 Graphic by Mary Shomon | The Thyroid Disease Weight Loss Club is Working!! |
I wanted to start out by saying that for me, WLC is still going! I'm now down 12 pounds from
June 1! However, I'm getting less mail from people regarding the club, and fewer posts on the
BBS regarding the club, so I have a feeling that folks are abandoning it. I fear this is what we do
with most diets! Is there anything I/we can do to rev everyone up some more? Because the thing
is. .. THIS DOES WORK!!!!
First, if you're not aware of the Club, here's what it is. Just a way to help you get motivated to
lose weight! You don't need to "join" or anything, just pick a diet or eating program, and get
started!
The main thing is that most of us are doing a low-glycemic (low-sugar) diet. You need to know
what this means in order to do it, and there's a wonderful webpage that discusses the kinds of
foods that affect your blood sugar more than others. See The Glycemic Index
for more information. For more great links related to weight loss and exercise, see my page of weight loss links for people with thyroid disease.
A number of us are following the book Dr. Bob Arnot's Revolutionary Weight Control Program. But recently,
I've bought the Sugar Busters book, just to find out what all the hoo-hah is about. It's
basically the same as the other low-glycemic diets, except Sugar Busters believes you
shouldn't eat fruit with your meals, instead, wait around an hour. The logic is that the other stuff
you eat with fruit won't get stored as fat as easily if your body isn't having the slight glycemic
reaction to fruit that it normally has when you've eaten it. So I think I might try that for a while,
just to see what's up with it. Sugar Busters is an ok book, but Dr. Bob's is still much
better, in my opinion.
Other books you can check out include:
Weigh Less, Live Longer: Dr. Lou Aronne's 'Getting Healthy' Plan for
Permanent Weight Control, by Louis J. Aronne, MD and Fred Graver. This book discusses
the set point, metabolism, and insulin resistance, and offers an excellent lower-glycemic eating
approach. This is the only diet book I've ever seen recommended by Andrew Weil, M.D. More
information and direct ordering is available directly from Amazon.com, by clicking
HERE.
The G-Index Diet : The Missing Link That Makes Permanent Weight Loss
Possible. This book by Richard N. Podell talks about why most diets fail, and why "diet
foods" sitimulate your appetite and trigger hunger. The book provides comprehensive details,
charts and menus on all types of low-glycemic foods. More information and direct ordering is
available directly from Amazon.com, by clicking
HERE.
As for my diet, I'm still going strong. I was somewhat BAD over my vacation! Didn't get on a
scale, but could tell by my clothes that I'd gained a little, but am losing it again..to recap, overall I
am down 12 pounds over ten weeks. During and after my vacation ups and downs, I discovered
what DOES and DOESN'T work for me in this thing. Here's what I've learned so far. Remember,
your own experience might vary!
1. Beans are ESSENTIAL!! If I'm not eating beans at least 4-6 times per week, I don't
lose as quickly. I've always needed more protein to feel better, but I think what's helping me lose
is eating beans instead of meats. Beans are also fairly low calorie (unlike many meats), high fiber
(meat is not), they're low fat (unlike most meats). So if you're eating more protein in your diet,
consider trying to make a fair percentage of it beans (and soybean/tofu products) instead of meat,
poultry or fish.
For fun, you can try some of the great new meatless products that have now become staples in
my house, such as: Morningstar Farms Breakfast Patties, Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean
Patties and Boca Burgers!!! My husband really loves the Boca Burgers, and I love all these
things, and I used to be QUEEN OF BEEF!
I also ALWAYS have a big bowl of bean salad in my fridge and use it all week long. The way I
make it is very simple:
Dozens of bean salad
recipes are available, along with more than a hundred different general bean recipes, at the Vegetarian
Source recipe pages.
2. Eating starchy carbos make me hungrier an hour or so later. So I need to be EXTRA
careful about them. I'm better with a small sugary treat (like a chocolate kiss, or a mini-scoop of
sorbet) after a meal than eating a roll with dinner. When I'm craving carbos or a treat, I usually
eat a small bowl of cereal with fruit. It does have aspartame in it, but I have really enjoyed the
Fiber One cereal as breakfast and a snack, and one serving has half the recommended fiber for
the day!!
4. Diet sodas are BAD news for me. I have a little Sweet 'N Low with my morning tea
and I don't think that's a problem, but when I drink a lot of Diet Coke, forget it, things slow down
to a halt. It could be that I'm not drinking enough water...and it could be that my body still treats
the sugar substitute in a slightly glycemic way. I've read somewhere that some people do have a
glycemic reaction to sugar substitutes. In any case, the more water I drink and the less Diet Coke,
the better things are. It also might have to do with caffeine, because I seem to have a prob if I
drink alot of unsweetened iced tea. I know caffeine is a diuretic, so maybe I need the water to
lose? In any case, back to the water for me.
5. I've always thought that vegetarians have the right ideas! I personally love a bit of meat
way too much, but I'm definitely trying MORE veggie dishes and entrees, and have many
meatless days, when before I never went a day without meat! I do hear from MANY vegetarians
who can't lose weight, though, so if you're a vegetarian who lives on rice and pasta, it's may not
work for weight loss or maintenance unless you ALSO eat low-glycemically.
So, what's stopping YOU? I'm losing weight, and I'm not telling you this to:
SO GET ON BOARD!!!
NEED SUPPORT FROM OTHERS? WE HAVE
IT! The Thyroid Disease Bulletin Boards are available for you to post
questions, ideas, information to help each other, favorite recipes, rants, and such regarding
thyroid disease, or your weight loss issues. If you're posting re: weight loss, make sure that you
preface your posts with the letters "WLC" for Weight Loss Club. That way, we'll be able to
quickly scan the boards to see posts related to the club.
Email Me Of
course, you can always email me as well if you haven't found the answer to something at the site
or the boards, or you just want to say HI! I can be reached at thyroid.guide@about.com or mshomon@pop.dn.net
Comment on what you've read here, and share
questions, experiences and information with me and other readers and site visitors at the Thyroid Disease Bulletin
Board.
1 can of Progresso cannelinni (white beans)
1 can of Progresso Chick peas (garbanzos, ceci)
1 can of green beans ( I Like French cut)
1 chopped onion
A fat free, low carbohydrate, low-cal vinagrette dressing
Mix together, let sit. Good for at least a week. I eat it plain, as a side dish so I can have less meat
with a meal, or in a whole wheat tortilla alone as meal accompanied by a side salad.
3. Exercise is essential to quicker loss.I'm now down 12 pounds from June 1. That's
around a pound a week, but I was losing quicker earlier in the summer when I fitness walked almost
every day for a half hour. Not rigorous, just walked the baby around, but it really helped. I was
losing 1 1/2 to 2 pounds a week those 4-5 weeks. Now it's slower, as I wasn't doing as much
walking when the weather was in the 90s and 100s here.
It's just me, another thyroid patient like you, who despaired that I'd figure out ANY way to get rid
of this hypo weight!
If you want to drop me a line,
email me at thyroid.guide@about.com!
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