Effect a diet can have

[PWSX3]

Since there has been a couple threads started here on health & I have replied to them I thought I would start my own.

 

So what effect would a diet like this have on someone say in there 40's?

Morning breakfast

Donut or when she feels like eating healthy a bagel. Once in a while she will have oatmeal with me if she gets up on time.

Lunch

Hot pocket, mini pizza, or when she wants to eat healthy Taco Bell. (meat & veggies, lettuce)

Dinner

If I don't fix something then it is pop & crackers or when she wants something healthy popcorn.

 

This is pretty much what the wife eats during the day. Sure she will eat other things once in a while & it changes on the weekend, but most of the time it is foods like these.

 

Then of coarse she will have her diet pop, I know she drinks at least 3 a day & probably more because when we go out she will have one, plus a refill for the road, which she just calls one.

 

It's very sad because I know I can't say anything about it because it is her life, but sometime down the road I'll be the one having to take care of her & paying for the medical bills when her body finally tells her it is time to change her diet.

[Ladyjane14]

She sounds like a carb-junkie. A grazer too, in that she's eating on the fly and not planning meals.

 

Have you ever heard of The G.I. Diet? Now, don't get me wrong, I don't believe there are any simple solutions. But... I think the guy might be on to something in his premise that the glycemic index of foods in relation to the body's insulin reaction can amount to some serious health benefits. It's probably why low-carb diets work to begin with.

 

Overall, it's a fairly healthy lifestyle change, but... he goes in for alot of artificial sweeteners. So when we started using his methods, we just cut down on sugar altogether, using only enough to choke down our food, and NOT the synthetic stuff. Hey, if something's not recommended for pregnant women, I'm not giving it to my kids.

 

One of mine lost twenty pounds though. So, it works.

[Tony T]

Since there has been a couple threads started here on health & I have replied to them I thought I would start my own.

 

So what effect would a diet like this have on someone say in there 40's?

Morning breakfast

Donut or when she feels like eating healthy a bagel. Once in a while she will have oatmeal with me if she gets up on time.

Lunch

Hot pocket, mini pizza, or when she wants to eat healthy Taco Bell. (meat & veggies, lettuce)

Dinner

If I don't fix something then it is pop & crackers or when she wants something healthy popcorn.

 

This is pretty much what the wife eats during the day. Sure she will eat other things once in a while & it changes on the weekend, but most of the time it is foods like these.

 

Then of coarse she will have her diet pop, I know she drinks at least 3 a day & probably more because when we go out she will have one, plus a refill for the road, which she just calls one.

 

It's very sad because I know I can't say anything about it because it is her life, but sometime down the road I'll be the one having to take care of her & paying for the medical bills when her body finally tells her it is time to change her diet.

 

Very little of what your wife eats is healthy at all. If the oatmeal is instant, that's not great. Popcorn is marginal for those who have a good diet otherwise, but for someone like your wife it's not good. Diet sodas contain aspartame which in some cases can be fatal but over time it wreaks havoc on your body. Taco Bell items have enough sodium to kill a cow and not enough veggies in any item to satisfy the minimum requirement for even one serving (of veggies).

 

She is on a collision course with major illness if she continues eating this way. My guess is that she will wake up one day when a doctor tells her she has six months to live if she doesn't change her eating habits.

 

I don't think you can do too much about this. The way people eat is ingrained in them from youth. It's tragic that her family taught her this way. Some people do see the light and go healthy but most don't. Maybe if a doctor or nutritionist learned of the way she eats and warned her of the consequences this could have an affect. It would on some people.

[norajane]

She's not getting any fruit, very few veggies, and not much protein from fish or chicken. There's also very little variety in what she's eating, so she's missing out on a lot of essential vitamins and minerals. And there are lots of useless carbs in her diet (instead of the good energy carbs and fiber from whole grains and fruits/veggies), and quite a bit of fat.

 

I'm not entirely sure if diet soda is evil or just not beneficial - either way, she's not drinking water, and water is much better than caffeinated diet sodas.

 

So, in her 40's and 50's, what will happen is she'll lose muscle, gain fat, and is susceptible to lovely things like weight gain, heart disease, osteoperosis, and aches and pains caused by lack of nutritional value in her foods...she's not even getting any Vitamin C in there!

 

Do you do the grocery shopping? Even small changes like adding an apple or berries for breakfast, or keeping fruits and yogurt and bite size veggies for snacking at home, can help her get started on eating better. Instead of the hot pockets or pizzas for lunch, she can pick up grilled chicken breast or turkey sandwiches, so she's getting some more protein. If it's on whole grain bread, that's even better.

[johan]

I wouldn't stay with someone like that. I'd leave her. That's enough for me. That diet will kill her slowly.

[quankanne]

plain and simple, diabetes. Which is not a fun disease to live with, especially when you're giving yourself multiple injections to control blood sugars which can spike depending on what you eat.

 

once it does get out of control, the rest of your body's systems get out of whack, and your immune system gets shot to hell because of the infections. Thank God I've not gotten to that stage, but I have noticed that my skin doesn't heal as completely/cleanly as before – a scab now heals dark, instead of going back to a flesh-tone color and it just looks bad. Excessive scratching in one area also darkens my skin for some reason.

 

I knew I had great chance of developing the disease because i'm hispanic and both my parents are diabetics, but if could turn back time to force myself to adopt better eating and exercise habits, I could have delayed these problems. At this point, I can only serve as the "bad example" for my nieces and nephews to avoid since they're so much younger and are still able to incorporate good habits more easily.

[PWSX3]

Oh, I forgot to share her workout schedule with you or should I say the lack of it.

 

She works at a desk job in a cubical & her & another girl walk around there building once a day, maybe twice if it is nice so I would say less then a half mile.

 

It really hurts me to see her not take care of herself specially since we got back together & I have been working hard at eating better, & getting a lot more exercising in. She has never eaten very well, but neither did I but I'm working on it.

 

I know there is nothing I can do except to wait for her body to finally tell her & it won't be pretty.

[Citizen Erased]

OMG wow... even if she was able to eat like that and never put on any weight, that is so bad for her health. I just hope that it doesn't have too much of an effect on her body before it's too late

[PWSX3]

Do you do the grocery shopping? Even small changes like adding an apple or berries for breakfast, or keeping fruits and yogurt and bite size veggies for snacking at home, can help her get started on eating better. Instead of the hot pockets or pizzas for lunch, she can pick up grilled chicken breast or turkey sandwiches, so she's getting some more protein. If it's on whole grain bread, that's even better.

We both do the shopping but what we buy is my stuff & her stuff & then the few things we make together.

Right now I have banana's, apples, oranges, & Raspberries in the house. As for veggies I have carrots, celery, & lettuce & yogurt wherever that fits in at.

 

She doesn't like yogurt & is picky on a lot of other foods that are good for you.

 

I have to admit I do not eat as well as I should, I don't know what types of foods you need together, etc. but I do get some fruits & veggies in during the day.

[Ladyjane14]

...I don't know what types of foods you need together, etc. but I do get some fruits & veggies in during the day.

 

Try that book I told you about then. Like I said, the only thing I didn't like about it was the use of artificial sweeteners, but... hey, that's just me. Otherwise, it's a pretty simple plan of selecting foods that are low on the glycemic index. He formats them like a stop-light... red, amber, and green.

[norajane]

We both do the shopping but what we buy is my stuff & her stuff & then the few things we make together.

Right now I have banana's, apples, oranges, & Raspberries in the house. As for veggies I have carrots, celery, & lettuce & yogurt wherever that fits in at.

 

She doesn't like yogurt & is picky on a lot of other foods that are good for you.

 

I have to admit I do not eat as well as I should, I don't know what types of foods you need together, etc. but I do get some fruits & veggies in during the day.

 

Speaking as someone who isn't a big fan of vegetables, you are missing out on some tasty ones!!

 

- tomatoes (ok, i think they're technically fruit, but they go in salads!!)

- cucumbers

- red, green and/or yellow bell peppers

 

Put these three together, sprinkle a little bit of crumbled feta cheese on top, add a few olives and a teeny bit of olive oil you have a very yummy and healthy Greek-type salad that will fill you up, plus the feta gives you some protein. Cherry tomatoes are great for a little snack, as are slices of the peppers, and slices of cucumbers.

 

Sweet potatoes - bake them in their skin and have them as snacks all by themselves. They are packed with tons of Vitamin A, plus they also have iron, vitamin c, b6, potassium, calcium and are provide some fiber and a little protein...there's a lot in there, and they are sweet!

 

Asparagus - this would normally be one of those veggies I hate...but, sauteed in a little olive oil with some garlic and suddenly they're fantastic as a side with baked chicken or whatever. When I lived in San Francisco, the supermarket would run out of asparagus on Thanksgiving...who knew?

 

Peas - Yes, peas. They're full of vitamins and minerals, and you can toss them into or onto just about anything, in addition to having them as a side. Personally, I like them with pasta. Steam some peas along with sliced or chopped bell peppers, and toss them on and voila, pasta primavera!

 

Corn - sweet corn on the cob is great, provided you don't add butter

 

- try different varieties of lettuce - iceberg lettuce is nutritionally useless as it's mostly water. Buy the darker green varieties and use those for salads and on sandwiches. You can also put spinach leaves on sandwiches instead of or in addition to lettuce. Adding some spinach leaves to salads as well as the lettuce is really good, too (I HATE cooked spinach! but the raw stuff is cool).

 

Point being, experiment with stuff you haven't tried because you'll find some that you really like, but make sure you get a variety because they all have different nutrients in them that your body needs.

 

I mentioned the yogurt because it's a good all-purpose snack that offers protein. If you get the plain kind, you can add your own berries, dried fruit, or nuts (nuts are good for you, too!) without having all the sugar they put into the fruity yogurts. Plain yogurt is also a decent dip for carrots, celery, whatever you wanna dip. And if you're really ambitious, use it on your salad in place of salad dressing....

[PWSX3]

Speaking as someone who isn't a big fan of vegetables, you are missing out on some tasty ones!!

 

- tomatoes (ok, i think they're technically fruit, but they go in salads!!)

- cucumbers

- red, green and/or yellow bell peppers

I am only missing out on part, I love tomatoes & I eat a lot of them. I also like the cucumbers that are seedless, you don't burp them all day.

I still can't get myself to eat peppers. I have never liked peppers but I am slowly trying to eat them.

As for the W, she likes cucumbers & that is it. This summer I would cut a cucumber up for my snack & share the other half with her & she would eat it, but I think she got tired of them.

Put these three together, sprinkle a little bit of crumbled feta cheese on top, add a few olives and a teeny bit of olive oil you have a very yummy and healthy Greek-type salad that will fill you up, plus the feta gives you some protein. Cherry tomatoes are great for a little snack, as are slices of the peppers, and slices of cucumbers.

 

Sweet potatoes - bake them in their skin and have them as snacks all by themselves. They are packed with tons of Vitamin A, plus they also have iron, vitamin c, b6, potassium, calcium and are provide some fiber and a little protein...there's a lot in there, and they are sweet!

I have tried sweet potatoes & I just can't get myself to eat them. I don't like the taste, I don't like the texture, nothing.

Asparagus - this would normally be one of those veggies I hate...but, sauteed in a little olive oil with some garlic and suddenly they're fantastic as a side with baked chicken or whatever. When I lived in San Francisco, the supermarket would run out of asparagus on Thanksgiving...who knew?

Now I have eaten some of this & I actually liked it, but I haven't been able to fix it at home.

Peas - Yes, peas. They're full of vitamins and minerals, and you can toss them into or onto just about anything, in addition to having them as a side. Personally, I like them with pasta. Steam some peas along with sliced or chopped bell peppers, and toss them on and voila, pasta primavera!

I love peas, in fact I take the snow peas that are still in the pods to work as my snack. People at my work can't believe all the fruit & veggies I bring as my snacks.

I also like corn & so does the W so if we have veggies corn is usually the one we eat.

Corn - sweet corn on the cob is great, provided you don't add butter

 

- try different varieties of lettuce - iceberg lettuce is nutritionally useless as it's mostly water. Buy the darker green varieties and use those for salads and on sandwiches. You can also put spinach leaves on sandwiches instead of or in addition to lettuce. Adding some spinach leaves to salads as well as the lettuce is really good, too (I HATE cooked spinach! but the raw stuff is cool).

I eat a lot of salads & I also use Romane. This is a change that I have made from iceberg, which was the only kind I thought I could eat.

The other evening I made a salad & tried putting on some Raspberries on it & I couldn't believe how good it tasted so I'll be doing that again soon.

I have tried spinach & I haven't been able to do that just yet either. I even tried adding it to my salad.

 

Thanks for the ideas & suggestions. I still eat pizza but instead of eating 5-6 pieces I'll only eat 2 pieces.

 

Something else I wonder is how being overweight & not eating healthy makes you feel, physically, mentally, etc??????

[Trialbyfire]

When making a salad with spinach, put in something citrus with it, like mandarin oranges. The Vitamin C helps your body absorb the iron in the spinach.

 

Here are a few very healthy fruits and veggies:

 

bananas

mangos

broccoli

blueberries

[shadowofman]

I'm glad everyone seems to be suggesting fruits and veggies.

Citrus on greens is a great suggestion.

But please, please stay away from other psuedo-healthy foods.

If it's not a fruit, a veggie, or a part of an animal, it's probably not healthy.

http://thepaleodiet.com/

[Ladyjane14]

I also like corn & so does the W so if we have veggies corn is usually the one we eat.

 

Better to look at corn as a grain, rather than a vegetable. It has a higher GI too, so when we have it around here, we have it in substitution of a starch, like rice or potato.

 

How do you two feel about beans? Not green beans, but rather the shelled variety, like Kidney, Pinto, and Soy. They're high in protein, low in fat...and when added into your diet regularly, can replace meat and dairy sources. Having a little serving of protein at each meal staves off hunger, and keeps you feeling a bit more satisfied. So, you can sprinkle some garbanzo or kidney beans on that salad and feel like you weren't eating rabbit food at lunch.

 

As far as getting in more veggies, I usually keep some chopped up small to use in sandwich wraps, my favorite combination is broccolli/red pepper/onion and drizzled with a bit of low-fat vinegrette.

[PWSX3]

Better to look at corn as a grain, rather than a vegetable. It has a higher GI too, so when we have it around here, we have it in substitution of a starch, like rice or potato.

 

How do you two feel about beans? Not green beans, but rather the shelled variety, like Kidney, Pinto, and Soy. They're high in protein, low in fat...and when added into your diet regularly, can replace meat and dairy sources. Having a little serving of protein at each meal staves off hunger, and keeps you feeling a bit more satisfied. So, you can sprinkle some garbanzo or kidney beans on that salad and feel like you weren't eating rabbit food at lunch.

 

As far as getting in more veggies, I usually keep some chopped up small to use in sandwich wraps, my favorite combination is broccolli/red pepper/onion and drizzled with a bit of low-fat vinegrette.

The W doesn't like any type of beans but I do. We do eat a lot of veggie meat which is a meat substitute made from soy. I also like soy milk in my cereal in the mornings & I drink the chocolate soy milk as well but again the W doesn't like either of those.

 

A girl at work was really dragging & so she was talking to another co-worker that seems to be into health a lot & he suggested that she wasn't getting enough protein so she bought some protein mix & started using it & said she can really feel the difference. I bought some & asked the W to try it but she wasn't interested.

 

My question is; how much protein does a person need in a day? Can you get enough from just eating during the day or should you use the mixes to get more?

 

I know the other day I drank a glass of milk with some of that protein mix in it right before I went for a bike ride & right after I had gone to the gym & I feel it helped me on my bike ride. I didn't get so tired at the end & my legs didn't hurt as much as they usually do.

[Ladyjane14]

My question is; how much protein does a person need in a day? Can you get enough from just eating during the day or should you use the mixes to get more?

 

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/protein.html

[Ladyjane14]

I've got one other thought for you, then I've got to get to gettin' today.

 

What would happen if you went to your wife and discussed opening a separate account to be eventually utilized for her nursing care when the bottom falls out? IOW, you make it a financial planning issue, whereby you point out to her that she's going to need additional retirement monies in order to address her impending healthcare issues.

[shadowofman]

You shouldn't really have to take protein supplements, your real meals should be a third protein.

1/3 Protein, 1/3 Fat, 1/3 Carbs with all of those carbs coming from high fiber fruits and veggies, or as close to that anyway.

Corn is a grain.

And Beans are protein, but you should think of them as starvation protein. If you are too poor to eat meat, by all means, eat all the beans you can. The problem with beans is that they can't be consumed raw (few exceptions). Beans contain high levels of lectins, which have been linked to cause autoimmune diseases (diseases of civilization).

For instance, soy has been shown to cause infertility, cancer, constipation, fatigue, a dampened libido and lethargy.

On and on and on. Humans have not evolved to handle all the chemical components of beans. Best stick to meat for your protein.