Postby Kathryn-in-Canada » Mon Sep 28, 2015 8:15 am
Harmony: I've never tasted caviar either! It just seems like an icky thing to eat (unless one is absolutely starving and needs to get every bit of food out of a fish in order to survive.)
I may be remembering this incorrectly, but I think the lypocine (?) from the tomatoes were a benefit to lowering cholesterol. I know it is linked to prostate health but by this time in dh's life, that was no longer an issue, the cancer had come and been removed.
He really doesn't eat veggies but is willing to chug (literally) back two 12 oz cans a day to get me off his case about it. When we are in the US we can buy the low sodium version in that size (not available here and the 6 oz ones are only sold in 4 packs, he'd drink 4 per day so the cost would be prohibitive.)
I know V8 makes a fruit flavoured version, using fruit juices to cover up the taste of the veggies; is it possible that one is tomato free?
Although, really, your idea of eating more veggies is the most sound of them all. Figure out ways to get them into your life (omelets, stir fries.)
As for limiting fats, I've lived low-fat for so long that I seldom get near the recommendation (30% of calories) for fats. I refuse to believe in 'good' and 'bad' fats since the science has changed so many times on that. We do use olive oil for cooking, though, and I limit my butter on things, but don't substitute margarine. For baking I use butter except for occasionally when I'll use vegetable shortening (and I don't bake much.) I'm trying to eat more nuts so get some 'good' fat there and I ignore the fat in protein (but always choose lean meats), and have added cheese in very small quantities (.5 ounce a serving) into my diet to go along with my eggs. I have to keep reminding myself that my normal diet is under 20% fat so upping it to 25 - 28% is not a bad thing, I'm still not at the recommendations.
The key for me with the weight loss is to increase protein and most times, the carbs get lowered because I'm snacking less. I find I'll have a couple of 'carb' snacks a day (popcorn or a serving controlled 100 calorie bag of baked cheetos, plus a Kelloggs Vector Protein bar) and my very high carb breakfast (whole grain cereal, milk and berries.) The rest of the day, I focus on avoiding obvious carbs (soda, crackers) and ignoring the ones in veggies like carrots and peppers or watermelon. Most fruit, except for my berries in the morning, is gone from my diet, though. I refuse to drop the veggies I love from my diet just because they have carbs although I note my micronutrient percentages are much better on the days I have almost no fruits and veggies (another reason to ignore that since I believe the veggies are really important for my health.) I'm still having a minimum of 150 carbs a day but my only goal is to keep that around 45 - 50% of my calories and my main goal is to up protein to 25% all while keeping my calorie intake under 1600 calories a day except on days when I'm insanely active.
I don't meet that goal most days, btw. Things will be better when dh is gone since he would like pizza once a week (store bought) and while I can fit that into my calories on a very active day, it makes for an extreme carb day and my protein is way too low. I also quickly tired of Subway salads and while my chili from Tim Horton's is fine, the bread that comes with it (and makes the meal special to me) is not and I can't manage to just have half of the bread.
Impulse issues still exist for me, the worst of which is soda. It doesn't matter how long I've gone without it, I still crave it so the best I can do is limit it to once or twice a week and preferably from a can as opposed to fountain drink.
I end up eating out at least 6x per week, 3 - 4 dinners if dh has his way and then lunches when we are out over a lunch time, which doesn't bother dh since he doesn't eat lunch. I need to eat something because of blood sugar dropping and quick food choices seem to be highest in carbs. If we are out running errands, stopping for a proper meal isn't time-efficient since dh just wants to get home as quickly as possible yet we are too far away from home to come back for the meal. On Sundays and hiking day, I pack healthy snacks and then search for a high protein menu item if we are out. Other days and many dinners out, it is a real challenge, if not to lower carbs, then portion control as well as no idea how much oil, etc was used in the prep of the meal. Many restaurant websites show that the chicken or fish options are higher in calories and fat than the beef portion so steak is becoming my go-to when a simple roasted chicken breast or grilled fish isn't on the menu.
Judging from what I read in PWYC, your dh also requires you to be out much more often than you'd like and his requirements make it almost impossible for you to get into a good meals routine. Lucylee is another one with this issue. If I ever come up with a solution (aside from divorce!) I'll let you know.