what constitutes a diet

Wow - very

Originally posted by thorburn ↑

many years ago my wife developed gestational diabetes in the last trimester of our last child.

The situation was that it was before Xmas and we were going on holidays (against doctors orders but my wife was adamant). So at 11 am we went to diabetes Australia and got the load of literature, needles and testing kit and then boarded a barge for our one hour trip to the island and that is when I learned about food groups, bodily sugar absorption, and food groups breakdown times.

What has this got to do with weight?  Everything.

We became well practiced at regulating my wife's sugar levels. If we couldn't do it then it was the thrice daily insulin shot which scared the hell out of her.

But what interested me was the way the body breaks down carbohydrates into sugars and how various carbs break down over different times. But they all break down to sugars and unused sugar is stored to fat.

I've had to lose weight when I was 80kg (doctor said my fatty  liver was storing way too much iron) but decided I'll get to 70kg and stay there.

So I avoid cane sugar....some is ok like in a strong coffee but not cakes etc

So I avoid bread, pasta and rice......except at dinner and then in small quantities.

All fat......that is saturated fats like butter and animal fats on meat and includes any oil.

So no takeaways and plenty of veges with dinner.

Booze is ok but too much makes you overeat.

Exercise is vital and for me that means getting back to running competition 1,5000 metres and exercising heavily on a daily basis.

Last time I tried all this was twenty years ago and I went from 84 kg to 65 kg but damaged my right foot ten years ago.

My present diet started early last month and I'm down to 75 kg already. I'm rewarding myself to a trip away in August which helps put a bit of backbone in my resolve.

It's not easy and the bathroom scales can be your friend or enemy. And once the weight is lost don't revert to the old ways (like me) it is so hard starting again.

Amen

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Very impressive.  Most people don't know carbs turn into sugars in the body.  About 10 years ago I went from 66 kgs to 49 kgs by using Weight Watchers advice - it took 15 weeks to do this.  I felt amazingly well and only after gaining weight did I get told I was too skinny.  It was hard at first but then there is an element of brain washing involved and I was busy counting points (calories) and was very strict with myself.  Today I try to eat very little processed foods and cook heaps from scratch but I agree with your point re exercise because I could easily eat more so long as I walked almost every day, no weight gain.