Ugh...

[fajrdrako]

I went to the doctor today.

What's up? (1) My weight (2) My blood pressure (3) the dosage of pills I need to take.

I need a good weight-loss diet. And hours of yoga per day.

Advice welcome.

Comments

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Commiserations.
I can't think of any good weight-loss diets. The only time I ever lost a serious amount of weight was due to stress, which in your case would be counter-productive re: the blood-pressure!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's a catch-22, isn't it? Probably not the best way for me to do it.

[commodorified.livejournal.com]

The least drastic option I can think of offhand is: drink twice as much water and eat twice as many fruits and vegetables as you are doing now.

This will actually help cut down, fairly painlessly, quite a lot on what else goes in there.

Also, I vow to stop being a bad influence on you. The stuff we eat when we get together isn't making either of us any healthier.

Also also, do you know about fanaticize? Might be helpful for keeping the workouts on track, and the beginning of the month is a good time to join.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, that sounds like good advice. I really should drink more water. And I like fruit.

We should promise not to be mutually bad influences. Pho can't be bad, right?

No, I didn't know about [Unknown site tag] - I'll have a look.

So. What healthy thing should we have for supper tomorrow?

[star-momma.livejournal.com]

Check out SparkPeople (http://www.sparkpeople.com). My username there is Beth_wilde, and I even run a branch of the NewWho list there. It's a good place for support and inspirational challenges to keep you motivated. I'm down more than 20 pounds since February :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Now, that sounds like a good idea. I've already registered there. How do I find your group?

Down 20 lbs. since Feb. sounds wonderful. Hearty congratulations!

[wijsgeer.livejournal.com]

start smoking?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Eeeee! I don't think I could stand it. Yuck!

[kimsrants.livejournal.com]

I could just lean over and tell you this but:
Pashaw! Unless that doctor of yours had fun shoes: I don't trust him.
But every time i loose weight it's because of one thing: I refuse to buy bread and only eat it when i make my own, from scratch. I am a carboholic so bread is my devil; my moist, squishy, yeasty devil.
Abolishing the devil from my home does a few things.
One, i eat less bread since it takes at least two hours to make.
two, I eat more fruits and veggies and drink more water because they're faster than bread.
three, when i want bread i have to knead for what seems like hours to make it: my upper body workout.
four, my bread is healthier than other bread. It also could beat other bread in a race to the moon if other bread weren't such a pansy.
five, i still get to eat pasta and rice!
The best thing though is that for me, one or two little self imposed restrictions (no bread buying at home, no salt eating at home, and no sugar eating at home) means that going out for food is more of a treat. And I love treats.
but that's just my bag of tricks.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

No. No fun shoes. At least... you know, I was so busy being bummed out by my blood pressure I didn't even look at her shoes. I should have! Oh, well, next time.

I already don't eat bread. Or hardly ever. Except I did have a sandwich for breakfast yesterday. Mostly I try to avoid wheat altogether. It's a difficult thign to avoid.

Rice is good. I eat a lot of rice.

Thing is... I thought I was already eating really well. Following the Canada food guide, not having too much sugar or wheat, lots of vegetables and fruit. And I still gained weight. What's with that?

[idiotgrrl.livejournal.com]

I swear by Weight Watchers.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

How much do they cost? I've certainly heard that they're good, but my impression is that they're expensive.

[tudorpot.livejournal.com]

There is no diet that has been proven to help people lose more than 10% of their wt and keep it off for a year- this is from doctors/scientists that have studied the field. If diets were a drug, they couldn't get approved as they're ineffective. The best thing you can do is eat a healthy balanced diet and exercise. Dieting has been detrimental to my health and caused me to gain wt overall. My body views dieting as a famine and when the famine is over it triggers my body to gain wt in case there is another famine. I've lost over 20 lbs in the last year with no dieting. Actually stopped using artificial sweetener and put sugar back in. Who knows what our bodies do.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

If diets were a drug, they couldn't get approved as they're ineffective.

Hee. And the theories behind them always sound so good.

Problem is, I was already eating a balanced diet, and I walk 45 minutes per day. And I still gained weight. It's frustrating!

So how did you lose 20 lbs? Just not eating too much?

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

I don't have dieting tips, because as people have mentioned, diets per se aren't sustainable and may harm you. Add some exercise - lean muscle mass uses more calories to maintain, and burns some to develop. And something as simple as a brisk walk can boost your endorphins and make you feel even better about exercise. Be mindful about what you eat - especially if it's junk, do you *really* want it, or is it habit? If you (as I often do) grab a handful of dry cereal every time you are near the kitchen, it adds up quickly. Stuff like that.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I heartily approve of exercise, but I walk so much.... and exercise, like anything else, takes time away from what I want to do. I suppose I can make a point of exercising at lunchtime. I will stop getting lazy on the hot days (which won't come so often now anyway) and taking the bus to work. As long as it isn't too icy, I can walk in any weather.

I really don't eat a lot of junk. I eat better than most people I know. (Or at least, I think I do!) So I'm grumping: "This is so unfair!" But as we all know, no one ever said life was fair.

[meri-oddities.livejournal.com]

Weight Watchers works. I would also recommend exercise, but I know you walk a lot anyway. It's actually easier if you start out as a couch potato like I did.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Too late to become a couch potato! But you are an inspiration to me.

[abrakadabrah.livejournal.com]

Go lower carb and stay that way. Eat protein, fruits and vegetables.

Also, a cool trick for making diet pasta. Instead of real pasta,
use zucchini and slice it with a julienne peeler or a mandolin:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-1767444-8057228?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=julienne+peeler&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

That way, you get to eat the pasta sauce, which is the delicious thing,
without eating the gluten.

For yoga, take a class. It's easier to maintain excitement when someone
else is there to provide it for you. (I keep telling you this, you keep on
ignoring it. )

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

That zucchini trick looks good.

Yes, I can go back to my yoga class. And try to catch up to where I was before...!

[maaseru.livejournal.com]

Weight Watchers is the best, healthiest, and the results last. As you know, I have not gained any of the weight I lost since I went there.

To keep down expense of joining WW, http://www.thedailyplate.com/ has a great website. You can keep track of all you eat, while getting info on everything, not to mention suggestions, etc.

[maaseru.livejournal.com]

and don't forget to include carbs - as you have an unusual situation re hunger, you'll need carbs to satisfy or you'll be starving 24/7.

[countrycousin.livejournal.com]

I, also, wgt up, BP up, meds up. (sigh)

When I can discipline myself, I also have found Weight Watchers effective. I know what I have to do - I just don't want to do it.

Above comments seem good and seem to be from people who know your particulars.

Best of luck!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I, also, wgt up, BP up, meds up. (sigh)

Awww commiserations. ~ hug ~

Yeah, it's hard to want to eat carefully, isn't it?

Good luck to you, too.

[sparklebutch.livejournal.com]

Pet, pet.

Would this make you feel better? When Mal met Jack (http://whedonesque.com/comments/14150)

Re advice, I wish I could tell you how to work out every day; I need to do the same, and I don't seem to. Let me know if you find a magic spell to make us both move.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thank you, great link, yes, it does cheer me up!

A magic spell. I'm sure there are some Buffy characters who could help there.

Actually, weight-loss was the theme of one of the Torchwood novels. There was this doctor who had an amazing weight-loss clinic that really worked - you just took a pill and lost weight and looked terrific. For a while. Then the alien inside you killed you. So it wasn't really a long-term solution.

I am going to get up tomorrow morning and do exercises. Really.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

I was reading recently that ALL sweet drinks -- whether with sugar or with sugar substitutes -- were bad for you because they reset appetite points (or something of that sort).

I think this is the article:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/07/24/sodapop-consumer.html

So dropping all soft drinks, including the aspartame ones, might help.

The _Why French Women Don't Get Fat_ book recommends only water, tisanes, tea, or coffee -- and no snacks -- after dinner if you want to lose weight. Also small portions & walking a lot.

Other books I've read say it's essential to exercise as well as diet -- but you're already doing that!

My condolences -- what frustrating news.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I can handle doing without soft drinks. Especially since I can't get Kinnie here anyway.

Small portions. Walking a lot. I can handle that.

Yes, frustrating news. I knew I'd been having too much cheese. But I really thought I was taking reasonable care.

My current resolve:
- exercise daily (even if just walking to/from work, but hopefully more)
- get enough sleep (at last 8-9 hours)
- eat carefully

We'll see if that helps.

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

Well, I lost ten pounds since getting my tonsils out because it was so painful to swallow anything, but I definitely don't recommend that.

I went to Weight Watchers for a little while, but it was... every item of food has a number of points, and you get so many points per day, and it was like I had to be THINKING ABOUT FOOD constantly and it sort of freaked me out. I felt like I was cosplaying an eating disorder.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

These days, I'd settle for cosplaying an eating disorder. I don't want to have to worry about it, but not worrying about it has got me in this position in the first place.

It doesn't help that I know a lot of people around me in the past month or two who have had bad heart attacks or strokes - including Mike Wieringo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Wieringo), whom I didn't know, but I knew his work. Another friend - who'd thought he was healthy - had a heart attack, heart surgery, and a stoke, and has been in intensive care for several weeks now.

It's scary.

So I hope to find a way to handle it without driving myself crazy - or losing my sense of proportion.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

No good at advice personally, esp. with all the good advice you've already gotten, but lots of commiseration, which I'm terrific at.

Someone mentioned julienning zucchini. There's also a critter called a spaghetti squash you might find at your local market. You cook it, cut it open, and instant vegetable spaghetti, already in strands. Good with sauce.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The problem with spaghetti isn't the wheat, it's the cheese I like to put on it!

But yes, plenty of vegetables. I will eat a lot of vegetables.

[glinda-north.livejournal.com]

I've been having good luck with ediets.com (19 lbs since May!). There's a bunch of different diets to choose from and they give you weekly meal plans. I've found that to be hugely helpful since I'm someone who needs to be told specifically what to eat and when otherwise I'll make a whole meal of one pork chop or something.

Whatever you do, best of luck with it!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'd been thinking of doing ediets - thanks for the comment, because I wasn't sure if I'd ever talked to anyone who had done it. 19 lbs since May sounds terrific - I'm impressed! and congratulations.

Today I drank 8 glasses of water and walked for two and a half hours. It's a start!

[toraks.livejournal.com]

I follow the Zone diet (Barry Spears?) and it works really well for my metabolism somehow. It's not a starvation diet and it's somewhat scientifically based diet that's healthy.

The main idea is to only eat "good" carbs, proteins, and fats -- but ALL 3 every time you eat. Keep your insulin (and that whole damn system) in check. Good carb foods are fruits and veggies and the less processed the better. Soups and fruit juices are out. Good proteins are fish and fowl, but others aren't too bad if not too fatty. Good fats are olive and almond based (oils, the foods themselves). Those are examples, there are more. One of the big and most difficult things is that you're supposed to get very very little of your carbs from starches -- no potatoes, no bread, no rice, no pasta. That's a hard one.

On the other hand, I weighed a good 205-210 pounds (purposefully didn't look at the scales when I got close to 200 at the time, but I'm sure I was a bit over before I lost it) and absolutely miserable. Had been trying to eat healthy and exercise lots, but have bad ankles and had hurt myself pretty bad doing aerobics. Was very depressed and fat and tired and unmotivated. I got on this diet, didn't exercise too much because of my ankle, and gradually got myself down to 180-ish over a few months. Pretty much kept it there and got down to the low 170s for a good long time. Only gained back to 180-ish when Tom moved here and was by myself. Went to a modified rather than strict Zone after I'd lost a good amount. Felt very much healthier and less horribly out of shape and miserably fat.

I'm going strictly on again right now, but as I started in the mid-170s and am trying to get to a better weight, it's not going as quickly as that time. But on the other hand, I don't actually remember how quickly it went and don't have it written anywhere. But I have been doing it fairly strictly (weighing/counting foods, balancing almost every single time I eat, etc.) for about 2 months now and am down from about 176.5 to 171 today. Have gotten as low as 168.5 last week or so, but my annoying menstrual cycle makes my weight cycle a lot during the month. I should go down a few more pounds next week right before I get my period.

Anyway, I won't say this diet is for everyone and it takes a lot of work to stick to (Tom helps a huge amount for this by doing lots of the measuring/preparing for me!), but it works very well for my metabolism and is relatively easy to stick to, because you really can eat quite a lot. It stops me from being hugely hungry between meals quite often! You can't eat as much as you want, but to balance about 4-5 ounces of fish, you can eat probably 2-3 huge bowls of broccoli!!! So it depends on the foods you pick.

The main reason I love this diet is because when I eat "bad" carbs I always end up feeling very hungry no matter how much I eat. it's a craving hungry rather than a stomach empty hungry -- but it's just as bad if not worse. This diet keeps that from happening to me most of the time. And it's a pleasure not to be that kind of hungry all the time!! :-D

Anyway, look it up online and see if it appeals. There's tons of books out there on it and stuff. It's not Atkins, though it may sounds somewhat like it. You're not eating just protein and fat. Everything's supposed to be good and healthy.

Good luck with it all!!!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

This sounds fascinating. I had friends in Toronto who were following the Zone diet a few years ago; I don't know how it went, but they seemed to be enjoying it when I last saw them.

Why are soups ruled out?

I've done the no-wheat thing fairly often (as part of the candidiasis cure), so no startches is at least something I'm used to. I am, currently, allowing myself 12-grain bread. I don't know for how long. It's an experiment.

I like the sound of the advantages: that with only good carbs you don' get hungry. I always find that the more vegetables I eat, the less I feel hungry. The problem: vegetables take time to cook, and aren't readily available in restaurants and fast-food places. (For lunch, for example.)

I'll do some more research on it, and do let me know how it goes with you. Sounds as if we're currently similar weights - I's at 183 lbs. right now.

I am certainly trying to eat healthy foods. That's the key. So no more macaroni and cheese for a while.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Safflower oil, mia kara. The oleic type for cooking in heat, and the linoleic type for salad dressings. Look into it. It helps your body burn fat instead of storing it.

Also for lowering blood pressure: blueberries. (Good medicine!)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

That's a nice thought. I like blueberries.

I thought olive oil was supposed to be good - ?