A recent health scare and a “change or you’ll die” talk from the doctor.

[Metalhead]

That was my last couple of weeks.

I have to lose a third of my body weight. All that excess weight is in my belly. The worst place for it.

My diet will undergo a complete overhaul.

Comfort foods that I often turned to were literally killing me slowly.

This is a scary wake up call.

 

[Outdated]

My father went through that when he found out he had type 2 diabetes.

He complained "I wasn't sick before I went to see that bloody doctor!".

 

[Xinyta]

My father went through that when he found out he had type 2 diabetes.

He complained "I wasn't sick before I went to see that bloody doctor!".

It's amazing what the brain does. The lying lump of grey matter, telling me everything is a-okay.

 

[Misery]

On one hand, that sounds scary.

On the other hand, maybe there's nothing to fear. You already beat a different problem, one that few people manage to defeat. You absolutely have what it takes to stick to a good diet and such.

Hopefully it'll help with your mood and mental state as you go, too. That was the surprising thing for me when I changed my diet. Just like, EVERYTHING is better.

What kinds of things are you looking to change? Do you have any particular favorites when it comes to healthy food?

 

[Aspychata]

That's tough to hear the doctor saying that. It's good you are headed on the right path. I rely on condiments to spice up food, because l try to eat simpler meals. Tonite l watch this lady take a brownie mix, and black beans in the blender and mix together, and said it tasted great. So l may try that. Beans are a great way to lose weight, and you feel full. My partner loves cauliflower fried rice, and you can steam cauliflower and then whip into mashed potatoes. For noodles, l buy Korean sweet potato noodles, perfect for low calorie spaghetti, and very filling.

 

[Kalinychta]

That was my last couple of weeks.

I have to lose a third of my body weight. All that excess weight is in my belly. The worst place for it.

My diet will undergo a complete overhaul.

Comfort foods that I often turned to were literally killing me slowly.

This is a scary wake up call.

You’ll still die, even if you get all obsessive and pure about your diet. Just stop eating meat, dairy, and eggs;—your health will skyrocket, if you do, with otherwise little effort. You will still die eventually, but you’ll feel better until the time comes.

 

[oregano]

You’ll still die, even if you get all obsessive and pure about your diet. Just stop eating meat, dairy, and eggs;—your health will skyrocket, if you do, with otherwise little effort. You will still die eventually, but you’ll feel better until the time comes.

Well, yeah, death is 100% certain. The choice is do you want to die a horrible lingering painful death or do you want to be able to party til the final curtain call since as far as we know you don't get a do over. Diabetes is a really awful way to die, your extremities gradually die in painful ways and you wind up in a wheelchair being fed by a home health aide like a baby.

 

[Kalinychta]

Well, yeah, death is 100% certain. The choice is do you want to die a horrible lingering painful death or do you want to be able to party til the final curtain call since as far as we know you don't get a do over. Diabetes is a really awful way to die, your extremities gradually die in painful ways and you wind up in a wheelchair being fed by a home health aide like a baby.

Ha! Totally true. The “spend the rest of your life in abject terror about your diet” mentality just doesn’t sit with me, though. Stop eating meat, dairy, and eggs, and replace refined sugars with fruit. That’s all the OP needs to do. Humans are apes.

 

[Masked Man]

Losing fat is nothing more than calorie reduction. Altering your diet for weight loss is much easier in the beginning if you just make small changes. Trying to do too much too soon typically leads to frustration. So do something that's sustainable. For example, for the first month, cut out liquid calorie drinks - soda, beer, sugary coffee drinks, etc. Just do that. You'd be surprised at how much weight people lose just by doing that one thing alone. Then after you get used to that, tweak the diet some more. Remember, the diets that work are the ones you can stick with. The long-term goal is to change your lifestyle, not just your diet.

I included a link below to a calorie counter. One of our doctors used this site and had good results with it. You plug in your weight, age, height, etc., and it gives you the number of calories you need to sustain weight, and how many calories you need to lose weight.

Good luck!

Calorie Calculator - Scooby's Home Workouts

 

[Neonatal RRT]

As a healthcare professional, with autism, who does a lot of research on this topic, and was an athlete most of my life, all I can tell anyone is that it is not as simple as "calories in vs. calories out". It's not as simple as "getting off your behind and moving". It is not as simple as "stop eating all that junk food". It's not as simple as "in one hole and out the other".

Boy, I wish I had the genetics to just "do that one thing" and have those excess pounds just melt away. I wish I could just take that one magic pill or supplement and have my health issues go away like advertisers would love to have you think.

There are so many competing metabolic interactions going on in the body to count. Genetics, hormones, underlying auto-immune conditions, stress responses, environmental and dietary toxins, are just the start. In order to change your body composition, it involves a multi-pathway approach.

1. You can't fight your genetics. However, you can go to a professional who can look at your body composition and decide how best to approach your weight loss goals. Some people need to significantly cut their carb intake, some need a moderate amount of carbs, and some even need more carbs in order to loose weight. The same with their protein and fat intake. Ever wonder how these Hollywood actors get these perfect bodies for their on-screen roles? They have people around them. Physical trainers. Dietitians and chefs. It can be done. Competing bodybuilders, the same thing. For most of us, I would recommend going to a gym and finding the right trainer who will push you physically, but also is knowledgable in how to create a winning dietary program specific to you. Instead of wasting your money on the latest fad diet or supplement, take that money to the gym and trainer.
2. The autism component. Chronic stress. We talk about it ALL-THE-TIME on the forums here. This stresses me out, that causes me anxiety, I just want to get away from people, this causes sensory issues, I can't make friends, why is my relationship failing, I was bulled the other day, my family sucks, on and on and on. How do you think that affects your body? Stress hormones. Endocrine system. Chronically elevated stress hormones and inflammatory markers. This is all catabolic (tissue wasting) and causes us to store excess fat. It can cause hypertension. It can cause metabolic syndrome and diabetes. It can cause kidney disfunction. Elevated blood sugar, insulin, urea, nitrogen, creatinine, homocysteine, liver enzymes, cholesterol, on and on.
3. Diet. If you are in the US, you know these food companies put in a crap load of metabolic manipulating chemicals into everything that comes in a bag, box, or can. They want you to eat more. If it says "diet", "low fat", "low sugar", it's probably the worst thing for you. Period. Protein bars and shakes, but full of insulin spiking sweeteners. Horrible. Most of the food that we find on our grocery store shelves in the US, are literally illegal in most other countries, for health reasons! The food we eat makes us sick. So, lets eat whole foods only. Great idea, but in the US, darn near everything is sprayed with pesticides, weed killers, and anti-fungals, and the soil is so depleted, it has low nutritional value. Animal products are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. We wonder why all these kids have food allergies? We wonder why the rise in autism and auto-immune diseases of all sorts? We wonder why testosterone levels in males have dropped significantly and have breast tissue of their own, and why females can have breasts and start their periods before the age of 12? Estrogens and phytoestrogens. Why our children look like soft manatees? Why is there so much gender dysphoria in our young people? We wonder why the obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular epidemic in the US? These are all recent developments in our society. We didn't have these issues prior to the 1980s. These big food conglomerates are literally killing us. So, in steps "big pharma" to the rescue. They've got a "pill" for that. Medical schools (supported by the food and drug industries) teach medications, not health and nutrition. It's all a huge, multi-trillion dollar money creating circle for the food and drug companies, health insurance companies, lobbyists, and lawyers. The citizens of the US are just the unwitting fools in all of this. Farmers have to do what they have to do to compete and survive, caught in the middle of all this. Corrupt politicians with $200,000 salaries are worth 10's even 100's of millions of dollars in net worth after a few years in government due to pay-offs and kick-backs from these corporations. The US spends more money per person on health care than any other country in the world and yet we are one of the worst in terms of outcomes. Where's our tax dollars and health insurance premiums going? Seems obvious.

At any rate, all we can do is be smart about where we get our food, watch our intake, filter our water, learn to cook and prepare meals, get some vigorous exercise, get off of social media, get out in nature, listen to some relaxing music, avoid toxic people, let the sun shine on our face and wind blow in our hair. Get off the crazy train.

 

[Mary Terry]

You can do this, @Metalhead. Avoid processed foods, eat high fiber whole foods especially beans and legumes, grill lean meats like chicken and fish rather than frying them, use olive or other vegetable oils instead of butter to sauté food on the stovetop, stick with 3 meals a day with no snacking and drink lots of plain water. Low calorie vegetable soups can fill you up.

If you really need a snack, eat unbuttered popcorn or raw carrot and celery sticks or a handful of cherry tomatoes which you can prepare and keep handy in the fridge. A dill pickle can be a satisfying low-calorie snack although they are salty. This is just standard, conventional advice for dieters and there is no magic bullet unless you want to use Ozempic or one of those drugs.

Keep on exercising, too!

 

[Kirsty]

I have to lose a third of my body weight. All that excess weight is in my belly. The worst place for it.

I feel for you, ‘bro!’ The only way is to reduce calorie intake a day, up your protein to about 90+ a day and do around 10k steps a day.

 

[db05]

Truly, vigorous exercise can be a major life-changer. We are all unique in our situations but I think that physical activity can make a tremendous difference for everyone. Walking a mile or so in your neighborhood is great, but getting into a more intense running regimen or gym cardio routine - I'd say, is worth far more than any pharmaceuitcals or 'therapy' could ever do. Whether you're 25 or 75, if you can do it, it makes all the difference in the world.

When I get back from doing 65+ minutes of intense cardio, for a few hours to a day or so, am so much more engaged with the world. There's less of a need to mask, because there's a more natural inclination to make eye-contact and many other things.

Yeah, it may seem like a drag if you've got alot of weight to lose, but once you start, you see a new change. Eating vegetables and drinking water never seems to last long for dieters (autistic or not). But if you can burn 800-1000 calories regularly, you get to where you can have gorge a half-pizza and know that your metabolism is in high-gear and all that excess protein and carbs are working for you, not against you.

 

[Metalhead]

On one hand, that sounds scary.

On the other hand, maybe there's nothing to fear. You already beat a different problem, one that few people manage to defeat. You absolutely have what it takes to stick to a good diet and such.

Hopefully it'll help with your mood and mental state as you go, too. That was the surprising thing for me when I changed my diet. Just like, EVERYTHING is better.

What kinds of things are you looking to change? Do you have any particular favorites when it comes to healthy food?

I like making vegetable and chicken stir fries with my wok. I season it with fresh ginger. And serve it with brown rice.

I am cutting out all refined sugars. I can always turn to fresh fruit to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I probably should find a healthier way to eat my raw veggies than dipping them in blue cheese dressing, though.

 

[Mary Terry]

I like making vegetable and chicken stir fries with my wok. I season it with fresh ginger. And serve it with brown rice.

I am cutting out all refined sugars. I can always turn to fresh fruit to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I probably should find a healthier way to eat my raw veggies than dipping them in blue cheese dressing, though.

You can use fat-free (zero fat) sour cream mixed with a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dip ingredients to make a really tasty, low calorie, no fat Ranch dip if you like that flavor. Look for the flavor packets in the salad dressing aisle at the store, usually near the mayonnaise jars and bottled salad dressings.

I wish I had a wok but we have a glass top electric stove so I can't use one. I make stir fry the best I can with a screaming hot cast iron skillet on the stovetop. It works okay but it's not a wok.

 

[saturnv]

I can tell you things that have worked for me:
* Don't try to lose weight quickly. Aim to turn the trend to losing just a little weight and keep that up for the long haul. Going too fast will cause excess hunger and make failure much more likely. Also, maintaining a healthy weight is a lifetime project. It is not about doing a diet for a short time.
* Eat a lot of protein and fiber. You need protein to lessen muscle loss while losing weight and it makes you feel full longer.
* Track the food that you eat. I use the MyNetDiary app on my phone. I put in everything that I eat. A cheap food scale is needed to do this accurately. I only care about calories and protein. It is surprising how energy dense some foods are. Tracking everything takes the mystery out of it. With these data you can tweak calorie intake confidently to get and maintain a slow and steady weight loss over time.
* Eat potatoes. They are rich in nutrients including fiber, while being low in calories. They make one feel full for a long time. They are also easy to prepare. I microwave potatoes and eat them twice a day.
* Walk a lot. Walking is very good for your health. I don't recommend high-intensity exercise until your weight is lower due to increased risk of injury. Look up zone 2 cardio. You can walk briskly for an hour a few times a week and get major health benefits. Don't get me wrong, getting strong and doing higher intensity cardio is very good, but it is secondary to getting diet under control and building basic cardio fitness without injury.

 

[oregano]

@Neonatal RRT: Years ago somebody on another forum recommended the book Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes. Taubes also rejects the calories in/calories out dogma. His basic argument is that the human body is set up to deal with carbohydrates and fat-but not both at the same time. Modern so-called "food" is loaded with both, so the body will burn carbs first and store fat, thus leading to obesity. I don't remember what he said about sugar, but I'm thinking that it's pretty much the same deal. With liquid carbs the body gets overwhelmed and starts storing what it can't burn, thus the infamous "beer belly". What concerns me about @Metalhead is that he is a longtime addict, and such people can often get rid of one addiction and immediately fall into another. He is pretty smart and self aware, but it is a struggle.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

@Neonatal RRT: Years ago somebody on another forum recommended the book Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes. Taubes also rejects the calories in/calories out dogma. His basic argument is that the human body is set up to deal with carbohydrates and fat-but not both at the same time. Modern so-called "food" is loaded with both, so the body will burn carbs first and store fat, thus leading to obesity. I don't remember what he said about sugar, but I'm thinking that it's pretty much the same deal. With liquid carbs the body gets overwhelmed and starts storing what it can't burn, thus the infamous "beer belly". What concerns me about @Metalhead is that he is a longtime addict, and such people can often get rid of one addiction and immediately fall into another. He is pretty smart and self aware, but it is a struggle.

Agree. It's rarely any one simple thing. This is why I suggest seeing a professional, someone who also works with competitive athletes. You can't exercise your way out of a poor diet, neither can you diet your way out of a poor exercise regimen. Body composition should be more your goal, as opposed to simply "bodyweight".