Health benefits?? Newbie

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tomtit

10:23 am
15 Jul 15
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Well, this is a bit difficult. . .but there do not appear to be many folks on here that are more into the health benefits than the weight loss.
I was fascinated with the Horizons TV program and having seen my mum struggle with dementia for the past 5 years of her life I decided to throw myself fully into the experience!.
I kept at it for about 5 months and I lost about 6lbs in weight which was very pleasing but it is hard to be able to measure the health benefits as easy as the weight loss! (I have now bought a blood pressure monitor so I will now be able to check this)
If I may bore someone??? with my experiences. Firstly there are 2 things that I had to adjust in my diet. No alcohol!! It is easy to slip into the habit of a couple of glasses of wine or beer in the evening and I think the fact that you can’t have it makes abstaining more difficult!! So I just try to busy myself and promise a couple of beers the next night. Sadly, this usually pushes me up past my TDEE but I hope the fasting will still have health benefits.
The second is milk in my drinks. I usually have about 4 or 5 cups of tea or coffee each day but with milk this can take a further 100 cals off my allowance. The good thing is. . . .I no longer buy milk and have got quite used to black or green tea and black coffee.
At first I found it hard to keep to 500 cals without being very hungry as the routine of daily eating was very rigid with me. . . I am a real ‘foody’ but thankfully I can live without sweets, cakes and chocs but would murder for a seafood pizza and a glass of red!!
I finally finished 5 a side football last year so I need to replace this exersize with some more calorie burning and my bike is at the ready!!
Some vital aids to get me through the day are the new ready Bovril drinks @10 cals., Boullion@ 19 cals and Hartleys jellies @10 cals. These can trick the mind into thinking it has eaten. . . but sadly not the stomach 🙁
On a fast day I have my coffee when I get up then determine myself not to eat anything until 11am. If I am not too hungry I will have a hot drink as mentioned. I then wait til 1pm and have a boiled egg and a tomato with green tea. My evening meal is tinfoil wrapped turkey breast with spices on, put in a steamer with carrot battens and about 5 new potatoes followed by a jelly. If I can’t wait till 11am I may have the hard boiled egg and tomato at 9am and some crispbread with 20 grams of no fat cottage cheese and a slice of apple/cucumber or beetroot on and adjust my potato input later.
Either way, I always take half a nytol and get to bed for 10pm happy the it’s over.
I did try the cauliflower stir fry the other night but didn’t enjoy it.
My main issue is that at the weekends I go way over my TDEE with wine/beer/pizzas and roasts so I only loose a pound maybe. My main concern is that I probably also loose lots of the health benefits!.
So, there we are. . . my thoughts are to get on my bike!! and eat less on my non fast days and only over indulge once a fortnight. Maybe have another fast day. . .
or maybe not. . .
good luck to all who are with me on this weird adventure 😉

Mark Mywordz

8:52 am
22 Jul 15
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Hi Tomtit
I am one person who is most definitely more into the health benefits than the weight loss. Obviously, however, the 2 things are closely related. Congratulations on your new resolve to sort you life out – because that is what this diet thing is all about.
You are still in the early stages and, if you’ll pardon me saying so, you still have a fair way to go in sorting this stuff out. You don’t mention your consumption of water. I find it hard to remember to drink as much water as I should but when I drink it, it certainly makes a difference. It fills the stomach, there is no limit to the amount you can consume. I live in Spain and just love a good glass of Rioja (or 3). But I have got over that problem in a fairly radical way.I now amd doing alternate days fasting on an allowance of 500 calories per fast day. I have done 5:2 for about a year but my weight was not budging, so I have bitten the bullet and am starting alternate days. I can have alcohol tomorrow but NOT today.
I tried the Indian GM diet for a week and lost 7 lbs in 7 days – honestly. It’s not advised to continue that diet beyond a week but it has motivated me to take my lifestyle much more seriously. I now realize that I really can change.
I think you may need to find a form of exercise that is addictive for you. For me that is (and always has been) walking. I now do 5 miles a day and have been known to do 14 miles or more in one day at the weekend. The great thing is that I have become obsessive about it and it also has a load of health benefits. I don’t get hungry when I walk and it is not easy to eat and walk at the same time anyway. I bought a new car in November but it doesn’t get used like my old car did. I much prefer to walk.
Good luck with your diet. It doesn’t matter how little or how much weight you lose, the point is to keep going and learn from your experience.