<p>Marilyn,
Have you ever consulted a nutritionist? I wonder if that might work for you. Also the website Sparkpeople.com is a good one to look at because it will allow you to log your food intake and then it shows a pie chart of the breakdown of calories, fat and carbs and protein. It compares the pie chart of what you actually ate to a pie chart of what is the ideal breakdown. I did this a few months back (my last weight loss attempt) and it was the first time that I even considered the carb issue. When I looked at my “pie” for the day, it was clear that the carbs were the area that I was overdoing. Unless I payed close attention my chart would show that I ate way to much carb, too little protein, too may calories (from the carbs) and too little fat. It was clear to me, finally why I wasn’t losing weight.</p>
<p>EPTR, Marilyn et al</p>
<p>Lol on the champagne! DH is out on the running trail scoping it out. </p>
<p>Could someone list the best “good carbs”? As someone above mentioned, my head is engrained to watch fats, and I am just not willing to give up fresh fruit. It seems too punitive. I love peaches, bananas, apples, etc. I can give up bread (to a degree) rice, potatoes, etc, but really hate to give up fruit,. especially summer fruit. Help!</p>
<p>[GoodCarbs.org:</a> Good Carbs for Good Health](<a href=“http://www.GoodCarbs.org%5DGoodCarbs.org:”>http://www.GoodCarbs.org)</p>
<p>Good carbs: whole vegetables,whole fruits,beans,legumes,nuts,seeds,whole cereal grains</p>
<p>When it comes to fruit, think seeds. The lowest carb fruits are blackberries and raspberries because of all the seeds. Other low carb fruits are strawberries and blueberries and cantaloupe and honeydew. The highest carb fruits seem to be the lightest in color, bananas, apples, pears. The colorful fruits like peaches are more moderate carb. A chart I just looked at had pears ranked the highest in carbs. I didn’t realize that until this thread.</p>
<p>I eat fruit but I watch the amount. I usually go with apples and bananas. In general, I look for the best fiber to calories ratio in fruit. Watermelon is good too. BTW, I agree with PackMom’s list but I still limit portions.</p>
<p>I do not limit portions of green vegetables:). Actually I’ve never liked fruit all that much, so don’t struggle, particularly, with that constraint. </p>
<p>And no, popcorn isn’t particularly good for you. It’s not as bad as Cheetohs, but still. It’s not nutritionally dense, and one can overeat portion size very easily.</p>
<p>BTW, today Jan tells her story of how much weight she had had put on, and how much she has taken off with only this new way of eating, no reduction in quantity, very little exercise. With photos. It’s very lovely to read. <a href=“Janssushibar.com”>janssushibar.com;
<p>You have to eat a lot of green vegetables to have a significant caloric impact and there are fiber benefits too.</p>
<p>I am on a 3 day starvation diet right now. Then, I’ll go on a modified Atkins for about a week. Hopefully I’ll shed a few pounds to get me started. What that does is really get rid of some of the carb addiction for me. I’m going to be focusing on roasted vegetables as a snack once I am back on a regular diet which will have to be about half of what I like to eat. </p>
<p>The thing with Atkins is that I don’t like to eat the stuff on it, so I’m not tempted. It’s truly those carbs that make me lose control.</p>
<p>The Japanese say that protein and fat, or protein and carbs are good combos. Fat and carbs makes the weight stick. So no bread and butter, mashed potatoes, baked with butter, etc.</p>
<p>Ya’ll are making this carb thing much more complicated than it has to be. To stop getting fatter and lose weight, most of us who are overweight need to make significant cuts in our carb consumption. Not only will that result in fewer calories, but it has an effect on hormonal balance such that our bodies will tend to start burning stored fat as fuel, which is not only good for fitting into our pants, but it also means that we won’t be so hungry as we eat less.</p>
<p>One approach is the massive intervention. Basically cut all carbs (just eat 20g per day) for two weeks to shock the system and then start adding carbs back in to return to a sustainable level. This is the so-called Atkins “induction” phase. I did not do this and Atkins doesn’t suggest that everyone should start this way. It’s an option and good option for someone with serious obesity, imminent health problems (diabetes or high blood pressure or out of control cholesterol numbers) that have to be changed fast.</p>
<p>The other approach is to simply look at your carb consumption and start cutting where you can. Cut a little now and see what happens. If you start losing weight fast enough, great. If not, cut another layer of carbs from you diet.</p>
<p>Start with the most obvious cut and the number one rule of dieting, acccording to Dr. Robert Lustig (and me):</p>
<p>Step 1) Stop drinking carbohydrates. Sugar soda, flavored milk, sports drinks, fruit juices, sweet tea. This stuff is just mainlining sugar and the problem is that you are getting massive doses. It takes six oranges to make a glass of orange juice. You couldn’t eat six oranges if you tried, but you can consume those sugar calories in a few gulps of juice. </p>
<p>Just stop. There’s no reason to ever take another swig of a sugar beverage. I believe that this is the single most important change I made in my diet. Think about it. 24 ounces of Coke a day is 291 calories a day. 3500 calories is a pound of belly fat. So, just cutting out that Coke means a pound of fat (gain or loss, depending on which way you are going) every 12 days. Over the course of year? 30 pounds. Just from the Coke (or the fruit juice or the sports drink or the sweet tea or the flavored milk). </p>
<p>And, this stuff gives you absolutely nothing beneficial in terms of nutrition. It doesn’t even make feel full or satisfied. The big fast shot of glucose spikes your blood sugar like crazy which triggers a hormonal (insulin) response telling your body to store fat until the sugar is burned off – and storing too much fat is the definition of obesity. Drink this stuff all day every day and your body is always tending to store fat, never tending to release it to burn as fuel. Plus, when the insulin does its job, the end result is rapidly falling blood sugar which is one of the strongest signals in the body to eat something – it **causes **hunger. Do this cycle often enough for long enough and you become “insulin resistant”, forcing the body to produce more and more insulin to get the same effect. People who have become insulin resistant (a very significant portion of overweight people) are going to have a very difficult time losing weight without cutting carbs. In studies, they lose much more weight on a low carb diet than those who are not insulin resistant.</p>
<p>But, it’s even worse. The fructose portion of the sugar isn’t even metabolized as fuel by the body (except perhaps by an elite marathoner after a race). Much of it is converted directly into fat by the liver, specifically into the triglycerides that your doctor is wagging his finger at you about after your cholesterol tests results come back.</p>
<p>The way I look at it is that, if I start drinking this stuff again, I **will **get fat again. **Simple as that. **There’s no way around it. And, there’s no point in torturing myself by having an occassional bottle of Raspberry Snapple or a Pepsi every once in a while, because I’ll just start drinking more of the stuff sooner or later. Just say no. The only sugar water I’ve tasted in 16 months was the day I did colonoscopy prep and had to drink 64 ounces of Gatoraid. I felt like death warmed over from the sugar. </p>
<p>Here’s Dr. Lustig on Nightline (with rebuttals from the sugar lobbyists):</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - Robert “Sugar: Bitter Truth” Lustig on ABCNews](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>And here’s Dr. Lustig’s infamous “sugar lecture” (1.5 million YouTube views):</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - Sugar: The Bitter Truth](<a href=“Sugar: THE BITTER TRUTH - YouTube”>Sugar: THE BITTER TRUTH - YouTube)</p>
<p>You are so right, Interesteddad, I suspect I have a carb addiction as I truly crave the white floured goods and rice. I can do without the sugars, though a good banana bread or other such goods are on my list as favorites. That’s why I am going the route I am in terms of staying away from the carbs completely as it seems a little bit makes me truly crave more. I truly can understand how an alcoholic feels when s/he has one drink or a bit of alcohol because I am that way with carbs. The sugared drinks, sweets are not the issue with me. It’s the white flour foods that do me in; that and rice. I can enjoy a small amount of food with a big bowl of rice any time rather than the other way around.</p>
<p>We went out for a dinner the other night,and the hot white rolls that were presented , really killed any carb quota before the meal even started. Didn’t touch the butter and ate just a bit of the veggies, no butter on the lobster either, but I had 3 of the rolls. Could have eaten of them and traded the lobster for them. That’s how bad I am with carbs. </p>
<p>So, day one, under the belt. This weekend will be all Atkins for me as well as next week, but a liquid no cal diet for me till Saturday.</p>
<p>While I am personally not a fan of the 100 calorie pack items, if you like popcorn, using one of these is good way to have your popcorn and stay within a reasonable range.</p>
<p>But that’s just it. No way will I stick to a 2 week no carb diet. Too punitive and against the way I eat. I love summer fruit and will not give them up. That said, I am sitting here eating a lobster, mushroom and brie omlet. I could have had the egg wite omlet, I suppose. Oh, the sacrifice</p>
<p>I had burgers and eggs for breakfast. 380 calories - 63% fat, 37% protein. That should hold me until mid-afternoon. I’m going to see if I can get to idad’s 1,500 calories per day. My current calorie budget is around 1,900. I was considering a new approach - when I get hungry, do ten pushups and see if the hunger goes away.</p>
<p>jym, I hope you’re thoroughly enjoying the break - it sounds great! </p>
<p>I have successfully reduced my Coke intake to 12 oz/day, and gotten used to it. I am out of Coke, and today I am going to look for the 6-oz cans that I’ve seen in a store I usually don’t go to. I’ve also make some small improvements in my eating habits.</p>
<p>OK guys, this thread is for the regular people:). If too many people tell awesome stories of their protein consumption and marathon exercise regime I’m going to have to slink away in shame…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>BC:</p>
<p>I average 1860 calories a day. 1500 calories a day is too low for most men and I’ve never been that low. We burn more calories than that lying in bed sleeping. You’ll be seriously hungry because that is, literally, starvation.</p>
<p>I’ll try to do it a few times a week then.</p>
<p>Making fat loss simple:</p>
<p>**Step 1) Stop drinking carbohydrates. **</p>
<p>Step 2) Stop eating junk food carbohydrates.</p>
<p>Give it up. Stop buying ice cream. Cake. Candy. Chips. Pretzels. Cookies. Doritos. Chex Mix. Crackers. When it calls to you in the grocery store, look at the calories and carbs on the label. Not calories and carbs for one serving, but for the whole damn bag – because you know you are going to eat it if you buy it. </p>
<p>My favorite, a tube of Pringles. 900 calories and 90 g of carbohydrates. Lets say that I use super-human self-control and only pig out on a third of a can a day (yeah, right, I’ve maybe made a tube last two days once I start noshing). That’s 31 pounds of belly fat in a year. Wash it down with a Pepsi every day and I’m in real trouble.</p>
<p>So there ya go. Two simple steps. Do those, starting today, and most of us will see the scale start going in the right direction, even without sacrificing anything from our meals.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info izzie and packmom. Exactly what I was looking for. And yes, NYmomof2-- am having a wonderful break. DH had an egg white omlet. I tasted it. It was good-- but the one I had was phenomenal. Now off for a bikeride to burn some of the calories.</p>
<p>Agree with alumother. Lets keep this thread for the faint of exercise/diet heart. I want to take it slow, modify my eating and exercise habits/behaviors, but I will never be a marathon exerciser. And I wont eat burgers for breakfast. Just cant see that.</p>
<p>For the faint of exercise heart, I have reached my goal weight on my low carb diet with no exercise except for the occasional walking of the dog and my usual housewifely running around doing stuff. I know I should be exercising but I rarely get around to it.</p>