Confused

I am done with Atkins. I realized that I have just been maintaining the weight that I had lost on WW, and I was just losing inches on low carb....I dont want to go back to WW, because I found it annoying to write everything down and I always found myself hungry. What else is there to do? I would love to just 'Eat Healthy' but I do not know what that definition is.....Can someone help me into figuring out what eating healthy is?

I do excersize.....I walk 2 to 3 miles a day, 5 days a week. I just started last friday...and I enjoy it.

I only want to lose another 10 pounds, and I want to know the best way to do it...
Thanks,
Scott

Do you weight train? If not, you should definitly add that to your exercise schedule.

Your metabloism will rise and you will burn fat!

I once lost a lot doing my 'own' thing....I basically cut my portions down a LOT...portion control is most peoples problem...I stayed away from breads and too much fruit( sugar)....You need fruit but not 3 servings a day!

Eat low fat when you can and excerise...

Proper portion sizes.
Fruits & vegetables daily.
Whole grains ( whole wheat bread, brown rice)
The more fiber the better!
Alot of water!
Low -fat dairy.

I cannot weight train, because I have a bad back....I usually just stick with walking, or going on the treadmill....which I really would rather not do. I like walking outside better.

So what types of food should I be eating for lets say, Breakfast?

I know I should eat high fiber foods, and whole grain foods. That shouldnt be too hard to do since, I havent had bread in a long time. I havent had sugar either. I have been using splenda to sweeten my coffee.

Also what do you think is better to put in your coffee? Skim Milk and Splenda or Half and Half and Splenda? Skim milk is high in carbs and sugar but doesnt contain that much fat, and Half and Half has 4 grams of fat in 2 table spoons and less than 1 gram of crabs and sugar. So I figure, I am better off drinking the half and half than I am the skim milk. The carbs in the skim milk turn to sugar which turns to fat....and thats not good...especially if you sit at a desk 8 hours of the day....

Which one do you think is better?

Thanks...I Fm'd you.

For Breakfast I had 1 egg whites maid with no butter or whole wheat toast...and a 24 ounce coffee with half and half and 2 splendas.
Scott

you need to eat more! only one egg white?? that is only like 4 grmas of protein. I usually eat about 3 white and one whole egg scrambled together.

You don't want to starve yourself, but eat 5 small meals per day.

I agree, do not starve yourself.

I too love half n half in my coffee; but try to do that as a treat and use skim milk most of the time.

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Posted by Snowboardgirl

you need to eat more! only one egg white?? that is only like 4 grmas of protein. I usually eat about 3 white and one whole egg scrambled together.

You don't want to starve yourself, but eat 5 small meals per day.

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OMG, I think something is wrong with me. I was just rereading this post and I cannot believe what I wrote. I actually ate 2 egg whites on whole wheat toast with no butter....See what happens if you dont have caffiene in the morning!!

About how many calories do you eat per day? And do you eat only 3 meals a day or do you eat a few snacks in between?
I understand why you're frustrated - finding out what works for you can be tough, but keep trying.
Just make sure you're eating enough calories, limit your sugars, eat complex carbs, veggies, and lean proteins.
As far as exercise, have you talked to your doctor about what exercises you CAN do and not injure your back? Unless you do more cardio, you need to do some sort of resistance training. It doesn't have to be weights; it can be one of those resistance tubes. Anything that works your muscles will help them to grow, and you'll burn more calories. Also, you need to strengthen your back in order to avoid injuring it further. I think finding the right exercises for you is really important.
My chiropractor has an athletic trainer on staff and he's able to give me specific exercises to train the muscles that are weak.

Good luck!

I goto a chiropractor too. I have a couple of herniated discs and Sciatica from a car accident I was in a few years back. As of now I only walk 2 to 3 miles a day. I don't really want to mess with my back, because I have had enough problems and pain and I dont want to have to deal with that again.

As for the amount of calories i eat during the day, I am not sure.

I just had a bowl of low carb Special K with half and half. I didnt have it with skim milk because skim milk has alot of sugar and carbs in it.

I wouldn't worry about how many carbs are in 1 cup of skim milk. That's negligible. You could also eat smoked salmon with your eggs in the morning. Or slow cooked oatmeal is good. Even a protein shake (not SlimFast, but real protein shakes that you make with powder).
Definately make sure you're eating enough. I don't know how much you weigh, but to give you an idea, I'm 120 lbs and eat about 1600 calories a day (plus, I'm a girl!). So you should be eating more than that. Any less and your metabolism will slow down. You could also try cycle dieting where you eat X number of calories 6 days a week, then the 7th day you eat more. This kicks up your metabolism.

I would really look into finding someone who can help you out with exercises. Maybe a physical therapist....
If you don't keep your back strong, you're just setting yourself up for more injuries down the road.

Thanks for the info Annie. Just got back from a 2 mile walk, and I feel great.
Lunch consists of:
Dannon light and fit strawberry yogurt
3 pcs Boars head Oven gold turkey
2 pcs Fat Free Cheese
Water.

Walking is definately good - especially if you can walk in a hilly area.
Is that all you ate for lunch? No bread? Just a few slices of coldcuts and yogurt? That's definately not enough! That's more like a snack

Scott,

Maybe try the food plan similar to what is in Body for Life.

Basically it is 6 small meals/day each with one serving protein and one healthy carb. Plus servings of veggies. The book has a list of healthy/whole/low-fat food choices. I can fax it to you tomorrow if you want to FM me a fax number.

I did this 4 years ago when I had foot surgery and the diet helped me lose weight even when I couldn't do cardio. I was doing wieghts though. Good luck with your back problems!

oops: edited I meant to say 'Body for Life' in first post I said Fit for Life, oops!

Here is the Body for Life Food details:http://www.bodyforlife.com/nutrition.shtml

Try weight training or aerobics or bike riding - maybe walking just isn't enough.

Drink more water than you have been

Lay off any carbonation - even diet sodas.

Do you eat alot of NutraSweet or aspartamine? Try not go (check labels) and see if that helps.

Lay off dairy (1 cup a day)

I don't know what else Scott. Maybe your body just doen'st think it should be 10 lbs thinner.

Good luck

Maribelle, I was down to 161 on WW and I felt great. I would love to get back down to that weight. Even if I do not, I need to start eating healthy again. Maybe if I dont go into it with the attitude that it is a diet, I will stick to it better. With Atkins, it is easy because I knoew what I could eat and what I couldnt eat. I liked the fact that I didnt have any sugar at all. To answer your question, I still try to avoid sugar, and I do not go new Aspartame. I usually use Splenda. If I drink soda, I try to buy Diet Rite cola because it is aspartame and carb free.

As far as water goes, I know I need to drink more. Starting last week I started to drink more, so I will have to keep that up. My big thing is coffee. I drink a 24 ounce in the morning, and another 16 or 20 ounce in the afternoon. I usually put half and half and splenda in it. If I am on a low faqt diet, should I add Skim milk with my coffee or should I add Half and Half? I don't know which one is better. Half and Half has no sugar, and no carbs but a little fat and skim milk has no fat but it has sugar and carbs....I'm confused on that.
Scott

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Posted by Maribelle7777



Lay off any carbonation - even diet sodas.

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Hi, I'm just butting in here a sec, to ask, why no carbonation? I drink tons of seltzer, (sodium free). Is that bad?

Scott, I'm kinda in the same boat. I did WW online & it was too time consuming to look everything up all the time. I used to be better at doing my own thing, but I have gained 15 pounds since Christmas.

My suggestion is either a nutritionist ( I'm trying to figure out if I can afford one & if I will listen to him/her)
Or, just right down what you eat for a week, & then go back & figure out how many calories you ate. You can find out online how many calories you need. If you eat too few, you will slow your metabolism & not loose weight.
You need to loose 3500 calories a week either by exercise or cutting it form your diet ( preferably a combination), to loose a lb a week. You could get a pedometer to figure out how fast you are walking & then you could estimate how many calories you are burning.

And for strength, you could probably do seated exercises with an exercise band for your upper body that won't hurt your back.