Too Much or Not Enough Food?

[Montgom]

Some days the menus have so much food, I can’t eat it all. I am used to eating very little portions, for instance 1 cup of soup and 1 slice of whole grain bread would be supper. Breakfast would be 1/2 cup pureed apple blended with 1/2 banana and 1 cup almond unsweetened milk. I am not losing weight. Should I be eating more? Or less?

[Ossie-Sharon]

Hi, Montgom. First, I noticed that you are between menu pattern levels, and it may suit you better to have the lower of the two – to get this, just change the weight in your profile to 158. You may find the portions more manageable.
Another important component is physical activity, especially if your eating has been restricted in the past. What is your current activity level?

[Montgom]

Hi Ossie. I have a desk job (AdminAsst) but that doesn’t mean I sit all day. I spend a lot of time walking from one end of the campus to another (from furthest corner to furthest corner is 1k) and I make deliveries to various departments a few times a day. I also do 20-30 minutes on my treadmill every morning. I have misplaced my pedometer but last time I used it I was somewhere between 12,000 and 14,000 steps (including my treadmill) per day. I call myself moderately active, considering my age (71 this July). Am retricted with cardio by my asthma but I’m sure that losing weight will help that as well – surely, packing around extra pounds is hard on the heart & lungs and since I plan on retiring this coming fall, I want to be able to enjoy it and have fun. I do a little work with free weights but going too hard at it also makes me a little breathless – so I stick to the 3 lb weights and do a few more reps. Sometimes I think I am destined to be overweight and it is discouraging – when I was younger I could wear a string bikini. But I was a smoker then too and gained most of my weight when I quit 21 years ago. So what am I doing wrong – what do I need to change?

My husband can eat ice cream, junk food, potato chips etc and is healthy but a tiny bit heavier than when he was younger and he’s not into salads – he’ll eat it if it is on the table but only a very small amount. He likes his meat and potatoes, grilled cheese sandwiches and fries & gravy. He’s very easy to cook for but hard to switch to a healthier fare – I’ve tried and it doesn’t work – he just doesn’t have the taste for it. He grew up with simple farm style food and hasn’t changed his tastes.

I have six months until I retire and I figure 2 lbs per week I should be able to lose about 40 lbs give or take. Any suggestions?
tks, Georgia

[Ossie-Sharon]

Hi, Georgia. It’s great to read that you are active to some degree. I suggest trying the weight number change I mentioned in my previous response, and see if that helps. You can also try drinking high-quality green tea to help boost your metabolism.

[Author]

Posts