What was I thinking?!
birdtobe
Posts: 105 Member
So I was cleaning out my office today (new year, new me!) and came across a folder from when I was visiting a nutritionist two years ago. She had me eating 1410 calories a day, which I logged through MFP. I was totally faithful to my calorie count, but, in looking at the printed log, I see that I was consuming INSANE amounts of carbs and sugars. Like 200 g of carbs a day and sometimes 125 grams of sugar!! Yes, I stayed within my calorie limit, but I can't believe she didn't advise me to cut back on sugar and carbs. No wonder my progress was non-existent! It's really shocking.
9
Replies
-
You're not alone. I was faithfully weighing every gram of food to 1200 kcal/day for 11 months in 2013. Despite being at the gym 3x/week I was slowly gaining fat. It was about 85-90% carbs. Desperate times with daily hypoglycemia and cramps.
#facepalm
I really didn’t know any better and had to learn a lot about what "metabolism" actually is...the process where the body translates the food ingested to nutrients and molecules it needs to keep the chemical biofactory running smoothly.
#mybodyismuchsmarterthanme
Edit: In sept 2014 I changed to 5:2, 16:8 IF and some weeks later added lowcarb macros STILL on a 1200 kcal limit. Lost 1 kg (2,2 lbs) per week for 3 months. If a calorie is a calorie, then why the dramatic change in results?10 -
Yep, me too. Tried to be a good patient and follow a LF-whole foods diet. Worked great for some folks, but I emerged with T2D and CVD. Oops.
For all I know, I have the bubonic plague gene that's activated by inadequate carb consumption.... But them's dice I'm willing to roll.3 -
Low fat, high carb diet is still being embraced by many, and there are, sadly, way too many folks in the fat is bad for you camp who buy into the lipid hypothesis, which was disproved in mid-20151
-
As Phinney explains it, there are people (not many in these parts) who do not tend to convert carbs into fat, but they're in the minority.
The great crime of the LF era in my mind was not in the idea that LF might work for some people at some points in their lives, but in trotting the LF guidelines out as gospel for an entire population.8 -
As Phinney explains it, there are people (not many in these parts) who do not tend to convert carbs into fat, but they're in the minority.
The great crime of the LF era in my mind was not in the idea that LF might work for some people at some points in their lives, but in trotting the LF guidelines out as gospel for an entire population.
I am in the camp that there is no dietary guideline that is the gospel for the entire population. There are a few basic statements that I think are true like processed carbs (white sugar and flour as examples) are not GOOD for anyone. How detrimental they are depends on many things like genetics and other aspects of one's WOE.5 -
I'm seeing low fat dieting talk on my FB feed this week. One young girl (23 and obese) I know proclaimed her commitment to getting healthy. Listing the low fat, sugar laden yogurt, turkey wrap, baked chips and sugar free pudding that had made up her day at that point with total confidence. Talking about how she should find time to go for a walk to distract from wanting a second pudding cup.
I shared my experience being able to eat great food, not be hungry or having cravings and didn't have to workout and the comment has gone ignored. Except by one mutual friend that I've already converted
4 -
@Sunny_Bunny_ I think people fear it will be to difficult to maintain a low-carb lifestyle, not realizing that once you cut all that stuff out, it's easier than you could ever imagine!5
-
I just started LCHF yesterday. My blood sugar is the best it's been in a long while. I have to say.. it's hard to wrap my head around this concept (especially the high fat part) but I am doing it anyways. Wish me luck!8
-
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I'm seeing low fat dieting talk on my FB feed this week. One young girl (23 and obese) I know proclaimed her commitment to getting healthy. Listing the low fat, sugar laden yogurt, turkey wrap, baked chips and sugar free pudding that had made up her day at that point with total confidence. Talking about how she should find time to go for a walk to distract from wanting a second pudding cup.
I shared my experience being able to eat great food, not be hungry or having cravings and didn't have to workout and the comment has gone ignored. Except by one mutual friend that I've already converted
My boss is also on the low calorie/low fat wagon this week. I came in from lunch with an iced coffee with cream and a bunless baconator. She expressed fear that she'd eat the 700 calorie burger and then go home and carb out...thus ending up high fat and high carb. It's hard coming from a low calorie mindset to imagine a 700 calorie lunch I supposed! lol
2 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I'm seeing low fat dieting talk on my FB feed this week. One young girl (23 and obese) I know proclaimed her commitment to getting healthy. Listing the low fat, sugar laden yogurt, turkey wrap, baked chips and sugar free pudding that had made up her day at that point with total confidence. Talking about how she should find time to go for a walk to distract from wanting a second pudding cup.
I shared my experience being able to eat great food, not be hungry or having cravings and didn't have to workout and the comment has gone ignored. Except by one mutual friend that I've already converted
My boss is also on the low calorie/low fat wagon this week. I came in from lunch with an iced coffee with cream and a bunless baconator. She expressed fear that she'd eat the 700 calorie burger and then go home and carb out...thus ending up high fat and high carb. It's hard coming from a low calorie mindset to imagine a 700 calorie lunch I supposed! lol
That's true. That statement makes me think that she's so hungry when she gets home that she works to not overeat but she probably is comfortable that she has more calories at dinner maybe because of the low calorie lunch. So she automatically thinks she will have the same hunger after a meal like yours and then have no calories for dinner, and therefore be starving. Lol
I never really dieted so much in the past. Not to the degree that I ever tracked calories. If I had used MFP back in the days of 'just eat less' I would've always been trying to figure out how to arrange the calories in each meal trying to make it to the next meal as if 30 more at lunch would make such a huge difference or something. It would've been crazy.
4 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I'm seeing low fat dieting talk on my FB feed this week. One young girl (23 and obese) I know proclaimed her commitment to getting healthy. Listing the low fat, sugar laden yogurt, turkey wrap, baked chips and sugar free pudding that had made up her day at that point with total confidence. Talking about how she should find time to go for a walk to distract from wanting a second pudding cup.
I shared my experience being able to eat great food, not be hungry or having cravings and didn't have to workout and the comment has gone ignored. Except by one mutual friend that I've already converted
My boss is also on the low calorie/low fat wagon this week. I came in from lunch with an iced coffee with cream and a bunless baconator. She expressed fear that she'd eat the 700 calorie burger and then go home and carb out...thus ending up high fat and high carb. It's hard coming from a low calorie mindset to imagine a 700 calorie lunch I supposed! lol
Which is why I love IF. Two 700 calorie meals??? Don't mind if I do!3 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I'm seeing low fat dieting talk on my FB feed this week. One young girl (23 and obese) I know proclaimed her commitment to getting healthy. Listing the low fat, sugar laden yogurt, turkey wrap, baked chips and sugar free pudding that had made up her day at that point with total confidence. Talking about how she should find time to go for a walk to distract from wanting a second pudding cup.
I shared my experience being able to eat great food, not be hungry or having cravings and didn't have to workout and the comment has gone ignored. Except by one mutual friend that I've already converted
My boss is also on the low calorie/low fat wagon this week. I came in from lunch with an iced coffee with cream and a bunless baconator. She expressed fear that she'd eat the 700 calorie burger and then go home and carb out...thus ending up high fat and high carb. It's hard coming from a low calorie mindset to imagine a 700 calorie lunch I supposed! lol
That's true. That statement makes me think that she's so hungry when she gets home that she works to not overeat but she probably is comfortable that she has more calories at dinner maybe because of the low calorie lunch. So she automatically thinks she will have the same hunger after a meal like yours and then have no calories for dinner, and therefore be starving. Lol
I never really dieted so much in the past. Not to the degree that I ever tracked calories. If I had used MFP back in the days of 'just eat less' I would've always been trying to figure out how to arrange the calories in each meal trying to make it to the next meal as if 30 more at lunch would make such a huge difference or something. It would've been crazy.
This is exactly what I did on low calorie. I'd hoard calories for evening because I'm short and can't eat many for weight loss as it is. So I'd starve all day and then go home and eat half a box of cereal or half a bag of chips while cooking dinner because I was shaking with hunger. So then all my hard work during the day was wiped out by an evening binge. I just lost and gained the same 5-10 lbs. again and again for years! Now I have coffee with cream for breakfast because I'm not very hungry in the morning. A good LCHF lunch and dinner and maybe a bedtime snack. I easily stay in my calorie goal and no hunger! 9 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I'm seeing low fat dieting talk on my FB feed this week. One young girl (23 and obese) I know proclaimed her commitment to getting healthy. Listing the low fat, sugar laden yogurt, turkey wrap, baked chips and sugar free pudding that had made up her day at that point with total confidence. Talking about how she should find time to go for a walk to distract from wanting a second pudding cup.
I shared my experience being able to eat great food, not be hungry or having cravings and didn't have to workout and the comment has gone ignored. Except by one mutual friend that I've already converted
My boss is also on the low calorie/low fat wagon this week. I came in from lunch with an iced coffee with cream and a bunless baconator. She expressed fear that she'd eat the 700 calorie burger and then go home and carb out...thus ending up high fat and high carb. It's hard coming from a low calorie mindset to imagine a 700 calorie lunch I supposed! lol
That's true. That statement makes me think that she's so hungry when she gets home that she works to not overeat but she probably is comfortable that she has more calories at dinner maybe because of the low calorie lunch. So she automatically thinks she will have the same hunger after a meal like yours and then have no calories for dinner, and therefore be starving. Lol
I never really dieted so much in the past. Not to the degree that I ever tracked calories. If I had used MFP back in the days of 'just eat less' I would've always been trying to figure out how to arrange the calories in each meal trying to make it to the next meal as if 30 more at lunch would make such a huge difference or something. It would've been crazy.
This is exactly what I did on low calorie. I'd hoard calories for evening because I'm short and can't eat many for weight loss as it is. So I'd starve all day and then go home and eat half a box of cereal or half a bag of chips while cooking dinner because I was shaking with hunger. So then all my hard work during the day was wiped out by an evening binge. I just lost and gained the same 5-10 lbs. again and again for years! Now I have coffee with cream for breakfast because I'm not very hungry in the morning. A good LCHF lunch and dinner and maybe a bedtime snack. I easily stay in my calorie goal and no hunger!
This and This.
I lost weight tracking cico, but I was STARVING all the time. Planning my day of food was ever present and very time consuming. It was a constant mental battle. This woe is so freeing.
6 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I'm seeing low fat dieting talk on my FB feed this week. One young girl (23 and obese) I know proclaimed her commitment to getting healthy. Listing the low fat, sugar laden yogurt, turkey wrap, baked chips and sugar free pudding that had made up her day at that point with total confidence. Talking about how she should find time to go for a walk to distract from wanting a second pudding cup.
I shared my experience being able to eat great food, not be hungry or having cravings and didn't have to workout and the comment has gone ignored. Except by one mutual friend that I've already converted
My boss is also on the low calorie/low fat wagon this week. I came in from lunch with an iced coffee with cream and a bunless baconator. She expressed fear that she'd eat the 700 calorie burger and then go home and carb out...thus ending up high fat and high carb. It's hard coming from a low calorie mindset to imagine a 700 calorie lunch I supposed! lol
Which is why I love IF. Two 700 calorie meals??? Don't mind if I do!
It kills me when I see these kinds of numbers. When I IF (about half the time now), it is 1400-1600 calories for lunch, 200-400 cal snack then 1200-1500 call dinner. The thought of having 1400 calories for a whole day makes me think I might as well have made it a full day fast.4 -
I remember doing weightwatcgers and working out which chocolate bars were the lowest in points (crunchies, galaxy ripples) and that I could get a KFC mini fillet burger and small fries for 11 points - so basically eating rubbish, but it's ok as I was within my points - never lost more then a few ooonds and then all back on plus a bit more!3
-
cstehansen wrote: »Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I'm seeing low fat dieting talk on my FB feed this week. One young girl (23 and obese) I know proclaimed her commitment to getting healthy. Listing the low fat, sugar laden yogurt, turkey wrap, baked chips and sugar free pudding that had made up her day at that point with total confidence. Talking about how she should find time to go for a walk to distract from wanting a second pudding cup.
I shared my experience being able to eat great food, not be hungry or having cravings and didn't have to workout and the comment has gone ignored. Except by one mutual friend that I've already converted
My boss is also on the low calorie/low fat wagon this week. I came in from lunch with an iced coffee with cream and a bunless baconator. She expressed fear that she'd eat the 700 calorie burger and then go home and carb out...thus ending up high fat and high carb. It's hard coming from a low calorie mindset to imagine a 700 calorie lunch I supposed! lol
Which is why I love IF. Two 700 calorie meals??? Don't mind if I do!
It kills me when I see these kinds of numbers. When I IF (about half the time now), it is 1400-1600 calories for lunch, 200-400 cal snack then 1200-1500 call dinner. The thought of having 1400 calories for a whole day makes me think I might as well have made it a full day fast.
Lucky you! 5 foot 3 inches doesn't allow me much in the way of total daily calories... boo.
4 -
I remember doing weightwatcgers and working out which chocolate bars were the lowest in points (crunchies, galaxy ripples) and that I could get a KFC mini fillet burger and small fries for 11 points - so basically eating rubbish, but it's ok as I was within my points - never lost more then a few ooonds and then all back on plus a bit more!
I did this too! A small McDonalds burger and small ff was 11 points. I only got 18 per day, so it was a splurge. I lost 40 pounds on WW, so I can't complain too much I guess, but I was so hungry all the time. That was almost 10 years ago. Now I am 9 pounds heavier and loving LCHF. I can't see myself doing WW again. I'm working on tracking with this woe now to fine tune my daily calories.3 -
I lost 70 pounds on Weight Watchers but never had the freedom from hunger that I've already experienced with less than 1 month of this WOE. I worked really hard at finding high volume low point foods to fill up my day to keep me happy, but it wasn't sustainable. I kept most of the weight off, but those pounds just creep up on you....2
-
missippibelle wrote: »cstehansen wrote: »Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I'm seeing low fat dieting talk on my FB feed this week. One young girl (23 and obese) I know proclaimed her commitment to getting healthy. Listing the low fat, sugar laden yogurt, turkey wrap, baked chips and sugar free pudding that had made up her day at that point with total confidence. Talking about how she should find time to go for a walk to distract from wanting a second pudding cup.
I shared my experience being able to eat great food, not be hungry or having cravings and didn't have to workout and the comment has gone ignored. Except by one mutual friend that I've already converted
My boss is also on the low calorie/low fat wagon this week. I came in from lunch with an iced coffee with cream and a bunless baconator. She expressed fear that she'd eat the 700 calorie burger and then go home and carb out...thus ending up high fat and high carb. It's hard coming from a low calorie mindset to imagine a 700 calorie lunch I supposed! lol
Which is why I love IF. Two 700 calorie meals??? Don't mind if I do!
It kills me when I see these kinds of numbers. When I IF (about half the time now), it is 1400-1600 calories for lunch, 200-400 cal snack then 1200-1500 call dinner. The thought of having 1400 calories for a whole day makes me think I might as well have made it a full day fast.
Lucky you! 5 foot 3 inches doesn't allow me much in the way of total daily calories... boo.
This is not all positive. My food bill is hard to keep under control. When I moved out to go to college, my mom realized that 2/3 of the food bill had been me. That was with two siblings and both parents still at home. My inability to sit still and need to work out just to wear myself out enough to make it through the day cause me to burn a ton of calories. That led to the crappy diet I had for so many years because my choices for eating out were always whatever has the most food for the lowest price - in other words, lots of buffets. I will refrain from grossing you out with how much pizza I would consume in one sitting. I will just say it was more than most medium sized families would eat combined and caused people to frequently stare at me since I was "normal" sized eating that way.2 -
I just started LCHF yesterday. My blood sugar is the best it's been in a long while. I have to say.. it's hard to wrap my head around this concept (especially the high fat part) but I am doing it anyways. Wish me luck!
What propelled you in this direction? (For many of us
, it was dumb luck.) 0 -
I just started LCHF yesterday. My blood sugar is the best it's been in a long while. I have to say.. it's hard to wrap my head around this concept (especially the high fat part) but I am doing it anyways. Wish me luck!
What propelled you in this direction? (For many of us , it was dumb luck.)
I can say, I accidently found keto, and started it on a whim...AND IT WORKED:)
3 -
I think my mistake was that fat seemed the easiest way to keep calories low, so they went out, and loving my bread and fruit, I just didn't really know how or learn how to add in the veg and healthy fats instead.
So bottom line was that even at a very minimal calorie deficit I was so hungry!
I had tried atkins and couldn't make it work for me in the past. If I keep carbs under 100, its working well and those fat calories are so important to feeling well. I'm in maintenance now so what I added the most were more healthy fat calories, not bread and fruit.
Some of the nutritionist stories on mfp are really scary!2 -
Not sure I've got a lot to contribute to this discussion but what's really obvious to me know is that my metabolism and the ability to 'use' carbs has changed over time. IN my 30's and early 40's I could lose any excess with a no calorie counting vege/no diary/no gluten detox for 3 weeks, and maintain by eating that way for about 60% of the time. My vege & legume based carbs were really high. However - 5 years ago that started to change, it just didn't work any more. Now, LCHF is the only thing that will shift the lbs.6
-
Not sure I've got a lot to contribute to this discussion but what's really obvious to me know is that my metabolism and the ability to 'use' carbs has changed over time. IN my 30's and early 40's I could lose any excess with a no calorie counting vege/no diary/no gluten detox for 3 weeks, and maintain by eating that way for about 60% of the time. My vege & legume based carbs were really high. However - 5 years ago that started to change, it just didn't work any more. Now, LCHF is the only thing that will shift the lbs.
Good for you!
That's a perfect example of everyone being their very own science project. Not only are you different from others in your family, you're even different from yourself!4 -
[/quote]
That's a perfect example of everyone being their very own science project.[/quote]
I love the idea of being my very own science project. So much of what we read on MFP (and in nutrition writing!) is based on the idea of SHOULD and MUST, RIGHT and WRONG, GOOD and BAD. But I think discovering what works for you is trial and error--a true experimentation. You test different hypothesis and study outcomes. That is so much more freeing than believing that if something DOESN'T work for you, you're just doing it wrong. Maybe my right is your wrong and vice versa.
All that said, I am so happy that I stumbled into this WOE, because I do believe that I have finally had my "eureka!" moment and discovered, through all of you, what works for me!
8 -
I sure resonate with this. My mom raised me as a single mom, and when I left home for college, I remember talking to her on the phone once about food costs... I was a 6'3" university student who was also a competitive athlete.cstehansen wrote: »This is not all positive. My food bill is hard to keep under control. When I moved out to go to college, my mom realized that 2/3 of the food bill had been me. That was with two siblings and both parents still at home. My inability to sit still and need to work out just to wear myself out enough to make it through the day cause me to burn a ton of calories. That led to the crappy diet I had for so many years because my choices for eating out were always whatever has the most food for the lowest price - in other words, lots of buffets. I will refrain from grossing you out with how much pizza I would consume in one sitting. I will just say it was more than most medium sized families would eat combined and caused people to frequently stare at me since I was "normal" sized eating that way.
It was my 2nd semester of university, and I was 17. I think I remember saying something along the lines of "Mom, you have no idea how much it costs to feed a guy my size ..."
To her credit, there was silence on the other end of the phone. After a second or two, I said "Oh." when I realized how stupid my statement was. She confessed she couldn't believe she had money left-over at every month ... and not a little bit.
I hear you on the pizza and buffets... We had a place near the University that delivered an 18" pizza guaranteed to have "no less than 5lbs of toppings". I ate one once. By myself. I also used to frequent a KFC that had 'all you can eat' chicken, mashed potato and gravy on Wednesday for $2.99. (Yeah, I'm old).
I did the math back then and there were days I consumed 13,000 calories. 5k+ was the norm.
Amazingly, between a youthful metabolism and serious training, I didn't get fat and maintained a 32-33" waist through university. I think I thought I'd maintain that forever. Once the schooling was done (too long), I got married, and the cycling lessened considerably ... it started creeping on.1 -
@albertabeefy - I am only a few years behind you in age. Through college, the standard pizza buffet price was 2.99 ($3.24 with tax). I always just got water to drink. For a while in the mid to late 90's, there was a Long John Silvers here that had an all you could eat chicken and fish. Even back then, I would skip the fries and hush puppies and just eat the chicken and fish - lots of it. Of course with the batter, it wasn't exactly low carb, but even then I saw the sides as just taking up space that could be better used for meat. It was more expensive, like 5.99, but I was out of college and had a decent job by then. I think we were definitely in the minority at regularly breaking the 10,000 calorie mark.0
-
Maybe we could get UA to underwrite a Flashback Weekend for you two in some college town.....0
-
Maybe we could get UA to underwrite a Flashback Weekend for you two in some college town.....
If I ate like that now, I could easily be up to 300 lbs within a couple months.
One irritating thing is all these eating challenges didn't exist back in the days where I could have actually done them successfully. I think there was one steak challenge, but it was 2 hours away and I couldn't afford the gas back then (not to mention I wouldn't have trusted my car to make it there and back).0 -
cstehansen wrote: »Maybe we could get UA to underwrite a Flashback Weekend for you two in some college town.....
If I ate like that now, I could easily be up to 300 lbs within a couple months.
One irritating thing is all these eating challenges didn't exist back in the days where I could have actually done them successfully. I think there was one steak challenge, but it was 2 hours away and I couldn't afford the gas back then (not to mention I wouldn't have trusted my car to make it there and back).
There is nothing as soothing to your wallet or as challenging to your waistline, etc., as getting a job. I didn't have a car for the longest time. It was often annoying (like getting from the highway into town at night when hitchhiking), but I did manage to get a heck of a lot more exercise.1
This discussion has been closed.