health and wellness

Question
I am a 32 year old male father of 2. I am 6'3" and weigh 260lbs. I have the same old story as most people about dieting It sucks! That being said I don't want to starve myself, I just want to exercise and eat healthy. Currently my lifestyle is Mcdonalds for breakfast and lunch 5 day's a week and a home cooked diner. I am always traveling for work so my choices are limited. McDonalds for lunch and diner has been my routine for about 6 years. I am realizing that it is contributing to my being tired and feeling lazy. I would like to cut out Macdonalds completly and start to make better choices however when you go 6 years eating large size value meals with and extra couple hash browns and extra double cheeseburger on top of each meal I am afraid that I will constantly be hungry if I go to fast with a new lifestyle. I also have a bad habit of dipping french frys in mayo and getting extra mayo and oil on subs. This will kill me if I keep it up. As far as drinks go, I do not drink alcohol. I do however drink about a gallon and a half of diet iced tea and 2 or 3 32oz. diet cokes a day. I have heard that diet soda and tea is worse than regular??? My question is what can I do other than the obvious to eat healthier and not be hungry all day long and lose hope and what foods should I consume that will get my energy levels up to where a 33 year old should be? Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
First of all you definitely need help and fast! But let me say congrats for realizing that and taking a first step!!  Yeah!! Your choices are not only adding extra weight to your body but most definitely contributing to bad health.  If you want to do this right then I would suggest the following:
1.  See your doctor for a FULL physical!  That means a lipid profile (blood test for cholesterol, triglycerides, etc...), blood sugar and anything else your doctor deems necessary.  This way you have a starting point.  You know where you stand and what has to be fixed.  In my opinion, if your numbers come back not so good you also have even more motivation to make changes.  As you do make changes you will be able to see that not only on the scale but in your numbers and your health!
2. I am going to suggest seeing a registered dietitian in your area.  I would love to be able to tell you what to do in a few sentences but as you probably have guessed it doesn't work that way.  Weight loss, the right way, takes time, education, motivation, patience, etc...  A dietitian can help you to do it the right way and make changes that will last you your whole life!  I really, really can't stress enough how important it is to do it this way!  Don't be intimidated!  They are there to help, that is what we do!! Diets don't work!  You need to learn to make changes and have someone guiding you that knows what they are doing and talking about.  You will learn more than you ever thought possible.  You can either ask your MD for a referral or you can check out www.eatright.org.  They have a section that will help you find a dietitian in your area.  It will be so worth your time and money!   Good luck to you and I hope you will stick with it!  You have two kids that depend on you and you are so young!  Take care of this now so that you can live a long and healthy life for both YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!
Happy New Year!
Kim Tessmer, RD LD
www.Nutrifocus.net

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