I have a couple, more like a few, issues going on. Because of the stroke, I'm not able to be as active as I once was. In addition, I have to take several med's that are known to slow metabolism and cause weight gain. My weight stayed between 105-117 all my adult life until I started having the health issues. I gained even more after I stopped smoking and I'm now up to 187 pounds. My doctor said 115 should be my max weight for my height and bone size. While I disagree, I felt I was to skinny at 115, I am now at a point that my weight is making it even more difficult to get around.
My doctor had me track my food intake for a week last year and sent me to a nutritionist. The nutritionist told me that I was actually below the amount of calories I needed per day and needed to eat more. At the same time, she told me everything I was eating was basically wrong due to my out of control cholesterol. I made the changes she suggested, but still haven't lost weight. Steadily gaining each week. I was using protein shakes. She told me they are full of cholesterol and not to drink either the shakes or smoothies. I will be the first to admit...I'm still eating all the wrong things so I have to rethink my meal plans. If I do that, I will be able to plan meals in advance and calculate calories as well as cholesterol. My main objective will be exercise. Because of health issues and current weight, I can only walk for short periods at this point. So here's my first goal:
1. I pledge to walk for 30 minutes a day. The 30 minutes may have to broken up into several sessions so I'll do how every many it takes to reach 30 minutes.
2. I pledge to drink 8 glasses of liquid in the form of water, tea and coffee.
3. I pledge to start my research on meal plans that will meet calorie & cholesterol goals.
