Diet Trouble and Advice Sought

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I want to diet to minimise my symptoms of aspergers but don't know where to start. I've read that gluten free diets can help those on the spectrum but all the information I read is about children and no adults seem to be reporting that it works for them. Does anyone on here follow the gluten free diets or any other diets that help with their symptoms?

I also think I am addicted to food! I can remember having a huge appetite since I was around 5 years old and now that I want to diet and lose weight I'm struggling to break a lifelong habit! Does anyone else have this problem? How did you overcome it?

Thanks

i lost weight by counting calories. i was AMAZED at how little food i actually need. you can start by keeping a food log of what and how much you eat. for some folks, tracking intake is enough of an eye-opener that they decrease their intake and lose wieght without ever doing any other dieting.

to get started counting calories, multiply your weight by 12 (the number of calories needed per day to maintain your weight if you don't exercise) and subtract 500 (3500 cals. per pound divided by seven days in a week, so you should lose about a pound per week). men should not eat less than 1500 cals. per day, women not less than 1200. if you don't achieve loss of a pound per week or if you lose more than two pounds per week, adjust the cals. down or up by 200 cals. per day each week until one to two pounds per week of loss is attained.

you'll need a good calorie content book. i used natow and henslin's. you'll also need measuring cups and spoons.

You are going to need to cut all caffeine and sugar out of your diet by completely cutting alcohol, coffee and other sources of it from your diet.

You can also supplement with vitamins which can be beneficial for certain symptoms.

Vitamin B-6 - Emotional stress, fatigue, nervousness, irritability, depression and insomnia.

Vitamin B-12 - Fatigue, depression, forgetfulness and insomnia.
Food Source - Beef and Tuna.

Iron - Fatigue.
Food Source - Nuts, oysters, Roast beef, spinach, Raisins.

Calcium - Tension, depression, anxiety.
Food Source - Yoghurt, sardines, almonds, white beans.

Magnesium - Anxiety, depression, insomnia, nervousness.
Food source - Soy beans, almonds, tofu, seafood, bran, whole grain.

Remember carbohydrate foods such as pasta, rice, potatoes, corn and whole grain bread can be calming. Protein foods are better for uplifting and giving you energy so anything such as lean beef, fish, peas and tofu.

I just wanted to clarify a small point of wolfheart's post. He said to cut out all sugar. Eating most fruit is really good for you. Lot's of fruit has fiber (whole grain's do too) which help regulate your bowel movements. Refined sugar's are usually not good for you though.

There is nothing that will derail your success in healthy eating more than too much sugar, primarily fructose, which is naturally found in fruit. It is linked to diabetes and can rob you of the energy you need to train, if eaten to excess. Foods high in fructose can make your body switch from a fat-burning mode to a fat-storage mode by promoting the formation of long-chain fatty acids that are resistant to being burned as fuel. Of course there is nothing wrong with eating fruit, since it is high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, but fructose was never meant to be consumed in large quantities.

Bottom line:
If you want to lose weight, eating a lot of fruit will sabotage your diet, so be careful and exercise good judgement. Some fruit in moderation isn't bad but if you're cutting and want to achieve a low body fat, it's usually good to avoid it.

I rarely eat any fruit and it has been working fine for me. My body fat is the lowest it has ever been and my stamina has increased. You can supplement the vitamins that you would usually get from fruit and just stick to the foods I mentioned above.

Fruit can also be a contributor to Irritable bowel syndrome http://www.knowyourgut.com/got-ibs-avoi ... heres-why/

Here's my core currently.

I'll give you my standard dietary advice that works 100% of the time to fix any problem. Eat meat and vegetables. Nothing else. Those two food groups are all you need. Also, drink water.

Eat low fat meats and vegetables but that's only if you don't have a carb friendly body. Some people thrive on carbs, others do not. It varies from person to person. People with diabetic tendencies do the best on the meat/veggies diet. Just be sure the meat is low fat like chicken or fish. If you must have beef, try lean cuts of steak, brisket, and other lean parts. Same with pork. Low fat dairy products, also.

I also feel better when I don't eat fruit. Fruit zaps my energy.

There is nothing wrong with fat as long as it's from a healthy source. Like a nice juicy rib steak with broccoli and tea. I usually fry my steaks in bacon fat and have the bacon with a few eggs as a second course but to each their own.

That's your choice, but I won't advise people to do that. The choice is ultimately theirs to make but I am not going to say to anyone, "eat steaks fried in lard smothered in bacon fat everyday with half a dozen eggs." Humans are omnivores with a tendency towards heart disease and diabetes. We can't eat whatever we want so long as it is natural. People prone to diabetes and heart disease might actually do better on a low fat diet without a lot of carbs. It's not just a matter of fat filled meat or no meat at all. You can have lean meat and it's still a version of Atkins. I wish my mom would have tried Atkins with chicken and fish. Would have saved her some anguish.

Did I not say it reversed my health problems? It brought me from being a pre-diabetic to having normal blood glucose responses, put my cholesterol into a healthy range and, perhaps most importantly, reversed my premature hair loss.

As it turns out our boddies can often confuse dehydration for hunger the simple solution drink more water. it doesnt have calories and you wont be as hungry. also if you are like some people i know and absolutly cannot stand just plain water flavor it naturally with freashly squeezed fruit lemon is always good but you can try others such as orange, lime, i have even heard that pineapple is good(although i cannot gurentee that last one)

For relieving symptoms you might want to try this book: The Autism Revolution: Whole-Body Strategies for Making Life All It Can Be by Martha Herbert and Karen Weintraub. The focus is more on children with autism, but I know it goes into diet to some extent, things to try and see if they help. I've read numerous places that some people are helped by eliminating wheat. Someone here posted a video with Martha Herbert M.D., which is what led me to the book. I haven't read it though. There is a "look inside" on Amazon for it, though.