Is there anything I CAN eat?!?

DianeG213

I hit 25 lbs down today, and I eat almost 200g of carbs per day.

It is all about calories in/calories out. Period.

I do not, however, recommend starting at 1200 calories per day. Slowly work down to that. If you are exercising, you need to eat those calories back.

Please read the following post I wrote for newbies for more information:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/470367-tips-for-newbies

Just wanted to congratulate you on your weight loss.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

My husband is an Ironman triathlete two times over. By comparison, I am a slug. Through calorie counting and exercise I lost 30 pounds over the last 2 years and had gotten where I wanted to be. HOWEVER, over the last couple of months I have put back on about 7 pounds. YIKES!

At 45, I know your metabolism slows down. I asked the hubster the other day for some advice. All I got was, you need to avoid sugar, you need to avoid fruit because it has too much sugar, you need to avoid simple carbs so no more bread, you need to avoid excess sodium so you don't retain water, you need to avoid fat, you need to avoid protein unless its very lean. (NOTE: He works out about 15 hours a week so he does NOT eat this way!)

Is there anything I CAN eat besides lettuce?

On another note, he says that it doesn't matter if you restrict your calories to 1200 per day if they aren't the "right kind" of calories, you'll still put on weight. Is he crazy?!?

I don't avoid fat or protein. I merely limit my carbs to vegetables, nuts, seeds and minimal fruit.

I actually heat very high fat and moderate protein amounts and I am losing very well.

Eat fat, burn fat. Of course, lean meats are best if you are purchasing from grocery stores because the hormones and antibiotics that are injected end up in the fat.

I purchase farm raised meats, dairy, eggs and poultry. Most of my vegetables and fruits come from local Coop and CSA memberships.

Elizabeth_C34

I hit 25 lbs down today, and I eat almost 200g of carbs per day.

It is all about calories in/calories out. Period.

I do not, however, recommend starting at 1200 calories per day. Slowly work down to that. If you are exercising, you need to eat those calories back.

Please read the following post I wrote for newbies for more information:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/470367-tips-for-newbies

Just wanted to congratulate you on your weight loss.

Thank you so much! It's a great feeling.

nspear1176

In some aspects I agree with him.. Not all calories are created equally! Eating say a 1200 cal a day diet is not that difficult (actually hard to fit it all in) If you are eating healthy calories that your body will use and not just store etc. Having said that there are alternatives to most everything! It is finding the tricks that work for you.. for example if I have say something high in sodium I drink extra water with that meal.. If I have something with a little extra fat in it I try to balance it with a high fiber food.. I do stay away completely from white flour, white starches/rice, and refined sugar.. but again their are some great alternative choices out there to get your fix on these! I disagree on the protien.. you need a high protein intake to help build your strength which is needed to excercise etc.. Lean cuts are really not that hard to find and still taste great, even add in a Turkey Sausage (With a big glass of water LOL) and you feel like you aren't depriving yourself at all! Skinny Cow has some great ice cream choices again, not something you should have every day, but a great reward for yourself on the weekends! There are so many options out there and everyones needs are different.. find what your weakness is and see if you can come up with an alternative that still satisfies you but is a healthier calorie intake

Exercise is a huge key.. calories in/ calories out.. As well as it tuning up your metabolism and other organs so that they function more properly so that you don't go back to your old self EVER! It's like tuning up your car so that it uses less gas etc.. the more tuned up your body the better it burns it's fuel The better you feel, and the longer you will be around to feel better!

Good luck to you! Find something that ticks with you, it probably won't be what ticks for your hubby like I said we are all built differently and think and feel differently!

emrys1976

I agree with what pretty much everyone else is saying. I just wanted to add that I saw some preliminary studies from the medical world that suggest fruit doesn't have the effect on our blood sugar/insulin that was thought. the theory is about the fiber and fructose content or something. I love fruit and can't imagine denying myself of something so healthy!

ConkreteChic

Yes, it's sort of as simple as calories in/calories out. Physics is physics. The problem is that we're not perfect machines. The calorie unit says nothing about bio availability or what the body has to do process food. Being a little hyberbolic, I could measure timber in terms of its caloric content, but I'm not going to eat it.

For some people, their bodies respond a little more strongly to certain percentages of specific macronutrients. Some people really do have problems processing carbs, for example. The "calories out" portion of the equation gets a little fuzzy there because the process of deriving energy and nutrients might be hampered by biochemical oddities.

Here's the thing, though. Unless you have a reason to think you're one of these people, just try calories in/calories out first (factoring in any other health goals and concerns) and if you're concerned about maintaining muscle, eat some more protein and lift weights. From there if you're not getting the results you want, do some more research on your own which might include interviewing some nutritionists.

WOW!!! after months of reading these boards for advice, this is the sanest thing I have EVER heard.