Diet diary critique?

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christsinstrument
christsinstrument Posts: 19 Member
in Getting Started
Hi there,

I think I need a little help/constructive criticism on my food consumption. The past few days that I've been tracking have been interesting. And sometimes I've fallen off the bandwagon a bit, I admit, but I'd love some thoughts. I know that everyone has different caloric needs, and I also know that I should be measuring food more carefully - it's been guesstimation and I know that doesn't cut it. But from what I've got, what do you think? (I've an open profile) Is this likely to work long-term for weight loss, or not?

Thanks bunches! :-)
Sheila

Replies

  • katew221
    katew221 Posts: 82 Member
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    Hey :)

    I think you hit the nail on the head - weighing everything (EVERYTHING!) is going to be your best friend, especially as you don't have much left to loose :happy: The stuff you're eating looks good though, nice balance of protein and veggies.

    Don't worry about falling off the bandwagon, especially in the early days, and logging accurately is an acquired art - you get better at it over time :laugh:

    xxx
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    It's great that you'e logging everything, and making notes. Once you've got a couple of weeks worth, have a good look and see where you could make some smart swaps, or need to reduce.

    From the small amount of data there, I'd say look at your carbs and sugars. But you're pretty much hitting your calorie goal each day ( you dont need to get it bang on, so dont worry about a few calories over), and that really is the main thing. So well done!
  • christsinstrument
    christsinstrument Posts: 19 Member
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    Thank you both! That's really encouraging and helpful! :-) Going to a wedding today, so tomorrow I'll start weighing my food! :-)
  • Sharon468
    Sharon468 Posts: 12 Member
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    After reading the book "Fat Chance" which goes into pretty deep scientific detail about how various substances affect your body, I agree with the author (a pediatric endocrinologist) that smoothies and other blended shakes with fruit aren't good for you, if you are indeed blending the banana and milk and protein powder into a milkshake/smoothie instead of having the banana separately. From the book:

    "The problem is that the shearing action of the blender blades completely destroys the insoluble fiber of the fruit. The cellulose is torn to smithereens. While the soluble fiber is still there, and can help move food through the intestine faster [that helps you feel sated], it now does not have the "latticework" of the insoluble fiber to help form that intestinal barrier. The sugar in the fruit will be absorbed just as fast as if the juice were strained with no fiber at all [giving you a big rush of sugar into your system and prompting insulin response that you wouldn't get with whole fruit]. You need both types of fiber to derive the beneficial effects. . . .Insulin is the bad guy in terms of weight gain, and keeping insulin down is a priority to combat obesity. The amount and rapidity at which energy arrives at the mitochondia trigger the disease associated with metabolic syndrome."

    I realize you aren't obese, but fruit that is blended into "smithereens" lacks one important fiber for all of us, not just the obese. It's worth considering whether you may be drinking something that is spiking your blood sugar as badly as a glass of soda.
  • JoeyFrappuccino
    JoeyFrappuccino Posts: 88 Member
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    After reading the book "Fat Chance" which goes into pretty deep scientific detail about how various substances affect your body, I agree with the author (a pediatric endocrinologist) that smoothies and other blended shakes with fruit aren't good for you, if you are indeed blending the banana and milk and protein powder into a milkshake/smoothie instead of having the banana separately. From the book:

    "The problem is that the shearing action of the blender blades completely destroys the insoluble fiber of the fruit. The cellulose is torn to smithereens. While the soluble fiber is still there, and can help move food through the intestine faster [that helps you feel sated], it now does not have the "latticework" of the insoluble fiber to help form that intestinal barrier. The sugar in the fruit will be absorbed just as fast as if the juice were strained with no fiber at all [giving you a big rush of sugar into your system and prompting insulin response that you wouldn't get with whole fruit]. You need both types of fiber to derive the beneficial effects. . . .Insulin is the bad guy in terms of weight gain, and keeping insulin down is a priority to combat obesity. The amount and rapidity at which energy arrives at the mitochondia trigger the disease associated with metabolic syndrome."

    I realize you aren't obese, but fruit that is blended into "smithereens" lacks one important fiber for all of us, not just the obese. It's worth considering whether you may be drinking something that is spiking your blood sugar as badly as a glass of soda.

    What source did he provide for that statement? I've never heard anything like that before.
  • gilmore606
    gilmore606 Posts: 45 Member
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    That crap about the fiber being shredded is the funniest thing I've read all day. MFP forums, don't ever change.
  • christsinstrument
    christsinstrument Posts: 19 Member
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    Thanks for the thoughts, Sharon...

    I happen to be a nursing major who just finished a year of chemistry and nutrition and Anatomy and Physiology courses, however, and I know for a fact that cellulose requires specific enzymatic activity to be broken down. In fact, the human body doesn't even have those enzymes (cows and horses do, for example, and that's why they can get energy from eating grass and we can't). So, one would have to break down the fruit *at the cellular level* in order to break down the cellulose, and that would require enzymes. Since I'm not adding enzymes to my shake and because my blender can't break down bananas (or any other fruit) at the cellular level, I'm not compromising the fruit. ;-)

    Here's a quote from a Stanford University student:

    "The enzymatic method uses bacteria secreted proteins to hydrolyze cellulose. This method involves a lot of enzymes, namely cellulase. Research has shown that these enzymes play different roles cooperatively in the hydrolysis of cellulose: some cleave the cellulose chain from the middle into fragments containing 4-5 glucoses, some breakdown these fragments into smaller units of two glucoses, and some finally turn these small units into single glucose. [4] However, the research of enzymatic hydrolysis is still at the early stage. There are many important questions remain unanswered, such as the number of critical enzymes needed for the hydrolysis, the crystal structures of the enzymes, the exact mechanisms of hydrolysis, etc. In the next 10-20 years, the research in this area is expected to make great progresses, therefore a lot of protein engineering work will be accomplished to enhance the efficiency and lower the cost of the hydrolysis of cellulose." (found here: http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/jin2/ )

    Hope that helps clear that up. :-D

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