THE LAST Four or Five POUNDS

I NEEDED HELP

 I wanted to feel healthier - acid reflux was bothering me, and I'd had a goal weight posted on the refrigerator door for a year...unsuccessfully. 
 Every article about reflux mentioned losing weight if you need to.   


Then suddenly I read:

"Stress is the main cause of weight gain around our middles..." 

 Hmm.


The writer is a dietitian and author.  www.marilyn glenville.com/womens-health-issues/fat-around-the-middle

 For once, I decided to trust a dietitian. I read more and decided I could handle enough of the suggestions to make myself a plan. 

 And the idea probably grabbed me because it lets me make the daily decisions.  Now on the fridge is a full page, closely spaced list of ideas, many hers - including my new eating plan. 

 WHAT I DO NOW

  Trying to eat every three hours 

BREAKFAST   

 1-minute cooked oatmeal and half a cup frozen blueberries

  2/3 of a TEASPOON of  unprocessed sugar. 

 a little cheese chaser, for the  acid in  blueberries. 

MID MORNING
Fruit and bit of bread w yogurt,  bite of cheese for me

LUNCH

frozen veggies, Half sandwich, 10-grain sandwich bread
or tuna pouch from grocery, and maybe part of a Lara peanut/date bar

AFTERNOON SNACK
tiny sandwich, veggies, maybe apple

 SUPPER 

 (ENDS THREE HOURS BEFORE BED)

Frozen veg microwaved

Precooked chicken from local grocery, deli, or fish

Salad with dressing  Bite of Lara Bar

ALTERNATE SUPPER
Same veggies
little salad

Scrambled eggs, bits of uncured smoked ham

One bite of Lara bar

Dr. Glenville's secrets include eating every three hours.  Makes my schedule tricky at times.
If I'm in a place like doctor's wait room and 3 hours are up, I need to graze on something healthy.  If it weren't 98+ degrees here, I could just eat a cheese stick in the car.


Other suggestions from her and others

  "Try to put protein in every meal." .
  Eat every veg you can find,  (in morning snack I may use an apple instead of the veg)
 Small meals. No big meal  Your usual schedule may take a few hits
 Try not to eat carbs after 6 pm.
 Sit quietly at the table,   (stress makes us grab something, then  rush to make that call or...)
      ( I'm learning that I sit quietly but still chew as if I were late to put out a fire.)

THE RESULTS

Although my weight tends to jump around, it's now at least 4 or 5pounds below where I had been for years.  (I still eat too much cheese.)

I loved seeing a new number on the doctor's scales last week!

You can Google Dr. Glenville.



My plan, as you see, is  extracted from the work above, altho  my notes also mention EXPRESS online.