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Skip the snacks. Snacks should never be part of your plan, they should only be a response to:
a) ravenous hunger that affects your brain function, b) an unplanned physical demand (say, a friend asks you at the last minute to move some boxes for him), c) a social situation (say, your Italian grandmother baked a tub of pizzeles), or d) a drinking session where you just throw up your hands and say, "I'm going to relax tonight and get back on the wagon tomorrow."
Do this, and you'll find that even at a super-low calorie count, you can eat pretty normally three times a day.
You can also find plenty of support for the idea that 5 or 6 smaller amounts spread over the day might do more for keeping your blood sugar levels more even which may prevent hunger splurges.
Not additional food....just stretched out.
I'll try. I found it really time consuming to count calories because most of what I eat is homemade.
Today:
40 oz water
Black coffee
Sm glass orange juice
1 cup tofu with green onions, shoyu, and sesame oil
Tuna Sandwich (spinach, tomato, onion)
orange
about 1/4 cup raw pepitos
Homemade burrito (lean ground beef/black beans, lettuce, corn, tomatos, onion, homemade red sauce)
This may be a really good idea, if I have to report what I eat I'll be less likely to indulge!
Keeping a food diary is a great idea! I started one the 29th of February. I haven't always been consistent with using it, but on the days I did use it, I noticed that I would be more selective about what I chose to eat. That helped me to stay closer to my calorie range. If I did go over, I could go back and review to see what I ate, why I ate, and make adjustments as necessary.
For example, if my dinner was too light, I noticed that I would eat a large snack before bed. So I decided to switch it around and eat something more filling for dinner and maybe just a handful of almonds and cherry tomatoes as a late night snack.
People aren't fat because they don't exercise. People aren't thin because they do. Next time you are at the gym, take notice of that overweight person on the machine. Notice he hasn't lost any weight in the past year? How about that thin guy who never exercises? Looks about the same every day.
I don't understand. You seem to be against exercise and calorie reduction for weight loss?
If you polled 1000 people or even if 1000 people had that for lunch, how many would also be able to write "This kept me full all day until dinner."?
Hi Charles,
That's true. It may not work for some people. It depends on our age, size, and daily calorie requirement.
I'm a smaller person. To maintain my current weight, I should be consuming around 1400 calories per day. For weight loss, my calorie intake should be between 1100 to 1200. I don't require as much food as let's say...someone who is six feet tall, 200 pounds, and muscular...so some people may need a bigger lunch to stay full.
They also have 1500 and 1800 Cal month long plans, as well as diets for other needs like heart healthy, vegetarian, and healthy aging. I've tried some recipes from this site and enjoyed them.
You can also find plenty of support for the idea that 5 or 6 smaller amounts spread over the day might do more for keeping your blood sugar levels more even which may prevent hunger splurges.
Not additional food....just stretched out.
I am aware of that, but I think it's usually cooked data that appeals to people's fantasy that they can always be eating and never have any negative effects because of it. I've never seen anyone benefit from additional meals, but I've seen people dramatically improve from cutting out meals (not cutting out calories, just cutting out meals).
Basically, I think the average person should err on the side of being too fasted, rather than too fed, because in our currently state we're generally overfed. Exceptions abound, of course. It depends on your goals. If you're a baseball player continually suffering hamstring tightness and you eat three meals a day, perhaps eat a banana during your game and see if that doesn't help matters. You always have to be flexible about it. But saying, "I'm going to start a diet with five meals," without any specific reason for those extra two meals, I think for an overwhelming majority of people, that's not the way to do it.
I am aware of that, but I think it's usually cooked data that appeals to people's fantasy that they can always be eating and never have any negative effects because of it. I've never seen anyone benefit from additional meals, but I've seen people dramatically improve from cutting out meals (not cutting out calories, just cutting out meals).
Basically, I think the average person should err on the side of being too fasted, rather than too fed, because in our currently state we're generally overfed. Exceptions abound, of course. It depends on your goals. If you're a baseball player continually suffering hamstring tightness and you eat three meals a day, perhaps eat a banana during your game and see if that doesn't help matters. You always have to be flexible about it. But saying, "I'm going to start a diet with five meals," without any specific reason for those extra two meals, I think for an overwhelming majority of people, that's not the way to do it.
Guess there's no sense in trying to disabuse people of their ideas, especially when they dont read exactly what others write.
Anyway, this is off topic so I apologize to the OP since it has nothing to do with menu suggestions
What did I miss? I'm aware of the conventional wisdom you present and the studies that support it, I'm just saying that doing the exact opposite of that worked for me and others I've seen. I'm doing this so someone eating six meals a day and not finding success won't be afraid to give three decent-sized meals a try. Not because I don't want to be disabused of my ideas.
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