lol
 
backlash said:
I used to live to eat and now I try to eat to live.
I won't eat just to eat. My cravings will end in less than a week and from then on it just normal.
I mentioned myfirnesspal.com and I highly recommend it.
You can go to the website or to the phone app and enter food and they will sync so it's pretty easy to stay focused.
If I don't track food then I will over eat.
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I did too, before I retired. Easily burned 3,000 calories/day and ate everything in sight:D.
When the big 'downshift' happened, I knew that if I didn't change it, I would be 300lbs in a couple years:mad:.
Today, I estimate my calorie intake and usage every day.
It's like maintaining your checking account, except too many 'deposits' in the account are a bad thinggaah.
My problem, like many people's checking accounts, I frequently 'spend' more than I deposit.:(
 
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UrbanHunter said:
Back in July my blood pressure and diabetic numbers were just off the charts bad (A1C 13). I started taking my readings 4 times a day and recording what I was eating... I was shocked at what I learned. I had to cut back on my starches and carbs.. Little things like chips were put on the naughty list after I saw how they pushed up my sugar #, but the salt pushed up my water weight gain ta boot. I had gotten in the habit of eating prepared foods that came out of the frozen food isle (I liked sweet and sour, fried rice, and fish sticks) and I think that they were a big source of both sugars and starch, which really didn't help

Breads can also sneak in problems for me.. We went to having lettuce wraps instead of actual sandwiches.. The results were amazing, for the first three weeks as I was dropping pounds every week (I dropped 15 pounds in 3 weeks). But after that progress has been painfully slow, and I have been guilty of relapses.

By September I had got my A1C down to 8 and weight down by 19 pounds, but the Doc added cholesterol to the list of problems on my table, so that was added to my list of issues to address. My blood pressure was just slightly into the hyper tension range, which was a big improvement as in July I was just below the Crisis Hyper Tension Level!

Today, I am holding steady at 25 pounds below my high, but 20 pounds above my goal... I need to add in some exercise. For a while I was doing planks in the morning (only 2 sets of standard, with 2 on each side) and that really helped with the waist line, going from 42+ to 38, but I have slacked off on that need get back on it.

3 years ago I was walking 4 miles a day and that seemed to help lower my blood pressure a bit (kept the high number below 150), but it didn't do a thing for my weight. I would like to get back to walking every day, but that actually takes more time than I have available right now....

I have a follow up visit scheduled for late December, I am hoping to have my numbers for all into a reasonable (normal?) range in my lab work next week.
Click to expand...
It’s your body and choice, but I’m gonna say it.
Cholesterol is reactionary to carbs. If your diet had changed, your cholesterol was likely whacked because it was used to the former carb levels. If it were my body, I wouldn’t even look at cholesterol for 6 mo after my diet and weight (or even weight loss) had stabilized. It takes a while for our systems to create new habits.
 
My last blood work the numbers were all good or getting better except borderline cholesterol.
The doc said he was going to prescribe me some meds for it.
I told him NO. He quickly realized it was not going to happen and moved on.
I hate pill pushers.
I will take care of it by losing weight and getting in better condition.
LadyLocust said:
If your diet had changed, your cholesterol was likely whacked because it was used to the former carb levels.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly.
 
backlash said:
My last blood work the numbers were all good or getting better except borderline cholesterol.
The doc said he was going to prescribe me some meds for it.
I told him NO. He quickly realized it was not going to happen and moved on.
I hate pill pushers.
I will take care of it by losing weight and getting in better condition.

My thoughts exactly.
Click to expand...
We eat similar: we don’t exclude anything in its entirety but few grains, sweets, fruit, and biggest of all chemicals- that’s the most difficult thing to avoid and the reason we try to produce a fair portion of our own food.
 
backlash said:
Once you get used to it you would find it's not that difficult.
It's not a life long diet.
I don't think very many people could stick to such a restrictive diet forever.
Click to expand...
If I want to do something drastic about my weight, I would do the Indian GM diet I posted a link to. I can lose 10 lbs in a week on that. I will do that if what I am doing now does not work. I cannot stick to a mostly meat diet for even a few days. Tried it once and it made me feel sick
 
Day # 5

I am surprised at the responses here, so many people want to lose weight!

SO far so good, haven't had food after 6 in 4 days and it's not very hard. I just hope I won't be disappointed in a few days and not have lost any weight

To bad we can't all go on a the same diet and try different things to see what works, but our food requirements are just too different. Here is an example for me: if you made me eat a medium rare steak of about 3/4 pounds or whatever they are I would literally gag after the first few bites. But most Americans will pay good money to eat that. Some of you would probably feel the same way about eating tofu or broccoli, both of which I like.

So today : sweet potato ( baked in oven) , broccoli and a breaded pork chop
plus soup , have not decided what soup, either rice or soup from day 1 again

afternoon will be fruit ( got a whole bag of oranges at Aldi) and either a turkey sandwich or yogurt

edit: had a banana smoothie for afternoon food, and a turkey sandwich in the morning around 10.30
 
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My cholesterol has been borderline high for years, as I have been pulling down the weight, blood pressure, and the sugar numbers it's the only thing left on the table to address. My big goal is that by mid 2024 my weight does not start with a "2" and all my other numbers are in the normal range.

The wife is making chicken/pork adobo and that will really put my will power to the test... So far I have been able to keep my urges under control, but Thanks Giving was hard as I really love mashed potatoes and gravy... :)

So far I have had to ban a few foods from the shopping list:
English Muffins
InnovAsian - Sweet and Sour, Fried Rice too.. I really liked the taste of most of their products, but they were really bad for my numbers!
waffles -

On the positive side:
I found that I could eat air-fried breaded shrimp without having too much negative feedback (but I have to limit the volume and any sauces!)
Air fried breaded okra was the bomb, and it didn't hurt me either...

We have found that legumes are a good filling choice, but they do have other side effects... :)
 
sonya123 said:
Day # 5

I am surprised at the responses here, so many people want to lose weight!

SO far so good, haven't had food after 6 in 4 days and it's not very hard. I just hope I won't be disappointed in a few days and not have lost any weight

To bad we can't all go on a the same diet and try different things to see what works, but our food requirements are just too different. Here is an example for me: if you made me eat a medium rare steak of about 3/4 pounds or whatever they are I would literally gag after the first few bites. But most Americans will pay good money to eat that. Some of you would probably feel the same way about eating tofu or broccoli, both of which I like.

So today : sweet potato ( baked in oven) , broccoli and a breaded pork chop
plus soup , have not decided what soup, either rice or soup from day 1 again

afternoon will be fruit ( got a whole bag of oranges at Aldi) and either a turkey sandwich or yogurt
Click to expand...
Whatever your weight will be, bet you are feeling better :)
Also, just within our family: vegans, vegetarians, GF, junk food junkies, diabetics and us (mostly non-chemical). Makes for interesting family meals. I used to have a sign that's long gone, but still say it: You have two choices, take it or leave it. I am neither their dietitians nor do they get to determine what I fix. That said, I do usually try to have something that fits most categories. I always say they are welcome to bring something to their own liking (I do like and care about them).
 
backlash said:
My last blood work the numbers were all good or getting better except borderline cholesterol.
The doc said he was going to prescribe me some meds for it.
I told him NO. He quickly realized it was not going to happen and moved on.
I hate pill pushers.
I will take care of it by losing weight and getting in better condition.

My thoughts exactly.
Click to expand...
I had high numbers and have been taking 1 Atorvastatin (a statin) and it got my numbers down, and it has kept them down, for 30 years.
Cheap generic of Lipitor, and no side effects. :thumbs:
The big benefit is, I don't have to worry about my numbers.:)
I inherited the 'bad gene' for high cholesterol. When my mom had her stroke, they checked hers (evidently for the first time:oops:) and it was over 300, and probably had been, for decades:mad:.
She started taking a statin and lived to 96:).
Check your family history.
 
lonewolf said:
it dosent matter to me what people eat, but I do think portions sizes have got out of control, some of the portions you get these days would feed 2 or even 3 people, no wonder there is an obesity epidemic over here.
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thats true too. I could never finish a restaurant meal, even when I was younger. Now we don't go out to eat anyway.
I usually eat 1 plate of food, like today I had 1 breaded pork chop, 1 medium sweet potato and green beans
 
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