Sunday, April 4, 2010

Losing Weight the Healthy Way...

The last time I saw the doctor, he told me the same thing he tells me every time I see him, lose some weight. I asked him to carefully check my chart and he did see that I dropped about 14 pounds since January. The good doctor asked what I had done differently: had I changed my diet or exercised more? I revealed that I stopped drinking so much soda and replaced it with water. While he said that was a start and I should continue the weight loss with small changes to my diet.

I said I was ready to cut out all fats, white bread, dairy and sugar. The doc told me that while that was an OK idea, small changes and more exercise would serve me better. Really? He explained that for me, if I made a small change, I would be more likely to stick to it and therefore be able to make that change permanent. Make a small change, such as replace white bread with whole grains, would be easier than cutting out all three things at once. When I was sure I could make another small change and be successful, then do that too. The doctor said I if I lost 1-2 pounds a month, chances of keeping the weight off would increase.

I asked about protein supplements. I've been looking into detour bars and I wanted to know what would happen if I stopped eating dairy and red meat altogether and added a couple high protein bars. I told him I don’t eat beans, eggs, red meat, milk, eggs or cheeses much at all. After asking me why, I told him I thought I would lose more weight if I didn't eat much of that stuff. The doctor said I would just end up with a protein deficiency, and that would be unhealthy. A body on a low calorie diet needs protein or it will maintain it’s energy stores by using fat the body has stored as well as the lean body tissue to make up for the calories the body isn't getting.

Since I am trying to lose weight, I need protein. The doctor also reminded me there is no protein in chips, soda and candy. Try detour bars he said, but don’t over do it. He suggested adding seafood, lean beef, or white meat poultry. Beans and eggs are good protein sources too.

3 comments:

  1. Boy if you give up something for one reason, they have another excuse for something else. It's hell to loose weight. Happy Easter :)

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  2. Black beans are yummy and a great source of protein! Let me know how those bars taste though. I might keep a stash for emergency protein. I may keep them for those times when I get invited somewhere and discover a protein-free meal.

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  3. Sounds to ME like your doctor is a pretty smart fellow! I stear clear of protein bars or shakes altogether. For ME they do NOT satisfy my HUNGER. I am a HUNGRY person and I eat a large quantity of food! I found that making wise choices and accepting that fruits and vegetables should make up the BULK of my eating really helped a LOT! Fill HALF of your plate with veggies, 1/4 with protein and less than 1/4 with grain/pasta/potato ... and exercise! (that the REALLY hard one!) LOL!

    (and in response to Quilly's emergency protein - I find that a hard boiled egg at 70 calories is a LOT more satisfying than those bars!)

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