No carbs for 10 days

lemurcat12

tjsims88 wrote: »

BinaryFu wrote: »

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

There really is no need to go NO carb - I'm just thinking how your energy will really take a nose dive from the lack of carbs... they're not the devil you know.
Losing weight is all about calories in/out - I seem to have to keep saying this over and over, day in day out LOL
but it really is that simple, eat less than we burn and we lose, simple

^^^^^^^^^^ So much of this. ^^^^^^^^^^

I lose 2lbs/week (the maximum safe and sane amount to lose) by counting calories. CICO (Calories In Vs. Calories Out) works.

If you could see my diary, you'd freak out if you believed that no carb = weight loss. I have stuff like, Noodle Bake (Made with things like, 3 types of cheese...pasta...yummy tomato sauce...), spaghetti, pizza, ice cream, etc etc etc.

But I lose 2lbs/week.

And I've been doing that since Feb. 25th of this year. I've dropped 24lbs so far. CICO is easy, straight-forward, based 100% in science and simply put - works.

No need for fancy fad diets, no need for harming yourself by dropping quick energy foods out of your diet. Just. Count. Calories.

And if by doing so you find yourself without enough calories to enjoy the foods you want? No problem - work for those foods by exercising. Burned calories = extra calories for the day. Again, it's all about CICO.

If it's all about calories in vs calories out. I should be able to eat cookies, candy and chips instead of fruits and veggies all I want as long as I don't go over my 1500 cal goal? Why are we told what to eat and what not to eat in order to lose weight?

Well, that you could lose weight doing it doesn't make it healthy. That's one reason you are told to eat a healthful balanced diet with adequate protein, micronutrients, fiber, etc.

Another is satiety. I personally could not just eat cookies, candy, and chips and stay within a calorie deficit. I'd be hungry. (I suspect I could do it if someone offered me enough money, though, and am open to such an experiment.) ;-)

Another is sustainability, which includes health, energy, generally how you feel. I'd feel horrible and be miserable on a diet of just cookies, candy, and chips.

BinaryFu

tjsims88 wrote: »

If it's all about calories in vs calories out. I should be able to eat cookies, candy and chips instead of fruits and veggies all I want as long as I don't go over my 1500 cal goal? Why are we told what to eat and what not to eat in order to lose weight?

I will share a previous posting I made out of love for my fellow weight-loss people:

Start with calories...healthy eating (At a level you can be satisfied with) will follow. I have explained this to my friends who felt I was a little off my rocker to say "I'm getting back in shape" only to watch me eat a single portion package of M&Ms. It goes something like this:

Calorie deficit = weight loss.
Okay, I can have cake and ice cream and Cheetos and lose weight, right?
Sure.
Yay!
After a day of this, you realize it sucks not being able to eat anything after the 3 snacks you've had burned up all your calories for the day. So, you live, you learn and you start looking at what you *could* have had instead.

Then you go to things like fast food and realize that what you used to eat to fill you up was almost a day's worth of calories in one shot. Well...crap. I guess I'll just have the value meal...wait, that's two meal's worth...dammit! Fine, a salad...wait, HOW MANY CALORIES ARE IN THAT DRESSING? I COULD HAVE A SLICE OF CAKE FOR THAT!!! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

And so on.

Eventually you realize, sodas are empty calories - toss them to the way side, get diet soda instead and start upping your water instead of soda all the time. Maybe swap out a bottle of water for a can of soda.

Next you realize that fried = more calories. Baked is better. But even baked chips have half a meal's worth of calories in them, so you better really be craving chips (and be willing to only eat one serving...wait, you don't know what a serving size is yet!!!)...

Then you start to measure out your servings. You start by counting chips. Eighteen in a serving? Seriously? I thought half the family-sized bag was a serving...well crap.

But then you learn that gauging things by volume isn't accurate and can actually lead to robbing you of yummies! (Seriously, one of my snack foods claims 18 chips is a serving (28g) but when I measure out 28g, I swear I've got 25+ chips on that plate!)

Then you start to prioritize...Hamburger is yummy and delicious and....and you could be having TWICE as much chicken for the same calorie count...hmmm...well, maybe chicken is better...

Then you find out about Seafood and the high protein to calorie ratio...and this thing called Omega 3 fatty acids...whatever they are...supposed to be good for ya...

And then you move up into the veggie world and realize that your mom had it right - eat your veggies, they're good for you (and really low in calories, too!)

Eventually 90% (or more) of your diet consists of yummy but really healthy things, you feel better, you look better...but you still have something...that 10% piece of junk that you *adore* and wouldn't leave behind for the world.

For me, that's my chocolate. Don't get between me and my chocolate, you could get hurt. To satisfy my health needs and my chocolate cravings, I have found that M&Ms are awesome. I can pop one or two in my mouth and savor them...or if I am really desiring that feeling of gorging, I can pop a dozen and (again) savor this big ol' lump of chocolate just overwhelming my taste buds. Mmmm...

What I'm trying to say is that slowly, almost without effort, you will move from being a junk food junkie to a healthy eater.

But good grief don't try to run the Boston Marathon when you still haven't managed a mall walk! Baby steps, baby steps.

Calories first, the healthy eating will come naturally...just like your foods.

This is a craving-free process, because when those cravings hit, you can just have a little taste, not a binge and keep with the calorie count.