Trying out a new way of eating

[purplemuffin]

So I am doing a new thing now. But first, a little back story and a rant.

My family has always struggled with weight, and they've tried diets, some have worked, but usually we get busy and go right back to eating like we used to. And it's so frustrating! I got sick of diets that promised ridiculous(dangerously ridiculous) fast results, they just never sit right with me. And paired with the fact that they basically are in it for their own gain("Oh only use my own sugar replacement for your desserts/buy the food I designed/only recipes in my books") and all that.

My parents are on one now, and this one works for them, but it's driving me absolutely nuts. It's completely strict to the point of it being ridiculous, the science is half bogus to me(really? You, an actress, figured out the secret to weight loss but no one else is catching on?) but you do lose weight--just not for the exact reasons she claims. The diet basically forces you to cut back on caleries without saying that's what it's doing(claiming any weight loss all in the secret good foods and funky foods and the right food mixes and timing and whatever) But the problem is because of this, the diet has no limit to what you eat--you don't count caleries, so who needs serving sizes! But like I said, the food mixing still almost guarantees you eat less than you would with a carb and a protein. BUT..if you cheat, even once, forget losing any weight at all. That's the catch, the rules are ridiculously strict.

But yeah, it works for them. They lose weight, they are being healthy, it's fine. It's just not for me. I like thinking of things on a more nutritional level(partially t hanks to owning reptiles and balancing their nutrition) and trying to eat BETTER foods, and getting more out of what I eat(sweet potatoes are awesome, ridiculous amount of nutrients. These things are banned in practically every diet. Just be careful on portions and don't eat it every day!)

Anyway during this diet my parents have been following her recipes which are mostly meat based. Just chunk after chunk of steak, pork, chicken, steak again, more steak, steak, burgers with no bun, etc. again and again!(okay, to be fair, it isn't so bad, but I just get sick of eating the same thing again and again, and my mom is a picky eater, so she picks the same recipes a lot) I live at home, so I've been eating with them, and I've just been getting sick off of so much meat! Don't get me wrong. I love a good steak. But it's gotten ridiculous. And honestly, I find that my favorite meals are a little lighter on meat. Instead of a big parmigiana chicken, I like alfredo with bits of chicken or shrimp. I like ceaser salad, etc.


So, I remembered back to when my friend had the exact opposite problem, when she tried to go vegetarian to support her boyfriend. She ALSO was a picky eater and pretty much ate nothing that gave her any protein! She kept going to the doctors from feeling ill because she was depriving herself of nutrients! She ended up going back to eating normal, but we talked about it, and if she ever went back, she'd probably not be full vegetarian, and maybe eat some chicken every week or two.


And honestly, that's what I'm sort of about to do now. I know veggies are good, and there are a lot of vegetables I just love(I have been snacking on roasted garlic artichokes and zucchini fries..delicious!!) but there are also meats I enjoy! I figured out there is actually a diet that fits this exact description called "flexitarian" which I think is a clever name, lol! Honestly, the nice thing about it is the diet itself is flexible--you don't have to just buy the book, just use any vegetarian diets, keeping in mind health(maybe switch out for whole wheat if it calls for white flour, etc.) and you can add meat every once in a while--some people have one meal a day with some meat, some people have it every other day, or just on weekends. And if you cheat and have a burger at lunch and you come home to chicken for dinner, that's cool, just try not to eat too much, and be good later. It's flexible and common sense. I like that a lot better, and it's easier to get around in life(you don't have to just sit and starve at a party, you get some options)


Plus, I've been obsessing over cooking lately, and this doesn't limit me as much as other diets do. I've already got like 50 vegetarian/semi vegetarian recipes bookmarked, so you can tell I'm SUPER excited!!


but yeah.. the plan..less meat, more veggies. Yummy food. Eat better! Right now my main goal is to be healthier--while many people link health and weight together, I know a lot of studies that show that they are not(skinny people who eat nothing but potato chips will be less healthy than heavy people who eat good nutritious vegetables and better give their bodies what it needs!) So health comes first for me, and weight will follow(probably right alongside health)

But if I don't lose weight quickly, I'm okay..I still feel confident that I will eventually, but I know that eating the right things is important, and I'll feel a lot better doing it!


I can say I haven't been under 200 pounds in several years now, and it would be super nice to see a 1 in place of that 2 someday. Honestly I like being curvy, but I'd like to be it at a more reasonable weight. 150 is my first goal, after that I may shoot for lower. But I would feel confident in myself if I can get to that size. Anyone who has any recipes or support is welcome to comment.. It's gonna be an interesting road ahead of me, and I'd like to think I can stick to a meal change like this. It sounds easy, and I'm hoping it will be, but it never hurts to have people there for you! I know I have been optimistic before, and had things crash and burn..but I am trying to keep myself driven and positive, so I don't slip back into old habits!

[JLC]

Sounds like you're on the right track to finding a balanced, healthy lifestyle that you can maintain.

A person can be "vegetarian" and still be completely unhealthy because they still choose junk food over wholesome foods. (I have a niece who is an example of this...she's been eating vegetarian for a couple years now, and has actually gained weight because she still snacks frequently on fried and packaged junk)

The key is whole foods...veggies, fruits, whole grains. If done correctly, plenty of protein can be taken in that way. But I'm with you in preferring some meat. So long as it's moderate portions, there's nothing wrong with eating meat of all sorts. (Again, we're talking fresh meats and not the nitrate-filled packaged junk) So yeah...whatever name you want to give that lifestyle...I think it's a great one to strive toward!

It sounds like your parents are doing some version of the Atkins diet. I tried that one. It does work if you're super careful and follow the plan strictly. And it can lead to some very painful side effects. I'll never do that one again! Plus, the moment you stop doing it, all the weight comes back faster than ever.

There's a sticky at the top of this forum with some great recipes. Also, another AWESOME resource is a site called SparkPeople. It's totally free...and has just about every tool and resource you can imagine for supporting weight loss efforts.

Good luck! And feel free to use the Journey Forum for blogging, venting, questions or whatever you need to help along the way!

[fishmommy]

good luck!

[JADE_reptiles]

Well, first off, congratulations on wanting to get healthy, and also for realizing that those "fad" diets are something to steer clear of. I am currently an NCO in the Army, but have gotten my degree in Nutrition Science, and use that degree to help all my overweight soldiers (both in and outside of my unit) lose weight to meet the Army Standard.

Everything I have studied have shown that these "fad" diets are unhealthy, and eventually do more harm than good. They are much like the myth that diet soda is better than regular soda. Each are bad in their own way. Yes diet soda has less calories, and suger, but has a much higher aspartamene content. Aspartamene is something that causes your body to not process glucose (sugar) properly. A higher level of aspartamene in your system causes your body to retain more fat, so even though you are consuming less sugar and calories, you are actually getting heavier. Its crazy, but thats how these "fad" diets work. They promise one thing, but end up giving you something worse.

Here is something that one of my teachers said to me, "you can generally eat what you want and you can/will lose weight, as long as moderation, portion control, and variety are things that you constantly think about." Basically, you can enjoy a huge variety of foods, just watch how large the meals are. Try to stay away from all the sweets, and sodas, but you can definatly have a cheat day. Cheat days are completely neccessary to keep you motivated, and to keep you happy. I am very big into nutrition and weight lifting, which means I eat a lot of boring food, and the same foods over and over because I am trying to gain weight all the time, but even I have a cheat day once a week. I eat whatever looks/sounds good to me on that day. It keeps me sane. Changing your diet is such a lifestyle change, but it is something that if done, will make you so happy. It will take time to get right, and mistakes will be made, but as long as you are putting in a conscience effort, and mixing in good physical exercise, weight loss will happen. That 2 will be replace by a 1 before you know it.

Last little tip...eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day, this causes your matabalism to run 24/7 which in turn will burn more fat than if you ate only three good sized super healthy foods. Eat lots and lots of veggies, and fruit. Eat a reasonable amount of carbs, meats, and dairy. Keep your diet balanced, just like the food pyramid, and you can't go wrong. Like you said, get healthy to get fit. Thats how it is. . . do you think we had all these "fad" diets a thousand years ago? no way!! we just ate what we had, we were physicall, and we were happy. I wish you good luck in your path to weight loss, and a healthier happier you. If you need anything, let me know. . . I hope this helps.

[purplemuffin]

Thanks!


I'm really truly enjoying this diet. It's forcing me to cook more often which means I don't get the instant gratification of getting food when I am not even that hungry. I have to be willing to make it and still want it when I'm done cooking.

This way of eating is so flexible too. I think it works for me because I never feel limited. I can eat almost any food, in moderation. I try to limit my meat intake, but if I am visiting my grandpa, it is OKAY if I eat a little bit of steak. I don't have to feel guilty about it. Because it doesn't feel like cheating I don't get the terrible "well it's already bad enough that I'm cheating, I might as well eat a little more while I'm at it/have dessert too"


I do have a SERIOUS sweet tooth, it's my favorite taste. Terrible for diets I know. But I've been researching low calorie desserts that are also high in nutrition. I've replaced sugar with more natural sweeteners(Like honey) and even though they are similar in calories, the fact that honey is more of a whole food and less processed makes it a lot harder for my body to absorb it. I recently made mini pumpkin pie turnovers. 3 pieces are 110 calories, but they are just the right size that I honestly only eat 1-2 when I do pick them up after a meal. The person who coined the term 'flexitarian' actually has a ton of really great snacks and treats that honestly I like better than what I ate before. Sometimes I forget I'm dieting, and it just seems like I should be gaining weight with this good food. Nothin' wrong with that!! Especially when I step on the scale later!

I have my calories set pretty high as I don't want to burn out on losing too fast. I'm losing a steady 2 pounds a week. I fluctuate occassionally, but it's nothing to worry about. And it's not even about the weight. I feel SO much healthier. I never feel that tired sluggish feeling when I eat these yummy meals.


I think a lot more about what's actually good for me, but since there are so many healthy foods, I also get to make it taste awesome. Instead of buying bland versions of junk food, I can make awesome food that's already super healthy and tastes the way it's SUPPOSED to


Working on pilates as well as cardio. Right now my cardio comes from jogging with the dog, but it's been SO HOT that I've been slacking.. When we finish moving I'll be able to use the treadmill too so I can run on hot/rainy days too!

[Clear]

May I ask what diet your parents are on? Seems like Atkins diet.

Diet has 2 80/20 rules.
-Weightloss is 80% diet 20% exercise.
-Eat right 80% of the time and the other 20% you can cheat a little.

Everyone will have different opinions on diets, exercise and weight loss. What works for one person may not work for another.

JADE_reptiles mentioned this

do you think we had all these "fad" diets a thousand years ago? no way!!

Me and my wife started looking into weight loss a while ago. My wife has tried many different types of diets, calorie counting and nothing seemed to work. I started to do a lot of research on hormones and how they affect a person. Once diving deep into this I started noticing that a common thing popped up, Estrogen. I asked my wife to see her doctor and to get some test done, come to find out she had estrogen dominance at the age of 24!!! The Doctor thought the best action to take is to inject even more hormones into my wife to sort out the imbalance. I thought that was nuts and we dove into more research on how to fix this problem. Eventually we switched all of our chemicals to more "green" type of products and changed the way we ate. (yes there is a point to this story!)

The way we changed our diet was going to more organic/natural types of foods. Fresh meats, fresh veggies, fresh fruit. We cut back on dairy products and stopped eating grains all together. (I stick to the 80/20 and my wife does 100%) If the food has been processed (packed into a box etc...) we stopped eating it. It is amazing how life changes once you start to cut out the junk from your diet, yes your feel bad the first couple weeks (your body craves what is bad) but your body will soon get over it and your have more energy!

Its been a month, any news/updates?

[Naginibellatrix]

A really good diet, if your cutting down on meat for weight purposes. is to cut down on red meat. so like grilled chicken is really good and some pork. lots of fish is good. (im a vegetarian but i still eat fish)

[purplemuffin]

My parents are on the Suzanne Somers diet, which seems fine and all, but they don't have all her books, and the diet doesn't really suggest eating a proper amount of greens to meat etc. etc. balance, at least in the books they own.

Plus, I swear the people who wrote these cookbooks were meat cooks. The rest of her recipes for veggies and anything else are bland or bitter, but all the meat is amazing. The only good thing I've had that they made was meat. The veggies they made from one of her recipes was so soaked in oil and there was basically no nutrition left in it. Yuck!

I've been LOVING this. I'm losing weight slow, but that's alright, because that's not what this is about. I've been FEELING better. My skin is clear and I have a healthier glow. Because of that, I even look much thinner, even when I've only lost twenty pounds. I'm not sick all the time anymore and I don't struggle as much to get things done throughout the day.

Because I haven't lost as much weight as them(though they ARE larger than me, by a lot, which I think is part of it, along with simply eating far less than normal and completely cutting out pasta which was a very common food here) my mom believes my diet is a failure and that I should switch to hers. She constantly claims that I am low on iron and protein despite the fact that I DO eat meat--as much as every other day, or as little as once every two weeks, but I do eat it. Along with beans, nuts, spinach, broccoli, etc. I am not nutrient deficient there. And when I eat a salad with fruit mixed in it, she warns me that THAT is the reason I haven't lost weight. Because of the fruit mixing thing her diet says.

It's frustrating, to be honest. She doesn't really respect my views because she thinks you are supposed to lose weight fast. I don't want it all to fall off, because I know if that happens, it's all too easy for it to jump right back on. Not to mention, extreme weight changes(higher OR lower) are ALMOST ALWAYS dangerous.

But it's been hard getting her to let me buy the veggies I want and need. She wonders how I can spend so much on vegetables, even though a weeks worth of my food is far less than hers. Because she still thinks of the veggies as side dishes. It's really frustrating at family occasions, when I'm not able to make my own food(school or something unavoidable) and I want to eat no meat. I'll end up with an entirely empty plate with a spoonful of broccoli, because that was all that was left for me. Then she'll tell my family I'm on a starvation diet and have them freak out about me. Uhhh...WHAT?!

I know, I shouldn't rely on them for my stuff--but the thing is, I never got to get my driver's license. My parents were too busy to teach me, and then I left for college where there were busses between buildings. Now I'm back home and I finally got my permit, but I still haven't been taught how to drive. My grandma says she will teach me, but it's all about finding time when my parents will take me over there to actually learn. Honestly I'll probably have to get my boyfriend to take me. Point of that is, I can't drive, and our grocery store is not in a safe walking distance. Every time I've been able to go to get my own veggies, it's been when a friend or Nathan took me. They usually go on their way home from work, so they don't generally pick me up. It just..makes it really difficult. They know I can't transport myself, they know I can't get my own food. Part of it IS mom trying to switch me to her diet, she always mentions how I'd do so much better on it. It's so weird, it feels like peer pressure the way she acts about it, all sneaky like. I know it's because she really thinks it's the best and because it's working for her--which I don't question, it really is. But she doesn't respect that it just didn't work for me. I got so dang sick doing it.


Actually in the past month, I have been unable to get any new fresh fruits and veggies. We have some frozen ones--frozen spinach and carrots. I have potatoes too, I like to cook some mushrooms and stuff the potato with the mushrooms. Thankfully Nathan's parents feed me good veggie food when I'm there, or else I'd really be out.


So.. I guess it's been going well, but there have been some struggles. I hope when I get my license soon and get this job(was offered a job at an aquarium store) things will look up. I'm not able to rely on them to help out with this, so I've got to get it all together myself.

But.. I have lost twenty pounds, and like I said, I feel great and happy.

One thing I LOVE about this, is I am able to choose more humane meat easier. When meat is a rare occasion, I can wait til I know I get organic, awesome fresh meat from healthy animals that weren't stuffed with antibiotics and fed nasty stuff. Honestly, the meat tastes better, and I feel a lot better.


This next summer I am planning on growing my own zucchini, since I have discovered it is my FAVORITE! Delicious!!

[theend882]

i pretty much did what you're doing now, but i started by completely cutting out fast food, and i stopped drinking soda, i've now cut out pork, and cut back on red meat and eat loads more veggies and fruits. i started at 220lbs and over the course of 5 months have lost 60 pounds and still going and am loving it! so mad props to you for getting on track with a healthy diet.

[djansen]

Well, first off, congratulations on wanting to get healthy, and also for realizing that those "fad" diets are something to steer clear of. I am currently an NCO in the Army, but have gotten my degree in Nutrition Science, and use that degree to help all my overweight soldiers (both in and outside of my unit) lose weight to meet the Army Standard.

Everything I have studied have shown that these "fad" diets are unhealthy, and eventually do more harm than good. They are much like the myth that diet soda is better than regular soda. Each are bad in their own way. Yes diet soda has less calories, and suger, but has a much higher aspartamene content. Aspartamene is something that causes your body to not process glucose (sugar) properly. A higher level of aspartamene in your system causes your body to retain more fat, so even though you are consuming less sugar and calories, you are actually getting heavier. Its crazy, but thats how these "fad" diets work. They promise one thing, but end up giving you something worse.

Here is something that one of my teachers said to me, "you can generally eat what you want and you can/will lose weight, as long as moderation, portion control, and variety are things that you constantly think about." Basically, you can enjoy a huge variety of foods, just watch how large the meals are. Try to stay away from all the sweets, and sodas, but you can definatly have a cheat day. Cheat days are completely neccessary to keep you motivated, and to keep you happy. I am very big into nutrition and weight lifting, which means I eat a lot of boring food, and the same foods over and over because I am trying to gain weight all the time, but even I have a cheat day once a week. I eat whatever looks/sounds good to me on that day. It keeps me sane. Changing your diet is such a lifestyle change, but it is something that if done, will make you so happy. It will take time to get right, and mistakes will be made, but as long as you are putting in a conscience effort, and mixing in good physical exercise, weight loss will happen. That 2 will be replace by a 1 before you know it.

Last little tip...eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day, this causes your matabalism to run 24/7 which in turn will burn more fat than if you ate only three good sized super healthy foods. Eat lots and lots of veggies, and fruit. Eat a reasonable amount of carbs, meats, and dairy. Keep your diet balanced, just like the food pyramid, and you can't go wrong. Like you said, get healthy to get fit. Thats how it is. . . do you think we had all these "fad" diets a thousand years ago? no way!! we just ate what we had, we were physicall, and we were happy. I wish you good luck in your path to weight loss, and a healthier happier you. If you need anything, let me know. . . I hope this helps.

Actually quite a bit of false info here, not trying to be mean but most of this has no merit.
First, how exactly does aspartame cause you to retain fat and not process glucose? are you saying it blunts insulin?
second, Does the size of the meal matter? and do you have any proof that 6 meals raises metabolism over 3?