Shelter in place diet !

[Boaz]

Well it's time to fess up and 'swing' into action ! The shelter in place situation hasn't been a burden to me in most ways . I am tired of it though , church , stores , gym , state parks and everything shut down except Walmart and grocery stores mainly . Texas started 'opening up' Friday . My activity level is way down and my weight is way up ! Been spending too much time on my butt I think .

I generally hover at 200 pounds , it's my benchmark weight . It gives me a gauge to use to maintain at least what I consider my 'normal' . I weigh every morning on the way to the coffee pot . I have been more than aware I have been gaining weight since the advent of the pandemic when everything shut down .

This morning when I weighed I was 221 pounds ! My pants are getting tight and flags are going up for me . Regretfully it's time to lose some weight . There may be a few slackers out there like me that have been sitting on their butts too much like myself . I'll be seeking ideas , recipes or thoughts on weight loss . I'll be posting my weight every day and talking about what I eat . I'm an old hand at dieting but new ideas are more than welcome along with criticism , I have a thick skin .
I thank you for any comments .
Charlie

[smithnframe]

More physical activity and lower your calorie intake!

[RedlegEd]

Hi Charlie,
I used this stay at home to motivate me to lose weight. I started on 2/17 and I was 243 lbs...heaviest I've ever been. So I bought a rowing machine and a couple of 25 lb dumbbells. Every day, I would walk 2.2 - 2.5 miles, row 15 - 30 minutes, and every other day do 30 minutes with the weights. I also started intermittent fasting (Keto/Paleo when I did eat,) and charting what I ate. If it isn't water, black coffee, or unsweetened tea, it goes on the food log. You'd be surprise how much you graze throughout the day, so logging helps your awareness. I had a physical on 4/22, my weight was 206, and my numbers were the best I've had in many years. Anyway, this morning I'm down to 198.5, so it's definitely working (goal is 190.) I know you'll get there too, just stick with whatever plan you've got. @smithnframe has is right, "More physical activity and lower your calorie intake!" I would add, write it down. You know the old saying, "If it isn't written down, it didn't happen."
All the best,
Ed

[Cast_outlaw]

Well for me I shed a 10is pounds just by reducing carbs in my evening meal as I don’t need that energy before I sleep... ymmv

[Boaz]

More physical activity and lower your calorie intake!

YOU NAILED IT ! South beach diet , paleo diet , grapefruit diet , low carb diet .............................
Doesn't matter the diet plan , if your not counting calories you WILL fail ! Plus you have to burn what calories you do take in . I think a prescribed diet plan is a good thing for most folks . It gives selections , portions and more of a 'balanced' diet physically speaking . I have nothing against a diet plan , have used them myself . For most it gives boundaries , guidelines and an idea of caloric intake .

For about 10 years I have been on kind of a perpetual diet anyway . After much dieting and weight loss when I attained my 'goal' weight I'd just gain it all back in a short time . This is a common problem for folks that like to eat (like me) . Plus some of us simply gain weight more easily than others . One big real problem I have is fluid gain . My kidneys are down to 60% function , salt is my worst enemy . BUT ! I have discovered there is still life worth living on a low salt diet . In most foods using salt I use 'spicy' . I buy the big bottles of Tabasco 3 at a time , lol . If you have a 'salt' problem spices can pick up the slack in an otherwise...........bland diet . My diet is anything but bland . I still cook , eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies . I started the diet this morning having about 2 cups of fresh pineapple . Went to Walmart since I put up the opening post and got broccoli , greens , tomatoes , cabbage and squash . Restocked fruit with pears , cantaloupe , nectarines and another pineapple which will be ripe in a few days after sitting on the counter .

I'm not a prophet but in three days I'll have a significant weight loss . I will not starve myself (it's counterproductive) . The loss will be cutting out all the salt in the diet . It's amazing how much weight salt can throw on you through water retention .

We'll talk more ! Any simple to prepare food ideas are appreciated ! Thank you for your involvement and encouragement !
Charlie

[rancher1913]

simple, less eating and more writing on tumbleweeds

[Biggin]

More physical activity and lower your calorie intake!

Ain't no secret most people just don't want to do it! I been a little lazy myself time to get moving!

[Boaz]

Hi Charlie,
I used this stay at home to motivate me to lose weight. I started on 2/17 and I was 243 lbs...heaviest I've ever been. So I bought a rowing machine and a couple of 25 lb dumbbells. Every day, I would walk 2.2 - 2.5 miles, row 15 - 30 minutes, and every other day do 30 minutes with the weights. I also started intermittent fasting (Keto/Paleo when I did eat,) and charting what I ate. If it isn't water, black coffee, or unsweetened tea, it goes on the food log. You'd be surprise how much you graze throughout the day, so logging helps your awareness. I had a physical on 4/22, my weight was 206, and my numbers were the best I've had in many years. Anyway, this morning I'm down to 198.5, so it's definitely working (goal is 190.) I know you'll get there too, just stick with whatever plan you've got. @smithnframe has is right, "More physical activity and lower your calorie intake!" I would add, write it down. You know the old saying, "If it isn't written down, it didn't happen."
All the best,
Ed

Ed you exceeded expectations ! You have done well brother ....keep it up ! Me being a veteran in the war of the fat I'm glad to hear of your accomplishment ! Your method of keeping a written account let's you see progress , make adjustments and see the numbers come down . It's an encouragement to hear your story , you are certainly closer to the end than the beginning !

[WILCO]

Gained weight myself.
About ten pounds.
Beer and frozen pizza aren't all to blame.

[frkelly74]

I have quit using so much butter on everything. Also I have quit competing with the boy for the last , drum stick, porkchop, waffle, tater tot,whatever..... He "needs" it worse than I do.

[Winger Ed.]

More physical activity and lower your calorie intake!

Short of going on the masking tape diet, that's the only thing that'll really work.

With the masking tape diet, you leave rolls of tape in the refrigerator, next to the cookie jar, etc.
Instead of reaching for a cookie or late night snack-- put a strip of masking tape over your mouth.

[Mohawk Daddy]

Gained weight myself.
About ten pounds.
Beer and frozen pizza aren't all to blame.

I'm on the International Diet. Lunch: 6 pack of German beer, half a 12 oz can of Argentine corned beef, 1/4 lb of Wisconsin cheddar, 2 handfuls of Fort Worth pickled okra, scoop of home made sauerkraut. Supper: 1 cup California rice, Taiwan soy sauce, 2 cans Phillipine sardines, 6 pack of Mexican beer. What am I doing wrong?

[RedlegEd]

I'm on the International Diet. Lunch: 6 pack of German beer, half a 12 oz can of Argentine corned beef, 1/4 lb of Wisconsin cheddar, 2 handfuls of Fort Worth pickled okra, scoop of home made sauerkraut. Supper: 1 cup California rice, Taiwan soy sauce, 2 cans Phillipine sardines, 6 pack of Mexican beer. What am I doing wrong?

Hi.
Depending on the quality of the Mexican beer, nothing. My real problem in trying to lose this weight, is I'm a home-brewer and I have two excellent beers kegged and tapped right now. One is a really nice summer pale ale, and the other a really rich and malty Scottish Ale (thanks MaryB!) I'll have to try the kraut. Sounds good and not too many calories.
Ed

[lightman]

My MS makes it hard to exercise so I've gained some weight since I retired. But we're holding our own since the virus thing hit. We've made it a point to not eat all day long. We kind of eat a late (for us) breakfast and eat supper a little earlier and skip any snacks. I like my beer and I've cut way back on it (). With the breweries and restaurants that we normally visit being closed I'll go for days without drinking a beer.

[Wayne Smith]

Being type 2 diabetic I know all about it, but go about it very differently. I do not count calories, or record calories. I count total carbohydrates because that's what kills you. 45gr carbs a meal and half of that between meals. When I record I record everything I eat and drink, when I did it, and how many grams of carbs were consumed. My fasting AM blood sugar is posted on the top of the next page - the previous page created that fasting blood sugar.

The good side of this is that there is nothing I cannot eat - I just have to severely limit the amount of some things. A carb is a carb is a carb, and while various carbohydrates have varying glycemic indexes this only tells me how quickly the carb is absorbed, the total is not changed.

To my mind a diet is, by definition, a recipe for failure. The reason for this is simple - a diet is based in denial. I will deny myself this or that and lose weight. What do I do once I get to my target weight? Stop denying! Welcome to the yo-yo.

What is needed is a totally different relationship with food and what is good food. In this way the "paleo" 'diet' and the "Mediterranean" 'died' are actually good, although both are very much a misnomer. There is no such thing as a single "paleo" diet, the true paleo diet varied greatly from region and climate to region and climate, and was literally opportunistic. They ate what was available. Likewise a 'Mediterranean' diet equally. The Spanish, Italian, Greek, Turkish, and North African diets are all 'Mediterranean' diets! While they have similarities they are very different.

I say these are good simply because they are not diets in the typical sense but fit my definition of learning a new understanding of what food is. Learning to live with one of these 'diets' does give you a completely new understanding of what good food is and how to meaningfully prepare it.

I hope this helps.

[Boaz]

Well ! Just had supper . Had a nice carp fillet and two summer squash . Yea you heard me right 'carp fillet' . Went fishing on the Little Wichita River bout ten miles south of me four days ago . I like to fish for carp and like to eat them also . Caught about an eight pound carp and a five pound blue cat that I kept .



Brought em home and filleted em . Common carp are much maligned as a trash fish but that is wrong . Nice white flaky meat . But you do have to deal with the Y bones which is hardly worth mentioning . This was supper , baked the carp (no breading) with black pepper and Tony Chacheres seasoning . Microwaved the two squash then put black pepper , 0 calorie butter and sprinkled with reduced fat parmesan cheese .





And the Y bones that are super easy to just pull out as you eat .



Counting the pineapple I had at breakfast total calories for the day..739 , skipped lunch and had two small nectarines . Took my evening water pill two hours ago and peeing like a race horse ! There will be a few trips to the bathroom tonight ! Didn't have any salt today .

Ya'll are missing the boat if you don't carp fish . I watch this guy's site a lot , good family entertainment .

........................https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxhxgKYt3cY

........................https://americancarpsociety.com/us-carp-history

[square butte]

That is one nice lookin table full of food - good eatin

[Boaz]

That is one nice lookin table full of food - good eatin

Thank you square butte ! LOL , couldn't eat all the squash but knocked most of it out .

[Pete44mag]

I'm going back on my diet that always works 100%. If you don't put it in your mouth, you don't have to take it off your gut!!!

[Bulldogger]

I've lost ten pounds due to being home myself. From 168 to 158. It helped that my wife was dieting and asking my support. We came up with good meal plans, sorry Boaz no tamales, and worked on following them best we could. She got mad when I got to within one pound of her weight on a few particular lean mornings.
For us what helps immensely is steamed or grilled protein, with plenty of fish or seafood as a go-to protein, and my own policy of always two vegetables on the table and have as much veg as you want (carb heavy veg like potatoes are a once a week item, I'm talking green veg). By sticking to lean protein and seafood I can have as much butter as I want to season those veg and meats, as long as I keep the carbs down.

Carbohydrate and cholesterol issues vary for all of us so I won't say my diet works for all, but one thing I can recommend without hesitation is everyone should try my "two healthy veg available at every supper" policy.

If you're tired of the same old vegetables try scoping out an ethnic market you've not been to before or often. Around me the stores that cater to the Asian population have an outstanding broad selection of leafy greens and interesting squash and so on. It's hard not to find something new to try.

Our diet does mean shopping a few times a week, which did take some adjustments from our once a week American shopping style. But we feel MUCH BETTER and we look like it too..

Bulldogger