# What is your daily routine ?



## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

For those of you who seem to be good at losing weight, what is your routine? I am wondering if I am doing this right. Everyday I count every single calorie I eat. I am keeping track of exercise days and calories. I am making sure 1/2 is protein and 1/4 carbs and the rest what ever...lol but I do make sure I eat carbs and proteins, as I have got tired and headache before on diets, not this time. This time I have energy, no headaches.

So I eat right when I get up. Oatmeal etc. An hour or 2 later I eat a snack, like yogurt, maybe piece of fruit. Then lunch, snack and dinner and snack. But this time, unlike any other time I have tried to diet (and they failed), I am counting every single calorie I eat. If I make eggs, I make 3 eggs but ditch 2 yokes (my dog's getting fat btw). If I add shredded cheese, I measure it. Its amazing how much I would have put on the omelet if I did not measure it. And how many calories cheese has, (one of my sins)...lol 

If I pull 4 grapes out of the freezer I figure 3.5cal. x 4, If I make a meal like a pot of soup, I figure every calorie in it, then measure how many scoops I get from the pot and calculate, calorie per scoop. (my kettles are marked now) I will figure calorie per package and from online. I dont have a tiny scale and can't buy one yet. But I think I am pretty accurate as I use a measure cup or spoon, otherwise I round up to be safe. Even my bowl is marked. 

It is becoming a habit. I want to have good habits so when I do lose the lbs I can keep them off. One difference will be, when I am my goal weight, I will weigh my self every week and nip it right in the beginning. As this is hard work and I dont want to have to do it again. Also I am learning things like bagels are not my friend...lol at 350cal each without butter. And other foods I really ate too often. 

I made carrot cake for my son the other day. Called for 1/2 cup oil. No way! I added 3/4 cup of applesauce instead and wow! it was perfect. no oil at all. This knocked the calories down by 960 for the cake. Making a piece 110 cal per. 

Am I doing this right? How are you dieting and losing weight? What is your routine?


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## HilltopDaisy (Feb 26, 2003)

I'm not counting calories at all. I'm following Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet. You eat 5-6 small meals a day, and I've lost 30 pounds in 3 1/2 months, and never feel hungry or deprived.

I eat rolled oats with ground flax seed, cinnamon, and a drop of real maple syrup, every morning, with a protein. It might be a low fat cheese stick, a few egg whites, a bit of non fat cottage cheese, or plain Greek yogurt, or even a can of tuna. (I don't eat meat, but I do eat fish.) 

Meal 2 is usually a piece of fruit and some nuts, or cottage cheese or yogurt. Meal 3 is my dinner, so it's a piece of broiled fish, a small sweet potato, and either a salad (w/ balsamic vinegar, no oil) or a green vegetable. Meal 4 is raw veggies and hummus, or cottage cheese/greek yogurt w/ fruit, or a can of tuna and some veggies. Meal 5 might be 2 slices of whole wheat toast w/ natural peanut butter, or a ww wrap w/ scrambled egg whites and veggies. 

I know this sounds sparce but I can't do it justice here. I subscribe to Eat Clean magazine and I've bought 3 of Tosca Reno's books. There are a million recipes that are based on lean protein and whole grains and whole wheat pasta and bread/wraps. I try different things all the time and I love eating this way. I combine grains and beans all the time, with different veggies, and it always comes out delicious. Last night I had quinoa and red lentils with kale, seasoned with cayenne, cinnamon, and garlic. I loved it! She has a couple of websites, and there are tons of recipes posted. 

The point it to stay away from all refined foods, and watch the size of the portions. My pants are all falling off me so it's obviously working for me. I let myself cheat every so often, but it's a healthy cheat. No cookies or junk food, nothing with sugar. It might be sushi or a pizza made on a whole wheat pita, or a piece of cheese. I post my daily meals on Tosca's website, and I see what everyone else is eating. That gives me ideas and helps me with reasonable portion sizes. 

Tosca also encourages women to work out with weights, in order to help tone muscle and burn fat. I have a dvd that I use, it came with her exercise book, and I love it. 

Honestly, I feel that I'm losing weight very easily. I admit it would be hard if I had to cook for a family, but since it's just me I can avoid temptation, because there's nothing in my house to binge on.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

I low-carb.  

So long as my carbs stay below about 50g per day, I seem to lose, regardless of where my calories are. Though I rarely go above 2000. 
If my carbs are higher than 100g or so, I can't lose on even 1200 calories a day.
I tend to be pretty picky with those carbs, too. No white foods. Fruit tends to be things like cantaloupe or strawberries. Most of my carbs are spent on veggies and nuts.

I do NOT worry about fats at all anymore. (That was a _hard_ habit to break, btw) Well, except transfats, of course, which I avoid entirely. That stuff'll kill ya! :shocked:


:soap: (Oh my, but this got long!!)
I always thought the low-carb thing was some kind of fad diet. Until I started to do some research that is. 
Rather than "low fat," or more fruits and veggies, or less red meat, our grandmothers told us that the way to lose weight was to cut out potatoes, bread and sugar. Ie, low-carb really _isn't_ a new thing. 

But surely Atkins was too extreme... The man was a nut, just out to make a buck.

Then a few years ago I read the book Good Calories, Bad Calories by a science writer by the name of Gary Taubes. 
He presented _reams_ of information, studies, historical observations, medical texts and journals, etc. etc. that came out strongly in support of the fact that excessive carbs are what is causing the obesity epidemic in our country.

Having lived on several Indian reservations in my life, the health issues of modern America have _long_-plagued Indians. That is, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. And I _also_ know, but didn't really connect the dots until I started doing some research, that Indians didn't HAVE those problems until they started eating white-man food. Namely flour and sugar. 
Contrary to popular nutritional theory, when they lived on protein and fat, they didn't have these epidemics...
It's not much of a stretch to assume that's probably what's going on with the American population at large. 

Better than that, was a study done by Stanford comparing several popular diets (at the time) the Zone, Atkins, Ornish and LEARN (Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships, and Nutrition).
The abstract is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17341711



> RESULTS: Weight loss was greater for women in the Atkins diet group compared with the other diet groups at 12 months {snip}
> CONCLUSIONS: In this study, premenopausal overweight and obese women assigned to follow the Atkins diet, which had the lowest carbohydrate intake, lost more weight at 12 months than women assigned to follow the Zone diet, and had experienced comparable or more favorable metabolic effects _[HDL, LDL, triglycerides, etc]_ than those assigned to the Zone, Ornish, or LEARN diets [corrected] While questions remain about long-term effects and mechanisms, a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet may be considered a feasible alternative recommendation for weight loss.


full article here:
jama.ama-assn.org/content/297/9/969.full.pdf

What I find particularly important is the table on page 7 where they compare not only the weightloss but also the bloodwork of the participants. And Atkins led the way by a _significant_ margin. 


Huh. Atkins. 
That nut with the fad diet... 

BTW, more studies, if anyone is interested. 
http://www.atkins.com/Science/ScienceArticlesLibrary/NotableResearch.aspx
Collected at Atkins.com of course since they seem to be interested in this stuff...


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

hilltop, your menu sounds just like what I am eating and how! I am checking out the recipes on that site. 

When I make tuna, I take a can, mix with a little mustard, dill leaf, a tiny bit of celery, onion, a few dilly beans minced and a tiny paste tomato. This comes to 120 calories. I take half of that as a portion. Put the rest in the fridge. If I have fresh spinach I will put a handful in the bottom of a bowl and plop my tuna on it. I take 5, sundried tomato & basil wheat thins, place them on the side of the dish. This is a lunch meal. Total calories 110. Very filling and healthy. Sometimes I sprinkle the greens with balsamic vinegar 1st. 

My main dishes are fish. Tomorrow I will have a pork chop. It is soo hard when you have to cook for a growing teen farm boy too...lol 

Erin- I have that book and a few others, someone gave to me. There is alot of good info in it. I tried the low carb diet a few times and it didnt work for me. I was tired and felt hungry all the time. I even would get headaches. Now I add some carbs. Our brains need 120 grams of carbs, a day, to function, according to studies.

I have been invited to my neighbors to use their treadmill. I have never used a treadmill, so I havent taken the offer. Today, I got on it for the 1st time ...OMG! I am hooked. I ran a mile and walked one. I am now hooked. I will be on it everyday for now on! I was afraid of falling as I watch people on youtube...lol Its still cold and snow here, hard to take walks outside.


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## Elffriend (Mar 2, 2003)

Another low carber here. I don't count calories, I count carbs. I try to stay between 30 and 40 grams/day. Our brains can function quite well on ketones. What little glucose our bodies truly need can be made in the liver from protein and the small quantities of carbs that most low-carbers eat.

Farmgal, do you mind if I ask you if you were following any specific low-carb plan and how long you were on it? The one wonderful thing I have found about eating low carb is that I'm never hungry. One of the "rules" of low carbing is that if you are hungry, you should eat. Just make sure whatever you eat is low in carbs.

How do you like eating low fat and low calorie? Are you hungry or do you find it satisfying? While I'm a firm believer that low carb is good for me, I think everyone needs to find their own way.


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

I dont get sick on what I am doing now. No hungry feelings. I just make sure I eat certain amount of calories at certain times, so I have some left for each meal. I eat no bread or potatoes. Mostly proteins and fresh greens. I have not cut pasta out completely, I limit to half cup noodles. 

I wasnt following any named low carb diet, I had a few books by kevin trudeau, some other guy and the one erin mentioned and was doing what those books said. 

Counting calories so far, seems to be working. I am learning what a portion is in doing so.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

I didn't mention any low carb diet in particular, did I? Or do you mean Atkins (since he was the nut with the fad diet)?
And there wasn't a recommended diet in _Good Calories, Bad Calories_, was there? It wasn't a diet book, it was just a scientific exploration...



> Our brains need 120 grams of carbs, a day, to function, according to studies.


What studies would those be, out of curiosity? I've seen this number cited and have never found any scientific backing behind it. 
Everything I've read says we need _glucose_ for brain function (as well as cellular function), not carbohydrates. 
However, glucose can be broken down from the amino acids in protein.


If it couldn't, hundreds of thousands of Native Americans would never have survived because their daily diets didn't even come close to 120 g. 
For that matter, there are a LOT of diabetics in the modern world who don't come close to 120 either. How can they still be functioning?
Not to mention the fact that a low-carb diet is the standard recommendation for childhood epilepsy. That is, it's not even remotely controversial.


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

ErinP said:


> What studies would those be, out of curiosity? I've seen this number cited and have never found any scientific backing behind it.


The national academy of sciences. It isnt that cut and dry. Ethnicity and genetics plays a role in metabolism differences.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Ya know, I've often seen references to that recommendation (which is not a study, btw), but have never seen it straight from the horse's mouth so to speak. It's always struck me as urban folklore. 
Do you have a link?

More importantly, as mentioned, there are countless _millions_ of people who are on a low-carb diet because their doctor recommended it (ie, epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, etc). 
It is not possible that their brains aren't functioning. Or that it's gone through some sort of metamorphosis that now that they have a disease, it functions differently than it did before. 

Nor is it possible that brain function changes so dramatically but only if you're living in a hunter-gatherer society. 
That just doesn't make any sense. :shrug:


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

I am not going to argue with you.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Ethnicity is irrelevant in the case of cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, etc. As I already stated: _It is not possible that their brains aren't functioning. Or that it's gone through some sort of metamorphosis that now that they have a disease, it functions differently than it did before._

So far as studies, it's the rare study that's not published online in today's day and age. Feel free to post anything you wish that might support your 120g. statement and I promise I'll let you know if I'm too dumb to interpret what it says.


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

ditto


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Ditto?? 

_I_ never suggested one needs to have some arbitrary number of carbohydrates in order for the brain to function.
How would you suggest I prove a negative??

ETA: My apologies. I just noticed you COMPLETELY changed post number 10. 
Not a problem. I'll assume this means you haven't done any research on this topic whatsoever and you really don't want anyone messing up your paradigm. 
No problem! 

Good luck maintaining that diet for the rest of your life. 
I truly do hope you're one of the few who manages to lose weight and more importantly, keep it off, on the low fat/high carb diet.


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