New Year, new diet!

[grawk]

Going from 2000 calories a day to 1300 is a massive change.

[humanflyz]

Is it? I don't know, I never felt any hunger pangs, but I probably over-estimated anyways.

[grawk]

35% reduction is pretty major.

[Dreadhead]

I highly doubt you dropped to 1300 calories, that's my "my god I need to make weight for a regatta" intake. 1200 is the minumum that they ever recommend and is not a "healthy" intake.

Congrats on the weight loss though.

[strid3r]

Well - day 3 is almost over and I am happy to say that I no longer have cravings. Regardless, I HATE this fucking diet!

Had some corn today as well as some broccoli, potatoes and cucumber and that filled me up rather well. Good thing is that I feel like I have a bit more energy.

This is not aimed at you, but one of the big problems with diets that I've seen is that most people just think of them as temporary periods of eating "healthy". When a dieter reaches their target weight, they tend to go back to old habits and regain all the old weight. It really needs to become a lifestyle/lifestyle change for it to be effective in the long-term. Personally, it was the fast food and sugary drinks that got me.

Nonetheless, congrats on your progress LFF.

[mulveling]

Those vegan-only "detox" diets scare me, I would be wary. Drink water, up your fiber intake, cut out the processed/refined crap - that's your "detox" right there. Fruits and veggies are super, but by themselves they are a not balanced diet. No need to cut out lean meats, nuts/seed, lowfat dairy, eggs, whole grains (make sure they are 100% whole though). I modified my diet last year to this kind of mix, exercised more, and I feel great and look like a different person - face leaned up nicely, no longer look like a kid No problems maintaining as it's not too restrictive to variety. I've recently added some alcohol back in but now I'm in maintenance mode anyways.

If you're sticking to the vegan diet thing, at least make sure you're getting enough protein by eating plenty of beans. You don't want to lose muscle mass on this diet.

[lostonetr]

Agreeing with what mulveling said. Kind of seems like an unbalanced diet, just for the sake of getting certain results for the test. Short term goal, and not good looking for the long term outlook. Eating healthier in general and having the balanced diet as mulveling said is probably a way better choice.

I cut to 163-165, wavered around there. (This was with a 1300 calorie diet for awhile, Not exact, but the general target, sometimes lower sometimes higher. on some days with less activity it was 800-1000). Didn't really get too hungry when I switched to the 1300 area, seemed do able. Was probably eating at least 2000 calories a day before that. Just got back from Vegas after about 5 days of being wined and dined on. At 170 now.

[LFF]

I agree with what most of you guys are saying. This diet is a two week thing then I have to go back to doc's office for another check-up. I guess what I will eventually do is keep a balanced diet with little or no fast food. I don't want this to be a short term thing since heart disease runs in my family.

I am almost a week into this and I have had no cravings and am not as hungry as I used to be. I also feel rather good too! I have avoided getting on the scale as I want to see the difference at the end of the two weeks.

[mulveling]

I am almost a week into this and I have had no cravings and am not as hungry as I used to be. I also feel rather good too! I have avoided getting on the scale as I want to see the difference at the end of the two weeks.

That's great! It took me almost 3 weeks before the cravings got under control and I started feeling great. I also noticed that the significant intervals of improvement on the scale came along about every 3 weeks.

[The Monkey]

Ugh, I need to do the diet/exercise thing, too. And I dread it. But I feel like ass at my current weight and need to be able to keep up with my son when he starts to really motor. I know it's not so bad once you get in the groove, but man, it is hard for me to get in that groove.

[JBLoudG20]

Ugh, I need to do the diet/exercise thing, too. And I dread it. But I feel like ass at my current weight and need to be able to keep up with my son when he starts to really motor. I know it's not so bad once you get in the groove, but man, it is hard for me to get in that groove.

If you don't make a full schedule change, I find it very difficult to stick to it. Once I had gotten used to working out right after work/before dinner, I never seemed to want to skip it. It just became a natural part of the day. Trying to fit a workout here and there was epic fail, in my experience. To each his own

[grawk]

Ugh, I need to do the diet/exercise thing, too. And I dread it. But I feel like ass at my current weight and need to be able to keep up with my son when he starts to really motor. I know it's not so bad once you get in the groove, but man, it is hard for me to get in that groove.

You're a partner, have an associate do your diet and exercise for you.

[The Monkey]

You're a partner, have an associate do your diet and exercise for you.

Nah, I'm just an in-house cog. But I have been meaning to hire that lackey.

[JBLoudG20]

Nah, I'm just an in-house cog. But I have been meaning to hire that lackey.

What's the pay?

I'm really good at breaking legs, breaking code, back rubs, cleaning toilets, being online at work, and making chicken parm. Obviously, I'm extremely qualified.

[Hopstretch]

I've lost 15lbs in the last month on a simple regimen of influenza, followed by bronchitis, followed by gastroenteritis. There are some minor downsides, like wasting your morning in the radiology clinic as I am right now. For some reason, chronic cough plus sudden weight loss seems to make doctors think in a certain specific direction.

[aardvark baguette]

[ingwe]

Hopstretch, hang in there.

LFF, I emphasize.

Last Tuesday Doctor gave me the results:

Fasting blood sugar: 177 (normal < 100)

Hemoglobin A1C: 8.6 (normal < 6)

Result: I have a "mild case of diabetes."

So now I've started medication. Next week I'm attending an insurance-paid-for diabetes education class.

The good news is doc is confident that if I drop 30 lbs or so, I can go off the medication. I'll need to stay vigilant diet-wise and monitor my blood sugar for the rest of my life.

This is a wake-up call for me. Very real.

I too want to eat a juicy cheeseburger.

I'm going to pretend my plain oatmeal is a juicy cheeseburger.

-m

[JBLoudG20]

oatmeal

[mulveling]

Oatmeal is awesome dude. Cook it with 1-2% milk instead of water, sprinkle cinnamon, slice some banana or add some raisins...'twas a staple of my morning routine for quite a while last year.

That and other quality whole foods will start tasting real good once you've cut out the junk foods for a while. Keep it simple, if you don't know what its ingredients are or the list is a mile long then you probably shouldn't eat it. Roasted/baked whole chickens are super for lean low-cal protein - remove the skin. Plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt - yum! Go for liberal doses of assorted fruit and veggies (cut back on starchy veggies and watch the caloric dried fruit and juices though). I love eggs, cooked in EVOO, a few of 'em have satisfied me a number of times when nothing else healthy would do. Watch the breads & cereals, they are rarely 100% whole grain.

Of course I recently started drinking a bit again - that's my one indulgence. I've mostly been sticking to light beers and vodka shots though

[ingwe]

^^^

Thanks man.

I'm under the impression that I need to avoid fruit and carbs. Another question or three for my class next week.

-m

[grawk]

cooked in EVOO,

ok rachel

[Dusty Chalk]

I agree with what most of you guys are saying. This diet is a two week thing then I have to go back to doc's office for another check-up. I guess what I will eventually do is keep a balanced diet with little or no fast food. I don't want this to be a short term thing since heart disease runs in my family.

I am almost a week into this and I have had no cravings and am not as hungry as I used to be. I also feel rather good too! I have avoided getting on the scale as I want to see the difference at the end of the two weeks.

A lot of times those cravings are a result of missing a nutrient from your diet -- so if you're not feeling hunger pangs, then try to stick to what you're doing, it's probably right.

There are also longer term nutrients that you don't need to have on a daily basis, so don't take that as gospel, still monitor your own well-being and adjust accordingly.

There's also nutrient interactions (protein earlier in the day reduces the craving for carbohydrates later in the day, etc.), so...there ya go.

[The Monkey]

So far I am not sticking to my diet and I am not exercising. Progress.

[boomana]

I've lost 15lbs in the last month on a simple regimen of influenza, followed by bronchitis, followed by gastroenteritis. There are some minor downsides, like wasting your morning in the radiology clinic as I am right now. For some reason, chronic cough plus sudden weight loss seems to make doctors think in a certain specific direction.

Hope things check out for you.

So far I am not sticking to my diet and I am not exercising. Progress.

I'm doing neither, but I had a really nice day today. That should count for something, right?

[LFF]

Well - it's been a little over a week and I have lost nearly 10 lbs. I feel great and many problems I had are starting to slowly fade away. I went for my 1 week check-up and the doc was very happy with my progress. Blood pressure is down and my weight is down.

If I can get my high school pants to fit, then I'll be very happy. I'm going to stick to this diet hardcore and loosen it up after two weeks or so if I feel the need. As of now, I'm very used to it and I actually like it now. I have to REMEMBER to eat because I don't get hungry and I get no food cravings at all.

I'm staying positive so far, but there is still a long way to go.