Discussion questions

My wife and I have just started a drastic change in our eating and exercise habits. Her cholesterol is up a bit and her triglycerides were high as well. Our doctor put her on cholesterol medication. I had my biometrics done last Fall at Goodyear and found my triglycerides were high as well.

We have greatly reduced our sugar intake (not easy to do!), switched to low-fat foods, and cut down on greasy andstarchy foods. We also chose to reduce the amount of red meat we eat, something we did not eat a lot of anyway, and switched to chicken and tuna fish. We have a list of ideal foods to eat and what is not to eat from our doctor.

She also has starting walking more and doing cardiovascular exercises. I have continued in the frequent walks I have always taken and have started doing some of the exercises.

I joined the Choose to Lose program to instill better eating and exercise habits more than to loose weight.

Our major concern has been losing weight.....she weighs only 122 lbs and worries about getting too thin. I weigh 142 lbs, and perhaps can lose a few pounds, however no more than 10.

What are some good ideas for her to continue to eat well, and to maintain her weight?

It sounds like you've already made a lot of positive changes. You didn't mention weight training (which you may be doing already), but if your wife is concerned about getting too thin, building muscle helps. This is important not only for building lean muscle mass but also helps fight osteoporosis especially for small framed people. Resistance training twice a week is recommended. Try to have healthy snacks between meals around 150-200 calories, preferrable a carb/protein combination. For example, apple with string cheese, rice cake with natural peanut butter, cottage cheese and fruit. Try to eat every 3-4 hours with no meal skipping.

Looks like I have the incorrect weight entered - as much as I wish I was only 100 pounds that is incorrect. how do I enter my correct starting weight?

You would need to contact technical support at goodlife_team@goodyear.com

I have constantly tried to work on my eating habits, because I grew up a very active athlete and I never had to pay attention to what I ate and therefore I have not developed the best habits or varieties in food. Not only have these habits followed me but I am also a very picky eater. I always feel strange admitting this because I feel like only children are picky eaters and by the time you are an adult your tastes should have broadened. I have tried many times to acquire tastes for things but consistently stick to the same foods, typically very bland and carb (pasta) loaded if I allow myself. My question is what kind of foods can I eat that are healthy for me? The diet menus I always see have things on them that I wouldn't touch and I always think, well I would definitely lose weight on that plan because I wouldn't eat anything! Please help, this is not only a dieting woe but sometimes becomes a social hindrance.

The Change One plan is not a specific/restrictive meal plan like most diets. You choose what you want from each food group. For example, breakfast is one starch/grain, one dairy or high calcium food (doesn't have to just be milk/yogurt. It can even be spinach or broccoli), and one fruit.

You can always experiment with foods by trying a new recipe with herbs/spices or sign up for a local cooking class. Many times we find foods are better when they are prepared a certain way. Most people eat the same foods for certain meals (especially breakfast) because it's easy and that's okay...just try to mix it up at dinner or lunch. Check to make sure your food on the plate isn't always brown in color all the time and instead a variety of colors. 

I had my thyroid irradiated in 1990. It's all I can do to lose a single pound...then just to see it go back on overnight....I'm frustrated.

Yes, I have been on a balanced 1300-1800 diet for at least a decade....pretty much like the Change One book.........Any suggestions?

Weight loss can be difficult and slow with hypothyroidism. Focus more on healthier eating and losing inches than weight. Are your clothes fitting any better than they used to? Or compare your lab results to last year and use that as a measure of success.

 Drinking enough water throughout the day is also important. You can try different calorie levels to see how your body responds. More on the days you exercise and less on the days you don't. High intense, interval and resistance training is a great way boost the metabolism along with small, low-fat, frequent meals with no meal skipping.

The more muscle you have, the more efficiently you’ll burn calories. Just one pound of muscle burns three times the amount of calories as a pound of fat. You can also check with your endocrinologist for any recommendations pertaining to medication.