ALL Calories!! and ANY Calories - In Moderation
FatJockSing
Posts: 164 Member
(Edit Post)
Posted on 7/30/2014 by FatJockSing
CAVEAT!!
I am not a doctor - so bear in mind I am not addressing any foods that have been MEDICALLY excluded because certain people have certain conditions. this is targeted at the 95 to 99% of the population who are clinically able to eat anything!!
Chicken breast - Good food or Bad food? Bet you all say good
Cauliflower - good foor or bad food? Bet you all say good . . (not asking about taste!!)
Egg whitess - good food or bad food? Bet you all say good
Choclote fudge cake - Good food or Bad food? Bet you all say Bad!!! Evil!
But is it???
Go check out my food logs for the last 2 days (28th and 29th July). I work in Saudi Arabia on a Camp-based construction site and have NO CONTROL over the meals that get prepared. More over, this is Eid, the festival after the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan - so as part of the celebration, at lunch the last 2 days, THE MOST amazing moist chocolate cake appeared for dessert.
In the past this would have been avoided like the plague!! All those Calories?? All that Fat??? I have been working with an on-line coach who in the last month has opened my eyes completely to the concept of INCLUSIVE eating (I wont say DIETING as that infers and end date . . . and I wont ever stop "conscious" eating!!). Most people on DIETS tend to go into "EXCLUSIVE" mode with a list of foods you cant have!
I have been using MACRO targets as my guide rather than Calories (but obviously if I HIT certain Macros the Calories are relatively fixed) and I am finding this MUCH MORE enjoyable and much easier than a straight calorie budget. Macro tracking isn't all that new as far as people on fitness forums go - but it is to me and I find it so refreshing and helpful I had to post this.
First thing I did when i started on this "new" Macro Tracking - I got some "GoTo" foods high in one of each of the Macros - not 100% of a specific as this is well nigh impossible, but the bulk of the food is one of the Macros e.g.
Single Macro Foods
Protein - obv Whey Protein powder or Beef Jerkey
Carbs - Haribo gummies or Apples
Fat - Dark Chocolate and nut butters
With these at hand and the knowledge that i have SPECIFIC foods that will balance out any specific part of the Carb/Fat/Protein Macro split, I feel supercharged to go eat what I want.
I know roughly what I can eat daily in total - and have a final supper eat specifically held back to have what I need to make up the numbers.
Sometimes it is a single square of chocolate, sometimes it is 2 scoops of protein. But I know I can go to these specific foods and plug gaps.
But what this DOES DO - is it allows me to see something during the day that I really fancy eating - and eat it. As long as I dont binge, which I have managed to control so far - I am OK.
If you ENJOY the journey you will stay on the path much longer than if everyday feels like torture and you cant wait to get to sleep so you can stop feeling like you are in constant food denial!
Dont look at Macro Tracking as a pain - a chore - something to add to the long hard list of things to do to lose weight. View it as a tool to open up your eating and to become an INCLUSIVE eater . . . not an EXCLUSIVE dieter!!
Good Luck!!
Posted on 7/30/2014 by FatJockSing
CAVEAT!!
I am not a doctor - so bear in mind I am not addressing any foods that have been MEDICALLY excluded because certain people have certain conditions. this is targeted at the 95 to 99% of the population who are clinically able to eat anything!!
Chicken breast - Good food or Bad food? Bet you all say good
Cauliflower - good foor or bad food? Bet you all say good . . (not asking about taste!!)
Egg whitess - good food or bad food? Bet you all say good
Choclote fudge cake - Good food or Bad food? Bet you all say Bad!!! Evil!
But is it???
Go check out my food logs for the last 2 days (28th and 29th July). I work in Saudi Arabia on a Camp-based construction site and have NO CONTROL over the meals that get prepared. More over, this is Eid, the festival after the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan - so as part of the celebration, at lunch the last 2 days, THE MOST amazing moist chocolate cake appeared for dessert.
In the past this would have been avoided like the plague!! All those Calories?? All that Fat??? I have been working with an on-line coach who in the last month has opened my eyes completely to the concept of INCLUSIVE eating (I wont say DIETING as that infers and end date . . . and I wont ever stop "conscious" eating!!). Most people on DIETS tend to go into "EXCLUSIVE" mode with a list of foods you cant have!
I have been using MACRO targets as my guide rather than Calories (but obviously if I HIT certain Macros the Calories are relatively fixed) and I am finding this MUCH MORE enjoyable and much easier than a straight calorie budget. Macro tracking isn't all that new as far as people on fitness forums go - but it is to me and I find it so refreshing and helpful I had to post this.
First thing I did when i started on this "new" Macro Tracking - I got some "GoTo" foods high in one of each of the Macros - not 100% of a specific as this is well nigh impossible, but the bulk of the food is one of the Macros e.g.
Single Macro Foods
Protein - obv Whey Protein powder or Beef Jerkey
Carbs - Haribo gummies or Apples
Fat - Dark Chocolate and nut butters
With these at hand and the knowledge that i have SPECIFIC foods that will balance out any specific part of the Carb/Fat/Protein Macro split, I feel supercharged to go eat what I want.
I know roughly what I can eat daily in total - and have a final supper eat specifically held back to have what I need to make up the numbers.
Sometimes it is a single square of chocolate, sometimes it is 2 scoops of protein. But I know I can go to these specific foods and plug gaps.
But what this DOES DO - is it allows me to see something during the day that I really fancy eating - and eat it. As long as I dont binge, which I have managed to control so far - I am OK.
If you ENJOY the journey you will stay on the path much longer than if everyday feels like torture and you cant wait to get to sleep so you can stop feeling like you are in constant food denial!
Dont look at Macro Tracking as a pain - a chore - something to add to the long hard list of things to do to lose weight. View it as a tool to open up your eating and to become an INCLUSIVE eater . . . not an EXCLUSIVE dieter!!
Good Luck!!
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Replies
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That's great that it's working for you. As for me, one single bite of chocolate fudge cake or any other sweet would send me right over the edge. One bite is too many, and a thousand bites isn't enough. When it comes to sweets and potato chips, I have absolutely no control. If I ingest those foods, I am like an alcoholic ingesting alcohol. It's not about "willpower," either. It's about my body having a chemical reaction to the way those foods are metabolized in my body. To a lesser extent, I also have to be careful with "white" foods like white bread, white pasta, and white rice. Those foods are highly refined and are metabolized by the liver just like sugar.0
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So basically IIFYM?0
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So basically IIFYM?
Yup0 -
Moderation is so subjective.0
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Choclote fudge cake - Good food or Bad food? Bet you all say Bad!!! Evil!
Oh darn, you lost the bet.0 -
Carbs - Haribo gummies
Stay away from the sugar free ones. Unless you want to become a statistic.
Google Amazon reviews Haribo sugar free hellbears for an entertaining scatological read.
As for cake. I love cake. But cake makes me hungry for more cake. So you can have my share. I'm not shipping it to you in Saudi Arabia, though!
*edit can't spell today*0 -
That seemed a very long winded way of saying 'Eat all things in moderation' , OP.0
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This content has been removed.
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Yeah, what you are doing has been around for decades. Recently its become known as IIFYM (if it fits your macros). Before that it was called flexible dieting. It's not even really a diet. It's just tracking all the foods you eat and meeting macro nutrient goals. I hope you didn't pay a coach too much money for this is literally everything you need to implement this style of eating is available free online.0
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@ vismal - dont worry - the coach is doing a lot more than just expanding my horizons on inclusive eating. Internet sources are great but during my research I have found articles recommending Every level of Carb and or Protein imaginable. They cant and dont all work, so free intenet info can be a dangerous source (IMO)
@ paperpudding - maybe - but lots of folk dont get it so every positive word is potentially helpful!!!0
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