eating plans

[Bobbinyc]

Would love some feedback on eating plans that have or haven't worked for you.

I know people who dropped weight and felt good by becoming vegan; by switching to high fat and moderate protein; or by switching to moderate fat and high protein.

All ate within a moderate amount of calories and didn't eat processed foods or sugars.  All say they felt great and saw improvement in energy, bp or cholesterol in addition to significant weight loss.

Is the key to simply eat decently, no processed foods and that's it?

What do you think?

[A_Lurker]

I think the key is calorie control.  Eating lots of whole foods with no added sugar helps with this, but even that isn't a given.  There are lots of eating plans, but the one that works is that one that you feel you can do the rest of your life.  I like to cook, so an ideal day is:

Breakfast: protein shake (fruit, whey, water)

AM snack:  baked egg dish, fruit

lunch:  some kind of salad with protein usually on the side

PM snack:  fruit, nuts

dinner: some kind of homemade meal (varies)

late night snack: various

That's when I have all my crap together.  I'll swap a protein bar for the AM snack more often that I'd like to admit.  I still do not get out of bed early enough some mornings so the breakfast is usually skipped.  Last week I was off my usual routine so lunch was purchased all 5 days.  I don't think I packed breakfast or snacks either.  LOL - I remember one day I had chips for AM snack and a hamburger for lunch.  Even with crappy food last week I lost weight.  However, it's much better for overall health that I eat like I would prefer to.

I am going to do some prep for next week though when getting dinner ready tonight.  I'll make a couscous salad that will last all week, cook some chicken thighs that will also do for lunch.  And I will make a point to try and get up early enough tomorrow to make a shake.

The foods that aren't really 'clean', but I doubt I'd drop completely out of my diet: 

 - ice cream bars (loving the Chapman sorbet bars with chocolate coating, but 90 cals)

 - brookfield chocolate-covered fruit (again, 90 cal bags I buy at Costco)

 - welche's fruit snacks (80 cal bags I buy at Costco)

 - beef jerky (big john's 1.75oz bags ~90 cals)

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I forgot to add the things that haven't worked:

  - canada food guide (this was likely the first thing the doctor tried when I was an obese teen)

  - low fat vegetarian

  - high carb, low fat, low protein

  - south beach

  - atkins

  - zone diet

  - any supplement that promised 'fast weight loss' (haven't done this is years)

 I'm sure there are more, but in my early 20s to probably my early 30s I listened to lots of people who said if you follow this plan you'll lose lots of weight.  They were never plans I could stick and eventually I just ended up heavier.

[Taurus21]

My general guide is to have plenty of fruits, vegetables, leafy greans, and whatever kind of protein that works for you (pant-based or not). Eat clean and drink plenty of water. Be mindful of your portions/listen to your body for signals of hunger and being full. I hope this helps. 🙂

[SunsetRunner]

Always eat what you like, whenever possible instead of eating to eat to prevent binge eating and going to have anyway when the foods first desired are available, even if not hungry anymore.

Treats are fine, it's changing food habits not a diet. Be mindful about and listen to the body, if feeling stuffed rather than comfortably satisfied, meaning could have eated more out of habit, to satisfy a craving that wasn't hunger, maybe out of boredom that triggered to eat more or a certain food tasted so good to want more from and eated past satisfied..

Bon Appétit (enjoy all foods)

[FitBeforeFifty]

I got to my goal weight in 2012 and have maintained that weight +/- 5 lbs for 4+ years now.

What plan do I follow ?

No plan.

I track my calories in and calories out and eat within my budget. Some days I eat a salad, some days I eat pizza, some days I eat whatever is served in the cafeteria, some days I eat out. Overally, I try to eat pretty healthy meals 70% - 80% of the time and the other 20% - 30% I just go with the flow.

Here's a typical day for me:

1. Breakfast: 3 egg omelet with sauteed bell peppers, mushrooms and kale topped with 1/2 an avacado and cheese
2. Lunch: I tend to alternate between bringing my lunch and eating whatever is served in the cafeteria:
   • When I bring my lunch it's a LOADED (about 700 calories) salad with spinach, arugula, tomatoes, avacado, meat (chicken, beef or salmon), feta cheese, virgin olive oil/red wine vinegar, almonds and berries
   • When I eat in the cafeteria it's some meat, some veggies, some starch (pasta, rice or potatoes) and soup
3. Dinner: During the week, it's a blue apron meal. On the weekend, it's one night eating out and one night cooking whatever I feel like cooking. Dinner on the weekends are pretty high calorie for me -- usually over 1000 calories. During the week it's lower -- usually around 700.

One thing to note is I don't snack. Personally I think snacking is a pain in the **ahem** and makes it harder to eat within a budget. The lower your budget the more reason NOT to snack. Even with a pretty high budget, I don't snack. It's just simpler.

[professorpete]

I think you raise an excellent question. It is very possible to eat well with vegan, high fat or with high protein, even though those are very different diets.

People seem to have success on all three.  Clearly eliminating all grains isn't healthy but eliminating all "junk" food is what they all have in common.  After that they disagree about amounts of macro-nutrients.

I did a little research, just online so - you know, how accurate is the internet- but they all seem to have success.  From what I've read, vegan is the healthiest with no extremes of too much of any macronutrient.

But each one will lead to weight loss.

So why am I still struggling?

[JohnRi]

First of all I've been on a calorie deficit diet since October of last year.  My diet improved more over time.  And I've lost 72 lbs so far.  I'm down to 209. My diet up until the last month was around 1800 calories a day, regardless of physical activity.

Due to a slow increase of my fat %, I've increased my diet to around 2000-2100 calories.  And now my fat % is falling again. 

I have not followed any particular diet.  As I think you have to eat food during your weight loss that you plan to eat after you reach your goal.  IE I have no intention of eating a high fat diet for ever, and give up bread and other carbs.  Not going to happen.

So I've been eating a balanced diet around 18-20% protein, 25% fat, and the rest carbs around 55%.  I'm a premium fitbit member so I can look at weekly breakdowns. 

Here's my latest Trendweight.com chart.  And my weight has dropped like a stone for almost a year now...

There are people that will tell you to Fast.  Or eat high fat or high carbs or high protein...  Low this or that. 

A recent study found that no matter what diet you choose, if you eat less than you burn, you lose weight! 

So I say eat what you want to eat forever.  As in change your diet permenantly and stick with the changes to the day you die, but just keep your calories low enough to lose weight.

But I will say avoiding things with lots of sugar, is probably a good thing to do forever.

Processed foods get a bad rap, while they are not a nutrional as cooking from scratch, and are loaded with sodium, some of them are not too bad. 

But eat tons of veggetables, and stay away from sweets, and portion control, is really all the changes I have made.

[Dominique]

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@professorpete wrote:

Clearly eliminating all grains isn't healthy

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There is nothing inherently healthy about grains and grain-based foods: they’re just one source of carbs. There is nothing inherently unhealthy about them either. Carbs are the preferred fuel for energy and grains are both handy (easy to prepare or buy) and yummy. The problem with grains is it’s easy to overeat them, especially for people who are mostly sedentary. That being said, most people would benefit from replacing some of their grains with greens (veggies) as their source of carbs. And also highly processed grains with minimally processed ones.

[Dominique]

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@professorpete wrote:

So why am I still struggling?

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In what way are you struggling? What have you been trying, for how long, and with what results (or lack thereof)?

[SweetLife · Accepted solution]

I agree with you totally, I have had my fitbit since December and have lost almost 60 lbs. I generally eat raw vegetarian, but I do eat a little fish each week and very rarely some cheese, but in general I stay away from dairy. I stick to what breaks down fat, raw veggies, raw nuts and seeds. That being said, I like my sweets....which got me fat in the first place. Guess what, I still eat them and like you i eat pizza and french fries etc. The key for me is to stay within my plan. My plan is -1000 per day, so I have to move (exercise) each day to eat what ever I want and still restrict -1000 for the plan. Its a plan I can stick to!! As I approach my goal weight I will cut the plan to -500 and then eventually maintain the calories in vs. out. I hope like you I can maintain my weight long term this time.

[Bobbinyc]

@SweetLife  60 pounds is amazing in that amount of time.  I am starting to go vegan.  I am for quite a few meals and find I no longer like meat that much.  This means a lot to me in terms of ethics of how we treat animals.  It hasn't helped the weigh loss yet.  My eye doctor eats raw and recommended it.  If you don't mind, what does a day of food look like for you? You aren't too hungry keeping the calories that low?  Or does that amount, -1000, include expenditure?  

Thanks.

[JamieS_Wisco]

I am not a big fan of compeletly restricting a diet.  I think it leads to feeling like I'm missing out. I've done the Atkins and a few other restrictive plans.  I lost the weight, but I didn't learn any good life lessons on eating to keep it off.  So.. It came back.  I think just a easy peasy eat less than you burn is the best way to go.   I am fairly close to my goal "healthy" range.  I am hanging at 160, with a goal of 130-150.  I recently moved to a 150 cal deficit with a 40% Carb, 40% Protien, 20% Fat macro split. This is mostly because I do a lot of weight lifting now. Most of my carbs come from veggies and whole grain pasta, bread or crackers. I'm also currently experimenting with making fiber/protein smooties.  So far, I've made some pretty good winners.

Peanut Butter And Banana - Peanut butter, Banana, Whey Protien, Kale, Ice, Vanilla or Plain Greek Yogurt, and just a little water to make it all mix.

Strawerry Banana - Frozen Strawberries, Banana, Whey Protien, Kale, Vanilla or Plain Greek Yogurt, and just a little water to make it all mix.

Tropical Fruit - Frozen Tropical Fruit, Banana, Whey Protien, Kale, Vanilla or Plain Greek Yogurt, and just a little water to make it all mix.

Note: these can be a little calorie heavy if you are trying to keep your calories pretty low.  Right around 400 but they are all good calories and fat so for me it's worth the trade off. 

All that being said, If I want a piece of pizza once and again, or a beer, my nightly glass of wine or whatever my little heart desires.  I don't beat myself up if my macros sway a little one day.  Just keep more calories expended than injested.  I do limit sweets and try to find a more natural way to get them when I feel the urge.  But sometimes.. a girl just need a piece of chocolate.. and that's ok!

[SweetLife]

Hey Bobbinyc: Thanks for commenting on my post. My goal each day is to burn 2750 calories, most days I am close to that. Therefore on the -1000 plan a day, I consume 1750 calories, which is comfortable for me to eat and not feel hungry. In order to burn 2750 I have to do a couple of walks or some sort of exercise and a walk. So twice a day I am making an effort to get exercise in (20 - 30 mins) and between those making sure I get more steps in to burn calories, usually 8-10k steps a day.

As far as food, I start my day with a smoothie 6 days a week, 50% kale, spinach or Chard and 50% fruit. I also add seeds, flax, hemp or chia and other things like almond milk, coconut water, or wheat grass juice. Depends on my mood. The smoothie is 200 - 300 calories depending on what I put in it. I like snacks, so I eat raw almonds or a larabar or fruit mid-morning (Papaya is great). I keep this around 100-200 calories. Then at lunch I eat carbs, so this could be black bean and corn chili with brown rice, whole wheat pasta with veggies and beans, or lentil curry with brown rice, I also love a grilled portobello sandwich with sweet potato, yummy!. This usually is about 400-500 calories. Then another snack in the afternoon. Dinner is a salad with lots of leafs (lettuce, spinach, kale etc) at least 3-4 cups and then tomatoes, cucumber, red peppers, little bit of avocado, etc I like to put garbanzo beans on the salad, on occasion a little bit of tuna or little feta. I always save 100-200 calories for a little something sweet after dinner, little piece of dark chocolate or a cookie or frozen fruit blended with almond milk (its like ice cream). I find this works for me. I love the food and I like to feel like I am not missing out on anything. The key is lots of veggies, when I steam broccoli for dinner I am eating 1/3-1/2 a head, not a few spears. Fill up on the veggies so you feel full. Then Sunday is free day, I may eat a small waffle or have french fries, onion rings...whatever I am craving. Usually by the end of the week, I have restricted more than 7000 calories (-1000 per day) and have room to eat a little more that day. This is important because it keeps your body from getting stuck in a rut.

If there are days were I have a lunch date or dinner date, I just pick things from the menu that are more healthy and in line with what I normally eat. I make sure I count those calories and I always add +100 calories for a margin of error. I don't stress about it.

I hope this helps, enjoy the journey.

[Guress]

I haven't logged calories on my fitbit yet. Can someone give me an idea of what the daily intakes should be. I'm guessing the idea is to keep under that amount for the day and compare this to calories used. Thanks.

[Dominique]

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@Guress wrote:

Can someone give me an idea of what the daily intakes should be.

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What you can eat depends on your total energy expenditure for the day. If you wear your Fitbit 24/7, it will give you an estimate of that, based on your personal info (age, sex, height, weight) and activity level. You can double-check this if you want with an online calculator such as this one. It uses the same underlying formula (Mifflin St Jeor) for BMR. If you are not familiar with BMR and TDEE, these are defined at the bottom of the calculator’s page.

[SweetLife]

Hi Guress: The Fitbit dashboard makes it easy. I choose the hard plan "diet" plan which is -1000 calories as I had over 100lbs to lose and I wanted to lose on average 2lbs per week. You can adjust the plan based on your needs and goals, -750, -500 etc. The dashboard will let you know how many calories you have for the day and as you eat what calories are left. That being said, the more active your are the more calories it says you can eat or if you don't move much it will start reducing calories, so you do have to become familiar with how it operates. I always have 100 calorie left before going to bed because by morning it has reduced it down to nothing because I am sleeping. Hope this helps.

[anamaria]

Wish I could help. 

I m having the same problem.

Months ago, I started with healthy shakes. Really felt better. But I got off the program when I would get up late and had to rush out the door to go to work. Today, is Saturday and I am going to make a shake!

[ssrivastava]

I get an extreme thirst if I don't eat carb (bread). I cook at home. How do I divide my calories in each B'fast, lunch, and dinner.  I eat dinner very light. Like yogurt with some nuts.

[ssrivastava]

Can't we make shakes for 6 days and keep in fridge?

[Glenda]

I started a new diet last night that is very effective with many benefits. ......No wine.  Save 300 calories a day, Lose 2 pounds a month.   Less trips to the bathroom at night and get more sleep.  Maybe stay smarter into old age, some studies say avoiding alcohol.    I'm so short I have to watch every calorie but all the counting some people do would drive me nuts.  I don't count anything, I just eat the lowest calorie version of everything consistently. I eat fat free diary, 35 calorie a Tablespoon "butter" etc and keep dangerous foods out of sight.  Some people may not even know there is 45 calorie a slice bread and ice cream that is 110 calories per 2/3s of a cup.  I envy all you tall people who get to eat so much.  I hope I can stay on my new diet of NO WINE.  I didn't even notice last evening.  Not hard at all to skip the wine.  I drank decaf coffee and cola.