Topic: My Diet, or Learn to Love Broth!

[Ken (OP)]

My Diet, or how I've Learned to Love Beef Broth!

Steve posted about, "Duck Fat - My New Best Friend! and that reminded me that I needed to post a topic for my *Diet*. 

First the good news... I've lost 20lbs! 
Now the bad news... my goal is a loss of 30lbs by December 15th and I'm needing to try much harder if that goal is to be achieved.   

The original thing all started about 2.5 months ago when I was in to see my Doctor and she said that "my big old fat belly hanging out, way down and over my belt and, my 286lbs were getting to be a bit much and did I want to live a little while longer?"
To which I said, "Well, Vanessa, if you're gonna put it that way then, yes, I guess that would be a good thing." 

So she gave me some guidelines and then with Kay's help I came up with a food plan and it's rather basic.
1/Stop using salt... you're going to get some anyway, but I was adding a lot.
2/Drastically cut back on milk... I was drinking 3-4 gallons a week, not I'll having 2-3 glasses (half full) a week.
3/And the big one; cut my portion sizes in at least half!... this one was easier than I had thought, after 2-3 days it didn't bother me at all.

And a lot of smaller details, like no more sweets, snacks ect.

There's still some time left before my appointment with Vanessa on the 15th, so I'm hopeful for the 30lbs goal... just gotta try harder.

Oh, and did I mention exercise?
Power walking is my new best friend! Power walking to me means walking as hard and fast as you can, just short of running and putting your whole body into it. I do this in sets that last for 10-12 minutes and repeat 3-4 times a day. I also throw in some work with the dumbbells, although I'm not doing that nearly enough.

[Skhilled]

I made a weight loss site for Lealer some years ago and had to do some research to make sure the facts were accurate. I have a lot of that stuff saved somewhere and have been meaning to add it to my cooking site one day. Here's a few tips:

1.  Eat slower. It takes awhile for the brain to register how full you actually are. This is why people can over-eat and not know how they did it. Eating slowly will help the brain to tell when you are full faster and you will start eating less.

2.  Eat more fruits (just watch the sugars in some fruits) and veggies rather than meats and nuts.

3.  Learn how to divide your plate portions. 2/3 - half of your plate should be veggies, the rest can be equally divided into proteins and starches.

4.  Use smaller plates and forks. You'll have to put less food on smaller plates and will not put as much food in your mouth at a time with smaller forks/spoons. I don't mean the tiny appetizer forks with two prongs. LOL Just don't use over-sized forks/spoons.

There is talk now that eating more than the 3 meals you'd normally eat per day helps. You don't eat more meals but you will eat small snacks like a few grapes or baby carrots for a snack. This will not make you feel like you are starving yourself and you will less likely binge eat or pile a bit more on the plate because you always feel hungry, plus, they are healthier. This is up for debate and may only work with some types of people but there have been a lot of talk about it in the news and on weight loss shows lately...

[Ken (OP)]

All good tips there Steve.
Most I've heard before, but a reminder is good. 

[Skhilled]

I wasn't sure if you've heard them before or not so I posted them anyways...

[Ken (OP)]

I wasn't sure if you've heard them before or not so I posted them anyways...

[Ken (OP)]

Update:

Went to see Vanessa yesterday and there's good news and bad news!

First the good news... I lost 20 lbs. 
Now the bad news...   I lost 20 lbs. 
So, no change from my last posting.

I guess that it's not really that bad, considering that we've gone through Thanksgiving, with all the Ham and Turkey and everything that goes with those dinners. And the leftovers... my goodness, the leftovers! 

So I'm encouraged now because my previously unstated goal seems realistic now and that is to lose a total of 55-60 lbs and get back down to my all time 'best' weight of 230 lbs. I maintained that weight for about 30 years.

[Skhilled]

Um, what about Xmas food???

[Ken (OP)]

Um, what about Xmas food???

Yes. 

[Skhilled]

LOL! Might be another 2 months before starting the goal, huh?

[Ken (OP)]

Oh, I'm working on it every day, but there may be a few setbacks.

[Skhilled]

So is there anything you can't have?

[Ken (OP)]

There is not a hard and fast rule, but in general I'm trying to not have any sugar, salt or dairy. Of course you are still going to get those elements no matter how hard you try because if it comes in a can, bag, or box it's going to have at least a little, especially salt.
On the dairy, I was drinking 3-4 gallons of milk a week plus lots of cheese. Now I'm having 1-2 glasses of milk a week and 1-2 slices of cheese.

But, this is the big part... limiting my portion size. Before my portions choices were rather large, 3-4 times what a normal person should eat, so my calorie intake was enormous... at least 3-4 thousand, but likely 4-5 thousand a day. Now I'm making a very serious effort to stay under 2500 per day.

And exercise at least one hour a day and put real effort into it, not just play at it. In this cold weather I'm not working up a sweat, but I do get my heart rate up to at least 100 (it's normally about 60-65) and try to keep it up for at least five minutes. The heart rate thing is during my power walking, so that's 4-5 times a day that my heart rate gets bumped up.

It's working, I've lost 20 lbs in three months and I'll work hard to keep that off during the Christmas Holiday and then go at it again in January with a goal of another 30 lbs by mid year.

[Skhilled]

Ok, so low salt, nothing creamy like cream of (something) soup etc., and less sugar. What about meats and starches?

[Ken (OP)]

Ok, so low salt, nothing creamy like cream of (something) soup etc., and less sugar. What about meats and starches?

Kay is taking care of that part by using more veggies and less meat.

[Skhilled]

I meant so I know for recipes I post just for you...