As part of my 101 in 1001 project, I have set myself the task of determining and then reaching my ideal healthy weight.
This project has turned out to be a real eye-opener; showing me some things about my diet and eating habits that I would never have guessed.
Here then are thirteen things I have learned in the brief time I have been working on this project:
- It is easy to pretend I’m not overweight: I am not obese, and I carry my weight well, so it is easy for me to lie to myself and pass off my extra weight as being “large framed”, which is the grown up version of “I’m not fat, I’m big-boned.” It wasn’t true then, and it isn’t true now.
- Dieters are stupid & Diets are evil: If you are fat, it is because you eat too many calories. It has nothing to do with your carb balance, zone, etc… Atkins, Zone Diet, South Beach all set you up to fail – you must fail if you use them – because you do not address the underlying problem; that you habitually eat too much. The only diet that ever works for anyone is called moderation, and you never get to “come off” of it. You learn to eat in moderation and pay attention to what, when and how much you eat, or you get/stay fat. Full stop.
- It is hard to be over-hydrated: This evil nutritional analysis software I am using to get a grip on my intake keeps track of how much water I should be getting based on what I eat and so forth, and damn does it set a grueling pace. While the minimum recommendation that everyone is familiar with is 6-8 8oz glasses of water a day, once you factor in the sodium content and adsoprtive properties of the food you eat, it comes out being (for me at least) closer to 70oz per day, not 48.
- It is hard to feel very hungry if you are properly hydrated: Of course you still get hungry, but with 70-odd ounces of water going in my body in a day, the “empty” feeling that triggers so much overeating is almost impossible.
- A food diary is essential: Here at the beginning of my journey, I really don’t have a good grasp of what is going on other than that I consume too many calories. By being mindful of what I eat (and sticking it all in a analysis program to find out exactly what the problems are), I am slowly becoming a smarter consumer of food, and better able to make decisions that support my goal.
- I love cheese too much: It completely wrecks my daily allotment of fats and cholesterol, but it’s SO good…it’s going to be hard to move this one into the “occasional” column in my head.
- Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day: People who eat the majority of their calories early in the day, and eat them predominately as protein, eat less total calories throughout the day.
- Not smoking helps: Nicotine is an appetite suppressant, so it introduces another variable into the planning and analysis that is unnecessary and complicating. Since I planned on quitting smoking anyway, it seemed best to do it in tandem with this task.
- Exercise is important: While individual exercise sessions are almost useless for “banking” calories to be eaten later, regular exercise does promote more metabolic activity, and a raised metabolism helps you keep the weight you lose off.
- Software helps: Since I am serious about making this transition in a nutritionally sound way, there is way more for me to keep track of than just calories. Trying to do manually what decent nutritional software does would be a burden that would probably sink the whole project in less than a week.
- Soy Beans are amazing: milk substitute, meat substitute, complete protein and no cholesterol. I’m in love…
- More meals not less: Skipping meals can actually help lead to a slowdown of your metabolism, meaning you’ll burn fewer calories, not to mention being so hungry at your next meal that you will likely overeat.
- It doesn’t matter when you eat: It is the total calories you consume over a 24-hour period — and more often, over a week — that is what causes you to gain weight, and when you eat those calories doesn’t matter. So, eat when you are hungry, not when the clock says you can, or can’t.
Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day:
Tell that to my kids, but them I don’t eat breakfast either. Enjoyed your list.
There are so many reasons I need to drink water. One of them being I’m always hungry and gosh there are no more snacks left. I even finished off the kids’ goldfish crackers. Bad me.
I try not to diet on weekends, but to just maintain. I’m less likely to binge that way.
#6 is my down-fall! I cannot NOT have cheese!
Interesting list, though I disagree with you on some points – but good luck
Happy TT!
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Oh, and what points what those be?
Here’s the solution: Nonfat cheese. The texture isn’t as great as the regular stuff, bu you get used to it.
I follow the Zone Diet. 20 mg. fat per day, maximum. The calories are not relevant. It’s all about limiting the fat intake and exercising (water aerobics).
Stop by and say hello!
I am working on weight loss as well. The hardest thing is eating in the morning and eating well. I work in a fast-food restaurant (as a manager), starting each day about 6:15am and not getting to eat usually til 9am, and not having a break from then til I get off betwene 2 and 4pm.
I found a water bottle that holds 80oz which is based on a recommended 8 10oz glasses of water a day and I am drinking two of those per day on average.
I am also trying to go to the gym more and I meet with a trainer once a week. The food diary is tough because I really don’t want the guilt of listing EVERYTHING I eat, but I have to.
Very interesting and infromitive Thirteen
I need to take some of my excess weight off.
Terrific Thursday Thirteen!
My TT is posted.
Have a wonderful day!
Happy TT’ing!
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Raggedy
A great list, clearly you have spent a long time thinking about healthy ways of losing and maintaining a good body weight. Ultimately it is the number of calories that count, but if these all come from Hershey Bars, you still wont be healthy – just thin and pimply! I would like to see you highlight the importance of lean protein, lots of vegetables, some fruit, occasional grains and wholemeal carbs and sufficient good fats, especially the omega-3s from (high dose) fish oil. Hmmm, sounds a bit like The Zone, doesn’t it?
I’m not going to highlight a preselected range of supposedly healthy foodstuffs because it is counter to my common sense: all food is health food in moderation, and all food is junk food in excess.
Nutrition is not nearly as complicated as diet plans would have you believe – and they all want you to believe that it is complicated, or you wouldn’t need their diet to tell you how to eat. Go ask any professional at a medical school with R.D. behind their name and they will all tell you the same thing:
Unless you have a severe metabolic disorder or some other specific nutrition-related health problem, you can enjoy just about every foodstuff known to man as long as you practice moderation, variety, and balance.
Food pyramids are based on this idea, diets that are not dangerously skewed away from variety & balance (like Atkins and The Zone) are sort of based on it, all healthy eating is based on it. Being overly specific about what is necessary is the same as being exclusionary. Fish oils are a perfect example of such a fad.
Like most fads, it is based on the idea that if a little is good, a lot is great. Although there is ample evidence that Omega-3 oils lower the rate at which the liver makes triglycerides, the data doesn’t show any reduction in LDL cholesterol. I addition, as sold by most “health food” companies; they are laden with Vitamins A and D which can result in dangerous buildup. They also inhibit blood clotting and contain almost 600 mg of cholesterol per 100 grams.
The truth is that if you are eating a variety of foods, then fish will be part of your diet, and you will get all of the unsynthesized prostaglandins you need without giving your money unnecessarily to unregulated supplement hawkers.
Going further, The Zone diet is a pile of unscientific bunk for people who are unable to reason for themselves. Like I said, Dieters are stupid, and I’ll not pull that punch now. Specific to The Zone: While it’s true that eicosanoids are hormones involved in many metabolic processes, the relation of “bad” eicosanoids to obesity and disease is at best a scientifically unproven gimmick. Most clinical studies conducted during the last half century, clearly show that a high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet leads to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, adult onset diabetes, and many types of cancer. I bet you think ketosis is a good thing too?
That’s kind of the point of a food diary. Stick with it!
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