Changing my diet

[Freebird]

Well here's the thing. Many of you know that due to a bout with Cancer about 5 1/2 years ago, I lost the site in my right eye. Things are going fine and the cancer appears to be under control so that's not the issue. A couple of months ago while I was in Columbus, OH on a business trip, I woke up one morning and was having a difficult time focusing. Computer text was blurry and etc. Got up and headed out to see some customers and found that my distant vision was blurry also. Couldn't hardly read street signs and etc. Being blind in one eye already, it was a bit scary.

 

So when I got back home I went to see my eye doctor. I had just gotten new glasses about 2 months before and my prescription was almost the same as the year old glasses that I was wearing. This time though, my vision had changed a good bit. Especially my distant vision. So again I got new glasses but they didn't find anything wrong. A physical a couple of months early indicated that my blood sugar was getting a bit high. I was not diabetic but he called me "pre-diabetic" and told me to change my diet or I was looking at diabetes in the future. Based upon that, my eye doctor told me that my blood sugar was likely causing my vision problem. Apparently high sugar causes the pressure in the eye to change and distort the eye and can cause vision problems.

 

So, that scared me enough that I finally decided OK....time to look at my diet. Now you have to remember, though I live in Ohio now, I was born and raised in Texas and was raised on biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, lots of beef and etc. Since marrying Eileen almost 20 years ago my diet has certainly improved as she absolutely does NOT fry anything. Still though, I travel extensively and eat out at least 4 days a week and have taken full advantage of it. A couple of 20oz. Ribeyes per week is not unusual and the other nights are typically either BBQ, Mexican food or whatever else I am in the mood for.

 

Well I'm 59 years old now and changing eating habits at this age is not easy. I'm trying though. For about the past 6 weeks I've completely changed my diet. It has been perfect except for two little things. I HATE it and I'm ALWAYS hungry. Now I'm fortunate that I've not had to be on blood pressure medicine. For a few years I've taken a very low dosage Cholesterol drug because my good cholesterol is too low but otherwise, I've been pretty lucky.

 

So I changed my diet. Instead of going out to eat every night, I go to the grocery store and buy food (if you want to call it that) and take it to my hotel to eat. Usually a bag of salad mix and some smoked salmon or tuna to top it with. Instead of eating the hotel buffet scrambled eggs and bacon, sausage or ham that they have, I eat a small bowl of raisin bran with 1% milk and MAYBE a small thing of low fat yogurt. I have never been one to eat lunch so that gets me by until my friggin salad at night. I still usually allow myself to go out one night per week and treat myself. Even then though, instead of the 20oz bone in Ribeye, I will have maybe an 8oz Sirloin. Instead of blue cheese dressing with the salad, I have a vinaigrette or something like that.

 

Now like most folks at my age, I could stand to lose a few pounds. I never thought I was obese but knew that it wouldn't hurt to lose a bit. Just wasn't that important to me though. I am about 6'2" or slightly taller and when I started this, I was bumping the 220 lb. mark. Now after about 6 weeks of this new way of eating, I'm down to, as of this morning, 200 lbs. So even though I didn't change my diet to lose weight, I have lost 20 lbs. in 6 weeks.

 

To be honest, I think that those height/weights charts are crazy. According to most of them, I am still overweight but I honestly don't want to lose much more weight. So now I have to figure out how to eat to slow down the weight loss while still maintaining a low carb diet to control my sugar.

 

In addition to all of this. I MISS my food. I LOVE food. I LOVE food that I don't need to eat....and....I'M HUNGRY. ALWAYS HUNGRY!

 

Maybe doing all of this well help me to live longer.....but do I want to? hmmmmmmm.......

[Tensilon]

Just a few thoughts ....6'2" and 220 does not sound that bad. 200 I'm guessing u prolly look pretty fit and don't feel too bad there either. Those charts your primary is showing u have changed thru the years and the associated weights corresponding to what they say is normal have trended down. I have generally always had issues with those figures and I still dont give them alot of credence. Also low carb does not necessarily mean low or no protein. I have found that as I get older I do eat less red meat but I do still enjoy a good steak now and then. Chicken and fish are good too...for u I mean. Did he run an A1C on your labs? I bet he said to increase ur exercise or activity level also. This will help keep ur sugars down. If u know any registered dietician, talk to him or her. A1C is a measure of your sugars over a period of time...several months I believe and what ur looking for is something around 5 or so. Get yourself a blood sugar meter and check it urself occasionally. 70-100 is bout what is accepted as normal these days. If you are consistently around 100 ur probably doing pretty well. A man cant hardly live on rabbit food alone. Again am out of town on my phone....could speak with u better on a puter or in the chat room when I get home.....sounds like u are doing very well tho...congrats on your successes so far;)

Larry

[uncledj]

I'm no doc, but 6'2....220 sounds pretty normal. I'm 5'11, 210, and I don't consider myself overweight.....at least not by much.....but the size of your frame means a lot too. They try to make an end all list of what people should weigh, and it just doesn't work that way.

Anyhoo, eating healthy is always a good idea.

Ya gotta treat yourself from time to time.

In most things, moderation is key.

Gettin' old ain't for sissies.

 

Be well.

[Broncoboy36081]

I'm 5'10" tall and I'm at 235. Over the last year I have lost over 70-75lbs. I was weighing a whopping 306lbs. I am a very large framed guy. Now everyone tells me I look like a body builder. Lol who would have thought there was muscle under that insulation!

 

Keys to eating healthy and weight loss

 

5-small meals throughout the day!

Good fruits!

Low fat grilled meats like fish and chicken breast

 

 

Exercise!

[dacheedah]

My doc told me I could loose weight or be on medicine the rest of my life and still feel like crap. I chose to give up on my love for sugar. Started out with Atkins because it is easy and always worked for me, always dropped weight fast but would rebound almost as fast. Now I get all my carbs from fruit, eat very little processed food, enjoy meat and fish, gave up on diet drinks so water and coffee black are my drink of choice. Still dropping weight and feel much better. I actually think we are sugar junkies.

 

Just a note my niece is teaching in China again this year, 3rd year, she is a health junkie and is very regimented about her portions and her diet. She gained ten pounds here over the summer before going back. The only difference she saw was that in China all the food is fresh and they eat very little processed or preserved foods. She also commented on how they eat every part of an animal and the funny thing is parts we discard they treat as delicacies, like tongue and fish heads, , , I still remember my grandparents used to make cow brain, tongue, mountain oysters. . . and I think how we have become spoiled as a people.

 

U make home made bread and it goes bad in a couple days if not eaten, store bought can stay good for weeks, there is just something wrong with that. I know two officers who were having medical issues, one was a Mountain Dew fanatic and it turned out he has a yellow dye problem and another has a red dye allergy. When you stop and look at the foods that add die to make them appeal to us it starts to make you wonder what all we are shoving in our pie wholes.

 

I personally don't think the artificial preservatives and sweeteners are very good for you and since changing my diet, my tastes have changed also.

 

Happy eating

[mini-muffin]

Don you need to eat at least three meals,or five small ones. I've also changed my diet due to high blood pressure,taking a diuretic at the moment. Hoping to get it low enough to get off it. Check out some diabetic cook books for meal ideas, even on the road. You definitely don't want to be diabetic. Good luck with the diet,it's not fun but better than the alternative.

[Illinois]

Congrats on your weight loss! Wouldn't be too concerned about BMI. Many serious strength athletes fall into the obese category. Not implying ultra muscle is the way to go but from what I've read a 1968 Mr. America contender was exempted from the military draft for being overweight. Besides with a 20 lb weight-loss you just gained extra horsepower.

[Phoneman1981]

Congrats on the weight loss. I am age 52. 5'7". Crept up to 181 lbs. Started a high protein, low carb reduced sugar diet 2 months ago. Slowly losing weight. 36" waist down to 34" waist. More enery. Not as hungry between meals. Work in progress.

[Black Owl]

I'm with you Don. Eating health just ain't eating in my opinion.

Years ago, a Doc told me that if I wanted to live a long healthy life I needed to give up smoking, drinking and avoid risky behavior. I told him if I had to do all that it wouldn't be living it would be existing.

[Snarley Bill]

don, try the atkins diet. go buy the book and read it. it works and your never hungry. i lost 60 lbs. on it. and got to eat all the neat fat loaded food. i gained it all back . the beer got to me.

[Barrycuda]

Losing weight is not necessarily the correct indicator that one is healthy. Blood sugar 90 or under is considered normal. A1C 6.1 or under is what most doctors are looking at. Sometimes people go from on extreme to the next. That also throws off your body.

[Freebird]

I agree. That is why I said, I was NOT changing my diet in an effort to lose weight. It is just a result of the change that I made to get my blood sugar down a bit. I need to buy a tester because I don't even know what the result has been. I just know that I'm losing weight...and I'm HUNGRY.

[camos]

Talking about diets is somewhat like talking about bikes, everyone has an opinion about it whether stated or not. Could even be compared to a discussion of politics or religion.

A diet usually means one of two things to people. The majority seem to think a diet is what you eat when you are trying to lose weight. The reality is though, a diet is what you eat whether it be a good one or a bad one is the only important distinction.

Now like most folks at my age, I could stand to lose a few pounds. I never thought I was obese but knew that it wouldn't hurt to lose a bit. Just wasn't that important to me though. I am about 6'2" or slightly taller and when I started this, I was bumping the 220 lb. mark. Now after about 6 weeks of this new way of eating, I'm down to, as of this morning, 200 lbs. So even though I didn't change my diet to lose weight, I have lost 20 lbs. in 6 weeks.

Between 20 and 40 I weighed 195, very lean with no fat and the BMI of the time placed me as borderline obese. Total nonsense!!

Today I'm 67, 6'3" and weigh 215. Two years ago I dropped down to 190 and was told I looked emaciated, I thought so too. At that point I decided to hell with calorie counting, just eat healthy and see what happens.

 

Well, that turns out to be not so easy because you essentially have to learn to be a dietitian. So at best it is a work in progress. There is a lot of info available on what foods are good for you and what are not. Find out what they are so you can eat nutritious food and your weight will stabilize at a healthy level.

 

My diet consists of small portions of meat (25%) and large portions of vegetables (50%) and small portions of carbs (25%). High fibre foods such as whole grains and legumes are very good for your diet because they take longer to digest and therefore keep you feeling full longer. Many of them also contain protein which also takes longer to digest and give you energy later on after the carb energy rush has passed.

 

Low fat and "diet" foods are as good as poison to you body because they supply nothing that is good and trick your body into thinking there is a high level of sugar so it turns the food in your gut to fat in preparation to handle the perceived sugar level which is not there. This triggers a sugar hi and then a sugar low which mess with your insulin level which will cause nothing but grief in the long run.

 

So now I have to figure out how to eat to slow down the weight loss while still maintaining a low carb diet to control my sugar.

When you think of sugar level you must think of all foods because when the body digests something it turns it into sugar. Eating carbs such as pasta and white rice are almost the same as eating a tablespoon of sugar because they digest quickly to become sugar. Eating whole wheat pasta and brown rice is not quite the same. Look at food labels. The ingredient list will tell you whether you should eat it or not. If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. If sugar or salt are in the top ten ingredients, don't eat it.

 

Home cooked food is by far the healthiest option because you can control the ingredients. In the obverse way, eating at restaurants is not a particularly healthy choice, which for you is a real bummer. Being on the road a lot makes controlling your diet rather difficult.

 

In addition to all of this. I MISS my food. I LOVE food. I LOVE food that I don't need to eat....and....I'M HUNGRY. ALWAYS HUNGRY!

I hear you. As mentioned by several others, grazing (5 meals a day) is a good way to keep hunger at bay. There is a learning curve to eating often in order to prevent overeating. Europeans have been eating that way for, shall I say, centuries. It's a good method. Learn what snack foods are healthy and which ones are not. EG: a handful of almonds is a good snack with fiber and protein to keep you satisfied while also providing essential nutrients.

 

Here is a slideshow article that I read this morning that is very general and sometime anecdotal but it is a beginning to understanding what you should eat and what you should not. There are a lot of similar or better ones out there that will eventually help you to make better choices and hopefully stave off the !!! HUNGER !!!

 

This turned out to be a rather long post. Sorry if it got boring but everyone should pay more attention to what they eat. OK, that is just my opinion but I'm standing behind it.

[tz89]

I switched to lamb when I want a hunk of meat. Supposed to be a bit better for you but I just like it better as long as its not prepared the English way which seems more grey than anything. And of course buffalo and many game meats are healthier than industrial beef.

 

Yes, I marinate it in Seafoam.

[XV1100SE]

Don - glad you were able to change your diet in such a little time and stick to it. Losing 20lbs probably makes you feel "fitter". Hope you have the vision issue under control.

[BlueSky]

I believe that soft drinks, coke, pepsi, whatever, diet or sweet will kill you, or I believe it will kill me! I'm 70 yrs old. I mostly drink water now and coffee. I refuse to give up my coffee. And I consume very little sugar.

 

When it comes to controlling cholesterol, aerobic exercise works much better than diet for me. In fact what I eat seems to have almost no effect on cholesterol levels. 50 minutes of rapid walking 3 times a week will keep my cholesterol in check no matter what or how much I eat.

 

Keeping excess weight off and aerobic exercise 3 times a week are the best medicine for the body in my opinion.

[plumberman]

Been a diabetic for years and didn't take care of it , wound up in the hospital with a heart attack at 53 . Diabetes leads to a number of things , eye sight , kidney problems , heart problems , and the worst numbness in your feet . I take insulin 4 times a day , brought my a1c from 14 down to 5.9 . Exercise on a tread mill and lift weights 1 hr a day, 7 days a week . Theirs a pasta out there called Dream fields that limits amount of carbs that stay in your system and it really works . And it's good tasteing . make sure you eat smaller meals and healthy snack in between . Living is a lot better than dying so be sure to take care of yourself . If you or any other member want to talk about this let me know .

[Freebird]

Somebody the other day was telling me to try spaghetti squash in place of pasta. They said that it looks pretty much like regular spaghetti once cooked. Very neutral taste and works well as a substitute. Eileen already uses ground turkey for all the sauces that she makes so that may be a good option. Haven't tried it yet and understand that the texture is the only thing that you have to get used to.

[IronMike]

Yep I lost sight in one eye do to RVO, Then the Vein blew up and the retina is kicked off. That is most likely caused by diet, after Cat Scans, MRI's, several kinds of Ultrasounds, Vascular labs. The most through check out ever known to man. They discover Fatty liver.

 

So I have to lose 50 LBS.

 

Your on the right tract. RVO is caused by diets and cholesterol If you have sight in one eye, do continue to tone down the Red meat.

 

To eat healthy or not is entirely about riding for me. I like to be lighter on the bike, and I Live to ride.

 

If I die at 100MPH on a bike in a curve, but choking on a steak, going so blind I can't ride or living a slow miserable death of heart disease or even through a stronk is not my idea of fun.

 

So that's reason enough to change.

 

At a Marks store stop in and get the meal bars called Good greens. Use them to hop you over a meal or curb a urge. They are the BEST for you. 2 for $3 and in many flavors.

 

Also it would be wise to take cinnamon pills with meals. Also helps regulate your sugar while digesting a meal.

 

Add Vitamin D3

 

4 more months and I might have my eyesight back. Taking the shots now. 4 to go.

[SilvrT]

Keys to eating healthy and weight loss

 

5-small meals throughout the day!

Good fruits!

Low fat grilled meats like fish and chicken breast

 

 

Exercise!

 

Totally agree on the 5 small meals.

 

Now if I can just discipline myself to all of the above.....

[SilvrT]

 

When it comes to controlling cholesterol, aerobic exercise works much better than diet for me. In fact what I eat seems to have almost no effect on cholesterol levels. 50 minutes of rapid walking 3 times a week will keep my cholesterol in check no matter what or how much I eat.

 

 

Doc told me my cholesterol was a "tad" on the high side. I told him it was that way 10 years ago yet I've changed my diet considerably since then. He said I'd have to drastically change it over a long period of time in order to have any real effect ... he gave me some pills.

 

I hate pills!

[XV1100SE]

I don't see the standard requirement being adhered to here. Don - where are the pics ? (you mentioned Eileen so at least a picture of her is required....and if we have to see it, a picture of you after your 20lb weight loss)

[Freebird]

LOL....to be honest...when I look in the mirror, I don't see that much difference. I have noticed that my pants are too big in the waist now but only a couple inches so far. I had gone to a 36 waist to be comfortable. Now a 34 waist is not tight at all.

[BlueSky]

I lost my brother when he was age 42. He had Type 1 diabetes and didn't take care of himself. His kidneys failed. A kidney replacement didn't work and he passed due to a heart attack. He was a wonderful person and a wonderful brother, father, and husband. He was 3 years younger than I but I looked up to him.

 

Exercise and keep the weight off for Type II. Minimize carbs, especially sugar. Eat lots of vegetables.

[GAWildKat]

My 2 cents here, I'm pregastric bypass now. At 39, I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I'm 5'6 and 215lbs (atm). I qualified for gastric bypass in June, the docs immediately put me on the postop diet to assist me losing weight until I have surgery. I lost 15lbs. The key is getting enough protein to stay full. Everyone needs between 60-80grams of protein daily. The body can only absorb 30 grams at a time, so it is best to keep portions small. 2oz of meat, beans, or eggs is abt 10grams. Try adding greek yogurt to your meals, I use it in the place of mayo in my chicken or tuna salad, it also adds protein without all the fat and sugar of other yogurts.