Help With an Eating Plan

[luvsJack]

Ok, I have posted here before and asked for suggestions and asked for morale support and all have been very helpful!

Right now I am sitting here at the same weight or above what I was the first time I posted one of those threads. I am feeling very low and down on myself and would say I am sitting here with tears streaming but dd is sitting behind me on the couch so I am not allowing them to fall. Why is it so hard to make the right choices and do something about this???

There are millions of diet plans out there and I think I have tried most of them. The only thing I have had success with was Slim Fast but at the time my life was very, very structured and I think that had a lot to do with that success. Now the structure is no more and I have a really hard time with the plan. Besides if it was oh, so wonderful I wouldn't be here now, right?

I have tried WW and am tired of spending the money. I know it is a wonderful and healthy program; really, I do, but for some reason I don't have success with it. I end up missing meetings and then not wanting to go back because of having to catch up the meeting fees and blah, blah. Besides right now I can't afford it.

Ok, so now that I have told you all my excuses (I really do know how I sound and that I have to stop the excuses if I want to lose), here is what I would love to have from you. (and TIA)

If you needed to design a healthy eating plan for someone, how would you do it? How many fruits and veggies? Proteins, Carbs? How many ounces of water? I know the amount that I weigh and my height and all of that have a bearing on the # of calories. Is there an easy way without counting calories or fat grams, just servings?

One more thing, and this may be more personal than anyone wants to say. Has anyone been advised to take anti-depressants and then found it was easier to stay on a weight loss plan? I don't mean that I would ask for them thinking it would help. But I know how many times I eat for comfort and that is happening more and more. I quit smoking 2 years ago and have found my emotions to be not quite the same since. And I was just curious if this out of control eating could be a symptom of depression.

Thanks to anyone who answers. I have joined Spark People and for the time that I was sticking to my plan, it was great. I still think it is and will continue to use it with whatever plan I do now.

 

[Swmr359]

Ok...I have a degree in exercise and nutrition but I'm not a dietician or anything. (and I paid more attention to my exercise classes than my nutrition ones) Here are my thoughts:

Calories In should be Less than Calories Out.
Find an exercise program that you like. Switch things up every once in awhile to keep things interesting. I like to borrow exercise DVDs from the library; this way I'm not paying for something I might hate, and if I like it I can go out and buy it later.
Use what you learned in WW. Writing down what you eat helps.
Accountability!
Find out what your problem areas are. example: I get hungry at 10pm, even if I ate at 9pm; I have realized now that I get hungry when I'm tired. So when that happens I decide to just go to bed.
Short and Long Term Goals.
mypyramid.gov might be helpful to you
Colorful foods are good, try for multiple colors in each meal
Get a large water bottle and then figure out how many times you need to refill it through the day in order to get 64oz. a day
Start cutting back on sugary drinks.
Don't deprive yourself of your favorite foods, find a way to make them work for you. Either replacing ingredents with healther ones or making it a treat that you only have once a month (or whatever works for you)

Right now that's all from the top of my head... I can give it more thought if you have anyother questions

 

[Creativebeth]

I am a nurse, but no real expert....just research things on my own.

I would journal a real weeks food intake to get a snap shot of where you are at. I found the Livestrong.com web site VERY easy to use. Don't diet that week. Eat as you would normally. Then at the end of the week look at your totals.....to give you an idea where you need to work.

Get 64 oz of water a day.

Eat 5-7 fruits and veggies a day.

Get 25 g fiber a day.

Exercise is the key for mood elevation. I have an anxiety disorder that is completely managed by exercise.

Try those things and update us!

Beth

 

[cepmom]

I do WW and truly believe in the program. If that isn't working for you or money is an issue now, make small changes to your food choices. Try for whole grain breads, pastas, broiwn rice instead of white rice etc. These will help keep you satisfied longer than their "white" counterparts. Aim for 5 servings of vegetables/fruit a day. Drink plenty of water ( I aim for at least 6 8 oz servings per day) Lower fat dairy products instead of full fat.

I find that if I eat a fruit or vegetable serving along with a lean protein, I can feel very satisfied from that instead of a 100 cal pack with little nutrition. Like I will eat a cheese stick and low fat crackers along with an apple. Or 100 calorie serving of almonds with a clementine; fat free yogurt with strawberries and 1/2 cup of kashi crunch ceral. Stuff like that.

 

[Emeralda]

I am not an expert . But a few helpful things...

6 small meals a day helps keep your body more in check than 3 big ones.
the key is small meals

6-8 8oz glasses of water a day.

Try cutting back on sugar drinks.

Lean protein like chicken and fish (which is also full of omg3 especially salmon) eat about the size of your fist approx. 2-3ozs.

You can never over eat fruit and veggies. And they make great snacks!

Eat whole grains, not processed ones. Stick to wheat or multi-grain carbs.

Dairy is important as well, a little cheese (babybel by laughing cow is good and low calorie) is good to have or a glass of skim milk.

Olive oil is great to cook with and is healthier and adds great flavor.

Eat a treat every now and the to reward yourself.

Start off eating 500 calories less than you are now to start to lose weight. 1200-1500 calories is a range a lot of people lose weight in healthy. Much lower and it gets dangerous! A food journal is helpful to keep track of what you are eating.

Hope this helps!

 

[luvsJack]

I am a nurse, but no real expert....just research things on my own.

I would journal a real weeks food intake to get a snap shot of where you are at. I found the Livestrong.com web site VERY easy to use. Don't diet that week. Eat as you would normally. Then at the end of the week look at your totals.....to give you an idea where you need to work.

Get 64 oz of water a day.

Eat 5-7 fruits and veggies a day.

Get 25 g fiber a day.

Exercise is the key for mood elevation. I have an anxiety disorder that is completely managed by exercise.

Try those things and update us!

Beth

I hadn't thought about that before, but I remember now that when I walked and worked out every day--I did feel better about me and that seemed to make it easier to continue with the rest of it. I really had not made the connection to the exercise. Thanks. Another good reason to get moving!

I bought a walking DVD and will start using it TODAY! I also found the FIT channel and that is really a blessing, I can exercise before work. Between the two of those, the cold weather won't be another excuse for me.

Thanks for the website too, going to check it out now. I found yourpyramid.gov and found it very helpful and very eye opening on the calories and fats that we eat--even in things we think to be healthy!

 

[luvsJack]

I do WW and truly believe in the program. If that isn't working for you or money is an issue now, make small changes to your food choices. Try for whole grain breads, pastas, broiwn rice instead of white rice etc. These will help keep you satisfied longer than their "white" counterparts. Aim for 5 servings of vegetables/fruit a day. Drink plenty of water ( I aim for at least 6 8 oz servings per day) Lower fat dairy products instead of full fat.

I find that if I eat a fruit or vegetable serving along with a lean protein, I can feel very satisfied from that instead of a 100 cal pack with little nutrition. Like I will eat a cheese stick and low fat crackers along with an apple. Or 100 calorie serving of almonds with a clementine; fat free yogurt with strawberries and 1/2 cup of kashi crunch ceral. Stuff like that.

I have probably joined WW a hundred times. I really do know that it is a great program. I don't know why I have such a problem sticking with the points program. I had more success with ww way back when they told you exactly what foods to choose from and how many of each thing you needed to eat each day. Maybe that's it? The points program gives me too much freedom .

You mentioned other snacks being better than the 100 calorie packs, I agree and I have decided those things are evil!! I mean one little 100 calorie pack has very little in it, is not very filling and not much nutrition! I am trying to make as many of my snacks as possible to be fresh fruit, veggies, with pb or cheese or popcorn. I think I will do better if I just completely cut out things like "cheese nips" or oreos instead of trying to eat just 100 calories worth. KWIM?? ('specially sense I have been guilty of eating more than one pack!) One day I was packing my lunch and actually counted up the calories I was packing . Its easy to get in the habit of thinking "its ok, its a low calorie pack" and its really not.


Thanks for the great suggestions! Everyone is really being helpful and I really appreciate it.

 

[MelanieC]

I love www.sparkpeople.com

You enter your weight, your height, how much you want to lose, how much exercise you are willing to comit to. It creates a plan of how many calories you should eat.

This website is such a great resource of information. I like to use the calorie counter and unclick them putting in food for you. I like to eat what I want to eat. It's hard to enter everything you eat at first, but usually people eat the same foods so after a few weeks all your normal foods are entered. It has a recipe section that has a recipe calculator that you can enter servings, ingredients and it will figure out the calories per servings. I usually use 1 cup as a serving unless it's something you can't put in a cup - then I do grams.

As far as what to eat, I'd work on getting your calories in check first and then once you have that figured out then you can work on the right amount of each carb/fat/protein to eat. The calorie counter will let you track nutrients and exercise too. I highly recommend it.

 

[MelanieC]

You mentioned other snacks being better than the 100 calorie packs, I agree and I have decided those things are evil!! I mean one little 100 calorie pack has very little in it, is not very filling and not much nutrition! I am trying to make as many of my snacks as possible to be fresh fruit, veggies, with pb or cheese or popcorn. I think I will do better if I just completely cut out things like "cheese nips" or oreos instead of trying to eat just 100 calories worth. KWIM?? ('specially sense I have been guilty of eating more than one pack!) One day I was packing my lunch and actually counted up the calories I was packing . Its easy to get in the habit of thinking "its ok, its a low calorie pack" and its really not.


:

I totally agree that the 100 calorie packs are evil, lol
They are proccessed and the ingredients are not good for you. I prefer clean wholesome natural food. Not being processed usually makes it less calories to begin with.

The key to success when I'm trying to lose weight is volume eating. I'd rather eat something that will make me full and healthy for me rather than something that is just easy to pick up. It's worth the effort. I actually find that higher calorie meals keep you fuller longer and snacking less. Volumetrics if you can get it from the library is a good read. An example is how a grape is more filling than a raisin. Same food - but the grape has more volume and water in it. Sometimes I like to have things like a baked tortilla, with homemade refried beans (i make by taking blackbeans and pureeing them with spices and a little water in the food processor). Adding salsa and guacamole makes a very healthy filling and VOLUME meal. For me it's all about eating that filling food with lots of protein.

 

[luvsJack]

I totally agree that the 100 calorie packs are evil, lol
They are proccessed and the ingredients are not good for you. I prefer clean wholesome natural food. Not being processed usually makes it less calories to begin with.

The key to success when I'm trying to lose weight is volume eating. I'd rather eat something that will make me full and healthy for me rather than something that is just easy to pick up. It's worth the effort. I actually find that higher calorie meals keep you fuller longer and snacking less. Volumetrics if you can get it from the library is a good read. An example is how a grape is more filling than a raisin. Same food - but the grape has more volume and water in it. Sometimes I like to have things like a baked tortilla, with homemade refried beans (i make by taking blackbeans and pureeing them with spices and a little water in the food processor). Adding salsa and guacamole makes a very healthy filling and VOLUME meal. For me it's all about eating that filling food with lots of protein.

Thanks, I will see about getting that book. I have heard of "volume" foods, but have never really understood or known what it meant.

 

[OceanAnnie]

You aren't alone! I have been trying to change my eating habits. Reading books and perusing cook books.

One of the books I like is the, Flat Belly Diet. I'm not "doing" the diet, but I have gotten a lot of good tips and suggestions. I might do the diet short term to jump start weight loss, but part of me is just over diets. There are foods I like on the suggested snacks and grocery lists. So it might not feel like a diet.

The FBD book talks about "mufas", or good fats (monounsaturated fatty acids). If you include the mufas in your diet, you'll be satisfied longer. It's similar to a Mediterranean diet. Anyway, I've been making small changes and it has helped me. I got the pocket guide that fits in my purse. I love it!

Here's some information on it:

http://www.prevention.com/flatbellymufaslideshow/index.html

Here is also some good tools for weight loss:

http://www.prevention.com/health/weight-loss

I also love hungry girl! She has some great tips and food suggestions!

http://www.hungry-girl.com/

I agree with keeping a journal of what you eat. It helps you to see weaknesses and patterns that you can do something about! Planning is key!

ETA- I like WW recipes. Eat this not that, is another great resource. It's amazing to read about restaurants and products. Very informative.

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/home

 

[MelanieC]

Thanks, I will see about getting that book. I have heard of "volume" foods, but have never really understood or known what it meant.

Try to get it from the library. Although I think it's great for reading once, it's not one I own. It's more of a once and done thing. Then again it's been a while since I read it. I'm thinking I should get it from the library again and read it.

 

[luvsJack]

I am already on sparkpeople (shakell is my username, if anyone wants to visit my page). I love it and before Christmas I was on daily and lost a little weight (was really just trying to get through the holidays at the time).

Through the holidays I stopped going on every day and gained the weight back, so I know that going on daily and being accountable for what I eat there does help. I just have to make myself stop and think about every food choice I make.

Am checking out livestrong.com now--trying to figure out how to navigate the site.

Hopefully being accountable on sparkpeople and on a thread here, will be that push I need.