Proverbs 18:1, “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.”
I have taken a keen interest in healthy eating and living since I was diagnosed with stage 4 type II diabetes in 2015 when my infected gall bladder was removed. In 2016 I met with a diabetic specialist doctor, who had me injecting myself with 40 units per day of insulin into my stomach. But my left foot started to go numb after 2 months of injecting myself with insulin, which the doctor couldn't explain, so I refused to inject myself anymore with insulin.
On February 21st, 2017 my daily sugar reading was 399 mg/dl. My A1C level was 9.8 mmol/l. That is very bad! I weighed 215 pounds. By God's grace, I was about to turn 50 years old on March 5th, 2017 so I felt compelled to take control of my health. I was tired of being fat, looking pregnant, diabetic and feeling my left foot go numb from peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage from diabetes). So I did what less than 1% of people ever do, I went on a crash fast, losing 58 pounds in just 10 weeks. On May 8th I weighed only 158 pounds. But I didn't stop there, by June 25th, 2017 I weighed 146.0 on my digital scale. That's what I weighed at age 18. With the Lord's inspiration, I lost 69 pounds in just 16 weeks!!! Amen.
By to be honest, I did it the wrong way! Although I succeeded, I had incredible determination, something that even now I cannot repeat, because I've lost that uncommon motivation. But the good news is that there is a much better way to lose weight, and keep it off permanently. I am going to share two things with you that you MUST do to lose weight, and if you decide to do it, YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT! Nearly everything that you will find to read on the internet about losing weight is FALSE! Yes, that is correct, most of the advice on losing weight online is bad advice!!!
For example: Many websites will tell you that if you are not hungry, don't eat. Dear reader, that is the WORST thing you can do! And this is my first point to a guaranteed way to lose weight. YOU MUST EAT!!! Unless you have the extremely uncommon determination to eat next to nothing to lose weight, you will fail and fail and fail. Most people get tied of being obese and on the spur of the moment decide to go on a crash fast. That is what I did in 2017 and I succeeded. But I was among the less than 1% of overweight people who can do that. It was just the right time and right place in my life, but that will power is long gone.
I couldn't do that today. I know, because in 2019 I gained MOST of my weight back which I had lost. I tried a few dozen times in 2019 and 2020 to lose weight, but failed EVERY TIME. I was perplexed and frustrated, wondering how I had ever lost 69 pounds in just 16 weeks, but now could not lose one pound in a year. What was different? I realized that my will power was gone. It is true that most people who lose a significant amount of weight and then yo-yo up and down with their weight, like I did, find it harder each time they lose weight to lose more weight. So what do we do? WHAT DO WE DO?
In 2021 I met a new doctor, a vegetarian. He introduced me to the healthy benefits of eating natural, healthy foods. Here is the documentary if you'd like to watch it ...
Here is a helpful handout with helpful information on losing weight the right way...
I am not a vegetarian, nor do I think I will ever be. But I have been trying to eat much less red meat for a few reasons. I've done a lot of homework and learned that red meat causes inflammation in most people, especially if you suffer from arthritis like I do. I have suffered from horrible cervical osteoarthritis in my neck since 2004. I take prescription pain medications, but they only take the edge off, I am still in pain all the time.
Back to the main focus of this article, there are two things that you MUST do to lose weight, and it is possible, bearable and reasonable to do. As I mentioned, the first thing is to eat! Trying to starve yourself on a crash diet is simply not sustainable. It is VERY hard to do and sustain. A much better way to lose weight is to EAT a healthy diet of high protein, high fiber foods that will make you feel full and satisfied for longer periods of time.
If you don't have a household digital scale, you should buy one. I bought the extra-wide scale, simply because the small scale is awkward to try to stand on. Bigger is better! And then DON'T look at the scale every day, because it will discourage you. Remember the HYDRATE in carbohydrate, because every time you eat carbohydrates, your body will retain about 5 pounds in water. One gallon of water equals 8 pounds!!! In other words, your scale will greatly fluctuate from day to day. So just weigh once a week. If you do look at the scale daily, don't let it discourage you. As long as you're eating less calories than your body is burning, YOU KNOW of a scientific certainty that you WILL lose weight. It is an absolute guarantee.
I've noticed that when I eat a healthy diet high in fiber (whole grains, fruit, seeds, nuts and beans), I feel better overall and my neck pain seems to be more manageable. The episodes of intense unbearable pain in my neck seem to be less when I consistently eat a healthy diet. I've done much reading, which seems to confirm this. The doctor I have now is not a good doctor, she doesn't care about my weight, blood or overall health. She always has one hand on the doorknob when I meet with her. It is hard to find a good doctor. And also, they need to accept your type of insurance and length of injury. So it gets complicated. Fortunately, I am still able to get 40 mg a day of Oxycontin. I need and used to take 80 mg for over 11 years, but Florida has cracked down on prescription pain drugs. It is not fair or reasonable, but it is what it is. I digress.
- For breakfast today I eat a bowl of old-fashioned oatmeal, sprinkled with cinnamon, flax seeds and pure unprocessed honey (made by happy bees right here in Pensacola).
- For a mid-morning snack I sometimes eat a container of Greek yogurt. I didn't today, but I can still have it anytime if I want it. Stay away from Yoplait and other high in sugar yogurts, which are bad for you. Greek yogurt os low in sugar. Better, yet, plain yogurt has no sugar, which I often eat. But for now I have 6 Chobani coconut and 6 strawberry. Last time I purchased Chobani Black Cherry flavor, which is my favorite.
- For lunch today I ate 2 chicken breasts which I baked yesterday. I also ate a dozen creamer potatoes (baby white potatoes that have a natural buttery flavor...good stuff. They're about 20 calories each). I cooked a whole box of brown rice yesterday and stored it in a plastic container in the refrigerator. Today I ate about 3/4 cup brown rice for lunch. It makes me feel full all afternoon, since it digests slower than white rice.
- For an afternoon snack I will eat some mild salsa on whole grain crackers with chunky guacamole. I bought this all at Walmart yesterday.
- For an evening snack I will eat a vanilla protein smoothie with frozen peaches, frozen pitted cherries, one brown raw egg, some nutmeg, a little cinnamon, a cup of unsweetened almond milk, and some flax seeds added into my Nutri-Ninja. If you don't have a Nutri-Ninja, you are missing out! I love this thing. I bought the 1100 watt unit. Walmart sells them, but they sell-out quick! Before I go to bed I will put one whole lemon (rind, seeds and all) into my Nutri-Ninja with some blueberries and water, and mix it for 40 seconds. One lemon only contains 17 to 20 calories! Lemon peel is soooo good for you!!!
- For dinner, I will eat one-fourth container of sliced rotisserie chicken (75 calories) on one folded slice of Ezekiel bread (80 calories), with some mustard.
That is my meal for today. As you can see, I am eating well, enjoying my day. During the day I can eat all the pickles I want to snack on, which I do. The entire jar is only 5 calories!
Now the SECOND thing that you must do to lose weight, and this is important, is that WHEN you feel hungry (and you will), only eat healthy foods. If you're used to eating processed and deep fried foods, that is what you will crave (it rhymes with GRAVE...lol). What you eat today, you will crave tomorrow!!! So the first step to losing weight is to go on a 7-day fast of eating ONLY HEALTHY FOODS (seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and grains). Drink only mineral water or unsweetened green tea. Coffee is okay. At the end of the week, you taste buds will be reset, and you should now be craving healthy foods instead of junk foods.
I fully know the temptation to backslide from my healthy eating and give-in to consume a Tombstone pizza, deep fried foods with plenty of ketchup and all. And if you do, don't panic, it is okay, just start again tomorrow. NEVER GIVE UP at taking better care of yourself. To have losing weight as your goal is not the best goal. A much better goal is to start eating healthy, and then you will automatically lose body weight over time. Depending on how overweight you are, it may take a couple years to lose 100 pounds. If you can crash diet, great, but most people cannot and fail 100% of the time. But everyone CAN eat a healthier diet. Nearly everyone DOESN'T regularly eat seeds, nuts, whole grains, beans, lentils or oatmeal.
Most people fry everything, but baking is MUCH healthier. I only use non-trans fatty oils; such as, olive oil and sunflower oil. I sprinkle extra virgin olive oil over my salads. When I do deep fry anything, like breaded shrimp, from time to time, I only use sunflower oil. But if you want to LOSE weight, you should avoid deep fried foods and anything breaded. I heard actor Nicole Kidman say publicly that the way she stays skinny is by eating 25 of whatever she likes and wants, and then eats 75% of what she needs (all the less appealing healthy stuff). A can of sardines cannot compare to Dominoes pizza, I'm sorry, it is true! But the sardines are MUCH healthier for you. I have oatmeal, but it is good for me!
So these are the TWO THINGS that I do to lose weight, slow but guaranteed:
- Eat (but only healthy foods)
- Snack on only healthy foods in between meals
And of course, I should probably add a third thing, which is simply to COUNT YOUR CALORIES!!! I don't need to count calories anymore, because I have done this for so long that I know what I can and cannot eat to lose weight. If you can just reduce your daily calories intake by 25% of your maintenance calories, you'll lose one pound per week. To find your maintenance calories, simply multiply your weight times 10. So if you weight 150 pounds, multiple that times ten, which is 1500 calories per day. If you weight 200, then your maintenance calories should be around 2000 calories per day. This is the amount of calories required daily to maintain your present weight. So if you are 200 pounds, but want to lose weight to get down to 150 pounds, then you should just eat 1500 calories per day, and your body WILL ADJUST over time.
Eating unhealthy processed and deep-fried foods make you crave more of them, which is why you get fat. You cannot get fat eating beans! Beans are a superfood, very high in protein and fiber. All the red meat that men love contains ZERO fiber, which clogs up your colon and leads to multiple health issues down the road. Everyone needs fiber! Beans have lots of fiber. One can of beans provides 100% of a person's daily need for fiber. Less than 5% of the food choices listed on restaurant menus contain any fiber. No wonder Americans are so sick!
I try to avoid white bread and instead of Ezekiel bread, which is flourless and contains only WHOLE GRAINS. it takes longer for your body to digest whole grains, so you feel full longer. Processed flours used in most breads digest quickly, so you want more soon thereafter.
After I eat a healthy meal, I have horrible cravings at times. We all do. The key is to snack on very healthy foods (some cottage cheese, salsa and whole grains crackers, a sliced turkey sandwich on a slice or two of Ezekiel bread, Greek yogurt) until your cravings go away, and THEY WILL. Eat slow! Drink plenty of mineral water. Within 30 to 45 minutes you won't be hungry anymore. If you can train your mind and body to eat healthy three times a day, and to ONLY snack on healthy foods when cravings arise, then YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT. It is a guarantee. If you are eating truly healthy foods (this excludes pizza, boxed foods, sodas and snack chips), then you should be able to eat comfortably without eating your maintenance calories.
Remember, to lose weight you absolutely MUST eat less calories than you are burning each day. it is that simple. But using the formula that I just gave you, will allow you to eat and enjoy yourself, while still losing weight. It really all comes down to just making sure that you ONLY eat healthy foods. If you're like me, eating green leafy vegetables once in a while is okay, but you get tired of eating them every day. It's more fun to eat KFC, McDonalds or Arby's. But those foods are all highly processed and lacking in nutrients, so you are always hungry for more.
When I lost just 30 pounds (going from 215 pounds down to 185 pounds in just 30 days in 2017, my A1C sugar level dropped significantly from 9.8 mmol/l down to 6.0). I got rid of type II diabetes in 30 days! An A1C of 5.2 is perfect, which I achieved at 177 pounds. For someone who is diabetic, losing weight is much harder, because you don't have enough insulin. The pancreas works fine in a type II diabetic person, but since they are so fat, the poor pancreas just can't produce enough of the hormone insulin.
All the food that we eat turns into glucose (body sugar, energy) in the bloodstream. When the pancreas sense more glucose in the blood, it produces insulin which causes the blood to release that energy into your cells, liver and muscles. But if your are diabetic, then there is not enough insulin, and so your cells, liver and muscles cannot get the energy that they need, and send "I'm hungry" messages to the brain. So you are super hungry all the time, even though you eat plenty of food. The dangerous consequence is that all that extra glucose is stored as more fat.
This is why a diabetic person needs to avoid spiking their glucose levels, by eating the wrong foods, because it will just make you even more hungry. Here is a Glycemic Index (this chart shows how much different foods raise blood sugar levels)...
The purpose of the preceding chart is to help a diabetic person lose weight. To avoid unbearable cravings, a diabetic person should eat only foods low on the G.I. scale.
So when you read (or hear someone on the internet say) that you SHOULND'T EAT if you're not hungry, don't listen to them because they don't know what they're talking about. If you desire to lose weight, the worst thing you can do is not to eat, because when you do get hungry you will binge! If you desire to lose weight, you should eat some protein (fish, chicken, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, beans, eggs, tofu) about the size of your fist every 4 to 5 hours throughout the day, which will prevent binging on the unhealthy foods you shouldn't eat. by EATING every 4 or 5 hours, you retain CONTROL over your hunger. But when you try to starve yourself, YOU LOSE CONTROL when the discomfort becomes so bad that you can't take it anymore, and you eat everything in sight.
The best, safest and smartest way to guaranteed lose weight is SLOW but CONSISTENTLY. At first you will be skeptical and a bit discouraged, which is normal. But if you will do what I shared with you in this article, eating only healthy foods three times a day, and stay under your maintenance calories per day, you will see the scale drop, and it will continue to drop. Once you see the scale start to drop, you will get excited knowing that what you are doing is working. Losing weight requires a different mindset than you've had to gain weight. We all gain weight because we don't even try to maintain or lose weight, we just eat until we feel full. By eating irresponsibly like that, anybody can easily gain 30 to 40 pounds in just 3 months!!!
Losing weight requires a plan! Once you have a plan, then follow it. If you deviate from the course, that's okay, just get back up and do better tomorrow. Losing weight is a war. Our goal should be to win more battles than we lose. If we do that, then we will win the war! The next time you go to the grocery store, buy healthy foods, and don't buy the unhealthy foods. If it's in your house, it's in your mouth! I see umpteen people at Walmart with cases of plastic soda pop bottles hanging off the sides of the carts. Everyone of them are overweight!!! Soda is loaded with unhealthy toxic sugars and impurities, which are full of liquid calories!
I am eating healthy and losing weight, slowly but surely. I just wanted to share with everyone what I am doing along my journey, to help others as well. God bless and thank you for reading.
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