Nutrition & Eating - page 2

*** 90% of your ability to lose weight and keep it off will center on what you eat.  ***
Stay balanced:
There are many diets out there that try to shift what you eat to one extreme or another.  Occasionally there are times these strategies work for short term cycles.  These are explained in the Phase 2 for weight loss plateaus.   With rare exceptions, any diet that goes to a high/low extreme in fat, carbohydrates or protein is not advisable.  Diet for Living is about an eating lifestyle you can live the rest of your life with in order to keep the weight off permanently.  Dietary extremes should never be a normal part of your new lifestyle. 

Counting Calories:
As for counting calories, don’t do it!  Do Not Count Calories!  (at least not yet)

Most overweight individuals eat extremely high levels of calories.  This is mainly due to the types of food they eat-not so much the quantity of the food.  Changing from the high calorie food to lower calorie nutritional food will often cut hundreds and sometimes even thousands of calories out of their diet.  Consequently they lose weight and get healthy; especially when exercise is added. 

Important: Focus on the type & quality of the foods you eat, the portion size, and if you truly are hungry. This is a major key to weight loss and maintenance. 

By doing this you will learn to eat like people without weight problems.  This is a lifetime skill you need to learn. 

Understand, just eating good food will not make you lose weight. A person can gain weight on healthy food if they consume more calories than their body needs.  Remember--energy balance: it is not what you eat, but the number of calories that determines weight loss.  You eat quality food for health reasons and to help keep you feeling full with less calories.  See the article Energy Balance for more details.

In some cases, people reach dieting plateaus lasting more than a month and they need to move on to phase 2 strategies where calorie counting is needed. But unless you need to use the Temporary strategies explained in phase 2, you should not live your life needing to count calories.

Again: 90% of your ability to lose weight and keep it off will center on what you eat. And how you eat should focus on food quality, portion control and actual hunger. 


Digestion time:
Eating 500 calories in vegetables will keep you feeling full for much longer than eating 500 calories of cream pie.  There is very little substance in the pie but it is high in calories.  Eat this for a meal and you will be hungry soon.  On the other hand, eating 500 calories in vegetables will keep you feeling full for hours. The vegetables will also help your body function better than the cream pie and therefore give you an edge at losing weight.  Include as many foods in your diet that are high in bulk and low in calories.  Generally speaking, healthier foods are lower in calories.

Fish oil capsules and Multivitamin:
Vitamins: While on a diet, especially when you are just learning what good nutrition is, you should take a multivitamin.  It is like an insurance policy.  If you are failing to get a particular type of nutrient, the vitamins will help.  Also, there are some vitamins your body needs to help you lose weight.  For example, frequently overweight people have low vitamin D and there may be a correlation to low Vitamin D and your ability to lose weight.  It also plays a role in muscle soreness.

Fish Oil Capsules: Most people simply do not get enough of the good sources of fat in their diet. The most convenient way to get enough is using fish oil capsules.  Fish oil is high in Omega 3 fatty acids.  Omega 3 has many benefits from helping lower cholesterol and triglycerides to reducing inflammation and joint pain.  It also helps prevent heart disease and helps dry skin conditions.  The capsules mean no bad taste of fish oil.  Also, find a good quality brand that is mercury free and will not give you the dreaded fish oil burps.  Low quality capsules will give most anyone a bad case of the burps. 


Focus on quality healthy foods:
When you start out, don't primarily focus on the amount of food you eat, focus mainly on the types of food you eat. Not only will the good food provide you with nutrients you need, but it will typically be lower in calories but more filling.  If you have a diet that makes you hungry all the time, you are not eating the right kinds of food.  You should never be physically hungry (but you may have craving even though you are not hungry).  In fact, trying to limit your food intake will likely make you even hungrier and more likely to overeat.  Good food that is well prepared has fewer calories than unhealthy food like a greasy burger and fries. 

Remember, no food is off limits to eat.  Just keep a realistic approach to which foods are nutritious for your body and what foods fit your goals.  Be moderate on unhealthy foods.
Next: Nutrition pg3
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Focus on three things for success:
#1 Quality of the food
#2 Portion size
#3 True hunger vs cravings
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A person can gain weight on healthy food if they consume more calories than their body needs.

Remember: Energy Balance
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Keep in mind, calories do not fill the belly or make you feel full.  Eating 2000 calories of chocolate cream pie will not make you suddenly feel full due to the calories.  On the other hand, most people would not be able to eat 20 cups of celery--which only have 320 calories.
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