Diet help :X
Alright, I'm looking for some meal suggestions (7 small/day). It needs to be high with protein, low carbs. So far, this is what I've got:
Tuna, egg, chicken, hamburger, small bun, bean burrittos
And of course, protein bars/shakes/rations, whatever you prefer.
Building a list for grocery shopping, and thanks in advance.
Tuna, egg, chicken, hamburger, small bun, bean burrittos
And of course, protein bars/shakes/rations, whatever you prefer.
Building a list for grocery shopping, and thanks in advance.
0
Comments
Don't forget to load up on salad supplies & other fresh veggies. Eaten raw they make an outstanding substitute food full of vitamins & almost no calories. Same for fresh fruit.
I have a friend who's very very fit, all he eats every day for lunch is a small salad with a drained can of tuna, with skim milk or water to drink. Eww. But man, is he ripped.
So no carbs = no pasta I'm guessing?
Everything I've listed is pretty high in protien, although the bacon would probably be a bad idea except in moderation.
Seriously tho...nuts yes, are somewhat high in fat and oils, but afaik they are also full of minerals and vitamins. Some amount of fat is necessary for brain function, among other things, people OVERobsess about fat in diet - tho obviously, there is such thing as too much. Plus, the fat in nuts is not the same as animal fat, if such a thing can be said, it's 'healthier' fat. If you are doing enough work/exercise, and not overindulging, nuts are more and more being proven to be an excellent source of nutrients. The reading I have done on this subject is paper, not 'net, so sorry no linkage.
Maybe our resident doc might wander into this topic?
Heck, for ultra hi-pro food, cat chow has a very large percentage of protien but it's less than tasty...yes I have tried it.
Carbs are the same way. I may get some protein bars (22g carbs/20g protein) and eat one/day as a snack inbetween meals. I'm shooting for 100-150g protein everyday, coupled with walking/weights, so believe it or not, I'll be hardpressed to find protein in everyday food. I'm hoping Chick-fil-a does a decent grilled chicken for dinner.
BTW, why is Atkins suicidal and harmful?
Some people react very badly to a high fat, high protein, low carb diet. The fat goes straight to their heart and they have the typical high fat/cholesterol reactions. Also, some people take the whole low carb/Atkins type diet to the extreme and eat nothing but bacon dipped in cheese sauce, that's not good. Atkins emphasises low carb, high protein, moderate fat, and IF YOU READ HIS BOOK, a healthy selection of carefully chosen fruits and vegetables.
I did Atkins for about 6 months last year and lost 40 pounds. About 10 of those pounds came back over the holidays (I endulged in carbs, OH BOY did I endulge!). If you do Atkins, realize that you might be making a lifestyle altering decision...your body packs it back on quite rapidly after losing it, it takes awhile to get used to a new weight.
Good foods include eggs, turkey bacon (less fat), cheese, meat. I've enjoyed the Atkins brand shakes, as well as Atkins bars (chocolate/peanut butter). The shakes and bars are not cheap, and some folks claim the diet is expensive, this is partially true.
Finally, Atkins worked for me, but all things in moderation. You can eat meat, but you can't eat a pound of it daily and not exercise, you still need to pay attention to basic, proper nutrition.
I'll get back into Atkins big and bad come Spring when I can get out and walk more. Meantime, it's maintenance.
So far, this is my schedule, and this is temporary and will probably change as I acommodate 7 meals, instead of 5.
Breakfast: Eggs, Protein Shake, Omega stuff
Snack 1: Lunchmeat of some sort. No bread
Lunch: Meat patty/grilled chicken patty, from Backyard burger or somesuch place. No buns. Omega 3,6,9 stuff
Snack 1: Protein bar
Dinner: Eggs, Protein Shake, Omega stuff
One thing I've noticed about these diets is there is not much variety
I've spoke to my MD about it. The fdact is, cutting out carbs entirely WILL kill you (your kidneys will shut down, among other things) but if you were to never eat carbs, AND you eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, you'll be fine, and much better off than blowing carbs entirely.
are you doing some type of workout as well? If not, you'll lose equal amounts of fat and muscle which is definitely not what you want. Also, I suggest not getting wrapped around the axle about your weight. A much more accurate and healthier scale is to measure your fat percentage and track that. If you workout, your muscle mass increases while your bodyfat decreases. Muscle being more dense than fat weighs more in the same space. Additionally, if you are really looking to make yourself healthier, stronger, more vibrant, and live longer (as opposed to the average American solely focused on an arbitray number on a scale) combining aerobic (running is my poison of choice, but biking, cross-training, and many others will work) and anaerobic (weights) is the secret. The two types have a synergistic effect on each other, and you'll get ripped as well as make your heart and lungs significantly better. The last point that people forget about weightlifting (small weight works, so you don't have to life huge amounts) is how it drastically increases the size of your muscles making them use more calories at rest and at work. Thus, a little more muscle mass using a little more calories every hour of the day including while your sleeping has a large effect.....most importantly chick will dig your pecs, buns, and guns!
Now, if you do the Adkins diet when you already fairly trim and go "cold turkey" on Carbs... Kidney and liver and heart disease can catch up to you and POOF, your dead.
The key is moderation... If you are 360 lbs and go on the Adkins diet to lose weight to help you feel better about yourself and allow you to exercise without pain... Adkins is fine.
My wife and I both tried the Adkins diet and she didn't like it. I stayed on it for a bit over a week and lost like 6 lbs with NO exercise. It works but you really shouldn't stay on the diet forever, that's where damage to kidneys can start. In general, a "less Carb" life style is just fine for everyone, even over the long term.
My dream goal would be around 150-160lbs. My realistic goal would be 175 to 180. I probably won't continue atkins until 160 though, but enough to cut most of the fat out of appearence. After I get my target weight, or at least close to it, I'll start a more stable and balanced diet, but I'll also work out more. The exercise I get right now will help me do more later. It's the spark of a lifestyle change if you will. I'm not worried, although I am concerned, about the Kidney/liver/heart dangers. Seriously, I should only need this for about a month, and day to day, I'll inevitably eat 60 something grams of carbs anyway. Bread is a major factor. I'm going to eat bread at breakfast/lunch/dinner, so I don't think there's anything I should be worried about. I do need some fruits though.
Trust me on this. Add the muscle first. Work out hard now, get stronger, THEN worry about cutting fat. It'll be so much simpler and less full of hassle. As mentioned, carbs are not the enemy. They fuel your body. If you're going to try to get rid of fat. Cutting your carbohydrates back is the way to go. Doing it completely and long term is bad. Cycle it. 2-4 days with a low carbohydrate intake, 1 day with a fairly high carbohydrate intake. This will keep your body from diving right into starvation mode and it'll still let you eat the stuff we all love once every few days.
I suggest investing in some method of tracking your bodyfat levels. Either calipers or a bio-impedance scale. The scales tend to be a bit less accurate as the results change with hydration levels. However, you can still accurately track a trend by taking a measurement once when you get up, and once before you turn in at night for a daily average.
Muscle soreness is not something to fear. Its only going to happen the first week or so you start lifting. If you lift hard, as you should, you may be sore for the next few days after you work a given muscle group. The next week when you come back it'll be significantly less a strain on your body, if any, and by the third week the soreness won't be enough to put a cramp in your day.
**Edit**
One other thing to add, don't become obsessed with scale weight. You said your dream is to be 150-160lbs. Thats probably pretty frickin scrawny depending on your height. Nobody wants to be 160lbs, what they want is to be around 9-10% bodyfat. If you weigh 185lbs at like 10% bodyfat, you'd be fairly well built. So don't look at scale weight as the end all to measuring progress. Lean and Fat Mass numbers are more important than their summation.
However, here's some food for thought: Harvard just completed a 30-year diet study and found the diet that is generally most beneficial for human beings, from a total health standpoint as examined by science. The results? Atkins is off base. ANY mono-diet such as "the rice diet" or "the choco-taco diet" is very wrong and VERY dangerous. The food guide pyramid is wrong, unhealthy, and VERY biased by the USDA.
Anyone that's really interested in what science says we should eat (I plan on converting to this diet) check these links out:
http://www.discover.com/issues/feb-04/features/science-diet/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743223225
//edit: oh, yeah, the thing that brought it to mind for me was the commentary about nuts... this study found that nuts are a really really good snack.
//edit2: Hmm... I noticed that CB edited "plan my meals according to the food guide pyramid" into "according to the FDA RDV guide" after I posted this... hmm... I wonder what that means... //edit3: mistyped. I see. :bigggrin:
Mmmm.... Salt....
and the other is a link to buy a book.... not particually helpful....
But "eating right" isn't going to help me lose weight in a hurry...
Sorry Enverex - I'm a Discover subscriber so I didn't realize that article was unreadable by non-subscribers. The article is, however, useful if you can pick up a copy of the magazine. And the book, I hope, will finally kill Atkins from the face of popular diet culture for eternity.
I'm much more interesting in finding out what scientific studies say I should eat than hearing what a dead weight-loss guru or the USDA says I should eat.
Um, CB, don't you think that the fact that I'm a vegetarian, and still consume large amounts of carbs and calories daily, yet remain slimmer and much more healthy than 99% of the rest of America say something positive about eliminating the large majority of animal proteins from the diet? Or do you still refuse to open your mind to the health benefits of a vegetarian diet?
I only care about things for a certain amount of time, and if I don't see results from things that I am doing, I lose interest entirely and discontinue my efforts. Regardless of what people say, that is never going to change.
Keeping the weight off isn't a problem, losing it, is.
That said, I'm still going to eat dead animals on a fairly regular basis.
And I changed my post to reflect what I meant, as opposed to what I actually typed out originaly
Enverex, I urge you to try and get your hands on this book. The 'base' of the 'pyramid' that the author presents is exercise. With the right diet and plenty of exercise, you'll notice results quickly, I assure you. When I'm actually taking the time to exercise, I usually notice some results within 2-3 weeks.
Edit: The Men's Health website has a great feature for about 10$ a month that will tailor a workout and a diet to your particular goals, needs, and desires. It has a 10 day free trial and has worked out extremely well for me.
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/home/0,6922,s1-0-0-0-0,00.html
Eggs, Protein shake.