Hi Dave! Welcome home!
Wayne and I had to severely adjust the way we eat too...due to his health. So here are a couple of suggestions.
First, look on this as an adventure. You can try all kinds of things to see what you like. There are a ton of foods you CAN eat and a lot of ways to eat it.
Second, avoid boxed and canned foods.
For veggies...if you are not a fan yet...perhaps the best way to eat them for a while is raw. Use fruits and veggies as your snack items. Coupled with cut cheese or some dipping sauce...it makes for a refreshing snack that isn't hard to choke down. How do you feel about pickled veggies? The vinegar is really good for you, so if you like pickled things, this may be an easy introduction to veggies for you. mmmm....pickled asparagus
I like to use the grill as an alternative cooking method for meat as well as veggies. A light toss with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkled with garlic, salt, pepper and sometimes some rosemary makes a yummy dinner.
We also eat our heavy fats and carbs in the morning to give us the energy that we're going to burn off throughout the day. But at dinner time we trim it down....sticking to mainly meat and veggies. A favorite here is grilled meat and a salad. If you need to eat carbs to make it feel right, perhaps stick to potatoes. They're loaded with potassium, which is good for you. Slice, A light boil, then toss with a little oil, salt, pepper and garlic then finish on the grill....or you can finish them in the oven too. I do my asparagus this way as well.
And lastly, we don't eat after 8pm unless its a low impact snack like apple slices and cheese or yogurt....nuts....pickled stuff.
Anyway...there's just a few ideas. I know this is a huge change, but once you look on it as changing the way you eat, as opposed to "dieting"...it really helps you to make the transition. And once you get used to it, it gets a lot easier. Much like transitioning from smoking to vaping. You simply changed your habit, right?
Hi Darrel 
