Lifestyle Changes for Health

[Lambykins]

Okay..I'm old (64), my life-long habits are catching up to me.
As of last week, I was diagnosed with COPD that is partnered up with my Diabetes-2 to try to kick my ass off this mortal coil before my official expiration date. (women in my family generall live to 100, a few making it to a decade past that...I'm looking at you Great-Aunt Fanangus and Great-Grandma Woody). Also my kids have demanded that I make it at least to 93.
So, I have embarked on lifestyle changes to try to kick the ass of these conditions.
Currently, I am not on insulin. My blood sugar is *kinda controlled* by metformin (500, 3x a time) and diet.
Doc wants me to lose 40 to 50 pounds. Currently at 210 lbs.

SO...gotta change my diet (sadly waves goodbye to bread potatoes and most pasta).
My bad habits include:
Smoking ( already cut down from 2 packs a day of full-flavor to 1 pack of lights a day in the past 4 months)
My diet...I practically live on rice, pasta and potatoes...and sandwiches. I rarely eat breakfast. I skip lunch most days. I get home from work and snack while I fix my dinner. (Yeah, not good for my blood sugar levels)
Other than snacks, my dinners are usually fairly healthy. No fried foods, other than fried potatoes and onions (I friggin' love that!). Pan seared asparagus, whole grains, salads, very little meat. I only eat meat in 2 or 3 meals a month. I don't eat any fish (allergic).

Right now, my game plan includes doing *overnight oats* so I have a quick breakfast to grab in the morning.
Lunch...uhm...usually at work and I only have 30 minutes. So, need ideas on that. I suppose I could just grab a yogurt or something like that.
Dinner I kinda have a handle on. Today I prepped stuff for my dinners during the next week. I am cooking some of my grains...teff and millet, barley and brown rice. I'll use them in wraps or on salads or toss them in soups for quick dinners.

Any suggestions for other options for breakfasts, lunches and dinners appreciated.
Any helpful hints on quitting smoking appreciated.I just can't go cold turkey, I'll end up killing someone and going to prison.
Any other diabetics got some good hints on lifestyle changes? (Or if you help take care of a diabetic in your family)
Thanks all!

[boskone]

For lunch, if you have a microwave you might try mealprep.

E.g., offhand, baked salmon with green beans and legumes. The baked salmon you'd buy a salmon plank (usually 4-5 good solid meals for me).

The legumes you'd just make some sort of bean, whatever you like, as normal.

Preheat the oven to 425.

Toss the green beans in olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, and toss. Arrange on half of a baking sheet and put in the oven for 15 minutes.

Melt 1tbsp butter, mix in 2tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp garlic powder, and pepper/aromatics to taste in a small pot. Cut the salmon into 4-5 pieces. After the beans have been in the oven for 15 minutes, put the salmon on the other half of the sheet skin-down and pour the butter mixture over it. Place back for 12-15 minutes.

Once it's out, use the back of a table knife to remove the skin and fishy grey meat. Put everything in some kind of microwave-safe container, cover, and let fall to room temp. Then put it in the fridge.

Take it out in the morning to go to work, and at lunch microwave for 1.5-2.5 minutes (depending on microwave). I like to add a bit more lemon juice to the salmon.

That's just one of my favorites, when salmon's on sale. Look around for meal prep recipes, they're all intended to be made in bulk one day a week and refrigerated. I do basically all of my week's cooking in 2-3 hours on Sunday. The exception is bread, which I generally do on Friday for no particular reason.

[Lambykins]

For lunch, if you have a microwave you might try mealprep.

E.g., offhand, baked salmon with green beans and legumes. The baked salmon you'd buy a salmon plank (usually 4-5 good solid meals for me).

I don't/can't eat fish. Deathly allergic.
I also only eat meat (usually beef or chicken, once in a while pork) only 2 or 3 times a month.

[CG]

For reference, I eat keto

For breakfast: I have coffee with 20g Vital Proteins cow collagen powder and heavy cream. SweetLeaf Sweet Drops (stevia) if I want it sweeter or a flavor.

For lunch: Leftovers. Any time there's actually leftovers, they get frozen in small containers in the freezer so I can grab them and take them with me to work. Otherwise, I have several options plotted out that I can easily pick up at a grocery store. I'm working on finding a low carb bread recipe that I like - I think I'm looking at .

For dinner: All our dinners are low carb. If the kids and hubby want mashed potato or garlic bread, they can make it themselves. Any desserts I make are low carb. I'm not bringing sugary crap into the house anymore. They want it, they can buy it.

The kids pick recipes for dinners from my low carb cookbooks. I'm loving the ones from Kristie Sullivan. I have all the ones from Maria Emmerich, but for some reason, hers never really "clicked" with me, but I've made and loved entire meal plans from Kristie Sullivan.

I know you said you only eat meat a few times a month - what are you planning to replace the calories from rice, pasta, potatoes, and bread with?

[SCBrian]

E.g., offhand, baked salmon with green beans and legumes. The baked salmon you'd buy a salmon plank (usually 4-5 good solid meals for me).
<SNIP>
Take it out in the morning to go to work, and at lunch microwave for 1.5-2.5 minutes (depending on microwave).

I *like* fish, but I feel like I should thrown something at you for cooking it at work. It's like microwave popcorn, it just permeates...

Lammy, When I was on Keto and cutting my carbs, the only thing that would work well for me was planing. I needed to know what was for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Make it your roadmap. Look for recipes and casseroles you can cook on Sunday (or whenever) and reheat later in the week. Pre make some foil packet dinners or similar. Most of us go off the tracks when we dont know what to cook and just start grabbing.
Also - wasn't it you that was hooked on Soda? Look for healthier options (and Diet isnt it) . Flavored water, etc...
I'm a *borderline* pre diabetic. Mt blood is usually between 100 and 150, my A1c isnt high enough to classify as pre. So I try my beast to avoid carbs, and like you, I am addicted to them. Bread, not so much. Salty crunch carbs? Take my heart away...
My breakfast during the week would typically be a shake. Gets some vitamins, and minerals going and kinda filling. Coffee at work, no powdered cream or sugar, but actual cream. Lunch was iffy, whatever I could scrape together (I run a kitchen) and dinner was generally meat forward, with veggies. Sometimes Rice, taters, etc. I wasn't hard on 20g carbs. I did however try to stay below 50.

Good luck!

[boskone]

E.g., offhand, baked salmon with green beans and legumes. The baked salmon you'd buy a salmon plank (usually 4-5 good solid meals for me).
<SNIP>
Take it out in the morning to go to work, and at lunch microwave for 1.5-2.5 minutes (depending on microwave).

I *like* fish, but I feel like I should thrown something at you for cooking it at work. It's like microwave popcorn, it just permeates...

<shrug> The cafeteria makes fish anyway. And, honestly, I dunno what fish people cook that permeates that bad.

[CG]

Oh yeah, drinks. I drink a ton of fizzy waters and Dr. Zevia. I keep a kettle in my office and drink tea off and on (by which I mean, I didn't put water in it this week, but some weeks I'm drinking 3-4 cups a day).

[Lambykins]

Some great suggestions for me!
Yeah, Dr Pepper addict here.
I am drinking some sparkling waters now, some are quite good.
I am catching on to the planning aspect of this.
I just put one of my overnight oat bowls in the fridge, but I have four more prepped in their little bowls on the table. All I gotta do is add milk/kefir/yogurt/whatever, snap the lid back on, and toss it in the fridge and it's ready in the morning.

I have precooked brown rice, teff, tabouleh, and black beans and have them in the fridge for meals later this week.

Dinner tonight:
3 small corn tortillas, each with; 2 tablespoons black beans, 1 tablespoon brown rice, 1 teaspoon shredded cheese, 2 slices avocado, a sprinkling of diced fresh tomato, a bit of cilantro-lime dressing,and about 1/2 teaspoon sour cream.
Dessert was a berry fruit cup with blackberries, raspberries and strawberries.

Tomorrow I plan on tabouleh for lunch and probably use the teff and black beans to make a veggie chili and cut up and bake a couple of the tortillas I have left for tortilla chips to go with.

Going to look at the store tomorrow for the monkfruit sweetener.
I found a couple of keto vegetarian sites with recipes, so I'll be seeing if I can find some I like.

[tony d tiger]

I've found it helpful to think of food in terms of protein; fat; carbs and try to keep the fiber content high. Recently determined I also need to watch sugars (refined or others) too.

Overnight oats, I like to layer in cut fruit and crushed walnuts. This makes a nice "second breakfast" with a thermos of coffee. "First breakfast" for me, is usually a cuppa coffee and a piece of multi grain toast smeared with organic peanut butter (no partially hydrogenated oils - just peanuts) and four dried dates.
Lunch is salad with more walnuts, some feta cheese and some kind of animal protein (chicken, pork, tuna, salmon, hard boiled egg whites... or rarely, BEEF ) olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Dinner is whatever the missus feels like making - when I was on my own it was typically chicken and rice or rice and beans with cornbread - now I smile and try to limit portion size.
Late night snack - no fat Greek yogurt with some dried fruit stirred in.
Rinse and repeat; remember moderation in all things - including moderation.

64 - I hope to get there some day!! Congratulations!

[tony d tiger]

Some great suggestions for me!
Yeah, Dr Pepper addict here.
I am drinking some sparkling waters now, some are quite good.
I am catching on to the planning aspect of this.
I just put one of my overnight oat bowls in the fridge, but I have four more prepped in their little bowls on the table. All I gotta do is add milk/kefir/yogurt/whatever, snap the lid back on, and toss it in the fridge and it's ready in the morning.

I have precooked brown rice, teff, tabouleh, and black beans and have them in the fridge for meals later this week.

Dinner tonight:
3 small corn tortillas, each with; 2 tablespoons black beans, 1 tablespoon brown rice, 1 teaspoon shredded cheese, 2 slices avocado, a sprinkling of diced fresh tomato, a bit of cilantro-lime dressing,and about 1/2 teaspoon sour cream.
Dessert was a berry fruit cup with blackberries, raspberries and strawberries.

Tomorrow I plan on tabouleh for lunch and probably use the teff and black beans to make a veggie chili and cut up and bake a couple of the tortillas I have left for tortilla chips to go with.

Going to look at the store tomorrow for the monkfruit sweetener.
I found a couple of keto vegetarian sites with recipes, so I'll be seeing if I can find some I like.

Try some radish slices with those tortillas next time!

[Lambykins]

I've found it helpful to think of food in terms of protein; fat; carbs and try to keep the fiber content high.

I am trying to go with the highest protein, lowest carb foods I can find. Also lowest fat as I gotta take off these pounds!

We had the discussion about pemmican in chat and I was wondering where to get the shredded jerky *chew*...I found some at the local Family Dollar (our *big box* store in this wee town). $1 for each.
GREAT substitute for one of my high-carb weaknesses...potato chips. It has that pop of salt and savory. I am not even missing my chips!
Calories per container: 25. Carbs: 0 Protein: 4 g. Fat (trans, saturated or otherwise: 0.Sugar: 1 g.
Not too shabby!

As for radishes...never been too fond of them...with the massive exception of daikon radishes which to me are awesome! Soooo good! I slice them thin on sandwiches, toss them in stir frys and stews...just love them!
Didn't think of them on a tortilla.....gonna have to try that!

[tony d tiger]

Non-fat Greek yogurt. You can use it as a substitute for sour cream, too.
Oh yeah, and for another cronchy snack try baby carrots, hummus and a couple shots of your favorite hot sauce. I like Tabasco chipoltle now; was the green one before that.

[RoneKiln]

I am trying to go with the highest protein, lowest carb foods I can find. Also lowest fat as I gotta take off these pounds!

There are many spectacular nutritionists with interviews and podcasts on YouTube and other podcast providers. It may be worth listening to some while doing chores. I've been quite impressed with Dr Rhonda Patrick.

A severe health issue I had till a few years ago was a fat deficient diet. I've since learned that most people are much healthier and lose weight faster with a high fat diet. The food pyramid I was taught in school is not healthy for most people.

You might want to look into whether going low fat really is good for you. I am far more energetic and drop weight faster when eating a lot of fat and protein.

[woodsghost]

I am trying to go with the highest protein, lowest carb foods I can find. Also lowest fat as I gotta take off these pounds!

I'm mostly with RoneKiln, and I'll add that the material I've been exposed to says muscle is better at burning extra calories. People, mostly women, will decide not to do heavy lifting because they don't want to look like the front of some gym magazine. But doing a lot of lifting of heavier weights builds muscle and that muscle burns fat faster. And most people, even with a lot of heavy free weights, don't look like the front of a gym magazine. They just end up looking healthier, so that is cool.

I don't know all the particulars of your situation, and heavy weight or gyms or home gyms (and coaching, I will stress that good coaching in the safe use of any weights is critical) may not be in the cards for you. I don't know. But I would consider coming after any life changes from both the food direction and the exercise direction, with exercise aimed at building muscle.

[CG]

A severe health issue I had till a few years ago was a fat deficient diet. I've since learned that most people are much healthier and lose weight faster with a high fat diet. The food pyramid I was taught in school is not healthy for most people.

You might want to look into whether going low fat really is good for you. I am far more energetic and drop weight faster when eating a lot of fat and protein.

Mom used to try to make us eat lower fat. I was miserable unless I added a ton of sugar and salt. I mean, to the point of, Rice Krispies didn’t have enough flavor so I added sugar to them!

I started back on keto seriously again on October 22 - each meal is less than 7g carbs (not including erithrytol or oat fiber), more than 20g of protein, and more fat than protein. I’m specifically following Kristie Sullivan’s approach. I’m down 7 pounds, 1.6% body fat, and into the “overweight” category for BMI (yes, I know, the BMI system is totally flawed, but I’ll still take it!). More energetic, less moody, and I think a chin might have wandered off.


I’ve even been eating pork rinds and onion dip (using one of her recipes) as a snack on occasion!

[Lambykins]

I am trying to go with the highest protein, lowest carb foods I can find. Also lowest fat as I gotta take off these pounds!

There are many spectacular nutritionists with interviews and podcasts on YouTube and other podcast providers. It may be worth listening to some while doing chores. I've been quite impressed with Dr Rhonda Patrick.

A severe health issue I had till a few years ago was a fat deficient diet. I've since learned that most people are much healthier and lose weight faster with a high fat diet. The food pyramid I was taught in school is not healthy for most people.

You might want to look into whether going low fat really is good for you. I am far more energetic and drop weight faster when eating a lot of fat and protein.

I am not going low-fat. I am going low-carb due to my diabetes.
I use whole milk and butter. But I have to be careful with carbs, so I am very judicious in using them.

[CG]

I am trying to go with the highest protein, lowest carb foods I can find. Also lowest fat as I gotta take off these pounds!

There are many spectacular nutritionists with interviews and podcasts on YouTube and other podcast providers. It may be worth listening to some while doing chores. I've been quite impressed with Dr Rhonda Patrick.

A severe health issue I had till a few years ago was a fat deficient diet. I've since learned that most people are much healthier and lose weight faster with a high fat diet. The food pyramid I was taught in school is not healthy for most people.

You might want to look into whether going low fat really is good for you. I am far more energetic and drop weight faster when eating a lot of fat and protein.

I am not going low-fat. I am going low-carb due to my diabetes.
I use whole milk and butter. But I have to be careful with carbs, so I am very judicious in using them.

He’s looking at the part he quoted, where you said you were trying to go with the lowest fat to take off the pounds. It makes it sound as if you’re going low carb and low fat, which is generally a recipe for disaster in the long-term.

[Lambykins]

I am trying to go with the highest protein, lowest carb foods I can find. Also lowest fat as I gotta take off these pounds!

There are many spectacular nutritionists with interviews and podcasts on YouTube and other podcast providers. It may be worth listening to some while doing chores. I've been quite impressed with Dr Rhonda Patrick.

A severe health issue I had till a few years ago was a fat deficient diet. I've since learned that most people are much healthier and lose weight faster with a high fat diet. The food pyramid I was taught in school is not healthy for most people.

You might want to look into whether going low fat really is good for you. I am far more energetic and drop weight faster when eating a lot of fat and protein.

I am not going low-fat. I am going low-carb due to my diabetes.
I use whole milk and butter. But I have to be careful with carbs, so I am very judicious in using them.

He’s looking at the part he quoted, where you said you were trying to go with the lowest fat to take off the pounds. It makes it sound as if you’re going low carb and low fat, which is generally a recipe for disaster in the long-term.

Ahhh, ok.
Well, diet-wise, things are quite confusing right now.
Between the diabetes diet books my doc gave me, the American Diabetes Association website, numerous other websites catering to diabetics, diabetic forums, recipe sites, etc., most of them contradicting what the others say and sometimes even contradicting themselves, I am a bit confused!
I'm supposed to get certain amounts of protein, fiber and nutrients without getting a lot of sugar/carbs. Got it!
But then.... we get to fats. And most of the diet things I look at do a whole breakdown of fats and the different kinds of fat.
On one website they say this kind is okay, on another it isn't, in one book avocados are great, in another...not so much. One diabetic site advocates certain fats, but then says to stringently limit that fat.

Why put all that damn information out there if they can't agree on the parameters?

[CG]

Ahhh, ok.
Well, diet-wise, things are quite confusing right now.
Between the diabetes diet books my doc gave me, the American Diabetes Association website, numerous other websites catering to diabetics, diabetic forums, recipe sites, etc., most of them contradicting what the others say and sometimes even contradicting themselves, I am a bit confused!
I'm supposed to get certain amounts of protein, fiber and nutrients without getting a lot of sugar/carbs. Got it!
But then.... we get to fats. And most of the diet things I look at do a whole breakdown of fats and the different kinds of fat.
On one website they say this kind is okay, on another it isn't, in one book avocados are great, in another...not so much. One diabetic site advocates certain fats, but then says to stringently limit that fat.

Why put all that damn information out there if they can't agree on the parameters?

Because if they actually listened to science and gave proper advice, a lot of our health issues as a whole would go away, and there’s no money in that. There’s more money in confusion and crappy health than there is in making people healthy.

[Lambykins]

Ugh...now it is suggested on one website that I weigh my food for accuracy sake for my portions.
Anyone weigh their food?
Should I invest in a kitchen scale?
The way I generally cook is "a spoonful of this, a pinch of that method" and what I cook tastes good to me (and to anyone else that tries it).

Diets are complicated.

[Confucius]

Ugh...now it is suggested on one website that I weigh my food for accuracy sake for my portions.
Anyone weigh their food?
Should I invest in a kitchen scale?
The way I generally cook is "a spoonful of this, a pinch of that method" and what I cook tastes good to me (and to anyone else that tries it).

Diets are complicated.

I weigh my food and log it into cronometer. It's pretty shocking how many calories what you might think is a reasonable serving is. Especially things like granola or nuts, that are fairly healthy to begin with, but are super calorie dense. Small handful of nuts can easily be like 1/8th of your day's calories...

[Lambykins]

Ugh...now it is suggested on one website that I weigh my food for accuracy sake for my portions.
Anyone weigh their food?
Should I invest in a kitchen scale?
The way I generally cook is "a spoonful of this, a pinch of that method" and what I cook tastes good to me (and to anyone else that tries it).

Diets are complicated.

I weigh my food and log it into cronometer. It's pretty shocking how many calories what you might think is a reasonable serving is. Especially things like granola or nuts, that are fairly healthy to begin with, but are super calorie dense. Small handful of nuts can easily be like 1/8th of your day's calories...

Of to google that fancysmancy engineer talk...
ETA: ahhh hell...an app for my phone that digital illiterate me will probably install wrong and end up blowing up the whole world with.
Gonna try...hello apocalypse

[Blast]

It's good to hear your blood sugar isn't too high yet. One thing that helps reduce blood sugar is "slimy foods". The mucilage in things like okra, cactus pads, slippery elm bark, and most other slimy plants really likes to grab onto sugar molecules and only slowly release them. This reduces the build up of sugars in your blood.
Cinnamon is another thing that helps control/slow the transfer of sugar from the digestive tract to the blood but via a different mechanism than mucilage.
Another thing to look at are supplements to help your liver. Burdock root has been scientifically proven to speed up the processing of the liver to get rid of toxins and fats, including reduction of fatty liver issues.
Of course, before adding any herbal supplement to your diet it's smart to check possible interactions on the WebMD website.
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingre ... 11/burdock

-Blast (medicinal chemist)

[RoneKiln]

Why put all that damn information out there if they can't agree on the parameters?

One of the bigger issues is that everyone is different. Keto is a great short term diet for most people. A small portion of the population will convert protein to glucose when starved of carbs and cause severe diabetic problems. This is the cause of many of the worse "keto flu" experiences (you can get genetic testing to check for this). Another small portion of the population thrive on a keto diet long term. So... is keto good for us? For most of us, for limited time periods, yes. But for how long? Try it and find out.

Different diets will suit different people better for different periods of time, and differently at various stages of their life. There's a lot of basic things that can safely be said apply to "most people," but no dietary advice will apply to everyone at all stages of their lives.

Another huge problem is the limitations on experimenting on decent sample of people with diets. So research on nutrition is incredibly difficult, and a lot of deeply flawed information is still in wide circulation. My best friend's older doctor keeps telling him to eat a heavy grain based diet to loose weight, which is counter to everything I know of nutrition.

For myself, high fat content very obviously works better for me at this stage of my life. I've also found regularly taking high doses of B12 make a huge difference. I have a young friend with an insanely high metabolism. That guy truly has to eat huge amounts of carbs. So did I in my youth (but my metabolism has changed). The diet that is good for me would not be good for him.

Be careful not to focus too heavily on weight. Also pay attention to waist size, strength, and endurance. You could seemingly remain the same weight due to increase in muscle while losing fat. My Mom did this. She was visibly slimming down and her endurance quadrupled but she was real upset about her weight staying the same. I had to raise my voice a bit to break through to her and get her to see she was clearly making improvements if she took the other metrics (waist size and endurance) into account along with weight.