(no subject) [Collected Thoughts]

I was going a bit crazy at work today and feeling horrid and fat and so I went to look at what the recommended weight for my height is. I'm roughly 5'8" and I have a smallish frame. I mean, I assume I have a smallish frame. The suggested weight is between 126-139 lbs. Medium frame is 136-150lbs. Doesn't sound unreasonable.

Except I've been hovering around and over 230.

TWO HUNDRED THIRTY. No wonder I feel fat and horrible and unattractive and bloated and like a beached whale that can't move.

And let's say a good weight for me is 140. That's NINETY pounds over weight.

How the hell did I let that happen? Actually I know how it happened, I eat and I don't pay attention to portions or size or anything. and I really don't exercise.

I have a physical in a month. There are several things I'm going to ask about and one is maybe seeing a nutrionist, if that would be covered,etc. The other is I'd like to lose 10 lbs before then, but I'd be happy to lose and keep off 5 lbs.

I think the best way for me to do this is look at the Healthy Eating Food Pyramid and start measuring and weighing a lot of my food.

What's the Healthy Eating Pyramid? Well there's a great article here , but it's a smarter way of looking at what we should eat.

The Food Pyramid we all know about recommends 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta -- without saying if it's whole grain or not. Heck if you go look on a box of Wheat Thins, they claim to be part of a balanced meal because hey! they are in the bread group!
A serving is 1/2 cup of rice/pasta and a slice of bread. That's per day.

Then Fruits and Veggies. Recommended: 3-5 servings Veggies and 2-4 servings of fruit. A serving is 1/2 cup cut veggies and 1 cup leafy veggies.

Further up the pyramid - Dairy 2-3 servings. Right beside that is 2-3 servings of fish, poultry, meat, legumes, eggs, and nuts. They are all crammed in there like they are equal.

Finally, use fats and sweets sparingly.

The Healthy Eating Pyramid starts with this base: Daily excerise and weight control.

Next level is shared by Whole Grain Foods (at most meals) and plant oils. Whole grains are whole wheat, corn, oatmeal,etc. They don't give a serving suggestion but I'd go with 1 serving.

Next is Vegetables in Abundance and Fruits 2-3 times a day. So, all the veggies you can eat and a little fruit. This sounds more reasonable.

Then Nuts and Legumes. They get their own slice of the pyramid and have been split off with all the meat and eggs. The recommendation is for 1-3 servings a day. This includes all nuts, beans and soy.

Fish, poultry, and eggs are next. 0-2 times a day (again I assume they mean servings). Zero is the starting suggestion.

This brings us to Dairy or Calcium supplements. 1-2/day. Dairy is totally optional here. The explination is basically - dairy has lots of fat and supplements don't.

At the very tip of the pyramid red meat and butter share the space with white rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and sweets and they are to be used sparingly. As in not every day.

They also suggest alcohol in moderation and a multivitamin.

Pick a calcium supplement over dairy, decide to go with the zero suggestion for eggs and poultry and fish and skip the "sparingly" stuff and you have a vegan diet.

So I'm going to try this. I'm sure I'll be shocked to see the difference between the correct portion and what I eat.

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Without actually getting into more detail, not all dairy has fat. Skim milk, for example.

And, seriously, you should not need to take a multi-vitamin with a healthy, well-balanced diet.

But good for you, making a change.

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not all dairy has fat

True. And fat-free yogurt with live & active cultures seems to have some interesting health benefits.

you should not need to take a multi-vitamin with a healthy, well-balanced diet

Well, this would be true if (A) crops weren't so often grown in mineral-depleted ground and (B) pollution didn't increase our bodies' need for certain nutrients to deal with it. A good multivitamin/multimineral is probably a good idea, though supplements should be an addition to, rather than a replacement for, good nutrition.

But good for you, making a change.

Ditto!

All the contradictory advice can be confusing and it's terribly easy to fall back into unhealthy patterns (says the woman who ate waaay too much pizza last night). But you will find a healthier way to live. I've got faith in you, Skye!

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I know low fat dairy is a good thing, but I rarely drink milk and hate yogurt so I tend to eat lots of cheese. About this time last year I gave up all dairy for a week or so and I didn't feel so congested, so I think that cutting back on dairy would be a good thing.

I don't takea multivitamin now and I know I should. I buy them and then forget to take them. This is something else I talk to the dr about at my physical.

See, but my point is that you shouldn't have to take a multi-vitamin with a proper diet.

And if you go no dairy (which, hey, lots of people don't like it) you really should take a calcium supplement. Too many women don't get enough and you are in prime bone building years.

Oh, babe, this is such a hard point to get to. Good on you for deciding to do something about it! I hope they'll cover a nutritionist for you. You would probably find it very helpful.

i'm pretty sure they'll cover the nutrionist, they covered Mom when she saw one. I've already tried to be a bit more mindful of what I'm eating and scoured my cookbooks for fairly healthy recipes (now I just have to cook them).

When I went to a nutritionist to help control the gestational diabetis, I was AMAZED at how helpful it actually was.

They give you a lot of practical information and mine showed me actual portion sizes. She had all these little plastic food samples that showed what I should actually be eating.

It's very easy to lose perspective with regards to portion size (especially in the US and when eating out).

I've managed to keep my weight down after having the baby but I honestly chalk this up to not eating out and being more active during the day. We don't do fast food anymore and we rarely eat at sit down restaurants, either (the baby makes it a bit more difficult to enjoy a leisurely sit down meal).

I hope you can get a consultation. Remember to not beat yourself up over it and stay positive. Small changes are easier to live with and keep up for the long haul.

Good luck!

Eating out is my big downfall. I can't afford it and yet I get in the trap where I don't make enough at dinners to have leftovers and then end up eating either frozen dinners or not remembering to take my lunch and getting fast food.

Last night I wanted a pb&j sandwich so I decided to measure out the portions -- 1 tbs peanut butter and 1 tbp jelly was a lot more than I thought it would be and totally satisfied me.

I'm roughly 5'8" and I have a smallish frame. I mean, I assume I have a smallish frame. The suggested weight is between 126-139 lbs.

Hon, I'm 5'7", and I do have a very narrow frame, and I hover at the 135 mark, and that is a SIZE SIX. (Since when is 6 the "normal" size? If you asked me cold, I would have said that 10 or 12 was the "normal" size.)

Is your goal to be a size six? I bet, realistically, not. I'm happy for you if losing weight makes you feel better, but don't beat yourself up tying to reach a ridiculous goal.

I'm not sure if I could be a size 6. Right now I wear 18/20 on the bottom and for the tops 14/16s are a bit too snug but 18/20s are too big on me.

I think I'd be happy at a 12 for the bottom.

I have to echo what Veejane said -- you ought to focus less on the number on the scale, and more on things like: your cholesterol/blood pressure/blood sugar, how your clothes fit, how you feel. Picking a weight from a chart is a little too vague, IMO.

And this:

Next level is shared by Whole Grain Foods (at most meals) and plant oils. Whole grains are whole wheat, corn, oatmeal,etc. They don't give a serving suggestion but I'd go with 1 serving.

One serving per DAY? Of whole grain foods? Whole grain foods are very good for you, because of all the fiber. I would think 1-2 servings per *meal.*

Sorry if I sound all preachy -- I just want you to be healthy.

That's not supposed to be 1 serving per day but 1 serving per meal. At least I assume it's one serving since they didn't list a serving. Now that I'm not in my OMIGOD! I'm fat and horrid freak out. Yesterday I went to Border's and looked through a bunch of veggie cookbooks and also went to the library and browsed through some books.

I know I shouldn't just pick a weight but go with how my clothes fit and if I'm healthy. Thanks to my last few dr's appts I know my blood pressure is fantastic. It's the rest of it I'm worried about.