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Diet dilemmas — 5 Comments

  1. Sympathy & best wishes. Obviously, I’ve never been as successful as you in even the first 700 days, but based on what you said, I would say, go for the small servings of lean chicken, fish and eggs. I think a bit of fat wouldn’t be bad, especially if you avoid trans fat. (ref Atkins diet about fat’s good effect on appetite). All the newest stuff I read seems to point the finger at sugar (and starch which soon turns into sugar). So I think sugar is the big one to avoid. Unfortunately, I have a sweet tooth, but I cut out the rice (especially white) and have dessert instead. It may not balance out, but I guess it’s better than both.
    I think exercise is great, the more the better, and I’m not very good at that either. I like your dietitian’s advice about the green tea to replace other sorts of snacking. I’d make mine coffee, but green tea is probably better for you. Anyway, don’t give up. And be careful about depression. That’s really nasty and has lots of bad effects on your physical health. I know it’s not enough to say avoid depression, but try to get some help if you can’t seem to talk yourself out of it. The caffeine in green tea may be good for that.

  2. The dietician first recommended black coffee, but I loathe coffee. Then she suggested green tea, which I like, but don’t often drink. I usually drink just water. But I think I’ll keep some green tea in the house going forward. I like “namacha” brand green tea. It isn’t bitter at all, like some brands are.

  3. I hear you, brother. My weight loss journey has been going on for 10 or 12 years now, and while I’m down substantially from my worst weight I still have a substantial distance to go. I’m on my third round with Weight Watchers and I’ve experimented with Atkins, South Beach, and various other approaches. Right now I’m doing reasonably well on WW but I can’t claim to be confident of reaching my goal. I’ve come to think of the whole deal as a successive approximation approach. My number is better now than it used to be, and perhaps the best I can do right now.

    On the exercise issue I’m squarely in your camp. I’m currently training for my next half marathon and I ran 10 miles yesterday. But even with a high level of activity I know that if I don’t count my WW points meticulously I will not lose weight, the work just doesn’t compensate for the extra calories. There are many good reasons to exercise but I flat don’t believe weight loss is one of them.

  4. Sorry you are having problems.

    I also am on a diet. No diets worked for me either. I want to be 140 lbs which is slightly higher than high school weight. I am also 5’7″.

    My highest weight was 232 after being 130 lbs. Over 100 lbs! I pigged myself over 10 years. I decided it was enough cause I could barely walk. Thank God I didn’t turn Diabetic or anything.

    4 years ago is when I started. I was so mad about how I looked I didn’t cheat on food. Then I got down to 175 and got “relaxed” about the weight. I got compliments from everyone. In stead of keepin on the diet, I let loose and ended back up at 215 lbs.

  5. Hi Michael. Yes, while exercise is probably healthy in general, you definitely can’t ignore diet. It takes a huge amount of exercise to overcome even one high calorie meal.

    Good luck with your marathon!

    Hi Nancy. Thanks for your note and followup email where you explained more about things you are doing to help you succeed with your diet. Maybe see you over at MyFitnessPal!

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