Diet Advice

I signed up with Sparkpeople.com. It is a great site, has a good food log that shows you how much protein etc you ate so far and a goal based on recommendations and guidelines, and you can access short videos and get tips. You can also sign up for motivational emails and join groups of people with similar interests. I did it when I wasn't working but then got super busy. I plan to get back to it. It is great to have a reminder.

Don't diet. Walk during your lunch hour. Find an excersize you like and do that more often. Whatever your normal portions are, take less. Don't eat carbs by themselves - eat with protein/fat. If you drink soda, cut back. Eat more fruit/vegetables.

My advice is "don't diet."

Make a lifestyle change. It's as simple as this: Eat nothing processed, don't drink your calories, and move a lot more. That's all you need to do.

People make the mistake of thinking that there's some quick fix out there...but the real, permanent fix is to simply make healthy choices. You don't have to do anything extreme, and "diets" are usually too extreme or difficult to maintain to be successful.

Most people fail on diets because they cut out important things, their metabolism slows down because the body thinks it's starving, and it's all over in a few weeks. A healthy mix of proteins, healthy fats and whole complex carbs in every meal, and sensible snacks, so that you are eating 5 times a day (and not having blood sugar spikes and crashes) seems to be the common thread in most nutritional advice. People who just live on salads and grapefruit (or lemon water or cleanses) just wear themselves out and don't get basic nutrition.

Without knowing more about you and what's worked/failed for you, it's hard to know where your triggers are.

And if you are using a pseudonym to for privacy (which is fine), it doesn't make much sense to put another name in your signature - FYI! If that's not important to you, that's fine, but I thought I'd raise the idea for your to consider.

Hi E.,

I agree with most that this should not be about a diet but a lifestyle or eating change...my husband was proof to me when, with very little change in his diet or activity level, he lost 150 pounds. He began taking a multivitamin that was guaranteed to absorb and it did. Not all will absorb! He's kept his weight off for 10 years. When your body gets the nutrition it is supposed to, your weight will balance out. Heavy people will lose weight, underweight people will gain it.

Regards,
M.

First of all, get "diet" out of your head. It is NOT about a diet, it is about changing the way you eat and exercise.

MODERATION is key. You can eat whatever you want but do it with balance. If you starve your body of nutrients it needs then your body will start saving all the extra weight in order to maintain. Example... use real butter, real mayo just don't use as much.

Drink a lot of water. I drink about 6 bottles of water a day. I LOVE infused water with slices of lemon, apple, grapefruit, berries, etc.. you etc you get the point. You get the nutritional value of the water you need plus added vitamins with the fruits you add to the water.

If you drink sodas, STOP. I do not drink sodas. They have no value to your body at all.

You do not have to go hit the gym an hour or more a day. Walk. It is easy, walk at lunch, walk the dog, walk your children to the park, just walk.

When you sit down to serve yourself eat off of a salad plate. It is smaller, it looks like a full plate. NEVER EVER get seconds.

I do not eat large meals. I might eat 4-6 small meals a day.. Breakfast is usually a protein drink, followed by a fruit/nut snack possibly. Lunch is my largest meal which is usually a sandwich or soup, dinner is lighter and I snack on fruits and nuts.

If you crave a dessert, eat 2 bites and put it away. MODERATION is key as well as movement.

I also drink a probiotic daily. Ya-Kult is the one I prefer with the blue label.

Get on a regular routine of what you eat, how you eat and exercise and you will glide into this routine and be healthier and happier for it.

Good luck

I followed the ideas in Stop Counting Calories and Start Losing Weight. It's really just a sensible better-food-choice plan. It isn't a diet and you should never be hungry.

It talks about calorie theory, how that calculation came to exist, and why people still believe it like it is gospel even though it has been scientifically disproven.

The two most important pieces of diet advice I ever received were:

1. To lose 1 lb, you need to burn 3500 calories. If you can figure out your daily average burn rate for calories (there are several online calculators for this - they usually ask gender, age, height, weight, activity level), eat 500 calories a day less than your daily burn rate. 500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calories burned = 1 lb lost. When I'm dieting, I aim for 1500 calories a day based on my personal burn rate of 2000 calories a day.

2. Exercise is great to add into the mix (and burns more calories!). However, don't forget that a 30-minute jog is about equivalent to eating a candy bar. I was always tripped up thinking a good workout was license to eat whatever I wanted afterwards.

Best of luck,

I counted calories using the My Fitness Pal app. I lost 90 pounds doing that and walking. When you set up the app it will ask you questions to set your calorie goal.