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Diet plan: After reviewing many strategies a common thread to successful ones is the avoidance of refined carbohydrates and processed meats. Examples include potato chips, candies, fast food, tv dinners, white bread, white rice, etc, etc – in other words, Junk food.
Processed meats may promote cancer, but as for as weight goes they have the same issue as whole meats: they tend to be high in fat and therefore high in calories.
Refined carbohydrates aren't that much more dense than their unrefined counterparts, it is the coupling with fats that creates problems. You're not going to get fat eating plain white bread, rather the opposite...
If fruits and vegetables will make up the majority of the diet, you're going to be eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. 5+ pieces of fruit a day and 10+ vegetables a day.....
Regardless, a big long post when its real simple: a diet of whole plant-foods, majority of which are low-fat starchy plant-foods, with little to no animal foods. The main problem with this is that it flies against a lot of commonly believed dietary myths "carbs are bad", "you need meat for protein", "I need milk for strong bones", "your body needs oil to be healthy", "a balanced diet is one based on the USDA food groups", etc.
Eating plain white bread which is full of carbs (and very little of any fiber) that turn into sugar in the bloodstream and make you hungrier, will most definitely cause you to gain weight - those kinds of carbs are not satisfying - in fact, just the opposite is true - eliminate white bread if you want to lose weight.
Eating plain white bread which is full of carbs (and very little of any fiber) that turn into sugar in the bloodstream and make you hungrier, will most definitely cause you to gain weight - those kinds of carbs are not satisfying - in fact, just the opposite is true - eliminate white bread if you want to lose weight.
I've lost 53 pounds since April, and eat three slices of homemade sourdough bread every day (a piece of toast with breakfast, and a sandwich at lunch).
I agree that the OP is wayyyy overthinking it.
The secret to losing weight is taking in fewer calories than you burn. Eat less and move more.
The tools at myfitnesspal.com have really helped me. You enter your age, height, current weight, goal weight, type of lifestyle (sedentary, semi-active, active, etc.) you lead, and how much you want to lose each week. It calculates your BMR, and sets a dietary budget for you each day. You can choose different parameters to monitor. For instance, I monitor calories, carbs, fat, protein, cholesterol, and sodium.
The only thing I've given up completely is soda. The only time I eat fast food is when it's absolutely necessary, which has been probably three times since April. (Even then, I enter it in my food log, and make sure I don't go over my calorie allotment for the day.) I try to eat as few processed foods as possible. Otherwise, I eat pretty much whatever I want, though I tend to stick to protein, fruits and vegetables other than the previously mentioned bread. It's worked out very well for me, and is something I can live with permanently.
Honestly some people making dieting more complicated then it needs to be. I don't see the point in purchasing multiple supplements and cutting out foods groups, then re-adding them in. A diet is supposed to be a lifestyle change, something that can be maintained for the rest of your life. If you are okay with eating mainly fruits, veggies, dark chocolate here and there, limited fresh meats, limited dairy, and limited carbs then go for it, but if you know that it isn't realistic then you'll need another approach. The reason so many people fail when dieting is that they only focus on the short term and go right back to old eating habits or non-exercise habits and regain the weight. I've been on a variety of diets and the reason they've always failed for me was because they weren't things that I could continue doing the rest of my life, or things I WANTED to continue doing in the long term.
I avoid diets that I can't see myself doing for the short term. For instance any diet where in the short term I am having to completely cut out a food group that I enjoy and that are not harmful if consumed in moderation I typically will avoid. That is why I will no longer do south beach or any other diets where I'm having to cut out food groups for a "phase" and then re-add them in. I understand why it is is done(body detox), but have discovered ways to rewire chemistry in my own body where I've eliminated cravings(better than atkins, south beach etc has ever done) without having to do it so drastic and have managed in the process to find a diet that I can see myself maintaining and doing for a long time. For me it's eating complex carbohydrates like brown rice, sweet potatoes, oats, unbleached whole wheat flour and unbleached whole wheat white flour, plenty and ALL fruits, plenty and ALL vegetables, dairy such as nonfat greek yogurt and soy milk, meats/poultry that are not processed and are baked, and junk in very minimal intake(as in maybe once or twice a week), I drink green tea, and coffee, and drink tons of water as well. I eat all REAL foods--no reduced fat foods, or fake butter, sugary syrup, sugary honey, or white sugar--I use real butter, olive oil, 100% maple syrup, raw honey, and dehydrated sugar cane to sweeten things and I try to do it minimally. I don't eat bread that often--maybe once or twice a week. It's a very minimal part of my diet. It's not because I think bread is a bad thing, because it isn't. Matter of fact I've lost weight in the past eating tons of bread, and bready items, but being honest I'm finding through-out my week that I just don't crave bread that often. Eating this way I have no sugar cravings, fatty-food cravings, etc. I get all my nutrients in and by the time I go to sleep I'm satisfied. I used to crave chocolate every single day, or crave pizza multiple times a week. I no longer crave them at all. I also do cardio and resistance training, as well as anerobic exercise(running up and down multiple flight of stairs) 6 times a week.
One thing I do, do that others might not, is that I try to be "open"--if I really want a certain food I'll get it and eat it and will not feel guilt about it. If I want fast food or restaurant food(which lately I haven't wanted)
Last edited by sunkisses87; 09-29-2012 at 05:21 PM..
Eating plain white bread which is full of carbs (and very little of any fiber) that turn into sugar in the bloodstream and make you hungrier, will most definitely cause you to gain weight - those kinds of carbs are not satisfying.
Its funny the degree to which the low-carb thing has gotten people to demonize carbohydrates....even people that don't eat low-carb. Regardless, all complex carbohydrates are converted into sugar.....which your body can utilize for energy. That isn't unique to products made from refined flour.... The primary difference between a piece of white bread and a piece of whole wheat bread is the latter has fiber and more mirco-nutrients, but the additional fiber doesn't make a dramatic difference in the calorie density of the food so the idea that one promotes weight gain and one doesn't makes little sense. Unless you're suggest that wheat in general causes weight gain......not sure why that would be the case though.
White bread doesn't promote weight gain, its the fat that typically is added to it that causes problems....
And Claire F is right. You don't have to completely cut out anything you enjoy to lose weight. You could even eat a few candy bars throughout the week and as long as you maintain a calorie deficit you will still lose weight. You can lose weight eating processed foods, simple carbs, etc. It's truly about calories in and calories out. The difficult part for me with eating processed and simple carbs and weight loss, is that you might find yourself hungrier with the calorie deficit then you would eating "whole" unprocessed foods, and mainly lean meats and veggies, and complex carbs. But I think some people make losing weight more difficult than need be and then struggle trying to maintain a diet that is too difficult.
And if your eating all the nutrients you need, by eating the right food groups you won't need the vitamins IMO.
Eating bread in an of itself isn't going to make a person gain weight. I agree that if a person has too many carbs and not enough protein, they are more likely to stay hungry, which makes them eat more, which makes it harder to lose weight. It's all about moderation.
Sciameriken...that's a lot of good information you posted.. I 've always found that a no-carb diet works fantastic to lose weight, and with some complex carbs (5 grain cooked cerial, all bran, ) you always feel great..What I like is you can eat as many vegies (no potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes) as you like, with as much butter on it as you like, and as much meat (not processed of course) as you can or want, cooked anyway you want (you can substitute nuts for meat, it's the protein you want as it keeps hunger at bay), so if you really like to eat this is a sure fire way to look and feel great....a peice of fruit every day is good too.
Honestly some people making dieting more complicated then it needs to be...(snip)
Actually you're making it a lot more complicated than it needs to be, because you're including things in your post that make no sense at all, and are just - untrue. Perhaps you're just confused.
Quote:
For me it's eating complex carbohydrates like brown rice, sweet potatoes, oats, unbleached whole wheat flour and unbleached whole wheat white flour, plenty and ALL fruits, plenty and ALL vegetables, dairy such as nonfat greek yogurt and soy milk, meats/poultry that are not processed and are baked, and junk in very minimal intake(as in maybe once or twice a week), I drink green tea, and coffee, and drink tons of water as well. I eat all REAL foods--no reduced fat foods, or fake butter, sugary syrup, sugary honey, or white sugar--I use real butter, olive oil, 100% maple syrup, raw honey, and dehydrated sugar cane to sweeten things and I try to do it minimally.
1. There's no such thing as "unbleached whole wheat white flour." Flour referred to as "white flour" is, by definition, bleached.
2. Soy milk isn't dairy.
3. "Junk in very minimal intake" - what constitutes "junk?" McDonald's? If you're eating a Big Mac once or twice a week, you're not eating it "very minimally." You're eating it habitually. If by "junk" you mean you sometimes break down and have a cheeseburger, on a home-made whole-wheat bun, made with cheese you made from your own cow's milk, and beef from a beef cow who was raised on the farm next door on 100% pesticide-free wheat-grass and roamed free over 200 acres of land untouched by human hands.. then that's not junk. If you mean a few slices of pizza made with enriched white flour, yeast, a pinch of salt, water, part-skim mozzarella, fresh ripe tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of fresh basil or dried oregano - that's not junk either. It's healthy hearty wholesome food and eating it once or twice a week should be fine, in modest portions (2-3 slices, depending on the size of the pie)
4. If by "dehydrated sugar cane" you mean "the same crystallized sugar that Aunt Bee had in her sugar bowl and most families have in a kitchen cabinet," then okay. But - that's what crystallized sugar IS. It's the scrapings off the inner part of a plant stalk, dehydrated into crystalline form. The plant stalk is the cane, which is why it's called cane sugar.
5. You claim to only eat complex carbohydrates - yet sugar of ALL kinds, and the carbs naturally found in dairy, are *simple* carbohydrates.
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