Different diets
I've been following your posts (as usual), and it confounds me how anybody can live on so little food a day. I was taught by LA Weight Loss (when I was on it back in 2001) that 3 servings of protein a day, three servings of fruits, three servings of starches, and two servings of vegetables a day was a balanced way of eating.
This is today's menu:
Breakfast
1 cup Crunchy Granola Raisin Bran (my husband got the wrong kind by mistake when we were shopping)
1 large banana
1.5 cups soy milk
2 cups water
(I usually have 6 oz. coffee, but I declined today since I had gotten up at 1:30 a.m. to prepare our breakfast, he had to be at work by 4 a.m. and wor****il 9:30 p.m, and I didn't have an appointment until 1 p.m. today, so I went back to sleep)
Lunch
Medium salad with raw spinach, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, 1/2 can lima beans, no salt, dry roasted peanuts, 1 avocado, and 2 Tbsps. ranch dressing
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 small apple
2 cups water
Dinner
2 slices homemade Spicy Chicken Pizza w/ cheddar cheese, spaghetti sauce, cooked chicken breast & cooked red pepper strips, on baked whole wheat bread dough
25 red seedless grapes
1/2 can vegetable soup
1.5 cups soy milk
Some of you may think I'm eating too much, but I am a compulsive overeater, and my doctor's diet allows me that much a day (I am following it loosely), so I am losing weight slowly. I lose anywhere from 2 to 5 pounds a month, depending on how closely I stick to my food plan, and don't binge. I pray everyday for self control (only eating three moderate meals a day with nothing in between).
I don't eat in between meal snacks because I find myself obsessing about food when I do eat in between meals. Eating breakfast at 6:30 a.m., then eating lunch at 11:30 a.m, then eating dinner at anywhere from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to me is a sane way of eating (for me). I like going for hours without thinking about food.
I could never stick to Atkins Diet at all. I believe carbs are needed for energy during the day, not something to be cut out or strictly limited. I'm allowed 6 servings a day of starches by my doctor's diet (Managing Your Diabetes).
I don't recommend anybody else follow my food plan because it's the only thing that's worked for me. Somebody else might not like the very slow weight loss I am getting. I went on quite a few fast weight loss diets in my 20s, 30s, & 40s, and always gained all the weight back and more, so I am burned out on those kind of diets. I remember going on a Atkins type diet in my 20s, and after around 2-3 days, feeling physically ill, so I dropped it. It had no carbs whatsoever, and put my body into ketosis, which I feel is a dangerous thing to do.
The type of carbs you eat is very important, however. I try to avoid white flour and sugar products, although I don't cut them out completely (eat fast food at times, just avoid the fried stuff). I'm not judging anybody else for the way they eat, I'm just saying that I could never stick to their regimes, that's all.
I belong to Overeaters Anonymous, and we are allowed any food plan that works for us, according to them. If one belongs to Food Addicts Anonymous, everybody eats one food plan, cutting out all flour, sugar, artificial sweeteners, caffeinated products, etc. I've heard they definitely lose weight on that kind of diet, but that eventually they gain it back, since nobody can stick to that regimen forever, nor eat out on it.
I'd rather have a food plan that's livable rather than a strict one that cuts out many foods, just to lose weight fast. It took me a long time to give up what OAers call the "diet mentality" (eating to lose weight fast), and I don't want it back, since I obsess over how much I weigh too much on one of those.
Denise Phares/kitties4
This is today's menu:
Breakfast
1 cup Crunchy Granola Raisin Bran (my husband got the wrong kind by mistake when we were shopping)
1 large banana
1.5 cups soy milk
2 cups water
(I usually have 6 oz. coffee, but I declined today since I had gotten up at 1:30 a.m. to prepare our breakfast, he had to be at work by 4 a.m. and wor****il 9:30 p.m, and I didn't have an appointment until 1 p.m. today, so I went back to sleep)
Lunch
Medium salad with raw spinach, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, 1/2 can lima beans, no salt, dry roasted peanuts, 1 avocado, and 2 Tbsps. ranch dressing
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 small apple
2 cups water
Dinner
2 slices homemade Spicy Chicken Pizza w/ cheddar cheese, spaghetti sauce, cooked chicken breast & cooked red pepper strips, on baked whole wheat bread dough
25 red seedless grapes
1/2 can vegetable soup
1.5 cups soy milk
Some of you may think I'm eating too much, but I am a compulsive overeater, and my doctor's diet allows me that much a day (I am following it loosely), so I am losing weight slowly. I lose anywhere from 2 to 5 pounds a month, depending on how closely I stick to my food plan, and don't binge. I pray everyday for self control (only eating three moderate meals a day with nothing in between).
I don't eat in between meal snacks because I find myself obsessing about food when I do eat in between meals. Eating breakfast at 6:30 a.m., then eating lunch at 11:30 a.m, then eating dinner at anywhere from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to me is a sane way of eating (for me). I like going for hours without thinking about food.
I could never stick to Atkins Diet at all. I believe carbs are needed for energy during the day, not something to be cut out or strictly limited. I'm allowed 6 servings a day of starches by my doctor's diet (Managing Your Diabetes).
I don't recommend anybody else follow my food plan because it's the only thing that's worked for me. Somebody else might not like the very slow weight loss I am getting. I went on quite a few fast weight loss diets in my 20s, 30s, & 40s, and always gained all the weight back and more, so I am burned out on those kind of diets. I remember going on a Atkins type diet in my 20s, and after around 2-3 days, feeling physically ill, so I dropped it. It had no carbs whatsoever, and put my body into ketosis, which I feel is a dangerous thing to do.
The type of carbs you eat is very important, however. I try to avoid white flour and sugar products, although I don't cut them out completely (eat fast food at times, just avoid the fried stuff). I'm not judging anybody else for the way they eat, I'm just saying that I could never stick to their regimes, that's all.
I belong to Overeaters Anonymous, and we are allowed any food plan that works for us, according to them. If one belongs to Food Addicts Anonymous, everybody eats one food plan, cutting out all flour, sugar, artificial sweeteners, caffeinated products, etc. I've heard they definitely lose weight on that kind of diet, but that eventually they gain it back, since nobody can stick to that regimen forever, nor eat out on it.
I'd rather have a food plan that's livable rather than a strict one that cuts out many foods, just to lose weight fast. It took me a long time to give up what OAers call the "diet mentality" (eating to lose weight fast), and I don't want it back, since I obsess over how much I weigh too much on one of those.
Denise Phares/kitties4
I don't find fault in your diet - for you. Especially if you do lose 2-5# monthly. That is perfect.
All due respect to you, you do have more weight to lose than i, so I have had to modify the same line of reasoning. I'm closer to "goal", so calories count now more than ever.
For me, I would find it more bulky and therefore I would find it easier to binge. I also have more bloating episodes, so this way of eating aggravates that, too. This method worked well for many: Andi comes to mind, so I would not argue with results. I have switched over to eating more foods that contain more fat, but keeping smaller portion sizes to the forefront of my mind.
I am far more in your camp than many here in that I believe that we cannot label foods as good or bad. Certainly, however, some foods have more nutrition than others.
So, that is where I have landed: I try not to make my food plan a science project, but i do want to make sure I give my body what it needs more often: leafy greens, veggies, fruit (1-2 servings), dairy, lean meats, good fats, some grains (very controlled portions).
Before i came here, i agreed with you exactly. meeting Miz Mary, Lori, etc....i have come to realize how very different we all are. Don't worry about these folks starving for carbs - eating zero carbs (which no one here is doing) a body will adjust and convert more of the meats to glucose. Your body is an amazing machine and will find a way.
All due respect to you, you do have more weight to lose than i, so I have had to modify the same line of reasoning. I'm closer to "goal", so calories count now more than ever.
For me, I would find it more bulky and therefore I would find it easier to binge. I also have more bloating episodes, so this way of eating aggravates that, too. This method worked well for many: Andi comes to mind, so I would not argue with results. I have switched over to eating more foods that contain more fat, but keeping smaller portion sizes to the forefront of my mind.
I am far more in your camp than many here in that I believe that we cannot label foods as good or bad. Certainly, however, some foods have more nutrition than others.
So, that is where I have landed: I try not to make my food plan a science project, but i do want to make sure I give my body what it needs more often: leafy greens, veggies, fruit (1-2 servings), dairy, lean meats, good fats, some grains (very controlled portions).
Before i came here, i agreed with you exactly. meeting Miz Mary, Lori, etc....i have come to realize how very different we all are. Don't worry about these folks starving for carbs - eating zero carbs (which no one here is doing) a body will adjust and convert more of the meats to glucose. Your body is an amazing machine and will find a way.
"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." ~Mark Twain
(deactivated member)
on 5/5/09 5:38 am - West Central FL☼RIDA , FL
on 5/5/09 5:38 am - West Central FL☼RIDA , FL
I agree with much of what you said.
I believe cutting calories too low is a bad thing.
When I was close to my heaviest point I was eating about 1,800 cals a day on my diet....and I was losing weight every week.
As I got smaller and around 200 lbs I dropped to about 1,500 cals and continued to lose. Now at 160 I am eating 1,200 cals and losing about 1 - 1.5 lbs a week.
I eat 5 small/med size meals a day and NEVER (ok very rarely) feel hunger.
I exercise 5 days a week..........cardio daily and weight training 3 days a week.
It is all about calories in and calories out (burned).
I look at it as I have a budget of 1,200 calories a day and then I make the best choices on how to spend them. It's like I'm investing in my own stock for the future and I want a healthy future!!
To me this is my way of life........I'll never go back to starving myself (which causes the body to store fat) or filling myself with bad calories.
Bottom line the important thing is to lose weight, get healthy and stay healthy ....not so important which plan is followed as long it works.
Anyhow, that's my 2cents on the subject.
I believe cutting calories too low is a bad thing.
When I was close to my heaviest point I was eating about 1,800 cals a day on my diet....and I was losing weight every week.
As I got smaller and around 200 lbs I dropped to about 1,500 cals and continued to lose. Now at 160 I am eating 1,200 cals and losing about 1 - 1.5 lbs a week.
I eat 5 small/med size meals a day and NEVER (ok very rarely) feel hunger.
I exercise 5 days a week..........cardio daily and weight training 3 days a week.
It is all about calories in and calories out (burned).
I look at it as I have a budget of 1,200 calories a day and then I make the best choices on how to spend them. It's like I'm investing in my own stock for the future and I want a healthy future!!
To me this is my way of life........I'll never go back to starving myself (which causes the body to store fat) or filling myself with bad calories.
Bottom line the important thing is to lose weight, get healthy and stay healthy ....not so important which plan is followed as long it works.
Anyhow, that's my 2cents on the subject.
(deactivated member)
on 5/5/09 10:13 am
on 5/5/09 10:13 am
I think you have a good plan and a mature, healthy outlook about losing weight. And definitely it has to liveable because it's the way you have to eat for the rest of your life.
I'm not counting calories or tracking what I'm eating, I'm eating enough that I don't feel that I'm starving or hungry in between meals. Maybe when I get closer to my goal weight I will want to track to see what I'm eating but right now it's working for me to lose slowly. I don't want to think too much about what I'm eating because I think that too feeds into that diet mentality. I put my energy into thinking of what to make and how to make it healthy and tasty.
Today I had a nice thick slice of home made whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread with pumpkin butter (no fat but a little sweetner such as maple syrop in my bread because you have to have it to keep the bread moist) for breakfast.
Lunch was a banana and pickled cabbage (Kim chee). I might have eaten more but I was short of time.
Supper was frajitas - I cut up and marinated green and red peppers, portabello mushroom and onions in a home made lime/lemon garlic paprika marinade which I then sauted in just the juice that clung to the veggies. We had that with two types of salsa - tomato and peach, lots of fresh cilantro in corn tortillas and served with Cuban style black beans. Desert is a banana and strawberries.
I'm not counting calories or tracking what I'm eating, I'm eating enough that I don't feel that I'm starving or hungry in between meals. Maybe when I get closer to my goal weight I will want to track to see what I'm eating but right now it's working for me to lose slowly. I don't want to think too much about what I'm eating because I think that too feeds into that diet mentality. I put my energy into thinking of what to make and how to make it healthy and tasty.
Today I had a nice thick slice of home made whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread with pumpkin butter (no fat but a little sweetner such as maple syrop in my bread because you have to have it to keep the bread moist) for breakfast.
Lunch was a banana and pickled cabbage (Kim chee). I might have eaten more but I was short of time.
Supper was frajitas - I cut up and marinated green and red peppers, portabello mushroom and onions in a home made lime/lemon garlic paprika marinade which I then sauted in just the juice that clung to the veggies. We had that with two types of salsa - tomato and peach, lots of fresh cilantro in corn tortillas and served with Cuban style black beans. Desert is a banana and strawberries.
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