# I’m committed to start, I just don’t know where and how.



## Komodo (Jul 18, 2018)

Hi friends,

Besides my introduction this is my first post. I’d like to start by saying that English is not my first language so please forgive me when I make spelling mistakes.

I am in my late fifties and will be retiring in five years. I am now looking for a way to prepare myself physically for my retirement. Because of my work I have developed a poor diet and as a result I am forty pounds overweight. I never did any kind of drugs including marijuana, I know boring isn’t it. I do like my Southern Comfort from time to time though. I have no health issues and take no medications. My goal is to keep it this way for as long as I can. There are many things I still want to do.

So my question is this, are there any good books or websites you recommend for someone in their late fifties who needs to make a life style change? Something that will help me in breaking a lifelong, ingrained unhealthy eating habit.

I’m committed to start, I just don’t know where and how.

Thank you


----------



## Lara (Jul 18, 2018)

:rose::wave: Hi Komodo

Regarding your Southern Comfort...the good news is that alcohol has no carbs and no sugar. 
If you drink it straight and in moderation I read it's actually good for you, like 1 drink per day I think...sip to make it last  

My favorite book is a paperback "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman published in 2011. He has a newer version but I like the 2011 just fine. 

In fact, it saved my life. 

The first half of the book is about eating right can improve your health and the other half is recipes. 1/4 of the book's recipes focus on weightloss and 1/4 of the recipes are for those who don't need to lose weight. The recipes are sometimes complicated so just find what's healthy and make your own personalized recipes that are easy enough to keep going for a long time.

He's done some TED talks too but he hasn't got the most motivational personality I've seen.


----------



## StarSong (Jul 18, 2018)

Welcome!  

There is a wealth of nutritional information available on the web, but changes in lifestyle are exactly that.  Changes in lifestyle.  If you are deeply committed to overhauling the way you eat, there are a number of good movies that can be quite motivating.  "Forks Over Knives" is a great place to start.  The web is loaded with great sites - I highly recommend Dr. Gregor's www.NutritionFacts.org.    

As you probably already know, current nutritional science is pretty clear.  The formula for better health is fairly simple: 
Eat less (or no) meat
Eat less (or no) dairy
Eat less (or no) processed foods
Eat less (or no) added fats
Eat less (or no) added salt
Eat less (or no) added sugar
Eat more beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Exercise more
Get plenty of rest

Wishing you the best on your journey!


----------



## fmdog44 (Jul 18, 2018)

Play doctor with yourself. Sit down with a pen & paper and begin to document the results of your self examination. Items like age, weight, diet, exercise habits, sleeping regiment. List what things do you do that make you proud of yourself vs. things that you don't like about yourself. When you are done with your list turn and face yourself and verbalize your findings and your prognosis for your future as if you were speaking to an actual patient.


----------



## Komodo (Jul 20, 2018)

Lara said:


> :rose::wave: Hi Komodo
> 
> Regarding your Southern Comfort...the good news is that alcohol has no carbs and no sugar.
> If you drink it straight and in moderation I read it's actually good for you, like 1 drink per day I think...sip to make it last
> ...



I found the book Eat to Live at the public library and it turns out that Dr. Joel Fuhrman published many books. I thought I would see what it looks like before I purchased a copy.  I also found by him a book called Eat to Live Cookbook.

I must mention that I will never become a vegetarian, but I will cut my meat intake to two or three portions a week, who knows I might do even less than that.

Thank you Lara


----------



## Komodo (Jul 20, 2018)

StarSong said:


> Welcome!
> 
> There is a wealth of nutritional information available on the web, but changes in lifestyle are exactly that.  Changes in lifestyle.  If you are deeply committed to overhauling the way you eat, there are a number of good movies that can be quite motivating.  "Forks Over Knives" is a great place to start.  The web is loaded with great sites - I highly recommend Dr. Gregor's www.NutritionFacts.org.
> 
> ...



I looked at the video you suggested on YouTube, Forks Over Knives and the website is an excellent one. As I mentioned in Lara’s post I will never become a vegetarian. I really like your list though; I printed the list for a quick and easy reminder of how to plan my day’s meals.

Thank you StarSong


----------



## Komodo (Jul 20, 2018)

fmdog44 said:


> Play doctor with yourself. Sit down with a pen & paper and begin to document the results of your self examination. Items like age, weight, diet, exercise habits, sleeping regiment. List what things do you do that make you proud of yourself vs. things that you don't like about yourself. When you are done with your list turn and face yourself and verbalize your findings and your prognosis for your future as if you were speaking to an actual patient.



What an excellent exercise, I don’t know if I did it right but I enjoyed the validation of my reasons for taking my health seriously. It’s amazing how much of what I enjoy now depends on staying healthy.

Thank you fmdog44


----------



## Komodo (Jul 20, 2018)

Thank you all for your suggestions.

As a result of your suggestion I started yesterday a plan I set out for myself. It will probably need adjustments as I go but I need to start somewhere.

In the first week I will stop eating after 7pm. drastically cut my meat servings and my overall portion size. No alcohol for a while and I will take two daily walks.

Next week I will start some mild strength exercises in a home gym I still have from my younger days. Cardio exercises I will do after I speak with my family doctor next week.

Finally I signed up for Tai chi, I will start Mid-August.

I think these first steps will slowly move me in the right direction. If I need to add something, or I’m doing something wrong, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Thank you all


----------



## SeaBreeze (Jul 20, 2018)

I'm glad you're thinking of your health, we all have to be aware of it even more now that we are getting older.  I suggest that you just start now, today, stay positive and do it slowly one step at a time.  Start by not buying any junky foods to add to your refrigerator or freezer.  No fatty, processed, high salt and calorie frozen meals, no white potatoes, breads or sweets like cakes, pies and ice cream.

If you just start cutting back on carb like potatoes, rice, bread, etc.  You'll notice a difference on the scale.  Stop eating completely after you last dinner meal, eating before bed will put on the weight.  I don't think you need a special book, just use common sense and don't eat things that will add weight.  Also, move.....just brisk daily walking up to an hour will help burn calories.

Attitude is everything, do it for yourself personally and picture a slimmer you....you'll reach your goal.  Once you cut out the bad foods, you won't even miss them very much.  Fried foods and fast foods are bad also.

PS:  Just read your last post above, you're on the right track!


----------



## StarSong (Jul 20, 2018)

Wishing you success on this endeavor.  It's likely to be one with plenty of missteps, the key to success is to get right back on plan.


----------



## fmdog44 (Jul 20, 2018)

Burn more calories than you ingest and you will lose weight - simple math.


----------



## JFBev (Jul 20, 2018)

Komodo said:


> Thank you all for your suggestions.
> 
> As a result of your suggestion I started yesterday a plan I set out for myself. It will probably need adjustments as I go but I need to start somewhere.
> 
> ...



Sounds great!  A lot to take on all at once so if I may, here's advice I got from my doctor 20 years ago:  two scoops instead of three.  That's all, for one year.  Change nothing else. I lost 25 pounds and have never gained it back.  There was no feeling of deprivation, and after that first year, then I made changes to the types of foods.  Worked for my husband too, he lost 30 pounds.


----------



## Keesha (Jul 20, 2018)

I’m not even going to offer any suggestions because the ones you already have are excellent.
Good luck on losing weight through better eating habits.


----------



## Komodo (Jul 21, 2018)

Thank you all for the kind words; it’s a great way to start the day.

I think I will come back and read all of your posts when motivation is wanting.

:love_heart: :love_heart: :love_heart:


----------



## Happyflowerlady (Jul 21, 2018)

One of the things that really helps me with taking care of my health, exercising, and eating nourishing foods, is having a fitness tracker and health-tracking apps on my phone. 
I have an Apple Watch that my daughter gave me as a gift, and it tracks all of my steps and easy exercises that I do. Since it is waterproof, it also tracks my swimming, which is totally my favorite way to exercise. 
On my iphone, I have the Health app, which pretty much groups everything into one place and gives me a good overview of how I am doing. 
I have a Carbmanager app, where I put in what i eat, and that also shows the nutrients in every food I consume, and helps me to keep on track with my diet. 
Since I also wear the watch to bed, it tracks my sleeping, and I can see how well I sleep each night, and the blood pressure app gives me a record of my BP and heart rate. 

I didn’t think that I would ever give up meat either, but have gradually cut down on eating inflammatory foods , and all animal foods are inflammatory. 
Now that I am on a plant-based way of eating, I feel so much better that it is well worth it, and I don’t miss meat at all. I still occasionally will add a little to my food, but it is more of a flavor enhancer than as a main part of the meal. Like having a little cheese on my salad, or a little hamburger in my chili, and that is only occasionally. 
There are a lot of great videos on youtube about eating healthy, as well, and when you do not want to take the time to sit and read a whole book, watching a video is a good way to get the information fast.


----------



## StarSong (Jul 21, 2018)

*Happy:  *Your Apple watch takes your BP?  Wow!  Although I don't have BP issues (lucky me, I know), it would sure be nice to have a gizmo keeping an eye on it.  I almost never remember to use my BP cuff.     

Like you, I also don't miss meat.  I gave it up nearly five years ago and might  taste a special delicacy once every 60-90 days, but that's it.  You  couldn't force feed me poultry.  Not interested.  

Dairy is so  much tougher.  I don't eat it on a daily basis by any means and avoid  cream, milk, butter and cheese.  On the other hand, I won't turn away  from something if dairy is a minor ingredient.  Fortunately non-dairy  cheese has improved considerably and that seems likely to continue.  Los  Angeles has plenty of fully vegan and plant based restaurants and most  other restaurants also offer vegan selections so it's not difficult to go out.        

*SeaBreeze: *Over the past couple of years I've noticed not feeling well after eating carbs or sweets - even whole grains.  As much as I LOVE them the feeling is evidently not mutual because they make my body feel weird.  Not sick exactly but subtly anxious and jittery.  And not always, but often enough to get my attention and for me to have connected the dots to the cause.  I've had A1C and glucose tolerance tests taken and both are good so I'm not sure what it could be other than (gasp!) old age.


----------



## Happyflowerlady (Jul 21, 2018)

The Apple Watch tracks my heart rate, but not the blood pressure, StarSong.  I have an app called “heartstar” that tracks blood pressure. I use a little wrist cuff, and then manually enter in the results; but if you have a BP cuff with bluetooth,  then you can just automatically enter the information when you check your BP.  
Heartstar connects with my Health app, so then that is added to all of the other pertinent information there. The health app is just wonderful for what it tells me about my health life. 
I don’t really have a BP problem, either, but the cuff also shows when my heart is beating irregularly, and that helps me to know what it is doing. 
Most of the time, if my heart rate suddenly jumps from around 55 to 160, I instantly know it, and when that happens, my BP drops, so then I do need to check it for both reasons. 
There is also a great little app called “cardiio” that uses the flashlight and camera on your phone to read your pulse, and I think that app works with just about any smartphone.


----------

