Hubby needs to get a Plan

[Sandhya]

It's time to get hubby on ONE serious plan , and i need a lot of help from this forum to get him do it.

His typical diet for the day- He's eating 2 Nugo bars/lo-carb bars, abt 4oz pressed ricotta cheese( Indian paneer) , a small helping of veggie, a small serving of lentil and a roti(indian flat bread).I'm not sure of the carb content of some of these products .HE weighs 204 lbs at 5'-10"

He's always had a great metabolism , and just cutting down on sweets and junk he lost a lot of wt. But now he's hit a stall for over 2 months(his staple diet as above).

I feel he's not following a proper diet plan, eating way too little,and killing his "once wonderful" metabolism.He's yo-yoing between lo-fat and lo-carb. :help: Being a vegetarian is not leaving him with much choices.While i hog on chicken and fish and eggs to my fill(i'm on Atkins WOL) poor guy eats only small portions of indian cheese and some veggies etc.

There has to be a good plan for vegetarian dieters( I am not aware of any)- This is where i need help from you all !!! :help:

Please come up with suggestions and help him decide a plan for himself.I'd like him to join the forum as i love this place for its endless support.

Thanks everyone for listening !!!! :wave:

[Sandhya]

I'm surprised ~ NO RESPONSE

[tuscany]

Hi Sandhya - I am Indian too & vegetarian. I followed (or tried) the Protein Power plan for several months. But being a vege, I ended up having too many "cheats" Still lost 10-12 # last year though, w/o exercise. Anyway, I recently switched over to South Beach & that is far easier to follow. That is what I would suggest - get the book and look up the SBD forum on this site.

I would also say that he should avoid eating too much soy, especially the processed kind (morningstar farm-type items - way too processed). Does he eat eggs & other kinds of cheese, other than paneer? He could probably eat some tofu & tempeh too. Besan (gram flour) is useful too as a higher protein flour. I also make smoothies with whey protein powder, berries & kefir (kefir is cultured milk, kind of like yogurt). Another thing I like is greek yogurt - yummy !
I bet by giving up most of the refined flour, sugar & potatoes, & sticking to beans/eggs/vegetables etc, will be enough for him. Exercise would be a good idea too.

[Sandhya]

Tuscany,

Thank you so much for taking out time to respond. I had nearly given up hope on getting any advise on my quest since this section of the forum is pretty slow and low in traffic.

I'm excited that you have managed to lose 10-12lbs lo carbing (it means hope for DH).I totally understand the limitations one has to face when it comes to vegetarian food choices , so what you have achieved is great.

SBD - sounds like a good idea. I have casually browsed this plan before, and now intend ordering a book and going through their website in detail. I want hubby to give this "one little serious try" as nothing else seems to be working right now for him.Let me tell you again, he's OFF all the starchy,sugary,junk he'd eat earlier on. In fact i feel he's starving himself and need a proper diet plan to work on.I've always envied his metabolism , but past 2 months he hasnt lot any wt or inches, inspite of his super control.

T- can you tell me how to make this smoothie you've mentioned.It would also be a great help if you mention a few veg products(brands, store et al.)as i'm relatively new to the US and not aware of the products popular here.Meanwhile, I'll look up for Kefir, whey protien in Trader Jo's/ costco.

Can i bother you again if i have more questions on this Plan?

Thx again and BOL on your wt. loss.

[Gaelen]

Sandhya, this forum does run a little slow sometimes (I usually only check it once a week) so you do need to be a little patient about replies. ;)

Is your husband exercising at all? Because if he doesn't really have a lot of weight to lose (and from the measurements you posted, he may not), then exercise is going to be key in elevating his metabolism and keeping him losing.

If he eats eggs as well as dairy, he could/should start incorporating more of them into his 'normal daily diet' as you described. There's also no reason he shouldn't be eating nuts, nut butters, small quantities of lentils, avocados, unsweetened coconut and coconut milk, etc. He really needs to be taking in more calories than what you described, and by taking in healthy fats like coconut oil and olive oil, he'll be doing himself good.

I make shakes from kefir, chocolate soy protein isolate from General Nutrition Center, cold coffee and a little bit of half and half and cinnamon. You can use any protein powder that tastes good (I just happen to like chocolate!) The proportions I use are 4 oz. kefir, 6-8 oz. cold coffee, 1 oz. of half and half, and a scoop of protein powder plus a dash of cinnamon, and I blend it up with a stick or immersion blender in a cup. Hope that helps.

Gaelen

[tuscany]

Hi Sandhya, my inspiration for the kefir smoothie is gaelen :) She posted a lot of great recipes at another forum (protein power) though it is down at the moment.
Anyway, here are my smoothies recipes-

~1/3 c kefir+ice cubes+scoop chocolate wpp+frozen cherries
~1/3 c kefir+ice cubes+scoop vanilla wpp+frozen berries
~1/2 c kefir+ice cubes+scoop chocolate wpp+instant coffee

You will have to experiment with amount of kefir & maybe add splenda or something depending on taste. I usually don't need sweetner if I'm using the fruit.

I use Designer Whey brand whey protein powder (at Trader Joe's). I don't like the taste of soy powder & also worry about too much soy since I eat tofu etc.

My TJ's doesn't carry kefir, but I get it a regular store.

[Sandhya]

Thx Gaelen, Tuscany for the recipe's. I'm eager to try these out.I guess i'll start with the coffee smoothie first since SBD does not allow fruits in the first phase.

T- which indian lentils can one eat in the first phase of SBD?

[tuscany]

I did not do a "clean" SBD Phase I; I started around the holidays & it was just too tough be perfect. I ate a few small servings of all kinds of beans & lentils - the "whole" kind, not the skinless ones. I keep to those in general anyway & don't eat huge servings. I have tried more to reduce the fat & increase the vegetables & add in some beans & fruits & whole grains

[innermusic]

Have your hubby take a look at doing a vegetarian CKD. Being vegetarian is no excuse for not being able to follow an effective diet plan.

[comrat]

hi ... me too indian, dunt even eat eggs n hate tofu/soy... start atkins induction 3 weeks ago... stay all day on atkin bars n shakes (3-4 servin) and at nite have salad... :help:

so far not much happenin... also go to the gym n try to burn arund 350 cals per day for 5 days on the cross trainer...

plzzzz help me ... i really wanna lose dis xtra weight but i m totaly frustrated n demotivated...

hope u guys are all doing great... take care... :help: