I posted a web site in an earlier thread on this blog to calculate how many calories you need to maintain your weight based upon height, age and exercise. I did not do this before I went on my diet and lost the weight but it may give you a rough estimate where to start.
If I use moderate as my exercise entry, it comes out to 2000 cals per day. I would consider walking 40 minutes at a very brisk pace moderate exercise (at least for a senior) but maybe not. But I know if I ate 2000 calories I would actually gain weight. But it is a good starting point if you are counting calories. I have a good idea of what the calories are in the ordinary foods I eat and make rought estimates - actually I round the calories off to the next 50 or 100 in my head. Say a banana is about 80 cals and I round it off to 100 - over estimate a bit but then maybe not count the bit of milk I put in my coffee.
If I am going to LOSE weight I know that I have to keep the calories down to 1000-1200 a day. Listen, I know, that is eating "like a bird"! But someone wrote that for every decade of life you have to reduce your intake by 100 calories a day JUST TO MAINTAIN your weight. Phew!
So now you see why it is SO important to get the appetite under control before beginning. I can live with this low intake pretty comfortably believe it or not. I do that by just keeping my blood sugar steady and avoiding anything that would make it spike and valley. I am pretty ridgid about that. It is like a life line that you don't dare let go of. So those people who say it is OK to treat yourself once in a while - well, not for now. Will rant on that at another time.
I also know that I can't eat much more than 1200 cals on a daily basis or I will lose ground and go back to gaining. I think of that as taking money out of the bank account. Actually a negative account when it comes to weight. That is where you have to have the mental attitude necessary to eat the right things. I wrote a little about that in another thread.
Now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty of what to eat if you are on a diet. If you have been reducing your sugar intake as low as possible for a week this is going to be easy.
You know you have to cut back so you just start cutting back at each meal. If you don't lose a pound or 2 in a week then you know you have to cut back more. You keep track of what you have been eating and see what you can cut back on - low quality foods or quantity - your choice.
Well, you can eat anything you want as long as it comes out to 1/4 of your daily calories. You can have another 1/4 for lunch and dinner. The other 1/4 you can divvy up between snacks and a little more for one meal. (e.g. 400 cals for dinner and 2, 100 cal snacks).
Now choose the foods YOU like that add up to 300 cals for breakfast. It can be breakfast food or lunch food or dinner food. Just you should not skip breakfast. That's because after a night's sleep your blood sugar is at its all time daily low. As soon as you begin moving around it is going to drop more. If you don't eat something to gradually bring the level up you are going to get really hungry in mid morning. It is OK if you divide your breakfast in half if you absolutely "can't eat breakfast" but if you are really dieting, you can adjust yourself to eating a light breakfast. Remember light is where it's at when it comes to diets anyway.
I advise against eating many so-called "diet" foods unless you actually like them. I like my coffee and cereal sweet so I use Splenda (the others have a bad after taste to me). The other is 0 fat and 0 cal liquid margerine spray (like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray). I don't mind them at all now. In fact Splenda tastes sweeter than sugar now and the spray margerine is like a nice sauce on veggies (that's what my husband said when he tried mine and he actually likes it and he's not on a diet!).
These are examples of what I have for breakfast. Note - that's what I eat. You choose your own according to you taste but obviously you hve to forget the white starchy things like doughnuts or regualr pancakes. Syrup? You gotta be kidding! You can write them off for a good long time.
I always have a cup of coffee with 1% milk.
1/2 a banana and/or 1/2 a pear (there is some sugar here and that is all you need). Any half fruit is OK but I avoid the sugary ones except the banana because it has so many good nutrients. You can have a small glass of tomato or V8 juice instead. I never drink orange juice or citrus because they are mostly sugar. When you are on a diet you have to weight the number of grams of sugar against the nutrients.
The combination of the above comes to about 100 calories or less.
Then for the rest of my breakfast I choose among:
1)
2 any kind of eggs (a large egg is about 70 cals). If I scramble I add a little 1% milk; fried in a non stick pan with olive oil Pam or store brand spray; fried poached or boiled.
+ a piece of 100% whole wheat toast or bread.
(that comes to about 200 cals more).
If I am really cutting back, I have only have 1 egg and save the calories (or the other hard boiled egg) for a late morning snack.
OR
2) a half sandwich or low carb wrap with some low fat sandwich meats - any kind as long as it adds up to no more than 200 cals. I warm it up slightly but do not add any sauces. A spoonful of salsa might be good or a few slices of tomato could be your fruit selection.
OR
3) a large bowl of whole grain cereal - any kind as long as the sugar is 3 g or less per serving. Those are mostly the old fashioned cereals like Cheerios or unfrosted Mini-Wheats. Fill the bowl to approximate 200 cals including the milk. Sweeten with Splenda. Don't let the designer cereals fool you - check the sugar grams and you will often find they are at least 6 grams of sugar per serving.
OR
4) hot oatmeal. I use Quick Oats which I keep with the fixings in the breakfast nook. You can fix it just as fast as the instant. I add a dash of salt, several big dashes of cinnamon and 10 raisins/serving (mostly for flavor). [Many prepared cereals add a lot of sugar with excess raisins so avoid them.] I bring it to a boil on the stove or in the micro and let it sit a half minute. Stir and add some milk and a dash of spray margarine which makes it creamy. (My sister like real Scottish oats that take a half hour to cook but it doesn't matter to me and I prefer saving the time) you can always make oatmeal the night before and warm it up in the morning if you want to save a few seconds more.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Mind over Munchies
The basic concept of this blog is that the mind has the biggest role in weight loss. This is not advanced psychology! Listen to the reasons you hear from people who are having problems. They diet and can't stick with it. List your own reasons. They are probably because of issues that have something to do with appeasing your appetite but most of them aren't. Some are personality issues and some are social issues, some may be very personal. You may not want to deal with some of them (but you can figure out what they are) and others are relatively easy to handle. Problem being they have probably become habits and habits are hard to break. Well, habits CAN BE hard to break if you make it hard. Substitute new habits, new ways of thinking. It's your personal mind control program. Don't make it a chore. Have fun. Be creative. Is the diet plate half full or half empty.
My first objective was to get my biggest "reason" (excuse!) down to a manageable size - appetite. So that is what I have been focusing on here up until now. That's because you can climb little hills a whole lot easier than mountains. And it is easier to keep from falling off little hills than mountains too. If dealing with your appetite seems insurmountable then you are likely to think you need ropes and crampons to get it under control. Actually real appetite may be easier to get under control than PERCEIVED desire to eat something.
You know, you have eaten dinner and you have collapsed on the couch in your best potato pose. You are not hungry but you keep picturing the bag of pretzels or potato chips in the cabinet. Your start getting little video clips that keep looping in your head about getting up and getting a handful, maybe one, maybe the whole bag. Can you relate this to an addiction?
Well, what about an addiction that you can't keep out of the house. You can't pour it down the drain. You have to go to the store and sort out the good stuff from the bad stuff. Or worse, you don't have much control over what gets into the house unless you are the one who stocks the pantry.
If you are an adult who controls what is in the house, you still have to deal with what other adults in the family want - not necessarily what you should be eating. It would be a whole lot easier if everyone were on the same diet - but that may not be realistic.
A young person with a weight problem must first enlist a parent to help. That can be a big hurdle unless you have very good relationship with your parents or caregivers.
In most cases people have to diet in spite of everyone around them. Most of us have to diet in spite of others around us. We cannot expect or force them into being supportive. That was certainly something I faced. I had adult children living with me who helped with the marketing as well as the cooking. They were not seriously into managing their weight. My husband never has had a weight problem.
In addition I was dealing with my own health problems as well as that of a a member of the family. Not going to discuss person issues on line but, trust me, there are big issues that I have to deal with. I don't have a lot of control over my life.
But what I DO HAVE control over is myself and my body. That turns out to be the best reason of all for losing weight and getting my health back. No one is getting any younger and you do NOT want to look back at the last decade and say to yourself - "what the hell, I COULD have spent it feeling and looking a hell of a lot better". What a waste of a part of your life! Are you going to regret the next decade later too? You can't go back and get those years back.
Step#1. I proposed taking an hour or so having a talk with yourself and setting your priorities. If you decide you want to lose weight and you are going to, you can start immediately. If you don't - don't bother. Maybe some day. It's your choice. But I am writing this on the assumption that anyone who reads it is at least half way convinced that they must diet.
Step #2 Seriously restricting your sugar intake and manage unreasonable pangs of hunger.
Step #3. That is what this post is about. Become conscious of your mind playing tricks. Bring them into the front of you mind. Don't let them fester in your subconscious. You can't deal with nagging temptation by just trying to suppress it. Get it out there where you can deal with it.
Make yourself a mental picture album. Deliberately and purposefully substitute visions. Make your own. I push away the thoughts of a snack with a vision of being thinner or wearing a smaller size pair of jeans. I think of my double chin in a terrible photo or the belly. You can picture anything other than food. Somewhere you would like to go. Pick up a magazine - even if you are watching TV - and distract yourself. Or if not completely thrilled with the program, get up and do something else.
Then there are motivational thoughts: "do I really want to see the scale ease down a notch tomorrow?" or "do I want to spoil all the hours of careful eating I have done all day with a quickie snack?". Can I make it to bed knowing that this has been a losing day?
If you ARE truly hungry and it has been at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours since your last meal - get a low sugar/low salt snack. Something not too tantalizing. A small bowl of cereal works for me (Chinese rice bowls are just under a cup - a good snack size). A salad as long as there is no more than 1 tablespoon of dressing or some cottage cheese with string beans or celery; some lightly cooked veggies (could be prepared ahead for the next meal). It should be somewhat filling but not heavy. You ARE eating so the munchies urge can be satisfied without indulging in foods that will increase your need to eat. If you are counting calories, 100 is a good round number to aim for with a snack. Portions can be controlled with a measuring cup or a premeasured dish.
When you fill that bowl with whatever, think about exactly how much is enough and how much you would prefer not to add to the days calorie count. Weigh weight loss and eating deliberately. Don't eat casually. Think about it. Eat slowly and deliberately thinking about it. Then stop when you feel the urge to munch stop - immediately.
Become very conscious about what you tell yourself when you don't succeed. Don't let yourself push g00d thoughts about dieting to the back of your mind at the critical moment.
I am certain that there are people out there who need professional help with the problems that lead to obesity. But most of us can figure ourselves out - IF we try. Just as you can figure out why a neighbor or friend has some issue or dysfunction does not take a shrink. We practice psychology every day. You don't really need Ann Landers to figure problems out. It's mostly common sense. There is usually more than one solution. But it is always harder to be objective with ourselves.
Different personalities call for different solutions. If you are a Marine or a shrinking violet you may have the same issues of overweight but different ways to deal with it.
The Marine may think he can just tackle it by brute force. It may work - and it may not. The marine may avoid the little talk with himself or herself. Too tough for that "stuff". Pretend you are reading the Marine manual then. But do it!
The shrinking violet may keep saying "this is too hard, I can't do it". But you can take charge in your own quiet way. Just become a passive-aggressive when it comes to eating. You can stay out of stressful situations by just quietly doing it without a lot of fanfare.
Me, I'm a would-be control freak. As I said, I have very little control over my life but I do have control over my diet. I do have control over my appetite. I do have control over my health. I do have control over my mouth. I do have control over what is available for me to eat. I can control the amount of what I eat. I don't have to eat like anyone else. A mouthful of something tastes no better than a large plate of it. I can stop eating when I have had enough even if I am not "full". I am me. I like being skinny. I will not be fat. Munching at this moment is less important than looking hot tomorrow and the next day.
My first objective was to get my biggest "reason" (excuse!) down to a manageable size - appetite. So that is what I have been focusing on here up until now. That's because you can climb little hills a whole lot easier than mountains. And it is easier to keep from falling off little hills than mountains too. If dealing with your appetite seems insurmountable then you are likely to think you need ropes and crampons to get it under control. Actually real appetite may be easier to get under control than PERCEIVED desire to eat something.
You know, you have eaten dinner and you have collapsed on the couch in your best potato pose. You are not hungry but you keep picturing the bag of pretzels or potato chips in the cabinet. Your start getting little video clips that keep looping in your head about getting up and getting a handful, maybe one, maybe the whole bag. Can you relate this to an addiction?
Well, what about an addiction that you can't keep out of the house. You can't pour it down the drain. You have to go to the store and sort out the good stuff from the bad stuff. Or worse, you don't have much control over what gets into the house unless you are the one who stocks the pantry.
If you are an adult who controls what is in the house, you still have to deal with what other adults in the family want - not necessarily what you should be eating. It would be a whole lot easier if everyone were on the same diet - but that may not be realistic.
A young person with a weight problem must first enlist a parent to help. That can be a big hurdle unless you have very good relationship with your parents or caregivers.
In most cases people have to diet in spite of everyone around them. Most of us have to diet in spite of others around us. We cannot expect or force them into being supportive. That was certainly something I faced. I had adult children living with me who helped with the marketing as well as the cooking. They were not seriously into managing their weight. My husband never has had a weight problem.
In addition I was dealing with my own health problems as well as that of a a member of the family. Not going to discuss person issues on line but, trust me, there are big issues that I have to deal with. I don't have a lot of control over my life.
But what I DO HAVE control over is myself and my body. That turns out to be the best reason of all for losing weight and getting my health back. No one is getting any younger and you do NOT want to look back at the last decade and say to yourself - "what the hell, I COULD have spent it feeling and looking a hell of a lot better". What a waste of a part of your life! Are you going to regret the next decade later too? You can't go back and get those years back.
Step#1. I proposed taking an hour or so having a talk with yourself and setting your priorities. If you decide you want to lose weight and you are going to, you can start immediately. If you don't - don't bother. Maybe some day. It's your choice. But I am writing this on the assumption that anyone who reads it is at least half way convinced that they must diet.
Step #2 Seriously restricting your sugar intake and manage unreasonable pangs of hunger.
Step #3. That is what this post is about. Become conscious of your mind playing tricks. Bring them into the front of you mind. Don't let them fester in your subconscious. You can't deal with nagging temptation by just trying to suppress it. Get it out there where you can deal with it.
Make yourself a mental picture album. Deliberately and purposefully substitute visions. Make your own. I push away the thoughts of a snack with a vision of being thinner or wearing a smaller size pair of jeans. I think of my double chin in a terrible photo or the belly. You can picture anything other than food. Somewhere you would like to go. Pick up a magazine - even if you are watching TV - and distract yourself. Or if not completely thrilled with the program, get up and do something else.
Then there are motivational thoughts: "do I really want to see the scale ease down a notch tomorrow?" or "do I want to spoil all the hours of careful eating I have done all day with a quickie snack?". Can I make it to bed knowing that this has been a losing day?
If you ARE truly hungry and it has been at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours since your last meal - get a low sugar/low salt snack. Something not too tantalizing. A small bowl of cereal works for me (Chinese rice bowls are just under a cup - a good snack size). A salad as long as there is no more than 1 tablespoon of dressing or some cottage cheese with string beans or celery; some lightly cooked veggies (could be prepared ahead for the next meal). It should be somewhat filling but not heavy. You ARE eating so the munchies urge can be satisfied without indulging in foods that will increase your need to eat. If you are counting calories, 100 is a good round number to aim for with a snack. Portions can be controlled with a measuring cup or a premeasured dish.
When you fill that bowl with whatever, think about exactly how much is enough and how much you would prefer not to add to the days calorie count. Weigh weight loss and eating deliberately. Don't eat casually. Think about it. Eat slowly and deliberately thinking about it. Then stop when you feel the urge to munch stop - immediately.
Become very conscious about what you tell yourself when you don't succeed. Don't let yourself push g00d thoughts about dieting to the back of your mind at the critical moment.
I am certain that there are people out there who need professional help with the problems that lead to obesity. But most of us can figure ourselves out - IF we try. Just as you can figure out why a neighbor or friend has some issue or dysfunction does not take a shrink. We practice psychology every day. You don't really need Ann Landers to figure problems out. It's mostly common sense. There is usually more than one solution. But it is always harder to be objective with ourselves.
Different personalities call for different solutions. If you are a Marine or a shrinking violet you may have the same issues of overweight but different ways to deal with it.
The Marine may think he can just tackle it by brute force. It may work - and it may not. The marine may avoid the little talk with himself or herself. Too tough for that "stuff". Pretend you are reading the Marine manual then. But do it!
The shrinking violet may keep saying "this is too hard, I can't do it". But you can take charge in your own quiet way. Just become a passive-aggressive when it comes to eating. You can stay out of stressful situations by just quietly doing it without a lot of fanfare.
Me, I'm a would-be control freak. As I said, I have very little control over my life but I do have control over my diet. I do have control over my appetite. I do have control over my health. I do have control over my mouth. I do have control over what is available for me to eat. I can control the amount of what I eat. I don't have to eat like anyone else. A mouthful of something tastes no better than a large plate of it. I can stop eating when I have had enough even if I am not "full". I am me. I like being skinny. I will not be fat. Munching at this moment is less important than looking hot tomorrow and the next day.
Friday, February 8, 2008
See How They Try to Fool You!
The people who create ads and food packaging are in business to sell a product. The actually COUNT on you to be gullible. They HOPE you are too busy to read labels. They appeal to you thinking that certain words appeal to you or are hip at the moment. They USE you to make you choose their product and they are very very calculated about it. Marketing is a science. Your fat hips is money in their pockets. How do you fight back? Buy products that help you - not ones that defeat you. They go where the market is. They follow the money. It's a complicated world out there. There IS lots of good stuff out there but you can't believe what it says in big letters. Just because something uses pitch words and diet guru names, the products are still out there marketing to your weak side.
If its not in the fresh food department without packaging - READ the label! Remember the principle ingredient is always first. If something is down the list it may only be a small percentage of the total ingredients - and they don't have to tell you how much.
Here is a good example: You are looking for whole grain bread. Is it:
Oatmeal bread?
Nutty Oat bread?
Whole Grain bread?
Enriched flour?
Unbleached flour?
Rye bread?
Pumpernickle Bread?
100% whole wheat flour?
All these breads except the last one may have very little oat or whole wheat flour. They are made with at least half or more plain white flour. White flour is used to make the bread softer and bake up smoothly.
Even 100% whole wheat flour contains other ingredients like water, milk, eggs and oil. The important thing is that it is mostly whole wheat flour.
Check how much meat is actually in a frozen meal and how much is starchy carbs. Trust me it is cheaper to put noodles in a can of soup than chicken.
If its not in the fresh food department without packaging - READ the label! Remember the principle ingredient is always first. If something is down the list it may only be a small percentage of the total ingredients - and they don't have to tell you how much.
Here is a good example: You are looking for whole grain bread. Is it:
Oatmeal bread?
Nutty Oat bread?
Whole Grain bread?
Enriched flour?
Unbleached flour?
Rye bread?
Pumpernickle Bread?
100% whole wheat flour?
All these breads except the last one may have very little oat or whole wheat flour. They are made with at least half or more plain white flour. White flour is used to make the bread softer and bake up smoothly.
Even 100% whole wheat flour contains other ingredients like water, milk, eggs and oil. The important thing is that it is mostly whole wheat flour.
Check how much meat is actually in a frozen meal and how much is starchy carbs. Trust me it is cheaper to put noodles in a can of soup than chicken.
Monday, February 4, 2008
The Sugar Challenge
If you have read my experiences up to here about things that affect your appetite you can actually test it on yourself!
If you are especially carb sensitive you will have a positive response. Look for a drop in episodes of severe hunger in a couple days. For some folks it may take a little longer as your body will respond more gradually.
You can eat as much as you feel like AT MEALS as long as you strictly reduce carbs. I don't mean stuff yourself. Just enjoy your meal and stop when you are reasonably satisfied. The idea is to begin to see if you can adjust your appetite response which will make weight loss easier. Excess appetite defeats the best of weight loss intentions so you have to get in charge of it.
Look for foods where high amounts of sugar slip into your diet - Boston baked beans, fruits, BBQ and other sauces, sweet potatoes, sweetened cereals etc. Avoid them strictly.
Whatever you eat the idea is to remove as much sugar from your diet as possible for a minimum of 3 days. You defeat the purpose of the test unless you seriously reduce the sugar you eat and things that convert quickly to sugar like highly refined carbs.
Restrict white carbs and things made with white carbs (rice, flour, corn starch) to very limited amounts - no more than half a cup a serving (half a baked potato, half a cup of pasta or rice, grits, corn meal) . White carbs are only slightly modified sugars that plants use for storage. They are insoluble but designed to convert to soluble sugar quickly so they can move around the plant for energy. Our bodies do the same thing - change white carbs directly into sugar for energy. They will convert into sugar within minutes, be absorbed quickly and will make your insulin levels spike and plummet back down to earth within hours.
It is impossible to avoid sugar in fruits and veggies but you can restrict yourself to the less sweet ones. Also the timing is critical. Since sugar levels tend to come down within 2 hours, eat veggies like carrots or a half a pear or apple within an hour of the next meal. Your blood sugar will not go up and down so much because it is not very sweet and because you are going to eat.
Highly refined whole grains may or may not be absorbed less slowly - the Jury is out on that - but they do contain some insoluble fiber that "may" stick around a little longer in your stomach and is good for your gut at least. They are OK if you limit yourself to 1 slice of whole grain bread in a half sandwich (100% whole wheat). I eat Pepperidge Farm because it is soft but there are other choices. You can have a big salad with salad dressing and a sprinkling of nuts. I eat a big Dole Asian salad from a kit (because I like the dressing!) using half the dressing and rice noodles and adding sliced almonds. You can have Cheerios or unfrosted Mini Wheats for cereal or hot oatmeal for breakfast or a snack. Use sweeteners if you like it sweet. You can drink all the unsugared drinks you like. If you get hungry before meals snack on unsalted nuts. Unlimited veggies - raw and cooked. There is some sugar in veggies but at least it comes with lots of goodies. I have found that winter squashes are particularly filling. My favorites are butternut and the Caribbean squash, calabaza, which can cooked in about 20 minutes in boiling water or baked for longer. Cook, peel and seed. You can combine them in different dishes or eat mashed with a little butter (I use 0 fat butter spray), salt and pepper - instead of mashed potatoes.
If you get hungry before the next meal have some cereal. Stay away from salty snacks because they are usually combined with carbs. Some snacks have a bit of natural sugar but that is OK if you are going to eat within an hour anyway. Carrots, half an apple or pear.
Avoid yogurt. . Ever wonder why it does not satisfy your hunger? Check out the sugar content. It is full of milk sugar (lactose) and often has sweet fruit added. Cottage cheese is a little better but eat it as a snack only within an hour of the next meal.
You can eat eggs for breakfast. Canadian bacon - try to avoid the greasy strips. Omelettes with salsa. Rancheros with goodies. No hash browns.
If you are busy at lunch or dinner you can choose frozen low carb meals like low carb Lean Cuisine. No, my dear, forget the Pizza for now. A low carb tortilla with chicken and salsa are fine. Guacamole is great.
Desserts can be tough if you eat them regularly because they usually contain a lot of sugar and fat. But you can come up with a substitute like a half cup of cottage cheese with a half a pear. Maybe save it for an hour after dinner or before bed if you get the mid night munchies.
This is not so hard and good training for the real thing. The idea is to start to feel like you have conquered the hunger monkey on your back that is caused by spikes and valleys in blood sugar. The idea is to keep it steady, level and low.
Not eating salty snacks will remove temptation because they often come with low quality carbs like corn, rice and wheat starch. You can eat pop corn if it has NO salt. Reducing bad fats is optimal in any diet but small amounts of the right kinds may actually help control your appetite. More on that in another post.
The idea is to start making an effort to become very alert to everything you put in your mouth. Start reading labels. Check a book or on line for sugar content. I found this site helpful (or use any one you like) and you don't have to sign in to use the calorie and nutrition finder at the very top of the page: http://www.nutritiondata.com/
You may feel immediate benefits of less hunger even before the very next meal or at bedtime. Or it may take you a few days. You may still have a habit to overeat so try to be conscious of your actual appetite. You are not trying to lose weight yet. Just remember - you can get something to eat if you make the right choice.
Don't forget the old saw is that if you cheat you are cheating yourself. You have to give you body and mind the chance to adjust. If you eat something you shouldn't, then restart the 3 day timer with the next meal. But if you are not ready to begin, don't play games. You can do the diet/cheat/diet/cheat thing forever and never get your appetite under control. Don't blame the test. A fair try is at least 3 days.
Make it a 3 day weekend affair if you want. Stay away from people and places that tempt you. Get out somewhere on your own for a while. Go to the movies or for a walk in the park. Take the dog for a couple walks a day.
Get your mind off eating when you are away from the table and concentrate on WHAT you are eating when you are AT the table.
If you take it seriously, you should start to feel more control within days. As you feel something happening, you can keep it going a full week to convince yourself you are onto something.
Don't skip meals and try to keep to a regular mealtime! Your sugar will drop if you postpone a meal more than 3-4 hours. You could eat 5 small meals a day if that works.
Don't skip breakfast even if it is just a half a whole wheat sandwich. or 2 soft corn tortillas with a slice of lunch meat, an egg of any kind, a small bowl of low sugar cereal. You can postpone it an hour after you get up but don't skip it and plan on lunch at a normal time. Set your meal times at even intervals. This is important to even out fluctuations in your blood sugar levels. That is why diabetics are very precise about eating on time.
If you are really getting the sugar in your diet down, you may start feeling a little high mentally. You should not feel those sugar lows when you feel wiped out in the late afternoon. You have just discovered that sugar swings affect your mood negatively and that keeping it steady makes you feel more positive. You don't need me to tell you that gaining control of your appetite and a terrific mood will help make weight loss a lot easier.
Is this hard work? Not really. It may seem different from your normal diet/guilt routine but you are not starving. Does it take self-control? A little but it's mental, not physical. It's about changing your priorities. Look at it as a challenge or a hobby.
Try it and see what happens for you! Whatever the details, I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised.
If you are especially carb sensitive you will have a positive response. Look for a drop in episodes of severe hunger in a couple days. For some folks it may take a little longer as your body will respond more gradually.
You can eat as much as you feel like AT MEALS as long as you strictly reduce carbs. I don't mean stuff yourself. Just enjoy your meal and stop when you are reasonably satisfied. The idea is to begin to see if you can adjust your appetite response which will make weight loss easier. Excess appetite defeats the best of weight loss intentions so you have to get in charge of it.
Look for foods where high amounts of sugar slip into your diet - Boston baked beans, fruits, BBQ and other sauces, sweet potatoes, sweetened cereals etc. Avoid them strictly.
Whatever you eat the idea is to remove as much sugar from your diet as possible for a minimum of 3 days. You defeat the purpose of the test unless you seriously reduce the sugar you eat and things that convert quickly to sugar like highly refined carbs.
Restrict white carbs and things made with white carbs (rice, flour, corn starch) to very limited amounts - no more than half a cup a serving (half a baked potato, half a cup of pasta or rice, grits, corn meal) . White carbs are only slightly modified sugars that plants use for storage. They are insoluble but designed to convert to soluble sugar quickly so they can move around the plant for energy. Our bodies do the same thing - change white carbs directly into sugar for energy. They will convert into sugar within minutes, be absorbed quickly and will make your insulin levels spike and plummet back down to earth within hours.
It is impossible to avoid sugar in fruits and veggies but you can restrict yourself to the less sweet ones. Also the timing is critical. Since sugar levels tend to come down within 2 hours, eat veggies like carrots or a half a pear or apple within an hour of the next meal. Your blood sugar will not go up and down so much because it is not very sweet and because you are going to eat.
Highly refined whole grains may or may not be absorbed less slowly - the Jury is out on that - but they do contain some insoluble fiber that "may" stick around a little longer in your stomach and is good for your gut at least. They are OK if you limit yourself to 1 slice of whole grain bread in a half sandwich (100% whole wheat). I eat Pepperidge Farm because it is soft but there are other choices. You can have a big salad with salad dressing and a sprinkling of nuts. I eat a big Dole Asian salad from a kit (because I like the dressing!) using half the dressing and rice noodles and adding sliced almonds. You can have Cheerios or unfrosted Mini Wheats for cereal or hot oatmeal for breakfast or a snack. Use sweeteners if you like it sweet. You can drink all the unsugared drinks you like. If you get hungry before meals snack on unsalted nuts. Unlimited veggies - raw and cooked. There is some sugar in veggies but at least it comes with lots of goodies. I have found that winter squashes are particularly filling. My favorites are butternut and the Caribbean squash, calabaza, which can cooked in about 20 minutes in boiling water or baked for longer. Cook, peel and seed. You can combine them in different dishes or eat mashed with a little butter (I use 0 fat butter spray), salt and pepper - instead of mashed potatoes.
If you get hungry before the next meal have some cereal. Stay away from salty snacks because they are usually combined with carbs. Some snacks have a bit of natural sugar but that is OK if you are going to eat within an hour anyway. Carrots, half an apple or pear.
Avoid yogurt. . Ever wonder why it does not satisfy your hunger? Check out the sugar content. It is full of milk sugar (lactose) and often has sweet fruit added. Cottage cheese is a little better but eat it as a snack only within an hour of the next meal.
You can eat eggs for breakfast. Canadian bacon - try to avoid the greasy strips. Omelettes with salsa. Rancheros with goodies. No hash browns.
If you are busy at lunch or dinner you can choose frozen low carb meals like low carb Lean Cuisine. No, my dear, forget the Pizza for now. A low carb tortilla with chicken and salsa are fine. Guacamole is great.
Desserts can be tough if you eat them regularly because they usually contain a lot of sugar and fat. But you can come up with a substitute like a half cup of cottage cheese with a half a pear. Maybe save it for an hour after dinner or before bed if you get the mid night munchies.
This is not so hard and good training for the real thing. The idea is to start to feel like you have conquered the hunger monkey on your back that is caused by spikes and valleys in blood sugar. The idea is to keep it steady, level and low.
Not eating salty snacks will remove temptation because they often come with low quality carbs like corn, rice and wheat starch. You can eat pop corn if it has NO salt. Reducing bad fats is optimal in any diet but small amounts of the right kinds may actually help control your appetite. More on that in another post.
The idea is to start making an effort to become very alert to everything you put in your mouth. Start reading labels. Check a book or on line for sugar content. I found this site helpful (or use any one you like) and you don't have to sign in to use the calorie and nutrition finder at the very top of the page: http://www.nutritiondata.com/
You may feel immediate benefits of less hunger even before the very next meal or at bedtime. Or it may take you a few days. You may still have a habit to overeat so try to be conscious of your actual appetite. You are not trying to lose weight yet. Just remember - you can get something to eat if you make the right choice.
Don't forget the old saw is that if you cheat you are cheating yourself. You have to give you body and mind the chance to adjust. If you eat something you shouldn't, then restart the 3 day timer with the next meal. But if you are not ready to begin, don't play games. You can do the diet/cheat/diet/cheat thing forever and never get your appetite under control. Don't blame the test. A fair try is at least 3 days.
Make it a 3 day weekend affair if you want. Stay away from people and places that tempt you. Get out somewhere on your own for a while. Go to the movies or for a walk in the park. Take the dog for a couple walks a day.
Get your mind off eating when you are away from the table and concentrate on WHAT you are eating when you are AT the table.
If you take it seriously, you should start to feel more control within days. As you feel something happening, you can keep it going a full week to convince yourself you are onto something.
Don't skip meals and try to keep to a regular mealtime! Your sugar will drop if you postpone a meal more than 3-4 hours. You could eat 5 small meals a day if that works.
Don't skip breakfast even if it is just a half a whole wheat sandwich. or 2 soft corn tortillas with a slice of lunch meat, an egg of any kind, a small bowl of low sugar cereal. You can postpone it an hour after you get up but don't skip it and plan on lunch at a normal time. Set your meal times at even intervals. This is important to even out fluctuations in your blood sugar levels. That is why diabetics are very precise about eating on time.
If you are really getting the sugar in your diet down, you may start feeling a little high mentally. You should not feel those sugar lows when you feel wiped out in the late afternoon. You have just discovered that sugar swings affect your mood negatively and that keeping it steady makes you feel more positive. You don't need me to tell you that gaining control of your appetite and a terrific mood will help make weight loss a lot easier.
Is this hard work? Not really. It may seem different from your normal diet/guilt routine but you are not starving. Does it take self-control? A little but it's mental, not physical. It's about changing your priorities. Look at it as a challenge or a hobby.
Try it and see what happens for you! Whatever the details, I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised.
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