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S/O Rascal drivers: What do you eat?
I'm just curious because I don't see anything about the diet of a "normal" weight person that seems super crazy to me, and the last time my BMI wasn't overweight or obese I was 15. I'm conducting a highly scientific experiment.
Today:
B: 3/4 cup (uncooked) oatmeal with maybe a tbsp of peanut butter, 1/2 c skim milk, 1/2 a honey greek yogurt, and strawberries. Black coffee.
Two Andes mints and maybe 1/3 a diet coke around 10:30.
L: 2c Pyrex of homemade chili with prob 2 servings of veggies, beans and ground beef. A big ziploc of snap peas. Two of the bite sized Halloween chocolates.
A few of a coworker's pretzels.
Homemade nachos with leftover chicken and a beer.
And I drank water all day.
This is a fairly typical day all around. The nachos were the least healthy dinner of the week and I usually don't have that much chocolate, but there's no dessert. I'm BFing and I walk probably 40 min a day. I mean, I know there are differences, I eat a good lot of meat, I drink beer. But I am by no means eating boxes of Oreos on the daily.
I don't know what my point is because I'm not unhappy with my weight or my health (hence the nachos and beer), I just think calories in calories out is by no means the whole story.
Re: S/O Rascal drivers: What do you eat?
I am by no means an expert.
I've been steadily gaining 2-4 lbs/ year since starting college. Which means I'm now 30 lbs heavier than I was when I was 18, which isn't a HUGE deal since I was a skinny mini at 18, but damn, I do not want to be another 30 lbs heavier in 10 more years. So I've tracking for a little while now and my food in a workday looks similar to that, but all the portions are smaller. So either yogurt or oatmeal, not both. 1 cup of chili. Less chocolates. And right now the nachos and beer would be out of the question. But that's only because I'm actively trying to lose weight and aiming for 1200 calories. Which ain't much. Typically I hit more around 1350. Before I started tracking that daily food would be pretty accurate to what I was eating. Less breakfast though. I never eat much breakfast.
My Goodness...another food blog. Featuring: Macarons from a old post with a photo taken by my mom for a break from my crappy food photos!
I agree with you.
Also, it took me a few moments to understand the thread title and now that I get it, I am LOL. I've seen photos of you, lady. You are nowhere near needing a rascal!
This is what I ate yesterday (and keep in mind I'm pregnant so eating more than usual!!) Before I got pg I was trying to lose weight so I think that I'm relatively 'aware' of healthy eating but am no means a poster child.
breakfast: shredded wheat with skim milk, 1/2 grapefruit, black coffee
snack: apple, 10 almonds, plain yogurt with berries
lunch: 1 cup raw veggies, tuna sandwich on ww kaiser role, grapes
snack: leftover turkey burger from the day before (homemade) with avocado and tomato.
dinner: large garden salad, grilled steak on the bbq (8oz), 1/2 baked potato,
snack: orange, 1/2 cup chocolate-mint ice cream that was SO good, glass milk
Oh and I always have raw veggies at my desk so I munched on those throughout the afternoon. I usually have hummus with them.
ETA to add: I forgot my yogurt and milk so I added those.
Well for me portion control is my huge issue. A small slice of cake for desser may be okay, but my idea of small = a quarter of the cake. So I find when I monitor my portions I naturally eat better foods because they fill me up more.
Ive been all over the map this pregnancy but if I average out my pre pregnancy diet with my current one, a typical day looks something like this:
Breakfast - bagel with light cream cheese around 7 am, two cups of coffee with creamer, banana around 10 or 11.
Lunch - leftover pasta from dinner, a small 100 calorie pack of chocolate covered pretzels, apple, fiber one bar. Pre pregnancy I would have string cheese as well but haven't liked them since pregnant.
Dinner - glass of wine or beer, some type of pasta with homemade sauce of some kind or some type of grilled meat and a salad or veggies.
When pregnant I drink a crap ton of soda but I never drink it normally (just water, beer and wine ha) and I've eliminated the wine/beer at night, but I have a lot more ice cream. h is also on a healthy kick so our pasta has gone down to about once a week and we have had a lot more vegetarian meals (the man likes spaghetti squash! Who knew) and salads and the like.
My downfalls are carbs and lunch. I easily eat half of my daily calories at lunch someways.
But when I tracked my calories (which I do randomly) I found it wasn't what I was eating but how much that was killing me. (um how much is a serving of ice cream???). So I try now to always eat less than what I want to balance out my idea of normal with what is actually normal lol.
Pesca - my only suggestion might be to actually calorie count? Which I absolutely hate doing, but I did it when I was training/trying to lose weight and it did work. For example, the nachos (MMMM) may have a full day's calorie intake depending on the size.
My only other suggestion would be to add weight-training to your routine if you are able to. I realize with a newborn thats probably impossible
And of course high-impact cardio would help, but again, with BFing and a newborn I'm just not sure thats feasible.
I think calories in/calories out is a good starting indicator, but if you are actively tracking your calories in/calories out, and you are putting more out and not losing than perhaps something else is up.
I'm semi notorious for my portion sizes... but 2cups of chili seems like a lot. I don't think I could eat more than 3/4cup without feeling full.
I'm by no means skinny. My skinny friends don't eat when we go out to eat. They have exciting meals like salad with no dressing.
Above Us Only Sky
OK -- I am clinically obese. I used to be morbidly obese, but I lost around 100 pounds, so now I'm just "regular obese." I have a lapband, so I physically can not eat a lot of food. Here's my typical diet -- usually around 1200-1400 calories, and generally what non-obese people eat.
Breakfast: Weight control oatmeal; or an egg; or yogurt and berries
Snack: Carrots and hummus; or a protein shake; or string cheese; or yogurt; or a few pretzels or wheat thins
Lunch: Salad with 2-3 ounces of protein (chicken, shrimp, cheese, or beans); or a cup of soup; or a frozen vegetarian indian meal (Like Amy's)
Another snack like the previous one
Dinner: 3-4 ounces of protein and some kind of salad
I usually drink water or no calorie flavored water. I do have a couple of Diet Cokes a week.
It is very difficult for me to lose weight, even with this diet and exercising 4-5 times a week. Some people are just wired different.
Before the lapband, I was ALWAYS hungry. I could eat a full meal and want to eat it again in 30 minutes. It was a constant struggle NOT to eat. This is what I used to eat -- probably around 2,500 calories a day, and I usually execised a couple of times a week.
Breakfast: Egg McMuffin, hash brown, diet coke; or some kind of egg, meat, cheese sandwich; or two oatmeal packets and fruit; or a bagel with cream cheese.
Snack: popcorn w/ butter; chips; yogurt; hummus/cheese and crackers; or fruit; sometimes cookies or candy
Lunch: Salad w/ protein; or a sandwich, chips, fruit; Subway 6-inch sub and chips; sushi and fruit; soup and sandwich.
Another Snack: I would get fries or chicken McNuggets or a small burger on my way home from work a few times a week.
Dinner: Pasta; 5-6 ounces protein, a starch and veg.; soup and sandwiches; more processed stuff than I eat now; more eating out
I used to drink A LOT of Diet Coke. No sugary drinks, and lots of water, but a ton of Diet Coke.
I would die of utter humiliation if you all saw what I eat.
Pesca, I think you are lovely and honestly A will run you ragged here soon and you will probably need MORE calories.
DD #1 passed away in January 2011 at 14 days old due to congenital heart disease
DD#2 lost in January 2012 at 23 weeks due to anhydramnios caused by a placental abruption
This is a good interview with one of my favorite nerds on the topic of calories. They start going off the rails a bit towards the end, but pretty interesting otherwise:
http://www.askthelowcarbexperts.com/2012/03/9-all-things-calories-calories-101-mat-lalonde/
I agree with this saying: "calories count but why count them." Besides getting a ballpark figure with a few sample days of eating to see where you're at, I think it's sort of a futile exercise to try to calculate the numbers... there are so many variables along the way skewing them this way and that, that you end up with an essentially meaningless figure at the end. I think a food diary exercise helps with accountability and limiting mindless eating but the actual numbers & calculations, not so much.
In my rascal riding days, my typical day of eating varied wildly. I would do everything from live on popcorn and sugar-free jello for a few days through eating a typical "healthy" american 3 meals but topped off with a pint of ben & jerry's for dinner or some fruit and 4 poptarts for the day's meals. It's embarrassing to admit, even.
To get off the rascal I had to learn that I had no control over any junky or treat food in my own home. The whole thing would be eaten by me within a short timeframe. Today, if there happened to be some outright junk food at home I could skip it because I am thoroughly disgusted by it. It's been a years long process to get there. I'm still prone to overeating some delicious things like salted nuts and cheese. I can maintain my happy weight indulging in those things but I'm not going to lose the 1 pants size I dream of unless I cut that stuff out.
For real, all bets are off when you're bf'ing.
Not only does your body need more calories (even more then when you're pregnant), it makes you want more calories and liquids. I've never experienced hunger and thirst like I did when I was nursing.
Also, in many women, their bodies will hold onto some of the pregnancy weight and fat just to help maintain milk supply. This was certainly true for me as the first 25 lbs came off super fast and the last 10 clung on to me for dear life (all in my boobs, arms, tummy and love handles - which is never where I gain/hold weight, btw). As soon as I finished nursing my entire body changed. Lost the crazy appetite, got energy back to exercise, and the extra weight melted off.
Thanks, I'll check that out. If I ever do actively try to lose weight again, I can't imagine counting calories. For me, it gets really disordered, I start guilting over ever calorie, and with my anxiety and depression it's just a bad idea. Actually the last time I counted calories was when I went in to get treatment.
The rest of your post reminds me of another factor - age. When I was in college (I also had a more active job), I would often have fries and a chocolate shake for lunch and candy and a full sugar sofa from the vending machine for dinner. And I weighed 15-20lbs less than I do today.
Larrys - I agree to some extent about BF'ing, I'm down 15lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight with no effort, but this is another area where every body is different. I've seen lots of nesties who didn't lose any weight BF'ing.
Awesome for you!
There is a reason why people refer to it as "hidden sugar". Yes, oreos and girl scout cookies are easy to pin point, but things like pulled pork sandwiches and chili or tacos can very sugar-laden and cause metabolism and hunger issues just the same. There are so many different recipes out there that its hard to say where the issue is. I can make any dish super healthy or super unhealthy. That's why i think recipe sharing is key.
I ditto the BFing thing 1000% percent. With pumping, taking fenugreek, and DD needing 21+ oz of BM a day at daycare, I was constantly hungry and had low blood sugar issues.
As a former skinny person (103 in college, 115 in my 20s) I can look back now and say that I dealt with a lot of blood sugar spikes and falls and just kind of wrote it off as "me," so it's equally hard for me to look back and say "I got away with eating that and I wasn't getting fat" when in reality I was pretty bad to my body and not helping it maintain much.
Dunno if you saw on my pinterest the long image about how carbs make people fat - not fat itself. It's a philosophy that's anti our classic carb counting diet culture but it makes perfect sense when you look at how few people get results - or the results they do get are from doing an unsustainable amount of exercise all the time.
I am a rascal avoider that usually focuses more on eating than scheduled workouts but the foods that I try to avoid are because of multiple health reasons. I dont cut out any whole food groups but most of the things I now try not to ever eat seem like common sense things and they are things I wont miss.
No lunch meat or processed meats, no coke or diet coke (this is very hard since Walmart sells Mexican coke in the glass bottle for $1. I have one per week), no added white sugar: Ill eat a dessert if its something I love but I now only drink unsweet tea if I need something other than water, no fruit juice-Ill actually just eat a whole fruit rather than juice so Im full and less calories, and I try to stay away from white carbs.
So what do I eat? The list is not very diverse right now but its healthy and Im happy: grilled meat from my foreman, steamed veggies that I like, berries, apples, and oranges in natural form, a limited amount of cheese, whole grain rice and pasta, eggs cooked with no butter, and salads with only veggies and just a little dressing.
Things I eat that arent great for me but I love: alfredo sauce, ranch, potatoes, and desserts that I love. I try not to "waste" calories on things Im only meh about.
I dont eat much dairy because it makes me feel gassy/gross and Ive never been a big bread fan unless Im only using it as a vehicle for alfredo sauce. I think you just have to work with what foods you love and be willing to part with some that you dont care about. If you love beer, great but maybe quit drinking other forms of calories. If you love cheese, limit your butter and oil intake.
I exercise a good amount with my job so for right now, my only added exercise is other forms that I actually enjoy: yoga, jogging when the mood strikes, climbing and hiking. I do need to start weight training but I have various life excuses for why I dont currently.
Calories in-calories out isnt the whole story and I do not count calories. I do try to make sure that 75% of calories of what I eat is healthy (veggies, fruit, meat, whole grains) food that I like, leaving 25% for food that isnt unhealthy per se but shouldnt be eating in large quantities (starches, toppings and sauces for the healthy food, a little splurge, alcohol).
The only thing that sticks out to me in what you listed is the chocolate.
Here's a typical day....
Breakfast: 1 cup mix of Kashi GoLean and Heart to Heart, skim milk, glass of OJ
mid-morning: Coffee, black
Lunch: usually leftovers from the night before. Today is a grilled saffron-orange chicken breast, quinoa, diet soda.
Afternoon: Kashi granola bar
Dinner: Shrimp stir fry, heavy on the veggies, brown rice. Glass or two of wine. On a rough day I may have an actual cocktail.
I also drink about 3-4 liters of water a day. And I do cardio and/or weight training for an hour a day, 5 days a week (on my lunch hour at work). Well, try to. Lately it's been hard to get into the gym.
I didn't "work out" at all while BF though. Just walks.
And then I have to chase after Mr. B. So I really don't stop moving unless he's asleep.
I used to be overweight... lost 40ish pounds about, gosh, 8 years ago now and have kept it off. I lost the weight by calorie counting (like, measuring/weighing portions, the whole shebang). Trashing all of the crap food we used to have. No booze (at first). Whole grains. Exercised (cardio/strength) 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week (religiously). *shrug*
food blog | garden blog | curly dogs blog
I agree with you that it's not the whole story, but I suspect that if you used one of the calorie logging website, you'd find that an awful lot of calories were going in every day. You don't provide much information about the nachos you had for dinner (what was on them or how much of them you ate). Or the beer for that matter. You seem to be a "piecer" (a piece of this here, a piece of that there), and that kind of pattern adds up to uncounted, unconscious calories.
Also, 40 minutes of walking a day is good for sure, and it's definitely better than a lot of people are getting, but if you want exercise to be a part of weight loss regime , which is difficult to do, you really need to be doing about 30 minutes to 1 hour of strenuous activity almost every day.
Rascal-rider checking in. Based on pictures I've seen, I actually think Pesca and I have similar body types, except that she has way bigger boobs than me. I think I'd be much happier with my body if I had big boobs so that I looked balanced.
I sort of waver back and forth between being conscious about what I eat and eating tons of crap. I don't seem to do moderation well. Yay, food issues!
This week, I've been conscious about what I'm eating, but I'm not tracking calories or strictly measuring portion sizes.
Breakfast is almost always one piece of toast, one slice of cheese, 3 slices of either regular bacon or Canadian bacon, and two eggs. And lots of coffee with half and half (or whole milk, but not skim, that's just gross).
Two lunches were a large salad with greens, bell peppers, goat cheese, bacon, dried cranberries, toasted almonds, and homemade vinaigrette. One day I had ravioli with butter and parm. Yesterday, I had 2 bean & cheese tacos with a roasted red pepper-olive tapenade and salsa ranch dressing.
Dinners are generally lean protein/starch/veg. Last night was maple soy glazed mahi mahi, wild rice, and carrots & snap peas. The night before was grilled shrimp tacos with roasted red pepper-olive tapenade and a salad with greens, black beans, onions, and salsa ranch. Monday was leftover taco bake - carrot, celery, onion, roasted red pepper, black beans, corn, and ground beef, cooked together and topped with cheesy cornbread.
Snacks have been carrots/celery and hummus, bananas, flavored Greek yogurt, and granola bars.
Dessert is either an ice cream sandwich or a bowl of sugary cereal.
What's frustrating for me is that this is basically what I have to eat to maintain. If I have any alcohol or treats, I will most likely gain. It's something that people who've never had a weight problem (and I don't mean needing to lose 20 pounds post-baby) probably can't fully understand. My friend can go out and have 5 beers and a cheeseburger, and she's fine. If I have 5 beers and a cheeseburger, it takes me a week to work it off.
If you read Pesca's posts again, you'll note that she indicated that she's happy with her weight and is not actively trying to lose.
I thought the implied question was what's the difference between what I'm eating/doing and what "normal" weight people are eating/doing.
Regardless of whether she wants to lose weight, these are the differences: portions, piecing, and physical activity.
Could this be that perhaps your body responds by holding onto water due to dehydration from booze and/or higher sodium intake then you're used to?
I say this b/c I hear people say this a lot and you literally have to eat 3,500 calories over and above to your normal intake to gain just one pound.
I know that after a long night of drinking, as rare as those are now, I have to drink tons of water the next day just to rehydrate myself.
Breakfast: oatmeal/cream of wheat/grits with fruit. Coffee. No sugar in anything
2nd Breakfast: Yogurt with fruit/ soy "jerky"/ fruit It dependes on what's in season and what's in the fridge. By Friday I'm usually out of yogurt and we're low on fruit. But I like protien for 2nd breakfast to help me feel full.
Elevensies: Salad with dressing, mini bagel or an onigiri because I need something with carbs. Maybe a sugar free rice pudding
2nd Elevensies: Usually fruit. Maybe a granola bar. Whatever was left in my lunch bag.
Pre-dinner: Sometimes I end up with half of BabyLiu's snack, usually cheese, shoved in my mouth. She likes to feed other people.
Dinner: Whatever H makes. Usually we have some sort of veggie and startch. Protein is pretty hit or miss.
I hate calorie counting. It's tedious and I'm more inclined to skip meals altogether rather than going through the process of finding how many calories was in what I ate and how much of it I think I ate and then recording it. PITA. I can barely be bothered with my calorific thing that just estimates my calorie consumption and I don't have to look anything up for.
I also dont know that this 30-60 min of strenuous activity is really accurate. You cant say that someone who sits at a desk for 9 hours needs the same amount of strenuous activity as someone who was moderately active all day. In any given day, I probably walk about 3 hours at a normal pace. Its not for the purpose of exercise but you cant just discount the benefit that it has for my body. It makes it easier to maintain or lose when I do extra activity and if I lost the walking during work, I would probably gain if I didnt change my eating habits. For heart health, yes I need to be doing something strenuous in addition but anytime youre moving more, youre burning calories and its sure as heck better than sitting.
I'm sorry. I don't speak this language so I can not answer your question.
Signed,
Still can't find a damn Girl Scout Troop selling cookies!
I'm not sure this actually contradicts anything I'm saying and the last part of it is exactly what I said.
But I stand by my post that 30-60 minutes almost every day of "strenuous" physical activity if you want to make exercise a part of a weight loss regime. If you just want to modify your diet, go for it; it's more effective anyway. But if you are sedentary all day you should be closer to 60 minutes of activity and if you get "moderate activity" as part of your job, you could be closer to the 30. Walking is still great for a number of reasons. But using physical activity to lose weight requires a lot of effort.
I've seen them with stands outside the Lowes and Wally World. I'm guessing they have a booth in the mall too.
I was just at Lowes and no dice (at least here in MD). I think someone posted a site of when they are where and I dont think we are until April, but I am dying as my parents in upstate NY had a box of Samoas and Thin Mints. I was about to steal them. Yes, from my parents.
I've always been in the normal BMI range, so take that for what it's worth. I agree that calories in/calories out is an oversimplification - but I also believe that it's at least 75% of the story for all people. For most people, it is 100% of the story. However, for it to "work" you have to know really how much is going in and really how much you are burning.
Your breakfast, assuming you're eating full fat yogurt, is probably close to 400-500 calories.Oats are great but they are surprisingly caloric, as is the PB and the yogurt. Depending on the fat percentage of your chili, you could be looking at 600-800 calories easy. Beans are very high calorie, as is ground beef. Nachos - well, it depends on how much you had but the chips will get ya. And the halloween candies are probably 80-100 calories a pop. One beer is around 140 calories depending on style. All told you could have had anywhere from 2000-2500 calories. Walking 40 minutes burns maybe 250-300 calories if you booked it (you can estimate 100 calories per mile, but it's really best to use a heart rate monitor to be accurate.) So depending on your BMR (calculate here) you could be maintaining or gaining weight.
NOW: you are nursing. which, IMO, means throw calorie counting out the window. You could be burning more calories, holding on to more calories - it's a total crap shoot and your priority should be feeding your kid so don't stress.
Whenever I've gained 5+ pounds, I take a week or so to track my food intake on sparkpeople. I'm always surprised at how quickly the calories add up. I aim for 1800 calories (give or take) a day and I aim to burn 1600-2000 calories per week through running (I run 15-20 miles per week (3-4 days) and cross train at least one day). That allows me to maintain or lose maybe 0.5-1 pound per week.
ETA: I know you are not trying to lose; I'm just making observations of what would be different for me on an average day - and honestly it's not much. Your breakfast, for me, would be similar except that I'd eat the oatmeal for breakfast and the yogurt for snack, then go for a 4 mile run a lunch. Lunch would be similar except for the meat and I'd probably eat about 1.5 cups. I'd eat one candy (I usually have one sweet treat limited to ~100 calories after lunch), no pretzels. Similar dinner and beer. I'd estimate that to be about 2000 calories and on a running day, about what I'd aim for IF I were counting. I only count when I have to though, and I definitely think that I have a metabolism that is on the high end of normal.
OH - one thing to say. If a person has been overweight for a long time, it will always be harder to maintain or lose. The reality is that the more fat cells a person has (and because biology is a cruel ***, when you lose weight you don't lose fat cells, they just shrink), the more hunger hormone their body produces and the less it can respond to satiety signals. So your caloric needs may be one thing, but it's possible that at that level, a heavy person may feel hungrier than a person with a normal BMI. It is a shitty, sucky biological reality that makes it objectively harder for people who have been overweight for a long time to lose. I watched my brother fight it for years. He's now 120 pounds lighter - but it's taken over 5 years to get there. Obviously his situation was extreme.
Anyway, I've written a book.
I am a runner, knitter, scientist, DE-IVF veteran, and stage III colon cancer survivor.
Honest question: is it even possible to stay full until lunchtime on a breakfast that's not at least 400 calories? I don't even get the p of a low-calorie breakfast. All that happens is that I'm starving by 9:30.
ETA: Of course, this is probably why I'm fat.