It’s time to report progress on my gout diet plan again, and I have to confess to a certain amount of guilt.
The first guilt inducing feeling is down to the fact that I haven’t lost any weight this week, in fact I have gained 1 pound. Now in the grand scheme of things, I can persuade myself that this is OK because I was ahead of my target.
As you know, I plan to lose 1 pound per week. I’ve just completed 4 weeks, and lost 4 pounds, so I ought to be happy. I’m just a little guilty that I didn’t try harder over the holiday weekend.
I also feel guilty that I’m not exercising enough. The GoutPal diet plan is not about exhausting yourself with lots of complicated exercise, but regular gentle exercise is vital. I’ve been quite good at walking once per day, but really need to add a mid day routine of either walking, swimming or gardening.
I’ve just found a fantastic website that will help me do this. I’m a bit lazy when it comes to tracking what I’ve eaten or the amount of exercise I’ve done. Well not really lazy, I just find it so boring, writing everything down in a diary. Now I don’t have to. myfitnesspal.com has an online database that keeps track of everything I need. It ticks so many boxes, if, like most of us gout sufferers, you need to lose weight. The calorie counter is so easy to use - just type in what you ate in the search box, and a couple of clicks updates your food diary. The exercise diary is just as easy to use. The system helps you set your goals - and the recommended goal is the same as mine - 1 pound per week.
This is exactly what I’m looking for. And the best bit is that myfitnesspal.com is completely free of charge.
There are just a couple of points that are important for gout sufferers:
- Please heed the warning that you get when signing up about checking with your doctor first. It is important that your gout diet does not put you at risk from complications with your medication or with other conditions that you might have.
- When you are completing your food diary, there is a recommendation to drink at least 8 cups of water. As a gout sufferer you should increase this to about 8 pints, though you can include other fluids in your daily total.
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