Unsure how to proceed..advice?

[Kristina]

I am unsure how to proceed with my diet and would like some advice please . There was a temp at work who had lost a lot of weight following a simple diet but one I thought would be fine so I started that. It's a low carb diet but the selling point for me was every evening I would I could eat a small cup of salted peanuts (3.3 oz or 1 deciliter which we use here in Sweden) plus 1 dl of low fat vanila yogurt and two squares of 70% chocolate . This replaced the cookies and what nots so already it was an improvement. It was that and basically protein and veg, a few fruits and a slice of dinkel bread a day.

I lost weight. It's been 2 months almost and I've lost 12 pounds although most of that was the first week ! Since then it's been up, down a few grams here or there. I'm tired of it but I found that now, my cravings are gone. I don't care much about food really ! That actually happened quite quickly, plus although I'm from CA I live in Sweden and the choices and temptations are not even close to what I'd get back home. It's easier here.

But on to my question! What the heck do I do now?! LOL.. . I don't really cook much so I've been eating sliced meats, oven baked things and microwaved veg. Salads, boiled eggs, a few nuts. I cut the peanuts out and the lite yogurt when the scale wasn't moving fast enough. I can't imagine going back to WW either. Maybe I should just stay the course but step up the exercise, and maybe cook a bit more?

Thanks for listening .

 

[pjlla]

You need to find a plan that you can follow long term. I hesitate to use the word "diet" so I will just say "eating plan." Be it Weight Watchers, South Beach, or just plain old calorie counting, you need a PLAN! You've lost the weight (not sure if you want to lose any more or not) and you need to have a plan to keep it off (and possibly lose more if you want to).

If you are happy eating a lower carb diet, then perhaps you should look into the South Beach diet. Even if you didn't care to follow it to the letter, it should be able to give you an idea of what kinds of carbs and how many grams of carbs per day you should be eating. You could also look into The Flat Belly Diet" book. It was a lower carb diet with some chocolate and nuts thrown in.

Did you have a bad experience with WW or is it just not your thing or too much $$??

Do some reading on different types of plans and see which one sounds like it might suit you. Remember, you need to find something that you can follow LONG TERM (like the rest of your life!). You might even need to experiment a bit.

As for exercise.... YES! Everyone should get at least 30 minutes of exercise 5-6 days a week.... even if it just a brisk walk!

Best of luck, whatever you decide to do....................P

 

[indygirl99]

I could not even begin to give advise on eating in Sweden since I have never been there but can I just say I'm slightly envious of you living somewhere that would be totally new to me.

I can tell you what I am doing now eating wise if that would be of any help.

I decided to eat "clean" if at all possible. I gave up my diet Dr Pepper (that one was hard). I no longer add the little packets of flavored artificial sweetened stuff to my water. I stay away from all the sweets and junkfood in the breakroom, I'm a nurse so some family is always bringing us stuff.

I do eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies that I get at the weekly farmers market. Trying to keep it local for our small farmers. I get to the coast (Oregon) about twice a month so I try to buy local caught seafood right off the dock. I use Almond milk instead of cows milk, Greek yogurt instead of reg or lite and chicken to supplement the fish. I avoid red meat, I get buffalo meat from an Oregon farmer once or twice a year. Not sure what I will do when all the fresh local stuff is gone but I am scoping out the organic imported stuff.

When I get a craving for something sweet I reach for the fruit. Local cherries are really great right now and I have a backyard that has been taken over by raspberries and strawberries. Nothing like picking them right from the vine and munching them while they are still warm from our elusive Pacific Northwest sun.

To all that eating I have added training for the Disnyland Tinkerbell 1/2 marathon in January. The eating "clean" and the added exercise have assisted me in dropping 12 pounds in 5 weeks.

Hopefully you may be able to incorporate some of these into your schedule. Is it growing season right now in Sweden or are you opposite us?

 

[Kristina]

Thank you both for replying. Yes I do need and want more of a eating plan vs a diet, tools that I can use everyday. WW was good but I feel like since I'm single now, there are just so many ingrediants to buy and lots of cooking, although I will cook just rather not to compicated. I'd rather not count calories or points so I do like low carb. I think I'm doing it wrong and need more information. I had the South Beach book but I got rid of it!! Thought I wasn't going that route and I really needed to declutter at the time, ugh ! Regret that although I bet there's an app I could get that would help? I like the idea of eating "clean" and not eating a lot of additives and such. Stepping up my exercise is something I can do while I figure this out for sure!

It is growing season here and we have loads of choice for fruit and veg, and I think I would like to eat more organically too. Thanks again. Perhaps a Wish journal would help too, It feels good to write and share all this. I feel much more motivated than I did this morning .

 

[lmhall2000]

I can help!!! Only because I've been there done that often on my latest 67 pound loss! I still have about 45 pounds to go, so know all about plateaus..here is what works for me!

Exercise: whatever you have been doing, switch it up...for me I was walking 30 miles a week (sounds like a lot but otherwise I am not that active, lots of sitting/planning/teaching it seems) so I pushed myself to shave 5 minutes off my time and add strength training with weights on certain laps (treadmill)...also I upped my incline on 4 of my 12 laps. You use different muscle groups (focus on your quads/gluts/abdominals/shoulders/arms) the more muscle you make stronger the more calories they need to maintain..

Food: When I get into a rut, I need fruits but lose best with sticking to low glycemic ones...berries (raspberry, blueberry, strawberry) I will eat about 5 raspberries for a short snack or 3-4 big strawberries. For veggies, I try to get the bulk of them in raw form...I will make a big salad..lots of leafy greens, spinach, red bell peppers, green onions, carrots, etc. and make sure I eat atleast one serving of it each day. I then stick to lean meats...for me it is deli meats (roast beef for the iron, I get pretty low on iron...roasted turkey) or I'll boil chicken and make chicken salad with very little mayo, but load it with celery. I will eat 1-2 servings of a whole grain bread toasted.

Avoid sauces/dressings, for my salad I stick with olive oil and red wine vinegar, avoid frozen dinners, lots of sodium usually in those..try to eat 'whole foods' not processed. Then I'll go about 5 days with only drinking water (while eating of course)....after that I'll allow myself 1 glass of unsweet tea every other day. If I stick to this type of eating, my body adjusts....feels better and the weight starts coming off more steadily. I also never eat after 6:00 and my snack foods are berries/pistachios/ounce of cheese...

Hope this helps! With all the fresh veggies growing you can enjoy the great tastes of fresh!!