Diet Advice!

[TelephoneAngel]

TelephoneAngel: do you have any breakfast food in the house? It's a lot easier to eat proper meals if you have proper food to eat.

You mean cereal, cornflakes, stuff?

Yes I go through phases of eating it, but often I can't face it first thing in the morning.

[Magpie]

You mean cereal, cornflakes, stuff?

Actually I was thinking more bread for toast and peanut butter, but cereal is good too. Figure out what you like for breakfast, because seriously, when they say it's the most important meal of the day, they mean it, especially for dieting. Everything Whiskey said about not eating enough can be triggered by skipping breakfast, because it's so long between meals at that point.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Wow that's a lot. I'm going to have to devote more than ten minutes to this stuff, and plan out my next shopping trip. Thanks Seshat-- and others...

[Whiskey]

Wow that's a lot. I'm going to have to devote more than ten minutes to this stuff, and plan out my next shopping trip. Thanks Seshat-- and others...

In the beginning you will. If all this is overwhelming one thing someone mentioned (if you can, and only feed yourself) is make one set of meals. Five small meals and eat only that for 1 or 2 weeks. It gets you in the habit of portioning, what you should be eating, and it uncomplicated a lot of stuff.

today's food and drink diary -

got up with headache, took an ibuprofen tablet with a mouthfull of whole milk, then two sips of milky coffee with sweeter.Then one mouthful of pasta and mayonnaise.One packet of cheese and onion flavour scrisps (very small) oe small pieceof chocolate.

at work, 11.30 one tuna and mayonnaise sandwich, left the crusts.One bottle of original lucozade (not healthy) one packet of chocolate like m and m's,

home at 5.20 two slices of cheese on toast with tuna and tomato.half a cup of milky tea with sweetner.

Then more pasta and mayonnaise, with some cherryade probably, later in the evening.

oh honey. you're eating nothing but carbs and fat. You're not even eating very much, or regularly.

Breakfast doesnt have to be breakfast food. Half the time, I eat steak or some other kind of protein for breakfast because I cannot get morning (morning is a relative term since mine are usually around 9PM) energy to save my life. Breakfast doesnt have to be cereal, it has to be balanced. If you want steak, steamed kale, and sweet potatoes for breakfast, do it. If you want pancakes for dinner, do it. I don't think I've eaten cereal in two years. Eggs are involved in my breakfast because eggs are a staple of my diet. Cheap, easy protein because I use a lot of protein in a day.

The dinner you posted that sparked this thread sounded okay, but if this is an indication of what you eat every day, theres going to be a bit of food shifting and planning to do start with less mayonnaise, or get mayo with olive oil (its a bit healthier).

I dont even know how you can eat chocolate when you first get up. It might be whats throwing off your stomach. You ate sweets and fat for breakfast and nothing else.

[TelephoneAngel]

oh honey. you're eating nothing but carbs and fat. You're not even eating very much, or regularly.

The dinner you posted that sparked this thread sounded okay, but if this is an indication of what you eat every day, theres going to be a bit of food shifting and planning to do start with less mayonnaise, or get mayo with olive oil (its a bit healthier).

I dont even know how you can eat chocolate when you first get up. It might be whats throwing off your stomach. You ate sweets and fat for breakfast and nothing else.

See this is why I wonder why I don't lose weight, sure I eat the wrong things but I don't eat a lot of them.Too much soda i think (not diet type) I do sometimes make a nice dinner but often its too much effort to cook after a days work (if I lived in a city I might be worse and just order pizza or takeout every night!

I ate the chocolate because it was a easy option, couldn't face eggs etc at 6.30 in the morning, plus rushing around getting ready for work etc.

I will post what I eat tomorrow and see if it is any better - I just threw out a whole load of breakfast cereal, cornflakes etc as it had gone stale, I bought it with good intentions weeks ago and didn't eat it.

[Whiskey]

If its all you eat, it doesnt matter that you don't eat a lot of it. That food is all your body has and its nothing but bad stuff. It goes back to my low calories argument

You can eat 1700 calories a day of fat and carbs and you will still be fat because theres only fat and carbs for your body to use.

or

You can eat 1700 calories a day of lean protein, colorful veggies and good fat and drop weight like an anchor because your body has the good stuff to burn and nothing bad to hold onto.

with moderate exercise I eat far more than 1700 calories a day and lose weight. I eat more than 2000 and lose weight, i dont even work out that much or that hard.

You might do well to prep your meals a week in advance (or 3 days, or whatever). Make one of your days off a day of cooking. Cook all your meats, beans, etc then when it comes time to cook you only have to cook accessory foods like veggies, cut up some fruits, scramble an egg, whatever.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

lol. Yeah. I was posting in between running around to classes. Yeah, it is a little much... but I also had to sit down and read it!
Thanks for the uncomplicating part-- the "TL; DR" if you will. Portioning isn't something I usually think about-- I eat until I'm not hungry or the food's gone. ... *cough*
Also: "accessory foods"-- you make it sound like an outfit, Whiskey!

[Whiskey]

lol. Yeah. I was posting in between running around to classes. Yeah, it is a little much... but I also had to sit down and read it!
Thanks for the uncomplicating part-- the "TL; DR" if you will. Portioning isn't something I usually think about-- I eat until I'm not hungry or the food's gone. ... *cough*
Also: "accessory foods"-- you make it sound like an outfit, Whiskey!

Don't eat until the food is gone. One thing i've done to help combat that (my family is HUGE [in more ways than one]about eating until the food is gone) is to think while you eat, if you know youve made too much, what you can do with the left overs.

I made too many lentils the other night and simply incorporated them into three different dishes throughout the next day or so.

Teh, you've seen my food pics right? They practically are outfits. Outfits of food. Fabulous ones.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

An outfit for my intestines.
An outfit of deliciousness.
/Tycho

[BookstoreEscapee]

You mean cereal, cornflakes, stuff?

Yes I go through phases of eating it, but often I can't face it first thing in the morning.

Cereal's good, but not cornflakes. They're pure carbs and your blood sugar will crash in no time (I recently read something about a study with diabetics and plain corn flakes was one of the worst options). Something low-sugar with fiber and some protein (milk, nuts) will keep you going a lot longer - Cheerios (original flavor), oatmeal (I get plain, cooked with milk if I'm at home, and add cinnamon and a little brown sugar), shredded wheat, raisin bran (preferably one without sugar-coated raisins), Grape Nuts with milk and honey and a sliced banana, or Grape Nuts with yogurt and fruit...

See this is why I wonder why I don't lose weight, sure I eat the wrong things but I don't eat a lot of them.

Not getting enough calories makes your body hang on to whatever it does get, so cutting back too much even if you're eating healthy stuff doesn't help, either.

[Seshat]

You pretty much go back to not focusing as hard because these new habits have replaced your old habits so you don't have to think as much as you did previously.

So very, very true.

Well while I did have PCOS, I have had other endocrin/apocrine issues most of my life, so which of the hormone cocktail that vanished was preventing the weight loss I couldn't tell you

Ouch! You were in a bad way!

I'm glad all that is gone, and that you're so much better.

Thanks for the uncomplicating part-- the "TL; DR" if you will. Portioning isn't something I usually think about-- I eat until I'm not hungry or the food's gone. ... *cough*

Portioning is important. About equal importance with what you're eating.


Okay. Some suggestions for 'I'm too tired' times:

* Open a tin of chickpeas, drain and mash. Add lemon juice, a teaspoon of tahini, or flaxseeds if you have them. Add other flavours to taste.
Eat with whole-grain crisps or crackers, or sticks of carrot, celery, and other veggies.

"A meal" is about half a cup of the chickpea dip, and two or three handfuls of veggies or whole-grain crackers. Store the rest of the dip in the fridge for tomorrow. Maybe it can be breakfast!

* A bowl of cereal. Or a tub of yoghurt. Or a glass of milk and a piece of fruit. A cheese sandwich. A salad sandwich! A bunch of salad greens with a squirt of olive oil/vinegar salad dressing and a few herbs.

* A bunch of frozen veg, steamed in the microwave. Rice, ditto. If desired, some lean bacon chopped up and cooked lightly in a frypan.

* Periodically, cook stews, casseroles, quiches or other freezerable meals, in moderate quantity. Divide into portions, freeze in one-portion (or one-family-meal) packages. When tired, take one and microwave it. Done.

[trailerparkmedic]

I've only read about half of this thread, but it seems like there's some good advice here.

I just want to make one point--if you want to lose weight, you need to eat less than you burn. You'll need to eat less and/or exercise more. You need to count calories, though there are many ways to do this (like Weight Watchers Points) that aren't exactly counting calories but accomplish the same goal, and you'll need to measure portions. It's not exciting or sexy, and you may be someone who can eventually learn to eat based on what your body wants, but you'll need to start by monitoring your intake.

It is completely possible to lose weight by only eating ice cream, as long as you eat the correct number of calories. Eating "super foods," organic foods or only local, sustainable food will have NO effect on your weight. A calorie is a calorie. Granted, for optimal health you ought to be eating nutrient dense food, but don't get caught up in the hype. I went to the zoo and got lunch at the organic cafe. Out of a dozen choices, I could only call 2 diet-friendly. The salads came with full fat ranch dressing, the sandwiches were slathered in mayo and the only available milk was whole.

If you want to lose weight and not be starving the whole time, eat mostly lean protein, whole grains and veggies. Include some fat or you will rarely feel satiated. Be willing to try new foods but don't force yourself to eat foods you don't like just because they're "healthy." I've found a lot of ethnic foods are fairly healthy and much easier to cook than you think.

Also, I saw someone ask this earlier but the easiest way for me to stay on track with my diet is to create a list of meals for the week and make a grocery list based on the ingredients I need. That way I also know what's for dinner, which psychologically makes it easier for me to avoid skipping cooking. There are lots of fast meals out there that honestly don't take much longer to cook than it takes a pizza to be delivered.

[Whiskey]

I am strongly against jenny craig/weight watchers. They don't teach you how to eat the proper food, portioning your own meals, or proper nutrition. Those things are terrible for you.

It is completely possible to lose weight by only eating ice cream, as long as you eat the correct number of calories.

No its not. Well, if you starve yourself it is. Your body will hang onto every ounce of fat that ice cream gives you until you die of malnutrition what the hell

TPM, ILU bb but everything you know about food that you just posted is wrong. A calorie is NOT a calorie. I don't eat organic or "super food", I just eat healthy good food.

The "hype" is not having a heart attack at 25, diabetes, being obese and other detrimental effects eating poorly and being overweight have on your health.

[AccountingDrone]

Ouch! You were in a bad way!

I'm glad all that is gone, and that you're so much better.

PCOS is seriously under-diagnosed, and many male GYN basically consider the effects mental. We are just being wusses about things.

Really, females are evolved to hang onto fat for pregnancy and sprog nurturing, which pretty much sucks

[trailerparkmedic]

I am strongly against jenny craig/weight watchers. They don't teach you how to eat the proper food, portioning your own meals, or proper nutrition. Those things are terrible for you.

I can't say anything about Jenny Craig, but Weight Watchers does teach you all of that. They encourage veggies, whole grains, etc. You have to calculate portion size to get your points. Cooking is strongly encouraged in meetings and on the website.

TPM, ILU bb but everything you know about food that you just posted is wrong. A calorie is NOT a calorie.

Whiskey, no offense, but I've taken a nutrition class and 2 anatomy & physiology classes. I have a pretty good grasp on how the body works, what the body is composed of, and how stuff is broken down and made into other stuff in the body.

A calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. Your body uses energy. Body fat is excess energy. Ignoring nutritional needs, your body needs a certain amount of energy/calories and you will lose weight if you consume less than that amount. If your energy intake is too low, your body will think it is starving. Your metabolism will slow and your body will hang on to every calorie it can, preventing you from losing weight. That is why people like Seshat have suggested no more than 2 pounds a week.

On nutrition: There are 8 essential amino acids, some essential vitamins and minerals, and probably a couple of essential fatty acids. As long as you're getting those, you're ok. Your body can adapt to pretty much any diet as long as you meet the essentials.
An example of adaptation: Low carb diets, by definition, reduces your body's glucose levels. If you're on one, your body will "feed" your brain brain, which almost always runs purely on glucose, by breaking down fatty acids into ketone bodies which then become acetyl CoA and continue the Kreb cycle, which normally requires glucose.
Translation of science crap: Your body can adapt to almost anything, especially if you're eating protein and taking a multivitamin (covering the essentials
No, eating ice cream is not "healthy." However, if you are meeting your daily calories, you can lose weight eating only ice cream. This is intended to be an extreme example to illustrate the science.

My advice is not intended for long term health. It's intended to illustrate the point that if weight loss is the ultimate goal, calories are the single most important thing to consider. If a healthy diet is the ultimate goal, focusing on food that is less processed, whole grain, lean protein with lots of veggies is the most important thing to consider. It is completely possible to have both goals and they work well together. It is also possible to eat a shit ton of healthy food and gain weight.

I don't eat organic or "super food", I just eat healthy good food.

I'm not saying you do. I'm saying that if people look online and don't have any knowledge of how the body works, it is very easy for someone just getting started with healthy eating to believe that acai juice will make you burn more fat or that organic food will make you skinnier than the regular version of the same food. There is a LOT of false information out there and people need to be wary.