It’s not easy losing weight when you’re broke — those boxes of mac-‘n’-cheese are so much cheaper than fresh fish and vegetables — but I’m going to try. I’ve already started eating more fresh fruit, which fortunately I love, and my next step is to cut back on the pasta and bread and eat more lean meat and veggies. I notice that when I eat better I feel better — really, it’s true! — and also those cravings for sweet desserts go down. I think that a high carb intake (like, pasta and rice every night) makes you crave more carbs, so you find yourself stopping at the Little Debbie shelf. Or at least, that’s how it works for me.
I tried to up my protein intake with eggs, since they are cheap, but either the eggs have gotten bad lately or my tolerance for them has dropped. After the last upset stomach I tossed the rest of the eggs in the garbage. I do real well with fish, and there are brands of frozen filets that aren’t too expensive. Protein for breakfast is more difficult — I really can’t eat much right when I wake up, all I can do is drink my coffee. I’ve started eating fruit and this breakfast bread Publix sells which has dried fruit and nuts in it. That might be a little fattening but it lasts me a long time so I don’t really get hungry until much later. I also have oatmeal (I prefer the Irish or Scottish style) but it’s such a lot of trouble for me to make in the morning I don’t have it every day. Really it’s the best I can do to turn the coffee pot on when I get up.
The main thing I need to lose is this gut of mine. I am really beginning to feel it as an actual weight. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the flat stomach I had when I was younger, but I can at least get rid of some of the belly fat, I hope. I won’t even worry about my massive thighs — that fat is supposed to be even harder to get rid of than stomach fat, I think. Anyway, despite the fact that I used to be skinny elsewhere I always had substantial thighs. I am, or was, rather gourd-shaped. (Now I am starting to even out, but in a way I don’t want to.) I haven’t gone up a pants size yet, and I don’t plan to, believe me. And now that the weather is nicer I can go for walks.
I finally dyed my hair — I just don’t look good with my natural gray, just old. I guess I’m getting vainer as I get older and less attractive (not that I was ever a bombshell, I just used to be contemptuous towards the very idea of caring about my looks). It also occurred to me that it would be easier to get a job if I didn’t look so old and clapped out. The other day I looked at my reflection in the mirror and it said “one step from lady pushing shopping cart down the highway and muttering to herself.” Not exactly what employers are looking for. I might also get a haircut, though it’s not at the uncontrollable stage — yet.
Anyway, that’s my shallow me-post for the day.
6 Responses to “Okay, here’s the plan”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I didn’t hear it myself, but Dennis Prager had a guest on promoting a diet plan called “Fruit before Noon”.
Basically you eat as much as you want, but only fruit up until noon. It builds up energy for the day, but cuts down on the appetite after noon, and some days, he says, one doesn’t feel like eating anything at all after noon.
Of course you don’t want to eat only fruit for any significant length of time. It has side effects.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
That’s pretty much how I feel during the day. I do eat some bread, though, and have coffee. But if I eat a banana and maybe an orange or other piece of fruit I really don’t feel hungry until late afternoon, if then.
I know about the side effects of fruit. It’s kind of like the side effects of bran. Cleans me out, though. Heh. But I need some meat in my daily diet. Tonight I had a salad (various greens, a tomato, some onion), a filet of salmon (they sell them in ready-to-cook packets now, yummy), and green beans.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:15 am
I’ve lost 120 lbs doing low-carb and have kept it off for two years now. Cottage cheese and plain yogurt are somewhat cheap and filling (and easy!) for breakfast. Wal-Mart sells big tubs of sugar free vanilla flavored whey protein powder for about $14. I usually put a scoop of that in some plain yogurt with some fresh, or even cheaper frozen, berries for breakfast. Keeps me full for hours. Good luck!
November 18th, 2008 at 5:55 am
Greek Style plain yoghurt with blueberries is awesome.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Depending on your fitness level, light weights could be very useful for adding some muscle, useful in itself but also valuable for appearance sake. I’m skeptical about the fat-burning effect (due to increased metabolism) of added muscle – but again, muscle is useful.
I find that I eat not because I’m hungry but because something tasty is available. I’d probably be eating even more if I were hungry but generally I overeat or eat “the bad stuff” not because I really need it but because something delicious is nearby or readily eatable.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
The trick is to find something both delicious and healthy. And the next trick is to not eat all of it at once.