Drinks That Can Add On Pounds

[MT Stringer]

I have been trying to stay away from McDonalds. But the breakfast sandwiches are hard to pass up. #4 w/cheese and Diet Coke please. :-)

[Cajungaltx]

I've made huge changes in what I'm eating....

Huge differences...i had to cut out starbucks.... *sob*.... started drinking half my body weight in ounces of water a day....

Started paying attention to portion sizes and calorie counts and switched from anything with high fructose corn syrup....and sticking with more natural foods - veggies and fruits...and I've dropped six pants sizes...

That's not a misprint... ;-)

Six pants sizes....

I'm having a seriously sick relationship with asparagus.... ;-)....Steamed with salt and pepper.... Holy cow it's awesome!!

Our entire culture seems to encourage weight issues...portion sizes are twice what they should be....and the stuff you think 'should' be good (like salads) is loaded with so much crap that you might as well get the burger and fries...

[Richard-SSV]

I had my yearly physical back in January and got a bit of a wake up call. Long story short, I had to make a serious change or I would soon become a diabetic. I had tried counting calories, fat, carbs, etc, as well as eating in moderation. Different things work for different people, but I came to the conclusion that I was a food addict and for me eating in moderation was like telling a crack addict to only take one hit off of their crack pipe and then stop.... moderation just wasn't gonna work for me.

I decided to go cold turkey on any and all processed foods. If I was going to eat something it had to be fresh (steamed veggies, grilled chicken and fish, etc). If I had a salad it was lettuce and veggies only, no dressing or cheese. It took me just under 3 months, but I managed to lose 37 pounds. After 3 months I built a habit of eating healthy and now cooking fresh food is just part of my daily routine. Occasionally when I have a burger or something I actually feel horrible while eating it. I've managed to maintain my healthy weight for 5 months now and I have no plans of going back.

My biggest challenge was beer.... I was a seasoned home brewer with a full kegerator set up and all grain brewery. My beers were great, but they were also around 300 calories each and between 25-30 carbs each. Drinking 1-2 of those several times a week wasn't helping. I ultimately decided to sell my brewery/kegerator (which I still miss), but I have soothed the pain by replacing my home brewing hobby with photography. Photography doesn't taste quite as good, but it helps fill the void :)

[dmcantrell]

Donna, that's really awesome about your results!

Originally Posted by Cajungaltx

Our entire culture seems to encourage weight issues...portion sizes are twice what they should be.

this

[Cajungaltx]

Originally Posted by dmcantrell

Donna, that's really awesome about your results!



this

Thanks David!

[cooltouch]

I've tried all sorts of diets, and short of starving myself, none of them have worked very well. Put myself on a very low caloric intake diet about five years ago, managed to stick with it for about six months, and lost 50 lb. But once I got tired of starving, the weight came right back on.

Earlier this year I learned that my blood sugar was a little high, and a blood test a few months ago indicated a huge spike in triglicerides, so I put myself on a very low carb diet. Like between 50 and 60 grams per day. The RDA is 300 grams. The few times I've strayed from this regimen and taken in maybe 100 or 150 grams a day (say a couple of helpings of spaghetti with garlic bread -- it ain't hard to do), I immediately put on weight.

So as long as I can stay on this low carb diet, I'm continuing to lose weight. About 35 lb in three months. I have a long way to go, though. And I'm wondering what to do once I've reached my target weight, cuz it looks like I'll have to maintain a very low carb diet if I want to maintain a stable weight. Having to face the prospects of a permanent very low carb diet is not terribly appealing. But the alternative is no longer acceptable.

[Daniel W.]

I avoid Micky D's and really any fast food joint. It sounds cliche but watching Supersize Me was a part of the push - even though I find the subjects personality a bit annoying. The real hit was when a (not too heavy) bag fell on top of bag of Burger King. The gunk that had seeped through to the napkins in just a mere few seconds... I couldn't take it. Try dabbing your slice of pizza or looking at the bottom of the bag. It'll hit you.

Thanks to that, I've learned to appreciate better quality foods too. I'm still guilty of hitting up the taco truck or shady looking BBQ joint... Cooking for myself has also helped, controlling this or that but working for the newspaper usually means days and nights on the road, which sucks.

[brad]

Originally Posted by cooltouch

So as long as I can stay on this low carb diet, I'm continuing to lose weight. About 35 lb in three months. I have a long way to go, though. And I'm wondering what to do once I've reached my target weight, cuz it looks like I'll have to maintain a very low carb diet if I want to maintain a stable weight. Having to face the prospects of a permanent very low carb diet is not terribly appealing. But the alternative is no longer acceptable.

Ya.. kinda the same boat I'm in, but its blood pressure and cholesterol that are the issues for me.

FWIW .. the changes I made to my diet have not left me hungry all the time and I do still have the opportunity to eat what I want once in a while.. I just know that its going to have a negative effect for a few days.

I all but eliminated deep fried foods .. chicken nuggets and fries in my car had become a staple of my diet as I got busier and busier.

I dramatically reduced the amount of sugar intake .. the sweet tea I make today has half the amount of sugar I was putting in it 18 months ago .. and I drink more water (bleh, I hate drinks with no taste) than I did. This is the one place where I stray from my "diet" the most. Sweet drinks are a major weakness.

I dramatically reduced the foods with refined flour .. white bread, another staple of my diet, doesn't even taste all that good to me anymore since I started eating whole grain wheat and oat bran breads. I was never big on butter - preferring to eat my bread and toast dry - so there was nothing to give up there.

I changed my habits for snacking. Another big downfall of mine.. I tend to snack when I get intense on a computer project.. sitting at the desk, its like I want something to chew on... so I keep around stuff that's a bit healthier for those snackish times - Triscuits or whole wheat pretzels satisfy the salt need, Mandarin oranges and apples the sweet need, and carrot sticks for times when nothing else sounds good.

I exchanged the high fat protein intake for low fat protein.. same amounts (actually slightly less, cuz it fills you up faster), but overall more chicken and less beef.. and when I eat beef, only the lowfat cuts: fillets, tenderloins, and ground beef with a maximum 15% fat content. (That hasn't been a huge sacrifice, either since I was never a fan of "marbled" meats - the ribeyes, ribs, and other near the bone meats.)

Like I said, its taking the weight off slowly, but it is coming off a little at a time. Pants that were tight are starting to feel loose and (this last week notwithstanding) I feel like I have more energy.

This is what has worked (so far) for me... and its more of a lifestyle and diet change rather than a diet simply designed to lose weight, so its something I think I can stick to long term... YMMV, of course.

[cooltouch]

Yup, change in lifestyle for sure. Fortunately, I rarely eat fast foods. A few days ago, I had a Whataburger -- first hamburger I've had probably in two or three months -- and found myself wondering what the appeal was. I do love barbecue and prefer to cook it myself -- always low and slow -- but this is an event that happens once a month maybe at most.

Like you, Brad, I avoid high-fat meats, and have for years. And I rarely eat butter, and seldom eat cheese or ice cream or other high-fat foods. Honestly, for me, fat intake hasn't been the issue. It's the simple carbs that seem to be the culprit -- white breads (that include's french, italian, sour dough, ciabatta, and other yummy variants), corn, potatoes, rice -- even carrots, peas and lima beans. These are all high in simple carbs, which have the largest effect on me. Nowadays, I can eat a piece of bread or a serving of rice, and it's like I've been given a sleeping pill. Within a half-hour or so, I'm out like a light. Insulin slugs hitting my system, apparently.

[ka5txl]

I don't blame the beer, it was the chips, and burgers, and pizza that the beer washed down.