Diet to end all diets

I have a Facebook friend, and former classmate from High School who is interested in my diet.
I told him that it was vicious, and it is if you aren't serious about losing weight and keeping it off for life.
I thought I would write down as much of it here as I can, and maybe edit it on the fly as time goes on.
I should put in the usual medical disclaimers, but I won't. If you try this, you are on your own.
First, some background:
There are two types of hunger that I am going to talk about here:

1. Physical hunger
2. Mental or emotional hunger

#1 is the kind that we would all like to have, and totally ignore #2.

Many of us eat because there is nothing else to do, or we are upset, or it's raining, or whatever.
Few of us can ignore comfort foods.
The trick is, to control our emotional hunger, and satisfy our physical hunger.

So, what do we need as far as food? That is arbitrary and I recommend you go to a dietitian, and set up a plan.
I also recommend you go get an endoscopy/colonoscopy. This will eliminate the possibility that you have something like I do, called Celiac Sprue. If you do have Celiac, and eliminate wheat and gluten products, you might just lose weight.
Another thing you should do, is to check to see if you have any sleep disorders, such as Sleep Apnea in one of it's many forms. If you do, and you can get relief so you start getting a good night's rest, you just might lose weight.
Because of my weight, I had sleep apnea. I still use a CPAP machine, but the pressure has been reduced drastically, and it is just a matter of time until I don't need the machine anymore.

With all that said, what is the change of lifestyle diet that I am talking about?
Well, I lost 26 pounds before the surgery from it, and it continues to help me. My dietitian came in after I started the diet, but she really helped me fine tune it and understand why I was doing what I was doing.

• If you can, try to eat the same basic foods every day for a few weeks to get used to the change. That is, for breakfast, eat the same thing every day. Lunch and dinner, the same.
• Drink only water based drinks. No soda of any kind. Use Crystal Lite teas, and juices. No sugar at all.
• Don't drink anything 15 minutes before, or until 1 hour after your meal. (This is a bariatric thing, but it works with any diet). If you want to know why, ask me.
• Eat mainly protein first at each meal, then carbs, then fruit. Protein should be what you eat the most, and it should be first. So, you eat a steak, then the veggies, then fruit. The protein stays in your stomach longer and helps to keep you full longer, less likely to cheat.
  
• Always have one piece of fruit with each meal. Apple, peach, blueberries, banana, raisins etc. Orange is good too. If you like it, eat it.
• Eliminate bread with your meal.
• Use a smaller plate.
• Eat fresh as much as possible. Use fresh veggies, meat, fish, chicken, etc. The more you eat from a box, the harder this will be.
• Learn to cook your own foods. Use seasonings, not sauces. Sauces add calories, fat, and things you don't need or want.
• No more caffeine. Drink decaf. You can get used to it.
  
• Read labels so you don't accidentally take in sugar or caffeine.
• Sugar from fruit is OK, but not added sugar. Orange Juice is not a good idea because it gives you too much sugar too quickly and messes with your blood sugar levels. But an Orange is fine.
  

Cut down on desserts. There are Jello puddings that have 60 calories per cup. I bought baby spoons and use them. I eat like a king!
Orville Reddenbacker has bags of 100 calorie low fat microwave popcorn.
If you have trouble with artificial sweeteners, that is, they taste funny or have an aftertaste, don't worry. What you have to do is eliminate all sugar from your diet for a few weeks. The aftertaste will go away and you won't be able to tell the difference between sugar and artificial.
Remember, this is a lifestyle change.
Now, one thing I have to say is that you should add non soluble fiber to every meal, even if it is only a little. I use "Unifiber". This is not a laxative, and it has no gluten, so I use it to replace the fiber I don't get from wheat.

Here is my sample day:
Breakfast consists of a bowl of high fiber oatmeal (yes, I can eat oatmeal) with a banana sliced into it. I use hot decaf coffee instead of water or milk for added flavor. 1 small cup of yogurt, usually fiber one, which is smaller in quantity than the Dannon which is loaded with sugar.

Lunch is my special chili. Check previous blog entry for one recipe. I have added and changed it greatly since I've made it. The variations make it slightly different, and I haven't gotten tired of it yet. Fruit of choice.

Dinner is chicken, fish, or meat of some sort, with veggies and fruit. I have also made an omelet since that is very high in protein.

Snacks are usually unsalted peanuts and cashews with a box of raisins. I sometimes have the popcorn with a meal if I have room. My stomach is smaller than yours if you haven't had the surgery, so you can't imagine the difference.

Now, if you do some of this, you will be OK, but the main things that work are:

1. Getting healthy comfort food is much smaller quantity. 60 calorie pudding, instead of the whole box of 300+ calories.
2. Eating more protein and less of the other stuff.
3. Lots of non soluble fiber.
4. eliminating sugar, caffeine, and soda.

So, ask away with any questions.
By the way, my diet is a little tougher than this, but it has never been easier for me to follow it and I think I can maintain it for life. I still get my comfort foods, and my treats, and still lose weight.
The neat thing about this, is that you can design your own meals from this basic menu.
Oh, and the kicker? Get out and do something. Exercise, I will talk about in another entry later.