BMI

manna452121

Just got back from my doc and after a check-up he says my BMI is 31.I am 52 with a weight of 14s 9 and my height is 5ft 7.He says I have to change some of my eating habits.Has anyone got ideas of where to start.I dont smoke and drink very little.Hope I am in the correct section.

El_Dangeroso

Hi there,

You are in the right section, to be honest you could go in any number of different directions to lose weight and they all work if you stick to them, but that's the hard part, finding one you can stick to.

I can only speak from my own experience but I did weight watchers, slimfast, low GI, the cabbage soup diet, Atkins and Rosemary Connelly starting out with the best of intentions only to fail in under a week.

What 'clicked' for me is when I picked up a copy of 'The idiot proof diet' by India Knight, mainly because it was really unintimidating (I had not a clue about nutrition back then) and the recipes and food I could eat looked really nice, plus it wasn't Americanised like most diet books out there.

I'm a real foodie so being able to eat something nice in a restaurant and still stay on plan was a big plus for me, along with the fact that there was no counting, weighing or measuring, just common sense when it came to portions.

I realise this might not work for everyone, but it is definitely worth picking a book on the basis of the food that you like, you won't be able to eat everything you used to of course but at least the deprivation won't be as bad.

Also, bear in mind that as we get older the weight comes off a little more gradually, but slow and steady wins the race.

Best of luck!

Anyone else have any book recommendations that helped them 'get it'?

addictedtoshoes

I have a MOUNTAIN of diet books!! I haven't tried it in a few years but the GI Diet by Rick Gallop worked really well for me and I found it quite easy to follow. The only thing I dont like about it is that it recommends sweetners instead of sugar which are full of chemicals but other than that it's great. Another website I use all the time is http://www.fitday.com. You can log all your food and it will really give you an idea of what your current diet is like, track your food on this for a week and check what % of your diet is carbs / protein / fat etc.

You'll be very surprised if you use this how quick you clock up calories, scary!! Diet is one thing but you should start working out as well if you're not already. Good luck!

EileenG

I'll definitely agree it's all about finding the diet that isn't a diet, it's a way of life. All diets work as long as you stick to them, but the trick is finding something you can stick with long term.

Having said that, I'll add that at age 52, you'll find most experts recommend that you do not base your diet on refined or high-gi foods. Competitive athletes can eat pasta and bread till it comes out their ears, but older women find they need to base meals on fresh whole foods with lots of oily fish, eggs, fresh meat, green vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. Try to avoid things with sugar or processed fats or strange chemicals.