I tweaked my diet and I'm going in the right direction.

[no_hypocrisy]

2000 - I was 109

2023 - I'm 170+

My cardiologist and I have had "that talk" several times. Hypertension. 40+ extra pounds on a bad knee. Some of it can be attributed to DNA/family history. Some of it can be attributed to menopause. I do portion control. I cook my meals. Almost no snacking. Careful choices of diet. I go up in increments of 5 lbs and the weight just stays there until it goes up again.

Finally, I chose something that at least allows me to see a loss of weight in half-pound increments. I made Pasta E Fagioli with five beans. Yeah, it's tasty, but I didn't expect to see a change.

My cardiologist indicated that she wants me to continue, perhaps with recipes from The Moosewood Cookbook(s). I'm willing to try. I'll get my protein my beans, etc.

I'll check in later to report any progress or plateau.

[Tetrachloride]

1. i eat green beans when in season

i found a restaurant that makes reasonable tomato soup. Nice to hear of a direction

[dem4decades]

3. My wife loves my green beans with a little salt and parmesan cheese. Not sure how good it is for a

diet, but it's on mine. The cheese and the salt are probably a no no but how bad can they be for you?

[dem4decades]

2. Keep at it, once you see progress it helps to stay the course. I had the same discussion

with my Dr. Funny she became my dr 3 years ago when I was 235, I had dieted like crazy, no food between 8PM and noon, no carbs, no liquor, mostly protein. I saw her a couple of weeks ago and I was 257, high blood pressure (and a bad knee too) LOL,

She asked me what happened to me, she didn't know I had just returned to my former weight of 255. So like you, I'm back on the diet, it takes a bit to get into the groove, but it's been a week now and have lost a few pounds.

What's your goal weight, or is it just to see a few pounds come off and then go from there?

[no_hypocrisy]

4. "Goal weight"

It's interesting, but I almost feel like I'll "jinx" it if I have an inordinate amount of weight that I have to lose.

I'm doing the half-pound increments now. If I lose 3-5 pounds, my clothes are looser, and I don't glare at the scale.

I don't expect to see 109 in this lifetime. But I'll take what I can get. I just can't stay at 170+

[dem4decades]

5. I try to go in 5-pound increments, over a certain set time. Weigh myself ev morning and record

the weight. I have years' worth of data, for me, my BP reflects what weight I am, it's linear. Talking about loose clothes, I have 2 sets of shorts and pants, the ones that fit when I'm 235 and those that fit at 255. Thank god for thrift shops and Costco or I'd go broke.

[Marthe48]

6. I went low carb the Oct. before Covid hit

I was trying to get my sugar under control. I tried to stay under 100 carbs/daily. My food plan worked really well, and I lost about 50 lb. I relaxed my food plan a little this year, and gained some weight back. I'm cutting food back out to get back on track. And going back to smaller portions.

[SouthernDem4ever]

11. Be careful on low carb

It isn't heart friendly, I'm living proof of that.

[Marthe48]

14. Take care of yourself!

My daughter is a renal dietitian, so I get lots of free advice

[SouthernDem4ever]

15. That's good.

I had to go off all animal fats and lower other saturated fats. Was a big fan of Atkins and South Beach type diets but my circulatory system didn't agree. Ended up getting three stents due to clogging arteries. We'll see how this new diet goes but really don't miss all the animal fats and processed meats I used to eat. Of course, I didn't know about Nitrites either back then.

[Marthe48]

17. Hope you have recovered and doing better.

Are stents like bypass? It sounds like you are on the right track for yourself. Maybe if our fingerprints are unique to our bodies, nutritional needs are too.

I use olive oil. Last summer, I gained 6 lbs in a week. Losing weight wasn't my goal, but since it was gone, I didn't want it back. I thought over in my mind what I was doing differently. I was trying to use up a bottle of vegetable oil, maybe canola, and had switched away from the olive oil. It turns out, at least according to Google, and my scale, that some veg oils can cause weight gain. so I got rid of the canola and the 6 lbs. I use butter, too, but sparingly. I don't use a lot of sugar, and I really like Monk's Fruit, if I want a sweet treat. Gotta watch the triglycerides, too. I read that they affect the cholesterol in your body. I have cinnamon in my coffee every morning, which is supposed to help with high bp, and lowering blood sugar. I eat an avocado almost every day, which is supposed to be a long-term aid for lowering cholesterol. Even if it didn't, I'd eat avocado as often as I can

I've avoided red meat, except for an occasional treat. I make a 1 lb meat loaf about once a month, and make it last 3 or 4 meals.

Since Oct. 2019, I changed my diet, and unexpectedly lost weight and it stayed off. Thought I was following in my Mom and Gram's footsteps, as they both lost weight when they got older. But no, not there yet :/ This year, I've gained weight back. Guess in the battle of the bulge, I have to be ever vigilant!

[SouthernDem4ever]

18. Sounds like you're doing everything right

When we dropped the high protein diet we had to go to the calories in calories out routine. So far it is working but it takes a lot of time to track everything you eat at first but it does become routine. I really loved Steak, Pork, Sausage, Bacon, lots of eggs, processed meats but over did them and actually had what they call a silent heart attack. The stents have been in a month so we'll see how this all goes. Olive and Avocado oil are the only oils we use, but even limit those due to very high calorie content. When your body weight plateaus you have to either up your movement or lower calories again. When you get where you want to be you keep that amount of calorie intake. You'll get there, it's just hard to do all this and work full time, keep up with family, etc. Our bodies, some more than others are programmed to hold fat for a period of famine, which never happens. So it just keep building up weight from extra intake of calories. I read somewhere that it the weight gained from eating an extra 200 calories only takes 100 calories to maintain it. That's what I call efficient holding of weight.

[Marthe48]

19. I realized a long time ago I'd be a successful Cro Magnon

human. Well able to build up and store fat. lol

I've struggled with weight almost my whole life. So far, I haven't had major health problems. Trying to make it to the grandkids' h.s. graduation (another 5 years) It's good to have a reason to work on it and keep at it.

Sometimes, I think my body does what it wants-lost weight, kept it off, now it wants to gain. I've had my thyroid levels checked many times, but there's never a concern.

[Lonestarblue]

7. Best of luck to you! I've been on the diet roller coaster, too, and I find that when I think I'm

hungry between meals, I drink a full glass of water and the urge to eat often goes away. When it’s cold, a cup of hot tea with lemon can be satisfying. Hang in there!

[no_hypocrisy]

8. Drinking a lot more water.

Not just because of hydration and the heat.

It also helps to lower your blood pressure.

[randr]

9. Cut sugar intake

I spent the best part of last year avoiding medications for HBP. Finally cut my sugar intake and dropped from over 150 to below 120 in TWO days. My doctors were incredulous and continue to be as I have maintained below their red line of prescribed drug use.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. Kale has more protein per 100 calories than beef. Quinoa has complete amino acids

Mind you, 100 calories of kale is a pretty large quantity, but as a leafy green vegetable it is packed with nutrition.

I put half quinoa with half brown rice, cook it with about 25% extra water. I tend not to wash the quinoa because I like the nutty flavour.

I have about 200 g (6-7 oz) of animal protein a day (fish some days), aside from yogourt (with berries) and other incidental protein.


Good news about the beans. You'll find other things that work too.

[SouthernDem4ever]

13. If you want a good burger without the animal fat/meat

Black Beans ground up with green pepper, onions, garlic, one egg or egg white, italian bread crumbs. Form into patties and bake. Internet has recipes like this to try. We never eat ground beef burgers anymore.

[ananda]

12. I did too, and it appears to be working.

Weight and cholesterol down, blood pressure low,
and pain subsiding.

So far so good.

[KS Toronado]

16. Never heard of Pasta E Fagioli with five beans.

Did a search and now I have something new to try. Good luck with your weight loss goals.