My Grandpa diet

[luvmexfood]

I did something similiar to what you did and lost 30lbs. or 15% of my weight over about 5 months. Just cut back on what I ate and really watched the sodium. Blood pressure is down 50 points on top and about 40 on the bottom.

I stay away from any frozen meals, except vegetables, very little processed meat such as lunch meat. Cook almost all my own foods. Breakfast is now 1 piece of toast, one or two eggs and sometimes eggo waffles with one egg, butter and molasses for the waffles.

In place of lunch meat I will cook and make my own chicken salad, peanut butter and something sandwich or sometimes just a pack of nabs and some peanuts. As hot as it's been eating a lighter lunch has been easy.

Eat till I am satisfied. Quit eating then. Just because it is really good is no reason to keep eating. If your satisfied stop. Still enjoyed an ocassional bowl of ice cream of a night with some nuts on it. But not two bowls like I had been quilty of. Still enjoy the ocassional hot dog but now it is not weekly.

For the last few years I have not been a big soda drinker or sweet eater. Lately I have been having one Mt. Dew Kickstart. Usually about 10 in the morning.

Alcohol has gone by the wayside. Really enjoyed a bourbon and coke after a hard day but one became two and two became three. None for a year. Enjoyed stopping and getting an Uncle Mike's Harder Lemonade to chug when I got back home after a hard days logging. Four hundred calories that I didn't need.

Feel better and had blood work done this week. All normal. BP was 121/72. No meds to get it lower. Just a diet change.

[Bibbyman]

The only way this diet will work is with willpower and a cooperative wife.  I think I have the willpower.   I'm have problems from Mary.

She likes to cook and she likes to fill my plate for me.  She'll head to the kitchen about 5:00 and I'll say,  "I'm not hu hungry. You could fix just a snack."  I'll get an angry reply and she'll cook enough for 8 and put enough on my plate for 2.  I'll eat more than I really wanted and scrape the rest out to the dowg.  That starts another round of angry words.

I kid you not,  at about the time winter was over I announced I had lost 10 pounds over winter. It wasn't 5 minutes later she got up and whipped up a big baking sheet of fudge brownies.   A couple of hours later she dished up a bowl of brownies and ice cream and brought it to me.  Now,  ain't that a blatant attempt to crash my diet! 

Her diet is upside down.  She'll eat nothing for breakfast or a piece of toast. A moderate lunch and then she wants to cook a full supper.  Then she'll generally eat a dessert and snack until bedtime. She thinks she's going to loose weight. 

I've tried to explain that the blood pressure medications make me sick.  By loosing weight and watching my diet,  I can control my blood pressure without medications.   I can also put my shoes on without running out of breath.  I don't want to be fat and on drugs.  I get no reply.  I have no idea what she's thinking.

[luvmexfood]

It is nice to be able to tie your boots without having to fight your belly to do it.

[Bibbyman]

Numbers.

When the great creator put down the specs for man it went like this, "Let's have a creature that walks upright on two legs,  has two eys high and up front on a swivel base, on and on.  He'll have a blood pressure of 120/80 and and a blood sugar of 4 to 5.7." .  Well, I don't think so.  Every human is their own biological entity.   The  throw in the mix of food we eat, air we breath,  where we live, our genetic composition, our emotions, there is no way it could be that simple.

Our blood pressure is not a static number.   It goes up and down all the time.  I generally test mine 3 times or more to get a couple that are somewhat the same. When I go in for checkup, the fist thing they do is check by blood pressure.   It's going to be 20-30 points higher than I'm reading at home. Near the end of the exam they check it again and it's down to what I'm getting at home.

The A1c test.  I don't think it's the final word, an absolute test of blood glucose level. I've read that you can send the same sample off to different labs and get different results.   There may be conditions with red blood cells in their cycle of replacement that cause false results.  Just saying one test with one method is not enough to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. 

For sure, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar levels should be taken seriously.  Maybe slightly elevated should be taken note of and at least watched carefully.

[trapper]

I have been on the same breakfast as Bibby since Easter For supper my wife makes meat and vegetables. cut out bread, potatoes and pasta.  Down over 40 pounds and my knee problem disappeared.  Wife is down 20 pounds  eating the food she makes for me.  75% of our meat is wild rabbit, deer  and fish,  most of the vegetables come from our garden.  We use butter liberally.

[Ianab]

Here you go. Eggs are now not the root of all evil.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/teach-me/70763544/could-two-eggs-a-day-keep-the-doctor-away

Study by Sydney University of people with type 2 diabetes. Some ate 2 eggs a day, the others didn't. No change in cholesterol or blood sugars. Only effect noticed was a slight improvement in the "good" cholesterol level, but not enough to be significant. (Just enough to get more funding for another study probably  )

[doctorb]

Bibbyman  - I applaud you.

One of our culture's biggest faults is that we are too quick to think that we know something, and too slow to admit that we don't know what we don't know.  Well done.

[Bibbyman]

Bibbyman  - I applaud you.

One of our culture's biggest faults is that we are too quick to think that we know something, and too slow to admit that we don't know what we don't know.  Well done.

Years ago I was sent to a week-long professional development class. At the end we were given a critical review of our understanding of what it ment to be a professional.  My biggest fault was that I always asked why.   I guess a professional should just take orders from the authority above and not ask why. 

That's why I question why food we've eaten for millions of years is now bad for us.  Yet, we are trending sicker and heavier eating new foods.  For sure,  the availability of so may carbohydrates has compounded the problem. 

My Dad was a young adult in the Depression.   He tried to ween himself off of sugar for his coffee become sugar was expensive back then.  But he could only get as far as the tip of a spoon full and couldn't go without suger completely.  Up in his mid-90s, he would poke the tip of the spoon in the sugar bowl and shake off a grain or two or scoop again until he got the exact scant little he had to have.  He also salted everything before he even tasted it.

[rooster 58]

My fiancee  and I began a diet 20 days ago. We signed up for a program called nutrimost. It is a little expensive. We received  minerals to put in our water and a weight loss formula drops to put under our tongue 3x day. And a rather extreme diet. 500 calories a day. No fats, oils, carbs or anything. No butter.
    I have lost 22 lbs in 20 days, my fiancee  a little less. I think what is working for me is the diet. I think the supplement and minerals are more hocus pocus than anything.
    Like Bibb says, it's more about training your body and your mind. Learning about foods and how corn sugars are bad for you and how they convince your brain to induce you to eat more. I love food and usually ate like it was Thanksgiving  most days. I rationalized that I was big and worked hard so I needed to eat alot.
    I am striving to lose another 40 or 50 lbs. I already feel better, especially  not having headaches. I'd like to know what was giving me headaches. And I have more energy and my legs feel a little better

[rooster 58]

One good thing we got was a special salt. It's a combination  of pink salt and Hawaiian  salt. Evaporated and not processed. No anti clumping agents. Much better  for you than regular white or even sea salt

[Bibbyman]

I'm not a calorie counter but 500 calories per day is a starvation diet.  Obviously you're going to loose weight but what else are you losing?  Muscles also reduce,  brain function,  your nervous system, and who knows what else.  Your body need fiber too. 

I can't point out a more different aproch to weigh loss.  Yours depends on a cocktail mix of vitamins and minerals to try to replace what you'd be getting in natural food. The drops under the tongue are,  I'm assuming,  some kind of pacifier to curb your apatite.   It takes trust in modern science that I don't have.

The diet I describe is based on eating simple foods in moderation and letting my body respond in its own time.  I lost 10 pounds over the winter months and never weighed until spring. I felt I hadn't gained weight but I was pleased to find I had actually lost weight.

Good luck on your diet and report back on future results. 

[rooster 58]

Bibbyman,
     Yeah I know  what you mean. I regard these supplements as hocus pocus. The real reason for the weight loss is the starvation diet. We are limited to protein and veggies and fruit. And only certain ones.
     I do appreciate  this program tho because it made me look at what I was eating. Do you know there's corn sugar in ketchup even? It's given me more ideas about raising my own food, or at least buying what I need to can or freeze.

   Also, I would like to start keeping a steer around to butcher, and even a hog maybe. It's been years since I did it. But I have a new concern about what they feed these animals. Used to be that not many people got cancer. I'm convinced  that the steroids and other feed supplements are responsible for many cancer issues today

[Bibbyman]

I don't know about cancer statistics.  I think there is a lot of things making the numbers so high.  One thing is, people are just living longer.  Up until the 1900s, there were almost yearly waves of epidemics sweeping the country that would wipe out a significant percent of the population. These people died of something else before they devoped cancer.   Also,  people probably died of cancer that was undiagnosed.  They just called it something else.  Then we've not had a war that's reduced our population as did the wars until the Korean War.   Then diagnosis has advanced a lot in past 50 years.  People are diagnosed with cancer and treated that may have outlived it otherwise. 

Food is another double edged sword.   I sure don't like to eat the food that's been chemically enhanced but on the other hand we have a far healthier food inspection and distribution system than 50 years ago.

It's not just food we are being exposed to that effect our health.   I walk into Wall-Mart and can only stay so long.  The smells of all the products - not just the scented products that are the worst but also the plastics and chemicals.   We bring this stinky sruff home and live with it in a closed environment.  Most of these products didn't exist in Grandpa's era.  The houses were drafty and in the hot months the doors and windows were open.

[Bibbyman]

Eating out...

For Grandpa,  eating out probably ment he packing a lard bucket with a couple of boiled eggs, a biscuit, a piece of local fruit,  and some kind of hard garden vegetable like a carrot, reddish or pickle.  There were public events like pie suppers,  country fairs, weddings and such.   On the rare occasion he traveled,  he'd likely stop in at a country store and buy a linburger sandwich and a quart of Schlitz beer.  In my memory of him, he never mentioned eating in a cafe or restaurant.  He probably did but it wasn't a common event.

Today we think nothing of eating out. We grab a cup of coffee and a couple of doughnuts at Casey's, swing through the fast food place for lunch, then go out to supper in the evening. 

If you eat out a lot and eat a lot when you eat out,  you're not going to make it on the Grandpa diet.

The most effective way to correct this is to not eat out.  That's not likely to happen. Maybe cut down on eating out.

Think about where you eat, what you order and how much you eat.  Say no to the buffet.  You'll be tempted to "get your money's worth".  We avoid them like fast food places with a playground.   Choose the lighter meals on the minu. If they offer a 6oz steak, 12oz or the gut buster 24oz,  chose the 6oz. That's as much meat as you need.  When the baked potato looks like it took first place at the Idaho state fair,   just eat a small portion of it. Your mom is not there telling you to clean your plate. Order off the senior menu if you qualify or can get by with it.  We've even ordered off the children's menu.

Restaurants serve an insane amount of food.  One place we like to eat at serves easily twice as much as a person  needs to eat in their lunch specials. We'll ask for go boxes and take more than half home.  Then we'll have the other half for supper. Often times Mary will discard the sides and buns and make a salid. When we do stop at a fast food place, we order off the value menu and just have water to drink. There is not one of the number special package deals that are not more than you need to eat and likely more than you need in a day.  Add the big soft drink with refill to go and you've really went over the top.

Better to just eat at home.  Lunch may be a fold over light sandwich on rie bread and some baked chips washed down with unsweet  tea. Add a piece of fruit.  For supper,  you should see empty real estate on your plate. One scoop,  not three of each offering.  No going back for seconds. 

Satisfying your hunger is the goal.

[Ianab]

I don't mind the "All you can eat", I just pick the good stuff and only eat what I want.

Our favourite is a Mongolian BBQ place. You choose your meat, vege, oil and spices and they cook it up in front of you. You know what went into the meal because you picked it out yourself. Beef, pork, chicken, seafood, and whatever veges you fancy, then some olive oil and chili etc and it's good to go. You don't even need to add noodles / rice / chips / bread etc if you don't want to.

On a road trip the kids want to stop at McDs. No way if Dad's driving. Lara knows this, and doesn't ask. Taylor asks, but happily eats her Subway when we do stop. At least that's just a sandwich. pretty much like you might make at home.

[Magicman]

When we are traveling we eat our cereal breakfast in the camper.  Then it is one meal, usually late noon/early afternoon.  A "to go" box is the next day's noon meal.  Skipping the evening meal is our normal.

[rooster 58]

We went to see ZZ Top on Thursday.  So we went to a Golden Corral beforehand.  I didn't do too bad. One plate of salad. A plate of hicken, small piece of steak, and some green beans. For dessert it was fresh strawberries  and cantaloupe.
   It was far less than I used to eat there 

[Bibbyman]

Bibbyman,
     Yeah I know  what you mean. I regard these supplements as hocus pocus. The real reason for the weight loss is the starvation diet. We are limited to protein and veggies and fruit. And only certain ones.
     I do appreciate  this program tho because it made me look at what I was eating. Do you know there's corn sugar in ketchup even? It's given me more ideas about raising my own food, or at least buying what I need to can or freeze.

   Also, I would like to start keeping a steer around to butcher, and even a hog maybe. It's been years since I did it. But I have a new concern about what they feed these animals. Used to be that not many people got cancer. I'm convinced  that the steroids and other feed supplements are responsible for many cancer issues today

You mentioned ketchup having corn sugar,   got to watch that salad dressing two. It's oil (fat) and sweetners too. As much as 75 calories a tablespoon.  So you think you're doing the right thing by eating salad but if you dump a lot of dressing on it, you're not savings nearly as much as you're thinking.  It tastes good because your body craves the fat and carbs. The fat is likely some manufactured poly something or other also. Better to eat it dry or get the soup instead.

[rooster 58]

Bibby you're right again.  We like  Olive Garden  salad dressing. I was dismayed to notice it has corn sugar.  I actually  make a great tasting  dressing that many like.
    Right now we cannot consume oils. I use red wine vinegar on salads

[Bibbyman]

Say,  how is your skin reacting to this diet?  Do you have enough loose skin to make a set of luggage?