How do I start a diet

DefyGravity

Tue, May 20 2008, 10:24 am

Do a little bit at a time. It's kind of like becoming frum, if you do too much at once, you'll just slip all the way back.

It sounds like you have a good start. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about cutting stuff out (although soda should be cut, too many empty calories), you should think a lot about your portions. Pasta isn't the worst thing to eat, you just need to watch the amount that you put on your plate.

In the kitchen

Tue, May 20 2008, 10:30 am

Breads are good for you if they are 100% whole wheat (or whole grain), they provide fibre, natural iron etc. Fibre slows down the breakdown of sugars in your body and helps keep your blood sugar leveled, very important.

However it is a wise decision to cut out white flour, fried foods and extra sugars (syrups, drinks other than water or milk etc).

Along with sodas cut out juices or water them down...or have a real piece of fruit instead. Reduce the amount of sugar in your recipes ie. instead of 1 cup try 3/4 cup (every little bit really does count and adds up!)

Get some excercise, go for a walk everyday (or night)...low intensity excercises for longer periods of time are very effective for burning fat.

Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily.

A weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week is the healthiest and most chances of keeping the weight off. IF you lose more than this a week don't expect to have lost fat, it will be water weight and maybe some muscle tissue.

Is it too obvious that I'm a nutritionist? Smile

Feel free to PM me.
Hatzlocho. Be in good health! Smile

Keep it up, eating healthy and excercising together is the best combination for a healthy weight.

MiracleMama

Tue, May 20 2008, 10:31 am

Some people will tell you to do this and some people will tell you to do that. The bottom line is finding a diet that works for YOU, meaning one that you can realistically stick to long term. So I recommend to do a little research and pick a diet that you feel comfortable with. Add in some exercise and you'll do great. Good luck!

Mitzvahmom

Tue, May 20 2008, 10:36 am

I agree... if I can also add in a two cents..

Do not think of it as a diet..

Think of it as a lifestyle change, eating healthier, parking a bit further from the grocery store...etc.. Little things so that it's not a "diet," but more like this is what I want to eat..

guess for me diet feels too.. .temporary..

Hatzlocha Smile

In the kitchen

Tue, May 20 2008, 10:39 am

Mitzvahmom you are very correct. Smile

Diets are usually detrimental to one's health, but making life changes for good and not seeing it as temporary is the optimum.

Good health to everyone

chocolate moose

Tue, May 20 2008, 11:10 am

Mitzvahmom wrote:

Do not think of it as a diet..Think of it as a lifestyle change, eating healthier, parking a bit further from the grocery store...etc.. Little things so that it's not a "diet," but more like this is what I want to eat..guess for me diet feels too.. .temporary..Hatzlocha Smile

That's fabulous to maintain, but not to lose.

Lani22

Tue, May 20 2008, 11:17 am

I think step 1 is to get rid of all the unhealthy food in your house and to stock up on vegies and fruits and healthy snacks. If you dont have junk in the house you wont be tempted to go into your pantry for a treat. I always have cut up fruits vegies in my fridge. When I get home from the grocery store I cut everything up and put it into ziplocs so I always have a quick snack. My favorite no vegie/fruit snacks are soy chips, raw almonds, popcorn ( I pop myself and just lightly salt no oil), sorbet and my guilty pleasures are olives and pickles.

Akeres Habayis

Tue, May 20 2008, 11:26 am

ok I do only buy healthy things,I no longer buy any white products.I use apple concentrate,or veggies for a sweetner in dark cakes.
my problem is portion size!!!
I'm still nursing so a fist full of eat food group leaves me hungry,my stomach is growling etc.I chew gum,drink water,but I'm still hungry.
so I try to eat things that are "low calorie"like popcorn Confused

the problem is I can eat 1/2 bowl(mixing bowl)it doesn't have butter,margerine on it,just garlic powder and soy sauce.
portions are my problem,and with shmittah please dont advise to eat more veggies or friut.
maybe I could just walk more and eat all I want,and drink lots of water Confused

Lani22

Tue, May 20 2008, 11:31 am

Akeres Habayis wrote:

Oy I dont have children so I really dont know what that nursing hunger is like, but it sounds like you are doing everything right by eating healthy. Walking more and drinking water sounds great.

chavaj

Tue, May 20 2008, 11:32 am

Just a note from someone else struggling with her weight:

If you eat for emotional reasons, and just get rid of the food, you will be left with a void... The times when I succeeded at losing weight were the times when I found alternatives to eating... the problem can be if you have a bunch of small children bouncing of off you and the walls, it's much easier to eat a piece of chocolate to calm down than it is to read a perek of Tehillim...

Good luck!

NotInNJMommy

Tue, May 20 2008, 11:54 am

Write down everything that goes in yoru mouth. You must write it down before it goes in.

It often inserts just enough time to think about if you are really hungry adn really want that...

I also would make a quota of min. veggies/fruits I had to eat, and "milk" servings, and after those were hit, if I was still hungry I'd have a little cereal, a cracker or two, etc.

octopus

Tue, May 20 2008, 12:00 pm

I am also trying to lose weight and nursing at the same time. It is NOT easy. I find that when my toddler and newborn are acting up, I eat. I am an emotional eater. I eat when I'm happy. I eat when I'm sad. I eat when I feel skinny (yay, I'm skinny, now I can eat!) and I eat when I feel fat (I'm fat anyway, so I may as well...). Truth is, if I really listened to my body and would eat when I am hungry (instead of eating when I'm thirsty and should be drinking) I probably would lose weight! I do find that when I exercise it supresses my appetite.
good luck!
If you ever need support from somebody in the same boat as you, you can always pm me.

chavaj

Wed, May 21 2008, 1:57 am

emotional void = I want to scream and/or break something b/c my kids are driving me crazy BUT this would be a bad thing SO I eat chocolate/cake/cookies/anything loaded with fat & sugar to calm down BUT now I'm on a diet/making lifestyle changes (ha ha ha) SO.... BLANK BLANK BLANK...

what do I do now to calm down that I can do when the baby is screaming, the toddler is standing on the kitchen counter clearing off the upper shelves, the preschooler is kicking on the floor screaming her head off because the big boy just shoved her down and sucker punched her?

If I have not created an alternative, then I WILL go straight back to the chocolate no matter how much I want to lose weight... because after eating some chocolate, I can calmly deal with each child the way I ideally would like to do so...

Does that explain the void better?

PinkandYellow

Wed, May 21 2008, 4:43 am

today is my first day without soda. I had a cup of tea instead. I'm not sure that I'm going cold turkey the way my husband wants me to, its too hard. but I'm so hungry. whats good for snack? anything besides for cut up fruit/vegies? also, is potatoes (like baked or microwaved) ok for s/o watching what they eat?

mummy-bh

Wed, May 21 2008, 5:31 am

Pink, I just started Sparkpeople two days ago. I had first read about it on Imamother and decided to try it out. So far, so good - I like it because 1) it's free!, 2) it tracks what you eat and counts your calories for you, and 3) because it's online, there are no pieces of paper to loose when I'm writing down everything I eat. The computer is always on in my kitchen so it's quite easy for me to enter everything.

I must mention, though, that I did the weightwatchers points diet a few years back, and this considerably educated me about the nutritional content of food. I'm not sure if I would find sparkpeople so easy to use without this prior knowledge.

Akeres Habayis

Wed, May 21 2008, 7:32 am

chavaj wrote:

it does I just have to find mine
the toddler,climbing on the table,doesn't do a thing for me,I just take her down and put all the chairs outside.tantrum I just look or scream louder than her to see the look on her face...its priceless.
I'm bored!!!
I use to work fulltime....hated it,BH I dont anymore.maybe the void is boredom Confused

flowerpower

Wed, May 21 2008, 7:53 am

Many of us like to eat just bec its fun. Learn to munch of healthy low caloried stuff like cut up apples, baby carrots, low fat snack like your own popped popcorn. If you are in the mood of eating drink a glass of water or chew some mint gum