Carbohydrates or Calories

[ark_ader]

Well the holiday season is nearly upon us, and I have been a rather naughty boy and managed to sneak 25 pounds back on my body.  I blame Starbucks and their mocha fraps. 

So I decided to have a rest from Atkins and look to other diets like South Beach and the 1500 calorie diet. 

In order to maintain 200 pounds (my target weight) I have to consume 3455 calories a day with light activity (gym one a week), which is not so bad.

Or I can go back on Atkins (which gets old) and work out 4 days a week + swimming.  Plus a one-a-day vitamin and three litres of water consumption.

I had a little shock after researching what my 6 month Atkins diet versus the calorie consumption rate on the same diet.

These values include the removal of butter with a 1 tsp margarine substitute for cooking.

Breakfast:

2 bacon slices & 2 eggs = 300 cal or 1 carb.

2 cups coffee = 0 cal  0 carb

Lunch:

Tossed salad with oil & vinegar dressing = 20 cal  or 2 carb
Bottled Water  = 0 cal  or 0 carb


Dinner: 2 Chicken Breasts with 2 cups of Cauliflower = 224 cal or 5 carbs
Coke Zero  = 1 cal  or 0 carb


Total roughly 946 calories a day or 8 carbs.

So regardless if you did Atkins or the counting calorie diet, the fat it is going to fall off. 

Now I can see where the doctor gets so pissed, less than 1000 calories is damaging, but according to Atkins it is healthy.   

South Beach advocates porridge for breakfast, toast, rice which are culprits on adding weight, but keep your tummy feeling full for longer periods.

Does anyone else follow a calorie diet?  If so, what foods are you adding and what is your daily calorie consumption rate?

We are all going to splurge and gain over the next two months and the popular New Years resolution is very doable this time around if you are strict enough.

 

[lilshawn]

the way i sees it, if you work more calories than you eat...you'll lose weight.

nitpick your activities...get a step counter if you don't have one, and keep track of every calorie you use up during the day.

then adjust your calorie intake to be less than that.

also, nitpick your calorie intake...

oil and vinegar dressing?!? YIKES! that like 90 calories right there (for a 1 gram serving). a mixed veggie salad is 30. that's an extra 100 calories not accounted for in your list. (assuming you portion size is the ridiculously small units they say to use which often is NOT the case. I'm more likely to use 3 or more grams of dressing

by the sounds of things you may be low balling your intake and assuming the activity you are doing is enough to offset it.

check the about site for calories in food. Iv'e  used it for quite some time now...if nothing more than to find product info. (http://caloriecount.about.com/) you can enter in all sorts of brands and gives you calorie info for it.

 

[Nephasth]

3400 calories?! Jesus. After last holiday season I started counting calories (caloriecount.com). I dropped 15 lbs in about 3 or 4 weeks with no exercise (180 from 195). I was consuming about 1600 calories per day, which is easy to do if you follow the serving sizes on the sides of boxes. Did I feel hungry? For the first few days, yeah. But it was easy to drop lbs.

[ChadTower]

Don't bother having this conversation with ark_ader.  It has been done before.  His ideas are his own, and apparently, so are his methods.  They do not apply to the rest of the human race.

[Xiaou2]

Breakfast:

2 bacon slices & 2 eggs = 300 cal or 1 carb.
2 cups coffee = 0 cal  0 carb

 Ugg.  Why Bacon?!  One of the most fatty, greasy, cholesterol packed meats...
Eggs also have Cholesterol.  And no doubt, your probably using fatty oil to fry them up...

I have a few slices of lean sliced ham for breakfast,  As well as a raw carrot / vegetable.
I also take vitamins. And a glass of almond milk (higher calcium than milk, better taste, almost zero fat).

Lunch:

Tossed salad with oil & vinegar dressing = 20 cal  or 2 carb
Bottled Water  = 0 cal  or 0 carb

 As already said by others... Why bother eating a healthy salad... when you drop Fatty oil all over it?!
Use some Balsamic vinegar.  And or mix it with some soysauce.   Add spices in the mix if you desire as well.   Zero fat, mega taste.

 And if it were me, Id at least add a few chunks / ripped of slices of lean meat in there.  The body needs that protein to keep going strong.

 Personally, I eat rice with some meat and veggies.  But only a small portion.  Maybe 1.5 cups worth.  If you starve your body of the nutrients it wants & needs... it will keep telling you to eat more, in hopes of getting those nutrients.   If you eat healthy, you wont feel the need or desire to eat in mass quantity to feel full and satisfied.

 I also manage to throw some fruit in there somewhere.  Again, nutrients, as well as fiber... and taste.  Possibly anti-oxidants as well.  Speaking of which, I drink tea often, and often put frozen fruits into it.

Dinner: 2 Chicken Breasts with 2 cups of Cauliflower = 224 cal or 5 carbs
Coke Zero  = 1 cal  or 0 carb

 Geeze.   TWO whole breasts?   I dont know about you... but the beasts that are in my supermarket are so big that I
often have to cut them in half!   I cant imagine eating two full size breasts.   Mix the breast with more vegetable choices,
and get more nutrients to boot.   If you must, then eat a 2nd small portion of meat later on in the night... but not too late.
Its far better to eat lower quantities, more frequently.   The body is far more efficient that way.

 As for your Coke Zero...   Do you really think manmade chemical bevedges are better than something like natural tea?
Whether or not theres more calories means little... when you flood your body with things that are known to be bad for it.
Such as Phosphoric Acid... which strips the body of its bone density... among other things.

 I cant imagine packing on 20lbs in a single few months, as you seem to have done.  Id have to eat 4 times as much, and 20x as unhealthy, to do that.


 
 Well, this pretty much says it all:

--------------------

  because it contains no fat. This characteristic is beneficial if you are trying to lose weight, as fat is the most calorie-dense nutrient, with more than double the calories in carbohydrates and protein. Additionally, certain types of fat -- trans fat and saturated fat -- can have adverse effects on your cardiovascular health.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/481217-what-are-the-benefits-of-jasmine-rice/

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 You gain, not merely because of quantity, but because of the crappy Quality of the fuel that you put in your tank.   Would you put Coke Zero into your cars gas tank?   No?   Thats because you know its not designed to run on that.   Even additives such as ethanol, are causing cars problems, from what Ive read.  But your more than willing to shovel the worst quality down your gut... and then you cry when your body looks, and feels, like...

[lilshawn]

Even additives such as ethanol, are causing cars problems, from what Ive read.

yes, even though ethanol burns cleaner than fossil fuels, it takes more ethanol to produce the same energy as raw fossil fuel. which wouldn't be bad, because E85 (the max blend used in flex fuel vehicles) is cheaper than gas, but unavailable nearly everywhere in Canada (thus far) it's inclusion in small quantities currently (E10 for regular grade gas) is only hampering fuel economy and causing us to buy more gas. ---daisies---

[ark_ader]

Speaking of which, I drink tea often, and often put frozen fruits into it/quote]

That is a nice idea.  Berries sounds yummy.

The Coke Zero is a small glass, but I could easily have ceylon tea instead.

All good ideas. 

[DaveMMR]

I blame Starbucks and their mocha fraps. 

I blame the the fad dieting. Just watch what you eat and get regular exercise and the occasional mocha frap won't be an issue. And also...

Don't bother having this conversation with ark_ader.  It has been done before.  His ideas are his own, and apparently, so are his methods.  They do not apply to the rest of the human race.

...yeah, you're right - pretty much wasting my time. 

[Le Chuck]

Wow, so all that weight you power dropped in a matter of a few weeks flew right back on?  And you're blaming an inanimate object rather than yourself?  Roger. 

[CCM]

How do you manage to "sneak" on 25 pounds???   The only way to add that much weight is eating like a complete pig, have some self-control!

[t3design]

Here is a calculator for estimating BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) and Activity calories:  http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

I plugged in my info and using Body fat percentage it got my BMR very close (I've had it measured using the Oxygen uptake method), and using height it was about 100 calories low (about 5% off).

Still, it will give you a very good idea of how many calories you need to "maintain" your current body at rest. Remove about 500 calories a day and add in calories for any activity and you will loose weight in a controlled and healthy way. Better to eat high volume/low calorie foods (they are more filling and almost always better for you) than low volume/high calorie foods (usually fats and sugar laden stuff), but really you can eat whatever you want if you stay under the calorie needs.

Two things are notable:

1. diet soda creates the same response (insulin and blood sugar response) as sugar soda. So if you eat carbs and drink a diet soda your body will put the extra calories (from the carbs) into fat cells. Eating to many carbs reloads your fats cells whereas lean protein, fibrous veggies and legumes have a lower probability.

2. it takes years (probably at least 7) for a fat cell to die and go away. When you loose weight you unload the fat cell, but it is still there. When you over-eat your body has a pre-made and ready storage place for the extra energy (stored as fat). So you have to loose the weight and then keep it off for a long time before you can "binge" and not gain weight immediately. Skinny people with low body fat can over-eat and not gain weight because their body does not have a place to store the extra and just dumps it. IF they over-ate consistently over time their body would build the fat cells to store the extra.

[ChadTower]

How do you manage to "sneak" on 25 pounds???   The only way to add that much weight is eating like a complete pig, have some self-control!

Especially if your BMR requires 3455 calories a day to maintain bodyweight. 

[kahlid74]

There are many thoughts on how to lose weight and how to keep it off so I'm not going to dive into those.  What works for me is understanding servings, portion control, eating habits and exercise.

Serving Size:
The size of your closed fist is one serving (Circumference, not width).  When eating a meal try to use a 1x1x2 ratio, where 1 serving is meat, 1 serving is carbs and 2 servings are vegetables.

Eating Habits:
Do the best you can to keep your metabolism working as much as you can.  Try to snack every two hours in small healthy ways (Handful of almonds, granola bar, banana, etc.).  Don't forget that often times you're not hungry, but actually thirsty and mistaking it for hunger.

Exercise:
Dieting is big, but living a healthy life is equal parts what you eat and staying active.  Push yourself to get in at least 30 minutes every day of cardio.  If you can do it, push for 5 days a week of running, two days a week of walking/resting and then maybe weight training to build muscles back up?

The above worked for me.  I went from 235 to 185.  I run at least 5 times a week for 30 minutes a time and do my best to stay away from sugar deposits like candy bars/soda.  I'm not ripped, but I'm healthy and that's the important part for me.  I want to see my grand kids and teach them how to build arcade machines.

[Cakemeister]

 Ugg.  Why Bacon?!  One of the most fatty, greasy, cholesterol packed meats...

And one of the tastiest.

[ChadTower]

Do not speak ill of The Bacon.   

[javeryh]

3400 calories to LOSE weight??? I must be doing it wrong.