Would making a drastic and total change in diet(for the better) cause any physical harm?

I am afraid my diet for the past seceral years has consisted of foods high in fat and low in nutritional value. I want to change, but the slowly weaning myself didn't work as the small weaknesses I allowed myself only lead to total indulgences. I know the only way I am going to be able to eat healthy is purge my kitchen of the (bad) foods and make sure that there isn't any reasons (such as forgetting my lunch) to switch back to my old habits.

Are there any side-effects I might expect from the sudden drop of sugars, fats, caffeine and other such things?

I understand that I may be grumpy, but what else might I experiance?

My plan is to have the 8 reccomended glasses of water, then have mostly fruits and veggies (and lots of them..and then a small portion of meat and veggies at night, keeping my "big meal" in the earlier part of the day. I know this is better for me, but somehow bodies don't seem to take well to extreme changes, so I thought I would ask about it first.

One thing you may experience is constipation. The foods you typically ate contained a lot of elements that cause more "stuff" to be eliminated (fats, etc). Drinking the water you specified and continuing to be active will be important to keeping your bowels moving correctly. If these things don't do the trick, if you are not diabetic, 8 ounces of warm prune juice works for many people. If you take it in the morning, it gives you the whole day for it to work. You will find that later, if you give in to the sweets, you might have reactions to the sugars and caffeine (such as jitters) after not having them for a while. Congratulations on your decision to start on the road to good health. We are here if you need advice or want support.

Ok, sure, a swift change for the better can be done. As pointed out it could lead to constipation, it could lead to a sudden drop of energy at the inset of the new diet, it could lead to headaches, body aches and a feeling of having a slight cold, it could lead to dry skin.

Or your body could take the major change without batting an eye as it were.

You are aiming to lower the fats and added sugars to your diet - that is a good thing, a really good thing.

Some of the easiest ways of doing this are just the way you prepare your food.

Though we are told that certain cooking oils are ok, while others are not - all cooking oils are fat. Simply put.

One of the things I did when I switched from my fat and sugar diet was to pour a drop or three of oil in the cold pan, then take a paper towel and wipe it all over the pan leaving a very thin coating of oil to 'fry' my foods in. Later on, I switched to non-stick fry pans and I bought a spray pump to spray out a fine mist of oil - I use this mainly in baking.

I drink two to three glasses of milk (Big glasses) a day. We go through four gallons of milk between two people in a single week!

Used to be I was drinking the whole milk - Oh My, the calories in whole milk is all from fat. I switched to non-fat (90 calories per serving) and my Partner switched to 2% - this switch was easy for both of us - He didn't like the nonfat, saying it was too weak.

There are butter flavored powders which are nonfat and have the flavor of butter. I use this in my food preparation, in mashed potatoes, over vegetables, even in things like pancakes and breads that I make.

Sources of fat are:

Oils - all cooking oils are fat
Shortening - I have learned to substitute apple sauce for the shortening in baking.
Lard - I never used the stuff
Bacon Drippings - Ah yes, wonderful stuff.
Mayonaise - it's the egg yolk - the Fat Free Version we get is, in my opinion, just as good.
Nuts, Seeds and Peanut butter - High in fat -I do allow myself some of these every so often, but I am mindful that they are fatty.
Dairy Products - Cheese, butter, cream, whole milk - high in fat - except for the butter, there are fat free and low fat versions of these - I find them to be tasty.
Egg Yolks - I allow myself one egg yolk out of three eggs when I have eggs (I like scrabled eggs) When baking the recipe usually asks for one egg, I use a whole egg since I use the apple sauce or prune puree in exchange for the shortening, margarine, oil.

Today meats are reather fatty due to how they raise animals. Skinless turkey breast is the lowest in fat, followed in a close second by Skinless Chicken Breast.

As for red meat, I cut off the fat and either broil it to where the drippings dripp off, or I Bar-B-Q - animal fats in meat are ok in my books, but then I no longer eat meals of just meat and potatoes

Hamburger has become a familar sight here due to the money situation. I use Hamburger in things like tacos, spaghetti sauce, etc. When I'm making something that will be seasoned with HB, I fry the meat, pour it into a sieve and run drain off the fat into the Dog's Dish (Who is suffering from dry skin due to lack of fat in her diet! - more on that in a minute) Then I run hot water over it, then I fry some more, draining it and running hot water over it again - rinsing it out well. Then I add it to the sauce, or I add seasonings to it.

Be mindful, the body needs some fat - can't getrid of them all. Like I said, I allow myself some nuts, I allow myself red meats with some fat still in them. Every once in the while I will eat Micky D's (Though I suffer from it later)

Fats keep the body well lubed and also keep the skin from drying out.

If you do switch suddenly and you are doing an exercise routine, stop the routine for about a month. This gives the body a change to get used to the new fuels you will be giving it.

There will come a time when when you do eat something high in fat you will feel sluggish, tired and the next day you may have loose stool. This will because your body is not longer used to processing high amounts of fat.

Suddenly dropping your sugar in take will lead to lack of energy, up the carbs like grain goods, rice is a good source of carbs. You may experience mood changes, and do not be surprised if you go through physical withdrawls.

Processed sugar is a horrible thing, a man made chemical which is like a drug to the body, and if you have developed an addiction your body will go through withdrawl symptoms - lack of sleep, or sleepiness - anxiety, maybe even depression - cravings, Mood swings, etc.

As for caffine - Ah the wonder drug of the 20th century - I cut my intake back to 3 cups of Joe in the morning - nobody will take that from me, I refuse to give it up - but then I've been waking up with Joe for 21 years.

I was at one time drinking coffee all the time, morning, afternoon and night. I could drink an expresso before going to bed and not lose a single wink of sleep.

5 years ago I stopeed drinking all that coffee and tea and chocolate stuff, if I have a cup of coffee after dinner, I might as well select a good book that night, I will not get much sleep.

I allow myself certain things, like green teas, my coffee in the morning, etc. I switched to caffine free diet coke a few years ago, now when I drink regular coke I feel sick to my stomach, all that sugar and caffine have an adverse reaction to my system.

When I did the caffine cut back I did it one product at a time. Starting with the switch of coke, then removing those later cups of joe, leaving me with my 2 - 3 cups of joe in the morning.

I know this is a lot more data than you asked for, I have a few more lines to add.

Go to your local library and check out 'body-Stat - resetting the body stat permanmently' it is by a man named DeWitt. I have found that book to be the most informative and helpful on when it came to the swtich from meat and potatoes to healthy eating.

The book covers many of the similar questions you brought up here, and also covers in depth why the body gains weight and why we just do not loose weight when we stop eating as much.

Cheers

David

Thanks, David! I might not have asked for all the info provided, but I do appreciate it. I'll check out that book next time I'm at the library

I've recently done the same thing you are considering. I've got a few things to add to what has already been mentioned. As a woman, one of the major things that might happen is that you may skip a period or throw your cycle off kilter. Especially if you overboard and cut out all fat. Your body needs some fat to function normally and if you deprive it, it will shut down certain functions.

As far as diet goes, I've purchased one of the George Foreman grills. It is the greatest invention since bread!!! Not only does it require no oil, cooks food twice as fast, and makes them taste delicious, but it is a great reality check. All the fat in your food drains down into a little collector so you can see what your not missing! I was amazed at how much fat can be found in chicken breasts and food you would consider low in fat!! My new diet is minus sodas(which I was consuming at least 6 cans a day), high in fiber(helps avoid constipation), high in water, and totally balanced.

I start off the day with a bowl of oatmeal or high fiber cereal(Grape-Nuts, Fiber All, Special K, etc.), mid-morning snack is a fruit, lunch is a low fat soup, sm salad w/lemon or lime for dressing and maybe a few low fat crackers. Afternoon snack of low calorie yogurt or fruit. Dinner is a large salad with a variety of greens(spinach, boston lettuce, endive,etc. avoid iceburg since it contains little to no vitamins), red onions, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, sm slice of avocado(must have a certain amount of fat),or tbsp of slivered almonds. Then I'll grill a chicken breast or fish, and have a sm serving of brown rice or whole grain bread. If you want one of your favorite meals like tacos, try to substitute ground turkey instead of beef. Bocaburgers taste surprisingly good also. I will occasionaly have beef though. I just grill it and select lean cuts of meat.

The key is to not let your body feel deprived. If you want ice cream, eat ice cream, just lower your normal portion and try to opt for frozen yogurt or low fat variety. Exercise is key also, as it will increase your energy level and help keep you from depression. One final note, if you are a caffine addict try to substitute tea or coffee until you can ween your way off. That way you won't get as many headaches or have your energy level plummet. There is also water with added caffine. Good luck. P.S. I've lost 15lbs in two months!!!