I need some advice on diet

[mav_sd]

I caught an episode of Good Eats the other day where Altom Brown talked about how he modified his eating behavior and lost like 50 lbs ove 9 months... this is healthy weight loss. He has a bunch of tips, but his number one was about breakfast and how important it is.

He reccommends fruit smoothies for breakfast. I gotta tell you, I and my wife started making smoothies every day and the difference has been awesome! First off, it does not take long to tell why people always say breakfast is so important. I was NEVER a breakfast guy, but if Iam travelling or something and can't have my smoothie, I get royally cranky!!

Here's the recipe: 24 ounce smoothie.

4 OZ of Soy Milk (or 1% regular milk) insert carnation breakfast powder here if you want to kick up the protein
4 OZ of Acai berry jiuce or Pomegranate juice - I like Acai best, but the point is add more liquid, and do it using one of these antioxidant powerhouses!
4 OZ Blueberries or Blackberries
4 OZ Strawberries or Raspberries
4 OZ Mango or Peach
1 Banana

See the colors? One Blue fruit, one Red fruit, and one Yellow fruit, plus the banana.

For everything but the Banana, I use frozen fruit from Wal-Mart. It is just as cheap as fresh fruit and I can portion it out ahead of time and toss a bunch in the freezer.

Two Tips:

Place your frozen fruit into the fridge the night before. Makes life easier for the blender.

Use a blender with a variable speed control (smooth turning dial, not buttons) you have to start off slowly and work up in speed or you get air bubbles and splashes and you'll end up spending a half hour trying to make a smoothie. Most variable speed blenders are hundred and hundreds of dollars though... so go buy a Router speed contorl unit instead. I got mine at Harbor Freight tools for 20 bux and turned a 15 dollar blender into a variable speed blender. You'll thank me for that on later!!

All you guys using Smoothie King, or Jamba juice... TAKE NOTE! YOu can make your own delicious smoothies (24 ounces!) for less than 2 bucks each!!

Best of luck as you work on your weight. We're pulling for you.

 

[Iamjrp30]

I have been on adapex, a rx. diet pill for about 4 months, and have lost ove:bigeyes:r 60 pounds,the only bad thing is that they keep you from sleeping alot of nights

 

[dpricenator]

Methamphetmine....fastest weight loss program on the market. Plus you'll have a really clean house before you know it.

 

[ciggy]

Thanks guys for all your help. I have alot to choose from here so I will give a few of these a shot. I really hope I find the one that works. My body is most likely to get worse fairly quickly so taking the wieght off would help so much.
Again thank you very much for the help!

 

[strife]

Good luck Ciggy, I also suffer from a genetic muscle disorder that prohibits me from exercising (http://www.mda.org/publications/Quest/q114mcardle.html).

Some of the responses here may be very helpful in my life as well, thanks for asking and thanks to those that responded.

 

[tazbigdog]

Ciggy-

I've got some bad news for you brother - if you think moderating or changing your night time snack is gonna help you lose weight - it won't happen. You need to make some changes in you entire eating regime. If you want to lose weight or just eat healthier - your diet should look something like this:

Breakfast - Gotta have it pal. It sets up your entire day. Now I'm not talking about Captain Crunch, doughnuts, or Bear Claws here. I'm talking maybe an egg or two prepared to your liking with maybe a piece of ham or bacon and some toast (whole wheat bread please - easy on the butter).

Mid morning- Great time for your Slimfast. Personally - while I don't use it - Carnation makes an excellent milk additive that is very high in protein.

Lunch - Your PB sandwich sounds good. If you need the J - find something that is made with a sugar substitute. Also maybe a lean hamburger here or a turkey club sandwich. All on whole wheat bread please.

Mid afternoon - See mid morning.

Dinner - Now here is where I may disagree with my colleagues. I suggest you consider moving your dinner time up to 4:00 - 5:00pm. Now the trick here is to go easy on the carbs. A moderate portion of lean meat while loading up on the veggies. If your a potato guy Ok - just go easy.

Night time snack - Fruit - Slimfast - Carrot sticks - Low carb ice cream - you get the idea.

I think where your getting off the track now is that your getting a high portion of you dinner time calories from carbs and causing a sugar rush in your blood. Now after your body processes the free sugar in your blood - about 2-4 hours if just sitting around - your brain gets nervous as the insulin levels in your blood call for more sugar - hence - it tells you to seek food high in carbs and you get your sugar craving. If you can avoid the carbs at mealtime - you can control the munchies later on.

Further - you've reached the point in life my friend that diet alone is not gonna help you drop the pounds - you also need exercise. Now get on that treadmill and DO NOT run or jog - walk. Easily at first - what I call boardwalk speed - you know when your walking the boardwalk at the beach looking at the bikinis but not wanting to walk into anything too fast. Yeah - that speed. But DO IT EVERYDAY !! Gradually build up your distance and speed. If you could get yourself to the point where you could walk 2 miles or so in half an hour - combined with the diet you would have seen the pounds melt off by now.

Also - FORGET the lunges and squats. They are putting unnecessary stress on your joints. I suggest you substitute some moderate stretching exercise and begin to build some tone in those muscles. At some point you would want to begin a very moderate weight lifting program using common household items as weights. However - I don't know the particulars of your illness - so you would want to consult with your physician(s) before any rigorous exercise program.

This sounds like a lot to change - but after a few weeks - especially after you've lost the first 5-10 lbs - the effort will all seem worth it.

Best of Luck !!

Good advice. Like to add a few comments. Only way to lose weight and keep it off, is through diet and exercise.

Breakfast is most important meal of the day. I used to skip it like you and eat the rest of the day like you. Problem is, as you get older, the harder it is to keep the weight off.

So, what can you do, keep foods as simple as possible, natural, raw, fresh, etc. Lots of fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, etc.

Breakfast is easy, either oatmeal (Irish, no sugar), Fiber One with skim milk, or egg beaters with hot peppers, onions, mushrooms, and fresh spinach.

For lunch, depending on how hungry I am, I go for a salad with garbanzo beans, feta cheese (small amounts) and italian dressing (low cal). Vary it with yogart, cottage cheese, etc.

Dinner is a regular meal, watch the portions.

If you feel hungry, do something to get your mind off of it, walk, talk, etc. Heck, even drink alot of water, non-sweetened ice tea, etc.

Exercise is walking, going to the gym for weights/cario, etc.

It takes time to take the weight off. My kids were both on prednisone, which is a steroid, and it took them a time to reverse the effects of it.

Last thing is you'll see a big difference in how hungry you are after eating a meal of carbs or protein. I tend to feel sleepy after carbs and want to eat more. But with protein, I'm good for a while.

Everything in moderation!

Think positive. Watch what you put in your mouth and stay away from sugared treats.

Good luck,

Jeff:cbig:

 

[Clint]

I am diabetic, so I need something that tastes good near bedtime, but won't give me a bunch of carbs/sugars that would raise my bloodsugar levels. Answer: South Beach Diet bars...Fiber and protein with little calories, sugar, or carbs.

The very best of luck to you!

 

[CWS]

South Beach - Not a diet but a lifestyle. Lots of small meals. Lots of low fat protien. You will not be hungry. Last exercise...gotta do it.

 

[Jfire]

Here's your breakfast. Whole yogurt (organic is best) with FRESH fruit. Real old school Oatmeal for seconds. Add cinnamon for taste if no fruit to oatmeal. For all dinners(meats) add Tumeric in small parts to meats, veggies (will help with your joints etc). The cinnamon helps jump start your metabolism every a.m. 6 small meals during the day are a must for people who have a hard time with weight. Fuel the furnace.

 

[CWS]

Here's your breakfast. Whole yogurt (organic is best) with FRESH fruit. Real old school Oatmeal for seconds. Add cinnamon for taste if no fruit to oatmeal. For all dinners(meats) add Tumeric in small parts to meats, veggies (will help with your joints etc). The cinnamon helps jump start your metabolism every a.m. 6 small meals during the day are a must for people who have a hard time with weight. Fuel the furnace.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

This furnace business really works and makes sense.

 

[Clint]

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

This furnace business really works and makes sense.

Especially with my pot belly

(See? Pot bellied stove....heh heh) :stretchgr