I've lost 100 pounds, 165 pounds to go..

Hello,

I was diagnosed with Diabetes ll two years ago and finally took health serious 4 months ago. I weighed 465 pounds and never exercised. I started eating about 1500-1800 cals a day and walking 1.5 miles 5 days a week. I have the power 90 exercise program but I haven't fully committed to it yet :) I eat every 2.5 hours and drink 16+ oz of water with every meal/snack. I'm a bachelor, so I prefer easy meals that require very little cooking. I was averaging 300-400 calories per meal with 5 meals a day. The problem was I was eating deli turkey, baked lays, and cottage cheese. After doing some research, I realized I was eating way too much sodium so I made some changes to my diet recently.

I've started buying the 5 pound packages of Tyson all natural chicken breasts. I bake them with a light spray of olive oil and use garlic powder, onion powder, and assorted Mrs. Dash's on them. Then I slice them up and put 4 oz. servings in snack bags and freeze half of the packages - It lasts all week. I buy fresh sweet corn and boil it up at the same time, with more than enough to last all week.

On Saturdays, I eat a Subway footlong with all the veggies for lunch and breakfast in a restaurant with my daughters. (This is unhealthy..I have 1 fried egg, 2 slices of wheat toast, 2 slices of bacon, and a very small portion of hash browns.)

4 months later I now weigh 365 pounds with a target goal of 200 pounds. I'm wondering if I should make any changes to this meal plan that I plan on following for the rest of my life..Give or take the occasional trip out to a restaurant.. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Breakfast

1 Serving of plain Quaker oatmeal

1 Apple

1 Slice of Orroweat health nut bread

1 Serving of Philadelphia fat free cream cheese

1 Cup of skim milk

453 calories


Snack

1 Serving of Triscuit baked whole grain wheat garden herb

1 Apple

210 calories


Lunch

2 Slices of Orroweat health nut bread

4 oz. Baked chicken

2 Servings of French's honey dijon mustard

1 Roma tomato

1 Slice of onion

1 Handful of baby spinach

2 Romaine lettuce leaves

1 Serving of baby carrots

1 Ear of sweet corn

1 Cup of skim milk

586 calories


Snack

1 Serving of Triscuit baked whole grain wheat garden herb

1 Apple

210 calories


Dinner

2 Slices of Orroweat health nut bread

4 oz. Baked chicken

2 Servings of French's honey dijon mustard

1 Roma tomato

1 Slice of onion

1 Handful of baby spinach

2 Romaine lettuce leaves

1 Serving of baby carrots

1 Ear of sweet corn

1 cup of milk

586 calories


It gets an A in analysis, but is it truly an A rating diet?

2047 calories
Fat - 13.1% (31 grams)
Protein 21.9% (117 grams)
Carbohydrates - 65% (348 grams)

Daily Sodium Intake - 2,385 mg
Daily Sugar Intake - 83 grams
Daily Cholesterol Intake - 150 mg
Daily Saturated Fat Intake - 3 grams
Daily Fiber Intake - 45 grams

Thank you

I don't post a lot but i wanted to congratulate you, losing 100 pounds is wonderful :) and i think what your doing is so gret. A lot of people at that weight would give up but the fact you want to make a different is awesome.

I think you could have some more protein from lean meat. Instead of having 2 slices of bread for dinner, why not have a piece of lean fish or the chicken you make unless you always have that but didn't add it to your menu. The same with lunch, add in some lean protein and you will find you won't feel as hungry.

Do you like yoghurt? If you ever get sick of skim milk, you could have a fat free yoghurt instead.

Oops! yes I did forget to add the chicken to the menu here.

I have 4 oz of chicken for lunch and dinner.

Basically, I make a chicken sandwich and throw the tomato, onion, romaine and spinach on it.

I'll edit it now to fix the confusion. : )

Thanks for the compliments. I had given up seeing as I was very fit and active in my 20's then let it all go. The time for change is now and it's a great feeling.

wow 100 lbs? thats an amazing accomplishment. waytogo!

my bf is diabetic, does the insulin shots. his peak weight was 330? idk before he started taking care of himself. when we met he was 290. he cut waaaay back on the sodium since we met back in fall 07 and has dropped 40 lbs just from that. he has about 25 lbs left and he just started running to try to speed that up. hes 6ft8in with 225 as goal. i am very proud of the way he has made the lifestyle changes he needs to keep himself healthy.

keep doing what you are doing! be patient, you will get there!

Fantastic job on the weight loss! I myself have lost 112 lbs now so I know you must feel great! Keep it up!

I was just wondering if you lost the 100 lbs in the last 4 months? If so, that's very fast. You might want to  eat more to slow it down. Down deprive yourself too much. Eat clean foods (which you seem to be doing) and enjoy some treats. Remember...whatever you do, you have to keep it up forever...or else you'll just gain the weight back. Stick to something yuo can live with. That means enjoying your favourite foods in moderation combined with a healthy eating plan.

Good job on your success...now go reward yourself bu doing something you would never have done 100 lbs ago! It feels great!

Yes, the weight loss started 4 months ago and was inspired by my mother passing away suddenly at 65. She would never go to the doctor, smoked a pack of cigarettes a day and lived on restaurant food 1-2 times a day. She had an aneurysm that took her in a matter of minutes.

I stopped drinking, smoking marijuana, and smoking cigarettes. I enrolled in college and geared my life towards health for myself and to show my two daughters that healthy living can be fun and full of flavor. I walked 2 miles a day, 7 days a week for the first 3 months and was very active in general. Now I've slowed down a bit and am just loving the meals I eat. I hardly ever feel hungry and if I do, I grab a snack.

This is my lifetime journey, not a fad diet. I never feel guilty if I go out and eat, I just go back to my meal plan the next meal/day.

Thanks for the compliments and the encouragement.

Original Post by jmage73:

This is my lifetime journey, not a fad diet. I never feel guilty if I go out and eat, I just go back to my meal plan the next meal/day.

 I feel exactly the same way.

Im very pleased for you, you have made big changes to your life-you are a great inspiration! I have alot of weight to lose & will not give up this time.

Congrats again!

Nice job on the 100 lbs loss man thats insane. How's power 90 working for you? I'm actually doing P90X along with CC it seems to be a great workout and I imagine power 90 is somewhat close to it. I love it though it kicks my ass everytime. Keep up the good work and keep working with power 90 it gets easier i promise, when i first started P90X i couldn't finish a few of the exercises without pausing and I'm 21 and played sports all through high school, now i'm finishing them like a champ.

good luck and keep it up

What a fantastic job! I am glad you still treat yourself - breakfast with the daughter. You could healthify it a bit by asking for a poached egg instead of fried. Or keep the fried egg and get ham or steak for meat. Lots of ways to tweak that menu!

The menu for the day looks good, but I'd be inclined to add more cooked veges to the mix. There are a lot of great frozen ones that cook fast in a microwave. The Jolly Green Giant makes some with silly names like "Digestive Health" and "Weight Loss" that are actually so tasty you should get them in spite of the silly names. They are low fat, low cal, and low sodium. If you eat an entire container (two servings) with your dinner you'd get a ton of extra vitamins and fiber and with some extra protein as they often include small white or black beans. Check them out!

Again, be proud of how you are doing this. Changing the way you eat. Preparing by fixing things you like in advance. Enjoying a caloric treat without guilt. All are wonderful.

Go You!

That's awesome!  Great job changing your lifestyle and losing all that weight.  My understanding with Type II is that you're insulin resistant and need to become more insulin sensitive, correct? 

I've never done P90, does it ease you into the workouts?  If you're worried the P90X program may be too intense, you may considered starting off doing some body weight exercises (squats, lunges, pushups) at your own pace first. 

What do your doctors say about the percent of carbs in your diet?  Can you drop them lower to say 40-50 % and up the protein to 30-40%?   If you want to hold onto muscle as you lose fat, you should look into weight training and keeping your protein up (~ 1 gram per lb body weight).

Overall, you're doing great.  If you're still losing doing what you're doing and happy with the results, great!  If you start to level off or become interested in building/keeping muscle, consider adding the weight training and adjusting your macros as mentioned.

This article talks about manipulating insulin for bodybuilding goals, but has some info on manipulating insulin sensitivity:

The anabolic power of insulin

"RW — So what are some practical ways to manipulate insulin sensitivity?

...Finally, your diet can make a big difference. I recommend moderate quantities — 40-50% of the diet — of fibrous carbohydrates like oatmeal, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. I also recommend eating moderate quantities (30-40% of the diet) of high-quality proteins like casein, whey, chicken, beef, fish, dairy and eggs. And finally, I recommend eating low quantities (20% of the diet) of fats from olive oil, flax oil, fish oil, and nut oils...."

YOU ROCK!  CONGRATS!!

"I never feel guilty if I go out and eat, I just go back to my meal plan the next meal/day."

I need to remember this.  I gear my diet too much around guilt.  Thank you so much!

Original Post by veritas389:

Nice job on the 100 lbs loss man thats insane. How's power 90 working for you? I'm actually doing P90X along with CC it seems to be a great workout and I imagine power 90 is somewhat close to it. I love it though it kicks my ass everytime. Keep up the good work and keep working with power 90 it gets easier i promise, when i first started P90X i couldn't finish a few of the exercises without pausing and I'm 21 and played sports all through high school, now i'm finishing them like a champ.

 

good luck and keep it up

Hello,

I learned about Power 90 when I found out that p90x was too intense for me at my current health. It's a primer course for p90x and it's pretty easy to do the stage 1-2 cardio and strength training. Not sure about phase 3-4 yet though lol. I know most people would think that a 365 pound man wouldn't be able to do pushups and move at a speed faster than smell. I'm very agile and strong even though I haven't worked out in years. In my early to mid twenties I was an avid weight lifter and martial artist.

Glad p90x is working for you, I think it's the best workout on the market for getting ripped.

Good luck to you as well.

Original Post by jannid:

The menu for the day looks good, but I'd be inclined to add more cooked veges to the mix. There are a lot of great frozen ones that cook fast in a microwave. The Jolly Green Giant makes some with silly names like "Digestive Health" and "Weight Loss" that are actually so tasty you should get them in spite of the silly names. They are low fat, low cal, and low sodium. If you eat an entire container (two servings) with your dinner you'd get a ton of extra vitamins and fiber and with some extra protein as they often include small white or black beans. Check them out!

Hi,

One of the reasons I've limited my protein for now is because I'm having tests done on my kidneys. One of the tests my doctor ran indicated that my kidneys were leaking protein into my urine. It could be from high blood pressure or from an actual problem in the kidneys themselves. Once I find out if everything is ok, I'll be raising my protein intake for sure.

My carb intake is a little higher than normal for someone with Diabetes II, but they are complex carbs and have plenty of dietary fiber.

I plan on switching out my carb snacks with some lentils and I plan on replacing my toast in the morning with some scrambled egg whites and veggies. I've read about tempeh and it has amazing amounts of protein, so it might be something to experiment with.

The Jolly Green Giant Veggies do sound delicious, I'll pick some up and try them out. I was avoiding packaged foods as much as possible, but those might be a good exception to the rule.

Thanks : )

ds1973

Hey there,

I answered most of your questions in replies to others, but I still wanted to say thank you for the information you shared. Weight lifting is very important to me and will be something I do as long as I'm able. : ) p90x is part of my plan once I fully commit to p90 and get the 90 days done. I love the strength training part of p90 but I always find excuses for the cardio days lol. It's not hard really, just starts out with power yoga and it's a PITA for me at the moment.

Thanks

Congrats and good luck on the remainder of your goal!!

Original Post by jmage73:

ds1973

Hey there,

I answered most of your questions in replies to others

Yeah, I saw that. Sounds like you have a great plan!  Stick with it, adjust as you go and you'll be successful!