Doing the right thing

Question
Hello,

specs:
39 yr old white male
5'11"
245lbs
meds: bp/lisinopril hctz and chol/lipitor

Every time I go to the Docs, he say's to lose weight, eat low fat and exercise. I'm active being a gearhead, but haven't really worked out in quite some time. It'd be easier if I knew what is a good food and what is a bad food. Lately I've been getting avocados periodically. I don't know, they just taste good and I heard they were good fat.

Pretty much after any meal, I get tired. Some people eat meals then run around. I'm the opposite. I eat and like to rest as if eating were an olympic sport. My metabolism may need a boost. What are some good foods to help with that and what are some foods I should stay away from or limit? I also indulge in light beer very frequently and along with that are the smokes. I am aware of the health benefits they propose. I can also go most of the day without eating. This enables me to get alot done without feeling tired after a meal. However, eating like this is not good either. So, give it to me straight. What are some good eating habits, some bad oneshabits, some bad ones and some foods I should eat more/less of. Anything helps.

Thanks very much for your insight.

Answer
Dear Mike,

Thanks for all the stats, those are very helpful in formulating an answer for you.
It sounds like you would like to lose weight to improve your health conditions and your energy level.  It also sounds like it's something you haven't attempted before.  (If you have, and something worked, it's helpful to work off those strategies you found successful).

Judging from your height, weight, and activity level it would seem you have quite a high calorie intake--perhaps as much as 3000 calories per day.  This can be coming from high fat foods, or simply large portions of food.  People do tend to eat heavier meals in the evening if they haven't eaten adequate amounts during the day.

Here is what I would suggest.  Go to this site (http://www.mypyramid.gov) where they have a lot of materials you can use to develop a diet based on your height, weight, activity level, etc.  You can find a very healthy and balanced diet based on the food guide pyramid, and continue to monitor how well you meet the guidelines each day.  Try eating at least a breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and possibly a small snack or two in between meals if you have room.  In snacks, you can get valuable nutrients (especially if you are having cheese, yogurt, fruit, etc) and these can help tide you over so you aren't starving by the time meal time comes around.

Examine your portion sizes and see if you can cut these down, maybe even by half (12 oz. steak? Try 6 ounces).  There are some great websites if you like to be on the computer during the day, that will help you log your intake and monitor the calories you are consuming in a day (sparkpeople.com, fitday.com, just to name a few).

The bottom line is, there are not bad foods and good foods.  There are foods that should be limited because they are high in calories (sweets like sodas, cookies, cakes, pies; fats such as butter, margarine, salad dressing; fried foods, large portions of meat, huge plates of pasta) and other foods that can be eaten in larger portions because they are lower in calories and higher in nutrition (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, low fat dairy products--and others you will notice on the pyramid).

Try eating about half the amount you are used to at meals and you probably will not find yourself tired (you may even notice any indigestion you suffered magically disappears).
Let me know how it goes and we can follow up for adjustments as you see what works and have more detailed questions.

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