DIET and EXERCISE

[white knight]

This thread is purely for encouragement and introducing your ideas that enable you to eat well and keep fit. The psychiatrists I've visited over the years have stressed the importance of these two components to our lifestyle. Sadly I've not excelled well until my 61st birthday on 31st March 7 weeks ago. That day was the beginning of MY diet.

I'd tried all other diets known to man I think. So this was my plan.

I do not have the following items in our home-

Bread. Except pita. Pita is very low in sugar and fat.

Potatoes. Sweet potato is ok

Sugar. No more than 2% in items.

Full cream milk. We use low fat milk

No pasta. We use rice sticks. No fat no sugar. Tastes good.

We do eat-

Rice. We boil the rice with one tablespoon of coconut oil. Allow to cool then refrigerate or freeze it. The oil breaks down the calories in the rice when cold. When you reheat it you are eating half the calories of the normally cooked rice.

Soups. We love our vegie garden. JAP pumpkin (Kent) is the best for soup. Cook normally but add on half a teaspoon of curry powder...yum

Spaghetti with the rice stick noodles. You can get rice sticks in fettuccini style or fine style.

Lean chicken. Our dog now gets the chicken skins.Best to buy full cooked chooks and grab the meat. Freeze them into portions.

Stir fry. The cold rice above plus your favourite vegies. No corn! We usually have snow peas, brocholli, cabbage, carrots, bean shoots, egg.

Fresh fruit.

Fish. Salmon baked portions on salad

Eggs. Egg yolk are full of nutrition but also contain 7-8g of fat. So if I made an omelette I use 4 x 70g eggs but discard two yolks. With omelettes we use a little parmesan cheese, small amount of lean bacon tomatoes and that's it. Boil up several eggs. If you get hungry they are great for a snack.

Kebabs. If we cooked a roast pork, chicken or lamb and had left overs meat we make our own kebabs. Use pita bread, carrot grated fine, onion, lettuce and fry up the meat with only a little spray oil. We only eat half a kebab each.

Antipasto. We make our own for an evening snack. one plate will have for each person half a boiled egg, hommus dip, bits of pita bread baked till crisp about 8 minutes in the oven, or rice crackers.

I've lost 8 kgms in 7 weeks, my wife has lost 7 kgms.

PS we walk 4 kms x 3 times a week. fast walk to get the cardio going.

Do you have any diet and fitness ideas?

Tony WK

[velvetfaerie]

I'm hungry after reading all those yummy items!

I'll add - avoid artificial sweeteners. Avoid as much processed food as you can. Limit booze. Caffeine - I still drink it a little ... after giving away most other vices I still like a good coffee!!!

I live by the good food / get moving thing. Have been for 4 years and boy do I feel it if I fall off the wagon. Physically / mentally / emotionally...

I'm a very active person. I absolutely love long power walks in the warm sun with music in my ears. Also bike rides. I also love my gym classes. Some days I'll do 3 hours exercise to wear myself out and improve my frame of mind.. even out of boredom lol!!!

C.

[white knight]

Hi C

Re: "Some days I'll do 3 hours exercise to wear myself out"

I noted on a TV documentary once about how a guy refused medication for his ADHD but instead worked out like you and was heavily into gardening.

We know its therapeutic but must also have a positive calming effect on our minds and demeanor.

As for coffee its just come out that it isnt as bad for you as we once thought. Max cups about 4-5 a day. I too cant do without it.

Tony WK

[AncoraImparo]

Indeed Tony, the balance of the research literature now indicates that coffee is a largely healthy beverage, with some exceptions. Coffee itself has an impressive antioxidant profile - more antioxidants than a cup of green tea, in fact (albeit perhaps not as potent antioxidant activity as green tea catechins), in addition to a host of vitamins and minerals. Up to 5 cups of coffee per day have been shown to reduce risk of various cancers (particularly bowel cancer) and all-cause mortality. Also a significant protective effect against Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The primary concerns are in those who are diabetic (caffeine itself can briefly spike blood glucose levels), hypertensive (can raise blood pressure), those with various heart conditions due to the stimulatory effects, and of course those prone to anxiety.

I currently adhere to a whole-food, plant-based diet as I'm sufficiently convinced by the research literature that this is the healthiest way to live. Perhaps a little too restrictive for some, but the health benefits are undeniable. I supplement with B12 as this cannot be sourced from plants.

There are a number of foods in particular that have been shown to improve symptoms of anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions. Those foods rich in healthy, polyunsaturated fats for example - avocados, walnuts, oily fish such as salmon & mackerel. A lot of promise is shown by some other food products, such as tumeric.

[white knight]

Hi ancoralimpado

Very interesting.

I dont think I'd be capable of a no meat diet. However I have moved significantly away from red meats to white meats and fish. You mentioned salmon...our favourite and now affordable in frozen sachets in dome supermarkets.

Take for example as a snack, dim sims. Love them. We buy cooked chickens, the fatty bits and skin goes to our dog. We mince the meat. Steam cabbage and fine grated carrot, onion. Mix, add fish sauce, egg white. Wrap portions in wong tong wrappers. Dip in light soy.

Ive read that Cabbage takes more calories to digest than you consume.

The flip flop tendancy worries me. All my life and that of my sister we've dieted and flopped back to bad eating habits. The will power is thin. This time it seems different.

The sight of cheese oozing from a burger on TV or donuts in a bakery counter display is not appealing...at the moment!!

Tony WK

[TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsN]

Alcohol is a big one for me. I love a beer, but I've had some issues with the grog in the past. Not only does it effect my state of mind, particularly the next day, but also my health. When I stay away from it, I can lose/maintain weight.

Packing healthy snacks for work and keeping them nearby/visible. If I don't prepare things to take, i'll buy lunch, which can lead to unhealthy choices. This takes some organisation at home, but is well worth it. I mix it up, by I love raw nuts, fruit, and the odd small treat - I love a certain brand of oat bars with dark chocolate in them!

I've only been back at the gym for a week or so, but it happens to have coincided with finding myself feeling a little better. I'm on week 2 of ADs as well, so it may just be them kicking in, but hey, i'll claim it!! I've just mixed up my routine, a little cardio to warm up, and a weight circuit - 3 sets of 10 reps. Other days i'll just do cardio, depends on my energy levels. Once a week i'll do an uphill walk too - there are some awesome uphill streets near me, they are brutal, they hurt, they burn your legs, but with some music on to spur me on, I can do it. And I feel magic after it.

Hydration. I go through phases where I just can't drink straight water, and I feel my symptoms are exacerbated in these periods. I have been drinking a lot more water lately, I definitely notice the difference. I also used to drink around 4 coffees a day - I've reduced this to 1 coffee a day. I've also gotten rid of coke/pepsi - caffeine and sugar! I'll occasionally swap this for a mineral water mixed with bickfords diet lime - yum!

A whole bunch of little changes, but they seem to be working for me.

[white knight]

Hi AFKAN

Top job there

TonyWK