I kinda started a new diet a few days ago, maybe because of your post, although I had gotten 3 low carb TV dinner suppers 4 or 5 days ago which are still in the freezer, so it shows I was thinking in that line.
My new plan was, since Nutri-System didn't work for me because many of the meals had to be cooked in a microwave oven, and for health reasons I can't use one of those, get low carb frozen suppers from the grocery store, laid out by experts, so I don't have to figure it out.
In addition to the low carb frozen dinners, I was going to figure out breakfast and lunch by myself, thus 3 meals of low carb.
One suggestion on the net was, don't go on a diet, that never works, just eat low carb, make it up yourself. So for breakfast, meat and eggs (no-carb items), and then grits for a Monday breakfast, and next day one slice of wheat-free bread with my Tuesday breakfast, along with a meat and an egg) with grits and bread having carbs, but I'm not on a diet, I'm just trying to lose some weight.
Some mornings, Cream of Wheat or Oatmeal (with a meat like Spam, or sausage or Turkey bacon, better for you than regular bacon) which may be carbs, but I'm not going no carbs, I'm just going low carbs, to reduce my appetite.
For lunch, meat, one piece of no-wheat bread, soup, pork and beans with the sugar washed out cause sugar gets to me, and cottage cheese, with a tomato or fruit. None of that is carbs. Maybe the no-wheat bread a little bit.
What happens with the low carbs is, it makes you less hungry. The more carbs you eat, the more hungry you get, which is not fair.
For supper, I plan the no or low carb TV dinners. See there? Poor man's Nutria-System diet. Free of charge. Or some meal like meat, and veggies. A salad. (Some people don't go low carb for the supper.)
Now, where I fail is the snacks. I have to have about
3 snacks or I can't go to bed. So it all goes down the tubes there.
One of my snacks is cereal, goat's milk (because of the lactose in cow's milk? I can't really eat sugar), and a banana. A second snack is nuts, which has become a habit, but it's not a carb, but it's high in fat (26%) and causes high cholesterol, which I have.
A 3rd snack is cheese, or hummas, (from the dairy or health food stores (?) as sub for peanut butter) on crackers, with the Ritz crackers having an ingredient which aids shelf life for 3 months or more, but causes hardening of the arteries. Oh, well. So I can put cheese, etc., or cooked or not cooked wheat-free bread, which does not have the shelf life ingredient.
In only a few days, I've about
5 pounds. My blood sugar, which averages 130-135, went down to 102, my first or second day on the diet.
So a low carb diet has secondary benefits.
I also walk my dog around the block for 30-45, minutes every day, which helps my spirits. I think you have trouble walking, but if you can figure out how to do that, it would really help.
Oh, I also try to eat smaller meals, rather than 3 big ones. What I do is, I eat before I'm fully ready to eat. Even if I'm not fully hungry, I start thinking about
lunch and go ahead and start eating that.
I don't eat pizza anymore, either, the side panel said it had so much fat.
Scaredy Cat said, "Making sure that dinner, (and any snack before bed) has both protein and some complex carbohydrates will help sustain steady blood sugar levels, so you are not having any reactive hypoglycemia episodes/crashes."
Net says "Complex carbs are foods, which contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, potatoes, beans, peas and lentils are examples of complex carbs." So those are much better for you, and your appetite won't go wild with those. (Except I've heard white baking potatoes aren't good for a low carb diet, so I don't know about
that one.)
Net says, "Simple carbs are often softer in texture – white bread, white rice and baked goods. Soda, candy and other sweeteners like table sugar and honey are also simple carbs. These easily digested carbohydrates are rapidly absorbed, causing a spike in blood sugar and quick boost in energy. Refined flours have been stripped of some of their natural, high fiber content including the bran, germ or endosperm. Because of this processing, they are digested faster and more easily and deliver fewer amounts of healthful nutrients.
"Fruits, vegetables and dairy are also technically made of simple carbohydrates but because of the fiber, protein and other nutrients, they act more like complex carbohydrates in the body and should be consumed daily."
Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 2/14/2018 5:12:40 PM (GMT-7)