There’s a guy at work doing South Beach. He’s in Phase 1. I only know a little about South Beach, because there’s a popular diet program comparison in a really neat cookbook I bought for dirt cheap at Barnes & Noble the other day.
Anyhow, he’s miserable. He says he’s feeling anemic all the time. He gets peanut M&M’s out of the vending machine when he feels he’s going to pass out from it. I’ve read that Phase 1 is like that. I’ve heard Phase 2 is much better. Not my bag, but some people see results, so I don’t knock anyone for their method.
But yesterday at lunch, I had a steak dinner. Oh yum. It was just perfect. Only a few ounces of steak, some steamed broccoli, and a little rice pilaf (that might’ve been a little high in sodium, but whatever). Delicious. I loved the protein, as I’d lifted hard that morning. I needed the pilaf for energy. And broccoli? Mmmm. And, it was a fairly good lunch portion, which is so rare. Usually, you get 3 meals worth of food on a plate.
I’m watching every little thing that goes into me. This nutrition business isn’t painful or exceptionally tricky, but you really have to stay vigilant. I’ve upped my fiber intake even more, and I think that’s helping. I’m back up to 1 gallon of water a day (which is just slightly over my daily recommended, but not so much that I’ll drown). And I’m seeing progress. I should be able to post another pound of weight loss for this coming Monday’s weigh-in, all things being equal.
The US Government changed it’s dietary guidelines and it’s really getting closer to making sense. I’m told a new version of the food pyramid (or whatever new shape they choose) is coming out, too. Atypical of the government, they actually spelled out (in the fine print) that we should be cutting down on refined sugars, salts, trans fats. They didn’t fall prey to the typical lobbying groups who water down such recommendations. I’m happy about this news.
I’m finding the following is working really great for me, eating wise:
*Smoothie for breakfast, loaded with fiber, some protein, yogurt, and lowfat milk, oh yeah, and chocolate flavoring and today, bananas.
*Slice of multigrain toast w/peanut butter for snack.
*Decent sized lunch, focusing on more carbs, some protein.
*Small afternoon snack, lately a small bowl of oatmeal and nuts.
*Dinner heavier on protein than carbs, as I’m less likely to need energy in the evening.
*Snack before bed of something filling. Either popcorn, oatmeal, or two tsps of peanut butter. (The natural stuff, not crap).
This mixed in with a mountain of water (and other beverages like fizzy water and green tea) seems to be doing me well. Oh, and a multivitamin and extra B-complex stuff. I keep trying to remember to take Omega-3 capsules too, but one day I took one and it melted in my mouth and grossed the HELL out of me.
The more I read about nutrition, the more it confuses me. There are so many theories. The weight loss theory of choice at the very moment is basic: calories in versus calories burned, and trying to keep a deficit. But.. BUT… even that has some issues. People talk about making sure the deficit is spread out over the day. Meaning, you should never stray from any more than 300 calories deficit at any point during the day or your body will freak out and think you’re starving it. And what about all these recent calcium studies that say eating a heap more yogurt and drinking low or non-fat milk fights fat absorption rates?
It never ends, really. That’s a multi-BILLION dollar industry, you know. Mmmm, smell the money?
It’s like every time I see folks putting their boxed lunches into the nuke. I can always tell who’s just in need of convenient, balanced nutrition, and who’s trying to fix themselves via the prepackaged miracle. Hey, it *is* one way of measuring calories. But there’s so much more to the equation.
Man, I’m starting to sound preachy. I’ll just leave it at that. However you find your way across the finish line, if you’re even in the race, good for you!
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