Myths about healthy cooking

WildWayz

Hi all,

I have seen various cooking programs etc that talk about healthy eating and I keep getting puzzled. For instance, Jamie Oliver uses loads of olive oil on everything he does from salads to chicken.
According to MFP, one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil is about 120 calories - which means a nice chunk is used when cooking a meal.

I have spent the last week or so cooking stuff from scratch and it is very hard to hit over 500 calories. Even home made sandwiches on Weigh Watchers bread comes in at 300 calories for the very small amount of filling.

I have also read that olive oil is 'good oil' - but how can it be, if it is so unhealthy? Is there a trade-off or is it better to eat nutritious food rather than calorie controlled stuff?

On TV they used to rave on about "don't eat this, don't drink that... eat healthier foods" - then Sonsodyne now say "dont eat healthy foods as it rots the enamal on your teeth!".

I have spent the last week sticking to 1500 calories a day and I have lost NO WEIGHT. I have even walked 20miles over the last week... so why am I not losing weight? It's not as though I don't have much to lose - I am 298lbs - it should be falling off me like nice, tender TGI ribs...

I weighed myself after dinner last night and I was showing at 298lbs. Weighed myself a couple of hours later and I weighed 301lbs. Then this morning 298lbs again.

I don't understand this guff

idrinkwater

I just want to say, hang in there. I think that it is GREAT that you are sticking to the 1500 cal a day and walking. I am trying to get to the 1500 cal a day. I did read that we are not supposed to eat to few calories or our body will go into starvation mode. Even on mfp when I entered a small amount of cal there was a message pertaining to eating enough. Hang in there.

NeuroticVirgo

It all confuses me too! The only thing I noticed to be true is the "eat this, not that" stuff when it comes to eating out vs cooking at home. I can make a pretty tasty and hardy hamburger for around 350 cal....For some reason a similar hamburger would be like 750 cal if I ate out. WTF? Same with Chinese food etc (because its all fried vs baked at home).

I think the other thing I've noticed just by reading things here on MFP, there is "healthy" and there is "low cal"..... For instance there is BUTTER...like REAL butter, which is healthier for you because its all natural ingredients...but its sooo not low calorie. But you can get low calorie spreads, sprays etc...but if you look at the ingredients most of us can't pronounce any of them, and they are definitely not natural.

I think that's where stuff like using olive oil etc comes into play. Its "healthy"....but that doesn't mean its low calorie.

As for progress so far. It might take a while to kick start the weight loss. Don't give up. Maybe watch your sodium (which may or may not be affecting your weight...it does mine...by A LOT (like 5lbs)...just something to look into).

innerfashionista

Quick question - did you mean 500 calories PER MEAL or 500 calories for the whole day? If you're only eating 500 calories a day, you're not really going to lose weight. Your body's going to hold onto everything, healthy or not. There are some calorie dense healthy foods that can help with that. I swear by peanut butter

I love the advise about monitoring your sodium. Since I started my change, I am hypersensitive to sodium now and bloat something awful. I don't use olive oil, but I'm a fan of olive oil cooking spray which keeps everything from sticking. I've noticed, with me anyway, I do a lot better if I eat clean and stick with whole foods. Also means I get to eat more, and who doesn't like that

Your weight naturally fluctuates up to 2 or 3 pounds a day. Try not to weigh yourself so often, and take measurements! Congrats on the walking, that's a LOT! My guess is for your activity level, you may not be eating enough. Have you considered upping your calories to 1700 or 1800 for a week or so and see if that helps? Sounds crazy, but it works.

Elle408

Don't make the mistake of thinking that high calorie means unhealthy! Not the case at all. Olive oil is great for you, and definitely not unhealthy, but it is high in calories. So you have to use it sparingly. I only ever use a tiny dribble of the stuff and that cooks my food efficiently! And I only use it now whilst i'm maintaining, never whilst I was trying to lose weight. You have to decide how strict you want to be, whether you don't mind having some of the low calorie less natural stuff (like oil sprays) whilst you're losing, or whether you'd rather eat cleaner. I found it more realistic for my lifestyle to substitute real foods for diet foods.

Your weight can fluctuate a lot throughout the day so try not to weigh yourself too much, you'll get caught up in the numbers and de-motivate yourself. I can gain 10lbs of water weight in a day, yet my smaller clothes still fit so it's not real weight.

Do watch your sodium, this can affect how much water you retain in a day. Make sure you're drinking plenty of clear fluids...(and this doesn't include beer!) They say you should half your weight in pounds and drink this in ounces, for you 150oz (about 4ltrs) is ideal, get ready to pee a lot!

Buy a food scale! Seriously, the amount of people who will underestimate what they're eating is unbelievable... i.e. Logging 100g of Chips (fries) for about 270 cals... that's also about 5 chips. Most regular portions can be 20+ chips... you've just blown you calorie limit for the day on a portion of chips and mostly not even realised it!

Kudos on cooking stuff from scratch! It's the best way for packing most punch in your calories. I can get a huge, nutritious meal for about 350 by just throwing loads of veggies, spices and a small portion of meat in a pan, and it tastes divine!

And mostly, stick with it! Perseverance is key. As long as you truly are doing everything right, sticking to your calories, making wise food choices and exercising, then it WILL come off. It has to. That mind frame has seen me through the past 2 years and 50lb loss.

Xonim

Looking at your food diary, it looks like you have a lot of pre-packaged sandwiches in there. I'm not sure specifically about Tesco-brand sandwiches, but most of the pre-packaged sandwiches here are extremely high in sodium. I would recommend adding sodium to your diary to see if you're consistently going over, as that could be part of the problem (water retention). With it, make sure you are drinking at least 8 glasses of water each day.

Other than that, the only thing I would recommend is maybe try to cut back on carbs a little bit...specifically, things like orange juice and the candy bars.

As for the olive oil question, the link below explains it a little bit. Olive oil is calorie-dense, so the calories in 1 tbsp is quite high, but the fat in olive oil is considered to be a healthy fat.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/AN01037

It may take a little bit of experimenting, but soon enough you'll find what works for you!

propjetprop

Wild:

First of all, you are a HUGE motivator for me on this program, so you cant give up.... I have heard of shocking your system back into weight loss mode through several methods.... The one I prefer and have done is turbo charged workouts.... Go INSANE at the gym one day or push yourself a little bit harder than you usually do.. it will most likely hurt and suck and not be fun, but you have to SHOCK your body back into its rythem...

The other thing you can do is what I did last night.... (you can look at my diary) had some drinks with my wife, and ate a healthy, but calorie rich dinner and not worry about it... It is almost like your subconscience needs to know you will still give it a good meal every once in a while for it to cooperate.

I guarentee if you stick to working out and are honest about your calorie tracking and you stick to a 1500 cal/day diet of the good stuff you have been eating lately, you will lose it... look at my photos.. I have done it before.. I went from well over 300 to 195 in one year.. on a 1500 cal/day diet and hard core workouts......

melsinct

If your definition of "healthy" means no/low fat then i can see how olive oil would be evil in your eyes. I go by the MFP default settings and am sometimes low on fat AND calories. In order to eat enough calories, I use real olive oil when cooking, real butter on toast, etc. I just watch portions. For instance, I'll cook chicken in one teaspoon of olive oil as opposed to a tablespoon, and I measure it out.

Your body needs healthy fats from sources like olive oil to function properly, you just need to make sure you don't overdo it. I was eating too little and plateaued so I make sure I get all of my calories in, and healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, avocado, etc. help me reach my daily calorie/fat goal.

girlinahat

things like butter and full-fat foods may be higher in calories but they have a stronger taste so (in theory) we should need to eat less of them. Good quality bread from a proper baker is the same (or better still, home made), it's a fairly simple equation - good quality ingredients = good quality nutrition = your body needs to eat less of it for the same nutritional benefit.

One thing else about nutritional science - it is very difficult for scientists to know what nutiriotional breakdown a body needs. So whilst we need antioxidants, taking an anitoxidant pill has no benefit to the body, but eating antioxidant high fruit and veg does. The trick is in having food in its unadulterated state.

Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants.

WildWayz

Thanks guys.

I guess I just feel a little bummed out. So much conflicting information out there. I am a Virgo, so I have to research and research and research everything until I get flustered.
I don't know if going on these pre-made diets work - like Diet Chef (one of the banner ads here).

I know I dont go over my allowances - everything is measured. I also am walking loads now. I feel fitter too. I just didnt expect to hit this dead spot so soon - maybe at 252lbs or more.

VStar55

The other thing you can do is what I did last night.... (you can look at my diary) had some drinks with my wife, and ate a healthy, but calorie rich dinner and not worry about it... It is almost like your subconscience needs to know you will still give it a good meal every once in a while for it to cooperate.

I guarentee if you stick to working out and are honest about your calorie tracking and you stick to a 1500 cal/day diet of the good stuff you have been eating lately, you will lose it... look at my photos.. I have done it before.. I went from well over 300 to 195 in one year.. on a 1500 cal/day diet and hard core workouts......

This pretty much says it all. Log your food, don't starve yourself, get in your work outs and indulge once in a while.