My weight loss plan

I have made a decision to change the way I eat. I am doing this to lessen the stress on the knees. There is also the fact that I weighed more than I ever have.

First there was a trip to see a dietitian. That involved getting wieighed. The scale told us that I weghed 268 pounds. Then there was a discussion on how to modify my diet and manage my eating habits. I came away with a fairly simple plan.

1. Record meals and snacks to monitor food consumption
2. Manage portion sizes
3. Have better snacking options avaible (carrot sticks, baby dill pickles, gherkins, sliced apple, and sugar snap peas)
4. Use products that have an intense flavor, sharp cheeses, hot peppers, hot sauces, crunchy vegetables, ginger. Things that make you realize that you are eating. Bland is bad.
5. Use whole grains and starches as much as possible. Use brown rice, kamut, faro, quinoa or bulgar as much as possible
6. High fiber bran muffins, high fiber oatmeat muffins (made smaller that usual) homemade granola, homemade multigrain sourdough bread.
7. Mid day meal to consist to some sort of bean product, high fiber or protein. Things that take longer for your system to process. The result is to stay full longer. Rice and bean bowls, wraps baked beans with multigrain bread, an egg with brown rice and hot sauce, etc.
8. Cut down on alcohol consumption, a single beer or cider a day adds up to 1500 to 1700 calories a week, a glass of wine 1000 calories a week

The thought in my mind was not about going on a diet. I am not on a diet. I have changed my eating habits. If something comes up, and there is cake, I will eat it and enjoy it. If I am out and I order a burger, I will have the fries with it. If I am socializing, I will have a glass of wine or a beer. It is not about deprivation, it is about making a conscious choice

The idea was to cut the accidental calories that I was consuming.So far it has been going well. About 2 and a half months in, I have lost 30 pounds and my blood pressure is down.

Since part of my routine been to record my meals, I have a record of what I have eaten since mid April. I will start to post my daily meals, probably 3 days to a post.