Scared straight!

Obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia…sheesh.  Good times.

I’ve vigorously pursued sustained lifestyle improvement for almost two months now, and it’s working.  I seem to be finally getting it that I’ll be lucky to live another 20 years if I don’t reverse course.  Don’t much want diabetes either, and am delighted to have avoided it so far, despite begging for it with sustained poor personal habits.

Call me scared straight.  I’ll probably always be on blood pressure medication, though I hope I can eventually drop to just one.  However, I want to see if I can get off cholesterol and triglyceride medication entirely.  When I got on them, my numbers were bad enough that it wasn’t wise to wait and see if I could correct them on my own.  Now I’m eating correctly essentially all the time—low fats, very low saturated fats, low simple carbs, high fiber, all that good stuff—so I’m going to see about tiptoeing off those meds over the next several months or so (under medical supervision, of course).

Of course, you can’t look at any of this as dieting.  You have to look at any changes you make as lifelong, and a big part of that is figuring out how not to feel deprived.  Deprivation breeds resentment, and resentment breeds relapse.  I’ve been pleased with what I can get used to with a little effort.

I’m pretty much all the way where I need to be with dairy, and have been for a few years now.  Apart from the occasional ice cream and “full-strength” cheese—both of which I consume in much smaller quantities these days—I’m doing low-fat and non-fat exclusively.  I don’t even really care for 2% milk, and whole milk tastes almost greasy to me now.  I can’t tell much difference between regular and light sour cream, so choosing the latter is easy.  Ditto cream cheese, not that I eat a lot of that anyway.

(My much greater affection for Asian cuisines these days is probably a factor here.  Not much dairy to be found there.)

I’m working on salt now, and I’ve made some good progress.  I didn’t think I’d ever tolerate an unsalted fried or scrambled egg, and I’m there.  (Also using a teaspoon of olive oil instead of a tablespoon of butter!)  Most processed food is too salty for me now.  The Campbell’s Chunky Healthy Request soups have been great for lunch in that regard.  They’re low-fat and low-cal, but they also cut the salt.

Nuts have been a considerable challenge.  I like nuts a lot, and consumed in moderation, they’re wonderful and nutritious food.  They’re fatty, but it’s almost all good fat, and with ruthless portion control a few peanuts between meals are awesome for keeping appetite in check.

I’m working through a pound of unsalted peanuts right now, and—meh.  They’re not clicking for me.  I’m staying with them for a good while, though.  I didn’t think I’d ever get there with eggs either.  If they don’t work, a drop back to “lightly salted” isn’t so heinous.

Yeah.  So.

I false-started “living right” so many times that I got sheepish about blogging it.  I think that’s in the past now.  I expect to reach a minor milestone on my weight week after next, and after I get there I’ll start tracking that publicly too.

I hope you’re having a good weekend.

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