[TripSwitch]

So I've just been skimming through the DASH Diet for Weight Loss and it seems to be quite reasonable and make a fair amount of sense... It looks like it could mesh well with a lot of different eating styles and habits...

Anyone here incorporating any of its ideas into their plan... I'd be interested to hear what diet you might have been following and how DASH may have helped or not...

[Tai]

I loved the Dash Diet! When I first started my weight loss this is what my doctor put me on to lower my blood pressure. I did have to eat fewer grain and fruit servings than they recommend though in order to lose.

It was an adjustment at first since I was so used to eating fast food and processed/frozen foods with a lot of sodium. After a while though I started to appreciate the taste of my food much more.

I also invested in lots of herbs and spices to flavor my food without adding any sodium.

Best of luck to you!

[Gilligan]

I was just getting ready to post about this. My doc recommended this to me on Monday. I have been reading thru the material she gave me plus online.

This should help with my blood pressure and weight loss. Eating healthy, cutting back on processed foods.
I thought I did eat pretty good. i do not add salt. I had been focused on low fat and sugar and didnot realize the things I love i need to cutout or at least cutback.
Like ketchup.... bbq sauce(I love bbg chicken!), spaghetti sauce.Worchestire sauce ( I add to my burgers & meatloaf) Pickles, relish.
But if it helps me lose weight and keeps me from having to go on blood pressure meds, I will try it!
Do you have any special tips or ideas for this?

[TripSwitch]

Originally Posted by Tai

I loved the Dash Diet! When I first started my weight loss this is what my doctor put me on to lower my blood pressure. I did have to eat fewer grain and fruit servings than they recommend though in order to lose.

It was an adjustment at first since I was so used to eating fast food and processed/frozen foods with a lot of sodium. After a while though I started to appreciate the taste of my food much more.

I also invested in lots of herbs and spices to flavor my food without adding any sodium.

Best of luck to you!

Good to hear... from what I gather so far, it looks like it's fairly flexible... I'm probably going to do a little less of the grains too... just something I've been gravitating towards... which is a change for me since I grew up with meals based on a meat, a starch, and some vegetable of some sort as an after thought... Now I like to base my meals around some lean protein and veggies with a salad... I'm definitely fine with not having a starch at every meal now... which I really like and seems to be working pretty well for me.... And my blood pressure has come down a lot more than I expected actually already... I'll probably be able to reduce my BP med when I see my doc again... and who knows maybe between the diet and getting some of this weight off I just might be able to get off my BP pill altogether.... I really think it's definitely helping....

[TripSwitch]

Originally Posted by Gilligan

I was just getting ready to post about this. My doc recommended this to me on Monday. I have been reading thru the material she gave me plus online.

This should help with my blood pressure and weight loss. Eating healthy, cutting back on processed foods.
I thought I did eat pretty good. i do not add salt. I had been focused on low fat and sugar and didnot realize the things I love i need to cutout or at least cutback.
Like ketchup.... bbq sauce(I love bbg chicken!), spaghetti sauce.Worchestire sauce ( I add to my burgers & meatloaf) Pickles, relish.
But if it helps me lose weight and keeps me from having to go on blood pressure meds, I will try it!
Do you have any special tips or ideas for this?

I can definitely relate... I never really thought of myself as eating all that much salt.... but like you say, once you start looking at all the things that it's in... it can be a little bit overwhelming... especially all the condiments like you say...

I like all those things that you mention... ketchup, bbq sauce, spaghetti sauce, Pickles... I've been trying to use less of the really salty condiments and jazz things up with fresh herbs, lemon juice, garlic and the like... and that seems to be working... (oh, and I hope this helps... I just pulled out a bottle of Lea & Perrins Worchestershire sauce and it only has 65mg of sodium per serving, so no worries there... thank God!)

I'm in the process of going through my cookbooks that list nutrition info and see if I can find recipes for bbq sauce and different dressings and such that are low in salt and start trying them out to see if they would be acceptable alternatives... If I find anything that is really good I'll try and post it for anybody that might be interested...

The one thing in the DASH book that gave me some hope... was that it said that after a while of cutting back on salt your taste buds will adjust and things won't taste as bland... And I think that's already starting to happen for me....

Good luck and hopefully you won't need those blood pressure meds... I can tell you with the little changes that I've made my blood pressure has already come down and I'm hoping to cut my blood pressure pill dosage in half at my next doctor's visit.... And who knows maybe I'll be able to get off of it completely in the not too distant future...

[Gilligan]

I am going to plan a trip to the store and check out the spice aisle and the condiment aisle and see what I can find. Even jello has sodium--no calories, no sugar but sodium! Who knew!! This will definitely be an adjustment.

Right now, the doc has me on fluid pills (diuretics) and she is hoping, an I am too, that i will not need to go on bp meds. I go back in two months and we will see if there is any improvement using the fluid pills and the diet. I have edema- swelling in my fingers and ankles.

Well, good luck to both of us on our journey!!

[TripSwitch]

Originally Posted by Gilligan

I am going to plan a trip to the store and check out the spice aisle and the condiment aisle and see what I can find. Even jello has sodium--no calories, no sugar but sodium! Who knew!! This will definitely be an adjustment.

Right now, the doc has me on fluid pills (diuretics) and she is hoping, an I am too, that i will not need to go on bp meds. I go back in two months and we will see if there is any improvement using the fluid pills and the diet. I have edema- swelling in my fingers and ankles.

Well, good luck to both of us on our journey!!

I know salt is everywhere... lol.... even in a lot of desserts... I've heard pastry chefs say that it's "needed" so sweets don't taste "flat"

As far as spices go... I've found that actually grinding some of my own makes a bit of a difference... It's a bit of PIA, but I'll do it sometimes... I have an old coffee bean grinder that I use for it... I don't make myself crazy... just like to experiment once in awhile...

I was on a diuretic at first, but it wasn't doing the trick... so I switched to a beta-blocker which seemed to be making a difference... but as I continued to gain my BP was creeping up... and my doc wanted to add another med to the mix... so that's when I decided to do something about it... So with some changes to my diet, losing a little bit of weight, and actually getting out there and doing some exercise.... I've managed to get my BP down quite a bit... I'm actually hoping to cut my dosage in half on my next visit, and see how I do.... I really think that if I get this weight off, keep exercising, and watching what I eat that I actually might be able to get off this BP pill completely....

I think that you're definitely doing the right thing and that it will definitely make a difference... I know I definitely "FEEL" better and that's a HUGE difference for me....

P.S. Let us know what you find at the store.... You can never have to many tricks and tips up your sleeve as far as I'm concerned...

Thanks....

[gailr42]

I have been looking at this, too, because I have high blood pressure. Here is a link to a brief rundown of the diet.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/publ...h/new_dash.pdf

[olleharr]

I am very happy to say that yes, this diet does work! I have lost 35 lbs in the last 4 months and after 9 years and multiple diets later I am FINALLY off of my blood pressure medication.

I actually started this diet without even knowing I was on it. I just cut back on sodium and loaded my self up with fruits, veggies and whole grains. After about 2 months I ran across the DASH diet on the internet and said "hey....that's what I'm doing!" LOL! Because I was feeling so much better I stayed on track with it.

I have spent the last 9 years yo-yoing on different diet plans. Once losing over 50 lbs but was unsuccessful getting off the bp meds. I still have a long ways to go.....about 60 more pounds but this diet is so easy I know I can do it.