Why Now

I told you that my next few blogs were going to be about food and my new eating protocol. (I'm NOT calling it a diet because I want the changes to stick and not be a temporary thing.)


So why now?  In January when we came home from our trip I was really no more overweight than I had been for the last couple of years.  Based on some chart or other, I was about 44 pounds overweight.  I had tried to lose weight a couple of times last year, but got nowhere.  


After my colonoscopy, the gastroenterologist told me I needed to eat more fiber. When I discussed the results from my regular annual blood work with my new doctor, she told me my cholesterol and blood glucose numbers were too high. Actually they were lower than last year's, but the Kaiser doctor said no more than "you could lose a little weight, but otherwise you're doing fine".


I knew what I had to do about it.  Lose weight.  I knew how to do that as well.  Many fat people know as much about nutrition as someone who has a degree.  It's not a mystery.  Eat too much and you will gain weight.  Eat a lot of fat and you will get fat.  Get moving and use more calories than you take in.


Jerry put it very well in one of his comments. "You will find your path, but it will probably be a straight and narrow one!"


Right now my path is this:  I have a food journal and track every bit of food I eat.  I read the labels or look things up in a "Food Counts" book. I am recording three elements:  calories, fiber, and carbs. I aim for less than 1500 calories a day, and 30 or more grams of fiber a day. If I stick with that, I find I usually am consuming less than 200 grams of carbs a day. 


I'm not tracking fat or sugar because if I keep the calories down, both of those will be in acceptable ranges.  


Because I'm trying to consume more fiber, I have almost completely eliminated all dairy, and any serving of meat I eat is small and lean. I had already eliminated most red meat over the last year.


With only 1500 calories a day there is no room for alcohol.  I have also eliminated white potatoes, white rice, white bread, and pasta.  


I think of it as having a calorie "budget."  If I'm trying to get up to 30 g of fiber, I can't afford to spend many of my calories on foods that are low in fiber.  Meat, cheese, candy, and wine, all are high in calories but have no fiber. I can't afford them.


So far it has not been hard.  Giving up potatoes and wine has been a challenge, but as of today I am only 29 pounds over the highest end of what I should weigh for my age and height.  The pounds have been slipping away!


And I've also been walking on the treadmill every day again.  I had let it get dusty.


I told the doctor I wanted to do this and get retested after three months. I keep picturing her surprise when I have lowered those numbers with nutrition.