<p>Is there an easy way to count calories? I really don’t like weighing food portions.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Does Doritos still advertise? It seems like they are on sale quite a bit.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>I got a ton of sleep over the weekend but the symptoms persist. Today it’s mostly respiratory stuff. I don’t think that this one is going to decline linearly. It seems to be the type that cycles around.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>[MyPlate</a> - Food Diary & Food Calorie Counter | LIVESTRONG.COM](<a href=“http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/]MyPlate”>MyPlate Calorie Counter)</p>
<p>BTW, sometimes I need to weigh stuff. I bought a kitchen scale a while ago, mainly to match my tennis racquets, and it’s quite useful for measuring food too. My wife uses it more than I do these days for cooking.</p>
<p>My plate is good because it has both volume and weight for many things. I find that after you’ve weight stuff for a bit, you can do a pretty reasonable guess about it’s weight. For example a deck of cards size piece of meat will be 3-4 ounces.</p>
<p>DadII–sending good thoughts your way.</p>
<p>Rest day on Sunday. Did OK with food while watching the game. My H makes a great duck chili for the Super Bowl every year and that’s what I had. Rationalized that it was better to have a second helping of the chili than to eat chips/dip and other processed food. </p>
<p>Got the new Lustig book from interlibrary loan and am reading it carefully. </p>
<p>IDad: If I’m interpreting Lustig correctly, he suggests that fiber and exercise are ways to combat hormonal issues that often get in the way of weight loss for some people. Foods with the highest fiber content are usually foods that are high in carbs, e.g., beans. </p>
<p>So–I’m trying to figure out what to eat that would allow me to stay under 100 carbs per day and also get the recommended 20-30 grams of fiber for women my age. I looked at my food tracking (I use Lose It–because it’s compatible with the FitBit) and when I stay at less than 100g of carbs, I almost never get more than 15 g. of fiber. Suggestions?</p>
<p>Yoga class and walking on thread mill this afternoon. Waiting for contractors this morning. Why do they never show up when they say they will???</p>
<p>A few foods that are fairly low-carbs to fiber:</p>
<p>[Fooducate</a> | eat a bit better](<a href=“Lose weight & improve your health with a real food diet | Fooducate”>Lose weight & improve your health with a real food diet | Fooducate)
[Calories</a> in Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal and Nutrition Facts](<a href=“FatSecret - Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker for Weight Loss”>Calories in Trader Joe's High Fiber Cereal and Nutrition Facts)
[Tofurky</a> Italian Sausage Nutritional Facts - Calories, Fat & Other Nutritional Information | LIVESTRONG.COM](<a href=“http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/tofurky/italian-sausage/]Tofurky”>http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/tofurky/italian-sausage/)</p>
<p>Trader Joes Blueberry Fiber Muffins: 12 fiber - 22 carb
Trader Joes High Fiber Cereal: 9 fiber - 23 carb
Tofurkey Italian Sausage: 8 fiber - 12 carb
Trader Joes Soy Chorizo: 4 fiber - 8 carbs (high sodium though)
Almonds 3.4 fiber - 5.6 carbs
Broccoli 5.1 fiber - 11.2 carbs
Spinach 1 fiber - 1.63 carbs</p>
<p>DadII , that is not a good message. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>I love avocado.</p>
<p>I usually eat between 2400 and 3000 calories a day. I hope that slightly balances out the low cal eaters. 
My weight is near its low because of exercise. </p>
<p>The insulin-cancer discussion is interesting. I thought we were supposed to eat several servings of fruit a day. I thought many fruits have cancer fighting properties. So where does fruit come in when discussing insulin and cancer?</p>
<p>So we want high fiber low carbs? </p>
<p>Is that blueberry muffin healthy? It sounds good. Do you like to eat those muffins, BCEagle91?</p>
<p>I see a lot of talk about sugar. How about salt? Salt content ok in the
muffins?</p>
<p>I would like to go pick up a muffin at Trader Joe’s.</p>
<p>Bromfield, Your H’s duck chili sounds yummy.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if this is what you’re asking, but I think one of the points of Lustig’s book is that it’s not the carbs we eat that must be reduced below a specific number. Rather, it’s the added sugar and refined carbs we must minimize. If you look in the section about foods with green, yellow, and red lights, beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are given an unrestricted green light; because of their natural fiber, the impact of the carb they come with is regulated. </p>
<p>We are all so different, and have different goals with diet. When I manage to do it, I’ll continue to post my myplate numbers. You’ll see that my fiber count is usually well above 25 g per day. Correspondingly, my carb total has been coming out at almost 50 percent–well over 100 g per day. I do eat beans, a fibrous cereal, lots of veggies and whole fruit, whole wheat bread I make, etc., along with leaner meats and dairy. But I am not restricting anything for weight loss purposes, either. Rather, just trying to eat the healthiest food I can in a balanced way that makes sense for the health issues we’re dealing with here.</p>
<p>“Rather, it’s the added sugar and refined carbs we must minimize. If you look in the section about foods with green, yellow, and red lights, beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are given an unrestricted green light; because of their natural fiber, the impact of the carb they come with is regulated.”</p>
<p>Ok…this makes sense to me.</p>
<p>I figure a PlantMom should know. :)</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>I tried them once and felt that they’re weren’t a particularly good
value. They are pretty small and relatively expensive.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>If you workout a lot, you may need more salt than RDAs or else you can
get cramps.</p>
<p>The foods from that list that I do eat regularly are almonds, tofurkey and broccoli. I have been trying to reduce wheat intake overall - though I find that rather difficult to do.</p>
<p>Pick apart my chow! As an all day long snacker who eats relatively small meals, I thought I’d go ahead and list what a typical trip into the kitchen leads to for me. I’ve always had the scrawn gene. I don’t worry too much about what I eat except that I know I need to remember to not eat too many sweets, that’s my weak spot.</p>
<p>Okay, here goes. So, I tromp into the kitchen and go for probably <em>one or two</em> of the following, and I do this somewhat all day long.</p>
<p>Maybe 7 almonds or 3 half walnuts
A spoonful of cottage cheese (we buy 2% 'cause that’s what we like)
3 to 6 blackberries
A couple of strawberries
Roasted no salt sesame seeds (amount is about an inch or so in diameter)
Chocolate (yeah, I know…)
A couple of those little carrots out of a bag
A couple of spoonfuls of Nancy’s yogurt if we have it here with a little honey
A little cheese or a few Triscuits and brie<br>
A couple of chicken sausage pieces (they’re usually a little larger than a half dollar coin)
Baked up garlic cloves just by themself</p>
<p>If I eat breakfast, which these days I normally do several days a week it’s going to likely be one egg, a piece or two of that chicken sausage, a few berries, and an English muffin or a slice of Oroweat honey wheatberry bread which I might not finish eating. Sometimes I have a bowl of maybe Rice Chex or Raisin Bran for breakfast. This with a cup of jasmine green tea.</p>
<p>Lunch, if I eat one, might be Amy’s enchiladas or Amy’s lasagna if there’s no leftover chicken in the fridge.</p>
<p>A dinner might be something like a piece of chicken or turkey chili and broccoli or asparagus. I like ice cream for dessert. If we eat out, I don’t normally finish the whole meal and bring home leftovers. Too much food served for one sitting. I like treats so it’s not uncommon for me to buy something like a chocolate croissant if I’m out and about during the day (treat like this maybe twice a week?).</p>
<p>Too many sweets, not really much bread compared to what many people consume.</p>
<p>So, there you have it. Oh 1/3 of a banana 45 mins before running.</p>
<p>Deborah T, I like your post, but your portions are…small. :)</p>
<p>BCEagle91, do you buy anything at Trader Joe’s for snacks? Besides the list you mentioned.</p>
<p>I buy nuts and rice crackers but the rice crackers are for my daughter. I mostly buy Tofurkey, Beef, Chicken, Nuts, Eggplant Cutlets, Tater-Tots, Broccoli, Turkey Meatballs, and Yogurt there. Some of that is for other family members.</p>
<p>Ok, BCEagle91. Thanks.</p>
<p>Typical breakfast:
1/4 c fresh fruit
1/2 c. Either skim milk, whole milk plain yogurt or low fat cottage cheese
1/2 home made or store bought (lower fat) granola
Half dozen raw almonds, crushed
Mix and eat.</p>
<p>Morning beverages:
Water
1 c. Tea or coffee w/1/2 tsp raw sugar and healthy splash half and half in coffee</p>
<p>Today’s lunch:
1/2 c. Leftover artichoke/spinach “dip” (but very dry - not much cheese, little mayo - more like a casserole)
Small honey crisp apple w/T peanut butter
Baby carrots
A few whole grain pita chips</p>
<p>Afternoon snack:
An ounce or so of sharp cheese cut into mini bites, or small amount of nuts or trail type mix.</p>
<p>Dinner:
3-4 oz protein: chicken breast, pork chop, ground chuck
1/2 c. Carb - rice, pasta, potato
Side veggie or two:variety -sometimes green veggie or beets or saut</p>
<p>I was just thinking that seeing posts on different meals might be interesting. Here’s what I’ve had today:</p>
<p>Nutty nuggets cereal (like Grapenuts) in skim milk with maybe 1/2 tsp maple syrup, heated.
Jasmine green tea</p>
<p>Lunch (H usually comes home, so I make more when he’s going to be around):</p>
<p>Chicken soup I made with some stock I had made after roasting some chickens the other night, chunks of chicken left over from same chickens, WF 100% whole wheat pasta, mushrooms, celery, carrots, garlic.
Small spinach salad with avocado half
Garlic toast from 100% ww bread I made in bread machine (olive oil, garlic toasted on bread)
One large spoonful of leftover spicy black beans cooked with peppers, tomatoes, onions
1/2 fresh, local honeybell
One cup very diluted plain (and very tart) unsweetened cranberry juice</p>
<p>Dinner will likely be H’s leftover turkey chili on quinoa, a bit of grated part skim cheese, a salad, a glass of skim milk and a glass of wine</p>
<p>Snacks–plain yogurt with fruit and nuts, or…lemon or caramel yogurt; a few ounces of mixed plain cheerios, raisins, and goldfish.</p>
<p>I’m guessing this would total at over 2000 calories, 50 percent carbs, and over 25 g fiber. Besides the bit of maple syrup and the goldfish, there’s nothing that seems out of place. I seem to have been blessed with some trait that keeps me from gaining weight quickly, but I know I have to be diligent with the avoidance of refined carbs and sugar to stay lean and avoid the type II diabetes my mother developed. And of course, I have to exercise.</p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with the Biggest Loser Diet? If so, which book would you suggest is the most helpful?</p>
<p>I’ll be adopting some of the food suggestions on the last few posts.
I can’t seem to devote any time to creative choices…baked chicken happens alot…with a bunch of greek yogurt, light babybell cheese hunks, kinda basic.</p>
<p>Happy that I’ve stuck to the exercise for 2+ months…more varied food choices come next I guess.</p>
<p>Up to 45min on elliptical today with some weight machines…it is truly amazing how ‘easy’ it has become after only a few months.</p>
<p>Good for you, musicmom! I’m like you…I stick with what I know in the food department. I’l be branching out this week, however. Same old same old gets real old, real quick. I think that’s why a lot of people stop watching what they eat…they get bored with what they’re eating and go wild. I’m hoping to avoid that this time. </p>
<p>chinablue, I have seen bits and pieces of the Biggest Loser on television and I have one of Jillian Michael’s books on exercise, but I’m not familiar with the diet, per se. </p>
<p>PlantMom, I wanted to let you know that you inspired me to break out my bread machine from it’s exile in storage. </p>
<p>Re: fiber; I only count fiber that I consume through food sources. My doctor has me chugging a tablespoon of fiber supplement mixed in water each day. I do not add that to MyPlate.</p>
<p>Haha I’ll confuse things by posting right after my opposite name.</p>
<p>I tend to eat like DeborahT does…small potions, sometimes it’s a meal, sometimes just “snacks” a couple of hours apart. I try to eat healthy, low-glycemic foods…the one exception is chocolate, which I eat sparingly but it’s always high-quality dark chocolate. :)</p>
<p>DH is out of town except on weekends, generally. and when kids come home to visit, I have to reach back into my memory for “recipes” and “cooking.”</p>
<p>I need my main dish in a meal to be flavorful - so something like a baked chicken breast alone will be totally “blah” to me. But I can stir fry it, use it in a marinara sauce in place of meatballs or something (though I like meatballs as well!), make it spicy, etc. Or I will use panko lightly - no harm. </p>
<p>One big change for me is to in my head examine all food choices from meals to snacks and to “map” out my day. By the time I leave home in the morning for work, I have my breakfast and lunch with me. Anytime I reach for a snack, I look to choose a low carb, high protein snack (except my night snack). And I try to make dinner include a minimum of 2 veggies - so I fill up on that as opposed to the carb of the night.</p>