Screwing up on diet.

[ButterflyWrists]

Arghhh, this is more of a vent than anything else tbh.. But how many of you screw up your diets and still try doing everything you would when you follow your diet?

 

OK, simply put, I am currently on 1 or 2 meals a day (excluding today I'll get to that in a min!) and going for one, 1hour walk and a 30min walk, rollerblading for anywhere between 20-40mins a day. the meal(s) have been sausage sandwhich, and a curry or pesto pasta.

 

I know my eating habits aren't very healthy currently, but I've been at a festival, well I got back last monday. Where I was eating no meals, just snacking and drinking cider for breakfast and then in the mosh pits all day xD and getting 8 hours sleep over the 5 days... So I need to slowly build my eating habbits back up..

 

Right so, today I screwed up, custard for breakfast at about 6am because I didn't sleep, then 2 doughnuts. and I still did one walk, about 20 mins give or take and rollerblading about 30mins, but not at the speed I normally go so I didn't go round as many times (I go round a block).

 

How can I get a decent/healthy balance where I can enjoy unhealthy food along with healthy food.

BTW, I only drink flavored water or pure not from concentrated juice.

[mhowe]

Sausage is horrible for you --- all fat. Worse than bacon.

Custard the same. And guess how good donuts are?

 

You can exercise until you are blue in the face, but until you eliminate most fats (a large portion of your "diet"), and cut down on carbs (rice, pasta) except for veggies, you will continue to gain weight. You cannot "enjoy" unhealthy food to this extent ---- it is a treat (one a month).

[ButterflyWrists]

Vegetarian sausage* sorry. I know the custard and such is terrible, its only been today that I've done that...

[Mercurial Girl]

Many people start off with just working on their portion sizes and keeping within a certain calorie range still eating their normal foods. If you stick to your guns on the calories, you very likely will start to look for foods with more "bang for the buck"...cause you're going to be huuuungry if you eat high calorie, low nutrition foods. For example, lots of calories in sausage, especially for the portion sizes. So you may end up eating 1/2 your normal sausage serving (or mixing it into an omelet), maybe adding a scrambled egg or two with a side of whole wheat toast. You may then further evolve into having oats made with an egg or two egg whites, some dried fruit and a bit of maple syrup or honey on top...and so on.

 

Some people respond to this one with shock and horror, but it has been working for me: Saturdays are my "free for all" days...sometimes Sundays too. I'll have a huge steak for dinner, ice cream right out the carton for a snack, bacon and eggs for breakfast, I really don't give it a second thought other than "what am I craving more than anything else right now? I'll have that" and I enjoy it completely guilt-free. Monday I'm back at er' and revved back up for sensible eating through the week.

[Seraphim]

Don't skip meals it is the worst way to mess up your body. It will send it into starvation mode and everything you eat will be packed on as fat. Not only that it is not something one can continue. So when you do go back to eating normal meals you will pack on pounds like crazy because you won't have a metabolism left.

[Huntress0527]

Here are the issue I've read:

 

1. Having 1-2 meals a day is not enough. It slows your metabolism. You will not lose weight this way.

 

2. The types of food you're eating. You are not eating healthy foods. So not only are you not eating enough but eating the wrong types.

 

3. You're giving food moral connotations- being good and bad. People should not do that. Food is food. Some foods are just more nutrient rich than others. It's all about balance.

 

Your activity is good though so keep that part up.

[Mercurial Girl]

Don't skip meals it is the worst way to mess up your body. It will send it into starvation mode and everything you eat will be packed on as fat. Not only that it is not something one can continue. So when you do go back to eating normal meals you will pack on pounds like crazy because you won't have a metabolism left.

 

I've never heard of someone without a metabolism.

 

This "starvation mode" thing is a gross misconception. Starvation mode is not a concern for the average dieter, it takes a lot of actual starvation to get into that state.

 

That's not to say that skipping meals is at all a good thing. But no, if you don't eat for even a few days your body is not going to hoard every last calorie consumed forevermore and store it as fat. That's popular pseudo-science.

[Seraphim]

I've never heard of someone without a metabolism.

 

This "starvation mode" thing is a gross misconception. Starvation mode is not a concern for the average dieter, it takes a lot of actual starvation to get into that state.

 

That's not to say that skipping meals is at all a good thing. But no, if you don't eat for even a few days your body is not going to hoard every last calorie consumed forevermore and store it as fat. That's popular pseudo-science.

 

What I am talking about is a very slow metabolism. Obviously a few days of missing meals is not going to kill you. There are people who do this routinely though and think they will loose weight. You won't, you will just make a mess of your body.

[ButterflyWrists]

I try to eat foods which will give me enough energy to get through the day atm because I am eating so little, the sausages I have (vegetarian ones) are about 170something in calories, 1 sausage in some bread and a bit of salad cream fills me up for the majority of the day, if not all of the day.

I think today has to be my free day, I haven't actually had any decent food all day other than some salad leaves. Going to have some salad and go for a walk, need to.

Thank you for reminding me about 'empty calories' nutrition worthless foods.

 

 

I'm only skipping meals atm trying to get back into a eating pattern as after download and not eating at all really for 5 days, my body does pack on some weight once I've done that.

 

Ok, well foods which dont give as much nutritional benefits

I'm not actually eating this way to lose weight, currently I'm doing it to maintain my current weightloss, but its eating more than I did for 5 days and slowly build myself back up to a normal pattern (aside today, I'm well over my daily intake and my housemate is either gonna force feed me cooked pizza, or frozen pizza depending on his mood. And he actually will, hes done it before D luckily thats only 400cals.

 

Hmm thank you for all the advice. time for another walk, hopefully can do my full hour one and then not feel quite so guilty!

[meoww]

One way to fill up is on a lot of vegetables. If you have the time and the budget for it, I think it's important to cook fresh meals at home. It's a lot easier to stick to a diet when the food you are eating actually tastes delicious. Use lots of herbs and seasonings, they are low in calories but really good.

 

For example some good snacks are

 

heirloom tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinegar, or caprese salad

shaved fennel (the root) with tangerines or grapefruit

a baked potato with lots of toppings (not cheese of course)

i recently saw a mexican (i think) dish with an egg inside a red pepper or something, it looked really good, and cheap too

 

sprouted grain bread is actually kind of delicious too.

i also like pumpkin and squash

you could make your own pesto and put it on stuff that isn't just pasta, I bet it would even be good on grilled veggies.

 

basically, I would really diversify your diet and include a way bigger variety of fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

Eating fish 1-2 times a week is great too.

[WhenWillILove]

What happened to vegetables? Fruits?

Salmon? Lean meats?

Low-fat dairy?

Reduce your carbohydrate intake, aka pasta, breads, sweets, etc.

[ButterflyWrists]

I love cooking! Make mostly pasta meals, or cheesy mash (I need to get my calcium somehow lol) I cant afford to buy veggies too much so expensive, and I'm living on a student budget (which is basically around £100 a month, including things like bus travel, trains, socialising.)

I always buy a bag of salad leaves sometimes tomatos and cucumbers which I snack on normally. thank you..

 

I don't eat fish xD

[WhenWillILove]

Hit the weights. Cardio does only so much.

[WhenWillILove]

I love cooking! Make mostly pasta meals, or cheesy mash (I need to get my calcium somehow lol) I cant afford to buy veggies too much so expensive, and I'm living on a student budget (which is basically around £100 a month, including things like bus travel, trains, socialising.)

I always buy a bag of salad leaves sometimes tomatos and cucumbers which I snack on normally. thank you..

 

I don't eat fish xD

 

Then take fish oil supplements.

[mhowe]

Mixing potatos and cheese -- not a winner.

Pizza -- again, calorie dense food.

 

Simple carbs (bread, rice, pasta) ---portion size is 1/2 cup. Yup.

And when you eat too much of it, the carbs metabolise into stored fat if you do not exercise enough to burn it off.

[ButterflyWrists]

What happened to vegetables? Fruits?

Salmon? Lean meats?

Low-fat dairy?

Reduce your carbohydrate intake, aka pasta, breads, sweets, etc.

 

I havent eaten friut and veg this week, wait... Yeah I have, had some salad cant remember which day.. I normally have fruit and veg with every meal aside breakfast. Don't have any money to do any shopping atm (£400 to last me until sept and I have bills to pay out of that)

I don't eat meat or fish. . I eat some low fat dairy, yogurts, but not very often.

At the moment I need the carbs else I will snack on more unhealthy things through the day. And I can't live without pasta and potatos, there goes the whole of my diet, they're cheap to buy

[Huntress0527]

You can purchase frozen veggies. They keep for longer, usually are cheaper, and are just as nutritionally rich as fresh. Eat 3 meals with 1-2 snacks. Also, if you're a sweets lover like myself keep enough calorie allowance for a treat. Not only will you curb binges that way but you'll keep your sanity. Trust me! I love chocolate like eat it everyday love so my protein shake is chocolate and my desserts usually have some chocolate in them. For instance, I love dark chocolate morsels melted over strawberries.

[ButterflyWrists]

Hit the weights. Cardio does only so much.

I cant get any weights atm, packing works though.. and cant afford to join the gym until sept

Then take fish oil supplements.

again cant afford currently, I'll steal some of my mums

Mixing potatos and cheese -- not a winner.

Pizza -- again, calorie dense food.

 

Simple carbs (bread, rice, pasta) ---portion size is 1/2 cup. Yup.

And when you eat too much of it, the carbs metabolise into stored fat if you do not exercise enough to burn it off.

 

It tastes so good though!!!!

when I eat these foods I only eat a child sized portion and I do a fair amount of walking/rollerblading which helps keep up trying to burn it off. I need to look into making my own soups again.

[ButterflyWrists]

You can purchase frozen veggies. They keep for longer, usually are cheaper, and are just as nutritionally rich as fresh. Eat 3 meals with 1-2 snacks. Also, if you're a sweets lover like myself keep enough calorie allowance for a treat. Not only will you curb binges that way but you'll keep your sanity. Trust me! I love chocolate like eat it everyday love so my protein shake is chocolate and my desserts usually have some chocolate in them. For instance, I love dark chocolate morsels melted over strawberries.

 

Freezer space in a shared house is next to impossible to get, I have frozen brocoli atm.

Yeah thats what I'm going to try and do, after today as I've failed everything today. Tomorrows meal is coliflour and brocoli cheese.

I'm lucky, if I have my flavoured water I don't crave a snack everyday, it all just comes in one day like today.. Sometimes over a week, then i have to start again. which sucks. Hence the asking for advice

[Mercurial Girl]

RE the no weights thing, you really can do SO much with your body weight especially in the beginning. No need for weights! Push ups, sit ups/bicycle crunches, squats, lunges, tricep dips, lots of other things and variations on those can do so much good. Jugs of water, larger canned goods can be used in place of weights too. The higher your muscle mass, the higher your basal metabolic rate = the more calorie burned just watching tv.

 

On a strict food budget, focus on pulses, whole wheat, brown rice, eggs (best protein for your buck) and clearance meats, fruit & veg on sale to eat the same or next day. Betcha cheese is more expensive than broccoli which has about 180mg of calcium per cup.