Healthy lifestyle progress

Keep it up! You'll do fine.

Keep portion sizes reasonable (or smaller than usual) and run away from foods which contain high fructose corn syrup (you wouldn't believe all the foods that have it). Walking is great, but resistance/weight training will burn more calories over the duration of the day and increase your metabolism.

The key to this whole thing is to make it routine. When I skip a day of exercise, I feel like I've really missed something.

Good luck! There's not a better thing you can do for yourself than this.

 

Thanks for the update and keep up the good work!!!

 

Marg: Here's a meal you can make easily and quickly at home. It's not a substitute for real cooking, but it's easy and healthy and surprisingly good:

One 1-lb package of frozen vegetables. Any plain frozen veggies will do, but if you think you don't like veggies, peas and carrots may be the most palatable.

One 1-lb package of frozen cooked squash.

One 11.5-oz can of V-8 juice.

About a cup or so of water.

Put it all in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, simmer for 5 or 10 minutes. Eat about half of it and put the rest in the fridge for tomorrow. That's your vegetable portion.

It's easier to open the package of squash if you nuke it in the microwave for a minute, or just leave it out on the countertop for a while, or maybe move it from the freezer to the fridge in the morning.

You can make it into a full meal with a bit more work:

When it starts to boil, add a cup of quick-cooking brown rice. This is much healthier than white rice or pasta. It takes 10 minutes of simmering to cook.

Add some baked tofu. Don't use raw tofu unless you know you like it. If you've never had tofu before, or if you think you don't like it, the baked tofu will be much more palatable. I like the hickory flavored baked tofu. Or, as an alternative to the tofu, use 6 to 8 ounces of fresh or frozen fish. The fish takes just 5 to 10 minutes to cook in the soup, depending on the thickness of it and the kind of fish. (This is two big servings.)

Now you've got a complete protein and your necessary carbs.

Note also, that nuts (in moderation!) are healthy. But peanuts are not really nuts. (Different kind of oil.)

One piece of fruit for dessert, and you've had a complete meal, at home, on the cheap.

Later, you can start using fresh veggies, and improvising on ingredients.

And as dreichla says, if you can avoid foods with corn syrup, you'll have improved the health of your diet 1,000 percent. Avoid all foods containing any form of refined sweeteners (sugars) or added fats, and you're almost guaranteed a healthy diet; but this is so difficult it may take experience and working into.

Keep up the good work. We're all rooting for you!

 

This is a good ongoing topic.

Over two years ago, I got a wakeujp call when my blood pressure was 160/100 and when to the gym daily. Later, a heart surgon's assistant told me I was close to seeing her. {gasp!} Went from 213 to 180 pounds, but back to 186 again. Want to lose more weight to reduce diabetic risk and faster marathon times (picture you fuel economy with 500 pounds in the trunk )

My biggest problem is portion control - eating better, but too much. Just have to think of different pleasures...

 

Pick up some brown rice miso at your health food store. It is a dark paste that you mix with water or other liquid. Like honey, it mixes easiest if you mix in the water a tiny bit at a time, Once it has begun to dissolve, you can pour it into the rest of the liquid. It makes a very flavorful broth, which will give the above quick soup more flavor.

And I neglected to say that if you use the rice, you should increase the water by an amount equal to the rice.

And please don't dismiss the tofu out of hand. The baked tofu is very different from the raw kind, with a very nice flavor. Give it a try. Just cut it into small pieces to go into the soup.

 

FWIW, typical portion sizes here in America are generally way to large... i had one person tell me once that if you take a typical portion (of, lets say, pasta) and cut it in half, you'd be closer to a correct size.

However, i've found that it really only takes a week or so to lower the amount you're eating and not miss it. I'd guess the stomach contracts a little, so you feel full after eating less food.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Dec 4 2006, 06:08 AM) [snapback]357319[/snapback]</div>

Everyone who's ever dieted will agree with this!

 

Congratulations on your first steps, Marj! You're well on your way! We've got your back if you need help!

Go you!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Dec 4 2006, 10:08 AM) [snapback]357319[/snapback]</div>

My family eats at asian restaraunts, and I am always curious what the asian owners and workers eat. Surprising, at least to me, is to see HUGE portions of food. But it is usually veggies, and sometimes pasta.

So I say eat large portions if you want to, but do so with very low caloric density food. Or put another way, start most meals with a large bowl of healthy soup (not blood and fat) !

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(EricGo @ Dec 4 2006, 10:31 AM) [snapback]357465[/snapback]</div>

Or salad. Salad (without dressing, or with lemon juice) is a good way to fill your stomach with few or no calories.

 

This is an important thread since so many of us are overweight. If my experience is any help, I have lost 10 pounds in the past 2 months. My body mass index is now down to 24. It has not been difficult; in fact I am really enjoying it. I feel stronger and more energetic. I saw a woman on TV who spent $10,000 and lost only 1 pound. I just don't understand why. Losing 10 pounds was very easy and I expect to reach my target weight of 155 by Christmas. It takes a little discipline, but not anything superhuman. Here is what I did:

1. Got a pedometer ($12.00)
2. I have walked 4-5 miles a day for the past 2 months. This takes about an hour and a half. You need a pedometer because without it you will think walking 20 or 30 minutes is enough - it isn't.
3. I don't eat any high calorie junk (donuts, potato chips, soda)
4. I don't eat in restaurants (if I eat out, I will take a small portion of food to be weighed at the salad bar or a small salad) My portions are small enough to cost no more than 2-3 dollars. YOU must control the portion size, not the restaurant.
5. For dinner I am fortunate in having a wife who cooks delicious real Chinese food, not the take out garbage. I really enjoy the food - fresh tofu, soups, fish, pork, chicken, ribs all served with rice.
6. For breakfast, I have 1 slice of homemade bread (bread machine) with butter and jam and tea. That's it.

I think anyone who follow this will lose weight. As for the walking, I could not not do it now. Once you get into the habit, you would feel bad if you did not do the 4 miles. I have no interest in jogging, in swimming or in smelly gyms. Love the fresh air.
This requires a small degree of motivation and discipline, not that much. I'm looking forward to losing 5 more.
Good luck to anyone trying to lose weight. It is not hard at all.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jared2 @ Dec 4 2006, 01:27 PM) [snapback]357581[/snapback]</div>

Ah, would that it were so! I need to lose 15 to 20 lbs. The exercise is easy for me when I am in good health. For the past year my atrial fibrillation has wrecked havoc with my ability to do aerobic esercise, and for the past couple of weeks a hip problem has made it worse. But controling portion size: so easy to say and yet so hard to do! I congratulate you on the weight you have lost. An admirable accomplishment!

 

http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/9/3068_9408.htm

I highly recommend Dean Ornish, MD (internal medicine). Ornish has a couple of books out that are friendly and easy to follow. Why Ornish? He has been able to reverse cardiovascular disease, based upon research through the following program:

1. Go to store and teach people how to shop and what to purchase.
2. Go home and teach how to store, cook, eat and secure leftovers.
3. Participate in an aerobic exercise program (walking, swimming, bicycling).
4. Participate in a social & stress reduction program (church, yoga, social) with encouragement.
5. Stay with the program for at least two years.

Ornish is considered rigorous because the goal is to reduce fat in the diet to 10%.

Ornish is unique (unlike most programs) because he bases his program on peer-reviewed research and results.

Good success in your efforts!

 

There is controversy over whether any program can actually reverse cardiovascular disease, and also controversy over how low a percentage of caloric intake should be from fat. Some experts cite 10% or 15%, while others, more in the mainstream, suggest 20%, and a few at the other extreme dispute the need to reduce fat intake at all. There are suggestive studies, but as yet no clear, conclusive evidence.

The latest thinking is that there is more difference than previously thought in the health effects of different kinds of fats. Saturated fats and partially-hydrogenated fats being very bad, but fish and nut and olive oils being relatively good (though still carriers of lots of calories).

And there is no conclusive evidence that anyone has succeeded in reversing cardiovascular disease. Those who claim to have done so are well outside the mainstream, as are those who claim that a high fat intake is harmless.

A safe bet is a well-balanced diet consisting of fewer calories, combined with exercise that elevates the heart rate to between 60 and 85 percent of your personal maximum and keeps it there for at least 30 minutes.

You can estimate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220, but the only way to know it for sure is a maximal stress test, where you are made to exercise to complete exhaustion, typically on a treadmill that increases in speed and elevation by stages.

 

Yes, taking a day off a week from any exercise is a good idea - it allows the body a chance to recover a little.

As for your blisters, you might want to try a product called mole skin - it helps a lot. And while i know it's cold out, if you feel any point thats rubbing or starts to feel hot while you're walking, it'll turn into a blister every time. Unfortunately, band-aids tend to pull off rather quickly in the shoe and don't do much good... What i've found works best is to take a small piece of duct tape (seriously) and put it over the offending spot on both your shoe and your foot. it allows them to slide over each other without irritating or pulling at the skin. (I've done a ton of backpacking, and have had plenty of experience with blisters over the years.)

 

And as for walking shoes...I know you've already got some coming, but it's a great idea to go to a specialized athletic shoe store and get fitted. The staff at such places can watch how you walk (pronate/supinate) and recommend the best shoe for you. A good shoe means all the difference in the world. I run, and the difference by whole body feels between my love-em-love-em-love-em New Balance 857s and the hate-em-hate-em-hate-em Nikes is HUGE. This is not a commentary on Nikes, btw; they just don't work for me.

Just a recommendation. You certainly don't want jacked up joints, arches, or blisters.

Oh--and wear really tight, padded socks to help cut down the blistering.

Hope this helps, too.

 

If you read health articles in the news over the last two years as I have, you will come to the conclusion that most common diseases are more likely to happen if you are overweight.

- cardiovascular
- strokes
- diabetis
- joint problems
- many cancers
- possibly alzheimer's
- sleep apenea