Eating less.
Is that your weight loss plan? You're simply going to learn to eat less? You're going to choose smaller portions? You're going to "cut back"?
That's your plan?
If it were that easy, do you think you'd still have weight to lose?
If it were that easy, I'd be working in an emergency room somewhere because if all it took to lose weight were for people to simply, "eat less", the world would be skinny.
Ultimately what we choose to put on our plates reflects a sort of personal homeostasis - we put as much food on our plates as we feel we need to be satisfied. If you try to simply "cut back" without actually making any formative changes to the actual foods you eat and your timing of meals and snacks all you're going to wind up doing is feeling hungry, short changed and bitter for the short time you actually adhere to your overly simplified resolution.
You need to actually like your life with fewer calories. In order to do that, you're likely going to need to reformat your dietary organization so that you're using food in a manner that leads to less hunger and consequently more control.
My cardinal rules remain the same.
- Breakfast within 60 minutes of waking up.
- Eating every 2-3 hours.
- Meals with a minimum of 300 calories for women and 400 calories for men.
- Snacks with a minimum of 100 calories for women and 150 calories for men.
- 8 or more grams of protein with every meal and snack.
- Limit refined/processed foods to the smallest amounts you need to be happy.
- Drink only as many calories as you need to enjoy your life (ie. minimize juice, alcohol, sugared beverages, milk etc.)
- Exercise for 40 mins or less and all you need is water. Exercise for more than 40 mins and add 100 carb based calories per 40 minute block to be consumed immediately before, during, or immediately after exercise.
- There should be no such thing as a forbidden food.
- Always, always, always, consider the calories of your dietary decisions in the same manner you consider price tags with your purchases.
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Bingo Yoni! The trick is to create a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteFocus on healthy, low energy density foods with some treats in between and life is good. Find a balance.
I have been doing this for 2.5 years (essentially this is Weight Watchers) and have never (in 49 years) felt better!
Great post doc! Lets rock 2011!
ReplyDeleteI have to get back to this, last time I had the most success losing weight it was basicly by doing this. Stuck to a strick alocation of protein, fat, sugar, and carbs, but that I could fill up on things like spinach or broccoli, and since still feel satisfied at the end of the meal.
ReplyDeleteGlad to read item #10. As I just finished Gary Taubes's new book which basically says calories in/calories out is meaningless.
ReplyDeleteCan I add #11: Never be hungry. If you are, eat.
"Eat less" is necessary but not sufficient.
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog through a fellow weight-loss friend. I love your insights here, and only wanted to point out that I think you meant to say 8 ounces of protein at each meal as opposed to 8 grams, no?
Nope, I mean grams.
ReplyDelete8 ounces (1/2 a pound) would be a great deal of protein to have at every meal or snack.
Thanks for that simple, easy-to-follow list of guidelines.
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to know of a resource that would have something similar (for calories, macronutrients) for children of various ages? All I can locate from reputable sources are general calorie ranges. Plus, of course the Canada Food Guide...
You can look online for an energy expenditure calculator for kids - I'm sure they're out there.
ReplyDeleteMost important things kids wise?
Make sure they don't move out of your home without knowing how to cook at least 10 healthy meals from scratch. Make sure they learn to eat regularly. Make sure they understand calories/energy balance from a non-judgmental perspective.
I'm amazed at how low your minimums are.
ReplyDeleteUsing the calculations from the link you posted in 2005
http://www.thedietdiary.com/diet/nutrition/RestingEnergy.html
I'll need 3 meals and 3 snacks averaging just over 700 calories each. So I can expect to lose a pound a week eating the equivalent of 6 Big Macs a day?
For the record I'm 48, weighing 325lbs., 6'1" with moderate daily activities and 20 minutes of exercise.
Ray, I'm confused by your amazement.
ReplyDeleteThey're "minimums", not maximums.
What amazes me is how many people don't hit their minimums for breakfasts or lunches, skip their snacks and then struggle at dinner.
At your weight, which is much higher than the average, your minimums also need to be higher due to greater need.
Yoni,
ReplyDeleteI didn't crunch enough numbers. I see now there are certain individuals who will require those minimums.
If my numbers are correct I've been maintaining my weight at 5000 cal/day. To lose a pound a week I'll need 4500 cal/day and to maintain my goal weight of 225 lbs I'll need 4000 cal/day.
Spread out over 3 meals and 3 snacks that's going from 830 to 750 to 666 calories per feed. Roughly 100 calories less each time I eat.
Is it that simple? Wish me luck.
One last thing, you write a great blog. I especially like when you say there are no forbidden foods and we need to enjoy what we're doing to lose weight.
Hi Ray,
ReplyDeleteThe only thing to add to your calculations is that in studies of record keeping, even folks who are diligent tend to miss 20% of their calories.
Meaning while your calculations may have brought you to 4,000 daily, you may wish to target a number closer to 3,200 as a means to build in error and if you're eating many meals out, I'd be aiming even lower with the assumption there are far more hidden calories in the restaurants.
Good luck!
Is there anywhere to look at a food diary that has these criteria? A book, website, PDF file etc? I'm not very inventive and can see myself eating a LOT of string cheese and eggs to make sure I get protien. Sad, but true.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
LOVE your blog.
Thanks Theresa,
ReplyDeleteThere are a great many apps out there that will calculate data for you but I'm a fan of pens and paper as I think pens and paper connect to brains, memory and learning very differently than keyboards and touch screens.
Consequently why not design a spreadsheet that looks good to you, print it and then shrink it with a photocopier down to booklet size and carry a week's worth with you at a time?
I have a friend who did just eat less, his advice was to eat half of what you normally would. I told him he must have been overeating a LOT. Then again, this guy would get munchies and eat cookies made into a sandwich with cake frosting, and other atrocities.
ReplyDeleteAs for your rules, they seem arbitrary. Why shouldn't I have a snack of three cherries, if I want? I don't like to eat within an hour of waking, why force myself? If I eat lunch at noon, work out for 2 hours at 6 pm, then eat dinner at 10, why is that harmful? It might explain why I'm not hungry for breakfast. But not all of us find these rules convenient or necessary. As a matter of fact, most of the people I know who are thin eat sporadically, while most people who make up rules and follow time tables run fatter.
Dr. Freedhoff,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blog and following your guidelines coupled with the online logging at Calorie King since March '10. Thanks to you and CK I have lost 46 pounds.
I really appriciate that you, and Dr. Sharma as well, keep reminding your readers that food intake (vs relying on exercise) is the crux of weight control.
I shared your guidelines with my sister, while she has never been overweight, is interested in finding better ways to eat. She has added snacks with protien and has found that this method does keep her from getting overly hungry throughout the day.
Lucky her, at the hospital she nurses in in No. Calif, the cafeteria lists calories and WW points on their menus!
For exercise I walk and bicycle, which has worked well for me. I trully find your and Dr. Sharma's so helpful as you both are science based and 'Science Rules!'
Cheers,
Maureen
After 8 months of cognitive therapy I've learned the hard way how important it is to like your life with fewer calories.
ReplyDeleteFor years I focused on deprivation, mentally punishing myself for choosing or not choosing healthy foods.
Now that I'm in the process of recovering from the psychological effects of serial dieting, I'm now happy to choose healthier food options in smaller portions.
In my case, psychology played a huge role in my decades long struggle with weight.
Great blog BTW!
Perfect except from rule No 2,and this is only a personal opinion! Without getting into evolutionary biology arguments from the internets (although I do wonder how our ancestors made it without constant energy intake,heh)..
ReplyDeleteBut I am wondering if there are more people like me out there: it's hard to make a great nutrition choice SEVERAL times a day instead of 3-4, it keeps food on my mind all day and makes it a focus point, and since diet and anxiety go hand in hand I think this is my worst type of advice(and dietitians keep giving it); it creates cravings,and nevermind that I dislike that 'half full half hungry' state when I could easily succumb to any junk food temptation.
Assuming I am well rested, 3 bigger meals a day do it for me,and keep me full and energetic for hours,and keep food out of the way (of my mind) too.Eat to live,not eat to live.
Keep blogging!