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I added a couple more interesting charts below
Chart -- CALORIES ARE CARBS MULTIPLIED BY 4
Chart -- GLYCEMIC FOOD CHART

Food tracking chart  
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PLEASE READ THIS:  It is recommended that you see your doctor before starting any diets or exercise programs.

This chart is an excel spreadsheet developed to track food we ate when we started our transition to lower my glucose levels and to lose weight.  The charts duration runs for approx. 1-1/2 months.

It is broken down by the meals we ate, and the portion size or quantity.  There is no reason for you to follow each day as shown.  There is no reason you could not mix and match foods from day to day.  This is what we actually ate.  It was based on carb's and portion size.  You could be allergic to something, so just substitute it with another healthy food.

Note:  Initially we were only going after weight loss.  We were also trying to balance glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol. 

This chart does not reflect it, but I also tracked my daily B/P, Glucose, Exercise, and any drugs I was taking.

It was difficult because when you are trying to regulate one condition it affects the other conditions. 

This was our best efforts at getting our bodies internal workings back into a healthy state again.   This worked for us, so hopefully this information will help you on your journey to better health. 

Once we got to our initial goals we stopped tracking our food and intake and just concentrated on eating properly and getting plenty of exercise. 

True or False
The key to this is "life style change".  Answer is true

The most important thing to remember is that your weight, glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressures probably did not go up all at once and gradually increased slowly over time.   

So why would you think taking it back off or getting back under control won't take some time and effort. 

Believe it or not your body is very resilient and responds to change quicker than you realize. 

Try it, what have you got to lose.

I tip my plate to you in good health. 

NOTES:
Where you see number 1 in in the portion sizes field, it is based on a normal portion size.

The biggest apple in the bin may not be what you need, unless you're ready to share it.

Pre-bagged or "school boy" apples are a better choice because they are proper portion size.

Use salt sparingly.

Drink plenty of water.  Water will give you a full feeling especially before a meal.

Temporarily put aside beer and alcohol.  It's ok.  The key word is temporary.

Here is a good one:  When I say one scoop of ice cream it does not mean a solid hard packed scoop.  Make it a light scoop but make it round for affects.

Skip the nuts, sprinkles, topping, and M&M's

Learn to like good foods.  My attitude now is, is it good for me than I will try it.

Growing up as a child I hated orange acorn squash because my siblings would tease each other about eating baby food.  Get over it.  Squash is really good if you prepare them properly.

Read all labels on food products because you will want to know if something contains sugar, or other ingredients that you don't want to eat.

Research online the different ranges of foods.  Example:  What has more calories an orange or tangerine?
Orange 35 cal.   Tangerine 26 cal.  
It adds up......

If you are pre-diabetic or diabetic you should also track not just calories but sugar content of any foods.

Did you know you should not exercise right after a meal for least a 1/2 hour after a meal.  This gives your food time to digest and move to the right areas of the body instead of it saying we are exercising so lets save up in the fat cells.

As you go through the chart you can see we went off course a few times but this is not a diet and you have to live.   Just remember moderation and portion size matters.

When we went out for a meal.
We actually ordered one meal a few times and asked for two plates.  Not always, but why not try this to see if this works for you.

We brought half of our meal home and ate it as another meal.

If they had a salad bar we went for more of that and brought half of our steak home.  Steak and eggs the next morning.  What a reward.

Where can I find white or wheat bread with lower calorie and carb. counts?   We were amazed that most of the large grocery stores were lacking in this area, but the 99 cent and dollar stores had plenty in stock. 

The Old potato chip saying. 
" I bet you can't just eat one.".
I now bring the big bag home then re bag it into portion sizes.  Costco has plenty of bags in stock.

I learned how to say: Oatmeal please.

Avoid the all you can eat buffet unless you are disciplined enough to eat the good stuff on the menu and stop eating when you are comfortable.  You will know when you are ready to test yourself.  Just because you pay a flat fee for a meal what make you think you have to eat until all the food is gone.

We learned to search out the senior and children's meals on the menu's.  Less expensive and geared toward proper portion sizes.
The worst that can happen is they bring you a coloring book.  LOL

Most restaurants are actually very accommodating and understanding when working with you.  They deal with health issues or eating concerns every day in their business.

When we ran into difficulty understanding our results we consulted our health care provider rep's or went on line for information or to see if they had classes to support our mission.  This helped us to be able to adjust our efforts when needed.

We did attend some of our health provider classes in assisting us with some of our decisions and choices:

• Dealing with chronic conditions

• Nutrition class

• Cholesterol class

• Diabetes classes

It is a real high when a younger person helping you on a job say's to you.  Slow down, I can't keep up with you, or your neighbor say's, don't you ever stop.  This is real people, I do have more energy now. 

How about a positive spin.  A higher high is to see your oldest grandson get married and your youngest grandson born.  He is 5 yrs. old now and, no, I do not wear the little energizer bunny out.

What is a HEALTHY PORTION SIZE?
Pasta, approx. size of a tennis ball.
Meat, approx. size of a deck of cards.
Slice of cake, approx size of a deck of cards
Vegetables/Fruit, approx. size of your fist.
Cheese, approx. size of two dice.
Muffin, approx. size of a hockey puck
Ice Cream, approx. size one light bulb

If you want to figure out nutritional values on anything you are going to eat, go to:  www.calorieking.com  
They will give you all the carb. and calorie counts etc.

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