Low-fat, low-calorie, low-carb, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, The Zone...

Anyone here on a diet?

I'm not on a diet, exactly, although I do try and eat clean most of the time... maybe 80% of the time. The other 20% I eat french fries and beer and breadsticks. Yum!

I am not on a diet now, but did the South Beach Diet and loved it!

I went from size 12 to size 8 in three weeks over a year ago. I am still an 8 :-)

The South Beach Diet convinced me that healthy eating is more tasty and better for you...

I agree Webbie...South Beach is the way to go! I followed it last winter thru spring and lost 25 pounds! I lost 10 pounds the first week, then averaged a pound a week loss after that. I may go back on the first two weeks of South Beach soon, because I've still got more to lose.

Since then I've gotten into the habit of watching my carb intake and just generally eating healthy. I had started running this spring but haven't been able to this summer because of back pain. Ends up I have to have surgery for something I didn't think was related to my back at all! Now watch me put back on all the weight I lost

Naomi -

Good luck with your surgery!

Running is hard on the body (especially after 30). Ever considered Karate?

Actually, I'll be getting into martial arts with a friend after my recuperation!


Thanks

<--- does running, martial arts, weight lifting, yoga (I'd be in better shape if I didn't like to eat so much. LOL)

I think martial arts can be hard on the body, too, especially the joints. Some of the quick explosive movements can tear a body up, depending on which martial art you choose. Find a good instructor if you want to get involved in martial arts--one that cares about your health as well as how much you learn.

As a side note, I've gotten more injuries (sprained ankle, cracked rib) from martial arts than I ever got from running. Which probably is more reflective on my skill as a martial artist than anything else. LOL

don't believe in them.I eat what I want.I just MOVE.Life's too short to starve yourself and tell your self "oh,I can't have this and I can't have that." "Maybe just a tiny peice".

But,you all have fun counting things and depriving yourselves.
Good Luck.

Oh,and naomi,Do your re-hab! Even at home.Ask for things to do at home.Take it from someone whos been there. Good Luck.

I do agree with you in that respect WVD...but I've got to follow the "everything in moderation" approach when it comes to eating. If I don't, I end up eating everything in sight and feeling totally gross!

BTW, I LOVE your new avatar!

Me too. Nice.

I guess everyone's on a "diet" from something if you define it as "counting things and depriving yourselves". If not food, maybe it's booze, cigarettes, chaw, sex, shopping/spending, or whatever.

I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight -- and I did eat (and drink) like a horse and held on at 180. At around mid-20's I started to gain weight, so some minor adjustments held off the weight till about 35. Since then, I gotta be careful or I'll get as big as a house, but I'm not on any formal "diet" per se.

Unfortunately yes. Had a physical before vacation and my cholesterol was 309!
doc says if I want to see 50 I've got to cut it way down. He put me on Zocor and my wife has been feeding me chix,turkey,oatmeal,& salads every time I turn around. I've lost 4 lbs. since July 12th

And now I start drooling anytime I pass a fast food place

I hope you're exercising more, too!

I had a physical 2 weeks ago. My HDl was 54 LDL was 35. My imzines were 302.
I`m on a diet so to speek. 2,000mlg. of fish oil pills a day and stay away from fried foods as much as i can stand. weight 218 shooting for 195. Not to bad for a almost 60 ole man LOL.

Sam's has a great deal on the fish oil, Mcgee, and the quality is tops according to Consumer Reports.

Thanks Snoopy i`ll check it out.

I use ground flax seed.I sprinkle it in everything.Also,bite size shredded wheat has more fiber than the oatmeal.Although you could put the flax on it and up the fiber that way.
Flax has alot of fiber,it also has a high content of the plant version of omega-3.
I put it in cereal,soup,salads,bread,biscuts,cookies,muffins.All kinds of stuff.
It brought my LDL down to 101 so far.HDL up to 39.And triglcerides down to 151!
I was a sick puppy.But,now that the back is fixed,I'm getting better all the time.I've also added smart beat to my "diet".
Wow! your LDL was only 35!

What does the fish oil do?

Provides omega 3 fatty acids. It's supposed to bring up the good (HDL?) cholesterol. The HDL is supposed to be high and the LDL is supposed to be low. A good combined cholesterol is, I think around 160.

I take Lipitor for my cholesterol. Tried the fish oil pills but I have a psychological problem taking large pills/capsules.

Sorry, it's Friday.

CHOLESTEROL LEVELS

Total-200-or below
LDL(bad)- 100 - or below.70 is best
HDL- 50 - or higher
Triglis- 150 - or below is best.

I got these off of WEB MD

Wow, Samy! I know it's gonna be hard work, but get it down. We want you here bugging us for many more years!

As for diets, I don't follow one. I need to exercise more. I was doing really well for a while, then fell off the exercise wagon when everything got busy. We'll see how I do when school starts and the house gets back into a routine again. But, I'm going back to school, too, so who knows. I may lose weight because I don't have time to eat!

The one thing I have pretty much eliminated is sugared soda. I stick to diet and crystal lite most of the time. Every now and then I'll splurge for the real thing. Same with eggs. I buy egg beaters and use them for everything. Always order them when I go out for breakfast, too!

Now, about that bag of jalapeno chips I went through in less than 24 hours........

God makes people in all shapes and sizes - I've always been a round. I was a bean pole until Mother Nature got hold of me the summer between 6th and 7th grade. Came out of 6th grade looking like a little girl, went into 7th grade looking like a grown woman, if you get my drift.... And it's been downhill from there.

I have forced garlic pills on us to help with heart issues, saw palmetto on him for prostate issues, and soy on me for "change of life" issues.

I don't eat that much, but my eating at work stinks - pop tarts for breakfast, yogurt & popcorn or crackers for lunch..... And my only real exercise is gardening. Thing is, the dumb treadmill is in the middle of the living room - I have no excuse! But I've done 12 hour days every day this week - who wants to come home and walk on a treadmill - I want to sit on the swing and drink a couple of beers until it's time to go to bed.

I don't understand why I'm fat......

Flax seed and flax seed oil are very good for you. Flax seed oil's generally a better choice than than fish oil, because it doesn't carry the risk of heavy metal contamination that you get with fish oil.

I'm on a diet and exercise regimen. Either one without the other is just a waste of time. You've got to eat right and get plenty of exercise to be healthy. I've tried a few of the fad diets - including Atkins and South Beach - but found that I get the best results eating an appropriate number of calories from a balanced ratio of macronutrients based on my activity level and fitness goals. It's really not healthy to overindulge or overrestrict any of them.

How are you health wise? Thats my only question to people.It makes no difference if you're a size 1, if your arteries are so clogged that they only work 80%! Not all fat people have high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Sounds to me like you're actually living your life like YOU want.And de-stressing on the swing with a beer will go farther in your health than straining on the mill.Stress is a killer.And I know what you mean by round.Apples run in my family too!




Between stress and depression a few years back and then injury,my health went down hill fast! I'm working on it,one thing at a time.I'm actually to the point now with the back and knees ,to where I can go up and down stairs without a hand rail.And let me tell ya,thats an accomplishment.Him(doc) having to move the nerve and losing some spinal fluid really took it's toll.Thats why,if ever someone you know has to have a spinal tap treat them like royality.Give them anything they want!

Has any one ever heard anything about grape seed oil.

Some one once told me about the benefits of it, but it's very hard to come by.

Especially from seedless grapes.

same here WVD! My fav snack is a bowl of vanilla yogurt sprinkled with flaxseed & drizzled with honey! Mmm good!

While it's true that not everyone was made to be skinny or muscular, God also expects us to be good stewards of the bodies He has given us. Let's be careful we don't go blaming God for our lack of self-discipline, nor use a righteous opposition to vanity as an excuse for slothfulness.

I'm going to ignore that comment, as I know that I could do more, but I am far from being slovenly or undisciplined. There is no man or article of clothing on earth worth starving myself to death for, and those who love me would never expect me to do such a thing.

CR tested several berands of fish oil and found no heavy metal contamination. It is needless worry.

I drink too much.
Smoke too much.
Eat whatever I want that tastes good.
I don't know how to cook.
Fridge has butter, eggs, milk, beer and frozen eye mask in it.
I deal with stress by having a cow.

Not good, Feather. Not good at all.

Y'all make me feel guilty.

But Billy Joel said only the good die young.

Sounds like a Dave Matthews song

That was me but a mere 5 years ago.

My advice: Learn to cook!

I'd rather eat out. Can't you eat healthy in restaurants?

Why does everything that tastes good have to be bad for you? If it's bad for you, why the hell make it taste good? I mean, what's the purpose? Why? To tease? To make you feel guilty for having it?

I'm such a finicky eater too. I give most foods "the eye." Oh I try new things. My friends will you tell you no, but I do. Just the other day someone tried to get me to try mashed cauliflower. Uh. No. So she sang out for five minutes, "just try it." I have freaking eaten cooked cauliflower before. No, it was not mashed, but it's the same difference. So I'm not trying it! I like my cauliflower raw only.

And all of my meat substitutes are laden with fat and salt.

I need a chef. PM me to apply.

Time for lunch. What am I supposed to eat that's healthy? Suggestions? Had salad last week. Must I eat it more than once a week?

Guess I need to plan meals and go grocery shopping. Then commence burning of the food I just purchased.

Goodbye cheese burrito and bean tacos? Breakfast biscuits? Mashed potatoes?! Sauteed mushrooms?! Pizza for sure, but what about lo mein? What about soup? Minestrone and Maryland Crab are my favorite. Oh and crabcakes. Fried rice.

I'm starving.

You should be OK with soups, as long as they don't start with "cream of". Pizza can actually be good for you in moderation if you ask for less cheese and more sauce. Kinda defeats the purpose of it, huh?

For me, my staple of lunch is usually some kind of lean lunchmeat sammich with mustard instead of mayo (or low/no fat mayo).

Your signature.

Pretty cool, isn't it, Heather? Kinda creepy, too.

You can still eat all that stuff. Minestrone and MD Crab soup are both pretty healthy. Pizza's okay, too. In fact, there's nothing terrible about anything you listed.

All things in moderation, I think. That's the key.

I hardly ever eat salad. Truth is, I hate it. I have to force myself to eat it. Though sometimes I get on "healthy" kicks where I'll eat it for lunch a few times a week.

Here are some of my favorite lunch choices (most pretty healthy, LOL):

-Smushed avocado sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce and tomato
-Smushed chickpea sandwich on whole wheat bread
-Soup (lentil, bean, minestrone or sometimes veggie chili)
-Fried rice (make it myself in non-stick pan with very little oil. lots of veggies and brown rice)
-Bean tacos (make it myself with whole wheat tortillas and whole black beans, not refried)
-Smoothie: frozen fruit, soy yogurt, rice milk and protein powder
-Veggie burger and brown rice

Learning to cook might help... now you have a big, full kitchen to use, right?

What? You don't think dogs rule?

Yes and yes, Moms.

I love chickpeas. I could sit and eat them like popcorn. Never thought of smooshing them until you said something awhile ago. Must try this.

I already make the fried rice like you do, but I usually use a Rice a Roni box. I love dumping in water chestnuts and bamboo shoots along with the standard carrots, broccoli and mushrooms. I'll try the brown rice though.

What's with all the whole wheat stuff and why no cheese anywhere on that list? I loooove cheese.

It is in no way big or full. It's smaller than the kitchen in my apartment.

I love 'em, too. Sometimes I cook some spinach, garlic and diced tomatoes in olive oil, then toss with chickpeas and serve over (whole wheat) pasta. YUM!



Mmmm... you're more creative than me. I usually use tofu, whatever veggies are in season (right now using a lot of zucchini and squash), onions and some frozen peas/carrots.

I try to opt for whole wheat as much as possible because of the extra fiber/nutrients. Same reason I choose brown rice. White breads/pastas have very little to offer, nutritionally speaking. Whole wheat takes a little while to get used to, but after a while you can adjust. Sometimes for pasta I'll mix half wheat half white. But things like whole wheat couscous are practically indistinguishable from the white version.

AS for the "no cheese," I'm vegan... which means vegetarian plus no dairy, no eggs. I'm also mildly lactose-intolerant (they say it's common among Asians), so I don't miss it at all. These days they have a lot of decent substitutes, like a Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese and Soy Delicious ice cream. (Sounds gross, but it's not half bad, I promise! LOL)



Bummer! Well... there's always handy gadgets like the George Foreman grill. I use mine religiously. Sounds stupid, I know, but it's really cool...

I switched to whole grains when I was following South Beach, and will never go back to white flour anything! Whole wheat pastas and bread, and brown rice has so much more flavor than the white varieties! Eating white bread is like eating a piece of styrofoam now

Ya can tell Sman works in government -- he knows more about me than I know about myself.

What test method did they use and what was the detection limit? Just 'cause they didn't find any doesn't mean they're not there. Considering that flax seed oil is just as good it's better not to take the risk IMO.

Eat lots of red meat! Best thing for ya!

I think Uncle Ben's makes a "ready rice" pouch with brown rice that you put in the nuker for a minute. Makes a good 2 servings!! Only eat wheat bread, recently started buying wheat pasta. Daugther took one look at pasta and freaked. Can't tell the difference if you are blindfolded, but she says she can!

Speaking of tofu, I had the best fried tofu with kale when I was in Asheville, NC last month! It was spicy and crispy, but the sauces on it and the kale were really salty....but so yummy!! I wish the restaurant had a website, just so I could look up exactly what it was called.