Archive for April, 2010

The Best Diet Plan (Part 2)

Yesterday I posted the question, what’s the best diet plan?  The answer to that question is going to depend on who you ask. For me, I had to find something that wasn’t too strict  yet focused on eating healthy foods most of the time.  I also wanted a plan that would benefit the host of health issues that I am concerned about such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance and high triglycerides just to name a few.

For me, I know that it is important to watch my carbohydrate intake and choose healthy carbs over simple carbs most of the time. When  I say healthy carbs, I am talking about the whole grains over processed foods and foods that are loaded with sugar.  I am also watching my intake of saturated fats, avoiding trans fats and trying my best to avoid processed foods.  I have increased my fruits and  vegetables and fiber and also try to incorporate heart healthy fat such as olive oil and almonds into my diet.  All of these thing are working but there is one thing that I am doing that may sound detrimental.

Most evenings  I have been allowing myself a full size candy bar. Right now I have full size snickers in my freezer as well as dark chocolate. And yes, eating full size means a lot of calories, not to mention sugar but the way I see it is this, I am trying so hard to choose healthy foods that I know are good for me and that will make me feel better so why not have one treat a day if it keeps me eating healthy most of the time? After all,  my days would normally consist of plenty of soda, chips, candy and tons of other processed foods so in my opinion, having a 300 calorie candy bar at the end of the day is fine since the rest of my days I have eaten really healthy and watched my portions.

If I am successful with this plan, I will most likely cut back on the candy over time. However, having a candy bar waiting for me at the end of the day seems to be just the thing that has kept me motivated. And although I haven’t been counting calories I have been watching portions and making smarter choices.

There are so many fad diets, in fact, I recently read a blog from a guy who planned to eat nothing but three king size snickers each day.  Will he lose weight? I am sure he will. However, besides that fact that he will most likely get sick of snickers  really fast,  eating nothing but one thing means your body is not getting what it needs like it does from eating a variety of healthy foods.

So anyway, I did sneak a peak at the scale again this morning and I am down 4 pounds in 5 days so I know that I am doing something right. Of course I don’t expect big loses like this every week but even a pound a week following a plan that I can live with is worth it.   I am just really determined to get it right this time.

What’s the Best Diet Plan? A Diet You Can Stick With (Part 1)

What’s the best diet plan? I have been asking myself that question since I started this blog nine months ago at 204.5 pounds. On April 19 I weighed in at 206 so obviously what I have been doing is not working. I really thought that having a blog to document my progress was the key to success  but sadly, it didn’t turn out that way. However, this time I think I have finally got it. And today, four days  later and down to 203 pounds I really think that things have turned around.

If you go back to my oldest post you know that my health issues include my high risk of developing type 2 diabetes (I was diagnosed with insulin resistance a few years ago and had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant). I also have an insane amount of belly fat-not from getting older but because of genetics.  I also have high triglycerides and although my overall cholesterol under 200, my good cholesterol (HDL) is too low. Oh and did I mention my high blood pressure?

So this brings me back to the question, what’s the best diet? For me, it’s one that I can live with for the rest of my life. Over the years I have tried them all, Atkins (lasted a few days), The South Beach Diet, a diabetic diet plan designed for me after seeing a nutritionist, The Insulin Resistance Diet and of course, Weight Watchers.  With the exception of the Atkins Diet (no offense to those who follow this plan, this is just my own opinion) each of these diet plans is  pretty healthy and  has something valuable to offer yet I can’t seem to make any of them work for me.

About a month ago I bought The Belly Fat Cure by Jorge Cruise. The book looked promising for me and I could see where it could really help those of us who have health issues due to excess belly fat. Still, I found it to be a little too strict for me. For example, with my risk of type 2 diabetes I know that watching carbs is important but Jorge counts both sugar and carbs. Having no more than two carb servings per meal was pretty doable but I also had to stay under five grams of sugar per meal and less than 15 grams of sugar a day. And because all sugars are counted, even those in fruits and vegetables, I found it hard to stay under 5 grams at one sitting. Still, I picked up a lot of great tips.

I am currently reading You: On A Diet: The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management by Dr Mehmet Oz and Dr Michael Roizen, that I was lucky enough to get at my library. Actually I started to read this book a few years back but never finished it so this time I made the commitment.  I will admit, I am not doing everything that they suggest either but I have picked up a lot of good tips (such as eating a few almonds 20  minutes or so before dinner so that you will eat less).   Among other things, the authors  go into great detail about inflammation (internal) and how it can really do damage to your body. Eating the right foods can go far in preventing inflammation.

This post is really getting long winded so I will go ahead and post tomorrow about some of the changes I have made that is making a difference already. And even though losing three pounds isn’t a success story yet, the fact that I am able to stick with my diet  plan without feeling deprived and have already noticed an increase in energy  makes me feel as though I just may be on to something!