A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:Hi there, I wrote up last week about wanting to loose a stone quickly. Thanks for your advice I totally get where your all coming from. I just wondered if you could give me some advice on a controlled diet as, as usual people say eat salads but I actually cannot stand them. So I thought I'd give you an insight on to the healthy stuff I do like to see if any of you have had any success with these products.In terms of "healthier" options I do eat, certain cereals (weatabix, rice kirspies etc). I like Apples and Bananas but they are the ONLY fruits I can stomach. I eat alot of sandwiches for lunches at work or even at home and I like those pasta pots you get from the supermarket usually italian chicken or something (none of that chicken and bacon stuff as I hate bacon). I do eat toast and certain cereal bars but again I only like certain ones. Since the age of about 4 and I am now 22 I have lived off Jacket potatos, again, they arent totally healthy but healthier than some things. I love eggs and eat them alot, however i always thought they were healthy but now wondering if they are indeed fattenting, I cannot stress how i cannot live without milk, I dont drink alot of fluids as Im just never thirsty but when i do I love milk! Tea I also drink about 2-3 cups a day again with sugar, I did cut sugar out on a 3 week trial and I hates it so thats a big no go as tea is my favourite thing. But then again I feel if I have sugar in tea I can cut suagr out elsewhere in my diet. Obviously I love crisps and choclates etc but I try to eat these with a eal for example if I have sandwiches for dinner I will have a bag of crisps. Going onto the more unhealthy stuff I love pizzas or chicken burgers but I figured if I was to have one once a week or every 2 weeks as a treat that way i don't have to have a complete lifestyle change as I dont want to loose a dramatic amount of weight and I dont believe in living off yucky rabbit food.If any of you have any suggestions id be grateful as I really have no idea where to start with this. I'll try anything once but there are alot of things I don't like. Im sorry if im writing to the wrong kind of site but I;ve got here about a problem many months ago and I you seem such a helpful bunch of people.
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female
reader, like I see it  +, writes (1 October 2013):
 I have two major suggestions for you.First off, try to eat more protein. It sounds as though there's very little in your diet currently. Protein-rich foods also help you feel more full after eating less, and they don't cause that quick spike in energy and blood sugar followed by the inevitable crash later. You don't have to go crazy and cut out all carbs, but avoiding the refined, processed ones (white bread, sweetened cereal, cookies, and so on) is a great idea when you can manage it. Aim to get your carbs from vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.Second, consider adding light strength training to your exercise regimen if you don't already. The idea that lifting weights makes women bulky is pretty much a myth unless you're also taking steroids. What it WILL do is tone your body (making you appear thinner and reducing the appearance of cellulite, if you have it) and increase your lean muscle mass, which can actually boost your metabolism. Muscle does weigh more than fat, but you'll see the difference where it matters (in your pants and dress sizes) and not the number on the scale. You can also Google "skinny fat" for an explanation of why weighing less doesn't necessarily make you healthy. Good luck and best wishes :)
A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (1 October 2013): Reduce the amount of carbs you eat, that is, cut as many flour-based products as possible (potatoes and rice too).Count EVERY. SINGLE. CALORIE. For one month. That will give you a lot of knowledge about what you eat. Anything above 400 kcal per 100g is unhealthy (that includes all sweets and snacks).Packed and processed foods are in most cases unhealthy. Prepare your own meals.Eating out, unless at an expensive restaurant, is in most cases unhealthy.Fast foods or pizza more than a few times a month is a bad idea.Trick your stomach: coffee makes you feel full, but has few calories. Proteins make you feel full for a longer time than carbs. Chew sugar free gum instead of snacking.Ditch sweetened drinks. A can of coca-cola every other day is about the maximum you should drink.Drink water.Sugar increases appetite. Eat less sweet stuff and you'll end up eating less overall.If something looks like it was growing or living before it got to the shop, it is most likely healthy (disclaimer: chocolate bars and crisps do not grow on chocolate trees and crisp fields, respectively. You get the idea.)Exercise. Walking for 30+ minutes every day is a good start.All of the above has been tested, proved by science, and it works. I'm sorry I don't have the time to explain it in detail and in a more sophisticated manner...
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (30 September 2013): I personally don't bother with calorie counting, I get too hung up on it and end up doing more harm than good by obsessing over it.You need to slowly change your diet as eating shop bought pasta pots is not healthy!!I eat clean which means I have as little processed food as possible - I literally make everything from scratch so there are no additives or crap. Yes it's not easy but I started by having one clean meal a week and now I make huge batches when I cook so I can freeze portions ready to defrost for other meals. Instead of sugar I use a sweetener from Stevia. It's very sweet and I've found it takes less to get the same taste plus it's all natural.Be more active, it's all personal preference but I train with weights as it boosts your metabolism for longer than cardio but its good to mix it up
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A
male
reader, CMMP +, writes (30 September 2013):
Man, if you really want to get healthy, you are going to have to get used to eating waaaaay different things than you are now.
Healthy is not the same as low calorie. Rocks have very few calories, but they aren't good for you.
Fruits aren't as important as veggies. You can eat fruit in the morning for the energy boost they provide, but throughout the day you should be eating veggies. There's a million types of salads, traditional ones are just the beginning, but if you add store bought dressing they lose their health benefits.
Eat as little processed foods as possible. That means keep cereal, pasta, pizza, basically anything that comes in a wrapper or has more than a fee ingredients should be avoided.
Eat a little bit every couple of hours... About 6 meals a day, but small ones. That will boost your metabolism. Also, you need to drink a lot of water, it can actually help you process your food and lose weight. Drink about 80+ ounces a day. Don't use too much salt. This can retain moisture and make you appear bloated.
Seriously, you're going to need to revamp your diet. Stop buying food and start buying ingredients. That way you don't need to count calories and your body gets everything you need to be healthy for a long time. Calorie counters can still have health problems as they age, even if they are fit, because they are filling their body with processed crap that can barely be called food.
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A
male
reader, CMMP +, writes (30 September 2013):
Man, if you really want to get healthy, you are going to have to get used to eating waaaaay different things than you are now.
Healthy is not the same as low calorie. Rocks have very few calories, but they aren't good for you.
Fruits aren't as important as veggies. You can eat fruit in the morning for the energy boost they provide, but throughout the day you should be eating veggies. There's a million types of salads, traditional ones are just the beginning, but if you add store bought dressing they lose their health benefits.
Eat as little processed foods as possible. That means keep cereal, pasta, pizza, basically anything that comes in a wrapper or has more than a fee ingredients should be avoided.
Eat a little bit every couple of hours... About 6 meals a day, but small ones. That will boost your metabolism. Also, you need to drink a lot of water, it can actually help you process your food and lose weight. Drink about 80+ ounces a day. Don't use too much salt. This can retain moisture and make you appear bloated.
Seriously, you're going to need to revamp your diet. Stop buying food and start buying ingredients. That way you don't need to count calories and your body gets everything you need to be healthy for a long time. Calorie counters can still have health problems as they age, even if they are fit, because they are filling their body with processed crap that can barely be called food.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (30 September 2013): Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible—all of which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and using them in a way that works for you. You can expand your range of healthy food choices and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a tasty, healthy diet.Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious.Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different color vegetables) to your diet once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet.Every change you make to improve your diet matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts.
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A
female
reader, Tisha-1 +, writes (30 September 2013):
 I'd start by logging all you eat and actually count the calories you are ingesting. I used a free app called Lose It! This app is easy to use and you can set goals and log workouts as well. It can be very eye-opening to see how many calories you can take in without realizing it.
There are many websites that help count calories.
You seem to be very focused on carbohydrates that are found in pasta and potatoes as well as the sugar in your tea.
You appear to have no vegetables or lean proteins at all in your diet.
Maybe there's a way you can start to sneak them in. There are cookbooks out there than use pureed veggies in dishes, as a way to help children eat more veggies. I think your palate has been limited by your choices and you have no idea how real, non-processed food can taste wonderful.
Honestly, for me, the easiest way to lose weight is to limit the starchy carbohydrates by limiting pasta, potatoes, and rice. In the early days of a diet, I'd cut it out altogether as it tends to fire up an appetite for more carbos. You get a blood sugar spike and then a drop which leads you to eat another carbo laden snack and the cycle continues.
Swap out the sugar-filled wheatabix and rice crispies with oatmeal. Sweeten that sparingly with honey or real maple syrup, if you can find it in the UK. I remember not being able to find it when I lived there.
Eat a small amount of so-called "good" fats, such as olive oil, dark chocolate, almonds, and avocados. Avoid animal-derived fats such as butter and fatty meats.
Try using natural sweeteners such as honey or stevia leaves in place of sugar. A teaspoon of sugar doesn't have that many calories, it's more that it sets you up to crave more sugar. Try eating small pieces of dark chocolate and see if that doesn't help your craving for that sugary sweet tea.
Eggs are fine but if you eat a lot of them every day, there's a lot of cholesterol in the yolks, so try to eat one yolk a day and have lots of egg whites for the lean protein.
One trick I use now is to have remove one slice of bread and make sure it's a whole-grain one, not that awful white bread that has been stripped of all it's nutrition.
Another trick was to use spaghetti squash or what we in the US call beans like cannellini or chickpeas in place of pasta. Full of nutrients and fiber and a healthier choice.
Crisps are basically fried carbohydrates, filled with fat and have no nutritional value. I save my calories for things that are actually better for me and still taste good. Throw away the bag of crisps or refuse it at the counter when you order. Crisps are absolutely junk food. Avoid!
I eat lean protein, some produce and some good mono-unsaturated fatty acid-providing foods (those famous "good" fats) with every meal. In weight loss mode, I would take in roughly 400 calories in each meal, breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. I would make pizza by using a portobello mushroom or courgette as the base, back off on the cheese and make a fresh tomato sauce so I knew it didn't have a ton of added sugar.
Frozen bananas add a lot of sweetness to things like smoothies and breakfast oatmeal.
Could you please list the vegetables you do like? Potatoes obviously, but what else?
If you think vegetables are rabbit food then you do have a limited palate and you would benefit from nutritional counseling from a qualified person. I'm just an online agony aunt who managed to lose a lot of weight with exercise, watching what and how much I ate and keeping the treats to once in a while, instead of every day. I liked a book called Flat Belly Diet by Liz Vaccariello, it was very helpful as it gave meal plans that satisfied my hunger while resetting my palate. There are many diet books out there, you should consult your doctor before starting on any diet to ensure you are getting the nutrients you need.
Start with that Lose It! app and you may be floored at how much those 'healthy' choices are laden with more carbs than you need and fat and sugar which does not help you maintain a healthy weight.
Start small, watch your portion sizes and log everything you eat. Take that log to the specialist, doctor or nutritionist when you go.
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A
female
reader, Aunty Babbit +, writes (30 September 2013):
 Food is energy and is measured in units known as calories.
OK, if you eat more calories than your body will burn in a 24 hour period, your body will store that excess energy as fat.
If you eat what your body requires you will maintain your current size. If you eat less you will lose weight.
If you try to live off salad you will get bored feel deprived and inevitably stuff up on all the high calorie foods that make us gain weight.
Each day your body needs a selection of foods from the basic groups. Eating one group in isolation is unhealthy.
We need protein, obtained from meat, fish, eggs, poultry and pulses.
We need fibre, obtained from some pulses, grains (bread and cereals)and fresh fruit and vegetables.
We need calcium, obtained from dairy products such as milk, cheese, yoghurt etc
We need carbohydrates obtained from, potatoes, pasta, rice, peas and beans.
By eating meals combining foods from the above groups you can be sure you are eating a healthy well balanced diet.
Your body will be receiving all the vitamins and minerals it needs.
Only eat enough to satisfy your appetite and drink plenty of water.
You'll notice that the refined, high fat and high sugar foods do not figure in the above categories and that is because we do not need them. We like them but they are not necessary to maintaining a healthy diet.
That said it is important to indulge in a little of these products from time to time because they're lovely and we enjoy them.
Alcohol is also included in this group, it's really high in calories so should be drunk with caution when trying to lose weight.
Combine a healthy, fresh, well balanced diet with the occasional small indulgence and some regular daily exercise and your body will find it's perfect weight and your skin, hair and nails will look fabulous.
I hope this helps AB x
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