What do you eat?

[scy]

Yeah, my example is merely just my example; just an idea of what the 5-meal-a-day plan looks like. I'd suggest "counting" calories at the very beginning ... and only then and never again. Do that to figure out what you can and cannot eat. Portion yourself from that and then don't worry about it. Fretting too much over the small things is unnecessary.

Worth mentioning but ... don't feel the need to eliminate fats from your diet. I had better results on a 40-40-20 (Protein-Carb-Fats) diet than 45-45-10. There are good fats (lean meats, especially fish) to be had. That said, I'd minimize it as best I can and have a source of healthy fats, even if it is in a supplement form and not food, to get it.

I will admit that everything I say is skewed a bit since A) I'm a guy~ and B) I did this while working out (toning, not building; building muscle + diet = dumb). The basic rules to follow are pretty simple though:

Avoid Fried Foods.
[spoiler]Even Pan fried since that's usually done in a pound of fucking butter (if you have to pan fry, use Pam non-stick sprays as they have practically no calories compared to like 200 for actual oil).[/spoiler]

Opt for leaner cuts on heavy proteins (i.e., meats).
[spoiler]Get used to salmon, chicken, and turkey. Ham, Bacon, and other fattier meats not-so-much. Personally, I cooked my meats on a frying pan since I wasn't in the mood to grill up food by the pound, store it and then reheat it.[/spoiler]

Vary your meals.
[spoiler]I loathe veggies. Loathe. They, however, are a necessary component (fibrous carbs) of a healthy lifestyle. I throw out these %-%-% numbers but I counted very little; balance your meals accordingly (I kept protein intake ~= carb intake by just having a source of carbs per meal, for instance) and let it sort itself out.

If you can, I'd suggest "zig-zag"ing your caloric intake. It isn't hard and you begin to look forward to those "ooh, bonus calorie!" days since it means you have a guilty pleasure treat (personally, I did a once a week batch of either hot wings or lasagna). Plus, not having a steady calorie intake means your body takes more time to adapt and thus keeps your weight loss from slowing down.[/spoiler]

If you can, see if you can find any e-Book (or real book, I suppose) of a real "diet plan."
[spoiler] And by diet plan, I mean a way of life. Personally, I have Tom Venuto's book (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle) on-hand and used it when I was working out. Whether or not it's right for you (it is more-or-less an in-general thing for getting in shape but it does cover a LOT about weight training ... since, you know, getting "in-shape" without any muscle tone is sad ^^).[/spoiler]

Even small changes can matter.
[spoiler]By that, I mean switching to healthier alternatives. You must have a glass of milk in the morning? Go to Skim Milk (or 2% if you can't stand Skim's flavor). Egg Whites instead of whole eggs (the yolk is the same caloric count as over 4 egg whites ... but a ton of extra fat with little protein). Wheat bread over white for toast/sandwiches, water over juices/soda, sugar free jam over jelly, leaner meats over thicker cuts, etc. Small things that shave 10-30 (or sometimes hundreds in the case of eggs and soda) can add up and, suddenly, you can see 200-300 calories lost a day WITHOUT cutting down food intake.[/spoiler]

No, seriously avoid fried foods.
[spoiler]srsly.[/spoiler]

[Kinokokao]

*nod-nod*
Just a few things to add on fats:
Good fats are Omega-6 fatty acids -- the kind of fat in salmon, eggs, etc. We receive an overdose of Omega-3 fatty acids since that's the kind in soybean/vegetable oils, which are the #1 oil used in food.

Saturated fat, of course, is bad fat -- but we need some of it. Usually, we just get too much. Trans fat is poison. Avoid it like the plague.

I'd recommend the "Eat this, not that" book if you're going to invest money. It's all about substitutions, like I said, which is way easier than drastic diet change.
That calorie counter site has a really basic and thorough weight loss plan that goes through how to read labels, what nutrients you need, and what ratios.
As for other books... no idea. Most of them are fad diets that I'd never recommend; they're all about fast weight loss, not healthy choices.

[Maxine MagicFox]

@_@

^_^; Thanks. I think... I... can get this.... maybe....

[Kinokokao]

[Maxine MagicFox]

[Twat]

I have to read the sodium more than anything. I am in constant danger of not getting enough sodium. I drink WAY too much and if I keep washing out sodium there is nothing to hold magnesium so I'll feel tired. :[

[Maxine MagicFox]

>_< you know, food seemed so much simpler when I didn't give a damn!

[ZetaBladeX13]

I like fruit. Too bad I'm partially allergic

[Twat]

That's a real bummer, Zeta. :[

I love all fruits, but one fruit I struggle with are apples. I love the taste but I hate eating them as they are. It's too hard. ;-; Pure apple juice is much better for me.

[ZetaBladeX13]

Ripe, juicy pears =

[Maxine MagicFox]

[Twat]

[Maxine MagicFox]

[Twat]

Not like you're going to live happy life off of boiled, baked and steamed food. Too much fried food can be bad for you but some of it can still help nurture the body. If there is too much exterior grease left on an eggroll then the establishment is at fault and you're probably best off removing some with a disposable napkin for both taste and health. :[ It's good to remember everything that comes with food, the good and the bad. The more unnatural the ingredients are and the more of healthy part they shave off the worse they are. Not saying it's okay to eat celery rolled around in lard or something just because the celery is good.

My mother uses to take the skin off her chicken when she was dieting. I really don't know what to say about that. Not something I'd want to do but I don't care for chicken to begin with so I'm very biased. ^-^;

[Maxine MagicFox]